Imperial Guard (Napoleon III)

Imperial Guard (Napoleon III)

The Imperial Guard of Napoleon III was a military corps in the French Army formed by Napoleon III as a re-establishment of his uncle Napoleon I's Imperial Guard, with an updated version of the original uniforms and almost the same privileges. It was formed by a decree of the emperor on 1 May 1854, and was made up of 17 regiments of cavalry, artillery and infantry, squadrons of train (supply and administration) and mounted gendarmes, and a division taken from the corps of military engineers. The emperor added a regiment of Zouaves to the Guard in 1855, cherry-picked from the 3 regiments of Zouaves which he had created in 1852. This fourth Imperial Guard Zouave regiment had their uniform trimmed in yellow rather than the red of the other 3 Zouave regiments, and yellow instead of blue tassels.

Read more about Imperial Guard (Napoleon III):  Divisional Structure, Basis of Recruitment, Active Service, Disbandment, Sundry

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