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Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard

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Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard
Mamelouks de la Garde Impériale
M. Ducel, a Mameluke from 1813 to 1815, was one of the last surviving veterans of the Imperial Army.
Active1799–1815
Allegiance Napoleon I
Branch French Imperial Army
TypeLight Cavalry (Mamelukes)
RoleReconnaissance
Bodyguards
SizeTwo squadrons
Part ofImperial Guard

The Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard (French: Mamelouks de la Garde Impériale) were a cavalry unit that served in Napoleon I’s Imperial Guard during the Napoleonic Wars. Originally made up of Mameluk slave soldiers, the unit eventually was mostly recruited from a wide mixture of Middle Eastern and European soldiers. Originally only mustering a single squadron, a second squadron would be raised from European cavalrymen in 1813, both squadrons served under the Mounted Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard. The various spellings of the squadron's title include Mamelukes, Mamluks and Mamelouks.

History

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The Charge of the Mameluks on The Second of May 1808 in Madrid by Jacques Onfroy de Bréville, 1929)

After the English fleet destroyed the French fleet at Aboukir in 1799, the French army capitulated to the Turks and the English. Napoleon had already been in France for more than a year participating in domestic politics before finally taking power through the Coup of 18 Brumaire or November 9, 1799. The commander of the French army in Egypt, General Menou, obtained leave from the English General Sir Ralph Abercromby to repatriate the French troops to France on English ships. Some of the Mamluks, including many Coptic Egyptians, embarked on HMS Pallas commanded by Captain Joseph Edmonds. On this boat there were many other refugees led by the General Yaq'ub who decided to negotiate the independence of Egypt from France and the UK but who died en route of dysentry. The refugees end up in Marseilles at the "Depot of the Egyptians" near Castellane.[1]

In 1801 General Jean Rapp was sent to Marseille to organize a squadron of 250 Mamluks. On 7 January 1802 the previous order was canceled and the squadron reduced to 150 men. The list of effectives on 21 April 1802 reveals 3 officers and 155 other ranks. By decree of 25 December 1804 the Mamluks were organized into a company attached to the Mounted Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard. The officers were Frenchmen, the troopers were a mixture of Syrians, Greeks, Circassians, Crimeans, Armenians, Egyptians, Georgians, Arabs, and Turks. Individuals came from Albania, Hungary, Malta and Tunisia.[2] Every Mameluk was armed with two brace of pistols, a very curved saber, dagger, mace and eventually a battle-ax. During the remainder of their service the Mamlukes were issued at various dates with carbines, a form of blunderbuss and a musket. These firearms were manufactured by the Manufacturie de Versaillies.[3]

The Mamluks were reportedly fought well during campaigns of Napoleon, particularly at the Battle of Austerlitz on 2 December 1805 under Jean-Baptiste Bessières command,[4][5][6][7][8] as they fought ferociously.[9][10] The Mamluks did well in Poland.[7]

In 1813 the Mameluks were reinforced with Frenchmen who were designated as '2nd Mameluks'. There were 2 companies of Mameluks, the 1st was ranked as Old Guard and the 2nd as Young Guard. The Squadron of Mameluks was attached to the Regiment of Guard Chasseurs. Between 1813 and the following year a total of 205 Frenchmen and 119 recruits from a variety of European countries were added to the original mixture of Manluks and others.[11]

Despite the decree of 21 March 1815 that stated that no foreigner could be admitted into the Imperial Guard, Napoleon's decree of 24 April prescribed amongst other things that the Chasseurs-à-Cheval of the Imperial Guard included a squadron of two companies of Mamluks for the Belgian Campaign. With the First Restoration, the company of the Mamluks of the Old Guard was incorporated in the Corps Royal des Chasseurs de France. The Mamluks of the Young Guard were incorporated into the 7th Chasseurs-à-Cheval.[12]

Following the Second Bourbon Restoration of 1815 there were widespread reprisals against individuals or groups identified with the defeated Napoleonic regime. These included the small number of Mamluks still in service, eighteen of whom were massacred in Marseilles while awaiting transportation back to Egypt. Since 1806 a depot had been maintained in Marseilles for retired veterans of the squadron and their families.[13]

The fight between a Mameluke and a Russian Dragoon, by Jacques Onfroy de Bréville

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mamelouks de la Garde impériale.

References

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  1. ^ Fabrice Houdart, "Speech at the Cosmos Club in December 2019 — Institute of Current World Affairs, Washington, D.C.,"| http://fhoudart.medium.com/speech-at-the-cosmos-club-in-december-2019-institute-of-current-world-affairs-washington-dc-8f3fb7674ba8"| accessed [March 27, 2024]
  2. ^ Jouineau, Andre (2005). The French Imperial Guard. Vol. 3 Cavalry 1804-15. Histoire & Collections. p. 6. ISBN 2-913903-98-3.
  3. ^ Jouineau, Andre (2005). The French Imperial Guard. Vol. 3 Cavalry 1804-15. Histoire & Collections. p. 10. ISBN 2-913903-98-3.
  4. ^ Muzaffar Husain Syed; Syed Saud Akhtar; B D Usmani. Concise History of Islam. Vij Books India Private Limited. p. 80. ISBN 9789382573470. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  5. ^ Ronald Pawly (2021). Napoleon's Mamelukes. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 16, 17, 19, 20–1. ISBN 9781780964218. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  6. ^ Enrico Acerbi (2022). All about Austerlitz. Soldiershop Publishing. ISBN 9788893278621. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b John R. Elting (2009). Swords Around A Throne Napoleon's Grande Armée. Hachette Books. ISBN 9780786748310. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  8. ^ Digby Smith (2007). Charge! Great Cavalry Charges of the Napoleonic Wars. Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 9781784380007. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  9. ^ Bryan Perrett (2012). The Changing Face Of Battle. Orion. ISBN 9781780225258. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  10. ^ Hala Mundhir Fattah; Frank Caso (2009). A Brief History of Iraq. Facts On File. p. 133. ISBN 9780816057672. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  11. ^ Jouineau, Andre (2005). The French Imperial Guard. Vol. 3 Cavalry 1804-15. Histoire & Collections. p. 6. ISBN 2-913903-98-3.
  12. ^ Jouineau, Andre (2005). The French Imperial Guard. Vol. 3 Cavalry 1804-15. Histoire & Collections. p. 6. ISBN 2-913903-98-3.
  13. ^ Jouineau, Andre (2005). The French Imperial Guard. Vol. 3 Cavalry 1804-15. Histoire & Collections. p. 6. ISBN 2-913903-98-3.
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