The Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde Impériale were Napoleon's personal regiment. Raised in 1800 from the Guides à Cheval — the cavalry escort that had ridden with him in Italy in 1797 — the green-coated chasseurs of the Imperial Guard cavalry held a status no other unit in the French army matched: they were the Emperor's. Their colonelcy was his honorary command; their service squadron was a detached troop that escorted him personally, day and night, in camp and on the march, present at every battle and at every council. Napoleon wore the green tunic of the regiment in the field by deliberate choice — a personal identification with the men he trusted closest, and a quiet contrast with the more ornately dressed marshals and senior staff who surrounded him. The Chasseurs went where the Emperor went: at his side at Austerlitz and Jena, in the snow of the retreat from Moscow, on the field of Waterloo. After the abdication, a detachment of them was the last unit of the French army to formally surrender. The Imperial Guard's loyalty was reciprocal, and the Chasseurs were its closest expression.

This King & Country figure shows Napoleon in the personal field dress he wore through most of his campaigns — the green Chasseur à Cheval tunic with red collar and gold lace, the white waistcoat and breeches, the black tall boots of a cavalry officer. The grey wool redingote greatcoat hangs open in his customary manner; the bicorne hat is worn athwartships in his trademark style; the gold watch chain at the chest is the small personal detail K&C has included from contemporary portraits of the Emperor in field dress. The hand-in-coat pose is the iconic shorthand for Napoleon that David's paintings made permanent. The companion figure to Napoleon as Colonel of the Imperial Guard in the dark blue Imperial Guard cavalry uniform, this Chasseur-green version represents Napoleon at the head of his personal escort. He commands the field accompanied by his aide-de-camp General Gourgaud carrying his orders and the Imperial Guard cavalry under General Jean-Baptiste Bessières.

Model: NA513 / King & Country / 1/30 (60mm) scale / matte finish / 1 piece set