Jean-Baptiste Bessières served Napoleon longer than any other marshal. He joined the future Emperor's Guides de l'Armée d'Italie in 1796 — the cavalry escort that became Bonaparte's first personal command unit — followed him to Egypt in 1798, rode with him from the coup of Brumaire in 1799 through the establishment of the Empire, and commanded the Imperial Guard cavalry from its formal creation in 1804. He was one of the eighteen marshals named in the original batch of May 1804, was made Duke of Istria in 1809, and led the Guard cavalry charges at Austerlitz, Jena, Eylau, Friedland, Wagram, and Borodino. The end came on May 1, 1813, at Rippach in Saxony, on the eve of the Battle of Lützen: a Russian cannonball struck Bessières through the chest as he reconnoitered ahead of the army, killing him instantly. Napoleon was given the news that evening and reportedly wept — one of the rare moments in his public career when he was seen to break down emotionally — and is quoted as saying "Bessières a vécu comme Bayard; il est mort comme Turenne" — Bessières lived like Bayard and died like Turenne, the two greatest French military figures of the past three centuries. His loss in the spring of 1813 was the first of the personal blows that contributed to Napoleon's declining fortunes that year.

This King & Country figure shows Bessières in the early-career uniform that K&C has chosen for the piece — the green tunic of the Guides de l'Armée d'Italie, the unit he joined in 1796 to become one of Napoleon's first companion officers. The green coat with red collar and cuffs and gold lace marks him as senior cavalry of the Italian campaign; the white-plumed bicorne hat with tricolor cockade is the dress headgear of the period; the leopard-spotted shabraque trimmed with gold lace is the cavalry distinction that marked the Guides and would later mark the Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde. The white horse and the easy mounted posture reflect a cavalryman who spent twenty years in the saddle. He rides at the head of the Imperial Guard cavalry, with Napoleon Bonaparte mounted on Marengo at the column's front, General Gourgaud carrying the Emperor's orders, and Napoleon as Colonel of the Chasseurs à Cheval at the head of the personal escort that Bessières's Guard cavalry was descended from.

Model: NA445 / King & Country / 1/30 (60mm) scale / matte finish / 1 piece set