| Reserve Cavalry Corps | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1805–1807 |
| Country |  First French Empire |
| Branch | French Imperial Army |
| Type | Shock cavalry |
| Size | Corps |
| Engagements | War of the Third Coalition War of the Fourth Coalition |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Jean-Baptiste Bessières Joachim Murat |
TheReserve Cavalry Corps orCavalry Reserve of theGrande Armée was a French military unit that existed during theNapoleonic Wars. In 1805, EmperorNapoleon Bonaparte appointedMarshalJoachim Murat to command all the cavalry divisions that were not directly attached to the army corps. During theUlm campaign, Murat led his horsemen in successfully hunting down many Austrian units that escaped thecapitulation of Ulm, before fighting atAusterlitz in December 1805. Under Murat, the Cavalry Reserve played a prominent role in the destruction of the Prussian armies after theBattle of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806. In 1812, the Reserve Cavalry Corps was split up into theI,II,III, andIV Cavalry Corps for theFrench invasion of Russia.
At its formation, theGrande Armée comprised sevenarmy corps, theImperial Guard, the artillery reserve, and the Cavalry Reserve. The latter consisted of twocuirassier, one light cavalry, and fivedragoon divisions, including one dismounted. The mass of 22,000 cavalrymen was supported by 24 pieces of artillery, while the remainder of the army's cavalry was distributed among the army corps in brigades or divisions.[1] Napoleon appointed MarshalJoachim Murat to command the Reserve Cavalry. GeneralsÉtienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty andJean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul led the cuirassier divisions while GeneralsLouis Klein,Frédéric Henri Walther,Marc Antoine de Beaumont, andFrançois Antoine Louis Bourcier headed the dragoon divisions and GeneralLouis Baraguey d'Hilliers commanded the dismounted unit.[2] On 8 October 1805, at theBattle of Wertingen, Murat and MarshalJean Lannes attacked an isolated Austrian division under GeneralFranz Xaver von Auffenberg. Murat's horsemen included Klein's 3,000-strong dragoon division, Beaumont's 2,400-man dragoon division, and light cavalry brigades under GeneralsAntoine Lasalle andAnne-François-Charles Trelliard. With the support of someV Corps infantry, Murat's horsemen rode down the helpless Austrians, inflicting losses of 400 killed and wounded, 2,900 prisoners, six guns, and six flags. The French admitted 174 casualties.[3]
The cavalry saw much service during the rest of theUlm campaign. At theBattle of Haslach-Jungingen on 11 October 1805, the 15th and 17th Dragoon Regiments lost their eagles. However, the action was a French victory over a greatly superior force.[4] Murat led his horsemen in a series of actions between 16 and 18 October before securing the surrender of GeneralFranz von Werneck's Austrian corps. In these clashes, Klein's 1st, 2nd, 4th, 14th, 20th, and 26th Dragoon Regiments, the 1st Cuirassier Regiment, and other units were involved.[5] At theBattle of Schöngrabern on 16 November, Klein's troopers were engaged as were the 11th, 13th, and 22nd Dragoons from Walther's division.[6] At theBattle of Austerlitz on 2 December, Murat led approximately 7,400 cavalrymen including Nansouty's 1st Heavy Cavalry Division, Hautpoul's 2nd Heavy Cavalry Division, Walther's 2nd Dragoon Division, GeneralFrançois Étienne de Kellermann's light cavalry division and GeneralÉdouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud's light cavalry brigade. Beaumont's 3rd Dragoon Division was attached to theIV Corps while Bourcier's 4th Dragoon Division with 2,500 men and three guns were attached to theIII Corps.[7]
At the beginning of theWar of the Fourth Coalition, the Reserve Corps under Murat included the 1st and 2nd Cuirassier Divisions, still commanded by Nansouty and d'Hautpoul, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Dragoon Divisions under Klein, GeneralEmmanuel de Grouchy, Beaumont, and GeneralLouis Michel Antoine Sahuc respectively, and a light cavalry division led by Lasalle.[8] The pursuit that occurred after the French victory in theBattle of Jena-Auerstedt on 14 October has been described as classic.[9] On the 16th, Murat and his cavalry accepted thesurrender of Erfurt where 9,000–14,000 Prussians were made prisoners.[10] At theBattle of Prenzlau on 28 October, Murat bluffed 10,000 Prussians with 64 guns into surrendering. The next day, 4,000 Prussians surrendered to Milhaud's troopers in thecapitulation of Pasewalk. Also on 29 October, Lasalle's light cavalry captured a fortress manned by 5,000 men in thecapitulation of Stettin.[11]
On 16 December 1806, the Reserve Corps was split into theI Cavalry Corps under Murat and theII Cavalry Corps under MarshalJean-Baptiste Bessières. The II Corps operated with the northern wing of the French corps that advanced across theVistula. The II Corps consisted of the divisions of d'Hautpoul, Grouchy, and Sahuc, plus a light cavalry division under GeneralJacques Louis François Delaistre de Tilly. The II Corps was disbanded on 12 January 1807 and the Reserve Cavalry Corps was reconstituted.[12] During the winter campaign, the 5th Dragoon Division was formed and assigned to GeneralNicolas Léonard Beker. It served nearWarsaw under MarshalAndré Masséna.[13] At theBattle of Eylau on 8 February 1807, Murat led a grand charge of 80 squadrons of cavalry, altogether 10,700 horsemen. The divisions of Grouchy, d'Hautpoul, Klein, and Milhaud were all engaged. The French cavalry suffered 1,500 casualties but they badly disrupted the Russian lines at a critical point in the battle.[14] D'Hautpoul was killed in the struggle.[15]
In 1812, the Reserve Cavalry Corps was split up into the I, II,III, andIV Cavalry Corps for theinvasion of Russia. Each corps consisted of two heavy cavalry divisions and one light cavalry division, except the IV which had one heavy and one light cavalry division. Nansouty led the I, GeneralLouis-Pierre Montbrun the II, Grouchy the III, and La Tour-Maubourg the IV Cavalry Corps.[16]
Reserve Cavalry Corps: MarshalJoachim Murat (19,629, 26 guns)[17]
