The Reserve Cavalry Corps or Cavalry Reserve of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1805, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte appointed MarshalJoachim Murat to command all the cavalry divisions that were not directly attached to the army corps. During the Ulm campaign, Murat led his horsemen in successfully hunting down many Austrian units that escaped the capitulation of Ulm, before fighting at Austerlitz in December 1805. Under Murat, the Cavalry Reserve played a prominent role in the destruction of the Prussian armies after the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806. In 1812, the Reserve Cavalry Corps was split up into the I, II, III, and IV Cavalry Corps for the French invasion of Russia.
The cavalry saw much service during the rest of the Ulm campaign. At the Battle of Haslach-Jungingen on 11 October 1805, the 15th and 17th Dragoon Regiments lost their eagles. However, the action was a French victory over a greatly superior force.[4] Murat led his horsemen in a series of actions between 16 and 18 October before securing the surrender of General Franz von Werneck's Austrian corps. In these clashes, Klein's 1st, 2nd, 4th, 14th, 20th, and 26th Dragoon Regiments, the 1st Cuirassier Regiment, and other units were involved.[5] At the Battle of Schöngrabern on 16 November, Klein's troopers were engaged as were the 11th, 13th, and 22nd Dragoons from Walther's division.[6] At the Battle of Austerlitz on 2 December, Murat led approximately 7,400 cavalrymen including Nansouty's 1st Heavy Cavalry Division, Hautpoul's 2nd Heavy Cavalry Division, Walther's 2nd Dragoon Division, General François Étienne de Kellermann's light cavalry division and General Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud's light cavalry brigade. Beaumont's 3rd Dragoon Division was attached to the IV Corps while Bourcier's 4th Dragoon Division with 2,500 men and three guns were attached to the III Corps.[7]
1806–1807
At the beginning of the War of the Fourth Coalition, the Reserve Corps under Murat included the 1st and 2nd Cuirassier Divisions, still commanded by Nansouty and d'Hautpoul, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Dragoon Divisions under Klein, General Emmanuel de Grouchy, Beaumont, and General Louis Michel Antoine Sahuc respectively, and a light cavalry division led by Lasalle.[8] The pursuit that occurred after the French victory in the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt on 14 October has been described as classic.[9] On the 16th, Murat and his cavalry accepted the surrender of Erfurt where 9,000–14,000 Prussians were made prisoners.[10] At the Battle of Prenzlau on 28 October, Murat bluffed 10,000 Prussians with 64 guns into surrendering. The next day, 4,000 Prussians surrendered to Milhaud's troopers in the capitulation of Pasewalk. Also on 29 October, Lasalle's light cavalry captured a fortress manned by 5,000 men in the capitulation of Stettin.[11]
On 16 December 1806, the Reserve Corps was split into the I Cavalry Corps under Murat and the II Cavalry Corps under Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières. The II Corps operated with the northern wing of the French corps that advanced across the Vistula. The II Corps consisted of the divisions of d'Hautpoul, Grouchy, and Sahuc, plus a light cavalry division under General Jacques Louis François Delaistre de Tilly. The II Corps was disbanded on 12 January 1807 and the Reserve Cavalry Corps was reconstituted.[12] During the winter campaign, the 5th Dragoon Division was formed and assigned to General Nicolas Léonard Beker. It served near Warsaw under Marshal André Masséna.[13] At the Battle of Eylau on 8 February 1807, Murat led a grand charge of 80 squadrons of cavalry, altogether 10,700 horsemen. The divisions of Grouchy, d'Hautpoul, Klein, and Milhaud were all engaged. The French cavalry suffered 1,500 casualties but they badly disrupted the Russian lines at a critical point in the battle.[14] D'Hautpoul was killed in the struggle.[15]
1812
In 1812, the Reserve Cavalry Corps was split up into the I, II, III, and IV Cavalry Corps for the invasion of Russia. Each corps consisted of two heavy cavalry divisions and one light cavalry division, except the IV which had one heavy and one light cavalry division. Nansouty led the I, General Louis-Pierre Montbrun the II, Grouchy the III, and La Tour-Maubourg the IV Cavalry Corps.[16]
