VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée)
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The VI Cavalry Corps of the ''
Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...
'' was a French military unit that had an ephemeral existence during the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. The corps was created on 9 February 1814 and General
François Étienne de Kellermann François Étienne de Kellermann, 2nd Duke of Valmy (; 4 August 1770 – 2 June 1835) was a French cavalry general noted for his daring and skillful exploits during the Napoleonic Wars. He was the son of François Christophe de Kellermann and the ...
was appointed as its commander. The corps was formed by combining a newly arrived dragoon division from the Spanish front, a second dragoon division, and a light cavalry division made up of hussars and ''Chasseurs-à-Cheval''. The latter two divisions included units from the former III Cavalry Corps. Kellermann led the VI Cavalry Corps at
Mormant Mormant () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne departement in the ÃŽle-de-France region in north-central France. Mormant station has rail connections to Provins, Longueville and Paris. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Mormantais'' in Fr ...
,
Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...
,
Bar-sur-Aube Bar-sur-Aube (, literally ''Bar on Aube (river), Aube'') is a Communes of France, commune and a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture in the Aube Departments of France, department in the Grand Est region of France. Surrounded by hills and ...
, Laubressel, and
Saint-Dizier Saint-Dizier () is a subprefecture of the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France. It has a population of 23,382 (2018 figure) and is a subprefecture of the department. Although Saint-Dizier is marginally the most populous commune in Hau ...
. After Emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
abdicated in early April, the corps ceased to exist.


Organization

At the
Battle of La Rothière The Battle of La Rothière (1 February 1814) saw the Coalition forces of the Austrian Empire, Russian Empire, Kingdom of Prussia, Kingdom of Bavaria, and Kingdom of Württemberg attack a French army led by Emperor Napoleon. The main Coalitio ...
on 1 February 1814, 80,000 Coalition troops led by
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (; 21 December 1742 – 12 September 1819), ''Graf'' (count), later elevated to ''Fürst'' (prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal). He earned his greatest ...
defeated 45,000 French soldiers led by Napoleon. The Coalition sustained 6,000–7,000 casualties while the French lost 5,600 men and 73 artillery pieces. After the battle, the French Army retreated to
Nogent-sur-Seine Nogent-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. The headquarters of The Soufflet Group is located here, as is the Musée Camille Claudel. The large Nogent Nuclear Power Plant is also located here. Populati ...
, where Napoleon reorganized his cavalry into the I Cavalry, II Cavalry, V Cavalry and VI Cavalry Corps, an independent division led by General
Jean-Marie Defrance Jean-Marie Defrance (; 1771–1835) was a French General of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was also a member of the Council of Five Hundred (the lower house of the legislative branch of the French government under The ...
and three divisions of
Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the emperor and/or empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial force ...
cavalry. General
François Étienne de Kellermann François Étienne de Kellermann, 2nd Duke of Valmy (; 4 August 1770 – 2 June 1835) was a French cavalry general noted for his daring and skillful exploits during the Napoleonic Wars. He was the son of François Christophe de Kellermann and the ...
was appointed commander of the VI Cavalry Corps, which was to include cavalry under General
Anne-François-Charles Trelliard Anne-François-Charles Trelliard or Treillard or Treilhard (7 February 1764 – 14 May 1832), joined the cavalry of the French Royal Army as a cadet gentleman in 1780. During the French Revolutionary Wars he fought in Germany and Holland, eventuall ...
that transferred from the Spanish front. The necessary orders were issued on 9 February, but the organization of Kellermann's corps was not fully carried out until 20 February. In July 1813 during the
Battle of the Pyrenees The Battle of the Pyrenees was a large-scale offensive (the author David Chandler recognises the 'battle' as an offensive) launched on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult from the Pyrénées region on Emperor Napoleon's order, ...
, Trelliard's 2,300-strong division consisted of the 4th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 21st, and 26th Dragoon Regiments. After the
Battle of the Nive The Battles of the Nive (9–13 December 1813) were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish Army ...
in December 1813, all of Trelliard's dragoons and some of General
Pierre Benoît Soult Pierre Benoît Soult (; 19 July 1770 – 7 May 1843) joined the French royal army before the French Revolution. He fought in the French Revolutionary Wars, emerging from the conflict as colonel of a cavalry regiment. A good deal of his early ...
's cavalry were transferred from the Spanish frontier to the campaign in northeast France. On 1 January 1814, the III Cavalry Corps under General
Jean-Toussaint Arrighi de Casanova Jean-Toussaint Arrighi de Casanova, duc de Padoue (; born 8 March 1778 in Corte; died 22 March 1853 in Paris), Duke of Padova, was a French diplomat and soldier of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. In the late 1840s, Arrighi was also ...
consisted of a light cavalry division led by General Jean Thomas Guillaume Lorge and a heavy cavalry division under General Charles Claude Jacquinot. Lorge's division was made up of the 5th, 10th, 13th, 15th, 21st, 22nd, and 29th ''Chasseurs-à-Cheval'' and the 2nd, 4th, and 12th Hussar Regiments. Jacquinot's division included the 13th Cuirassier and the 4th, 5th, 12th, 16th, 17th, 21st, 24th, 26th, and 27th Dragoon Regiments. The two divisions were supported by four 6-pound cannons and two howitzers of the 5th Company of the 1st Horse Artillery Regiment and the 2nd Company of the 1st Principal Train Battalion. While many units had under 100 cavalrymen, the largest unit was the 303-strong 13th Chasseurs and the weakest was the 16-man 4th Hussars. On 25 January 1814, when the bulk of the field army assembled at Châlons-sur-Marne, the III Cavalry Corps was reorganized into a light cavalry division under General Auguste Jean Ameil and a heavy cavalry division led by Jacquinot. Ameil's division had 201 sabers in the 1st Provisional Hussar Regiment and 842 in the 2nd Provisional Chasseur Regiment while Jacquinot counted 740 horsemen in the 3rd Provisional Dragoons and 72 in the 4th Provisional Cuirassiers. The provisional regiments were abandoned when the III Cavalry Corps was suppressed and the new VI Cavalry Corps was created on 20 February. At that time, Jacquinot assumed leadership of the 4th Light Cavalry Division which largely incorporated the regiments of the Lorge-Ameil division. Its two brigade commanders were Ameil and Marc François Jérôme Wolff. General Nicolas-François Roussel d'Hurbal took command of the 6th Heavy Cavalry Division which included the 5th and 12th Dragoons from Jacquinot's old division plus the 21st and 26th Dragoons from Trelliard's division. Roussel's brigadiers were Louis Ernest Joseph Sparre and Antoine Rigaud. Trelliard's 5th Heavy Cavalry Division consisted of the 4th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 24th, and 27th Dragoon Regiments. Trelliard's brigade commanders were Pierre Ismert and
François Léon Ormancey François Léon Ormancey () was a French general in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was part of the French Order of Battle at the Battle of Caldiero, in which he commanded the third brigade of Jean Antoine Verdier's II. Di ...
.


