François Joseph Lefebvre
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François Joseph Lefebvre, Duke of Danzig, was a French military commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, and one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon.
Statue of Lefebvre at the Louvre Palace, Paris
French Guards Regiment
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The French Guards were an elite infantry regiment of the French Royal Army. They formed a constituent part of the maison militaire du roi de France under the Ancien Régime.
The Gardes Françaises and the British Guards confronted each other at Fontenoy in 1745. Lord Charles Hay, a British officer, reportedly said, "Tell your men to fire". The Count d'Auteroche, officer of the Gardes françaises, replied, "No, we never fire first".
Rebel Gardes Françaises (in blue uniforms at left and centre-right) took part in the storming of the Bastille and the arrest of its governor, the Marquis de Launay, shown above.
Gardes françaises at the battle of Fontenoy
Gardes françaises reenactors