Imperial Guard (Napoleon I)
The Imperial Guard was originally a group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle. The Guard was divided into the staff, infantry, cavalry, and artillery regiments, as well as battalions of sappers and marines. The guard itself as a whole distinguished between the experienced veterans and less experienced members by being separated into three sections: the Old Guard, Middle Guard and Young Guard. The Young Guard was virtually annihilated in the Battle of Krasnoi during the French invasion of Russia.
Grenadier of the Old Guard in 1813
Memorial to the gunners of the Imperial Guard Artillery
Officer belt buckle
Grenadier of the 3e Régiment de Grenadiers-à-Pied de la Garde Imperiale
La Grande Armée was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empire to exercise unprecedented control over most of Europe. Widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest fighting forces ever assembled, it suffered enormous losses during the disastrous Peninsular War followed by the invasion of Russia in 1812, after which it never recovered its strategic superiority and ended in total defeat for Napoleonic France by the Peace of Paris in 1815.
Napoleon distributing the first medals of the Légion d'honneur at Boulogne, August 1804
The Battle of Austerlitz, 2nd December 1805, by François Gérard
Napoleon reviewing the Imperial Guard at the Battle of Jena, 14 October 1806
Charge of the French cuirassiers at Friedland (1807), by Ernest Meissonier