II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée)
Encyclopedia
II Cavalry Corps was a French military formation during the Napoleonic Wars
. It was first formed in December 1806, but only enjoyed a brief existence under Marshal
Jean-Baptiste Bessières
. The II Cavalry Corps was reconstituted for the French invasion of Russia
in 1812 and commanded by General of Division Louis-Pierre Montbrun who was killed in battle, as was his successor a few hours later. In the War of the Sixth Coalition
, General of Division Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta led the corps in 1813. General of Division Antoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain
directed the corps in 1814. During the Hundred Days
, Napoleon raised the corps again and entrusted it to General of Division Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
.
, it operated with the northern wing of the French corps that advanced across the Vistula
. The remainder of the army's reserve cavalry formed the I Cavalry Corps
under Marshal Joachim Murat
. The II Cavalry Corps included the 2nd Dragoon
Division under General of Division Emmanuel Grouchy, the 4th Dragoon Division led by General of Division Louis Michel Antoine Sahuc
, the 2nd Cuirassier
Division commanded by General of Division Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul
, and the light cavalry division of General of Division Jacques Louis François Delaistre de Tilly
. The corps was dissolved on 12 January 1807. The only notable action occurred at Bieżuń on 23 December 1806. After Grouchy's division seized Bieżuń on 19 December, the Prussian commander General-Leutnant Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq
sent Major
Karl Anton Stephan de La Roche-Aymon and several units to recover the town. Upon arrival, the Prussians found that the French cavalry had been reinforced by infantry and artillery. Grouchy immediately attacked and drove La Roche-Aymon toward Soldau (Działdowo). The French dragoons crowded a portion of the Prussian force against a swampy forest and forced the surrender of 500 men and five artillery pieces.
. Commanded by General of Division Louis-Pierre Montbrun, the initial strength of the corps was 10,436 cavalry and 30 horse artillery pieces. General of Division Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta led the 2nd Light Cavalry Division, General of Division Pierre Watier
directed the 2nd Heavy Cavalry Division, and General of Division Jean-Marie Defrance
commanded the 4th Heavy Cavalry Division.
The corps was heavily engaged at the Battle of Borodino
on 7 September 1812. Early in the morning, the corps was moved up from reserve in support of Marshal Michel Ney
's III Corps
attacks on the flèches. Montbrun was killed during the struggle. Around 3:00 PM, the IV Corps
under Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais
mounted a frontal assault on the Great Redoubt. The II Cavalry Corps, now led by General of Division Auguste-Jean-Gabriel de Caulaincourt
charged the Russian infantry lines to the south of the position. Breaking through, the cavalry wheeled to the left and galloped into the open back of the Great Redoubt just as Eugène's infantry fought their way in from the front. The four Russian infantry regiments defending the redoubt were annihilated. During the melee Caulaincourt was slain while leading the 5th Cuirassier Regiment.
After the disaster in Russia, Napoleon found it extremely difficult to rebuild his mounted forces. The failure to raise sufficient cavalry played a part in the subsequent French defeat. At the battles of Lutzen
and Bautzen
Napoleon only employed one cavalry corps. During the summer armistice, the II Cavalry Corps was recreated and placed under the leadership of Sébastiani. General of Division Antoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain
led the 2nd Heavy Cavalry Division, General of Division Nicolas François Roussel d'Hurbal commanded the 2nd Light Cavalry Division, and General of Division Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
directed the 4th Light Cavalry Division. At the Battle of Leipzig
on 16 to 19 October 1813, the corps numbered 5,680 troopers and 12 guns.
On the 16th, the corps was attached to Marshal Jacques MacDonald's XI Corps
in its attempt to turn the Allied right flank. Around noon the assault began and MacDonald drove back Johann von Klenau
's Austrians. At this time, Sébastiani's advance was held up by a Russian cavalry corps led by Peter von der Pahlen at the village of Klein Possna. Ultimately, Napoleon failed to smash the Allies that day and suffered the loss of Germany as a result of his defeat at Leipzig. The II Cavalry Corps played a key role at the Battle of Hanau
on 30 October. Together with the Imperial Guard Cavalry, they smashed the Bavarian left flank.
