1.
Battle of Friedland
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Napoleon and the French obtained a decisive victory that routed much of the Russian army, which retreated chaotically over the Alle River by the end of the fighting. The battlefield is located in modern-day Kaliningrad Oblast, near the town of Pravdinsk, the engagement at Friedland was a strategic necessity after the Battle of Eylau earlier in 1807 had failed to yield a decisive verdict for either side. The battle began when Bennigsen noticed the seemingly isolated corps of Marshal Lannes at the town of Friedland, Lannes held his ground against determined Russian attacks until Napoleon could bring additional forces onto the field. By late afternoon, the French had amassed a force of 80,000 troops on the battlefield, relying on superior numbers, Napoleon concluded that the moment had come and ordered a massive assault against the Russian left flank. The sustained French attack pushed back the Russian army and pressed them against the river behind, unable to withstand the pressure, the Russians broke and started escaping across the Alle, where an unknown number of them died from drowning. The Russian army suffered casualties at Friedland–losing over 40% of its soldiers on the battlefield. Napoleons overwhelming victory was enough to convince the Russian political establishment that peace was necessary, Friedland effectively ended the War of the Fourth Coalition, as Emperor Alexander I reluctantly entered peace negotiations with Napoleon. The lands lost by Prussia were converted into the new Kingdom of Westphalia, Tilsit also gave France control of the Ionian Islands, a vital and strategic entry point into the Mediterranean Sea. Some historians regard the political settlements at Tilsit as the height of Napoleons empire because there was no longer any continental power challenging the French domination of Europe, prior to Friedland, Europe had become embroiled in the War of the Third Coalition in 1805. Following the French victory at the Battle of Austerlitz in December 1805, franco-Prussian tensions gradually increased after Austerlitz. Napoleon insisted that Prussia should join his economic blockade of Great Britain and this adversely affected the German merchant class. Napoleon aimed to win the war by destroying the Prussian armies before the Russians could arrive,180,000 French troops began to cross the Franconian forest on October 2,1806, deployed in a bataillon-carré system designed to meet threats from any possible direction. On October 14 the French won decisively at the large double-battle of Jena-Auerstedt, a famous pursuit followed, and by the end of the campaign the Prussians had lost 25,000 killed and wounded,140,000 prisoners, and more than 2,000 cannon. A few Prussian units managed to cross the Oder River into Poland, Russia now had to face France alone. By November 18 French forces under Louis Nicolas Davout had covered half the distance to Warsaw, Augereaus men had neared Bromberg, when the French arrived in Poland, the local people hailed them as liberators. The Russian general Bennigsen worried that French forces might cut him off from Buxhoevdens army, so he abandoned Warsaw, on November 28,1806, French troops under Murat entered Warsaw. The French pursued the fleeing Russians and a significant battle developed around Pułtusk on December 26. The result remained in doubt, but Bennigsen wrote to the Tsar that he had defeated 60,000 French troops, at this point, Marshal Ney began to extend his forces to procure food supplies
2.
Hussards de Saxe
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The Régiment des Hussards de Saxe was a cavalry unit set up in France under the Ancien Régime in 1741 as the Chasseurs de Fischer. In 1761 it was renamed the Dragons-Chasseurs de Conflans, in 1763 the Légion de Conflans and in 1776 it finally became a hussar regiment and it was renamed the Saxe-Hussards on 1 March 1789. On 1 January 1791 all the regiments of the French Army were renamed after their function, the Saxe-Hussards thus became the 4th Hussar Regiment. It distinguished itself in the War of the First Coalition before following the advice of General Charles-François Dumouriez and going over to the enemy with its arms and baggage. More than 400 of the Hussards de Saxe joined the forces in May 1793. In 1793 the Hussards de Saxe fought at the battles of Neerwinden, Namur, Condé, and Valenciennes. In May to September 1793 the Hussards de Saxe joined the Army of the Princes and in November that year, on 25 April 1798 the Hussards de Saxe and the Hussards de Bercheny merged to form the Austrian Light Dragoon Regiment #13. In 1802 that new unit became the Chevauxlegers Regiment #6 under Feldmarschallleutnant Prince Franz Seraph of Rosenberg-Orsini
3.
