| IV Cavalry Corps | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1812–1814 |
| Country |  First French Empire |
| Branch | French Imperial Army |
| Type | Shock cavalry |
| Size | Corps |
| Engagements | Russian campaign War of the Sixth Coalition |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Victor de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg François Étienne de Kellermann Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud |
TheIV Cavalry Corps of theGrande Armée was a French military unit that existed during theNapoleonic Wars. The corps was created in 1812 and rebuilt in 1813 and 1815. EmperorNapoleon I first organized the corps for theinvasion of Russia. Under GeneralVictor de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg, the corps fought atBorodino. During theWar of the Sixth Coalition in 1813, GeneralFrançois Étienne de Kellermann commanded the all-Polish corps atLeipzig.
At the beginning of theinvasion of Russia, the IV Cavalry Corps numbered 7,964 troopers in 40 squadrons with 24 cannons attached. The corps was placed under the leadership of GeneralVictor de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg and organized into two divisions under Generals Alexander Rozniecki andJean Thomas Guillaume Lorge. Rozniecki's 4th Light Cavalry Division was made up of Poles while Lorge's 7th Heavy Cavalry Division consisted of Poles, Saxons, and Westphalians. Along with three infantry corps, the corps formed part of the Second Support Army under KingJérôme Bonaparte.[1] On 9 July 1812, General Casimir Turno's 900-strong brigade of Rozniecki's division was defeated by 4,500Cossacks under GeneralMatvei Platov atKarelichy. The 3rd, 15th, and 16th Lancers lost 356 men killed, wounded, or captured. The next day, nearMir, 1,600 troopers of Rozniecki's division were again defeated in a clash with a mixed force of 5,000 Russians, including Russian regular infantry and cavalry plus Cossacks. Elements of the Polish 2nd, 3rd, 9th, 11th, 15th, and 16th Lancer Regiments were engaged. The Russians suffered 180 casualties while Polish losses are unknown.[2]
The IV Cavalry Corps was engaged at theBattle of Borodino on 7 September 1812. The 4th Light Cavalry Division deployed three regiments of Polish uhlans backed by two Polish horse artillery batteries. The 7th Heavy Cavalry Division counted two regiments of Saxon, two of Westphalian, and one of Polish cuirassiers, supported by one Saxon and one Westphalian horse artillery batteries.[3] The final attack on the Great Redoubt occurred at 2:00 PM. PrinceEugène de Beauharnais sent three infantry divisions in a frontal attack, while theIII Cavalry Corps advanced on the left and theII Cavalry Corps and IV Cavalry Corps advanced on the right. The cavalry on the right-hand side soon trotted past the marching infantry and drove for the left side of the redoubt. According to the Saxon colonel of theZastrow Regiment, the young-looking La Tour-Maubourg deftly led the corps past the left end of the redoubt. Galloping over dead bodies from the earlier fighting, Lorge's cuirassiers were the first into the fieldwork. Some cavalrymen forced their way through embrasures while others swept around the rear. Massed inside the Great Redoubt, the Russian infantry refused to give up as infantrymen and horsemen engaged in a wild frenzy of slaughter. When the French infantry finally burst into the fieldwork from the front, they quickly massacred the remaining defenders. Witnesses later described a ghastly scene with some corpses torn apart by artillery fire and others stacked several layers deep.[4]
After the capture ofMoscow, the French cavalry under MarshalJoachim Murat were assigned to watch the Russian camp nearTarutino. Camped in the open, men and horses sickened and died in large numbers. By mid-October, General Thielmann reported that the Saxon cavalry brigade could only muster 50 horses.[5] La Tour-Maubourg led a remnant of his corps at theBattle of Krasnoi on 16 November 1812. On this occasion, the corps held off Russian cavalry and Cossacks, allowing the retreating army to utilize the main highway.[6] About the time of this action, many units of the main army simply dissolved.[7]
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When the 1813 summer armistice ended, the IV Cavalry Corps counted 3,923 horsemen in 24 squadrons with 12 artillery pieces attached. Napoleon appointed GeneralFrançois Étienne de Kellermann to lead the formation. During the spring campaign, the Polish Army under PrinceJózef Poniatowski was isolated nearWarsaw. By an agreement with the Allies, the Poles were permitted free passage to join Napoleon's forces in Saxony. From the Allied perspective, the arrangement freed up a large number of troops who would otherwise be required to contain the Poles.[8] The Poles were allowed to march through neutral territory ofAustria. The IV Cavalry Corps was instructed to assemble atBautzen along with theI Corps under GeneralDominique Vandamme. All told, 37,000 soldiers including 5,000 cavalry and 88 guns were massed at Bautzen.[9] On 27 September, the IV Cavalry Corps and theVIII Corps under Poniatowski were located atWaldheim.[10] At this time, corps strength was about 3,000 troopers and 12 guns.[11] On 14 October, 8,550 cavalrymen including the IV Cavalry Corps,V Cavalry Corps, GeneralFrédéric de Berkheim's division of theI Cavalry Corps, and a Polish cuirassier regiment engaged the Allies atLiebertwolkwitz. Though the French held their ground, the combat was not a success because Murat's dense tactical formations were fended off by only 5,570 Allied horsemen.[12] One source credited Kellermann's corps with only 1,800 combatants in the action.[13] At the start of theBattle of Leipzig on 16 October, the IV Cavalry Corps was positioned directly behind Poniatowski's corps.[14] The corps comprised the 7th and 8th Light Cavalry Divisions under GeneralsMichael Sokolnicki and Antoni Pawel respectively. Each division had two brigades consisting of two regiments each. In both divisions, three regiments were made up of uhlans and one of hussars. All corps units were Poles with the exception that one of the two horse artillery batteries was French.[15] When Napoleon ordered the retreat, Kellermann's corps was directed to accompany theImperial Guard and several other units.[16]
The III Cavalry Corps under GeneralJean-Toussaint Arrighi de Casanova and the IV Cavalry Corps under GeneralHorace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta served in MarshalJacques MacDonald's command during the first week of February 1814.[17]
IV Cavalry Corps: General of DivisionVictor de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg
Source:"Order of Battle of Borodino". napolun.com. 2007. Retrieved24 August 2013.
IV Cavalry Corps: General of DivisionFrançois Étienne de Kellermann
Source:"French Order of Battle at Leipzig". The Napoleon Series. 2004. Retrieved13 September 2013.