A favourite pastime in my study of the Napoleonic wars is to seek out and research the more unusual units raised by all the armies of the period. Napoleon in particular was willing to utilise any and all sources of manpower in a variety of ad hoc and short lived units. The Poles proved to be a profitable recruiting ground for the Emperor in raising manpower for their own national army and units in French pay. By the autumn of 1813 Napoleon's hopes of victory in central Europe were beginning to diminish and with those diminishing hopes the aspirations of Poles to form an independent state were rapidly evaporating. In an attempt to raise the status of the Poles in the Grande Armee Napoleon raised a single battalion of Poles which was incorporated into the Imperial Guard. It is the short-lived organisation and history of that battalion which is the theme of this article.

Recruitment

The exact date of the battalion's raising is unclear. Most sources point to the beginning of October 1813.[1] This appears to be when an Imperial decree was issued authorising the raising of the battalion. However, it seems likely that the battalion was actually raised some days (25th September) before when Napoleon reorganised the Guard at Dresden, forming a new 2nd Old Guard division under Curial into whose 2nd Brigade under Rottenbourg the Polish Battalion was incorporated.[2] Other units of the brigade were the Saxon Guard Grenadiers and the Westphalion Guard Battalion.

The battalion was organised and equipped in Dresden and barracked with the Saxon Guard Grenadiers, even acquiring some of it's surplus uniform and equipment. Candidates for admission to the battalion had to be at least 23 years old with at least one campaign, a decoration and two years service in the other Polish regiments of the Grande Armee.[3] Recruits were attracted from the Polish regiments of the VIII Corps and the Vistula Legion. The commanding officer was Colonel Stanislaw Kurcjusz who had seen active service during the 1809 and 1812 campaigns.

The battalion was to be administered by the Administration Council of the Foot Grenadiers and the quartermaster of the Foot Grenadiers of the Old Guard was charged with it's upkeep. The battalion was also to enjoy the same pay and privileges as the 2nd Grenadiers of the Guard.

Organisation

The battalion was organised into four companies and a headquarters. Total battalion strength was set at 830 men, although it remains unclear whether the battalion actually achieved this. Napoleon would not allow the battalion to have an eagle and no band was granted. The battalion organisation was broken down as follows: [4]

Headquarters

Personnel	Men	Horse
Battalion Commander- Colonel	1	3
Adjutant Major - Captain	1	2
Under Adjutant - Lieutenant	1	1
Paymaster - Lieutenant	1	1
Surgeon - 2nd class	1	1
Wagon Master	1	-
Corporal Drummer	1	-
Master Armourer	1	-
Mule Drivers	3	2
Total:	11	10

Each Company Contained

Personnel	Men
Captain	1
Lieutenant	1
Sous-Lieutenant	2
SergeantMajor	1
Sergeants	4
Fourrier	1
Corporals	8
Drummers	3
Sapeurs	2
Grenadiers	181
Total:	204

In addition there were three servants assigned to the Colonel bringing the total battalion strength to 830.

Battle History

The battalion had a very short combat history. Within a few weeks of its formation it was thrown into the battle of Leipzig. On the 16th October it formed part of the counter-attack by Curial's division to prevent an attack by the Allied Guard from overwhelming Lauriston's corps around the village of Probstheyda. Curial's divisional counter attack was personally led by the Emperor himself. On the 17th it appears that the battalion, along with the Saxon Guard Grenadiers was withdrawn and posted to guard the palace of the Saxon King in Leipzig. The Poles escaped from the city on the 18th and saw further action at the battle of Hanau. The remnants then retreated into France.

By this point many Poles had lost faith in the Emperor's cause and refused to accompany the French across the Rhine. Amongst such men was the battalion commander, there can be no doubt that others of the battalion followed his example.[5] The remnants of the battalion were assembled at it's new depot at Sedan on 18th December 1813. The battalion numbered 15 officers and 80 other ranks.[6] For all intents and purposes the battalion was destroyed and the survivors were posted to the "3rd Regiment d' Eclaireurs de la Garde Imperial". Thus ended it's very short-lived history.

Uniforms

Due to the rapid recruitment and organisation of the battalion it appears that there was little in the way of standardisation of dress. Uniform and equipment appears to have been derived from French, Polish and Saxon sources. The following uniform guide is based on the plate which appears in Elting [7] supplemented by details in Nafziger and by Street (who does not specify his source). Such a guide may have been the official rather than the actual dress:

Headgear

A black Saxon shako. These were from the reserve stores kept by the Saxon Guard Grenadiers in Dresden. There was a scarlet pompom and tuft over a white Polish cockade. There was no plate because these were originally Saxon and thus removed. The chinscales were guilt. Officers may have worn a black bicarne on campaign with gold stiffeners and tassels at the extremities. Elting suggests that some of the battalion may have acquired bearskin bonnets on the battlefield.

Jacket

A royal blue kurtka of Polish cut was worn with a royal blue collar and white demi-lapels extending to within two buttons of the waist. The cuffs were scarlet with white cuff flaps. Turnbacks were scarlet with red piping along the bottom of the jacket. There were white fringed epaulettes and brass buttons. Crossbelts were white. Officers may have worn a single breasted surtout with long skirt turnbacks. Collar and cuffs were royal blue. There were scarlet turnbacks and gold exploding grenade devices at the bottom. Buttons were brass. Gold epaulettes and a garget plate were worn.

Trousers

Sources seem to differ here. The plate in Elting shows white trousers being worn (presumably this was the Summer uniform). Both Nafziger and Street mention royal blue trousers/breeches and white gaiters. Officers may have worn royal blue trousers with a gold stripe down the outside seam. Black shoes were worn by the rank and file and officers had black boots.

Other

Officers had white gloves and a royal blue greatcoat.

Weapons

Guard model firearms were issued to the battalion fitted with brass and white slings. Officers carried a brass hilted sword with a black scabbard and gold swordknot. Other ranks were also issued sabres held in black scabbards and a scarlet swordknot.

Sources

The Anatomy of Glory by H. Lachouque.
Swords Around a Throne by J R Elting.
Napoleonic Uniforms by J R Elting.
Napoleon's Grande Armee of 1813 by S Bowden.
Poles and Saxons of the Napoleonic Wars by G Nafziger, M.T. Wesoloski and T Devoe.
'The Polish Battalion of the Imperial Guard' by G Street in Journal of the Napoleonic Association nr. 9 June 1978.
'More on the Polish Battalion of the Imperial Guard' by L Lochet in Empires, Eagles and Lions nr. 45 (May 1980).
'Polish Guard Battalion' in Empires, Eagles and Lions nr. 9 (September 1976).

Notes

[1] Nafziger p.36 - October 2nd 1813.
Elting p.201 - beginning of October 1813.
George Street points to 2nd October 1813.

[2] EEL nr 45 'Leona Lochet citing Belhomme's "Histoire de l'Infanterie en France Vol IV p.637.

[3] As cited in Nafziger p.27. Material put forward by R.Dembinski in EEL nr 9 suggests 10 years service as a pre-requisite for entry into the battalion.

[4] These are the figures cited in the article by George Street in journal of the Napoleonic Association nr 9 - Summer 1978. Nafziger gives the same figures on p.36-37 but has a slight difference by not including the sapeurs and having 183 grenadiers.

[5] Out of the original total of 21 officers, 15 presented themselves at the Sedan depot.

[6] I have taken here the figure presented by Dembinski in EEL issue 9. Elting p.301 says there were 99 officers and men.

[7] Napoleonic uniforms Vol 2 by J R Elting - Plate 173 of the Imperial Guard.