Napoleon's Carabiniers

Description

The two privileged regiments of Carabiniers survived the French Revolution with their elite status intact. They covered themselves with glory at Austerlitz, Friedland, Ratisbonne and Wagram - where their bloody losses shocked Napoleon into ordering them new helmets and cuirasses. Re-formed after near annihilation in Russia in 1812, they fought at Leipzig and in many actions of the 1814 French campaign, and made one of the final charges at Waterloo. lllustrated with rare early prints and meticulous colour reconstructions, this book details their story, and their unique uniforms, from surviving period documents.

Ronald Pawly, born in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1956 and still living and working in that city, is a respected member of several international societies for Napoleonic studies, and an expert on 19th century military portraiture. He is the author of the monumental The Red Lancers: Anatomy of a Napoleonic Regiment (Crowood Press, 1998), and of a study of Napoleonic veterans' tombs in Belgium. He has previously several books in the Men-at-Arms series including MAA 355, Wellington's Belgian Allies 1815 and MAA 378 Napoleon's Guards of Honour. Patrice Courcelle was born in northern France in 1950 and has been a professional illustrator for some 20 years. Entirely self-taught, he has illustrated many books and magazine articles for Continental publishers, and his work hangs in a number of public and private collections.