| Cuirassier | 14 Mar 2009 5:15 p.m. PST |
Napoleon III's French Imperial Guard (1854-1870). Click on some of the pics to enlarge them. The larger photos were taken in 1857 by Gustave Le Gray or in 1866 by Prevot. They immortalized the regiments of the prestigious Imperial Guard. From 1857 to 1870, the French army held it's training maneuvers at the Chalons Camp.
The camp at Chalons was a city created each year between 1857 and 1870 in the summer months in a region that had until then been designated Champagne pouilleuse (barren, wretched part of the region Champagne); in winter it would go back to sleep. It was an ephemeral city, but one that bustled with activity, in which the military uniform was most visible even as civilians visited in droves, where celebration was present throughout and economic activity never absent. It reflected the image of Second Empire society, both frivolous and dynamic. To learn more about the Guard: link CAVALRY Lancers (on the left) and Dragoons (this photo was taken in 1857 at the Chalons Camp): picture Lancers
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Campaign uniform during the Franco-Prussian War: picture Dragoon regiment (Dragons de l'Imperatrice)
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Officer during the FPW: picture More on the way… |
| Cuirassier | 14 Mar 2009 7:33 p.m. PST |
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| Cuirassier | 14 Mar 2009 8:39 p.m. PST |
CAVALRY Guides
Photo taken in 1857 at the Chalons Camp: picture
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picture Prince Murat – Joachim Joseph Napoléon Murat, 4th Prince Murat, 3rd Prince of Pontecorvo (he was the grandson of the famous Marshal Murat).
In 1852, Joachim entered the French army, becoming an officer the following year and rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1863.
In 1866, he was appointed the colonel of the regiment of Guides ( light cavalry ) of the French Imperial Guard ( Napoleon III's Imperial Guard ). He commanded the unit from 1866 to 1869. During the Franco-Prussian War ( 1870-71 ), he commanded the 1st Brigade ( 1st and 9th Dragoons ) in the 3rd Division of the French Reserve Cavalry Corps.
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picture Chasseurs a Cheval
Many photos: link
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During the FPW: picture Chasseurs a Cheval and Guides at Chalons ( photo taken in 1857 ): picture Guard light cavalry during the maneuvers (1857):
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 chicklewis  | 14 Mar 2009 10:05 p.m. PST |
Really great photos THANKS for posting them. Bunch of posers in fancy dress, imo. The French Army is always at its most invincible during times of peace. |
| Cuirassier | 14 Mar 2009 10:39 p.m. PST |
INFANTRY Grenadiers Uniform before 1860
Grenadier on the right: picture
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Photo taken in 1857 at Chalons: picture
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picture Uniform after 1860
Photo taken in 1866 at Chalons: picture
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Grenadier on the left: picture The grenadiers of the Guard wore bearskins during the Crimean War and the Italian campaign of 1859 (Franco-Austrian War). They still had them at the start of the Franco-Prussian War, but they were quickly replaced with the bonnet de police on 30 July, 1870. They were wearing these when the Guard suffered heavy casualties at the Battle of Mars-la-Tour (Rezonville).
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picture The French Guardsmen fought like lions at Magenta (during the 1859 campaign), especially the Grenadiers and Zouaves of the Guard. "Against all expectations, Gyulai had concentrated 60.000 men around Magenta, not least to the surprise of the French. However, Gyulai's engineers had failed to blow up the key bridges, allowing the French II Corps of Maj. Gen. MacMahon to cross on June 3. At about 1 p.m. the next day, the sound of MacMahon's guns north of Magenta precipitated a frontal attack by the French Grenadiers of the Guard on the main Austrian position. This lay on the Grand Canal that ran parallel to the Ticino river, and should have been impregnable.
Such was the elan of the Grenadiers and Zouaves of the Guard, however, that they gained a foothold on the eastern bank. The Grenadiers waved their bearskin caps on the end of their rifles, while the Zouaves bayonetted an Austrian engineer making a last attempt to blow the bridge. Six barrels of gunpowder standing ready for use were rolled into the canal.
Heavily outnumbered, they appealed for reinforcements, but Napoleon III replied: "I have nothing to send. Hold on . Block the passage."
