Napoleon's Mamelukes

NapOleon's Mamelukes

CONTENTS

ROMALD ..loWLY wa. born In ~ ~lum.l" 195fl ..,.. .tII '""'" and works there. He is ~ e.qlert on 19th __urt m1l1h1ry ponraltu....

He .. tM author of tlMl monuIMnbl

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t..ncen:

N.~lc

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11981, and of I Itudy 01 N.poleonlc veter.n.' tomb. In "",Ium. HI. prevlou. title. tor Oaprey Include Men It AnM 378: Hepoleon'. Ou,vd. HofIou" Men·.t·Arm. 389: M,t,poMon .. Red Unce,..; and ............."...405: HlJI)OIeon'.

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e-..........

p ...~tce COURCELLE was bom In notthem France In 1950 and hi. been • profHSlon.lllIu.lrator for _ 20 )'flllra. Entirety .elf· taught. he h•• lllualfllted meny booQ end m!t9*:llne artie... for Conllnenhll ~ end hi. work , . . . In e number of public: ..,.. ..,..,... collections. HI.

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nuon.

ORIGINS

3

NAPOLEON'S EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN

5

• The battle of the Pyramids - the S\r1.1Il expedition the b,."utle of .\boukir • t:g'\'PI dfler Bonapanc .nle ),Iameluke craze

MAMELUKES IN FRENCH SERVICE

9

• Or~..anilalion - costume - the C.onsular Cuard - problems of a(ijllsuncnt - commanders - reduction in numbers. 180-1 • The Imperial Guard • Ethnic origins • Personalities

CAMPAIGNS

21

·1805- 1806-1807 • Spain. 1808: ~ladri(1, 2 r>.la)'-lknavcl1te. 29 December • 1809 - Russia. 1812- Cermany. 1813- France. 1814 • The First ReslOralion • The Ilundred Da\'S • The Second ReslOration: the \\'litc Terror • Standards and honours

THE PLATES

45

INDEX

48

Men-at-Arms' 429

Napoleon's Mamelukes

Ronald Pawly . Illustrated by Patrice Courcelle s.."

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Artist's Note

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OPPOSITE Young M.meluke, atter e drewln.g made In Cairo durll'lll the French occ:upatlon, by Dutert,., one of the ac:lentl.t. who ec:c:ompanled eonaparte" ellpedltlon to rac:ord Egypt.. ruins, people, hebltets, flol1l end fauna, All the c:olieeted malerial wa. publi.hed In th.... huge volumes entitled La OeKrlpflon de l'Egyple. Ttll. engl'llvfng shows some fealu",. of traditlonel Ma~luke c:OtItu~ thet woulel e~r In the uniform of lhe Memelultn of the e-ular end Imperial O~rd, Inc:ludlng the turban, the wl6e trouee.... end _ durlng the early dllY'S In Fl'llnce - the Iong'-uee-d C:CNlI. !La OeKrlptlon de l'ElTi'pr.: CoIMc:tion of the MUMe Netlonal du Chll. .u de Mallnal.anj

NAPOLEON'S MAMELUKES

ORIGINS After the death of Gcnghis Khan in 1227. the expeditions of conqucst that he had launched a quancr-eClllur, before continued under his successor Ogedei. initialh focused on European Russia and China. Howc'l't::r, in about 1230 . he Sultan of Egvpl concehed the idea of profiting from recent :\Iongol victories in t.he ro.:ear E..'lSt to rah.e an elite corps of warriors for his 0\\11 senice. In the course of their sliccessful campaigns the Mongols had carried ofT huge numbeR of men, ,,'omen and children as sian's, and in around 1227-28 thousands of ..hese capthes ","ere put up for sale in the slave markets of the ~ear Easl. One of the ~Iongols' main customel1l \OdS the Sultan of Eg""pl. who specified his interest in whjtc-skinll('d (in practice. Seljuk Turkish) bO\'S and adolescellLS between 6 and 16 years old. After being comencd 10 Islam if they were 110t alreadY com erts, lhcse bo} were lmined lO a high standard in lhe arlS of horsemanship and warfare. Once lrdined and of age, the) entered lhe corps of mmn/llks - 'bouglll soldiers', which was retained under the suhan's direct command, (Hereafter in lhis text the English spelling mmnl'fllkl'$ is used; French sources give bolh mamlllk$ and mall/,lollks.) The Eg>plians themselves werc nOI a manial nation. alld lor centuries their nlters had r,lised anuies frolll an assorlluent of merccllaries and sla\cs; the i\larnelukes would provide lhclll with the only full) mounted corps in Egypt. Although their backgrollnd was sla\e1")', while liley served the sultan the J\lame1ukes' status was far higher thall lhal Lerm implies to modern readers, Indeed, each oflhese privileged warriors himself had at least twO servants (serrati}) and might have additional sl'1\'es. Raised as \\~drriors from 1>0> hood, it was nOl long before this most clTecove elemelll of Lhe Egyplian army took power for themseh"Cs, As earl) as 1252. after ani, 1\\'0 decadt."S of existence. the ~Iamellikes assassinated Sultan Ashmf ~'Ioussa and created a Mamcluke dynasty', which nile
3

r seven portnIlts 01 Mamelull•• d.-wn In Eppl by Outmre, IhoWlng dift_t ethnic 0f1gkts. By UNo blQinnlnt 01 UNo 11Hh

_luoy most Mamel,*" ~ e - - ..-glon. with a f _ Irom the R ~ COlI'" 01 tM st-k s.. and others Irom 1OUth....t Europe. ~ OIl(;riptlon • I'Egypte: CoII1c:tlon of UNo Mu.... National

'""" UNo

du ChlitelKl de MIla-110ft)

4

status at first remained nonhereditary. and sons were striclly pre\t"llled from fol100\ing their fathers into po\\'er. As the nlnks of Ihe corps were COIlSL11l11} refreshed \\ilh ne\\ L.:tpthcs, so po\\'er passed to a mcce~iol\ of the ~trong('st am,rs - the regional miliran governors set up b\ Saladin during his reorganization of the Eg-.·ptian arnn in the ,ears after 1I 70. In 1281, during the reign of Ogedei's ncphe\\ Kublai Khan. the ~Iamelule Sultan Kala'tm defealed a ~Iongol ad\'ance into Syria althe battle of Horns: and bl 1291 the~ had dri\'en the last of the Christian cms.1del"S from the Ilol\' Land, BUI alread\, far to the nonh-east in Ihe badlands on the B\7.antine frontiel' in eastern Analolia. their e\'emua! nemesis \\'as stirring - a Turkish \\..man was caning out his firSl small kingdom. With astonishing speed and \igour this expanding state copied, defeated and absorbed the best regional armies 10 gro\\' into tile mighty Ottoman Empire. moutHing conquests b, land and sea and leading the region in the use of gunpo\'oder weapons. B\ the mid-15th celli un the Ouomans had s,\-ept a\\<1\ !lle lasl remnants of the Bp~antine Empire. C'dpturing Constantinople and extending their power deep into the Balkans, In the early )ears of the follo\\ing centu .... the Ouomans turned to\\t into 24 prodnces. each ruled by a Mamelllke !Ny answering 10 a j){lslm in G.1.iro. who held power as a mssal of the sultan in ConslanLinople, This siUlation lasled until lhe mid-18lh Cellllll)', when lhe decline of the Ouoman Empire led to the 1)(I.~h(/ losing his supremacy over infillenLial Mamel11ke regional leaders, who bllilt tip their personal power bases, The reality of power passed from hand to hand. usuall)' 10 the br
ruler of the Iwo se'L~'. In 1770 he hrained control of the IIUa/, 1I1c nortl,wesl of presenHlay Saudi Arabia, and its all-important i\lusli1l1 holy pl,lces; and a ycar later he tcmporarily occupied Syria, thus briell) I'c\'i\ing lhe fonner ~I,unclllke cmpire thai had fallen ill 1517. Ilow('\'er, Ali Be} lost power in 1772, and on 8 May I?iS he died in GJiro of \\'ounds received in a skirmish \I'ith Ottoman rebels. B} the time the French Gene"ll Napoleon Bonaparte im.uled Egvpt some 20 real'" later Ill(~ countr. was ruled by IWO Malllcluk<.-'S: Murad Bc~, \\'ho held command of the ann), and Ibrahim Be\, who dealt with the adrninistJence of a 'pUpp('I' Jxulia who ofTiciall\' represented the OIlOlllal1 Sultan Selim III.

NAPOLEON'S EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN

"'" a.ttit oIlhe Pyramkh, .., YInnt Denon, ahowlng 1M chafve of M ~ ...,... M

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of _h

'"'" bel_ "n.l", -ec.pllng ~ In. blItt1e w.. ~"", .nd tftrNIlng,

In 1797 the rOlUlg General Bonaparte was looking for a n('\\ omlet for hi~ encrgil.'S - and so were his politicalmaslers. lie had gaim.'d glon. and public acclaim b\ his uiumphant camrmign against 1I1C I\usuians in ltah, and his hl"J'owing populant\ frightened Ihe members of Ihe Director. which had mled the Republic since October 1795. The) would rather see him campaigning in some far-offthemssia had su('d for peace, France had .a limit"-'tI choice of enemies against \\hom to d~patch her restless \oung hero. Bonaparte "'as ambitious, nllhless, and pcrfccth aware that his gro\\ing influel1ce mighl lift him to the high"-"'I goal: but he also knew that the time was not }et ripe to confronl his illlemalli\
5

Murad Bey, by Dutertre; he II Ihown In this portrllit with a long dl/l9Of\al lCa, on his flCe, the reSl.llt of a ..bre cut received et the aettle of the PyremkfL He led the remnants of hie fon:. . -.ttl mto the wildemen of the Upp« Nile, fl9htiftg on fOf" two Y'Urs before signing e truoty with the French thet brought pe-. to acKIthem Egypt. lUI Oeacrlptlon de l'EfIYP'e: Collection of the

Mune National du Chlteau de MalmlilMnl

•

Bonaparte's Armv of Ihe Onent would howe some 40,000 men (plus 16i artists and sciemists), earned and escorted b, 280 cargo ships and 55 warships - an imponalll force for France at Ihat dale. The ~tr.Hegic island base of \lalta capillliated on 12Jllne after a two-da\ siege: the French annada arn\'ed at Alexandna on I Jllh, and had seiLed this viwl port by the follo.....ing da\. On 3 july the march Mlllthwards towards Cairo began, with Napoleon IT\O\"ing up the west bank of the Nile: and on the same day Mllrad Bey set aliI to interceptlhe French. The \
and Jaffa. and laid siege to Acre, whcre Capt Sir Sydncy Smith, RN, inspired the defenders, Ancmpting lO relic\'e Acre. Achlllcd Pasha was defeated by Bonaparte at ~loulll Tabor on 17 April. Unable to takc Acre. however. and with his force l';w::lged br disease. which accolllllcd for about 1,000 of his 2,200 dead. Bonapanc fell back to Cairo IIndc,' conSlant pinptick .macks. arriving thcre on 14 June, On 15 July a new Turkish amw ofsolTte 18.000 men. assembled on the island of RJlodes and com'o)cd to Eb~Vt by the Roral :"'a,,), landed at Aboukir and entrenched. Bonapartc pulled back his forces from L:ppcr Eg'o"pt. and mO\ed against them \\;th his remaining 6,000 men, On 25 Juh his infantn. led b\ Cen Lutllcs. broke imo the Tmkish position, and Cell Murat's ca\'aln complett:d his mendlelming \;ctory, for a COst of some 900 French dead. Ilow(:\'cr. a few weeks later he received, court~ of the BI;tish commandcr, a parcel containing French newspapers ....-hich infonned him ofa disastrous political situation in Francc. and of French defeats in f1aly at the hands of a Russo-Allsttian arm, under ~larshal Su\'aro\. General Bonaparte decided to retllm to France. tuming over his command to Cen Kleber. lie left E~"pt with his immediate emourage on the eo.ening of 22 August 1799. arriving at Frejus on 9 October.Just one month later the coup d'Celt of Bnlmairt'made him First Consul and ruler of France. Egypt aft.r Bonapart.' In CUm, on Ii OclOJx-r 1799. Cen Kleber ordered that from 6 1\'O\'embcr onwards all mounted orderlie.. to general officers had to retUl1l to lheir respecli\'(~ units. TIle\ "'ere to be replaced by Mamelukes, per'ic::umll, selected ~ them from lhe newl) fanned nau\'e companies, excepting those of Ilussein Kiachef (the colonel of a local militia). or those ~Iamellikes alread, sening in Cairo or in lhe prO\;nces. Generals of di\ision could ha\e ten Mamcluke orderlies as~iglled to them. commanded b} a SQus·kif;ch,t gellerals of bl;gade. six, also led bva SOlISkiiUht-J On 28 FebrUll!) 1800 it was recorded thaI 278 ~Iameluk(:s ;lIId Syrians were in sen'ice \\'ith the arlllY in Egypt. \\;th 163 horses. General Kleber's lIttempt to conclude a Il"eat)' with the Turks ill JanuiUJ' 1800 W;ts foiled by the British, and the Turks ad\~IllCed on Cairo, On 20 March, Kleber dcfeated them at Ilcliopolis. but rebellion broke alit in C.1.iro, Generdl Kleber W,IS stabbed to death by a fanatic on 14 Junc 1800, lind was succeeded accoI'ding to seniorit} b~ Ccn Jacques ~lenou, who on i July

