r/Napoleon

What I want to know is why they continued to put armor on heavy cavalry in the Napoleonic Wars or later wars, especially since it had been proven that armor couldn't withstand a long-range gunshot. What surprises me most is that all or almost all the other powers in the Napoleonic Wars had or reintroduced armor on their heavy cavalry.

This scene by Wilfrid Constant Beauquesne depicts a French cuirassier after a battle, either exhausted, wounded, or captured. The artist often portrays 19th-century scenes where heavy cavalry was still important but was beginning to lose effectiveness and become obsolete in the face of modern artillery and well-organized infantry

My question is why heavy cavalry, equipped with armor, continued to be used during the Franco-Prussian War when rifles were becoming increasingly popular and new warfare tactics were emerging, such as the Chassepot rifle. Prussian artillery, lethal to cavalry, was also used, yet heavy cavalry continued to be employed. While there were successful charges, like the "Charge of Death" of the 7th (Magdeburg) Cuirassier Regiment of Prussia, these tactics came at a very high cost and were rarely successful.

Lo más sorprendente es que usa coraza cuando la primera guerra mundial comenzaba y con armas devastadoras como ametralladora y rifles mas precisos

Por qué la vieja guardia apodado los invencibles se rompió cuando intentaron atacar a los britanicos

I have used one of these images a thumbnail for my YouTube documentary on the Battle of Waterloo!

This scene is inspired by the painting by Jean Paul Laurens.

I remember reading a quote from Marmont that stated that the 4 cavalry corps created from the Invasion of Russia acted merely as something merely pleasing to the eye, but were largely not effective as units. I also believe that Davout's I Corps was too large to be considered a "corps" and should've been titled as a "corps group" or an "army". It was an interesting decision for Napoleon to give Eugene and Jerome command of their own force made up of several corps despite the fact that neither, especially Jerome, were proven enough in the line of independent command. If I were to organize the Grande Armée, I'd at least give Jerome's job to Davout a lot sooner.

Assuming Napoleon intends to deliver a "decisive blow" to the Russian Army and we lack the precognition to know the disaster that awaits the army, how would you organize the Grande Armée into an order of battle? How many corps would there be? How many men take part? Is Jerome given a major command?

Rules/Restrictions:

- Can only increase/decrease/keep the amount of major units (ex. army corps, cavalry corps, army groups)

- Can only decrease/keep the amount personnel sent in

- Can only change/keep the commanders of major units

- Cannot include commanders that are dead or are stationed in Spain (ex. Marmont, Lannes, Soult)

- Should list the amount of infantry, cavalry, artillery, guns for each unit

- Cannot list the Imperial Guard as a single unit and should split into the 3 Imperial Guard sections each with their own commanders (Old Guard, Young Guard, and Guard Cavalry)

- Can exclude some/all of the sections of the Imperial Guard from the Invasion

- Can exclude "Reserve units" that never cross the Russian border

Absolutely gargantuan painting. One of the largest and most beautiful in the gallery.

Mi pregunta es por qué no se usa los cuirassiers en la guardia repúblicana