"…Despite repeated Austrian counterattacks along both banks of the canal, the Guard held out in the stone buildings of the Austrian customs post on both sides of the bridge. Whenever the French were driven back, reinforcements arrived to save the day. The village of Ponte Vecchio changed hands no less than six times during the afternoon. At one point, Napoleon's only reserve was four companies of the 1st Grenadiers, while the Guard artillery was deployed ready to cover the retreat…"
Read the entire article: link "The real heroes were the French rank and file, for Magenta was a soldiers battle. As the commander of the Grenadier Division of the Guard, Maj. Gen. Emile Mellinet, proudly wrote, "I hope that the Emperor will be pleased with his Grenadiers and Zouaves, for I defy anyone to find braver troops."
Read the entire article: link Voltigeurs Uniform before 1860
Photo taken in 1857 at Chalons (band, sappeurs and infantry of the Voltigeurs): picture
Voltigeur on the left: picture
Voltigeur on the left: picture
picture Uniform after 1860
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Voltigeur on the right: picture
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picture The Voltigeurs of the Guard wore shakos during the Crimean War and the Italian campaign of 1859. They still had them at the start of the Franco-Prussian War, but they were quickly replaced with the bonnet de police.
picture To be continued… |
| mweaver | 14 Mar 2009 11:04 p.m. PST |
Thanks for posting the links. Very neat. |
| Cuirassier | 14 Mar 2009 11:08 p.m. PST |
chicklewis, Although not as famous as the original French Imperial Guard (Napoleon's Imperial Guard), the French Imperial Guard of the 2nd Empire (Napoleon III's Imperial Guard) had an excellent fighting record, especially the Guard infantry and artillery. They performed very well during the Crimean War, Italian campaign of 1859 (Franco-Austrian War) and even during the Franco-Prussian War. The Guard was an elite corps composed of reliable and experienced soldiers. Please, take a look at the links above. |
| Acharnement | 15 Mar 2009 4:17 a.m. PST |
Completely cool. I had never connected the dates and realized that photographs were possible during that period. It is very impressive to see the real thing. Thanks so much for posting these and for enlightening me. |
| Duc de Limbourg | 15 Mar 2009 7:06 a.m. PST |
Are these the same pictures as at
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| Perris0707 | 15 Mar 2009 7:36 a.m. PST |
Loved the pictures! Thanks for all the effort and information! Inspired me to get painting and sculpting again. |
| figman1 | 15 Mar 2009 8:25 a.m. PST |
Excellent! You've inspired me to get painting as well. |
| Cuirassier | 15 Mar 2009 9:04 a.m. PST |
I'm here to serve. ;) Duc de Limbourg, No, they are not the same. With one exception, they are not the same pics, but I will use some of them in the future (especially the photos of Guard zouaves). Stay tuned… there are more to come. |
| nickinsomerset | 15 Mar 2009 9:18 a.m. PST |
Great stuff just as I am comming to the end of my 28mm FPW project, perhaps I may put together some Guard to supplement the 1st Corps, Tally Ho! |
| Jeremy Sutcliffe | 15 Mar 2009 9:37 a.m. PST |
Most people would think of this as a German/Prussian uniform reference site, but explore the third item from the bottom in the menu.
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especially items 55 to 77 in "Band 1" |
| Cuirassier | 15 Mar 2009 11:20 a.m. PST |
Jeremy beat me to it. Well done mate. :D But there's an error with at least one of the plates. I will explain later. |
| Cuirassier | 15 Mar 2009 6:14 p.m. PST |
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| Duc de Limbourg | 16 Mar 2009 2:00 p.m. PST |
The info is great, thanks for sharing |
| Cuirassier | 16 Mar 2009 7:54 p.m. PST |
I forgot to post a few things. INFANTRY Grenadiers
Colonel Lenormand de Bretteville (commanded the 1st Grenadiers from 1856 to 1861): picture Uniform after 1860
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picture Zouaves
Guard Zouaves during the 1859 Italian campaign: picture
picture Chasseurs a Pied
picture CAVALRY Cuirassiers
Colonel Guerin de Waldersbach (commanded the 1st Cuirassiers 1860-61): picture picture
picture Carabiniers
picture Dragoons
picture Lancers
Colonel Yvelin de Béville (commanded the regiment from 1865 to 1869): picture picture Chasseurs a Cheval
Colonel de Cauvigny (commanded the regiment from 1856 to 1863): picture picture Cent Gardes
picture Next: Guard Artillery |
| Cuirassier | 18 Mar 2009 3:25 p.m. PST |
Before the Guard artillery… some more images. INFANTRY Grenadiers
Uniform before 1860 (uniform of the 1st Grenadiers)
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picture During the FPW: picture Chasseurs a Pied
picture Chasseurs a Pied during the siege of Sebastopol (Crimean War). Painting by Alphonse de Neuville.