History

On 12 November 1813, Napoleon ordered General
Horace Sebastiani Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC),Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The r ...
to take command of the
V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...
and III Cavalry Corps and defend
Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...
. Sebastiani had only 4,500 troops to protect this part of the
Rhine River The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Cons ...
. The Army of Silesia under Marshal
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (; 21 December 1742 – 12 September 1819), ''Graf'' (count), later elevated to ''Fürst'' (prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal). He earned his greatest ...
successfully crossed the Rhine near Koblenz on 2 January 1814, rendering the French position untenable. On 13 January,
Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...
Jacques MacDonald Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...
ordered Sebastiani to retreat to
Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...
. By 26 January, MacDonald and Sebastiani and about 10,000 men were near
Sainte-Menehould Sainte-Menehould (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Marne (department), Marne Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. The 18th-century French playwright Charles-Georges Fenouillot de Falbaire de Quingey (1727–1800) ...
and marching toward Châlons-sur-Marne, which they reached on 30 January. On 5 February, MacDonald was chased out of Châlons by General Ludwig von Yorck's Prussians. In the next few days, Blücher tried to run down and destroy MacDonald's force, but the marshal managed to evade his pursuers by 9 February. In the unsuccessful effort to catch the French, Blücher allowed his army to become dangerously extended. Over the following week, Napoleon won all the battles of the
Six Days' Campaign The Six Days Campaign (10–15 February 1814) was a final series of victories by the forces of Napoleon I of France as the Sixth Coalition closed in on Paris. The Six Days Campaign was fought from 10 February to 15 February during which time Na ...
, inflicting heavy casualties on Blücher's army. After his victories, the French emperor had to rush to the help of his forces defending the
Seine River The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...
. These troops had been pushed back by the
Army of Bohemia The Army of Bohemia was a coalition field army during the War of the Sixth Coalition in 1813–1814. It was under the command of the Austrian field marshal Karl Philipp zu Schwarzenberg. In addition to commanding the field army, Schwarzenberg was a ...
led by Field Marshal Karl von Schwarzenberg. Already, Napoleon ordered MacDonald to Guignes where he arrived on the evening of 14 February with 12,000 troops, including reinforcements. Trelliard's division arrived at Guignes on 16 February, fresh from the Spanish front. At this time, Kellermann's corps was not yet fully formed. Altogether, there would be 4,200 horsemen in the divisions of Jacquinot, Trelliard, and Roussel. The
Battle of Mormant The Battle of Mormant (17 February 1814) was fought during the War of the Sixth Coalition between an First French Empire, Imperial French army under Emperor Napoleon I and a division of Russian Empire, Russians under Count Pyotr Petrovich Pal ...
began at dawn on 17 February when Marshal Claude Victor-Perrin's II Corps and four French cavalry divisions attacked General
Peter Graf von der Pahlen Peter Johann Christoph Graf von der Pahlen (; , Kauzmünde Manor, Kauzmünde (now ) - , St. Petersburg) was a Baltic German aristocrat and a general of the Imperial Russian Army. Life Peter was born into the Baltic German noble Pahlen fam ...
's Russian corps. On the right flank, Kellermann commanded the divisions from the V Cavalry Corps and Trelliard. On the left flank were two more V Cavalry Corps divisions under General
Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud Édouard Jean-Baptiste Milhaud (; 10 July 1766 – 10 December 1833) was a French politician and general. He distinguished himself throughout the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and is considered one of the best generals of cavalry of ...
. Lhéritier and Trelliard first scattered the Russian cavalry, then fell on the infantry opposing them. Pahlen's Russian infantry squares were broken and most of the troops cut down or captured. Later in the day, Trelliard's division was directed to pursue toward
