Get all of the new Epic Battles Imperial Guard French cavalry in one convenient bundle. As an added bonus, the Empress Dragoons are free.
Napoleon created the Imperial Guard in 1804, the same year he was crowned Emperor of the French. They grew from humble beginnings to become a mighty instrument of war, a complete army of elite soldiers that acted as the Emperor’s strategic and battlefield reserve. They were, in the main, better paid than the rest of the army and wore a uniform befitting their status as elite units. The Guard contained all the three arms of the army and some of the greatest military units to take to the field of battle.
The Imperial Guard Heavy Cavalry Division consisted of the Grenadiers-à- Cheval, the Empress Dragoons and one company of Gendarmerie d’Elite. The Grenadiers-à-Cheval must have been an impressive sight, tall men on large black horses, nicknamed ‘The Gods’. Both the Dragoons’ and the Grenadiers’ regiments had four squadrons of around 200 men each. These two fine regiments could certainly make a claim to being large, whilst the Gendarmerie d‘Elite, the ‘Immortals’ as they were known. Napoleon’s Guard cavalry, like his Old Guard infantry, were probably the best around.
The Imperial Guard Light Cavalry Division, meanwhile, consisted of the chasseurs-à-cheval and the 2nd Chevaux-Légers Lancers. Each regiment had five squadrons, although the 1st squadron of the 2nd Lancers was in fact the 1st Elba Squadron of Polish Lancers. Again, the strength of each of these regiments was quite formidable, the chasseurs having nearly 1,200 men whilst the Lancers were just shy of 900 troopers all ranks.
There were thirteen batteries of Guard artillery split between the Old Guard Foot Artillery, Old Guard Horse Artillery and the Marine Foot Artillery. The Old Guard Artillery consisted of three batteries of six 12-pounders and two 6 inch howitzers each, the guns known as Napoleon’s ‘Beautiful Daughters’. The Old Guard Horse Artillery had four batteries, each battery having four 6-pounders and two 5.5 inch howitzers. A battery was attached to each of the Guard cavalry regiments. The Marine Foot Artillery had four batteries, with the same mix of cannon as the horse batteries. The Middle and Young Guard received two batteries each.
Full Bundle Contents:
- Four Bases of French Chasseurs à Cheval of the Imperial Guard
- Four Bases of French Grenadiers à cheval of the Imperial Guard
- Four Bases of French Lancers of the Imperial Guard
- Two Bases of French Gendarmes d'elite of the Imperial Guard
- Twelve Bases of French Imperial Guard Horse artillery 6-pdr batteries
And the following for free:
- Four Bases of French Empress Dragoons of the Imperial Guard
Manufactured in Warlord Resin.
Models supplied unassembled and unpainted