Saint-Germain commanded the II Cavalry Corps at the Battle of Vauchamps
on 14 February 1814. It consisted of the 2nd Heavy Cavalry Division, also led by Saint-Germain, the 2nd Light Cavalry Division under General of Division Sigismond-Frédéric de Berckheim, and two horse artillery batteries. Saint-Germain led the 2,600-strong corps at the Battle of Laubressel
on 3 and 4 March. General of Division Antoine Maurin led the 2nd Light Cavalry Division.
Napoleon reformed the II Cavalry Corps for the Waterloo Campaign and appointed Exelmans to command it. The corps comprised the 9th Cavalry Division led by General of Division Jean Baptiste Alexandre Strolz, the 10th Cavalry Division under General of Division Louis Pierre Aimé Chastel
, and two horse artillery batteries. On the afternoon of 15 June 1815, Exelmans led his cavalry in a vigorous pursuit of the Prussian rear guard
. His dragoons defeated the 6th Uhlan
Regiment and chased an infantry battalion out of the woods near Gilly, Belgium
.
Exelmans was ordered to hold the right flank during the Battle of Ligny
on 16 June. On the 17th, he accurately reported the position of 20,000 Prussians at Gembloux
, but he was unable to interfere with their retreat, having only 3,000 cavalry. On that day, his corps was placed under the command of Marshal Emmanuel Grouchy. On 18 and 19 June at the Battle of Wavre
, Exelmans' troopers only played a small role. During the fighting on the 19th, Strolz held the extreme left flank on the west bank of the Dyle River while Chastel watched the far right flank on the east bank. There was a clash at Namur
on the 20th in which the 20th Dragoon Regiment of the II Cavalry Corps was engaged.
In one of the last actions of the Napoleonic Wars, Exelmans led Strolz's division, the 2nd Cavalry Division under Hippolyte Guillaume Piré, three battalions of the 44th Line Infantry Regiment, and a half battalion of the Sèvres
National Guard
in hunting down Oberstleutnant
Eston von Sohr's Prussian cavalry brigade. In the Battle of Rocquencourt
on 1 July, the 3rd Brandenburg and 5th Pommeranian Hussar
Regiments were wrecked, suffering 500 casualties out of the 750 horsemen in Sohr's brigade. French losses were negligible.
The following organizations and unit strengths are from October 1806.
Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières
General of Division Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta
General of Division Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. It was first formed in December 1806, but only enjoyed a brief existence under Marshal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
Jean-Baptiste Bessières
Jean-Baptiste Bessières
Jean-Baptiste Bessières, 1st Duc d' Istria was a Marshal of France of the Napoleonic Era. His younger brother, Bertrand, followed in his footsteps and eventually became a Divisional General...
. The II Cavalry Corps was reconstituted for the French invasion of Russia
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
in 1812 and commanded by General of Division Louis-Pierre Montbrun who was killed in battle, as was his successor a few hours later. In the War of the Sixth Coalition
War of the Sixth Coalition
In the War of the Sixth Coalition , a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and a number of German States finally defeated France and drove Napoleon Bonaparte into exile on Elba. After Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, the continental powers...
, General of Division Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta led the corps in 1813. General of Division Antoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain
Antoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain
Antoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain, Count de Saint-Germain and of the Empire was a French soldier of the French Revolutionary Wars, who later rose to the top military rank of General of Division, taking part to the Napoleonic Wars as a commander of cavalry.- Revolutionary Wars :Born in Paris...
directed the corps in 1814. During the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
, Napoleon raised the corps again and entrusted it to General of Division Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans, 1st Comte Exelmans was a distinguished French soldier of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as a political figure of the following period.-Early career:...
.
1806-1807
The II Cavalry Corps was formed on 16 December 1806 at the beginning of Emperor Napoleon's campaign in Poland. Placed under the command of Marshal Jean-Baptiste BessièresJean-Baptiste Bessières
Jean-Baptiste Bessières, 1st Duc d' Istria was a Marshal of France of the Napoleonic Era. His younger brother, Bertrand, followed in his footsteps and eventually became a Divisional General...
