The Chevalier Guard Regiment (russian: Кавалергардский полк, Kavalergardskiy polk) was a Russian

heavy cavalry Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a Military reserve, tactical reserve; they are also often termed ''shock cavalry''. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the re ...

guard regiment, created in 1800 by the reformation of the Chevalier Guard corps, itself created in 1764 by

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

. As other Russian heavy cavalry guard regiments (the Life-Guards Horse Regiment, His Majesty's Life-Guards Cuirassier Regiment, and Her Majesty's Life-Guards Cuirassier Regiment), the Chevalier Guards were equipped as

cuirassier Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adoptin ...

s (with some differences in uniform and equipment from army cuirassiers and other guard cuirassier regiments).

Campaigns

* 1805 – The regiment first saw combat in the

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in ...

, in which it fought bravely, covering the retreat of units from the Preobrazhensky and

Semenovsky Regiment The Semyonovsky Lifeguard Regiment (, ) was one of the two oldest guard regiments of the Imperial Russian Army. The other one was the Preobrazhensky Regiment. In 2013, it was recreated for the Russian Armed Forces as a rifle regiment, its na ...

s of the Russian Imperial Guard infantry. The Chevalier Guards were countercharged and defeated by the French Horse Grenadiers of the Old Guard, who inflicted heavy casualties among the Russians. * 1807 –

Battle of Heilsberg The Battle of Heilsberg took place on 10 June 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. Overview On 24 May 1807, the Siege of Danzig (1807), Siege of Danzig ended when Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian General Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth capitul ...

* 1812 – The regiment distinguished itself during the Patriotic War of 1812. The Chevalier Guards lost their colonel early in the

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...

but, in concert with the Life Guard Horse Regiment, effectively stopped the decisive charge of Saxon cuirassier regiments and defeated French Horse Carabiniers. * 1813 –

Lützen is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Lützen is situated in the Leipzig Bay, approximately southwest of the Leipzig city limits and northeast of Weißenfels. The town has access to the Bundesstraße 8 ...

, Kulm,

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

* 1814 – Fère-Champenoise * 1831 –

Polish Campaign The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

* 1914 –

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

The regiment was disbanded in 1918. Many famous men served as Chevalier Guards including

Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès Baron Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès (born Georges-Charles d'Anthès; 5 February 1812 – 2 November 1895) was a French military officer and politician. Despite his later career as a senator under the Second French Empire, D'Anthès ...

Grigory Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (, also , ;, rus, Князь Григо́рий Алекса́ндрович Потёмкин-Таври́ческий, Knjaz' Grigórij Aleksándrovich Potjómkin-Tavrícheskij, ɡrʲɪˈɡ ...

Denis Davydov Denis Vasilyevich Davydov ( rus, Дени́с Васи́льевич Давы́дов, p=dʲɪˈnʲis vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪdʑ dɐˈvɨdəf, a=Dyenis Vasilyevich Davydov.ru.vorb.oga; – ) was a Russian soldier-poet of the Napoleonic Wars who in ...

Mikhail Skobelev Mikhail Dmitriyevich Skobelev (russian: Михаил Дмитриевич Скобелев; 29 September 1843 – 7 July 1882), a Russian Empire, Russian general, became famous for his conquest of Central Asia and for his heroism during the Russo ...

Alexander Rodzyanko Alexander Pavlovich Rodzyanko (russian: Александр Павлович Родзянко; 26 August 1879 – 6 May 1970) was an officer of the Imperial Russian Army during the World War I and lieutenant-general and a corps commander of the Wh ...

Pavlo Skoropadskyi Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi ( uk, Павло Петрович Скоропадський, Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi; – 26 April 1945) was a Ukrainian aristocrat, military and state leader, decorated Imperial Russian Army and Ukrainian Army ...

, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim and

Alexander Ypsilantis Alexandros Ypsilantis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Υψηλάντης, Aléxandros Ypsilántis, ; ro, Alexandru Ipsilanti; russian: Александр Константинович Ипсиланти, Aleksandr Konstantinovich Ipsilanti; 12 Dece ...

Gallery

References

External links

Russian Imperial Guard The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard (russian: Лейб-гвардия ''Leyb-gvardiya'', from German ''Leib'' "body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard) were military units serving as personal guards of the Emperor of Russi ...

Russian Imperial Guard During the Napoleonic Wars
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chevalier Guard Regiment Cavalry regiments of the Russian Empire Former guards regiments Military units and formations established in 1800 Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 Russian military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars Russian Imperial Guard 1800 establishments in the Russian Empire 1918 disestablishments in Russia Saint Petersburg Governorate Guards regiments of the Russian Empire