O,..wl"li! of • ~Iuk. Bey by Cer1 V.....I, snowl"li! _gil. 0' Nddlery; I'IOle the high fTOf'lt end beck 01 t"- udd", end the boxlike Orlengl .tlrrup-. (Courte'ly Mu'" de l'Emptcrtifonner Brunon Collection, Selon-

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M.meluk. . displayed their filte status In all poseltHe • .,... TMIr udd.... .nabraq_and ...ttwr belts weN IftMl.e by the n""t Cr1I"-. and some-.. doM:OI'1lted w+ttl ...,.,1-9rK6ous stones. Such nne pieces must hrn been eo costty that It ,. hard to belle¥e thaI they _lei hrte been Ie" betMnd wtoen the owners Ie" Egypt lor Fr1Ince, and dr1lWlnp by Hoffmann, ZlJl end SwebKh Mow them In UM _ though probabty onty fOf' PlIntM .nd

c~I.I. and

certainty MIt on c.mpa"n. &'" .... dl~ tach)' In the Mu'" de l'Am\H In Paris .nd the Chlteau de Malmalson. ~ DeKrlptlon de "EflYpte: CotlecUon 01 the Mu'" National du Chlt,.u de Malm,leonl

ordered the organilation of
The Mameluke craze II. is inleresting to note that b..'l.ck in France, even before Ihe first ~'!amclllkes arrived in Europe, thcse Oriental \\..trriors had acquired such a reputation lhat being dressed 'ti Itl t//(wltlOllk'bccamc fashionable. Women wore large turbans and shom'ls. \\'hile children were dressed in Oliental style. Evcn in the ann)' it became fashionable to have mounled ketlle-dnllnmcrs (h'csscd in Oricntal costumes. When Bonapane rClLIrncd to France, bringing with him two Mametllkes a.~ 1>cI"SOnal scn"lr1lS, lhis f.ld spread like 'jz.'tt.< wildfire. Honapane's stepson and fUlure Viceroy of hal}', . . Eugene Bcaulmmais. the fmure marshals Mannolll, -;:..;~ j.:( Lannes, SoUll, Bcssicl'es, and cven Napoleon's brother 1 Joseph, the future King of Sp
,.. SJ.t

8

with a lillie European discipline, he considered thai they would make the best light c:tvalry in the world. Without really having thought about raising a nati,e corps in the French ami}, Bomlpane \\'ould soon be confronted with the idea.

•

MAMELUKES IN FRENCH SERVICE

•

• no. craz. for ," tnlng, EgypU.., that

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Mounted ".tueodrumm... w... IItted out •• M,melult••, lilt. tnle drumm.r 01 the Mounted Cheueu.. of tM Imperl.1 Gu.1'd dr.wn by Hoffm.nn. (Anne S.K.Brown Collectlon, Providence, USA)

TIle fil'St Step to\\! of them bringing along their parents. brothers, wives and children. Other local tfOOpS - such as 339 men of Col Nicolas Papas-Oglou's Greek Legion, and the former SyriaIlJaniss,,;lIies - also followed the French when Cen ~lenoll's command finally ceased in mid-october 1801. In all the e\"acuated forces numbered 11,168 fit soldiers, 1,300 sick, 3+4 sailors, 82 ci,;lians. and a total of 760 Mamelukes, Spians. Copts and Creeks. (When lhe French troops departed in 1801. lhe Mamclllke leaders whom Bonaparte had driven into L'pper E~vt and SHia regained power. until their massacre in 1811 by Mehlllet Ali.)

9

Organization Landing ill France on 29 September 1801, Barlhclenw Serra had hoped to find some kind of orders from the First Consul. Concerned for the fmure of his ~Iamelllkes. he \\mte from Toulon, "'here tl1e\' werc being held in qllar.l.Il1ine, to infonn Bonaparte of their /' arri\~dl. Describing the total desutUlion of the E~lltian refugees, he again ex~ pressed their de\'otion to the person of the First Consul. This, like his lener fmm E~pt, failed to elicit a direct reph. :'I.'onetheless. \\'hen the Firsl C.onsul learned of Ihe arri\"ill of the nati\e corps of his fonner Artnce d'Orielll, he became recepth'e to the idea ofadmitung a unit of carefully selected elite cavalrymen to his personal guard. \\ithout dela\, on II October he ordered Cen Victor Leopold Benhier (I iio-I806) - the roungest bmther of the future marshal and chief-of· staff to the Emperor- 10 ~Iarseille and Toulon. His instructions were to pay appropriate respects to Ihe foreign troops depending on their fonner sen·ices during the EgYplian campaign, and 10 pro\ide Bonaparte with a filII report as 10 the numbers of refugee men, \\omen and children, their ages and professions. JUSt IWO dap_ later, by decree of 13 October, Bonaparte ordered his nidNfHamp jean Rapp to organi7e a ·Squadron of ~lamelu"es of the First Consul', 240 soldiers sirong, under his own cOlllmand. By giving overall control of the s
,

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unal30 s.rx- I ' " 81'1d ...... Is..month Slay In PMt _

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ABOVE ANa OPPOSITE 1Wo-. dr1lWlngs of M.lMk>ke Beys by

v.m.t. Note the 1ong·.1Mved the low ~ c.p the tlltbMl, the wkte t . - . n end the emy of .eat:MMMo. (Courtesy MIIS6e de l'Emp6rtl former Bnlnon CollecUM, S.lon....P ~ ) COlI'"

Il~

,,'ith administr.:llioll. training. discipline and unifonns. In addition to these officers a quarlennaster. also French, and two lranslator-sccrctarics - one for each compall\ ,,·ere prescribed. rile Marne.. lukes' unifonns '""'Quid remain unchanged. Three mOlllhs later. on I April 1802. ,mOlher decree settled their pOl'. bonuses. allowances and armament. Each l':CO and trooper would recei\(~ 1,600 francs to equip and dress himsclf and bll} a horse and saddlery, and ollicers would receive a bonus 01 I.ROO francs for Lhe same pll'llOse. As the ~Iamelukes were accustOllled lO cillT)'ing a "ery varied arsenal of personal WeallO!lS, the decree ruled that the anus depolS or the Republic were to provide each trooper and l':CO with one carbine. one blunderbuss. two pairs of pistols. one Oriental s.,bre. one dagger. one mace. aile powder horn. and lances for one (not vet specified) compmn. lk'1:ause a ~tameluke's Oriental unifonn was \(~r. elabomte and expensive. Bonap.,ne had to n.'
11

E.ach of the 1\\'0 companies had one captLlin, one fil1\llicUlcnanl, olle

second liCllIcmllll. one ${JIIS-linllelllllll, olle 11Iflric/wl d,s logi.s ch,! (scrgcanl-m.ti0r). fOLlr mllrichallx des logi.s (sergeantS), one /ol/I1i,.,. inlcrprelCr (f0Iln1" is normal I) translated as quarlcrmaster-eorporal), eight brigadim (corporals), 1\\0 LnllllpelCrs, 59 ~lall1elukcs ;md one f.lrricr: in 100ai 4 officers. 76 ;\Ieos and lJ"oopers. TIle saInt' decree also regulated the situation or tile other immigr.IIlLS from [gvpt 1\110 had followed the French ann" lO Europe. Old-age pensioncn, women and children also rcccil'cd a pay allowance; \\hen they re:lehed the age of 16 the boys would ha\'e to scn;e in lhe unit if till.')' were con.sidered fit enough for military senice. TIle second decree commissioned the officers of the squadron: 1st Comp.'\n\':

Ibrahim, Captain Jean Renno, 1st Lielllenant Chahin', 2nd Lieutenant Soliman, S(}U5-llnl/~nant 2nd Company: Salloum. C."lprnin Daoud lIabaibi, 1st Lielllcnam Elias ~(assa"ld. 2nd LieUlenant Alxlallah d'Asbonne, $Ous-l;~llnlQnt

Ie,

,.,

12

•

AItItooth theM drawl"O' 01 Mamelutt. w•• p
French

.rtI,t, In Egypt, the

w.rrionI UrUolnly c.rried their Mm, wIttl them when they took .... fOf" Franc•• The d
.... au W. meee Ie}., btunderbu.. (01 and c.rtMne. lour hoIstetwd ~tot. (D), and • cMgger (II). 1ft MkIItIon to the .eimltar (I: & F). All weAl INd40

to ~ Mwneluk. pett_ '" the

ManufK1~"'~"""

n.. u. and meee .... Pf'Ob-bIy _

~1101

tMn

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and dlsappMAd ~ 180t and 1812 (though _ PUte 031; tM blundettlUM _ . canied on p.M1IdJH but ~

with • e.rblne CHI lU DefCrlptlon de "Egyp'-' Collection 01 the M"*"" NatlcHwl du ChitHu ~n.

"

The French officers fonning the S1afTwcrc: Charles Delaitre, Captain-qllarlCnnOlstcr Edollard Colbcn, Captain adjulant-major Man~scha1. Licutcnan t -i IlstrucLOr Mauban, Sllrgcon-major The three French officers who \\'cre charged with the org-.mizalioll of thlt ~lal11e1l1kes ,,'cI"e fonner heroes uf the E~01lliall campaign. Selling \\;Ih Cen Desa.ix.Jean Rap!> had distinguished himsclfin cng-dgcmclILS at Scdiman and Samanhout. Dclaitre, former ADC (0 Cell Kleber, was wounded al Acre; he would lawr become a major in the I~t (Polish) Regiment of Lancers or Lhe Imperial Guard. Edouard Colbert was a rOnller rommi.s5alrP d~ gttnTl"S and ADC to Cell Damas: he too would be a famous figure in the Imperial Guard. becoming Lhe commander or the 2nd (Dutch) Regimelll or Lancers. belLer l..nO\\11 as Red Lancers.' Bcroming First Consul ror Lire. Bonaparte n:organized the Consular Guard into his own Guard b, decree or I October 1802. This corps included the Mamelukes alongside the ,'elemn units rrom both Italian and Eg'l)ljan campaigns. and he stipulaled that the, would be organi7ed as rollows: St.ur: I colonel, I quanennaster, I captain responsible for adminislJdtion, I Iieutenant- instructor. I surgeon-m.yor. I adjutant NCO, I \'t"Lerinaf), I corporal-trumpeter. I master-saddler. I masLertailor. I master-bootmaker and I master-allllourer. Each compaJw: I captain. I first Iieutenalll. I second lieuten:ull, I .sow.Jlndnwllt, t marichal d~ logJs lhq, 4 marichOllX de$ fogU. I !Qum", 8 tmgodi~. 2 lrtImj>CLers. 59 Mamelukes and one farrier. 3 3M MM • . """"""" ""'" ~

Melm.1aon1

l~

I ,.

(., 13

During the Consul.t. the M.mekII<. . stili wonl their Egyptian clothing, .m-,gh from their admlulon to the Oward of the fl,.t Consul they started ...-Mng _ unIf_ IHun.

. . . __

. b l _ ~

of light ClMIlry IWd and

~,

edged wIttl

bNrinlI • comer motH

~Il" the hom of the Mounted en.--. TN Nrty QIhouir under the ~ it shown . . IWd, ~ by

_,..It

aMuId "-"" bMn ~ TN whlttI..-owI tr--. ~

".eYed

_ _ ..... TN Md. ~ open _ the-.lst

yaIek,

.......

___

itlnthe~of8A

period; and note the V-nedl; the beIIio::#NI Mlrt. wtIkfI _

_

or

typcaIly cut I'lM.nd at the

nec:k. ~ Mwep CBl'ried their . . . . "In f-.rcIa, wttlng edge bKkw. . . . TtQ rider abo

"" • au,g I:Mbine and • the

IMter _

lance; mentlonBd In •

dec",. lor _ com~ but ttter. it no proof tt\IIt thh _ _ 0f98'l1zed. (Court..,. Mus6e

oe l'Emp6ftItormer Brunon CoIIeetlon, S.1on-de-Pnwenc:.,

,.