, it operated with the northern wing of the French corps that advanced across the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
. The remainder of the army's reserve cavalry formed the I Cavalry Corps
I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée)
I Cavalry Corps was a French military formation during the later stage of the Napoleonic Wars. Created in 1812 as a part of the Grande Armée that was intended to invade Russia, I Cavalry Corps took part to the French invasion of Russia and the to the 1813-1814 War of the Sixth Coalition, which...
under Marshal Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
. The II Cavalry Corps included the 2nd Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
Division under General of Division Emmanuel Grouchy, the 4th Dragoon Division led by General of Division Louis Michel Antoine Sahuc
Louis Michel Antoine Sahuc
Louis-Michel-Antoine Sahuc, born 7 January 1755 – died 24 October 1813, joined the French Royal Army and spent 20 years there before fighting in the French Revolutionary Wars. He rose to command a French cavalry regiment and later became a general officer...
, the 2nd Cuirassier
Cuirassier
Cuirassiers were mounted cavalry soldiers equipped with armour and firearms, first appearing in late 15th-century Europe. They were the successors of the medieval armoured knights...
Division commanded by General of Division Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul
Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul
Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul was a French cavalry general of the Napoleonic wars. He came from an old noble family of France whose military tradition extended for several centuries....
, and the light cavalry division of General of Division Jacques Louis François Delaistre de Tilly
Jacques Louis François Delaistre de Tilly
Jacques-Louis-François Delaistre de Tilly became a general officer in the French army during the French Revolutionary Wars. He led a cavalry division in a number of battles during the Napoleonic Wars...
. The corps was dissolved on 12 January 1807. The only notable action occurred at Bieżuń on 23 December 1806. After Grouchy's division seized Bieżuń on 19 December, the Prussian commander General-Leutnant Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq
Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq
Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq was a Prussian cavalry general best known for his command of the Prussian troops at the Battle of Eylau.-Biography:...
sent Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Karl Anton Stephan de La Roche-Aymon and several units to recover the town. Upon arrival, the Prussians found that the French cavalry had been reinforced by infantry and artillery. Grouchy immediately attacked and drove La Roche-Aymon toward Soldau (Działdowo). The French dragoons crowded a portion of the Prussian force against a swampy forest and forced the surrender of 500 men and five artillery pieces.
1812-1814
The Corps was reformed in 1812 for the French invasion of RussiaFrench invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
. Commanded by General of Division Louis-Pierre Montbrun, the initial strength of the corps was 10,436 cavalry and 30 horse artillery pieces. General of Division Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta led the 2nd Light Cavalry Division, General of Division Pierre Watier
Pierre Watier
Pierre Watier , was a French general of division.Born at Laon, Aisne, Watier is one of 660 personalities to have their name engraved under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the city where he died. His name appears on the 12th column and is spelt WATHIER....
directed the 2nd Heavy Cavalry Division, and General of Division Jean-Marie Defrance
Jean-Marie Defrance
Jean-Marie Defrance was a French General of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was also a member of the Council of Five Hundred , and a teacher at the military school of Rebais, Champagne.Defrance had an extensive and successful military career in the French...
commanded the 4th Heavy Cavalry Division.
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
on 7 September 1812. Early in the morning, the corps was moved up from reserve in support of Marshal Michel Ney
Michel Ney
Michel Ney , 1st Duc d'Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon I...
's III Corps
III Corps (Grande Armée)
The III Corps of the Grande Armée were few military units during the Napoleonic Wars. The III Corps came to prominence between 1805 and 1809 under the command of Marshal Louis Nicolas Davout, when it repeatedly scored impressive victories single-handedly or in conjunction with other French forces...
attacks on the flèches. Montbrun was killed during the struggle. Around 3:00 PM, the IV Corps
IV Corps (Grande Armée)
The IV Corps of the Grande Armée was a military unit during the Napoleonic Wars. It consisted several different units and commanders.- Under Soult :Marshal Nicolas Soult took command of IV Corps in 1805....
under Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and 1st Prince of Eichstätt ad personam was the first child and only son of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la...
