Éclaireurs of the Guard The Éclaireurs of the Guard ( ) was a Corps of cavalry scouts of the French Imperial Guard , which included three cavalry regiment s created by Napoleon when he reorganised the Imperial Guard following the disaster of the 1812 campaign in Russia . The Corps was created in Article I of the decree of 4 December 1813 . The 1st regiment was divided into the Old Guard and Young Guard squadron s , with the first two wearing a uniform of the hussar s , also sometimes known as Hussards Éclaireurs , and the others wearing a coatee similar to the Chasseurs a Cheval . All three regiments were organised into four squadrons with 250 sabres in two companies each . Due to insufficient recruit s , an appeal was made for volunteers from the Cavalry of the Line , and 1 , 005 trooper s eventually were added to the regimental roll s . Although half of the Éclaireurs were armed with 2 . 75m long lance s issued in 1812 to the line regiments , and the rest with carbine s , the regiments were rarely employed as lancer s in battle , more usually acting as scouts for the Army as a whole . The lances had crimson over white pennon s although none were initially intended for issue , and many troopers were lacking these also . The rest of the weapons equipping the Éclaireurs were the standard Chasseur a Cheval model Year XIII cavalry pistol s and model Year IX light cavalry sabre . Due to general lack of equipment only the 3rd regiment was able to obtain shabraque s , with only officers being so equipped in the 1st and 2nd regiments . The regiments , owing to their scouting role , were not issued Eagles . 1st Regiment of Éclaireurs . The 1st Regiment of which was attached to the Horse Grenadiers , and was thus sometimes called the regiment of Éclaireurs - grenadiers , as counterparts to the Cossacks . They arrived in the theatre of operations late in the Napoleonic Wars , joining the army on 1 January 1814 just in time to participate in the Six Days Campaign ( fighting at Brienne , La Rothière , Champaubert , Montmirail , Montereau , Craonne and Arcis - sur - Aube ) then to be dissolved on the Bourbon Restoration . The 1st Regiment ' s first commander was Claude Testot - Ferry , transferred from his command of the Empress ' Dragoons , and most of the Regiment ' s officers were directly recruited from within the Guard including a large number from the Gardes d ' Honneur , including Pierre ( an old soldier from Testot - Ferry ' s old regiment of the 10e régiment de chasseurs à cheval ) , Delavillane , Lepot ( from the Guard ' s mounted grenadiers ) and Kister . The first of these squadrons had uniforms largely in the Hussar style , based on those of the Gardes d ' Honneur ( a green dolman and a pelisse with white lace and black fur for officers ) , and were attached to the Old Guard . The other 3 squadrons were uniformed in the style of Chasseurs de la Ligne ( a short dark green habit - veste , also known as a " Kinski " ) and attached to the Young Guard . The jackets of trumpeters were sky - blue . The first detachment of the regiment left for the field army in late January 1814 , but by mid March the entire regiment was reduced to 200 sabres . The regiment was eventually renamed as the 2nd Regiment of Chasseurs a Cheval of the Guard in 1815 . Commanders of the 1er Éclaireurs 1806 : 1810 : 1813 : Campaigns and battles of the Hussards Éclaireurs NOTE : This regt was not formed until 1814 , and therefore cannot claim the battle honours before this date 2nd Regiment of Éclaireurs . The second regiment was attached to the Dragoons of the Guard , and because of this also referred to as Éclaireurs - Dragons , had scarlet regimental distinctions . For its formation the regiment was allocated officers and NCOs from the 20th Dragons of Line , 3rd and 7th Lancers of the Line while the troopers came from postilions of the Empire , the horse team driver s employed by the Government . The horses were primarily purchased from the Camarguais regional breed , and the remount depot was established there . The regiment participated in the French Campaign of 1814 , including Battle of Brienne , Battle of Champaubert , Battle of Montmirail , Battle of Château - Thierry , Battle of Vauchamps , Battle of Montereau , Battle of Rheims , Battle of Craonne , Battle of Arcis - sur - Aube and Battle of Saint - Dizier . Unlike the first regiment , the second was distinguished by the shako which all the modern works indicate to have been cylindrical , and was decorated by a surmounted rosette of a ganse cord and of a half - spherical pompom . The cord was tied in front of and behind the neck for the officers , the troopers carrying it in the usual way . The shako issued to the regiment is therefore same as that worn by the hussars at the time . The spherical pompom was the colour of the squadron . 3rd Regiment of Éclaireurs . The third regiment was recruited from Polish cavalry line regiments serving with the French Army , and was attached to the 1st Lancers of the Guard , also a Polish regiment . In 1814 all three regiments were transferred to the line cavalry , and disbanded following Napoleon ' s abdication .