The Anatomy of Glory: Napoleon and His Guard

Henri Lachouque · Anne S. K. Brown

Jun 2017 · Pen and Sword

About this ebook

Napoleons Imperial Guard was arguably the most famous military formation to tread the battlefields of Europe. La Garde Imperial was created on 18 May 1804, and from its origins as a small personal escort, the Guard grew in size and importance throughout the Napoleonic era. Eventually, it became the tactical reserve of the Grande Arme, comprising almost a third of Napoleons field forces. The men of the Imperial Guard were the lite of the First Empire, its officers and men the military aristocracy of post-Revolutionary France.Used only sparingly, the Guard acquired a reputation of invincibility. Such had become its prestige, when the attacks of the Guard were repulsed at Waterloo, they signaled not only the defeat of the French army but also the end of an era.In this magnificent study, unparalleled in depth and scope, the renowned French historian Commandant Henry Lachouque has produced a lavish and sumptuous work. It combines vivid narrative with valuable and unique uniform illustrations, including seventy-four full color plates from the Anne S.K. Brown collection, to make The Anatomy of Glory one of the most important and most sought-after books on military history ever published.

About the author

Born in 1883, and educated at Saint-Cyr, Henri Lachouque went on to serve in the First World War, participating in the Battle of the Marne in 1914. Wounded, he was invalided out of the French Army having been awarded the Legion d’Honneur and Croix de Guerre. He went on to become a renowned historian, particularly of the First Empire era. He passed away in Paris in October 1971.