mounted a frontal assault on the Great Redoubt. The II Cavalry Corps, now led by General of Division Auguste-Jean-Gabriel de Caulaincourt
Auguste-Jean-Gabriel de Caulaincourt
Auguste-Jean-Gabriel, comte de Caulaincourt was a French cavalry commander who rose to the rank of general during the First French Empire...
charged the Russian infantry lines to the south of the position. Breaking through, the cavalry wheeled to the left and galloped into the open back of the Great Redoubt just as Eugène's infantry fought their way in from the front. The four Russian infantry regiments defending the redoubt were annihilated. During the melee Caulaincourt was slain while leading the 5th Cuirassier Regiment.
After the disaster in Russia, Napoleon found it extremely difficult to rebuild his mounted forces. The failure to raise sufficient cavalry played a part in the subsequent French defeat. At the battles of Lutzen
Battle of Lützen
Two major battles were fought at Lützen:*Battle of Lützen *Battle of Lützen...
and Bautzen
Battle of Bautzen
In the Battle of Bautzen a combined Russian/Prussian army was pushed back by Napoleon, but escaped destruction, some sources claim, because Michel Ney failed to block their retreat...
Napoleon only employed one cavalry corps. During the summer armistice, the II Cavalry Corps was recreated and placed under the leadership of Sébastiani. General of Division Antoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain
Antoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain
Antoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain, Count de Saint-Germain and of the Empire was a French soldier of the French Revolutionary Wars, who later rose to the top military rank of General of Division, taking part to the Napoleonic Wars as a commander of cavalry.- Revolutionary Wars :Born in Paris...
led the 2nd Heavy Cavalry Division, General of Division Nicolas François Roussel d'Hurbal commanded the 2nd Light Cavalry Division, and General of Division Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans, 1st Comte Exelmans was a distinguished French soldier of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as a political figure of the following period.-Early career:...
directed the 4th Light Cavalry Division. At the Battle of Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
on 16 to 19 October 1813, the corps numbered 5,680 troopers and 12 guns.
On the 16th, the corps was attached to Marshal Jacques MacDonald's XI Corps
XI Corps (Grande Armée)
The XI Corps of the Grande Armée was the name of more than one French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1809 during the War of the Fifth Coalition, General of Division Auguste Marmont's Army of Dalmatia was renamed the XI Corps. Emperor Napoleon I held it in reserve at the...
in its attempt to turn the Allied right flank. Around noon the assault began and MacDonald drove back Johann von Klenau
Johann von Klenau
Johann von Klenau , also called Johann Josef Cajetan von Klenau und Janowitz, the son of a Bohemian noble, was a field marshal in the Habsburg army...
's Austrians. At this time, Sébastiani's advance was held up by a Russian cavalry corps led by Peter von der Pahlen at the village of Klein Possna. Ultimately, Napoleon failed to smash the Allies that day and suffered the loss of Germany as a result of his defeat at Leipzig. The II Cavalry Corps played a key role at the Battle of Hanau
Battle of Hanau
The Battle of Hanau was fought on between Karl Philipp von Wrede’s Austro-Bavarian corps and Napoleon's retreating French during the War of the Sixth Coalition....
on 30 October. Together with the Imperial Guard Cavalry, they smashed the Bavarian left flank.
Saint-Germain commanded the II Cavalry Corps at the Battle of Vauchamps
Battle of Vauchamps
The Battle of Vauchamps, the final major engagement of the Six Days Campaign of the War of the Sixth Coalition, was fought on 14 February 1814...
on 14 February 1814. It consisted of the 2nd Heavy Cavalry Division, also led by Saint-Germain, the 2nd Light Cavalry Division under General of Division Sigismond-Frédéric de Berckheim, and two horse artillery batteries. Saint-Germain led the 2,600-strong corps at the Battle of Laubressel
Laubressel
Laubressel is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France.-Population:...
on 3 and 4 March. General of Division Antoine Maurin led the 2nd Light Cavalry Division.
1815
Louis Pierre Aimé Chastel
Louis Pierre Aimé Chastel was a French officer in the Napoleonic Wars, who rose to lieutenant general of cavalry....
