Italeri 6877 Mamelukes Napoleonic Wars

The Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard is a small squadron-sized cavalry unit that served in the French army during the Napoleonic Wars. Most likely, the formation was created during the campaigns in Egypt in 1799 or 1800. In 1802 the unit probably numbered around 180 soldiers and was already operating in France, and a year later it was incorporated into the Consular Guard. In 1804, the unit consists of about 120 soldiers, of which the officers are French, but mainly Greeks, Egyptians and Turks serve as privates and non-commissioned officers. The armament of the soldier of this formation consisted mainly of a saber and a pair of pistols. The uniform of the formation referred to the Middle Eastern and Arab models, and the headgear was a turban. The unit took part in the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805 and in the initial period of the campaign on the Iberian in 1808. The formation was disbanded in 1815.