Chevalier Guard

The Chevalier Guard regiment (Кавалергардский полк) was a Russian heavy cavalry guard regiment, created in 1800 by the reformation of the Chevalier Guard corps, itself created in 1764 by Catherine the Great. As other Russian heavy cavalry guard regiments (the Life Guards Horse Regiment, His Majestys Life Cuirassiers, and Her Majestys Life Cuirassiers), the Chevalier Guards (Кавалергарды) were equipped as cuirassiers (with some differences in uniform and equipment from army cuirassiers and other guard cuirassier regiments).

1805 - The regiment first saw combat in the Battle of Austerlitz, in which it fought bravely, covering the retreat of units from the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments of the Russian guard infantry. The Chevalier Guards were countercharged by French Horse Grenadiers of the Old Guard, who inflicted heavy casualties among the Russians.

1812 - The regiment distinguished itself during the Patriotic War of 1812. The Chevalier Guards lost their colonel early in the Battle of Borodino but, in concert with the Life Guard Horse Regiment, effectively stopped the decisive charge of Saxon cuirassier regiments and defeated French Horse Carabiniers.

The regiment was disbanded in 1918. Many famous men served as Chevalier Guards, Grigori_Aleksandrovich_Potemkin, Orlov, and Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim among them.

External links

* Table of Ranks
* Russian military ranks
* [http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/Russian_guard.htm Russian Imperial Guard During the Napoleonic Wars]