, and two horse artillery batteries. On the afternoon of 15 June 1815, Exelmans led his cavalry in a vigorous pursuit of the Prussian rear guard
Rear guard
A rear guard or rearguard is that part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal...
. His dragoons defeated the 6th Uhlan
Uhlan
Uhlans were Polish light cavalry armed with lances, sabres and pistols. The title was later used by lancer regiments in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian armies....
Regiment and chased an infantry battalion out of the woods near Gilly, Belgium
Gilly, Belgium
Gilly is a section of the Belgian town of Charleroi within the Walloon region in the Province of Hainaut. It was a commune of its own before the merger of the communes in 1977. It houses the base of Fédération des Patros, a youth organisation...
.
Exelmans was ordered to hold the right flank during the Battle of Ligny
Battle of Ligny
The Battle of Ligny was the last victory of the military career of Napoleon I. In this battle, French troops of the Armée du Nord under Napoleon's command, defeated a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, near Ligny in present-day Belgium. The bulk of the Prussian army survived, however, and...
on 16 June. On the 17th, he accurately reported the position of 20,000 Prussians at Gembloux
Gembloux
Gembloux is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur, on the axis Brussels-NamurOn 1 January 2006 the municipality had 21,964 inhabitants...
, but he was unable to interfere with their retreat, having only 3,000 cavalry. On that day, his corps was placed under the command of Marshal Emmanuel Grouchy. On 18 and 19 June at the Battle of Wavre
Battle of Wavre
The Battle of Wavre was the final major military action of the Hundred Days campaign and the Napoleonic Wars. It was fought on 18-19 June 1815 between the Prussian rearguard under the command of General Johann von Thielmann and three corps of the French army under the command of Marshal Grouchy. A...
, Exelmans' troopers only played a small role. During the fighting on the 19th, Strolz held the extreme left flank on the west bank of the Dyle River while Chastel watched the far right flank on the east bank. There was a clash at Namur
Namur
Namur may refer to:*Namur in Belgian context:**Namur , a municipality and a city of Belgium, the capital of Wallonia**Namur , a province in Wallonia, Belgium, named after the provincial capital city...
on the 20th in which the 20th Dragoon Regiment of the II Cavalry Corps was engaged.
In one of the last actions of the Napoleonic Wars, Exelmans led Strolz's division, the 2nd Cavalry Division under Hippolyte Guillaume Piré, three battalions of the 44th Line Infantry Regiment, and a half battalion of the Sèvres
Sèvres
Sèvres is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.The town is known for its porcelain manufacture, the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, making the famous Sèvres porcelain, as well as being the location of the International Bureau of Weights...
National Guard
National Guard (France)
The National Guard was the name given at the time of the French Revolution to the militias formed in each city, in imitation of the National Guard created in Paris. It was a military force separate from the regular army...
in hunting down Oberstleutnant
Oberstleutnant
Oberstleutnant is a German Army and Air Force rank equal to Lieutenant Colonel, above Major, and below Oberst.There are two paygrade associated to the rank of Oberstleutnant...
Eston von Sohr's Prussian cavalry brigade. In the Battle of Rocquencourt
Battle of Rocquencourt
The Battle of Rocquencourt was a cavalry skirmish fought on 1 July 1815 in and around the villages of Rocquencourt and Le Chesnay. French dragoons supported by infantry and commanded by General Exelmans destroyed a Prussian brigade of hussars...
on 1 July, the 3rd Brandenburg and 5th Pommeranian Hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
Regiments were wrecked, suffering 500 casualties out of the 750 horsemen in Sohr's brigade. French losses were negligible.
December 1806
Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières
Jean-Baptiste Bessières
Jean-Baptiste Bessières, 1st Duc d' Istria was a Marshal of France of the Napoleonic Era. His younger brother, Bertrand, followed in his footsteps and eventually became a Divisional General...
- 2nd Cuirassier Division: General of Division Jean-Joseph Ange d'HautpoulJean-Joseph Ange d'HautpoulJean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul was a French cavalry general of the Napoleonic wars. He came from an old noble family of France whose military tradition extended for several centuries....