picture CAVALRY Lancers
Uniform of the trumpet-major
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picture Guides
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picture Dragoons
picture More on the way. |
| Cuirassier | 18 Mar 2009 9:19 p.m. PST |
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| Cuirassier | 25 Mar 2009 11:41 a.m. PST |
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| firstvarty1979 | 25 Mar 2009 1:09 p.m. PST |
I've joked about this in the past, but this REALLY was the era of near-universal facial hair! Well, at least for Men! |
| Cuirassier | 01 Apr 2009 10:16 p.m. PST |
The mass, along with maneuvers, are the big moments in the Imperial army's stay at Chalons. The masses were the occasion for an unusual deployment of troops and a number of accounts relate with lyricism and emotion the grandiose character of this ceremony that was punctuated with blasts of cannon and celebrated before 20.000-30.000 men in full uniform kneel down on command with the elevation of the host ( Napoleon III ) and singing with one voice the Domine Salvum. The mass Photos taken in 1857
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picture Photo taken in 1866
picture Painting depicting the scene ( Cuirassiers of the Guard on the left and Lancers of the Guard on the right ): picture |
| drb004 | 06 Apr 2009 6:32 p.m. PST |
I would like to say a big thank you to Cuirassier for this research. It has helped me greatly with my French Army. Now for the Germans. Again Thanks |
| Shedman | 07 Apr 2009 6:30 a.m. PST |
Cuirassier – many thanks for the info I'm doing the Imperial Guard at Magenta using Pendraken FPW 10mm so the infantry pics & photos are really useful Dave Pengilley has very kindly re-cast the FPW French Infantry (FPW8 & FPW9) with bearskins for use as 1859 Grenadiers I'll have to see about him doing the same with shakos for the Voltigeurs |
| Cuirassier | 07 Apr 2009 3:47 p.m. PST |
I'm glad you guys like the pics and info. Reposting ( I just love this photo ): Artillery Train and Train des équipages.
picture More photos of the Chalons Camp. Photos taken in 1857.
Napoleon III and his staff ( grenadiers around them ): picture picture Photo taken in 1866.
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From left to right ( all guardsmen ): Algerian tirailleur, grenadier, Algerian tirailleur, lancer, unknown officer, unknown officer, Marshal Regnault de Saint Jean d'Angély – the commander of the Guard during the Italian campaign of 1859 ( seated ), unknown officer, probably an artillery officer, unknown officer, Algerian tirailleur and, behind the tirailleur, a zouave. The Algerian tirailleurs fought very well in the Crimean War and the Italian campaign of 1859. Napoleon III was impressed with them and from 1863 to 1869 a battalion was attached to the Imperial Guard, serving alongside the Guard Zouave regiment. |
| Cuirassier | 12 Apr 2009 7:40 p.m. PST |
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| Cuirassier | 13 Apr 2009 5:50 p.m. PST |
The French Imperial Guard knew how to fight. Take a look. During the Crimean War. Letters from head-quarters, or The realities of the war in the Crimea, by Somerset John Gough Calthorpe, Officer on the staff.
See pages 317-319 and 382-385: link During the Italian campaign of 1859 ( Franco-Austrian War ). Battle of Solferino: link |
| Cuirassier | 14 Apr 2009 6:18 a.m. PST |
The Zouave regiment of the Imperial Guard. Plate by Andre Jouineau. picture |
| Cuirassier | 21 Apr 2009 5:26 p.m. PST |
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| Duc de Limbourg | 11 May 2009 10:47 p.m. PST |
link For paintings of French troops click on "Detaille, Eduard" and "go" |
| Cuirassier | 09 Jun 2009 2:40 p.m. PST |
Everything you want to know about Napoleon III's French Imperial Guard.
