The Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard () were a light cavalry unit of Egyptian origin that served in Napoleon’s Imperial Guard from 1801 to 1815. It was the third cavalry formation integrated into the Guard and its first foreign component. Initially recruited during the Egyptian campaign, the Mamelukes were repatriated with the French troops to metropolitan France where they were organized into a squadron, later reduced to a simple company. The various spellings of the squadron's name include Mamelukes, Mamluks, Mamelouks and Mameloucks.
During the First French Empire, the Mamelukes were attached to the regiment of mounted chasseurs of the Imperial Guard. Their first major engagement took place during the Battle of Austerlitz, where they contributed to the rout of the cavalry of the Russian Imperial Guard. After distinguishing itself several times in Poland, the company left for Spain in 1808 and took an active part in the suppression of the Dos de Mayo Uprising, during which fierce fighting pitted the Mamelukes against insurgents in the streets of Madrid. Still attached to the mounted chasseurs, the unit took part in the Austrian campaign of 1809, then in the Russian campaign of 1812. The following year, having become the 10th Chasseur Squadron, the Mamelukes distinguished themselves at Reichenbach, Hanau and in the French campaign of 1814.
After Napoleon's first abdication, a few Mamelukes accompanied the deposed Emperor to the island of Elba, while most of the unit's personnel joined the Bourbon Restoration's Royal Corps of Chasseurs of France. The squadron was re-established during the Hundred Days and was present at Waterloo alongside the mounted chasseurs of the Guard. On the king's return, the so-called "true" Mamelukes were finally sent back to the Marseille depot: many of them were murdered there in a massacre during the White Terror of 1815. In 1830, a handful of survivors accompanied the French troops at the start of the conquest of Algeria as interpreters.
Origins
Around the 1230s, the Sultan of Egypt, eager to create a corps of soldiers devoted to his person, bought from Ögedei Khan's Mongols a large number of young slaves captured during their conquests. These boys, converted to Islam, then received a military education in which they learned the handling of weapons and horsemanship. Once this training was completed, they joined the corps of Mamluks placed directly under the Sultan's authority. In 1250, they seized power in Egypt and maintained an independent status for the next two centuries. The country was finally invaded by the Ottomans at the beginning of the 16th century and the Mamluks, defeated, had to accept the presence of a pasha who ruled the territory in close connection with Constantinople.
With the gradual decline of Ottoman power, however, the pashas saw their influence diminish considerably while Egypt was in the grip of serious political instability. When the French army of General Napoleon Bonaparte landed on the Egyptian coast in 1798, the country was controlled by a duumvirate, Murad Bey and Ibrahim Bey. Having defeated the other Mamluk leaders after a long struggle, they agreed to share power in 1785, with Ibrahim in charge of administrative tasks and Murad in command of the Mamluk army. The Mamluks then enjoyed great prestige in Egyptian society: according to Darcy G. Grigsby, "they were defined by their powerful military function, their costume, and the superior characteristics that earned them membership in such an elite."
Egyptian campaign
In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte landed in Alexandria with about 40,000 men and began the conquest of Egypt. Murad Bey gathered his horsemen and tried to stop him at Chebreiss, then at the Battle of the Pyramids. Each time, the Mamluks faced the discipline and firepower of the French, who were formed in squares, and suffered heavy losses. Murad and the rest of his troops fled to Upper Egypt. Bonaparte ordered General Desaix to pursue them, while Bonaparte himself entered Cairo and subdued the population. However, the destruction of the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile compromised the situation, as Bonaparte could no longer count on reinforcements from France. He therefore decided to make the best use of the resources that Egypt offered him and, in September 1798, decreed that all Mamluks aged eight to sixteen, as well as the slaves of Mamluks in the same age group, were to be incorporated into the French army. After his victory at Abukir in 1799, judging his presence in Paris to be more important, Bonaparte left command of the Army of the Orient to General Kléber and returned to France accompanied by part of his staff.
Once in command, Kléber continued to enlist the services of the Mamluks. In November 1799, the French orderlies to the generals were replaced by Mamluks who fulfilled the same functions. By the end of February 1800, there were 278 Mamluks fighting alongside the Army of the Orient. General Menou, who succeeded Kléber after his assassination, continued the work of his predecessor by creating two companies of Syrian janissaries and a company of Mamluks to serve as auxiliary troops. In October 1800, these three companies were merged into a single regiment, named the Regiment of Mamelukes of the Republic, organized in a similar way to French cavalry units. In 1801, the situation of the French worsened: a British expeditionary corps, commanded by General Abercromby, landed in Egypt and defeated the French army at Canope on 21 March. Menou capitulated in August and his troops embarked for France. 760 Mamluks, Syrian janissaries and soldiers of the Greek Legion, who were authorized to follow the French army with their families, embarked on the troopship HMS Pallas and eventually ended up in Marseille at the "Depot of the Egyptians" near the neighbourhood of La Castellane.
