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| Reserve Cavalry (Grande Armée) | |
|---|---|
| Unit name | Reserve Cavalry |
| Native name | Réserve de Cavalerie |
| Country | French Empire |
| Branch | Grande Armée |
| Type | Cavalry reserve |
| Active | 1805–1815 |
| Notable commanders | Marshal Michel Ney, Marshal Joachim Murat, Marshal Jean Lannes, Marshal Auguste de Marmont |
Reserve Cavalry (Grande Armée) was the centralized mounted striking force maintained by the Grande Armée during the Napoleonic Wars, intended to deliver decisive shock actions at critical moments of campaigns such as Austerlitz, Jena–Auerstedt, Friedland and Waterloo. It functioned as a strategic and operational reserve under the personal control of Emperor Napoleon I and his marshals, integrating cuirassiers, dragoons, chasseurs à cheval and lancers drawn from corps, Imperial Guard and allied contingents like the Confederation of the Rhine and the Kingdom of Italy. The Reserve Cavalry’s employment influenced doctrines adopted by contemporaries such as Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and successors in the Prussian Army and Russian Empire.
Napoleon formed the Reserve Cavalry to concentrate cavalry power beyond divisional or corps levels, formalized after reforms following Marengo and operational experiences in the War of the Third Coalition. Units were assembled from the Viceroyalty of Italy, the Kingdom of Naples, the Kingdom of Holland and other satellite states, with organizational precedents in the Ancien Régime and innovations mirrored in the Imperial Guard. The reserve typically comprised multiple cavalry divisions, brigades and squadrons drawn from heavy formations like the Cuirassiers and medium formations like the Dragoons, plus light cavalry such as Hussars and Chasseurs. Administrative control shifted between marshals—notably Murât and Ney—and Grand État-Major figures including Barthélemy Louis Joseph Scherer and Louis-Alexandre Berthier.
The Reserve Cavalry’s doctrine emphasized decisive shock, maneuver, reconnaissance and pursuit, influenced by earlier campaigns like Valez and theorists including Antoine-Henri Jomini and practitioners such as Marshal Bessières. Doctrine combined massed cavalry charges with combined-arms cooperation alongside the Grande Batterie of the Artillery of the Imperial Guard and the infantry of corps commanded by marshals like Davout, Soult, and Gouvion Saint-Cyr. In practice, doctrine prescribed holding the reserve until an opportunity to roll up an enemy flank presented itself, then committing cuirassiers and lancers to break formations, followed by dragoons and hussars to exploit and pursue into the rear echelons, as seen against opponents such as Karl Mack von Leiberich and Mikhail Kutuzov.
Composition varied by campaign but often included divisions of Cuirassiers, Dragoons, Chasseurs à cheval, Hussars, and lance-armed Polish Lancers from the Polish Legions. The Imperial Guard contributed elite squadrons drawn from the Grenadiers à Cheval and the Guard’s light cavalry like the Chasseurs à Cheval of the Imperial Guard. Allied contingents included regiments from the Kingdom of Italy, the Westphalian Army, and the Bavarian Army (Napoleonic); foreign units such as the Dutch-Belgian cavalry and elements of the Spanish Royal Army when available reinforced operations. Notable units associated with the reserve included divisions commanded by generals like Elchingen, Jean-Baptiste Bessières, Étienne-Marie-Antoine Champion de Nansouty, and François-Joseph Lefebvre.
The Reserve Cavalry was decisive at Austerlitz where massed cavalry supported corps movements against Alexander I of Russia and Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor. At Jena–Auerstedt and Friedland the reserve facilitated envelopments of Prussia and the Russian Empire. During the Peninsular War elements served in Spain under marshals like Jean-de-Dieu Soult and Ney, engaging forces led by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington and guerrilla commanders such as Francisco de Goya (as chronicler)—notably in operations around Burgos and Vitoria. In the Russian campaign of 1812 the Reserve Cavalry endured attrition against commanders like Mikhail Barclay de Tolly and in the Battle of Borodino; during the German campaign of 1813 and the Campaign of France (1814) it faced coalition marshals including Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher and Prince Schwarzenberg. The culminating commitment at Waterloo saw reserve elements under constrained command confronting the Duke of Wellington and Blücher.
Command rotated among senior marshals and cavalry specialists; notable commanders included marshals Joachim Murat, Michel Ney, Louis-Nicolas Davout (when cavalry attached), and cavalry leaders like Étienne-Marie-Antoine Champion de Nansouty and Jean Lannes. Strategic direction came from Emperor Napoleon I and his chief of staff Louis-Alexandre Berthier, with operational control delegated to the Reserve Cavalry commander who coordinated with corps commanders such as Nicolas Oudinot and Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr. Staff officers from the Grand État-Major and aides-de-camp like Géraud Duroc and Hector Berthier managed communications, reconnaissance reports from riders attached to the General Staff of the Grande Armée and liaison with the Imperial Guard.
Tactics relied on shock charges by cuirassiers wearing breastplates and helmets derived from models in use at Austerlitz and Friedland, combined with lancer thrusts by Polish and allied uhlan regiments influenced by tactics used by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth cavalry traditions. Dragoons performed mounted infantry roles in dismounted actions, while hussars and chasseurs conducted screening, reconnaissance and pursuit operations as during actions at Eylau and Golymin. Equipment included French muskets, sabres, carbines, cuirasses, lances and standardized harnesses produced in arsenals like the Arsenal de Paris; horse breeds were sourced from regions such as Camargue, Normandy, and captured remounts from Prussian and Russian depots. Logistic support and veterinary services were coordinated through the Bureau of Cavalry Supplies and the Veterinary Corps of the Napoleonic armies.
The Reserve Cavalry’s massed cavalry doctrine influenced 19th-century militaries including the Prussian Army, the Austro-Hungarian Army, and the Russian Imperial Army, informing cavalry employment at conflicts like the Crimean War and reforms leading into the Franco-Prussian War. Officers such as Helmuth von Moltke the Elder studied its operational art alongside treatises by Antoine-Henri Jomini and battlefield analyses of engagements like Auerstädt and Borodino. Its organizational concepts preceded modern armored and mobile reserves in the German Empire and later influenced doctrine in the British Army and United States Army as cavalry mechanization supplanted horse formations. Monuments and regimental traditions survive in museums such as the Musée de l'Armée and in commemorations at sites like Waterloo and Austerlitz.
Category:Napoleonic cavalry units