link The price is a bit steep, but the book is simply amazing. "850 pictures. Hardbound. 400 best quality paper pages. Full color. 483 photos of collectible items from museum and private collections! 134 photos showing original regular markings on uniforms ! 152 high quality original pictures such as CDV and albumen showing soldiers fast all never published before. 27 plates showing all uniforms in full color. 55 plates from Armand Dumaresq, 4 original plates from Armand Dumaresq. You will know all about the guard : grenadier, voltigeur, zouave, lancer, guide, chasseur = light infantry, and horsemen : cuirassier, carabinier, dragoon, artillery, engineer, gendarmerie = military police, staff,…" |
| Tommiatkins | 09 Jun 2009 9:36 p.m. PST |
It is a great pity that the interwebs dosnt allow hugging someone and showering them with beer or cakes or something. But since that is yet to be invented, let me just thank Cuirass for the bestest photoez ever! |
| Cuirassier | 12 Jun 2009 4:44 p.m. PST |
Tommiatkins, Thanks for the compliment. It's a pleasure to serve my community. :D Photos of the Prince Imperial ( the only son of Napoleon III ) wearing the two versions of the uniform of Grenadiers of the French Imperial Guard. Photos taken in 1860 ( wearing a slightly modified uniform of the 1st Grenadiers )
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picture The Prince Imperial playing with the sons of Guardsmen. All children are wearing uniforms of the Guard ( November 30, 1860 ). Painting by Adolphe Yvon.
picture Wearing the uniform of a corporal of the 1st Grenadiers ( second version – after 1860 ).
picture Wearing the full uniform of the 1st Grenadiers ( this photo was probably taken in 1866 ).
picture The Prince's uniform ( corporal of the 1st Grenadiers ).
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| Cuirassier | 21 Jun 2009 7:20 p.m. PST |
Officers of the French Imperial Guard MELLINET
picture Crimean War: General de Division – Commander of the division of the Guard during the assault against Malakoff. He was wounded during the assault.
picture 1859 Italian campaign: General de division – Commander of the 1st Division of the Guard (aka Grenadier division). REGNAULT DE SAINT JEAN D'ANGELY
picture 1859 Italian campaign: General de Division (later Marshal) – Commander of the French Imperial Guard during the campaign. DE WIMPFFEN
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picture 1859 Italian campaign: General de Brigade – Commander of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division of the Guard. CAMOU
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picture 1859 Italian campaign: General de Division – Commander of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Guard. MANEQUE
picture 1859 Italian campaign: General de Brigade – Commander of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division of the Guard. DECAEN
picture 1859 Italian campaign: General de Brigade – Commander of the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division of the Guard. MORRIS
picture 1859 Italian campaign: General de Division – Commander of the Cavalry Division of the Guard. BOURBAKI
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picture Franco-Prussian War: General de Division – Commander of the French Imperial Guard. DELIGNY
picture Franco-Prussian War: General de Division – Commander of the 1st Infantry Division of the Guard (aka Voltigeur Division). BRINCOURT
picture Franco-Prussian War: General de Brigade – Commander of the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division of the Guard. |
| Cuirassier | 21 Jun 2009 9:21 p.m. PST |
1859 ITALIAN CAMPAIGN ( FRANCO-AUSTRIAN WAR ) BATTLE OF MAGENTA Few regions in the world are so filled with memories of French military glory as northern Italy. The great Napoleon Bonaparte became a legend with his unforgettable victories over the Austrians at Lodi, Arcola, Rivoli and Marengo. In 1859, his nephew, the French Emperor Napoleon III, sought to re-create the splendor of these famous battles by leading a French army against the Austrians in the same region. In 1859, Italy's numerous small states were not yet united into one nation. The most important of those states was Piedmont, located in the northwestern corner of Italy. Piedmont's prime minister, Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour, wanted to enlarge his state, but the powerful Austrians held the regions of Lombardy and Venetia to the east. Cavour soon found a way to exploit Napoleon III's ambitions and at the same time further his own. First, on December 10, 1858, Cavour secured a promise of French military intervention if Piedmont came under attack. He then sought to provoke Austria by mobilizing Piedmontese armed forces on March 9, 1859. Austria began mobilizing on April 9 and issued an ultimatum for Piedmont to demobilize on the 23rd. Cavour rejected the ultimatum, and when Austria invaded Piedmont six days later, rail cars were already rushing French troops to help defend the little kingdom. … The Grenadier Division of the Guard began to reach San Martino at 10 a.m. on June 4. Thirty minutes later, Napoleon III also arrived, and soldiers began to repair the damaged bridge and build a pontoon crossing 300 meters to the north. Toward noon, the emperor heard firing from the north and saw clouds of smoke through the trees. MacMahon had begun his advance from the Turbigo bridgehead. It was the signal to unleash the Guard along the main road to seize Magenta. … The Grenadier Division of the Guard was a crack formation of tough troops and renowned commanders. One of the division's four regiments, the 2nd Grenadiers, thrust northeastward along a minor road to Boffalora. The soldiers attacked the village but found that the bridge had been blown up, so they could only fire across the canal.