In all, thc Corps des Mamelouks had 13 officers with 40 hONes and 159 i\larnelukes with 156 horses. The ~ame decree also mentions a timbolil'Tor horscx!rummel'. TIle Marne1ukes were directed to barracks at Melun as their garrison LO....'l. while the non-combaLant refugees and their families were sent to li\'c in \Iarseille, where Lhe} remained until the end of the Empire; in 1811 Ihe) numbered 458 souls, Since the fierce and haughty ~Iameluke warriors and meir new neighbolli's both faced a considerable 'culmre shock', it was nOI surprising lhal da.\thes \rerc reponed be(ween the exotic newcomen and the citilens of ~1e1Ull and Pam. TIle Mamelukes still beha\ed as the) had ill me SU·t.'eLS of e,iro, and on more man one occasion Napoleon himself had to illlel'\'ene. C.plain Parquin of the Mounted Chasscurs (ChlWnlr.J a chnJa/) of the Guard recal~ in his memoirs an incidelll imohing c.,pt Ibrahim of me 1st Compam. Recelllh· arrived in Paris. tJlis officer became lost. and his Oriellla} dress amazed tJle curious Parisians whom he passed as he .....andered the streets. Ending up in me central districl called lhe 'quarticr de la Halle de blc~'. Ibrahim .....a s surrounded In a cro....d of .....o rkers who ....hisued at him . lhrew mud, and shouled th.u il \\'as nOI cam ivai time, so .... In was he .....caring Turkish costume? Capmin Ibrahim did nOl understand French, nor the reason why U1C\ ridiculed him: beJiC\ing his life to be in danger from mis lhreatening mob. he dre.... his pislols and shot IWO Frenchmen dead. He lhen dre..... his sabre and dagger. read~ 10 slaughter more of Lhem in defence of his honour and his life, "hen a guard patrol arrived. and had to me more lhan ....·orm to calm him dO\\1l. Word of mis unfOl"lunate incidenl spread S\\iflh, and ....hen it reached the Tuileries. palace of the Firsl ('.onsul. BonapMte summoned Ibrahim before him. Mter questioning him about the incidelll.. and explaining thal it ....-as not a French custom to reaCl. to such a Situalion ....ith IClhal \iolence, he had him sent to live with the Egyptian refugees in i\larseille. Ibrahim was allO\\-ed LO keep his pal' of 6.000 francs, but 2.000 of it had to go to me \\ido\\'5 of lhe men he had killed. (Captain Ibrahim .....ould laler retum to the l\lamduke squadron. in time to fight againsl the Allies g;uheling on the borders of France in 1814.) By decree of 2 ~lay 1803, CluJ dl' brigadr R..1.pp was transferred in Ihis rank to the 7e Illlssards to replace CiIO)'1'1I Marisy, who had been promoted to the rank of gilleral (II' brigatlr. To command his belo\"ed i\larnellll..es in Rapp's place Bonapartc's eye fell upon CluJ tlr brigade Dupas, (jdjuta1l1 superieur du Pal(I;S and a veteran of lhe Baslille, Ilalyand Eg)1)t during the latlcr campaign he had defended lhe citadel of Cairo for 34 dars, wim some 200 inmlid soldiers. against 2.000 Turks. The command of Col Dllpas would nOl lasl for long, howe\cr: on 29 Augusl 1803 he too .....as promoled to general rank. Command of lhe ~Iameltlkes passed 10 Capt Delaitre. and it \\-as he who finall~ broughl the squadron 10 order as. step by step, me Mamelul..es found their ....
f(}utinl'S. However, more and more of thcm wcre considered unfit for \f"l"\icf'. and numbers dropped by about 10 lJ"oopers. Taking this into

account, on 21 Januan 1804 Bonapane decreed the corps' final ClIlfol.llization, making it a pan of the MOllnted Chasseurs of the Guard. \pan from the officers, most of whom were of different ethnic origins - t'_~_ Palestinian, Georgian or Annenillll as well as E~ptj;lIl - the number of troopers was reduced to 85 men. jllSt enough for compan~ ~tret1Kth. Article 2 of lhe decree stipulaled tholl the compa", ....·ould be compo)('({ of: I captolin commanding (French) 1 arljllfallf sOI/.S-lil'lltnUluf (French) I surgeon-mCI'ial Guard', although this was only con/inned officialll b\ tJle decree of 29 July ISO-l \\hich reorganized tJle corps. On" Articles ~os 12 and 13 ....ere rell"\'3.nt to the ~l.unelukes, stating that in accordance ....itJl tJle decree of 21 Januan ISO-l the Compam- of~lamclllkes would be auached LO UIC \lounted Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard, and that alllt..-g-aJ pro\ision~ regarding tJle refugee communities remained unchanged. B\ now tJIe Mamelukes cQullled 109 men. Since their organilation on French soil they had

~ N
-.nd

Con.ul.. OwIrd. Thl. _pert! piece can be seen .t the Mu'" 6e l'Emp6ri; the cooter today M>oww • blueish 1Iha6e, !MIt w.. eriline'" ,,_, rich" embrolclered with builiott thnIMI - _ Plat. "1, (Court.., MuHa eM I'E~ f _ Brvnon

"""'t

Collection, Salon-d..proftnC.'

..

only knO\\'n garrison life, training in French mitital) drill, or escon dut), in ;ltlcndance on the First C'.onsul during his tr.nds. Napoleon's coronation in December 1804, followed by the distribution of regimenlal 'Eagle' .,t;lIldards and a series of ceremonie'i, herc opportunities for the Mamelukes to show off their Oamborant uniforms, Radiating 'all the colours of the rainbow', the) were greatl, admircd b) the crowds of spectators in the SLrecLS. Ethnic origins The nominal rolls of the ~Iamclukes of the Imperial Guard finalh conlained 583 names. ep to number 267. the Orientals and Africans are in the majoril\. Qut of 215. 113 3re Georgian, Circassian, Crimean, Arab and - most" - Snian; 57 are Egyptian, and 17 from Ab'llsinia and the Sudan. lhe lauer being black. The remaining 28 are from ll11ngat)', the B
16

Personalltl.s Lool..ing :II the nath-c officers of the corps, we find a remarl.....ble collection of men, whose bailie scars can onl) be proof of incredible bra\"en': Abdallah d'Asbonne (or d'Osbonne) was a Syrian, born in Bethlehem on 26 October 1776, the son of a sheikh. Ill' \\,IS studying in Rome when Gen Bonaparte tool.. him with him to Egypt. Serving as an interpreter and SCOllt in the Armel' d'Orient, ,\'ith which he fought br;l\cly aT the battle of Ileliopolis, he followed the remnallts of the anny back to France and entered the Mamclukcs as a sOlls-lieu/enalll, He was one of the first J\.lamelukcs to he rewarded with membership of the Legion of Iionoul', on 14 June 1804. Ilis brave!)' at Austerlitl was sllch that Napoleon promoled him to (irst lieutCnalll shortly aftenvards. On 27 February 181 I he was commissioned c
8et-.n 1800 and 18'5 the

. . . . - ....... publlsMd • _ _ of mlln.ry print-,

.-."'*'*..

lndudlng theM from c.1804. Even tnough_

kind of uniformity hn been _ -'fll flnd_h

~

~

_

d.....cl and equipped to

....

••

ol~ltNl

~ wlttI .... ""'~ tMn Mel been worn In Egypt. 0 - Ita • .twtwaq_ with d......-out polnb Ilk. IMt 01 the Mount-.d C""-,,,. end wlttI tn.Ir horn In...,'- In "'" c _ . TM ottMtn hne tradtuon.! aetU'rwd an.tInq__• ~uk.

_ with "'" horn badge; end the ~ 01 the dltf_t prmenla ... v.ri8cI. Not. the low red t8rbouche c.p wom under the turb8n .t tnl_ •• rty o.te. (Court. .y Mu.... d. l'Emp6rU lormtlr Bnmon

COIIM:tlon. SIolon·d.-Provence'

Abdallah was one of those soldiers whom on(' might Ihink enjored tJw protection of a guardian angel. He recei\'ed ~('\('n sword cuts at Gol)'min. Al Ahemburg in 1813, SOlving the life of his commander Chef d'rscndn)// Kirmann, he was wounded agotin: and on((' marc, by a bullet in the lower bell). at Ilanau. Abdallah also had six horst'S J...itled under him. once breaking his ann in the fall. Although placed on the nonaeti\c list after Waterloo and retired in 1828, he returned to the anll\ in 1830 and followed il 10 Algeria. Chahin'. rom at Tinis in the C...UGLSllS 011 14 Jul\ \ ii6, elllered French senice six day!'i before Ihe battle of Ihe 1~""1I11ids (I;~ Juh \ ;98). On .. November of that vear he was promoled to lIIoridwl d,~ logU. and inJune 1799 to second lieuLenant. Sen'ing wilh Cell Kleber aL Ihe battle of Iidiopolis. he received 35 wounds Ihal da\": 33 ~Ibrc cuts and lance Lhrusts and Lwo bulleL wounds. Quite undefSl<mdabh, he Wi.tS lefl for dead on the baulefield. lIowC'\er. he reco\ered to be promoted to lieuten;:mL in the Mameluke unit of BarlhC1em\ Serra on 20 June IBOO. At Austerlitz he sa\'ed the life of Cen Rapp. GlpLUred a cannon. and recehed anoLher three ba\"onet wounds. ~anl(..d :l knight of the Legion of Iionour for his brd\"en ;:11 Austerlitz, he recei\ed the officer's cross for his acLions at Eylau, where he tooL. a bullet in the cltt-"SL and had his horse killed under him. In ~Iadrid 011 2 Ma\ 1808 he got a bullel Lhrough the cheek. bUl s:.wcd C"'f d;godroll Oaulllesllii from being taken m the insurgents. PromOlcd to captain in 1813, he could boast at the end of the Empire that he had pal1.icil);:lted in t-...·l·n- m.yor eng:lgemcnt of the Mamclukcs during the Napok'Onic W:Ull, suffering some 10 wounds and ha\ing fi\"e horsc~ J...i11ed under him. lie '\~dS appoimed ADC LO Cen ldeb\1'(....OesnoCties in 1815, but LOO late LO participate at Waterloo. A7..aria 'Ie Petit' rel:ein:d his nick.name 'the Small' bc..'GtlIse he llle;LSuR"d onh 4ft II ins ....11. Bom in the KarabaJ...h region of the Cmc.LSlls on 2-1 Febrllar\' \787, he became a corponll althe agt' of 13 or 14 )"ears, and w..... .roan aften\~drds promoLed to sergcam in 1802. After the hallIe of E)lau, Oil 16 Fcbmar}" 1807 Napoleon signed his nomination to the nUlk of second liclllcnalll. Al.,lIia followed the Emperor to Spain, and was prcscrH in ~Iadrid during the rising of 2 Mar 1808: he was mOriaH)' wounded in the clash with British camll) at Bcna\clltc (JIl 29 December 1808, d)'ing the following da). Azaria 'Ie Gr;:Uld' \\~LS a cousin of Azaria 'le Petit' who also served in the curp.... Promoted /llwic/utl des logi!> on 16 Febrwll')' 1807, he servcd tl11lil 1815, but sickness kepI him in Paris durillg the Waterloo campaign; he was discharged frolll actin: service 011 J October 1815. Daoud Habaibi, brother of Sheikh YaJ...oub. was born in Chefa-Amr, S)'ria, 011 25 SeptembeJ' \ i77. Serving with Lhe Anllee d'Orient, he was commissioned ,wILHil'llfetuwl, lieulenant. and. after 'lni,ing in Fmllce, flrsl licutenalll of the 2nd Colllpanv of f\lamc1uL.t-"S. ~all1ed a knight of the Legion of Honour aftci' AuslCrlill. \'ohere he was w·ollndt.'d in the groin b, a bilYOnel thrusl, he was promoLed capl\ Napoleon for hi~ cOl1rnge at the baule of E)lau. Seriousl, wounded once Ol!,rain - b\ t11ree

