Imperial Guard

The Imperial Guard of Napoleon III was a military corps in the French Army formed by Napoleon III as a re-establishment of his uncle Napoleon I's Imperial Guard, with an updated version of the original uniforms and almost the same privileges. Origin The Imperial Guard was formed by a decree of the emperor on 1 May 1854, and was made up of 17 regiments of cavalry, artillery and infantry, squadrons of train (supply and administration) and mounted gendarmes, and a division taken from the corps of military engineers. The emperor added a regiment of Zouaves to the Guard in 1855, selected from the three existing regiments of zouaves first raised in 1830. Divisional structure In its original 1854 structure the Imperial Guard comprised a mixed division of two infantry brigades (Grenadiers and Voltigeurs) plus one cavalry brigade of Cuirassiers and Guides. Additional units included two battalions of foot gendarmes, one battalion of Chasseurs a' pied, five batteries of Horse Artillery and a company of Engineers.