3rd Regiment, Gardes d' Honneur

The 3e Regiment of Gardes d' Honneur was raised from the 10th (Tolouse ), 11th (Bourdeaux ), 12th (La Rochelle), 13th (Renne ), 20th ( Périgueux), 22nd ( Tours), 29th (Florence ), and 31st (Groningen) Military Divisions. 

A commemorative plaque on the battlefield marks the involvement of the 3rd Regiment in the Battle of Château-Thierry on February  12, 1814. 

The 3e Regiment also fought at Leipzig, Hannau, Saverne, Meaux, Craonne, Reims, Landau, and Paris.

The Colonel of this regiment was Philippe-Paul Segur. He was born in Paris in 1780, became a Colonel in the Chevau-Legers of the Gardes de Paris in 1809, and a Count of the Empire in that year as well. He was promoted to General de Brigade in 1812. In 1824 Ségur published a book on the Russian campaign of 1812, which was not very flattering to Napoleon. General Gaspar Gougaud, who had also served on the Imperial staff in Russia in 1812, severely criticized. Ségur challenged Gourgaud to a duel which was accepted, though he lost the duel and was wounded by Gourgaud. He survived to publish several more books, and die in Paris at the age of 92, in 1873.

The Regiment was disbanded in Tours on July 17, 1814. 

2nd Regiment Gardes d'Honneur

They're Baaaack!

The 2nd Regiment of the Gardes d' Honneur was raised from the 2nd (Mézières), 3rd (Metz), 4th (Nancy), 5th (Strasbourg), 17th ( Amsterdam ), 18th (Dijon ), 25th (Wesel), 26th (Mainz), 28th (Genoa) Military Divisions. 

Thus it can be seen that a fair number of recruits, while citizens of the Empire, were not part of the main body of France. The loyalty of these men, and of some of the nobility (as potential Royalist supporters) was suspect, thus as well as a source of troops, so in some ways these troops were hostages as well. Indeed, their nickname in the Army was "The Hostages"!

  The Guards of Honor were complimented on their conduct at Hanau by Napoleon and a number of its soldiers were awarded the Legion of Honor. By December morale in the Gardes remained high, though it was notably lower among the troopers of foreign origin. 

It saw action at Leipzig, Worms, and Mayence. 

The 2nd Regiment was disbanded on July, 15, 1814. About 900 men of the Gardes d' Honneur from the French Departments were taken into the the Bodyguard of King Louis XVIII, the Gardes du Corps.

1st Regiment Gardes d' Honneur

The Gardes d'honneur were ordered to be formed on 3 April 1813  and established by decree on 5 April. Four regiments were ordered: the 1st Regiment was based at Versailles, the 2nd at Metz, the 3rd at Tours, the 4th at Lyon. A regiment had a staff of 65 men and 156 horses and 20 companies (paired into 10 squadrons), each of 122 men and 127 horses, totaling 2,505 men and 2,696 horses. Therefore the Gardes d' Honneur added 10,000 cavalrymen to the Grande Armée.  

NCOs were selected from among the enlisted members,. The officers were drawn from those already serving. The regimental colonels were existing generals and the unit's majors were existing line cavalry colonels; other officers transferred into the unit with their existing ranks. Regimental commanders were selected from leading members of the nobility in an effort to attract others of that class.

The lack of experienced NCO's was acutely felt, and therefore the Regiments were associated with existing Cavalry regiments of the Imperial Guard. Although they were thus closely associated with the Imperial Guard cavalry (and often served with them in the field) they were not officially part of that force, though many members of the Gardes d' Honneur considered themselves as such. The Guards of Honour were paid on the same scales as the Chasseurs à Cheval of the Imperial Guard, and the regimental trumpeters wore the sky blue uniforms of the Imperial Guard. They were therefore "in the Guard, but not of it".

The four regiments were distinguished only by the color of the tips of their plumes - red for the first regiment as above, light blue for the second, yellow for the third, and white for the fourth. These are Perry figures.

The 1e Regiment fought at Leipzig, Epernay, Reims, and Coutrtrai.

25e Regiment of Dragoons

We interrupt the game narrative for a Dragoon moment! 

The The regiment traces its origins back to 1665, when a new cavalry regiment was raised and named Bourgone in 1685, renamed in 1711 as Bretagne. It reverted back to Bourgone in 1751, becoming Royal-Bourgone in 1788. The Regiment became the 17e Regiment de Cavalerie in 1791 and the 16e Regiment de Cavalerie in 1792. It finally became the 25e Regiment de Dragons in 1803

The 25e regiment saw plenty of action during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars:  1792: Valmy, 1793: Hondschoote, 1794: Etreux, Mons, and Maestricht, 1800: Offenbourg and Holzheim, 1805: Elchingen and Austerlitz, 1806: Halberstadt, 1807: Ostrolenka, 1808: Baylen, 1809: Lugo and Alba-de-Tormes, 1810: Lines of Torres-Vedras and Ciudad-Rodrigo, 1811: Fuentes-de-Onoro, 1812: Arapiles, 1813: Vitoria, 1813: Dresden and Leipzig, 1814: Saint-Dizier, Brienne, La Rothiere, Mormont, Fere-Champenoise, and Paris

