Napoleon’s Imperial Guard: Organization, Uniforms and Weapons

A detailed analysis of the organization, uniforms and weapons of the French Imperial Guard created by Napoleon I. The author describes how this large military body evolved from the Consular Guard created by Bonaparte as early as 1799 and how this came to include dozens of different military units belonging to each branch of service (infantry, cavalry, artillery, specialist corps). The Imperial Guard was a ‘miniature army’ made up of veteran soldiers, who were dressed with the most spectacular and elegant uniforms ever seen on the battlefields of Europe. The Guard also included several ‘exotic’ non-French units that are also covered in the text: Egyptian Mamelukes, Polish and Lithuanian lancers, Tatar scouts, Dutch grenadiers and lancers. The way in which Napoleon employed the Guard in battle is discussed and also how it differed from the rest of the French Army in terms of military dress and weaponry. AUTHOR: Gabriele Esposito is an Italian researcher and a long-time student of military history, whose interests and expertise range widely over various periods. He is the author of numerous books on armies and uniforms and is a regular contributor to many specialized magazines in Italy, France, Netherlands and UK. His many previous works include the following published by Pen & Sword: Armies of Early Colonial North America 1607-1713 (2018), Armies of the Late Roman Empire AD 284-476 (2018), Armies of the Hellenistic States 323 BC-AD 30 (2019), Armies of Celtic Europe 700 BC to AD 106 (2019); Armies of Ancient Greece circa 500 to 338 BC (2020); and Armies of Ancient Italy 753 to 218 BC (2020). 50 colour illustrations