Napoleon's Red Lancers

Description

The legendary Dutch 'Red' Lancers - the 2nd Light Horse Lancers of Napoleon's Imperial Guard - were formed in 1810 after the emperor annexed Holland and its army to France. The former hussars of the Dutch Royal Guard got a handsome new uniform, a new weapon, and a hard-driving new colonel in Baron Edouard Colbert. His lancers distinguished themselves in Russia in 1812, at huge cost; in Germany in 1813, and in the Low Countries in 1814. When Napoleon returned from exile in 1815 the Red Lancers were with him until night fell over Waterloo. Ronald Pawly is the world's leading expert on the archival and pictorial record left by this regiment; his detailed text is illustrated with rare portraits and photographs, and eight glowing colour plates of a surprisingly wide variety of uniforms.

RONALD PAWLY, born in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1956, is a member of several international societies for Napoleonic studies. His forte is research in the field of military portraiture. He contributed to two major French reference works, Repertoire Mondial des Souvenirs Napoleonien and Dictionnaire des Colonels de Napoleon. In 1998 he published his first major work, The Red Lancers - Anatomy of a Napoleonic Regiment. A contributor to the Osprey Journal, he is the author of MAA 355 Wellington's Belgian Allies 1815, MAA 371 Wellington's Dutch 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. His other enthusiasms include music and cooking. Patrice lives close to the battlefield of Waterloo with his wife and son.