The 3rd Grenadiers waded through the soaked fields, knee-deep in water and ankle-deep in mud. The steep bank now loomed above them and looked like a man-made embankment constructed especially for defense. White-coated Austrian infantrymen had massed at the points where the road and the railway reached the top of the heights, and barricades guarded these two access points. Austrian reserves sheltered under cover. A visitor to the battlefield later commented, The position was so good, that it seemed almost madness to attack it. … The leading battalion assembled at the edge of the field behind a row of trees and then dashed forward under a hail of fire. Before the Austrians could reload, the survivors had reached the far side. Quickly depositing their heavy knapsacks, they charged up the slope. The grenadiers wasted no time firing upward but counted on the sheer élan of their assault to guarantee their success. Indeed, before the first man reached the summit, the Austrians had abandoned both their positions and a gun. The guardsmen pressed on and chased the fleeing Austrians over the railway bridge. But on either side, other troops held on at Ponte Nuovo and Ponte Vecchio. From Ponte Nuovo in particular, the Austrians poured heavy fire into the grenadiers from only 400 meters away. The French fired back, but they had to either take Ponte Nuovo or abandon their positions. A battalion advanced northward along the canal to seize the two houses of Ponte Nuovo that stood on the west bank, then tried unsuccessfully to storm the stone bridge under fire from the Austrian 60th Infantry. It was a temporary setback. Brigadier General Jean Joseph Gustave Cler brought up the ferocious Zouaves of the Guard, who burst over the bridge and cleared the customs houses on the far bank with cold steel. How fine it was, recalled a Zouave captain, to see our old sweats cheerfully prepare to attack and hurl themselves on the canal bridge shouting ‘Long live the Emperor!' We were sniped at from all the windows of the customs houses situated on the other side of the bridge. We lost some men but rapidly took the crossing and saw the Austrians fleeing on every side.
So far everything had gone pretty well according to plan for the French. But, suddenly, an entire division of the Austrian VII Corps launched a powerful and wholly unexpected counterattack. Cler's riderless horse appeared out of the smoke; the intrepid general had fallen dead in the midst of his soldiers. Outnumbered and weary, the Grenadier Division was isolated on the edge of the plateau above the plain as fresh Austrian units advanced against it. If the guardsmen gave way, they would be unlikely to regain their foothold, and MacMahon, whose guns had fallen strangely silent to the north, would be alone, in a perilous position. Messengers seeking reinforcements galloped to Napoleon III at San Martino only to be told bluntly: I have nothing to send. Hold on. Block the passage. Other messengers rode off one after another to hurry the march of the French III and VII corps, which had been delayed by the congestion on the main road from Novara. For an hour, the heroic guardsmen fought against the odds and repulsed repeated frontal assaults by Austrian columns. At last, toward 3:30 p.m., when the agony was at its height, fresh troops in blue coats and red trousers appeared along the railway embankment. A brigade of Marshal François de Certain-Canrobert's III Corps had arrived in the nick of time to save the Guard's tenuous hold on the canal line. … One of MacMahon's divisional commanders, the intrepid Maj. Gen. Charles Marie Esprit Espinasse, led his 2nd Zouaves into Magenta but found corpses and wounded men covering the streets. When his horse stumbled, Epinasse said: We can't stay on this moving ground. Let us dismount. Suddenly, his 27-year-old orderly, 2nd Lt. André de Froidfond, took a bullet in the stomach and collapsed against a wall. The firing came from a large house several stories high at a street corner. Scores of bodies lay slumped before it, and Espinasse knew what he had to do. We must take it at all costs, he exclaimed. Come on, my Zouaves, break down this door! He banged the pommel of his sword against the metal shutter of a ground floor window and shouted, Enter, enter through there! Before anyone could do so, a shot came from the same window and struck Espinasse, breaking his arm and penetrating his kidneys. He dropped his sword and fell, mortally wounded. Espinasse's men avenged him by storming the house and killing or capturing its defenders. Espinasse had a white dog, and few pets have been so faithful. The animal refused to leave the spot where the general fell, except when it heard the beating of a drum. Then the dog would dash away in the hope