He had the respect and admiration of his men and even managed to inspire the Army of Italy in 1796, despite the fact that they were under-equipped, underfed and unpaid! Napoleon made his name during his Italian campaign, thanks to his appeal to the common soldiers and brilliant strategies. All, however, were under the command of Bonaparte.

Eventually they became part of the army of the Republic of Lombardy. The Polish legions were assembled by Jan Henryk Dąbrowski acting for the Cisalpline Republic, a French puppet state.

Historically, many of the troops in Napoleon’s Italian army were Polish emigrants, who looked to Revolutionary France for sanctuary and inspiration after the third partition of Poland in 1795. Their versatility has some disadvantages however, and they may come unstuck against troops trained to specialise in one area of expertise. They are skirmishers, used to harass the enemy at long range before concentrating into a tighter formation for a last charge. The Lombardy-Cisalpline Legion is trained to use an effective combination of loose and close knit formations. These light infantry are a versatile unit who can both skirmish and form a disciplined line. When Napoleon was forced exiled on Elba in 1814, 150 loyalists of the Polish Guard Lancers followed their Emperor to prison. It wasn’t until after the Battle of Wagram in 1809 that these men were issued with the lance as standard equipment. From that moment on candidates for the regiment had to be Polish landowners between the ages of 18 and 40 they were expected to provide their own horses and equipment. He was so impressed with the loyalty of these men that he insisted the new regiment be attached to his own Imperial Guard. The Polish Guard were originally raised from among a party of exiled Polish noblemen who accompanied Napoleon into Warsaw in 1807. Employed against elite infantry formed in square their charge and lance skills will be largely wasted. The morale of these brave men is unrivalled, but should they become caught in a prolonged melee their weakness in close combat will become apparent. Their steeds are fast and carry them to key points on the battlefield in what seems like a heartbeat. Trained to ride hard into battle with their lances couched, these superb horsemen are ideal shock troops. Polish Guard Lancers are fearsome and lightning fast at the charge. As a result they were less vulnerable to artillery attacks, and were even known to sit down under fire to reduce their vulnerability! The Polish infantry excelled in defensive tactics, choosing to avoid the mass assaults the French favoured. This admiration was mutual the Emperor declared that his Polish Legion infantry were to be treated with the same respect as their French equivalents. The Poles were ardent supporters of Napoleon and saw him as a liberator. They may lack the pomp of other infantry, but they do all that is asked. Armed with muskets and bayonets, they can steadily fire volleys into the mass of an enemy army, or fix bayonets and attack at close quarters. They will honourably withstand shot, shell and sabre and then go forwards with courage to drive off enemies. The Legion may be regarded as socially inferior and paid less than other infantry, but they fight like the Devil when asked. The Polish Legion is a line infantry unit, able to give fire or charge home with bayonets.

Napoleon total war map