Hussar
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A Hussar was a member of any one of several types of light cavalry used during the 18th and 19th centuries, beginning in Central Europe. Historically, the term derives from the cavalry of late medieval Hungary, the title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry regiments in European and European colonial armies in the late 17th and 18th centuries. A number of armored or ceremonial mounted units in modern armies retain the designation of hussars, the first written mention of the word Hussarones has been found in documents dating from 1432 in Southern Hungary. A type of light horsemen was already well-established by the 15th century in medieval Hungary. Etymologists are divided over the derivation of the word hussar, byzantinist scholars argue that the term originated in Roman military practice, and the cursarii. 10th-century Byzantine military manuals mention chonsarioi, light cavalry, recruited in the Balkans, especially Serbs and this word was subsequently reintroduced to Western European military practice after its original usage had been lost with the collapse of Rome in the west. According to Websters Dictionary, the word stems from the Hungarian huszár. On the other hand, husz means twenty in Hungarian whilst ar is a unit of measurement or acre. Hussars are so named as they were a form of military levy whereby any land owner with twenty acres was duty bound to provide a mounted and equipped soldier to the army at their own expense. The elaborate uniforms were based on traditional Magyar horsemans clothes with highly braided, tight riding breeches, close fitting pointed boots, the hussars reportedly originated in bands of mostly Serbian warriors, crossing into southern Hungary after the Ottoman conquest of Serbia at the end of the 14th century. Regent-Governor John Hunyadi created mounted units inspired by the Ottomans and his son, Matthias Corvinus, later king of Hungary, is unanimously accepted as the creator of these troops, commonly called Rac. Initially, they fought in bands, but were reorganised into larger. The first hussar regiments comprised the cavalry of the Black Army of Hungary. Under Corvinus command, the took part in the war against the Ottoman Empire in 1485 and proved successful against the sipahis as well as against the Bohemians. After the kings death, in 1490, hussars became the form of cavalry in Hungary in addition to the heavy cavalry. The Habsburg emperors hired Hungarian hussars as mercenaries to serve against the Ottomans, early hussars wore armor when they could afford to it like the later Polish hussars. Hungarian hussars abandoned using shields and later armors and became entirely light cavalry in the first half of the 17th century, initially the first units of Polish hussars in the Kingdom of Poland were formed in 1500, influenced by Serbian mercenaries. A small number of Serbian mercenaries were recruited and became citizens of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Polish heavy hussars of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were far more manoeuvrable than the heavily armoured lancers previously employed
4.
French Army
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The French Army, officially the Land Army is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. Along with the French Air Force, the French Navy and the National Gendarmerie, the current Chief of Staff of the French Army is General Jean-Pierre Bosser, a direct subordinate of the Chief of the Defence Staff. All soldiers are considered professionals following the suspension of conscription, voted in parliament in 1997, as of 2014, the French Army employed 111,628 personnel. In addition, the element of the French Army consisted of 15,453 personnel of the Operational Reserve. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the Hundred Years War and these units of troops were raised by issuing ordonnances to govern their length of service, composition and payment. These Compagnies dordonnance formed the core of the Gendarme Cavalry into the sixteenth century, stationed throughout France and summoned into larger armies as needed. There was also made for Francs-archers units of bowmen and foot soldiers raised from the non-noble classes. The bulk of the infantry for warfare was still provided by urban or provincial militias, raised from an area or city to fight locally and named for their recruiting grounds. Gradually these units became more permanent, and in 1480s Swiss instructors were recruited and these men would be paid and contracted and receive training. Henry II further regularised the French army by forming standing Infantry regiments to replace the Militia structure, the first of these the Régiments de Picardie, Piémont, Navarre and Champagne were called the Les Vieux Corps. It was normal policy to disband regiments after a war was over as a cost saving measure with the Vieux Corps and the Kings own Household Troops the Maison du Roi being the only survivors. Regiments could be raised directly by the King and so called after the region in which they were raised, or by the nobility and so called after the noble or his appointed colonel. In 1684 there was a reorganisation of the French infantry and again in 1701 to fit in with Louis XIVs plans. This reshuffle created many of the regiments of the French Army and standardised their equipment. The army of the Sun King tended to wear coats with coloured linings. There were exceptions and the troops, recruited from outside France. In addition to these regiments of the line the Maison du Roi provided several elite units, the Swiss Guards, French Guards, the revolution split the army with the main mass losing most of its officers to aristocratic flight or guillotine and becoming demoralised and ineffective. The French Guard joined the revolt and the Swiss Guards were massacred during the storming of the Tuileries palace, under Napoleon I, the French Army conquered most of Europe during the Napoleonic Wars
5.
1st Parachute Hussar Regiment
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The 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment is an airborne cavalry unit in the French Army, founded in 1720 by Hungarian noble Ladislas Ignace de Bercheny. It is stationed in Tarbes and is a part of the 11th Parachute Brigade,1719 -1720, The Hussard of Bercheny are raised at Constantinople, following the demand of the Regent Philippe I, Duke of Orléans by Count of Bercheny. 1791, Units of the French Army are named after their function of arms, the Regiment of Bercheny becomes accordingly 1st Hussards Regiment. 29 floréal an IV, The regiment received half of the cavalry of the 13th Hussard Regiment,1816, Creation of the 1st Hussard Regiment of Jura. 1824, Redesiganted as 1st Hussard Regiment of Chartres,1940, dissolved following the Armistice with Germany. 1945, recreated by the resistance during World War II. The Archangel Saint Michael, patron of the French paratroopers is celebrated on September 29, the prière du Para was written by André Zirnheld in 1938. Just like the paratrooper Brevet of the French Army, the Insignia of French Paratroopers was created in 1946, the French Army Insignia of metropolitan Paratroopers represents a closed <<winged armed dextrochere>>, meaning a right winged arm armed with a sword pointing upwards. The Insignia makes reference to the Patron of Paratroopers, in fact, the Insignia represents <<the right Arm of Saint Michael>>, the Archangel which according to Liturgy is the <<Armed Arm of God>>. This Insignia is the symbol of righteous combat and fidelity to superior missions,1762, de Polleretsky 1762, de Bercheny François Antoine Ladislas, son of the former. Chef de brigade Bouglon-Duclos, died of fever, chef de brigade Carrowe killed during the battle of Rovero on September 6,1796. Colonel Rouvillois, wounded on December 19,1806, colonel Juniac, wounded on February 6,1807. Colonel Aumonier Officers which subsequently were promoted to Brigade generals, Officers which subsequently were promoted to Divisional generals Officers which subsequently were promoted to Corps generals Officers which subsequently were promoted to Army Generals. Olivier de Germay Gaston de Galliffet Lieutenant Robert Chezeau Hussar French official website of the Berchenys - 1st Parachute Hussars Regiment
6.