17

sahr~ Cllts - al Bena\ellte in December 1808, he was obliged 10 remain at Melun ....hen the rest of the M:uuclukcs marched ofT to Austria in 1809. I-Ie was appointed an officer in ...he Legion of Honour on 15 March 1809. Inn I'cmained inacthe at Melun, dying in Paris on 8 February 1824. Yakoub Habaibi, Sheikh of Chefa-Amr and brother of Daoud (sec above), chose the French side during Cell Bonaparte's S)Tian campaign - a decision that had calaslrophic consequences for his family. since a large number of his reJati\~ were siaugillered b). the Turks in reprisal. He became colonel of the lsI. Company of Spian Janissaries. and fled to France when the remnants of the Armee d'Orient retllmed home. Mter arri\i.ng in France the Janissaries .....ere amalgamated with the Mamelukes; Yakoub's high rank bcrame a problem. since there was no \'3cancy for a colonel, and he ....-as placed on the non-actin~ IisL He retired to Melun; after his brother Daoud was seriously wounded in Spain, Yakoub offered his services to the Emperor once more. He was listed as a eMfd'ts€odron Ii 10 sull~ on 17 July 1813. Hejoined the Mamelukes al Dresden and served in all the battles of the second pari of the Saxon campaign. In 1814 he followed the Young Guard Company to Flanders, '\here he sen'ed in Cen Maison's 1st Army (ArmCe dll Nord). distinguishing himself by his courage on morc than one occasion. During the First Restoration Yakoub became commandnnJ dilnn.t:J of ~fcllln; he was placed on half-pay on 30 January 1816. Elias Massaad, a Syrian, was born at Ramleh, some 12 miles from Jaffa in Palestine, on 26 June 1776. He entered sen'ice in the Army of tllC Oricnt as an imerpreter, wor'king very closely with Cen Bonaparte and later Gens Kleber and Mcnou. lie followed the laller to Fr,l.nce; upon the organi/.mion of the Mamclukes of the Firsl Consul Elias was commissioned a second lieutenanl, and created a knight in the Legion of Honour among the first nominations. lie was known as a 'sabre rt!dvlIlllble; and Napoleon pmmotcd him to captain after the battle of Eylau on 16 February 1807. On 2 May 1808, in Madrid, he Wd.S wounded in tlte upper jaw. Elias took pan in nearly all Napoleon's campaigns. ending his career after Waterloo. where he suffered another wound. Discharged on 31 December 1815, he retired to Mclull .....'itlt a list of 17 battle scars and three ribs missing due 10 grapeshm wounds. Elias died in July 1835. Ibrahim - whom we ha,'C already met in the unfortunate encounler in the 'quartier de 101 Halle de hie' in P.lriS - was born at Deir-e1-Kamar in S}Tia, and t1'3\'elled to Fr.tnce in 1801. A knight of the Legion of Honour since 14June 1804. he had to give up his company command on 1 October 1806. and a month laler leff Mellin to live in Marseille with the non
J

One of the most 911"-.1ng c _ l.. gll"-.1ng reel".. w•• N.pol_" conm.tlorl on 2 December 1804, • nd Nonm.snn left 1.1• • number 01 dr.wlng. of the ~mlng unit-, Including thl. M.",.luh onlc.r. Th. whIt. heron plum. Is the only dl.tlnctlon rank, ~rhllPS IIPllrt from th. rtch gold .mbrold.ry 01 hi. outfit. Whll. ~rc:.e .how NCO .1. .". .trtpee, ome.ra did not w.ar th.m, or e.rtelnly not b.fore 1813; how.".r, 1I portrllit mlnl.ture 01 A!XtaU.h d'....bonn. (s. . ptet. D3) ehow. II frtng~ epaul.". on the left sh01.lld.r. Th. ecert.t Cllhouk .nd wtllte turban lire both .trfped with g.oId. Two pletote ere Cllfrl~ In the w.l.t ..en, enother on -.ch .Id. of the ..odl•• lind .n .... eheed 01 the nIl....ld• ..odl. hol.t.r. Spu... not ueed untlt Eu~ begen .rmrlng In the unit. S.K.Brown COlle<:tton, Pro"ldenc•• USAj

0"

0'

_re

""'nil

18

of the 1st Comp'\Ily. 011 6 Fcbruary 01 strong delachment of i\lamelukes and MOllllled Chasscllrs led by the former's commander CJuJ d't'scadwII Kirmann left I}aris lojoill the fidd army and the Emperor, arriving al the ooltle of Monunimil 011 10 Febm.u)-. A few da}'S later Ibrnhim, who \\'as OUI skinnishing, was surrounded b)' C...ossacks; fighting like a lion until unluckilr blinded b) his llllwillding turban, he was wounded and wken prisoner after killing ~ix of his opponents. Dan.iel Mirza t until the surrender of Cen MCllou. In ISOI, still aged onl\' 17, he followed MenOll to France and joined the newh' cre-.t.led ~Iamelukes as a trooper. Mir/.a had to wait until the battIe of Austerlitz to be promoted lO bngad,". but he was admitted to the Legion of Honour on 14 March 1806. He charged ....ith his IInil at E)l:lU, and became a marichal dfi logU on 6 April 1807. E,'cn ,""hen he served in Illc r.t.nks of the compan, hc was still popularh knO,",,'11 as 'Marshal Bessiercs' Mamcluke': and even .... hen the lauer was 1101 engagcd at Friedland, Mirza stood dose LO the Emperor and helped Napoleon .....ilh his maps while Marshal Ncy execmoo !.he Emperor's orders. PrC5ent in Spain and Ausu-ia, hc .....as promoled 10 second licUlcnant and followed Bessieres to Russia in 1812. 5landing close to the maf51ml .....hen Bessicres was killed by ;:1 cannonball in Saxony in 1813, Mirla retumed to the comp;:lIl), 10 sen'c at Dresden, Hanall and othcr actions. Al Altenburg he received two lance mrusts lO the slolllach, .....ounds from which he would suffel' lerribl) for Ille resl of his life. Aftcr Saxony, Mirla sen-cd in Frdnce and passed inlO lhe eo.,)S RO)'a1 des Chc\'au-Icgcrs Lanciers de Fr.lllce during the First ReslOnuion. During the Hundred Days he sen'ed under Napoleon at \\':ucrloo. On 20 December 1815 he was put on half-pay, He increasingly lost the use of his legs in latcr years, finally d)ing at Melun inJuly 1849. Jouane Oean) RennO ....'aS bom on 5 May 1777, the SOil ofa docl.Or. Renno had already joined the French army in Rome as a sous-aitU majqr at tIle 5t Esp..it Hospiml when. during lhe planning of the Egyplian campaign, he was removed Ji'om this post and tmnsferred to sen-e in the Army of the Orient. Hc was present at tlle btief siege of Malta, and in Eg)'pt he ....-.1S at IlI'St attached to the staff of Cen Desaix, and later to the gene..al stan' of the arlllY. His fatIler was tIlen docto.. to the Turkish Dje1.7.ar I}asha......ho condemned him to deatll by drowning when he leamcd tll.H his son was sen-ing wilh Bonaparte alllle siege of Acre. On the creation of the Mamelukes in France, Renno .....as commissioned a firsl licutenant in lllC 1st Company under tI1C o ..ders of Ibrahim. Renno was P"c...'SC1H at al1 Ihe unit's major engagements during tIle Napoleonic Wal''S, and was considered a gunrin" ili"uumt'a dazzling .....a ....ior'. A knight of Ille Legion of Honour since ISO-I. he became an officer in the order on 14 March 1806, and ....' aS proIllOlC.-'d captain and tempora" COlllmander of the Mamelukes in Febmary

8y dee...., F,.nc:h offk;_ of

the M.meluk. . weN .11owed to _ r the und,.... uniform of the Mount8od C~~ when off duty It"- UN of the bkonM Mt w.. typical of that orOet" of dreuJ. Th8 ccHour wa dIortl blU8 trlmmed with red, with • red w.i.t..-t 8nd ItC*I • • and Mnbr'olfHry.. ~t... 6uring the E'"fM" _ flnd offk:en -.d

Nco. _ring with und,. . d8rt1 b1_ hu...,....ty\8 p8t1...

1_ Pl8t. 021. Gold 8lgu1l"tt.. .,. the . . . of • Ou8rd unit, .nd not. that the NON Ie: -... from • ItC*I ~ _ the right ahoukMr, (Authon coIl8ction, Suocqvoy _nil

,.

An eng~ putMIsMcf In Augaburv e.1 805 .m.w. I MI"*,,k. _Plnl.cl by .n Ellt. OInd1"..,. of the a".rd, • e"l... uIIr .nd (mountld) • dfll9OO". H.... Ipln thl urty M.""luk. unltonn retlln. _ _ pe..-•• t_hll; It II

Inte....tlng ttl" the turb.n I. knott~ .t the blek .nd ftI",lng down. Thtt t.rbouche .nd the ..rou.' I'" sc.net, thl )I.hI* erimlIOn o r I llreen bin/eM (both he lty embroidered), the wII.t ..Ih m.roon with yellow .trlpel, .nd the Ihort boot. yellow. (Courtesy Mu.6e de l'Emp6rll former Brunon Collection, 5alon·de·Pro...enee)

20

1807. At Pradanos in Spain, on 24 Ma~ 1809, he chargcd wilh his troopers and took 100 Spanish mldiers prisoner. Al C.ourtrai in Flanders on 31 March 1814, while ..crving with Maison's 1st Ann), he and a handful of ~Iamelukes captured a ClIlllon plus some 150 Saxon cuirnssiers; and in anOlher action ....ith the same anny he and a plaloon of Mamelukes charged some 180 I)mssian cavalrYlllcn, pursuing them for some time and killing or capturing eo.el)' single enemv. TIl is exploil ....·as published b\ Cen ~laison in the order of Ihe d.1\ for 26 March 1814. During the First RestOralion, Renno ....'as transferred 10 the Landen RO)"3UX de France and was rewarded ....i th the Order of the (jl~ (5 August 181-1) and me Order of SI Louis (27 Febmal") 1815). When Napoleon rClUmed from [Iba a fC\', ....eeks later Renno rejoined him, 5ening ....ith the Lancers of me Cuard at Qualre-Bms and Waterloo in June; lhereafter Cen Colben, commander of that regiment, gralllcd him leave to sta't in Paris to heal his wounds. Discharged on 22 December 1815 at MOlllpellier, Renno died at Melun on 10 April 18-18. Petros Roudjieri. a Creek born on the island of Tinos in 1781, sened witll the Frcnch 3mlY in Egypt and ....'as admitted to the mnb of the Mamelukes on 21 June 1802. I)romoted brigndiD'on 19 January 1806, he ....'aS to be taken prisoner in Germany on 5 March 1813. He managed to escape and rejoined his unit on 4 March 18J4,just in time 10 be present at the last convulsions of the Empire. On 29 March of that year he was made a martchnl des logi.J, and he followed Napoleon to Elba on 20 April 1814. After fighting at Waterloo as a second lieutenalll, he was one of the Mamelukes .....ho flcd 10 Egypt during the period of the 'White Terror'; but he MIS obliged 10 return to France in Onober 1825, at a time of Turkish repression aJr
Soliman, born at Ikthlehem in Galilec 011 18 May 1777, entered French service in t\UguSl 1798. Ill' was admitted to the ~Iamelukes of the First Consul as a mmirhal des logis in the 2nd Company, and was commissioned $lJus-lil'ld/!llalll ill.lulle 1802. I-Ie \\~L~ named a knight of the Legion of Iionour and promoted to second lieutenant on 18 December 1805 after the Austerlitz CIJ11p
CAMPAIGNS Austerlitz, 1805 U\ the end of 1805, after a long period of peace, the \Iamelul..cs would

experience their first continental war. Austria, Russia, Sweden and some minor Cennan Slates, sponsored bv Blitain, fanned lile TI1ird Coalition against France and her allies, and Napoleon marched eastwards. On 21 October 1805 the Mamelukes had their first engagcment, at Nuremberg; and soon, on 2 December - the fil"'ll anni\crsotn of the Emperor's coronauon - th~ ,,"ould charge al Austerlil7 in thc <;;;.lIne heroic manner as their fOl'cbe-d.rs had done for genef<\tions in thc ~liddle E..'lSL B\ aOOm Ipm on 2 December, Mal"'lhal Soull's IV r.orps had been sllccc..'ssJul ill their devastating eastward'! aU.ack all the ('..o;tlition centre all lhc Pf<\tl:en Heights. '111e onh Coalition rescn'cs within rcach \\ere the Russian Imperial Guard, a corps of 5,400 ill(ositions along thc Rausllitl stream east of the heights, COllslantine launched his infantry at the slopes of the St,lrc Vinohrad) hill, held nm\ b) Cen Vand:uI1I1lC'S bloodied and weakelwn di,'isioll of French infant!). The Russian fusiliers of the historic Semcno\'sky ami Prco!>ra/hcnsl..} Guard Rq,rlments rushed up the \'im.." ,lad hill with great clan, pU'ihing two of Vandamme's regiments back; and whcll they nillied, Constantine personall) led his hea,y cavalry forward, sending squildrons of Prince Repnin's Chemlier Guards in a chill'ge which smashed a FI'CllCh sqLlare amI captured the Eagle of the 4th Linc Regiment (the only French standard the Coalition LOok lhal day, to set against lhe l1l:m) the)' lost). A second charge br the rest of the Chcvalier Guards drovc the French 24th Light Infant!) back as well; ami seeing this flight 1'1'0111 his nearby '~lIltage point, Napoleon ordered Marshal Bcl>Sicrcs LO coullter-attack \\'ith caval I') of the Imperial Guard. The Guard sat their saddles in battle order, w;:litillg south of the \'illagc of Blasowitl. behind the heights. Bessicn:s picked out the first two s
21

