The Chevalier Guard Regiment (russian: Кавалергардский полк, Kavalergardskiy polk) was a Russian
heavy cavalry guard regiment
A royal guard is a group of military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the protection of a royal person, such as the Emperor, emperor or empress, king or queen regnant, queen, or prince or princess. They often are an elite ...
, 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
cuirassiers (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, in which it fought bravely, covering the retreat of units from the
Preobrazhensky and
Semenovsky Regiments 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
* 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
* 1814 –
Fère-Champenoise
Fère-Champenoise () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. It was the site of the Battle of Fère-Champenoise in March 1814.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Marne department
*Fershampenuaz
Fershampenuaz (russian: ...
* 1831 –
Polish Campaign
* 1914 –
First World War
The regiment was disbanded in 1918.
Many famous men served as Chevalier Guards including
Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès,
Grigory Potemkin,
Denis Davydov,
Mikhail Skobelev,
Alexander Rodzyanko,
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
Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as comma ...
and
Alexander Ypsilantis.
Gallery
References
External links
*
Russian Imperial Guard
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