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
French Imperial Army (1804–1815)
The French Imperial Army was the land force branch of the French imperial military during the Napoleonic era.
Lancer, fusilier, and officer of the Strasbourg National Guard during the Hundred Days campaign. The unit formed part of the Army of the Rhine, though never saw full combat.
Image: Napoleon I of France by Andrea Appiani
Image: Napoleon I of France by Andrea Appiani
Image: Le duc de Reichstadt
