Consular Guard
| Consular Guard | |
|---|---|
| Garde des consuls | |
Marine, musician of the grenadiers and grenadier of the Consular Guard | |
| Active | 28 November 1799 – 18 May 1804 |
| Country | French Republic |
| Type | Artillery Cavalry Infantry |
| Role | Artillery observer Bodyguard Cavalry tactics Charge Counterintelligence Direct fire Force protection Hand-to-hand combat HUMINT Maneuver warfare Military engineering Military logistics Raiding Reconnaissance Screening |
| Size | 2,089 (1799) |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Joachim Murat Jean-Baptiste Bessières Jean Lannes |
The Consular Guard (French: Garde consulaire), also known as the Guard of the Consuls (Garde des consuls), was a French elite military unit responsible for counterintelligence, maneuver warfare, support raiding operations, and the protection of the members of the Consulate, the executive government of France during the late First Republic. It was created by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799, after the Coup of 18 Brumaire, and renamed the Imperial Guard in 1804, when Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor of the French.