Napoleon's decree of 1811 entitled only five of the 88 active French line infantry regiments to display seven battle honors on the reverse of their tricolore flags. The 18e Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne was one of the units so honored. As early as the campaign of 1796-97, the 18th Line's stalwart fighting qualities were noticed by the future Emperor of the French. At that time, Napoleon allowed the regiment to place the slogan "Brave 18th, I know you: No enemy can resist you" on their flag.With the establishment of the Empire in 1804, the 18th Line and its fellow regiments were presented with a new flag (drapeau) for every battalion. A cast bronze eagle with spread wings (aigle eployee) weighing nearly four pounds surmounted the tip of each 6-foot flagstaff. Over the ensuing decade the 18th Line's path to glory was strewn with stunning victories, agonizing defeats - and the distinction, shared with the 4th Line, of having lost three of its eagles.Ten months later, the 18th Line earned its third battle honor (Jena). Again serving under Levasseur, Legrand and Soult the regiment was engaged on 14 October 1806 as part of the French right flank in the great afternoon attack that shattered Hohenlohe's Prussian army. Prussia did not capitulate, however, because its Russian allies were close at hand. The French were forced to continue the campaign into Poland during the winter of 1806-07. On the frozen and snowy afternoon of 7 February 1807, the 18th Line approached the village of Preussisch-Eylau at the head of a column pursuing Bennigsen's Russian army. The Russian rearguard made a stand on the Ziegelhof plateau; to confront them the two battalions of the 18th were ordered to the left of the main road. In the face of heavy enemy artillery and musketry fire, the 18th deployed into line and was beginning to put pressure on the Russian infantry when, in the act of changing front to the right, the regiment was suddenly charged on its left flank by the Russian St. Petersburg Dragoons. Taken by surprise and overrun before they were able to form square, the color guard of the 1st battalion allegedly buried their eagle in the snow to prevent its capture. Thrown into disorder by the rout of the 1st battalion, the 2nd batallion tried to rally near its color guard. A desperate combat swirled around the eagle, and a group of Russian dragoons including adjutant Fomine, dragoons Podvorotni, Deriaguine and Erofeiev and trumpeter Logvinov were all involved in its capture.
Writing shortly after the battle, Lieutenant Lacombe of the 2nd battalion deplored the eagle's loss but noted that it was taken only after the color guard were slaughtered and the eagle bearer (porte-aigle) was cut down by "the cossacks". A timely countercharge by the 13th Chasseurs a Cheval saved the 18th from further loss, but the damage was enormous: among its officers, nine were killed and 35 wounded - including the colonel, Ravier, and future colonel, Pelleport. The 18th also lost more than 500 men, including several hundred prisoners. If this were not enough, the "buried eagle" of the 1st battalion was never recovered. The regiment was so badly shaken that it was kept in reserve all day on 8 February, when the Battle of Eylau was fought. The 18th Line had thus won its fourth battlefield honor (Eylau) in a most discouraging manner. However, the Emperor again showed his fondness for the regiment in his 20th Bulletin dated 9 February 1807; he minimized the loss of the regiment's eagles, stating that to blame the 18th would be unfair because it had been placed in an exposed position and was therefore subjected to the "vagaries of war". The Emperor ordered that the 18th be given replacement eagles.
|
Writing shortly after the battle, Lieutenant Lacombe of the 2nd battalion deplored the eagle's loss but noted that it was taken only after the color guard were slaughtered and the eagle bearer (porte-aigle) was cut down by "the cossacks". A timely countercharge by the 13th Chasseurs a Cheval saved the 18th from further loss, but the damage was enormous: among its officers, nine were killed and 35 wounded - including the colonel, Ravier, and future colonel, Pelleport. The 18th also lost more than 500 men, including several hundred prisoners. If this were not enough, the "buried eagle" of the 1st battalion was never recovered. The regiment was so badly shaken that it was kept in reserve all day on 8 February, when the Battle of Eylau was fought. The 18th Line had thus won its fourth battlefield honor (Eylau) in a most discouraging manner. However, the Emperor again showed his fondness for the regiment in his 20th Bulletin dated 9 February 1807; he minimized the loss of the regiment's eagles, stating that to blame the 18th would be unfair because it had been placed in an exposed position and was therefore subjected to the "vagaries of war". The Emperor ordered that the 18th be given replacement eagles.
With just 1,574 men, the 18th Line fought at Wagram six weeks later, on 5-6 July 1809. The regiment was once more locked in a fierce combat for Aspern village, and again prevented the Austrians from breaking into the French rear area. For its part in this engagement, the 18th Line was accorded its seventh and final battle honor (Wagram). The summer of 1812 saw the 18th Line proudly carry its newly issued eagle and flag (whose reverse flaunted the seven battle honors) into the vastness of Russia. Attached to Joubert's Brigade, Razout's 11th Division, III Corps d'Armee led by Marshal Michel Ney the four battalions of the 18th fought at Borodino in the center of the French formation, attacking and taking the Bagration Fleches and later Semenovskaya village. It was at Krasnoe on 18 November 1812, during the long retreat out of Russia, that the 18th Line lost its third eagle. Marshal Ney had turned to confront his Russian pursuers. When Kutusov demanded a total surrender, Ney led his troops in a brash frontal attack that ended in failure. According to colonel Pelleport, the 18th was virtually destroyed in this combat. By Pelleport's express order, the eagle was placed at the head of the regiment. While other units sought to hide their eagles by dismantling them or hurrying them to the rear, the men of the 18th defended their honor. 600 of them became casualties, with 350 dead. Pelleport's justification was that the eagles should be proudly carried as symbols of the liberty they represented, not hidden away. The eagle and flag of the 18th Line were captured by under-lieutenants Koratcharov and Bolchwing and uhlan Dartchenko of the 2nd squadron, the Russian Guard Uhlans. The captors were each awarded the Cross of St. George for this exploit. A new regiment was formed around the cadre of the 18th Line for the 1813 campaign in Germany. The regiment served under General de Brigade Bronikowsky in Vial's 6th Division (Legrand having been seriously wounded crossing the Beresina in late November 1812), II Corps d'Armee under Marshal Claude Victor-Perrin, known as Victor. The 18th Line had requested a replacement eagle for the one lost at Krasnoe, and Napoleon approved the request in June 1813. The 18th Line fought at Dresden in August and Leipzig in October. Still under Victor, the 18th Line fought in the ensuing campaign in France and was present at La Rothiere on 1 February 1814. It is not known if the final replacement eagle for the 18e Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne ever arrived. |