dOWlllhe slopes. Following I.hem, the French Guard cavah)' nlll into I.he Russian Guard fusilicr ballalions, who held finn. ConSlallline sem forward more squadrons of I.he Che\-alier Guard and Guard Cossacks, and the S1.ruggle began 10 lip in Ihe Russian.s' f'l\'our. Napoleon, in his lurn, senl his ADe Cell R.'lPP 10 lead Ihe Ia.n nm squadrons of~lolinted Chasseurs and the com pan, of Mamelukes inlo the frn', which was now such a confused slauglHer Ihal Ihe Russian infanu) could 110t gel dear shots al Ihe eneun horsemen. Lieulenant Renno of Ihe Mamelukes launch<..-d his horse LOwards Lhe ba)onets ofa Russ.ian square. hacling al the heads of the fusiliers wiLh his scimiLar, his hOIk ....picall) appmximate spellings of Oriental nallles) we find, for inSL.U1Ce, Fou.,..,.-in Pierre \'eslel, aged 39 and bonl at Dunkirk, killed: Bngrulln' Ho\'hannes Annenie, bom in Chouchia, Annenia, in 1781, .....ounded bv a bullet dose 10 his lerr ear; and Ahmet Kitch, born in Cairo in 1781, wounded by five bayonet stabs, one in his left side and four in his left ann. (Years later, at Altenburg in 1813, ule same Mame1uke ....' ould recei\'e a bullet wound in his right foreann.) Prussia, 1806-07 On 15 April 1806, during the campaign againsl Prussia, lhe company count.ed 13 officers and 147 lroopers. \...'ith A~';lo1l"'~ lhe Prussian army beaten atJena and Auerstadl - where lhe Mamclukes were not engaged - lbey arrived on 27 OClober 1806 in Berlin, where They were ordered to parade inTO lhe Prussian capital in full dress. Following lhe reu'eating remnanlS of lhe Prussian army, the Mamelukes panidpaled in several inconclusive baltles like thai at Pultusk in Poland on 25 December 1806. The company was hc::a\ily engaged against Russian Cl\'al'1" and casualties were three officers (including their commander) and 17 troopers .....ounded. In a repon to lhe regimelll's colone1-in-chief Prince Eugene all their part in the battle, Col Dahlmann, commander of tile Mounted Chasseurs, lislS the details of tile Mameluke .....ounded - these give a \;\;d picture of ta\-alry fighung of the period:

22

Offiurs: Dclailre, Squadron leader. light contusion to thigh. Merat, standard-hearer: lighl sabre cut to arm.

A pletu,. from a por1nlt of

'lam.I(,

tl'OOpM

In the Cotpa: de,

M~uk.', ft"om the

the

erunon

"',_tlorl t"'l. us wa'

an:hlvn of additloNol ~ this

Col~;

~ntld

by ~ at 23 August

F o n ~ on

1805. Note the w. colt. on the benkhIs, a ,. .tuno whk::h bees",.

~

lloftWSt'ds" and fts em~

from t808 ~

* ' " - ; the

daSI9tt'

u.ekld UncMf" the wMt ...... on hi. right Np, and tM pistol on tlls ..ft; and the Mameluke atyle of ",apendTng the . .b,.. Tha whit. turban would be wom o",.r. low red t.rtIo4Ic:htI. I,mall, born In aatnlahem, mo.. not appe.r In tha I>OInlnal roll'; the,. .nothar trooper of tha uma n.ma, born In Cairo tn 1780, who da..rtlld on 1 JanUIIIl' t8Oe. {Courtesy

11I'.'

MuH8 de l'EmpMllfonnef" arunon Collectlon, Salon-deP~I

AIxIala [sic]. 2nd Lielllella11l: 6 light sabre cut.s to ann and body. SeOl:

Anna Koubrousy (sIc), Sgt: bullet wound to head. SGlphanie, Sgt sabre cut to ann. Azaria Ie Grand, Cpl: sabre cut to left hand. Quanis Guirban. Cpl: sabre cut to right forearm. Abouambard [sic]. Gpl: 2 sabre cuts to head. MamtluJra:

Nicolas Saboubc: 6 sabre Ctlts to difTerelll parI.'! of body. Anne! L.... fleur: leg Ixme broken by bullet. Joseph Chame: sabre cut to left hand, Michel Ilollb>TOis: sabJ'e cut to left shoulder,' Saman Koutsy: 2 contusions to head and one wound from a swab [i.e. an artillery tool I Joseph Souhoube: 3 deep sabre CUI.'!- I 10 head. I to hand and another to elbow. Lambre George: sabre cut to left shoulder. '-:icole I'apaoglou: sabre Ctlt to left forearm. Cherkt.'S Gt.'Orge: bullet wound to left side of chest. .\Iusician.s: Lou. Cpl-Trumpeter: 19 sabre cul.'!- 9 to the head, the others to the body. Perrot, Tptr: sabre cutta right forearm. Crislophe Oli,ier, Tplr: bullet wound through right shoulder. On 21 January 1807 the strength of lhc unit was 10 officers of which 90n detached dut). and 105 rdnkcl1l of which 72 detached, M:lluclukes \\ho had recenu} died, apparently of illness. were Corandis. holll in Constantinople, who died in hospital on 22 September 1806. and HO\hannes Magot. born in Circassia (Armenia) in 1779, who died in Waf5:twon 13Jallll:lry 1807. With Berlin taken, the French ."ltill followed the ."lurvi\"ing remnants of the Prussian arm~ llorth and Cil."iL King Frederick William III fled to hi."l alh Russia; and instead of laking to their winter quarters, lhe French found lhemseh'e."l forced to facc a Russian threat from the Bailie coast. III terrible wealher conditions of frost and blinding: snow, Cen Iknnigsen's Russian and Napoleon's French annies met ncar Prussischc.s-E),lau on 7-8 FebJ'Uary 1807. Napoleon had 45,000 l11en and 200 gUllS at hi."l di."lposal, plu."l the hope of the !WO ann)' c0'l)~ of Davout and Nt'} approaching in support (a \'ain hope. in Ncy's case). while tJle Russiall."i were able to field 67,000 lIlen ....·iul 400 gum. Dangerously oUUlumbered, Napoleon accepted battJe in \\ealher tJ131 blinded botJl amlies to each otJler's dispositions and 11l00ement."i. TIle eng-otgement was eXlremel)'costJy 10 both ."lidcs. as hea,)' artillery bomb.·u·dmelll.'! were the domin:ult feature. TIle French faced serious probleln."i in holding their lines, and their predicament worsened as lhe battle wore 011. To sa\'e the ."limation. Napoleon ordered Marshal Murat 10 lead his I"t:serve s.... MocI'IIf' (born III Bogar III _ bJ' blow ~

'~

1o:Im. MIIlI

_

.~i.it.

_

10 .~,

on 2S _

_.,.,....,,In

11~

Arm.nlan bom In Baghdad

on 2 F.bruary 1111, who .aa .mong the fl,..t to .nll.t In the Corps 01 Marneluk... H. . .",lid In n. .rty .11 their e.m~lgn.

until Pte . . . killed at Dreedetl on 21 Augu.t 1813.

~

1 - ' _ _,-*" bI*Il """""' III ~ WI __ in ~ A1 ~ In 1813 hIi would _ twO _ _ cuu. ",. III It» right IIic'- 01 till ...ck _ no-.......,.. do not ....mion !'IiI ItIcIuIlW """""' .c PulluM.

~.1P'

Detail from Beron G6nml" Au.tarlltz P11lntlng, .howlng Oen A.pp retumlng to the Emperor to report tha eucceae 0' hi. CMrge, bringing wfth him Au.-..n prbonen end tMnnen. This Mam.Iuk. c.me. • Au..ten .~rd, white hls wounded horse col~. Not. the tumect-bec:k cuffs, the dagger In hfs ••lst _h, .nd 1M coni pouch belt. We .van know hi. ",me: thl. ls MU.t.pM BlI{ldouna, .n

a. 23

llMo c ....rge of tIM Mounted

Chaueu,.. -.1d M.meIuk. . of the ImperiIIl GlUlrd .t Aust.nlb., by MytbIleh. n.. artist ~ the M .......... with both types of IIIuobnqu-e - Orlenhol, -.1d French light cav.l..... n.. wlcle . . . . , . . I~ conwct fOf' tIM chtl; and r>otkl the offie« m fTont, _ring ~ kind of IohoUkter ~ntl that ....-mb'embl'Oldentd 'lw.llowt' -.11' lcomp.~ with Pt.tl A21. Thl fug lhlnd.rd w.' thought by Myrb-.ch l.nd ot"-r .001,t,) to .ppl'Ol.lmlll to I ~lm..,I.1 'E.gII', .lthough In fsct tlMr wI~ MlCond.ry to the aqulldl'On guidon; thl Mlmeluk. . did nol rKltvl thllr Eigil until .ftlr Au,tlnlb.,

cavaln of SOIIlC 80 sqlladrons (10,500 lI1en) in a chargc in t\\'o columns ag;:linst a 70-f.,"-ln Russian grand hattcn. to pierce the centre of the enemy line. Despite murderous 10'>Se~ the outcome of the baule was indecisi\e, and both armies returned to wiuter quarters, Riding behind the Mounted Grcnadier~ and Chasseurs. the l\lamelukes cmcred themselves w'itll glo..... ; Capl Renno's conduci was, as usual. magnificellt; but at the end of the da\ C.oI Dahlmann's list of casualties was enormous. Four officers of the l\lamelukes \Iere wounded: Abdallah. alreach wounded ;1( Pulcusk and pierced se\en times b} lances at Goh,nin. was wounded once more: so "ere Chahin', Daoud Habaibi and Rom'er, Other casuahies were; ,\laridlfl/ tin ibgU Hanna Kouhroussi ([sir]: see Pultusk G\Suah\ list abme), born at Nalareth 1781: bullel wound to head and sabre CUt 10 left shoulder; died :11 ~1e1Ull after ,I long illness on 24 janua.....' 1812, probolt."01I won such a decisive vktOl)' thai it brought an end 10 the war. The ~lamc1Llkes were nOt engaged at Friedland. As noted al>o\c, the nominal roll on 21 Jannal), 1807 bad lisLCd 105 men; b, ~5 JlInc it had dropped 10 74, of \\hich 15 were at the rcgimelllal depot at l\logilno. However, man}' of lhis lillIe band of brothers were 110\\' proudl}' wearing the cross or the Legion of Honour on their chests. Spain, 1808 Portugal was a t1lOrn in the Emperor's flesh. resisting his 'Continental S}:>tcm' \Ihich sought 10 close all

24

{rrml"uu'tl rm fKIgr )3,

PERSONAUTIES 1: G4kMnol Dupa., 1803-04 2: All, Mameluk. ol th40 Empre... , llO3 3: All, 2nd Mameluk. ol th40 Emp«or, '813

3

2

A

18OO-
1800-07 1: Mameluke, Belgium, 1803 2: Mameluka, 1805

3: Mame!uka, non-r-euletlon cIreH

,

3

c

1807-13 1: Mameluke, C.1807

2: eMl d ' ~ Kinnann, 181»-tO 3: Cllj)italne Abdallah d'A5bonne, 1813

(

2

DI

3

MUSICIANS, 1807-13 1: Cymballsl 2: Kettle-drummer 3: Kettle-drummer, 1810-12

3

E

1807-13 1: Mameluke, ~u18tlon Oriotntal ere.. 2: Mameluke, ~wtlon OrIental
3

F

1813-14 1: Mameluke, campaign dress 2: OffiCer, campaign dre5ll 3: French Mameluke, Oriental campaign dress

,

3

G

FRENCH MAMEWKES, 1813-14 1: Officer, campalgn cr.P 2: MalYMNuke, ~Ign dress 3: Trompeter, campaign dress

H

,

the ports of cOnlinclIl:Il Europe to Britain's commercial and Ilil\o\'e all, were a pro\ocati\e unit to parade before the de\"olltly Catholic population of a COUllU)' Lhat had on I)' drh"en out its Moorish occupiers at the end of the 15th century. and Lhal still considered J\lus1ims as limbs of the devil. The order W,IS gi,'en to beat Lhe geneml alann; the .\1amelukcs, quartcl'cd in the south-easl of the cit)', were called upon to help pill down the riots, bill first the)' had to reach lhe other French troops on the Retiro on Lhe other side of J\oladrid, Commanded b} Chif"'t$(Ollr(H/ Dallmesnil, the Guard cavall)' formed lip in column of fours - firS!. U1e J\lollllled Chasseurs, followed by the Mamelukes. For the !:lller thi$ mission seemed a routine prospect, since they were accustomed to cnlshing unrest in Egypt; cutting down rioters meant no mort." to Lhem than a farmer feels when mowing his fields, To reach the Retiro the,' had to ride across tlle city from east to west, b\ wa\ of the Calle de Akal;i and Lhe ('uerta del Sol. This long ride degenerated into olle continual ambush: hardh had the column started before Lht') recehed a h:lil of stones and tiles thrown dO\m from roofs, and bullets fired from windows. \\l1(:n the} arri\'ed at the Puen"l del Sol tht"\ were met b) a large and furious crowd. and ule sight of the

p.m.ps the most f _ M.ameluk. of ell . . . the ErnperW's

~I

..,....nt

A_tem _ • 111ft to Oen Boneper1. In Efm)t. who lolknftd him to f.-.nc:e. Aou,tam would become lhe Empenlf'l: sNtOow, rem.inl", clo.. to him

