Napoleon's hussars were the glamour arm of the Grande Armee: short braided jackets, fast horses, shorter life expectancies.
Quick answer. France fielded fourteen hussar regiments at various points between 1804 and 1815, numbered 1 through 14 with gaps for regiments raised and disbanded. Each had unique facing colours, braid and pelisse colours. They scouted ahead of the Grande Armee, screened the main body on the march, and pursued broken enemy infantry. Their most famous commander was Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle, killed at Wagram in 1809.
From Revolution to Empire
France had kept hussars since 1692, when the first regiment was raised by a Hungarian emigre, Count Ladislas Ignace de Bercheny. The Revolutionary wars expanded the arm, and by 1799 there were twelve hussar regiments plus volunteer formations. Napoleon inherited them, reorganised the numbering, and used them intensively from 1805 onwards. The hussar regiments became distinct from the lighter chasseurs a cheval and from the heavier dragoons, though all three worked together on the move.
The uniform
Every French hussar regiment had its own colour scheme, which is why uniform plates of the period are so dense. The 1st wore sky blue dolman and pelisse with red breeches. The 2nd (Chamborant) wore chestnut brown with sky blue facings. The 5th wore sky blue dolman, white pelisse. The 7th wore green with red breeches. The 8th wore green and chamois. Headdress was a shako, often with a tall red or black plume, and from 1810 some regiments adopted the fur colback.
All regiments shared the Hungarian cut: short waist length dolman closed by five rows of braid and three rows of buttons, a pelisse worn off the left shoulder, Hungarian breeches with knot patterns on the thighs, Hessian boots and a sabre carried on long slings. The sabretache swung at the thigh with the regimental cipher embroidered in silver or gold.
The famous commanders
Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle commanded the 7th bis and later a full light cavalry division. He is quoted as saying that any hussar who was not dead by thirty was a blackguard. He died at Wagram in 1809, aged 34. Francois Fournier Sarloveze, the French army's finest duellist, served in the hussars and later commanded a brigade. Pierre Daumesnil lost a leg at Wagram serving with the Chasseurs of the Guard but had come up through hussar service. The arm attracted officers who sought reputation through visible, dangerous service and could tolerate the hussar's demanding social world.
Battles
French hussars took part in every major campaign from Ulm in 1805 to Waterloo in 1815. At Austerlitz they screened the French advance on the Pratzen heights. At Jena they pursued the broken Prussian army for days afterwards, taking thousands of prisoners. In Spain they fought a brutal counter guerrilla war. In Russia in 1812 they suffered appallingly from cold and starvation during the retreat from Moscow. At Leipzig in 1813 and at Waterloo in 1815 the surviving hussars screened the final actions of the empire.
Their job was rarely the great charge. It was continuous. Patrolling, scouting, raiding, screening, pursuing. The historian Robert Taylor estimated that a French hussar regiment on a typical campaign spent four times as many days in the saddle as a cuirassier regiment, and lost more men to fatigue and exposure than to enemy fire.
After the empire
The restored Bourbons kept hussar regiments after 1815 but reduced the number. The arm served through the July Monarchy, the Second Empire and into the Third Republic. By 1914 France still fielded thirteen hussar regiments, now dressed in sky blue tunic and red breeches for parade. In the First World War they lost most of their horses to mud and modern firepower, converting to armoured cars in the 1920s. Today only the 1er Regiment de Hussards Parachutistes continues the lineage, descended through the Bercheny from 1720.
Common questions
How many French hussar regiments did Napoleon field?
Fourteen regiments at various points, numbered 1 to 14 with some gaps. The actual number in service at one time rarely reached fourteen because of disbandment, incorporation into foreign auxiliary units and reorganisation.
Who was Lasalle?
General Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle commanded French hussars and later a light cavalry division. Famously said any hussar not dead by thirty was a blackguard. He died at Wagram in 1809 aged 34.
What was the uniform of a French hussar?
A short braided dolman and matching pelisse in regimental colours, Hungarian breeches, Hessian boots, shako or colback, and a sabre on long slings with a sabretache at the thigh.
What was a hussar's job in battle?
Scouting, screening the main army, raiding supply lines and pursuing broken enemy infantry. Hussars rarely took part in the great heavy cavalry charges, but their constant light work made every campaign possible.
Do French hussar regiments still exist?
One regiment, the 1er Regiment de Hussards Parachutistes, carries the lineage. It traces directly to the Bercheny Hussars of 1720 and today serves as an airborne armoured reconnaissance unit.