Units of History - Rise of Napoleon's Old Guard (1789-1803) (Part 1) DOCUMENTARY
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Published 2023-11-22
In this history documentary series we will seek to explore thr rise and fall of Napoleon's most elite soldiers, the Old Guard. Part 1 begins with their origins in the guard institutions of the French Monarchy and the units which arose in the following period of the French Revolution. We see the pivotal role that these early soldiers played in securing Napoleon's rise to power and how they would eventually transform into the most elite corp of the Grand Armee of the French Empire. Specifically we will be taking a look at the origins and equipment of these early Old Guard forces before turning to their preliminary service history from Marengo to Boulogne. We will later be covering the Campaigns of the Third and Fourth Coalitions with the contributions of the Guard to the Battle of Austerlitz, the Battle of Waterloo, and more.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:16 Origins
03:43 Guards of the Republic
06:46 Rise of Napoleon
10:23 Imperial Guard
12:01 Equipment
15:51 Weapons
19:55 Battle of Marengo
21:29 Outro
Sources:
"La Grande Armée" by Georges Blond
"Napoleon's Guard Infantry" by Osprey Publishing
"Swords around the Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armée" by Elting
"The Anatomy of Glory: Napoleon and his Guard" by Lachouque
"Historical Dictionary of Napoleonic France, 1799-1815" by Connelly
"The Eagle in Splendour: Napoleon I and His Court" by Mansel
"Les grenadiers de la Garde" by Rousselot
"Les marins de la Garde" by Rousselot
"Napoleon et ses grognards" by Dupont
"Histoire anecdotique, politique et militaire de la Garde impériale" by Emile Marco de Saint-Hilaire
Credits:
Research = Daniel Messman
Script = Invicta
Narration = Guy Michaels
Art = Penta Limted
#history
#documentary
#napoleon
All Comments (21)
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So... this was supposed to be just one episode but the Old Guard could not be done justice so we will be expanding this into a multi-part series tracing the specific exploits of the Old Guard over the course of Napoleon's campaigns. I hope it offers some fresh insights on these wars from the perspective of its most vaunted veterans.
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Soldiers of my Old Guard, I bid you farewell. For twenty years you have been my constant companions on the road to honour and glory. In these latter times, as in the days of our prosperity, you have never ceased to be models of courage and fidelity. - Napoleon Bonaparte
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The TOTAL WAR SOUNDTRACK on this video HITS HOME, editors knew EXACTLY what they were doing hahahah.... CONGRATS GUYS !
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Can never get enough of these 'Units of History' videos. Good stuff. Keep them coming!
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OH MY GOD! Please don't stop at just the Old Guards, let's do every elite guard in history. I want to see more about the Varangian, Praetorian, Janissaries and more. So much more elite guards.
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It is impossible to describe the joy overflowing in my heart upon seeing this.
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Another brilliant video. This is amazing history content and you should be proud of what you have achieved with this channel!
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The Old Guard is such a legendary unit.. Very well put together! Love to see part 2??.
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Could you look into De Ruyter's mariniers? They weren't the first special forces, but they were a historical footnote in the importance of amphibic operations. Love your breakdown of historic elite units!
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Very nice video! Looking forward to more exposition of the Old Guard's exploits. Will you also go over the Middle and Young Guard as well?
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The Old Guard is such a legendary unit.
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Documentaries all Day, every day!!!! Love the channel bro!!! Keep it up!!! 💯
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the french musket was probably not significantly more accurate than any other at the time, the real difference was that french soldiers were regularly trained at shooting. most other armies at the time only had their troops practice live fire a couple times a year! the french on the other hand regularly practiced, and had a much higher allotment of ammunition for target shooting.
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You seem to have forgotten a very important part of the old guard : the cavalery. The régiment de chasseurs à cheval de la garde (Mounted Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard) and the régiment de grenadiers à cheval de la garde (Mounted Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard) were also part of the old guard and were also quite impressive and important. Several other units also joined the old guard like the gendarmes d'élites de la garde and the dragons de l'impératrice.
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Excellent. Just in time for the premier!!
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Nice historical coverage video about early Napoleon Bonaparte campaign...thank you🙏 Invicta channel
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This is already starting off so strong thank you for the great content!
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YES, I've been waiting for the day for these soldiers to get a video 😍😍
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always love seeing vidoes from invicta
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Great video really appreciate all the work you do. Happy Thanksgiving!
