A concise history of the hand-picked elite cavalry guard that served as Napoleon's close personal escort and were committed to the most dangerous areas of combat on the battlefield. Formed from his original escort of "Guides" and the "Consular Guard" in 1799, the Mounted Chasseurs were a personal favourite of the Emperor, who wore their uniform on campaign. Ronald Pawly's unique research into regimental archives has uncovered unprecedented detail about this exceptional unit and its soldiers and officers. With their colorful uniforms recreated in full-color artwork and accounts of their actions in the most critical battles of the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815), this book provides a comprehensive description of a legendary elite. “Overall another superlative Osprey book and one that is both an interesting and enjoyable read. I'm sure you will agree.” ― Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (January 2008) Ronald Pawly , born in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1956, is a member of several international societies for Napoleonic studies. His forté is research in the field of military portraiture. He contributed to two major French reference works, Répertoire Mondial des Souvenirs Napoléonien and Dictionnaire des Colonels de Napoléon. In 1998 he published his first major work, The Red Lancers – Anatomy of a Napoleonic Regiment. Patrice Courcelle was born in northern France in 1950 and has been a professional illustrator for some 20 years. Entirely self-taught, he has illustrated many books and magazine articles for Continental publishers, and his work hangs in a number of public and private collections. Reference Book Osprey Men-at-Arms Napoleon's Mounted Chasseurs of the Imprerial Guard #444