The Empress's Dragoons of the Imperial Guard () was a heavy

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

unit formed by

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

through the decree of April 15, 1806. The "

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

" regiments of the

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

had distinguished themselves in the German Campaign of 1805, and therefore Napoleon decided to reorganize the cavalry of the Guard and create within it a regiment of

guards. This regiment was colloquially known as the Dragons de l'Impératrice (''Empress' Dragoons''), in honor of Empress Joséphine. Following the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * ...

, they were renamed as the Royal Dragoon Corps of France (''Corps Royal de Dragons des France'') but were disbanded shortly afterwards. The Empress' Dragoons were reformed during the

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

(1852-1870).

Composition

The regiment was made up of three squadrons, headed by 60 officers personally selected by Napoleon. The first squadron was to have 296 men, and be made up of "vélites", while the other two were regular squadrons of 476 horsemen. To complete this new unit, each of the 30 dragoon regiments of the line provided 12 men, each with 10 years of service; the brigadier, chasseur, and dragoon line regiments provided the ''sous-officiers''. The unit's numbers rose to 1269 in 1807 with the addition of two new squadrons, and on December 9, 1813, it was attached to the Guard's 3rd regiment of éclaireurs.

Campaigns

Vernet-Battle of Hanau - detail - dragons garde

The Dragons de la Garde Imperiale distinguished themselves at the

battle of Friedland The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by Count von Bennigsen. Napoleon and the French obtai ...

(1807), and at the

battle of Wagram The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...

(1809). They suffered heavy losses at the

battle of Maloyaroslavets The Battle of Maloyaroslavets took place on 24 October 1812 as part of the French invasion of Russia. It was Kutuzov's decisive battle to force Napoleon to retreat northwest over Mozhaisk to Smolensk on the devastated route of his advance with ...

and at the

battle of Berezina The Battle of (the) Berezina (or Beresina) took place from 26 to 29 November 1812, between Napoleon's Grande Armée and the Imperial Russian Army under Field Marshal Wittgenstein and Admiral Chichagov. Napoleon was retreating back toward Poland ...

(1812). They participated in the battles of Leipzig and

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...

(1813) and captured 18 guns at the

battle of Saint-Dizier The Battle of Saint-Dizier was fought on 26 March 1814 between a Russian army under Ferdinand Wintzingerode and a French force commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte. The battle was part of Napoleon's Campaign of France, which took place during the ...

(1814). Their last battle was

Marshal Ney Michel Ney, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of the Moskva (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one o ...

's charge at Waterloo (1815).

Uniform

The dragoons' uniform and weaponry was the same as those of the Guard's horse grenadiers, only in green rather than blue, and (in place of the bonnet à poil) a copper

dragoon helmet A dragoon helmet was an ornate style of metal combat helmet featuring a tall crest; they were initially used by dragoons, but later by other types of heavy cavalry and some other military units. Originating in France in the second half of the 18th ...

with a hanging mane in the Neo-Greek ''Minerve'' style, with a red plume. The trumpeters wore a light blue tunic with white lapels and crimson turn backs and collar. The mane on their helmets was white and the plume was light blue. They rode grey horses. They also had a white uniform for parade, consisting of a white coat with light blue lapels and collar lined with gold. File:Dragon maurice orange.JPG, ''Maréchal des logis'' (cavalry sergeant) of the Dragoon Guards File:Trompette dragons de la garde maurice orange.jpg, Trumpeter in parade dress File:Cavalier du Corps royal des dragons de France.jpg, Dragoon of the ''Corps royal des dragons de France'' during the

File:Album photographique des uniformes de l armée française-p18.jpg, Trumpeter (left) and Empress dragoon (right) during the

French Second Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930s a ...

The Dragoon Guards wore green coats with white lapels and red turnbacks. They also wore ''aurore'' (light orange)

aiguilette An aiguillette (, from ''wikt:aiguille#French, aiguille'', "needle"), also spelled , or , is a Cord (sewing), cord with metal tips or lace tags, or the decorative tip itself. Functional or purely decorative fasteners of silk cord with metal ...

s and

epaulette Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of military rank, rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''sh ...

s. They wore brass helmets with a long black mane, a simulated

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

fur

turban A turban (from Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promine ...

and a red plume (white plume for the highest officers). They rode chestnut horses.

References

External links

Uniform of the Empress' Dragoons, in 1815, on ''"Les uniformes pendant la campagne des Cent Jours"''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragons de la Garde Imperiale Regiments of Napoleon I's Imperial Guard Dragoon regiments of France Military units and formations established in 1806 Military units and formations disestablished in 1815