(1,927, 3 guns)- Brigade: General of Brigade Jean Verdière
- 1st Cuirassier Regiment, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th squadrons
- 5th Cuirassier Regiment, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th squadrons
- Brigade: General of Brigade Raymond-Gaspard de Bonardi de Saint-SulpiceRaymond-Gaspard de Bonardi de Saint-SulpiceRaymond-Gaspard de Bonardi comte de Saint-Sulpice was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, noted for his actions as a heavy cavalry commander and who became a Peer of France towards the end of his life.-Early life and Revolutionary Wars:A nobleman by birth,...
- 10th Cuirassier Regiment, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th squadrons
- Artillery: 2nd Horse Artillery, 4th company (-), two 6-pound guns, one 6-inch howitzer
- Brigade: General of Brigade Jean Verdière
- 2nd Dragoon Division: General of Division Emmanuel Grouchy (2,915, 3 guns)
- Brigade: General of Brigade Mansuy Roget
- 3rd Dragoon Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- 4th Dragoon Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- Brigade: General of Brigade Jacques Milet
- 10th Dragoon Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- 11th Dragoon Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- Brigade: General of Brigade André Joseph BoussartAndré Joseph BoussartAndré Joseph Boussart or André Joseph Boussard, born 13 November 1758 – died 11 August 1813, enlisted in the army of Habsburg Austria as a youth. A Belgian by birth, he joined the Brabant Revolution against Austria and fled to France when the rebellion collapsed. He soon found himself...
- 13th Dragoon Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- 22nd Dragoon Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- Artillery: 2nd Horse Artillery, 2nd company (-), two 8-pound guns, one 6-inch howitzer
- Brigade: General of Brigade Mansuy Roget
- 4th Dragoon Division: General of Division Louis Michel Antoine SahucLouis Michel Antoine SahucLouis-Michel-Antoine Sahuc, born 7 January 1755 – died 24 October 1813, joined the French Royal Army and spent 20 years there before fighting in the French Revolutionary Wars. He rose to command a French cavalry regiment and later became a general officer...
(3,129, 3 guns)- Brigade: General of Brigade Pierre Margaron
- 17th Dragoon Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- 27th Dragoon Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- Brigade: General of Brigade Jacques Léonard Laplanche
- 18th Dragoon Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- 19th Dragoon Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- Brigade: unknown commander
- 15th Dragoon Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- 25th Dragoon Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- Artillery: 6th Horse Artillery, 4th company (-), two 8-pound guns, one 6-inch howitzer
- Brigade: General of Brigade Pierre Margaron
- Cavalry Division: General of Division Jacques Louis François Delaistre de TillyJacques Louis François Delaistre de TillyJacques-Louis-François Delaistre de Tilly became a general officer in the French army during the French Revolutionary Wars. He led a cavalry division in a number of battles during the Napoleonic Wars...
(1,623)- 2nd Hussar Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- 4th Hussar Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
- 5th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squadrons
September 1812
General of Division Louis-Pierre Montbrun (10,436, 30 guns)- 2nd Light Cavalry Division: General of Division Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta
- 5th Hussar Regiment, four squadrons
- 9th Hussar Regiment, four squadrons
- 11th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment, four squadrons
- 12th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment, four squadrons
- Prussian Uhlan Regiment, four squadrons
- 3rd Württemberg Jägers zu Pferde Regiment, four squadrons
- 10th Polish Hussar Regiment, four squadrons
- 2nd Cuirassier Division: General of Division Pierre WatierPierre WatierPierre Watier , was a French general of division.Born at Laon, Aisne, Watier is one of 660 personalities to have their name engraved under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the city where he died. His name appears on the 12th column and is spelt WATHIER....
- 5th Cuirassier Regiment, four squadrons
- 8th Cuirassier Regiment, four squadrons
- 10th Cuirassier Regiment, four squadrons
- 4th Cuirassier Division: General of Division Jean-Marie DefranceJean-Marie DefranceJean-Marie Defrance was a French General of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was also a member of the Council of Five Hundred , and a teacher at the military school of Rebais, Champagne.Defrance had an extensive and successful military career in the French...
