During the Revolutionary Wars (1792-1799) and - especially - during the Napoleonic period (1799-1815), France had perhaps the most effective military machine on the Old Continent, which almost led to its long-term hegemony over Europe. It would be a trite truth to say that the key element of this machine was the French army. In this army, on the contrary, the Guard played a very important role - first the Constitutional (1791), then the Consular, and finally the Imperial (from 1804). At the time of the formation of the Imperial Guard, real veterans of the French army were recruited to it, who had 10 years of service and often participated in more than one battle. Appointment to the Guard was a reward and a great honor for them, and the Guard itself enjoyed great respect and esteem in the French army. We should add that in 1804 it numbered approximately 11,500 people and consisted of Guards Grenadiers, Guards Foot Riflemen, Guards Cavalry, as well as Guards Sailors and Artillerymen. In 1806, the Guards Dragoon Regiment and the 1st Light Cavalry-Ulan Regiment of the Imperial Guard were also created. During the campaign of 1805-1807, the Guard was seen by Napoleon as an iron reserve that would enter battle in extreme cases. In 1809, the Guard was divided into the Young and Old Guards, the former of which was to be used in battle much more often than the Old Guard. In 1812, the Middle Guard also appeared, but it went down in history a year later (1813). The Guard troops – both the Young and the Old – were involved in combat during the campaigns of 1813, 1814 and 1815. The last episode of the Old Guard was the formation of a square by the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment under the command of General Cambronn, who – according to legend – replied to the offer of surrender: "The Guard dies, but never surrenders!" Another anecdote about the Guard claims that when Napoleon met with Tsar Alexander I during the peace negotiations at Tilsit (1807), he pointed to a Guardsman whose face was covered with old scars and asked: "What do you think of soldiers who could endure such wounds?" To which the Tsar replied: "And what do you think of soldiers who could inflict such wounds?" When Napoleon was embarrassed by this, the Guards Grenadier, without outside help, replied: "They are all dead now."
