The battalion was made up of the Imperial French Army's most experienced and tallest men. The 1st Regiment of Foot Grenadiers (1er Régiment de Grenadiers-à-Pied de la Garde Impériale) was founded from the Consular Guard Grenadiers (Gardes des Consuls), which had been formed from the Guards of the Directory. The Old Guard regiments were allocated to the Guard's 3rd Division, while the remainder of the Guard's foot regiments were assigned to the 1st and 2nd Divisions. Grenadiers 1st Regiment of Foot Grenadiers The Old Guard regiments served in the 3rd Division of the Guard, while the rest of the foot regiments of the Guard served in the 1st and 2nd Divisions. It also included an Inspector of Reviews, a Commissioner of War, 24 aides-de-camp, and other specialist officers, NCOs, and privates. Ĭreated soon after the creation of the Guard itself, the General Staff by 1806 included the four Colonel-Generals of the four divisions of the Guard, all Marshals of France in field rank. Letters published in The Times in June 1932 record that it may have been said by General Michel. The retort to a request to surrender may have been " La Garde meurt, elle ne se rend pas! " ("The Guard dies, it does not surrender!"). It has been suggested that this was in fact said by another general of the Guard, Claude-Etienne Michel, during their last stand at the Battle of Waterloo. The phrase " La Garde meurt mais ne se rend pas! " ("The Guard dies but does not surrender!") is generally attributed to General Pierre Cambronne. The Middle Guard broke completely but the Old Guard (and some of the Young Guard) battalions held their formation and secured the retreat of the remainder of the French Army before being almost annihilated by British and Prussian artillery fire and cavalry charges. At the sight of this, Napoleon's army lost all hope of victory. For the first (and only) time in its history the Middle Guard retreated without orders. Completely outnumbered, it faced terrible fire from the British lines, and began to retreat. It was thrown into the battle at the last minute to salvage a victory for Napoleon. The Guard played a major part in the climax of the Battle of Waterloo. Other French soldiers even referred to Napoleon's Imperial Guard as "the Immortals". The Guard received better pay, rations, quarters, and equipment, and all guardsmen ranked one grade higher than all non-Imperial Guard soldiers. The Grenadiers of the Old Guard were known to complain in the presence of the Emperor, giving them the nickname Les Grognards, the Grumblers. Napoleon took great care of his Guard, particularly the Old Guard.
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