.t .11 times. Although N.poleon him"" p"f.rred simple unlfonn, (exc.pt for Cour1 ceremonl.I). he .ncouraged h.. m.rah8... rtd mln..t.... to ,pend 1''Ilahly on Ih.lr d - . Aouatam" were po. .lbly the most .apen,lve c:OtItu....a .t Cour1. -.om.tlm.a c:OtItlng more th.n • y••"" Irte:om. for .n ordln.ry f.mlty. H.11I IMI I. ahown we.rinll • I1Id yal.,. .nd dark blue benlehe ric:hly .mbroldel1ld with gold, white ..rou.1 .nd se.riet boot" (Ann. S,K.8rown Collection, Provld.nc., USAj

33

·r-.'!orescos· drO\'e the Iiolcrs illlo a killing frenzy: men and women alike jumped up behind IJleir saddlc.':S, cl<ming, stabbing, and uying 10 drag Ihe troopers 10 Ihc ground. The Mamelukes defended themseh"es with Iheir 'iCimitars and maces as besl Ihe\ could: IIte\ urged their horses imo the crowd. sabling Ihe rioten without merC}'. Daulllesnil had his horse killed under him: wounded in the knee, he was rescued by Lt Chahin', \\ho had been hit himself and was blinded by his own blood. What would become illfamolls as the 'Dos r-.la)'o· laullched more than one story of atrocities commiued in reprisal by the "-lamelukes. Olle laic claimed thai twO Mamelukes fell 10 the cobbles in from of the com'em of Sta Maria de Alocha, shot down by monks fmlll the windo....'S abovC'. Furious, their comrades dismounted and forced their ...."'y illlo Ihe convelll. killing e\ef\'One Ihey found there - monks, men and women - and throwing their sc\ercd heads into the street. The Slon is essentiallv IDle, but the building was nOl it comelll - it was a large house in me Calle $."l.n Geronimo; and the Mameluke patrol did nOl see !.heir comrades fall, bUI found them hing dead in the streel. and ....ere wid bl ci\ilians dun Ihe>' had been shot from the house. \\11en me\ had finished slaughtcling and beheading Ihe inhabitants \\ithollt di.scriminalion of sex or age, the')' mOllllled and continued Iheir ride through !he cit\'. Daumesnil chose to remain blind to these atrocities; he knew 100 well dlat being shol in Ihe back was something the Mamelukes considered an un....onh), and dishonourable death. To.....ards Ihe aflCrnoon the mobs were finall} subdued, and the systematic French reprisals began. Tied in pairs to the stin'uJ>s of the t\.lamclukes and Chasscurs, lhe hastily condemncd \\cre dragged in front of the firing squads. which wOlild remain busy until the nexi day. The Second of Ma)' beC:lme an irnponant momCnt in Sp:ll1ish histOI1', inspiring anists to imagine the bloody sccnes: Lhe cOlucmporat1' paillter Coya reprcsentcd civilians allacking ~lallielukcs. showing sevcnll of them being stabbed. In facl., howcvcr, Ihe unit's casualties were fairl}' limited. Fhe officers prescm werc wounded (Daoud lIab.aibi, Elias, Chahin', Renno and Soliman). The other casualties were Allloun Chami, born in C,iro in 1784. \\'ho was monall}' wounded and .....ould die in hospilal on 16 Mar; and !he n\o Malllelukes killed and found b} !he pmrol - thoub Michalollat, alread) ....·ounded at E}lau, and I~kalis, born al Girgeh. Egypl, in 1782. Finally. at a later dalc, Petros Alak, born in Jemsalem in 1775, would be murdered in Madlid on 24Januaf\ 1809,

-

• • •

34

The company now counted 86 mcn. To fill up the ranks the Emperor agreed 10 sending LielllenalH Abdallah to visit the Eg"plian refugee

ABOVE AND OPPOSITE TWo .Iudl•• 01 M.meluk••

by $w.baeh, maO. .t

Ulm {I.ftl

and Auaterlltz (rlghtlln 1805. Th.y ahow the high OrietItll Addl. . and box·Uk. atlmJ~, and the North AMc:an-a~ .nabr1lq..... Swebeeh w_ a fI.... erattlrnan orith . . .,.. det.Ill: note ~ he _ _ wMN ~ -.'blnes, lnat.-d of the b 1 ~ 01 ~Idoft; and ~ a ahoulder belt .upportl. . not a pouch but a P'atot In a ctee~ 1Nthet" hoIatllt". Again, the turban II _ a low 1aItlouche,

'01"

~

at,..

~

communities in M:wseille and look for suitable l·eplacemelllS. Ilowcvcr, Abdallah had so little success that he selected sc\'cn sailors from the crews of three Turkish ships that were anchored in the harbour, By now, little b" little, soldiers from elsewhere v.·ithin the Empire started to arrive in the company, receiving Orielllal unifonns to fill the gaps in the mnls of the real ~Iamelukes. Ser..-ing on in Spain under "Iarshal Bessieres, tJle Mamelukes were present on 14 Julv 1808 at the battle of Medina del Rio Seco, ",-here the marshal soundh defeated the combined Spanish annies of Gens Cuesta and Blake, On 10 September the Mamelllkes greeted their new commander, Cluj d'st:adron Francois Antoine Kinllann from tlle ~Iollnted Chasseurs of the Guard; an Alsatian b' birth, aged 40, he was a hero of Erb;tch, Delmesingen and Neumark. From that date onv.-,trds command of the "lamelukes did not changc alfdin; assisted bv tlle officers Renno, Chahin·. Elias, Abdallah and Georges, Kinnann would lead his exotic company through Spain, Austria, Russia and Saxony and in the final 1814 campaign in France. At tlle end of 1808 tlle Mamclllkt.-S were to sec action against the British expeditionary force Icd In Gell Sir John ~Ioore, which was reu'eating through the snows towards the nonhern port ofConilina. On 29 December 1808 ~Ioorc's allny crossed the River Esla; pursuing them at the head of Napoleon's vanguard were three squadrons of ~Iollnted Chassellrs plus a small detachment of Mamelllkes and Lancers - about 550 troopers in all, commanded by Cen Charles Lt:fcb\1·c-Dcsnoucttes. This force cTOssed tllC Esla on tllC British rcarguard's trail, I't....fonned into squadrons, and were marching towards Benavente at a stcady pace when British cavah1' under Lord Paget. covcl'ing the retreal, caught lhem in a well-timed ambush, I'agct led SOulC 450 men of thc British IOlh Hussars in a chargc lhat hit Lcfcb\1'c-Dcsnollcltes' troopers in tlJ(~ flank. driving them against a 200-strong picket tinc from tllC 7tll and 18lh Hussars and 3rd Light Dr-dgoons, King's CCI111an Legion. The French were dri\'en back witJ1 heavy casualties: 165 men were killed, wounded or captllred - among thc laucr the unfortunate Cell LefebvreDesnouettes, whose failure was reportedly witncssed by thc Emperor himselffrOIll a hill be)'ond tlle Esla. The Mall1c1ukcs lost the 21-)car-old Armenian 2nd Lt Azalia Ie Petit, mortall)' wounded: and Mameluke Yannis Demiui, born in H}'dm in 1771 of Greek oribrin, who had had his right leg broken b) grapeshol al E)'lau, was killed at Bena\'entc. CapL."lin Daoud Habaibi was scliously wounded, and would never sec battle again, Sergeant Ho\'hanncs Anncnie, who had t3ken a bullet in tlle head at Austerlitz. was wounded again, b) fOUrs.lbre cuts to his head. Soliman ;\fouskou, rom in the Crimea and aged 48, was taken prisoner

3.

(later he escaped. re-emering the i\lamcJukes on 6 September 1810. and ~r.ing on IInol J August 1813 \\ hen he was retired 10 the refugees in ~larseiJle).

We are reminded that <;Qldiers oflen died OI.her than in
EngI1l¥Jng by C.O.OlfI....r. 8 M8meluk. t. SUrTOUndltd by 80m. stra~.-looklng Polish unc...., Wh8t Hems to be 8 Mounted Ch8...ur, 8nd 8 culnlut.r. s •• ~on8lrucllon . . P18t. 01.

3.

Wagram, and back to Spain, 1809-12 In 1809 the compam of Mamelukes were ordered back to their garrison at Mellin to rcst and re-equip. and to be broughl up to strength \o,;th new soldiers. Yacoub Ilab."libi returned to the officer COqlS to replace his brother Daoud, who was limitcd by his wounds to non-combatant duoes. In April the Austrians took up the long stnlggle ag
lllassing in Poland for the cpic RU5.'iian c
GrlNIlIe b)' Benjamin %Ix, of ~ meeting of NapcMeon and King Frederic:k WIlliam of Pnlsala at Tnalt on 2ll June 1807. Zb; ~~W • mounted HUSHr with • ahako, two Imperi.1 Guard Mounted Cha..eun In undraaa, and two Mamalukaa, the latlar atlll we. ring the low tllrbo4l<;hfI. Ano~r t1.... ·Nl.tMl

c:h.nge w••

~

we.ring of

~

YII,.k under the wal.t ..ah rattMw than open oyer It.

37

Goy... painting 01 the 'OM

M8YO' rising In Madrid on 2 MQ 1808 Mow. rioting dtlu",.

drsogglng MamelukH from their Neldie. and .ts>bblng them. Both .Ides would be sec:uHd of .trocltie. during thl. eplaode, but In t.c:t the nomln.1 roll • • how only mode.t c:a.u.ltlee among the Mameluk••,

38

The black '\Iamelul..e Calixle Joben, born in I (aiti and \\ounded more than once during his service, disappeared on 18 :-':o\ember; O\"er Ihe next IWO da\"s so did Ibrahim, born in Egypt in 1782: Isaac Daran, born in Tunis in I i9 I: and Ilanna Nia, a Georgian. Nicolas Dabollssi, a 34-rear-old Greek from Cairo, .....as taken prisoner on 27 November at Boriso\'. Deponed 10 Siberia. Daboussi returned to France b\ 10 December 1814. ha\ing lost both hands; \el despite this terrible disability, he would sene again in Algeria from 1830 to 18-11, being wounded once more in 1830, and dying in Algiers on 22Juh 1841. The melanchol)' list goes on, cheered only b\ lhe occasional exu,lordinary sunival. The 21-year-old Tunisian Da\id Toubiane disappeared on 3 December, as did Tlmlouth Choukrnllah, a Cairo COpl aged 43, and four other Caircncs - Faradj TI1aloUl.h. agcd 33; Assad Adelrnalak, aged 23; Ibrahim, aged 26. and Moussa Chanlf, aged 30. Five dars laler it Crclan, Nicolas Gree, and Gabriel Koury. a 29-rcarold from Cairo, Il'ere taken prisoner; Koury was one of lhc fcw to sun1ve, returning from caplivity on 8 September 1814 to be admitlcd into the Corps Roml des Chasseurs it Chc\'al de France, On 9 December, Anlouni Annenie, born in Chouchia in 1781, was writlen off the rolls 'dis/Janl'; so were Dimiui JafTaoui, a 32..,ear-old from Jaffa; Guirgucss Khollchoun. born in 17i9 in Aleppo: Guirgucss ~Iasri, also knO....'11 as 'George the E~lllian·. born in Cairo in 1i92 and recorded as only 4ft 2Xin Lall \,-hen he enlisled: Tnullpeter Jean Etienne Baptiste Perrol, 28, from Melun: \'iclOr Hippolrte B.'ludeuf, 25, from Brindisi in hal)': and the Sudanese Adricn Baraka, 24, from Darfur. That So.'lllle da, a So-rear-old Syrian, Youssef Zalaouni. was laken prisoner: yet he tOO managed 10 retum 10 Fmllce by 10Janual), 1815. and served ag:.lin during thc Walcrloo campaign, On 12 December lWO Abys...inians in lheir early 30s, Adel Thalouth ,md lhe black trooper Ghabrian. also disappeared. Alexandre Lecuyer, a 42-rear-old French mastcr-booun;lker, was \I'ollnded al the crossing of the Beresina; Soube Youssef. bom in ChefaAmr in 17i5, was taken prisoner. lO die of wounds in a hospital at \'jlna on 16 Februall': another 37·year
The twilight of the Empire, 1813-14 Earl, in 1813 the Emperor. aidcd b) his Grand Marshal of thc Palacc DunK. slarted rebuilding a ncw Grandc Anllee - not onh the Linc rcgimcllls. but also thc Imperial Guard. This was donc 1J., transfcning experienced soldiers from thc Line into the Guard. and bv le\"\ing ncw tcenage conscriplS; citics. institutions and entcrprises wcre also cncouraged to donate soldiers. horses or cash p."\'Illen15 to SUppOri the war effort. The catastrophic losses of horses in Russia had Icft thc C3yaln'. in particular. in a dangeroush \\ca(..,cned Slate; but the Imperial Guard would become stronger than t....·er - at least on paper. Loder this reorganization the MOllIHed Chasseurs wcre increased. from 18 Januan 1813. to an cstablishment of tcn squadrom with 2.500 men. Thc ~lamclukcs would be doublcd from com pam to squadron strength. as thc 10th Squadron of thc ~IOUlHCd Chas5eurs. This W,IS done b, creating a 1st Compan) - also known as 1st Mamclukes - consisting of \'t':terarn and troopers from thc Linc. and a 2nd Compan\' - 2nd ~Iamelukcs - raised from conscripts, In Guard terminology these would be known as belonging to the Old and Young Guard respectivcly. The latlel' company consisted mainly of conscripts from within the Empire. such as Italians, Belgians. Germans and Frcnchmen; though all would be issucd thc Oriental uniforms. turbans and weapons. most of them were noticeably pale--skinncd 'i'olamelu"es·. and not a fcw of them spoke ",'illl a Parisian accent. In I813 the ollicer corps of Ihc ~laltlelll(..,es was as follow'S: Slaff: Squadron leader: Kinnann Captain. instructor: Abdallah 2nd Lt. SQIl.'i-adJutmlt majOr. ? 2nd Lt. /Jf1rlMJlgk: Fonnade Surgeon-major: BocLeliheim Squadron: C.1.ptains: Renno, Daoud Ilabaibi 1st LIs: Chahin', Elias Ma.ssa.;id 2nd LIs: Soliman. Ga\. "-..pfer. Mirza During the first part of the 1813 camrmign in Gennan,. before the armistice of I'leswiu signed on 5 June. the ~loullled Chass<'U1'S and M:ullelukes were nOt engaged - the services of the Old Guard were limited LO escorting the Emperor_ Whcn the armisticc ended, OIlC squadron of Old Guard Mounted ChasseUl"S and the 1st Company of MamclukCli wcre designatcd for service dose to the Empcrol'; all thc othcrs ""ould ser.e in Cell L.cfeb\Te-DeslloCttes· dhi-sion. Al Dresden. shortly lx:forc thc armistice of Pleswitz. the MameJukcs receivcd a welcome reinforcement of 125 men_ Three were Grcekbom members of the Albanian Corfu Regimcnt. \\hose senices were prcscnted b, the presidelll of the senale of Corfu. Baron TheotocLi. Thev \\ere admitted to the Corps of ~lamelllLcs on 21 June 1813. and arn,-ed willI the squ:ldron on 6 October. Yannis PhocdS. hom at Parga in 1791.