- 1st Carabinier Regiment, four squadrons
- 2nd Carabinier Regiment, four squadrons
- 1st Cuirassier Regiment, four squadrons
- 4th Chevau-léger LancerLancerA lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used in mounted warfare by the Assyrians as early as and subsequently by Greek, Persian, Gallic, Han-Chinese, nomadic and Roman horsemen...
Regiment, four squadrons
- Attached Artillery: 30 guns in horse artillery batteries
October 1813
- 2nd Light Cavalry Division: General of Division Nicolas François Roussel d'Hurbal
- 7th Light Cavalry Brigade: General of Brigade François-Joseph Gérard
- 2nd Chevau-léger Lancer Regiment, three squadrons
- 11th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment, three squadrons
- 12th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment, three squadrons
- 8th Light Cavalry Brigade: General of Brigade Jean-Baptiste Dommanget
- 4th Chevau-léger Lancer Regiment, three squadrons
- 5th Hussar Regiment, three squadrons
- 9th Hussar Regiment, four squadrons
- One-half horse artillery battery (three guns)
- 7th Light Cavalry Brigade: General of Brigade François-Joseph Gérard
- 4th Light Cavalry Division: General of Division Rémi Joseph Isidore ExelmansRémi Joseph Isidore ExelmansRémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans, 1st Comte Exelmans was a distinguished French soldier of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as a political figure of the following period.-Early career:...
- 9th Light Cavalry Brigade: General of Brigade Antoine Maurin
- 6th Chevau-léger Lancer Regiment, two squadrons
- 4th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment, two squadrons
- 7th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment, two squadrons
- 20th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment, two squadrons
- 10th Light Cavalry Brigade: General of Brigade François Isidore Wathier
- 23rd Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment, four squadrons
- 24th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment, three squadrons
- 11th Hussar Regiment, two squadrons
- One-half horse artillery battery (three guns)
- 9th Light Cavalry Brigade: General of Brigade Antoine Maurin
- 2nd Heavy Cavalry Division: General of Division Antoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-GermainAntoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-GermainAntoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain, Count de Saint-Germain and of the Empire was a French soldier of the French Revolutionary Wars, who later rose to the top military rank of General of Division, taking part to the Napoleonic Wars as a commander of cavalry.- Revolutionary Wars :Born in Paris...
- 1st Brigade: General of Brigade François Charles Jean Pierre Marie d'Avranges d'Haugeranville
- 1st Carabinier Regiment, two squadrons
- 2nd Carabinier Regiment, two squadrons
- 2nd Brigade: General of Brigade Nicolas-Marin Thiry
- 1st Cuirassier Regiment, two squadrons
- 5th Cuirassier Regiment, three squadrons
- 8th Cuirassier Regiment, two squadrons
- 10th Cuirassier Regiment, two squadrons
- One horse artillery battery (six guns)
- 1st Brigade: General of Brigade François Charles Jean Pierre Marie d'Avranges d'Haugeranville
June 1815
Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans, 1st Comte Exelmans was a distinguished French soldier of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as a political figure of the following period.-Early career:...
- 9th Cavalry Division: General of Division Jean Baptiste Alexandre Strolz
- 1st Brigade: General of Brigade André Burthe
- 5th Dragoon Regiment
- 13th Dragoon Regiment
- 2nd Brigade: General of Brigade Henri-Catherine-Baltazard Vincent
- 15th Dragoon Regiment
- 20th Dragoon Regiment
- 1st Brigade: General of Brigade André Burthe
- 10th Cavalry Division: General of Division Louis Pierre Aimé ChastelLouis Pierre Aimé ChastelLouis Pierre Aimé Chastel was a French officer in the Napoleonic Wars, who rose to lieutenant general of cavalry....
- 1st Brigade: General of Brigade Pierre Bonnemains
- 4th Dragoon Regiment
- 12th Dragoon Regiment
- 2nd Brigade: General of Brigade Jean Baptiste (Breton) Berton
- 14th Dragoon Regiment
- 17th Dragoon Regiment
- 1st Brigade: General of Brigade Pierre Bonnemains
- Artillery: Two horse artillery batteries