of finding its master. The local people adopted the dog, which died a couple of years later. … The French suffered more than 4,500 casualties at Magenta. The Austrians lost 5,700 troops killed or wounded, in addition to which lines of dejected Austrian prisoners, 4,500 men in all, snaked westward. Edmund Texier wrote to the French newspaper Siècle, This day will have a great place in our military annals. Indeed, Napoleon III promoted both MacMahon and the commander of the Imperial Guard, Maj. Gen. Auguste Michel Marie Étienne Regnault comte de Saint-Jean-d'Angély, to the rank of marshal. He also made MacMahon the Duke of Magenta. … The real heroes were the French rank and file, for Magenta was a soldiers' battle. As the commander of the Grenadier Division of the Guard, Maj. Gen. Émile Mellinet, proudly wrote, I hope that the Emperor will be pleased with his grenadiers and zouaves, for I defy anyone to find braver troops."
link 'The French Imperial Guard at Magenta' by Charpentier ( Grenadiers and Zouaves of the Guard storming Magenta )
picture Photos taken a few months after the battle.
The centre of the French position at Magenta: picture Buffalora bridge ( French left flank at Magenta ): picture Magenta Bridge ( French right flank ): picture |
| Cuirassier | 21 Jun 2009 9:51 p.m. PST |
BATTLE OF SOLFERINO Here are some interesting excerpts from Patrick Turnbull's "Solferino: The Birth of a Nation". A flamboyant scene worthy of an image of d'Epinal followed on this order. The Voltigeurs [ 4 infantry regiments of the French Imperial Guard ] had been straining at the leash, eager to prove themselves trully the elite. As their columns filed past Napoleon, their shouts of 'Vive l'Empereur!' almost drowned the roar of battle; the famous uncle might well have been smiling happily in his new resting place in Les Invalides.
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Paintings by Adolphe Yvon. No sooner had the Voltigeurs moved up preparatory to the assault than they had to meet a violent counter-attack by infantry of Stadion's 5th Corps. After fierce hand-to-hand fighting it was thrown back, and the Voltigeurs, reinforced by the battalion of Chasseurs a Pied of the French Guard, resumed their advance.
Each hill, each pimple, was stubbornly defended. The one thing the Austrian soldier did not lack was courage, but on both sides that spirit of chivalry momentarily manifest at Palestro was missing. 'The Zouaves', one reads, 'hurled themselves forward, bayonets levelled, shouting and leaping like animals… the general fury was such that when ammunition ran out and rifles were broken, men fought with bare hands… the Croatians [ Austrian units ] killed everything in sight and bayoneted their wounded enemies… the Algerian Tirailleurs, howling like wolves, cut the throats even of the dying.' Nor was this blood lust confined to the infantry. In the plain, where a furious action developed between Austrian Uhlans and French Hussars… … Resistance was fierce, the Guards' casualties were high, but within half an hour the Mont des Cyprées had been cleared, Colonel d'Auvergne [ ? ] of the Voltigeurs tying his huge red handkerchief to the branch of a tree to signal this local victory. … As the defence began to waver, Lieutenant Maniglia of the battalion of Chasseurs a Pied of the French Imperial Guard captured six guns, four of them limbered up, the Austrian artillery colonel handing him his sword on surrendering. The Chasseurs a Pied also captured the standard of the Gustav von Wasa Regiment of Grenadiers [ corporal Montellier captured the standard ], the regiment which for a brief period had been commanded by the Duke of Reichstadt, 'the Eaglet', son of the first Napoleon and his second Empress, the Austrian Archduchess Marie Louise, shortly before his death. |
| Cuirassier | 23 Oct 2009 8:21 a.m. PST |
Trumpter of the Guard Cuirassiers on the left and Carabinier a Cheval on the right
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Horse artillery of the Guard – Colonel on the left and trumpet-major on the right
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Guard dragoons during the Siege of Metz (FPW) – Click on the pictures to enlarge them
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| Cuirassier | 19 Dec 2009 2:33 p.m. PST |
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| Cuirassier | 30 Jan 2010 9:03 p.m. PST |
Officers of the Artillery of the Imperial Guard Click on the images to enlarge them. Captain de Noüe of the Horse Artillery (Regiment a Cheval)
picture This photo was taken in 1860. Captain de Noüe fought in the Crimean War, Franco-Austrian War (Italian campaign of 1859), Mexico and the Franco-Prussian War. He was decorated with the coveted Légion d'honneur in 1859.