6 Colonels of the Regiment attained the rank of Brigadier or higher: 

Louis-Rene Le Mouton de Boisdeffre,  General de Brigade 1792; 

Nicolas Cugnot d'Aubigny, General-de-Brigade: 1794, Officer of the Legion d'Honneur: 1804, Chevalier of the Empire: 1810, Baron of the Empire: 12th April 1813;

Jean-Oliver Gaudin, General-de-Brigade: 1794;

Archange-Louis Rioult d'Avenay, General-de-Brigade: 1807, Officer of the Legion d'Honneur: 1808, Died: 1 June 1809 (Died of wounds received on 8 May 1809);

Antoine Rigaud, General-de-Brigade: 1807, Commander of the Legion d'Honneur: 1805, Baron of the Empire: 1809;

Philippe-Antoine Ornano, General-de-Brigade: 1811, General de Division: 1812, Count of the Empire: 1808.

The regimental facing color for the 25e- 30e regiments was aurore; I have used Delta CC "Calypso Orange" here. I think it looks quite striking! The figures once again are Piano Wargames by Lucas Luber. The next Piano Wargames Kickstarter commences October 14th!

4e Regiment of Dragoons

 

This regiment traces its creation back to 1667, in 1684 they were named Chartres-Cavalerie. In 1724, they became Clermont and 1771 La Marche. Their name changed once again in 1776 to the Conti-Dragons, finally becoming the 4e Regiment de Dragons in 1791.

War Record  1792: Fontoy and Valmy,  1793: Martinses and Wissembourg, 1794: Aldenhoven, 1796: Passage of the Rhine, Memmingen, and Friedberg, 1800: Burg-Ebrach and Nuremberg, 1805: Passage of the Lech, Wertingen, and Diernstein, 1806: Golymin, 1807: Deppen, Hoff, Eylau, Heilsberg, and Friedland, 1809: Talavera-de-la-Reine, Ocana, and Medelin, 1811: Albuhera, 1813: Vitoria, 1813: Leipzig, 1814: Bar-sur-Aube, Sezanne, and Fere-Champenoise, 1815: Ligny

 Battle Honors:   Valmy 1792, Aldenhoven 1794, Eylau 1807, and Medelin 1809

3 officers of the regiment became Generals during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars:  Pierre Wathier - General de Brigade 1804,  Count of the Empire 1808, General de Division 1811; Auguste-Etienne-Marie Lamotte - Baron of the Empire 1808, General de Brigade 1809,  Commander of the Legion of Honor 1814; Pierre-Joseph Flour - Baron of the Empire 1812, General-de-Brigade 1813.

I need to add the regimental number to the wreaths in the corners  of their Guidon style flags; The flags are free downloads from Lucas Luber's Piano Wargames site, enhanced by some paint. The Figures themselves are Piano Wargames 28 mm metals, of course! Lucas' next Kickstarter will begin in less than 1 month on October 14, 2024. 

The trumpeter wears the usual reversed colors, in this case a scarlet jacket with green collar, cuffs, turnbacks, and pocket ornamentation. The colonel has outfitted him with a red shabraque instead of the regulation dark green one, like the troopers have. Actually, I couldn't find any documentation to support this, but I liked how it looks, so I went with it... just like the Colonel might have! White horsehair on the helmets was pretty standard for trumpeters, although the colors of the plumes for the trumpeters were quite varied. Elite company trumpeters are often shown wearing white bearskins. 

7th Chasseurs a Cheval

The 7th Chasseurs a Cheval had a fairly extensive lineage. Formed in 1745 as the Volontaires Royaux, renamed as the Legion Royale in 1747, and disbanded in 1776. Reformed in 1779, the Regiment became the 1er Regiment de Chasseurs-à-Cheval, and was later renamed the Regiment de Chasseurs de Picardie in 1788, before finally being  designated the 7e Regiment de Chasseurs in 1791.

The regimental facing color was Rose, which honestly would have been a bit lighter in hue than the Delta CC Lisa Pink I used for these figures. 

The regiment had a similarly lengthy combat record:

1792: Worms, Mainz, Frankfurt, Hoxchfeld, and the Siege of Mainz.

1793: Hochheim, Haguenau, Cholet, Laval, Montaigu, Le Mans, Dol, Savenay, and Granville

1794: Landau, Fort-Vauban, Machecoul, and Noirmoutier

1798: Capture of Rome

1799: Gaete, Capua, Naples, Modena, La Trebbia, and Novi

1805: Embs

1806: Jena, Wismar, and Hamien

1807: Eylau, Koenigsberg, and Heilsberg

1809: Pfaffenhoffen, Raab, and Wagram

1811: Fuentes d' Onoro

1812: Polotsk, Drissa, and The Beresina

1813: Danzig, Bautzen, Liegnitz, Katzbach, Reichenbach, and Leipzig

1814: Bar-sur-Aube

1815: Suffel

The 7e regiment produced 6 officers who rose to the rank of General de Brigade or higher, most notably Hippolyte-Marie-Guillaume de Rosnyvinen Piré,  and Alexandre de Montbrun, younger brother of the more famous cavalryman,  Louis-Pierre De Montbrun. 