In France Organization
On 13 October 1801, Napoleon ordered his aide-de-camp, Colonel Jean Rapp, to organize a squadron of 240 cavalrymen chosen from among the refugees from Egypt. On his arrival in Marseille, Rapp noted that a number of them were old or undisciplined, which prompted Napoleon to reduce the number of men to 150 in early 1802. Nearly all of this new corps, with the exception of a few French officers, was composed of Mamelukes as well as Syrian or Coptic soldiers who had fought with the French troops in Egypt. During this time, the First Consul wanted the Mamelukes to serve as his personal escort without being part of the Consular Guard. It was not until 15 April 1802 that the squadron was integrated into the Guard, in the form of two companies of 80 men. On 1 October, the unit was reorganized and now totaled 13 officers and 159 men, as well as a drummer. This force included:
a staff, composed of a colonel, a quartermaster captain, a captain in charge of the administration, a lieutenant instructor, a sergeant major, an adjutant, a veterinarian, a chief trumpeter, a master saddler, a master tailor, a master shoemaker and a master weaponsmith; two companies, each composed of a captain, a first lieutenant, a second lieutenant, a sub-lieutenant, a chief maréchal des logis, four maréchaux des logis, a fourrier, eight brigadiers, two trumpeters, fifty-nine Mamelukes and an intendant.
Shortly afterwards, the Mamelukes made their way to Melun where they established themselves in the present Augereau district, while the refugees unfit for service remained in Marseille with their families. In early May 1803, Rapp left the corps and was replaced first by Colonel Pierre Louis Dupas and then, on 29 August, by Captain Charles Delaitre. On 21 January 1804, the Mamelukes were attached to the Mounted Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard, which became the Imperial Guard in May. They were finally annexed to the Mounted Chasseurs Regiment in the form of a 125-men company. The salary was 457.50 francs for the cavalry and between 2,000 and 4,000 francs for the officers. The sums allocated to the Mamelukes were initially lower than for the chasseurs due to the cost of their uniforms, but they increased over time. As for the horses, they did not come from Egypt but were those used by the mounted chasseurs.
Campaigns
From Austerlitz to Eylau
At the Battle of Austerlitz, the Mamelukes were in the reserve, under Rapp, with the rest of the Imperial Guard cavalry, when the Russian cavalry charged onto the Pratzen Heights and dispersed two French regiments of the Vandamme division. After an unsuccessful counterattack by two squadrons of mounted chasseurs supported by three squadrons of mounted grenadiers, Napoleon ordered Rapp to charge at the head of the last two squadrons of chasseurs and the Mamelukes in order to restore the situation. The Mamelukes threw themselves into the mêlée, but the impact of their charge was mitigated by the mass of men and horses. Lieutenant Renno rushed at a Russian square and opened a breach, which was quickly exploited by the Mamelukes, who broke through the formation and took 120 prisoners. Encouraged by this success, Rapp's cavalrymen seized a battery before contributing to the rout of the Russian Imperial Guard cavalry. Following this victorious engagement, two Mamelukes each came to throw an enemy standard at Napoleon's feet. The company's losses amounted to one dead and five wounded.
The Mamelukes did not take part in the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt, but entered Berlin on 27 October 1806. They charged the Russian cavalry at Pułtusk, losing 20 men wounded. At the Battle of Eylau, they took part under Captain Renno in the charge of the Guard cavalry led by Marshal Bessières, following the grenadiers and the mounted chasseurs. This engagement cost them four officers and five Mamelukes wounded. Following the departure of chef d'escadron Delaitre, appointed major of the Polish light cavalry of the Guard in April 1807, Captain Renno assumed interim command.
In the Iberian Peninsula
In 1808, Napoleon ordered Marshal Murat to enter Spain and occupy Madrid. The Mamelukes took part in this expedition. Staunchly Catholic, the Spanish people remembered the period of Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors, and was offended by the presence of the Muslims who entered the capital on 24 March 1808. The abdication of King Charles IV and then of his son Ferdinand in favor of Joseph Bonaparte, the Emperor's brother, exacerbated tensions between the Spanish and the French.
In April, the company of Mamelukes numbered 86 men. Seeking to expand this force, chef d'escadron Daumesnil, commanding the detachment of chasseurs of the Guard in Spain, asked permission to enlist foreigners, former Mamelukes but also Greeks or Spaniards, which Napoleon refused: "I created this corps to reward those men who served me in Egypt, and not to make a collection of adventurers." On 2 May, the people of Madrid revolted and attacked isolated soldiers. Murat then ordered the cavalry to enter the city to suppress the riot. The mounted chasseurs of the Guard led by Daumesnil advanced first, followed by the Mamelukes and the rest of the Guard cavalry. Passing through Alcalá Street, where they had rocks thrown at them, the French cavalrymen reached the Puerta del Sol where many Spaniards had gathered.