An Impr....ion by Job of Mllmelukes ehallling through the atreeta of Madrid. The artist showa • blue benlche under II yellow y.lak, crimson ..rousl, .nd the e.hcuk eap Kariet with a bra.. ,tar ,net erescent - ,ymbollsm sure to .ttract the vengeful attention of the citizens of Madrid. The aNIbntQue ia In light cavalry style. of blue trimm..:l with a red ,tripe edged .mite, enet gold or yellow fri..... jAutnor's collection)

3.

-Steadily, the Orlenlal ,pacifies ollhll uniform were transformed Into more suitable Items for European climate end campaigning. The fino! algnll came In 1806, and became Increasingly obvious 'rom 1809 onwards. The uniforms were

mainly green and red, matching those of the Mounted Ch.a.seu,", with whom they rode; after 1808 the French light cavalry ahabraque Will used, and I.

shown hera .a green with. red stripe piped white along the edges, and redlwhlte fringing.

However, we mu,t point out that thIs Mar1lnel engrllvlng ill known In four differently coloured version•. (Author'll collection)

40

was a fonner scrgc
Dresden 011 18 Septcmbcr, Two days later thc French ~Iamclllkc Nicolas Godard, 36, from Sapygnicourl, died of llll$pecifiecl causcs somcwhere in SaxolI}'; a wcek after thaI another Frenchman, 22-)ear-old Christophe Bordeaux from Cardall\'ille, was taken prisoncr. 111is spread of ages among the Fl'ench names argues a range of miliLan' origins in recnliullclll to the corps. For the baltic of Leipzig itselfwc find onl} that .Harichal d~ Iogis Angelis Anastassis. 29. a Greek from Cairo, "'as made a prisoner of\\-.I.r; he would retum to France on 2i Febm
Mametuke, by R."et. TM ....l, and - . t of u-. ",,11_ Ie would cMtcHIk Ie _

-..t _

.J1poKt fnlm 18t3 on....rd.; 1Mnftvef", the re"ow benk;M and lhe ...tl .tllI worn unci« the blu. y.,.., with hanging ltfId•• m.,- "' artl.tlc 11c-.w::•• Th••h.br1lqu. Ie ",,"", flIged a"d frl~ Karl-' a"d with Kartet Orle"tal taqet•. Nota lhe peir of pI.tol••Iu"" high under hi. lett arm. pre.umably from one of the M leather .houlder belt•• (Autho,; coliectlO"1

41

27 February; all Italian,Jcan ~laric Ri\'a, born at CoIs.'\nz..'\n in 1788, who was wounded no less than cight times at Arcis-sur-Aube on 20 March; the German-born Guillaume Finkein. taken prisoner near ~'c1)' on 30 ~larch; and thc \'ClCmn Mameluke 5..'1lem Youdik, already wounded at E\lau. who \\'as wounded again and mken prisoner at Counr:ai. Belgium. on 30 ~Iarch. Th. First R •• toratlon

With the return of a Bourbon regime and the elllhronemeOl of King Louis XVIII. Ihc Impclial Guard officially ceased 10 exist, but the RoralisLS in faci treawd this crack corps with some care. The ~IOllmed Chasseurs \\ere renamed as the Corps Roral des Chasseurs a Che\,;,l1 de France; mOSI of the ~Iamelukes \\;thin its ranks were b\ no", of French origin. Earh in March 1815 the unit paraded beforc the Due d'Orlean~, latcr to become King Louis-Philippe. Still wearing the )'luslim crescent on thcir turbans, the\ counted 41 Old Guard )'lame1ukes of ",hom 18 ",ere still Orientals. The Young Guard )'lamelukcs were all transferred to the 7th Mounted Chasseurs of the Une. C."lptains Renno and Abdallah, as well as 2nd Ll )'lirza. served in the ChC\ in tbe othcr records. The Hundred Days

42

When Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France ill l\larch 1815, the Corps Ropt dcs Chasscllrs a Cheval de France mustered 67 officers and 1,200 men spread belwecn five squadrons; Glujd'".sallll'rm Kinnann still commanded the Mamelukes. By a decree of 2<1 April, Napoleon ordered thal the rcgiment of Mounted Chasseurs of the GII;lrd should be augmentcd by one l\lamcluke squadron of t\\'o companies. Each company W'as to be organized like the others in the corps, and a squadron leader and ;\ rous--adjlttant major were to be auached to the l\lameluke squadron. On 6 May the Corps of l\lamclukt.-s was reorganized at Versailles;
of whom would c\'cntually be discharged 10 return to Melun on I November 1815: Joseph Brahim, from the 3rd Illlssars, was accepted 011 27 ~larch 1815. and Ibrahim Cuirglles.s, a former Egyptian refugee• .....LS re-admitted on 30 May. Sen'ing under CCIl Lcfebne-Desnollclles' orders, the ~Iamelllkes elllered Belgium and were preselll ,It Fleul'll!> on 14 June. On the morning of Sunday 18 June, soaked b)' the hca\} r
OPPOSITE One of e MffM of photogr-..h. tHen during tM s.c:ond Empi,., 01 thto ,-.t M1rviving ".tenln. of N.po'-" 1Irmv. T1Mo .m., N F,.,nccM. born M Touchn, F,.,nce, on 23 Aprll n8e; he entlHWd lhe Mameluke. e. e voluntMr on 7 M.~h 1813, .nd Mrving In the 1813-14 c.mpeien. u.n.fe...-cl to thto Mounted Cha...un followIng the Finl R••lor.tlon. It I. mo.t prob.bl. thet much of thl. unlfo"" w.. rfilon.IOIChtd for the oc:c••lonj Ito_"er, "me It.m. III"••n int.....tlnll Id•• 01 how It w•• worn .t the .nd of the Flnl Empl.... Nolk:. the I••th.r top b.nd, Ilk. thet 01 ••h.ko, on the M1b.Uontlei cehoulc; thl. ~ e r me)' be .Ither bleck or _rl.t, with bre. . .ter .nd c _ t bede" .nd • bleck plume. Due.1 w•• n the St HelenII Medel, elven to .11 ...t....n. of the R."olutionery WId Nepoleonk: w...., end thto . . . . round med.1 of _ of the

Due'"

.ft.,

Napoleonic menon.' _!etM. (Anne S.K.Brown CoUe<:tlon. ProwlctelOC., USA)

The Second Restoration: the White Terror The Mamclllkt."S of Oriental origin returned to Marseille or lO ~Ielun to li\'e ....ithin tile communities of Ego.l>dan refugees; but during the Second Restoration \\hat was known iLS the '\\llite lerroI" \\'ould splil the COlilltn in two. Vengeful Rovalists hUllled down former Bonapartists who had helped XaJX>leon return to the throlle in 1815. During this ....;tchhunt both prominent leaders and humble soldiers would fall \;ctim to tile hatred of the restored Bourbon go\ernment or tlleir supporters among tile population. Generals and e\ell marshals were brought before courts martial and sclllenccd to dealh or exile. like Marshal Xe)' and Gen de 1....l-be
43

An.wering Napoleon" appeal for recruits, horse. and funds 10 rebuild - more accuralely, replace - Ihe shattered Grande Armn after the Runlan campaign, the Island of Corfu ."nl three Greek.Albanlan, to ."..... e In the Mamelukes. This coslume has an Interesllngly old-fashioned look 10 II, perhaps reflecting the Turtdsh Influence on the Greek Islands. The turban Is large; the white shir1 has a collarie.s neck and long, wide, "mbrold"red .Iee\/e.; and the sl",,\/eleas blue walslcoal, Irlmmed yellow and wllh many tiny ball buttons, Is WOrn open o\/er the sash. IAuthor's collection; Bucquoy card}

Algeria. Among thesc veterans we find the following: Jacob (Yakoub) Ilabaibi. former colonel of the Mamelukes, now scning as a first c1a...s interpreter, and Abdallah d·Asbonne, fonner squadron leader, as a third class interpretcr. Former Mamelukes served as scouts as II'eli as interpreters, including Soliman, Azaria Ie Grand, de SolllzOS and Abd cl J\lalek. Standards and honours

While organizing the corps in 1802, Col Rapp ordered a guidon plus fOllr lUgs. five IHllnpct-banners. a keulcdrum-banner. a saddle for a hors/..'drummer. five u·umpcts and 'one' kculedrum (presumably a pair) . The tug was a U
As in other COIl)S of the Imperial Guard, more than one ~illlplc soldier - as well as onicel1i and NCOs - wore the cross orlhe Legion of I Ionour. On 11 March 1806 se\'entl ~lamclllkes \\'ere rewarded with the cross of a knight of the Legion of Iionom for their bra\'cn at Austerliu: MarkhOllX rks logUA7.aria Ie Pctil and Slcphanis Kosmas, JJngaditn Rene Jac(luc Tel1.re, SCraphim Bagdoune and I-Io\"hanni..-s Annenie; and "Iamelul.es :\icolas Papas-Ogloll. Avoub Chame. Soliman, O,lIlici ~lirza Ie Petit and Ahmet "Iasri. After E~'lau, on 14 April 1807, it was the tllm of ,\farie/wl d,s logis Ilanna Koubroussi, Mamelul.cs Boulolls Baraka and Idriss Johar, and Trulllpeter AntoineJalire to be decorated with the cross of the bril\e. These awards wcre followcd b\ Mameluke Youssef Zalaouni (25 No\ember 1807). Fourrirr Ilippolite Caillet (7 Junc 1808). Malllclul.e 5."Ilem Youdik (28 Febrllan 1813). and Hrigatllrr Francis Nassar (26 f\pril 1813). ~lore than one officci' also rccei\ed a financial allowance; and at the end or the Empire in 1814, Abdallah, Renno and K.apfer of the Young Guard \\'ere rewarded with the cross or the Imperial Order or the Reunion.

A M.~uk. NCO drwwn b~ HtmsclMlln a.rlln, 180&-07; thl, flguAlI, reconItnlet4ld . . PI.t. 83.

