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You march proudly in front of the Empereur, as
other units make way for you and present their arms as you pass by.
Shouts of Vive L’Empereur echo around you. You are the Garde, the
Empereur Napoleon’s favourites.
Our aim is to recreate Napoleon’s 3rd
Regiment of Grenadiers a Pied and Garde Artillery at the time of
Waterloo. We cover all aspects of the soldiers life at those times,
including those who marched on campaign with them. Our distinctive,
though slightly worn uniforms mark us out as Napoleon’s fighting
elite.
Formed in 1806 as Louis Bonaparte’s Royal Guard
in Holland, they were his wife’s (Hortense de Beauharnais)
favourites. Transferred to the roll of Napoleon’s Garde Imperiale as
the 2nd Regiment in 1810 they were renumbered as the 3rd
(3 eme) regiment Grenadiers a Pied in 1812. The regiment saw much
service in the Russian campaign of 1812, returning to France with
only 24 officers and 17 men. During this campaign 16,000 of the
Garde fought 35,000 Russians and won.
The regiment reformed in April 1815 to fight its
and Napoleon’s last battles of Ligny and Waterloo.
We welcome new recruits to our ranks and will be
able to help you obtain the basic uniform and equipment to start you
off.
If you like history and have wondered what its
like to be a soldier in those times, join the Garde Imperiale and
live it. We attend events in the UK and Europe. |