Provins Provins () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the ÃŽle-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. Known for its well-preserved medieval architecture and importance througho ...
and missed the action at Valjouan against the Bavarians. The French inflicted 3,114 casualties on the Allies and captured 9 guns and 40 caissons while losing 600 killed and wounded. Napoleon won the
Battle of Montereau The Battle of Montereau (18 February 1814) was fought during the War of the Sixth Coalition between an Imperial French army led by Emperor Napoleon and a corps of Austrians and Württembergers commanded by Crown Prince Frederick William of ...
on 18 February, resulting in 5,000 Allied casualties and capturing 15 artillery pieces. This induced Schwarzenberg to fall back on first
Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...
and then farther east on 23 February. Marshal
Nicolas Oudinot Nicolas Charles Oudinot, duc de Reggio (; 25 April 1767 – 13 September 1847), was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He is known to have been wounded 34 times in battle, being hit by artillery shells, sa ...
pursued with Kellermann's cavalry, including Jacquinot's division, while MacDonald led a second pursuing column. On 27 February, Napoleon left Oudinot and MacDonald to watch Schwarzenberg's army with 42,000 men and marched with 35,000 troops against Blücher, who was headed for
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Napoleon took with him Roussel's division and Sparre's brigade, which arrived from Spain at this time. Subsequently, Roussel's detached division fought at the battles of
Craonne Craonne () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France, northwest of Reims. History It was the site of the Napoleonic Battle of Craonne in 1814. The former town was totally destroyed by the French artillery d ...
,
Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...
, Fère-Champenoise and
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. At the
Battle of Bar-sur-Aube The Battle of Bar-sur-Aube was fought on 27 February 1814, between the First French Empire and the Austrian Empire. French forces were led by Jacques MacDonald, while the Austrians and their Bavarian allies, forming the Army of Bohemia, were ...
on 27 February, Schwarzenberg attacked Oudinot by surprise, inflicting 3,060 casualties on the French while sustaining 2,400 casualties. Once the battle began, Kellermann crossed to the east bank of the Aube River. Jacquinot's division charged the Russian Lubny Hussars, mauling the regiment and driving off the Pskov Cuirassiers. Ismert's dragoon brigade charged a large Russian artillery battery three times. This foolhardy attack was repulsed and the 4th and 16th Dragoons suffered 400 killed and wounded between them. Nevertheless, Schwarzenberg was alarmed at the persistence of the French attacks and proceeded with caution. During the withdrawal, there was a brief panic when the infantry rearguard fled through the ranks of Kellermann's cavalry, but order was soon restored. After their defeat, the French withdrew to the west. On 3 March 1814, Schwarzenberg defeated MacDonald in the
Battle of Laubressel The Battle of Laubressel (3 March 1814) saw the main Allied army of Field Marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg mount a three-pronged converging attack on the weaker army of Marshals of France, Marshal Jacques MacDonald. The French for ...
. At this time, Jacquinot's division numbered 1,258 sabers while Trelliard's division numbered 1,747 horsemen. At the start of the battle, Kellermann's cavalry was in reserve on the left flank near Pont Saint-Hubert. After the II Cavalry Corps was drawn into action, Kellermann's corps moved east to
Saint-Parres-aux-Tertres Saint-Parres-aux-Tertres () is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. Geography The Barse flows into the ''Vieille Seine'', an arm of the Seine, in the commune. Population See also * Communes of the Aube department Th ...
. As the Russian infantry strove to turn the French left flank, they were charged by Kellermann's horsemen. When the VI Cavalry Corps retreated from Troyes on 4 March, Oudinot failed to provide for a rearguard. Bavarian cavalry suddenly appeared, causing the French horsemen to panic and flee. Luckily, the French infantry remained steady, but the Bavarian horsemen swept up 400 of their enemies. On 14 March, Treillard led a 2,400-man reconnaissance toward
Villenauxe-la-Grande Villenauxe-la-Grande () is a Communes of France, commune in the Aube Departments of France, department in north-central France. Population See also * Communes of the Aube department References

