Old soldiers never die

In Napoleonic times there was a significant increase in the importance of the role of military honorary entourage, resulting in a growth in colourfulness of ceremonies. To greet the French emperor in Poznań, General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski set up a unit of a guard of honour on one hundred horses. Prince Józef Poniatowski welcomed Napoleon to Warsaw on 7 December 1806 in the company of a guard of honour. In 1813 Napoleon set up a Guard of Honour whose soldiers fought under his command at the battle of Compiégne, showing bravery and courage. After Napoleon’s abdication, the army of the Kingdom of Poland set up in 1814 was based on the surviving members of this unit.