Osprey Men-at-Arms 160 : Napoleon's Guard Infantry (2)

Whilst the companion book, Men-at-Arms 153 : Napoleon's Guard Infantry (1), described the ethos, formation and uniform of the senior of the Imperial Guard infantry corps, the Grenadiers and Chasseurs á Pied. The present book extends the coverage to the Middle and Young Guard. The seniority of Guard infantry was only established definitely in 1812 by the Guard's chief of personnel, Courtois. There had been doubts, especially in the mind of Bessiéres, about the formation of 'junior' Guard corps, in case the combination of veterans with conscripts might reduce the value of the former, but in the event it worked the opposite way, in elevating the value of the recruits. The title 'Young Guard' was assigned to the newly-raised regiments in 1809, but the term 'Middle Guard' came into use about 1811. From the beginning the newer guard regiments were committed to action first, the Old Guard, as Napoleon wrote, 'being so precious, one fears to expose them', thus the Fusiliers-Chasseurs distinguished themselves at Hilsberg whilst the rest of the Guard was kept in reserve. In 1808 the Fusiliers went to Spain, serving at the Madrid rising, Medina and Guadalajara. Philip Haythornwaite examines Napoleon's Middle and Young Guard infantry and is backed by plenty of illustrations including eight full page colour plates by Bryan Fosten, with six pages of commentaries.

Contents

• Introduction
• The Seamen of the Guard
• The Middle and Young Guards
• The Regiments
• Uniforms
• Campaign Uniforms
• The Plates