THE PLATES A: PERSONALITIES A1: Glnlra' Dupes, 1803-04 ThIs French officer commanded the Mamelukes 01 the Consular Guard, adopbng thelr exotIC dress and style 01 weapony; note, however, that hIS gokf-fnoged sash is in the mgulaoon blue of a French giJneraI de brigade. HIS saddlery - which can be seen today in the Musee de l'Arm8e's former Brunon CollectIOn at the ChAteau de I'Empen- IS in fact French-made, despi1e Its transformation to OrIental style. See photos on page 15. A2: All, Mameluke of the Emprelll, 1803 ThIS reconstruction is after a paintIng of this date by Van Bree. InformatlOl'l on the duties and dress 01 Napoleon's servant and bodyguard Roustam, and a uniform Illustration, can be found In Elite 115: Napoleon's Imperial Headquarters (I), A3: All, 2nd Mameluke of the Emperor, 1813 This different 'Ali' - a Frenchman named Louis Etienne Saint Denis - entered Napoleon's service in 1811 as an assistant to Aoustam. When the latter left the entourage after the First Abdication, Ali took his place. and accompamed Napoleon to Elba and during the Hundred Days. Thls reconstruction IS based on a naIf contemporary palnttng showIng the Imperial staff dunng the battle of leipzig in 1813, B: 1800-07 81: Offlceri Napoleon's coronation c.remonles, 1804 Th:s costl.me is typical of the earlier styles, strongly AlnWlISCeI'lt of what had been worn in Egypt; the large

turban IS worn CYYet a low cap, and a short jacket wIth wide elbow-length sleeves is worn over the long-sleeved shirt, both heavily embroidered with gold thread. The wtute heron or egret leather plume is the characteristIC Turkish mark of officer rank. 82: Officer In s .... mmer dress Aecoostrueted atlef 009lnaJ period items and texts.

83: NCO, 1806-07 ThIs Mameluke was seen in Gennany by ttJe artISt Henschel

after the French entry into Ber1in - see picture above. lJoder a deep yellow turban the cahouk is green, which was the regulation colour, out of respect for the Prophet: however, SO\Jrces very often show them as red. The beniche, with a low collar, is in pearl-grey, with bfalding at the collar, shoulders and sleeve seams: the sleeveless yalek in deep yellow. and both gannenls are decorated with sl!ver embroidef'y. The sash - worn OVe!' the yalek - is striped in yellow, red, green and grey. A dagger, and pistols In a decorated red leathet double holster. are lucked under the sash; the pouch belt may also support a carbine on a swivel hook. c: 1800-07 C1: Mameluke, Belgium, 1803 This reconStructIOn, after a contemporary account, shows an earty costume wllh long, Wlde-sIeeY«t coat In the Egyptian style. Nole the detail of the horse fumllure.laIgeIy from draWlf'lgS by Yernet. C2: Mameluke, 1805 ThIs figure, after GfOs, shll wears a beniche WIth the early style of sleeYes, long and turned back at the cuffs_ The

can

45

J

D.taIl from _ engRVing by Kolb, 'GanN l ~ " eN F~·. published c.18oe; theN ellt.t. .... arbtlon by a-. <:.1.'0. Notk
'ron!

u..

u..

'"ec:l ., u..

-.nxl"

narrow green and gold lace boI'ders on his yalek seem to

Indicate an NCO. C3: Mam.luke in non-regulation dress Reconstructed from OIiginaJ contemporary items. this rear view shows the top of a cahouk: a beniche with lower sleeve decoration and the rear vent WIth many small ball buttons; the slung blunderbuss - probably only carried on parade rathef than on campaigo; the susperlSlOO of the scimrtar from con:Is; and a decorated pouch slung in the same manner.

D: 1807-13 01: Mameluke, c.1B07 This figure is ahElf a drawing by C.G.Getssler. Note the French carbine slung from the regulatlOlll$SU8 belt. and the

·6

shabraque WIth drawn-out rear comers in light cavalry styte. From about thIS date onwards the sources show the wide sleeves of the beniche. whieh sometllnes hung over the hands, beginrnng 10 be replaced WIth a tighter-fitting

Th.tmpel... and Marneft*.. In ~ d..-. Tbe trumpet... lIett) wean • double-bree.tecl .tabltl }Kket In ay-blue _ the colaw for trumpeteR of the OYard caY.lry - end (lAY ~In9IIJgn 0Yef1I'1s vrith blKll reinforcement. His botNMt • police I\n: • ntd 'ft_' end aIly·btue 'tlIrNn'. with gold a.ee, piping, end c...eent bM!oge. TlM Mamelulle's e.p din.... In having. atll blue tUrNn .nd r-llow ttiIft; his }Kket . . .Iso d_tIl blue. wom vrith h.e8vy white c_nvu .table troUHrs. Io'uttlo.... collection; Bucquoy cerd, _tter

BoI.Hm• .,

European style. and it begins to acqUIre a low standing collar. Here the beniche is yellow; the yalek Is green with gold or yellow embroldef'y, the sarousl scarlet and the boots crimson. The most noticeable change Is the headgear; while the low scarlet tarbouche was retaIned lor undress wear, It was replaced on duty by this tallef, stiffer cahouk in green. yellow Of scarlet. Again, the turban IS shown as yelloW. 02: Chef d'escad,on Kirmann, 1809-10 The commander of lhe Mamelukes 1808-14 is pamted atler a cootemporary sketch, In hIS magrnfJcent 0nentaI finery. HIS cahouk has a gold lace top band, and bears gill star and crescent badges as well as the while pkJme of a field grade offICer. Note the shabraque and saddle cover In the style 01 KtrmaM's parent ItIglment. the MOUl1ted Chasseurs of the Impenal Guard. 03: Caplta/ne Abdallah d'Asbonne, 1813 ThIs famous and much-wounded Synan offe. IS pamted after a ponralt mIniature of that year. If'l a U....fOlm of

colours reflecting that of the Mounted Chasseurs. It is Intriguing to note the French officer's fringed epaulette worn on hIs left shoulder, a rare instance of French officers' rank dlstlnctlOfls being incorporated Into the Onental uruform. Note that, like Kirmann, he wears the cross of the Legion of Honotx, awarded in Abdallah's case as early as June 1804 The horse lurnltln is reconstructed from regulatJOnS. E: MUSICIANS, 1807-13 E1: Cymbalist E2: Kettle-drummer Both these figures are after the AIsace Cotlectlons. kettle-drummer's headdress is somehmes shown helMer decoratton. E3: Kettle-drummer, 1810-12 After an engraVIng in the Dubois de l'Etang CotIectIOfl. exaggerated uniform and harness were seen for the tllne at the wedding of Napoleon to Marie-LoUise.

The w.th

This first

F: 1807-13 F1: Mameluke, regutation Oriental dress The colours of the beniche and yale/( continue to .... ary in the sources, suggesting that the freedom and di....ersity typical of the original Mamelukes of 1802 was retained, e....en if the cut became modified: the cahouk worn for parade is usually shown as scartet. Note, agmn, the cord sling for the SCImitar, worn With the cutting edge to the rear. and the regula1ion issue French cavalry pouch and carbine belts. The yaJek is worn closed, with the sash over it and confining the sword sling. F2: Mameluke, regulation Oriental dress F3: Trumpeter, regulation Oriental dress Both these reconslJUctJoos are after the WOrtz Collection, one of the so-called Alsace Cotlectlons. Note the shabraques and valtses. The trooper wears recI leather belts for tllS pouch and weapon. hent a simulated Onental blundetbuss of the type made at the Versailles factOf)', The trumpet. wears a costume which. thoogh of OrIental design. reflects the Impenal Guard ca....alry trumpeters' regulatlOfl sky-blue, WIth mixed gold and red braJcI Oecorahon. Q: 1813-14 G1: Mameluke, campaign dress After the contemporary Freyberg manuscript. The most striking feature is the black shako worn with the turban and crescent badge, recalling the similar headgear of the so-called Lithuanian lancers, whose remnants were serving at this date With the 3rd SCouts (Eclalreurs) of the Imperial Guard. G2: Officer, campaign dress ThIs probably French offIcer wears the undress uniform of hussar style wnich was now regulation for all Mamelukes.

NCO of F......eh origin, In .n Illustr1lUon .n...... of Uta .nnwd per.o.. on the P*a \'end6me to commemorate the ~ blrtttct.y. It Mo-.. • unfform wwn et the end of the ~ , mainly In KeMt and blue, wtItt FIWnCh-styla renll and ...-rice cheYrons on the ____ ~.

dr..rinlll

m.o. '" o.n ' h _ during _

iAlrthor'w collection;

~

-rdl

The Oriental dress was probably worn only on special occasions, and in the field only when the Emperor was present in person. G3: French Mameluke, regulation Oriental campaign dress IntrigUingly, note that the axe .s still earned anached to the

-~. H: FRENCH MAMELUKES, 1813-14 H1: Officer, campaign dress This regulatlOfl everyday and IieId untform features the old cutaway habit 01 the Mounted Chasseurs. dat.ng from the earty EmPIre, worn over a scarlet wmstcoat, ahhough the coat and its piping and 8IgUilJettes are in the d8l1l. blue and cnmson reminISCent of the Polish lancers. Despite the wholly French cut of the uniform, note that the sabre IS stili slung Mameluka-style. and that the harness retains Oriental features. H2: Mameluke, campaign dress This trooper wears an oilskin co....er o....er his headdress and (oddly) its plume. and the regulatJon off-white slee....ed and caped nding cloak - manteau-capote. H3: Trumpeter, campaign dress Regulation e....eryday and field uniform - a sky-blue habit decorated in gold and red. with cnmson piping, worn over a scane! waistcoat and dark blue o....eralls striped crimson and reinforced with black leather. His trumpet cords are also in mixed gold and crimson.

.~ "

,..-

--•

47

INDEX n

kf<-

'0

,nl.l>lr.ib<MD ~.r

1Wt11n

..t--n ."tb ~ Ion"," ,n !>n
r.. m'. 1Lan""""'" ""K II r rnkn<~ ~ illi.Im. ""'lI: of ""-0.0

bold

..-

Mr

G3,~I.

Frn>
21..n 171.11' 12. 47.

r......,h ~ic.. 9-21

"'1.~2,'"

~H.

_ ,u,nC...,.1 D3 '.!2i. 4o;-47l.1}. 19.

'.u..-bord._ (;pi

>.b<... \m.....

ts.

~o.i

,\",."",eh"""

ro"",,,

~.

~

A\uub.\I"""W J" /lJroJ Gaol"'rdJ.-pl, 'lIl-"J <\I.. ,i.> '10: (~~nd', II....... M "",. 17. 2'.-H ......iA· ... P.." .., 2nd I..J 17.~. U

4

t..c.d !l.'o

f'>n> 41--tl. +I ~wn.Cap< 14

,... ..

~

~,un

Pol....

16-~1

I~.."

36.42

PrinnJ, ""10;.... 11

l·n..... 0806-071 :I2-~1 "'lUll"'!>. 1\;o.,,1eo uI.1M' 5,6 (;,,"iJ"~"

10.

Ito.... fJ t";ocl,

~

f'DrIr1'ww

(I'''''''''''

ItI"mlO, I.. Ullat.., (;~pt) y"" 12. 19-W. 'n. 1t.~, 't'l, 12 Rnron.tioo rin. 1'1. '-uond!tho- ..... ~ T.......·IH...H R.G.jnn \ton.. 12 Itoban. QuMr \........ 41 RoudjIio:ri. . . . . . ,. . :lad U, _ ft... ~-El'

" ' - ' - ' l<>wo jKqu<"I ~ l!onLun ,. '\.\ .......... \1.anhaI U

Koun. G>bnrI ]lI

....:01"- 6, 7 _ _ 21.:!!. 17_.

1

-'
02 '.!ll, ~1. '-~. 37.". 4t tacbn. Lno 6, 7, II

( ..... (bltt.\bnluill 7. II

l ..c1"n:. ~ '~l 4()-t1 ,~,

I . - :\\111, ""'II

11-9.'

Ib.~,.j(\.~I,

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Sll.4S

The umforms, equipment. history and organization of the world's military forces, past and present

Napoleon's Mamelukes The most exotic of all the troops of Napoleon's Imperial Guard were undoubtedly the Mamelukes - the bodyguard of Oriental cavalry that followed him home after the Egyptian expedition of 1798-1801, and remained with his Mounted Chasseurs regiment throughout the First

Empi~.

For the Hrst

time in English, this book tells the Mamelu"es' story, from Austerlitz to Waterloo. Quoting from the original nominal rolls and battle casualty returns, the author brings individual members of this extraordinary unit to life. His text is illustrated with rare early engravings and p.1inlings, and the full-colour plates show the development of the unit's romantic Unrivalled detail

Tllrldsh uniforms.

ISBN 1-S4176-955-X

OSPREY PUBLISHING

www.osprcypublishing.com

9

JII III!III