In 1873, he was appointed as the military attaché to the French Embassy in Washington, DC. He was promoted to General de Brigade in 1882.
Unknown Lieutenant
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Lieutenant-Colonel Faye (this photo was probably taken in 1863)
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| Mollinary | 01 Feb 2010 1:08 a.m. PST |
Fantastic, we are all in your debt! Now if only you could perform the same service for the line… and then the Prussians……oh and those nice Bavarians and Saxons and Wurttemburgers………… Seriously though, this has obviously been a labour of love, but is much appreciated. Best regards and thanks, Mollinary |
| Cuirassier | 01 Feb 2010 7:19 p.m. PST |
Mollinary, Thanks for your compliment. Did you saw this one… TMP link
Gendarmerie of the Imperial Guard (click on the pics to enlarge them)
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During the Franco-Prussian War: picture |
| Rob UK | 03 Feb 2010 6:34 p.m. PST |
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| Cuirassier | 21 Aug 2010 10:16 a.m. PST |
Click on the pictures to enlarge them. Trumpter of the regiment of Guides (light cavalry)
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picture Artillery
picture Carabiniers (heavy cavalry)
picture Lieutenant-Colonel Feillet of the 2nd Regiment of Voltigeurs (photo taken in 1866)
picture Cent-Gardes
picture Tambor-Major of the Zouave regiment
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| PraetorianHistorian | 21 Aug 2010 8:39 p.m. PST |
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| Cuirassier | 27 Aug 2010 2:40 p.m. PST |
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| Royal Marine | 20 Sep 2010 1:34 p.m. PST |
OK we love you. Now go and write your book on this subject so we can own it and not just surf it! |
| Cuirassier | 12 Oct 2010 10:50 a.m. PST |
Don't you like to surf, Royal Marine? ;-) Click on the images to enlarge them… A group of Cuirassiers of the Guard during the siege of Metz (Franco-Prussian War), survivors of their regiment's heroic but futile charge at Mars-la-Tour (Rezonville). They were ordered to arrest the progress of the advancing Prussian infantry. Met with a withering fire, the regiment lost 250 men within minutes.
picture During the battle of Solferino, the Chasseurs a Pied of the Imperial Guard captured the standard of the Gustav von Wasa Regiment of Grenadiers [corporal Montellier captured the standard], the regiment which for a brief period had been commanded by the Duke of Reichstadt, 'the Eaglet', son of the first Napoleon and his second Empress, the Austrian Archduchess Marie Louise, shortly before his death. Here's the brave Corporal Montellier: picture |
| Cuirassier | 11 Nov 2010 6:11 a.m. PST |
Click on the images to enlarge them. Uniform of Guard Dragoons
picture Dolman of trumpter of the Guard Horse Artillery
picture Bonnet de police of Guard Voltigeurs
picture Drum of Guard Zouaves
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| docdennis1968 | 11 Nov 2010 7:56 a.m. PST |
My goodness !! It must have cost a huge, huge, fortune to outfit and equip these units, and there were so many of them, and the non Guard guys were not shabby either! Maybe Napoleon III and the High Command were reluctant to risk such a expensive force (lost it all anyway to capture) in combat! Economics do count in many leaders minds! Compare the French with the still smartly attired , but much more subdued and simple styles of the Germans. Very good posting sir!! |
builds 