Napoleon's Guard Cavalry

Osprey Men at Arms #83

by Emir Bukhari, Angus McBride (Illustrator)

This title examines some of the most colourful and fanciful uniforms in military history, those of Napoleon's Guard Cavalry. The detailed text covers units such as the Grenadiers à Cheval; the Empress's Dragoons; the Chasseurs à Cheval; the Mamelukes; the Gardes d'Honneur; the Polish Lancers; the Dutch Lancers; the German Lancers and the Lithuanian Tartars. A plethora of illustrations complement the text, including eight fine full page colour plates by inimitable Angus McBride, providing admirably detailed reconstructions of uniforms and accompanied by ten pages of commentaries.

Genres: Military History, History

48 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 1978

Reviews

[John Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing about the series of Osprey titles on Napoleon's cavalry are the wonderful uniform plates by the late Angus McBride, which reach just the right balance of naturalism, clarity and expression. McBride is (in my opinion) by far the best of the illustrators to have worked on this series.

Bukhari's text follows the pattern of other books he wrote for Arms & Armour, a rundown of uniform developments followed by potted unit histories. Though fascinating reads for their time (first released in mid-1970's) much of the factual information can be easily found elsewhere nowadays.

This particular title is the weakest of the set, as there isn't really enough space given to the development of each regiment. As in the other Bukhari tiles, little mention is made of the Revolutionary War period.