Napoleonic Wars
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The wars resulted from the unresolved disputes associated with the French Revolution and the Revolutionary Wars, which had raged on for years before concluding with the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. Napoleon became the First Consul of France in 1799, then Emperor five years later, inheriting the political and military struggles of the Revolution, he created a state with stable finances, a strong central bureaucracy, and a well-trained army. The British frequently financed the European coalitions intended to thwart French ambitions, by 1805, they had managed to convince the Austrians and the Russians to wage another war against France. At sea, the Royal Navy destroyed a combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar in October 1805, Prussian worries about increasing French power led to the formation of the Fourth Coalition in 1806. France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July, although Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, it did not bring a lasting peace for Europe. Hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia, the Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support. The Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, the Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia. Unwilling to bear the consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse and retreat of the Grand Army along with the destruction of Russian lands. In 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France, a lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813. The Allies then invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814 and he was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power. However, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again, the Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June. The Congress of Vienna, which started in 1814 and concluded in 1815, established the new borders of Europe and laid out the terms, Napoleon seized power in 1799, creating a de facto military dictatorship. The Napoleonic Wars began with the War of the Third Coalition, Kagan argues that Britain was irritated in particular by Napoleons assertion of control over Switzerland. Furthermore, Britons felt insulted when Napoleon stated that their country deserved no voice in European affairs, for its part, Russia decided that the intervention in Switzerland indicated that Napoleon was not looking toward a peaceful resolution of his differences with the other European powers. The British quickly enforced a blockade of France to starve it of resources. Napoleon responded with economic embargoes against Britain, and sought to eliminate Britains Continental allies to break the coalitions arrayed against him, the so-called Continental System formed a league of armed neutrality to disrupt the blockade and enforce free trade with France
7.
Light cavalry
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Light cavalry, often called Light Horse, comprises lightly armed and lightly armoured troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored. Light cavalry was used infrequently by the Greeks and Romans, but were popular among the armies of Central Asia, the Arabs, Hungarians, Huns, Mongols, Turks, Parthians, and Persians were all adept light cavalrymen and horse archers. With the decline of feudalism and knighthood in Europe, light cavalry became more prominent in the armies of the continent, many were equipped with firearms, as their predecessors had been with bows. European examples of light cavalry included stradiots, hobelars, hussars, chasseurs à cheval, cossacks, chevau-légers, uhlans and some dragoons. Armies of the ancient Roman-Germanic wars made use of cavalry as patrolling squads, or armed scouts. During the Punic Wars, one of Carthages main advantages over Roman armies was its use of Numidian light cavalry. Partly because of this, the Roman general Scipio Africanus recruited his own cavalry from Sicily before his invasion of Tunisia during the Second Punic War, a variety of types of light cavalry were developed in medieval armies. Hobelar, Originally Irish, later popular in English and Scottish armies of the 14th and 15th centuries Koursores, the name derives from the Latin term cursarius meaning raider. Horse archers were used extensively in steppe warfare throughout Central Asia. Light cavalry played a key role in mounted scouting, escorting and skirmishing during the Napoleonic era, Light horse also served a function in major set-piece battles. While lacking the sheer power of heavy cavalry, light cavalry were still extremely effective against unprepared infantry and artillery. In the aftermath of battles, light cavalry were used to press a victors advantage or to screen retreating forces from further attack, hussars, distinctively dressed light cavalry of Hungarian origin. Locally recruited Hussar regiments were incorporated in most Napoleonic armies although by this period their functions, uhlans, originally Polish light cavalry armed with lances as their primary weapon. Locally recruited lancer regiments with this designation were later used by the Russian, Prussian and Austrian armies. The long reach of the lance made them a shock force against dispersed infantry. Dragoons, Originally a type of mounted infantry armed with muskets, dragoons had by the eighteenth century evolved into heavy. The latter performed the functions of light cavalry, although they might on occasion still undertake dismounted action using carbines. Sowars, An Indian horseman armed with a sword or light lance, Light horsemen with this designation had comprised the bulk of Mughul and other Indian cavalry forces during the 18th century