28th Chasseurs a Cheval

 

This regiment was formed in 1808 from the Tuscan Dragoons, which themselves were raised earlier  that year in January. 

The regimental facing color is Amaranth, a color beloved of Marechal Murat. I used Delta Ceramcoat "Dusty Mauve" for the hue. 

These are the first of the cavalry from the Great Horse Project.

oThe figures themselves are by Lucas Luber and Piano Wargames. 

The regiment fought in Spain at Figuieres in 1810, Fuentes d' Onoro in 1811, and Los Arapiles in 1812.

The regiment then saw service in Russia at Smolensk, Moskowa, Wiasma, Krasnoe, Beresina, Wilna, and Kowno. In 1813 it was in action at Koenigsberg, Ebling, Goerde, and the defense of Hamburg. Finally, in 1814, it saw action at Willemsbourg.

2e Carabiniers, 1809

 

The origin of the French Carabiniers dates back as far as 1679, and took various forms (attachments, companies within regiments Assembled into a single body at the Battle of Neerwinden  in 1693, they contributed significantly to the French victoryDuring.  This lead Louis XIV to create a crops of  some 3,000 "Carabiniers du Roi" later that year. Under various names, the Carabiniers fought at Luzarra (1702), Turin (1706), Oudenaarde (1708), Malplaquet (1709), Denain (1712), Parma (Guastalla (1734), Praque (1741), Dettingen (1743), Fontenoy (1745), and Laufield (1745). 

 

In 1788, they consisted of 2 regiments forming the "Brigade des Carabiniers de Monsieur".  Changes came with the French Revol;ution, of course, and in 1790 the General Assembly reorganized the French cavalry, preserving the Carabiniers as 2 regiments of "Grenadiers des Troupes a Cheval", whereupon their uniform included the bearskin and red epaulettes. 

During the Revolutionary Wars and the Consulate, they fought at Valmy (1792, Arlon (1793), Fraakenhal and Mannheim (1795), Biberach (1796), and Hochstaedt (1800). 

The uniforms of the two regiments were nearly identical, and they fought the great battles of the first half of the French Empire attired as above, including Wertingen and Austerlitz in 1805, Eylau and Friedland (1807), Landshut,  Ratisbon Rregensburg), Aspern - Essling, and Wagram (1809). Supposedly, seeing the terrible injuries suffered by the Carabiniers in battle prompted Napoleon's decision to have them adopt armor, and with it the change to the white and sky blue uniforms of 1810 -1815.

 

The Carabiniers were mistaken for the Grenadiers a Cheval on several occasions, due to the similarities in their dress during the earlier period. I really should add Carbines (which I have) to these chaps, considering their history of using mounted firepower at times! These figures are actually a paint conversion of the Wurttemberg Leibjager Guard from Lucas Luber's "Price of Crowns 3" Kickstarter. I realized that I hardly needed, them, the Guard du Corps, and the Mounted Grenadiers, which between them amounted to just 4 squadrons in total! 

The Carabiniers made their table top debut today at the April 1809 Campaign in a Day  in Bavaria; much more about that in the coming days!

Dismounted French Napoleonic Dragoons

 

My original French Napoleonic Wargames army, mostly painted back when I was in High School, contained a unit of Dismounted Dragoons that I was quite fond of. Those figures were by Hinton Hunt. 

As my current French Army has grown to epic proportions, I can allow myself the indulgence of including some Dismounted Dragoons once again. 

These fine figures are from Brigade Games, and were purchased a number of years ago at the same time as my French Gendarmes a Pied. 

The scarlet facings mark them as belonging to one of the first 6 Dragoon regiments. 

The vertical pockets on the back of the coat further narrow the possibilities down to the 4e, 5e, or 6e regiments. The solid scarlet collars further narrow the possible units to the 4e or 6e. As is often the case for heavier cavalry, the gloves obscure the cuffs so no further refinement is possible. So, let's call it the 4e Dragoon regiment... a pied!

Due to alack of mounts, several regiments fought dismounted during the 1805 campaign. The Dragoons formed the bulk of the French cavalry in Spain, where their capacity to fount dismou8nted was often useful. As a result, the Dragoons were not destroyed in the 1812 Retreat from Moscow debacle, and were thus arguably the best of the French cavalry in 1813 - 1814. 

French 8e Legere

These Foundry figures provide the Light Infantry contingent for the "Division:" of 4 units of Ligne painted earlier this year.

They differ from my standard Legere units in a number of ways. 

First, they are in "Campaign Dress" wearing grey trousers and having covered shakos - although the elite companies have the flammes of their colpacks proudly deployed! 

A fairly common uniform variation for Legere units was red cuffs piped white with blue cuff flaps, similar to that of the Line regiments, and this unit is painted wearing that variant. 

Epaulettes all around, though! With this unit, my 10th and probably last French Division is complete.