Communes of Aube Aube communes art ...
which skirmished with the Allies before being pushed back. After his defeat at the
Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube The Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube (20–21 March 1814) saw an Imperial French army under Napoleon face a much larger Allied army led by Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg during the War of the Sixth Coalition. On the second day of fighting, E ...
on 20–21 March, Napoleon crossed to the east bank of the
Marne River The Marne (; ) is a river in France, an eastern tributary of the Seine in the area east and southeast of Paris. It is long. The river gave its name to the departments of France, departments of Haute-Marne, Marne (department), Marne, Seine-et-Ma ...
. General
Hippolyte Piré Hippolyte-Marie-Guillaume de Rosnyvinen, Comte de Piré, (Rennes, 31 March 1778 – Paris, 20 July 1850) was a French general who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. His name is inscribed on the second column of the Northern Pillar of the Arc de Triom ...
's light cavalry division raced toward
Bar-sur-Aube Bar-sur-Aube (, literally ''Bar on Aube (river), Aube'') is a Communes of France, commune and a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture in the Aube Departments of France, department in the Grand Est region of France. Surrounded by hills and ...
while Jacquinot's division headed toward Chaumont-la-Ville. On 26 March, Napoleon defeated General
Ferdinand von Wintzingerode Ferdinand Karl Friedrich Freiherr von Wintzingerode (; 15 February 1770, in Allendorf – 16 June 1818, in Wiesbaden) was a German nobleman and officer in several different armies of the Napoleonic Wars, finally ending up as a general in the Im ...
at the
Battle of Saint-Dizier The Battle of Saint-Dizier was fought on 26 March 1814, between the Russian Army under Ferdinand Wintzingerode and The French Army, also known as ‘La Grande Armée’ commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte. The battle was part of Napoleon's Cam ...
. On the right flank, Kellermann led the pursuit. When Napoleon decided to march toward Paris, the divisions of Jacquinot and Piré were in the lead. Trelliard's division and an infantry division were the rearguard. On 2 April, the divisions of Trelliard and Jacquinot numbered much less than when the corps was first formed in February. The brigades of Jacquinot's division appeared to have largely switched units with the 2nd and 12th Hussars, the 13th, 21st, 22nd, and 28th Chasseurs in Ameil's 7th Brigade, and the 4th, 5th, 10th, and 15th Chasseurs in Wolff's 8th Brigade.


Order of battle


Notes


References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armee) GAC06