[1] The following year, this unit was renamed the mounted grenadiers, and after the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire, it became the first cavalry formation of the Consular Guard.

[2] They took part in the Austrian campaign of 1805 and particularly distinguished themselves at Austerlitz, where their charges against the cavalry of the Russian Guard, in the company of chasseurs and mamelukes, proved effective in repelling Grand Duke Konstantine's counter-attack.

[3] Absent from the Prussian campaign, they made up for lost time at the Battle of Eylau, when Colonel Lepic and his grenadiers managed to break through the encirclement to the French lines.

[2] On April 24, 1796, during the first Italian campaign, General Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the creation of a company of mounted guides to protect him and his staff.

Captain Bessières, of the 22nd Regiment of Mounted Chasseurs, took command of the corps, with the power to appoint or dismiss soldiers for his unit.

After Napoleon's return to France and the establishment of the Consulate, the compagnie des guides became the company of mounted chasseurs of the Consular Guard, with Captain Eugène de Beauharnais as its commander.

[9] The regiment did not take an active part in the Prussian campaign of 1806, but the following year charged the Russian infantry at Eylau under the command of General Dahlmann, who was mortally wounded.

[10] Defeated at Benavente, the chasseurs moved on to central Europe and distinguished themselves at the Battle of Wagram, where they routed Austrian cavalry in the company of Polish chevau-légers.

In 1798, during the Egyptian campaign, General Napoleon Bonaparte confronted the Mameluks, cavalrymen who had been subjugated to the Ottoman Empire for several centuries.

Under the First Restoration, the squadron was incorporated into the Corps Royal des Chasseurs de France, then reformed by decree during the Hundred Days.

At the Second Battle of Saint-Dizier in 1814, accompanied by a platoon of Mamelukes, they dislodged enemy soldiers from their positions and captured 18 pieces of artillery.

Seduced, on April 6 the Emperor decreed the creation of a regiment of Polish chevau-légers integrated into the Imperial Guard and placed under the command of colonel Krasiński.

[30] As Napoleon marched on Madrid, he was blocked on November 30, 1808, at the Somosierra Pass by the troops of General Benito de San Juan.

Commanded by Kozietulski, the Poles suffered heavy losses from Spanish infantry and artillery fire but managed to capture the opposing batteries.

[33] After this confrontation, the Emperor agreed to Colonel Krasiński's request to equip his men with lances, and the unit took the name of "Polish Lancers".

After heavy losses, the Polish lancers were reorganized and took part in the battles of the German campaign in 1813, as at Lützen, Peterswalde, and Hanau, where they lost Major Radziwill.

During the First Restoration, the Polish Lancers were disbanded and sent back to Poland, except for a squadron commanded by Jerzmanowski, which accompanied Napoleon to Elba.

[39] General Colbert-Chabanais took command, and non-commissioned officers from the corps, instructed by Polish lancers from the 1st regiment at Chantilly, taught their men how to handle the lance.

At the beginning of July 1812, Napoleon decided to form a 3rd Lancers regiment as part of the Imperial Guard,[47] with a theoretical strength of 1,218 men divided into five squadrons.

The latter, members of communities originally from the Crimea, had the reputation of being excellent horsemen, as confirmed by General Michel Sokolnicki, who stated that "their probity, as well as their courage, are tried and tested".

Despite their small numbers, the Lithuanian Tartars of Captain Ulan, who had replaced Achmatowicz, charged repeatedly during the German campaign and again distinguished themselves in France as part of the 3rd regiment of scouts-lanciers.

In 1814, the chasseurs were detached to General Maison's Armée du Nord, where they were mainly tasked with reconnaissance missions, although this did not prevent them from charging on several occasions, as at Courtrai on March 30.

During the Hundred Days, the Jeune Garde squadrons were reformed and renamed the Second Imperial Guard mounted chasseur regiment.

[64] Given the dramatic prospect of having to fight on French soil for the first time since the wars of the Revolution, Napoleon reorganized his Imperial Guard on December 4, 1813.

[66] The elite gendarmerie was responsible for the security of the imperial palaces and military quarters and protected Napoleon's campaign headquarters.

[66] Although they played a relatively minor role in the wars of the First Empire, the elite gendarmes charged at Medina de Rioseco and Montmirail, and took part in the Belgian campaign of 1815.

By decree of October 1st, 1806, Napoleon ordered the creation of a Regiment de Gendarmes d'Ordonnance, attached to the Imperial Guard.

[77] During battles, Bessières, "a reserve officer full of vigor, but prudent and circumspect" according to Napoleon, personally led the charges of his cavalrymen in the face of the enemy.

On July 29, 1813, General Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty succeeded Bessières as commander-in-chief of the Guard cavalry.

He again played a decisive role in the victories of Montmirail and Château-Thierry in 1814, but his relations with the Emperor deteriorated and he left his command, officially for health reasons, on March 8, shortly after the battle of Craonne.