Description
The main aim of this book is to present a detailed overview of the history, organization and uniforms of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard.
The latter was created in 1799 with the official denomination of Consular Guard, soon after Bonaparte became the “First Consul” of France.
In 1804, with the proclamation of the French Empire, it assumed the new denomination of Imperial Guard with which it became famous.
During most of its history, the Imperial Guard of the French Army comprised three main echelons: the Old Guard, the Middle Guard and the Young Guard.
The Old Guard was formed by veteran units that already existed before 1805 and which soldiers had followed Napoleon since his first military campaigns of 1796/1797.