La Grande Armée
Encyclopedia
The Grande Armée first entered the annals of history when, in 1805, Napoleon I
renamed the army that he had assembled on the French coast of the English Channel
for the proposed invasion
of Britain
. It never achieved its primary goal, as Napoleon had to re-deploy it East in order to eliminate the threat of Austria
and Russia
, which were part of the Third Coalition assembled against France.
Thereafter, the name was used for the principal French army deployed in the Campaigns of 1805–07 (where it got its prestige), 1812, and 1813–14. In practice, however, the term "Grande Armée" is used in English to refer to all of the multinational forces gathered by Napoleon I
in his campaigns of the early 19th century (see Napoleonic Wars
).
The first Grande Armée consisted of six corps
under the command of Napoleon's marshals
and senior generals. When Napoleon discovered that Russian and Austrian armies were preparing to invade France in late 1805, the Grande Armée was quickly ordered across the Rhine into Southern Germany, leading to Napoleon's victories at Ulm
, Austerlitz
and Jena
.
The army grew in size as Napoleon's might spread across Europe. It reached its maximum size of 600,000 men at the start of the invasion of Russia in 1812. All contingents were commanded by French generals, except for a Polish and an Austrian corps. The huge multinational army marched slowly eastwards, with the Russians falling back before it. After the capture of Smolensk
and victory in the Battle of Borodino
, Napoleon and a part of the Grande Armée reached Moscow on 14 September 1812; however, the army was already drastically reduced due to the numbers killed and wounded in battles with the Russians, disease (principally typhus
), desertion
and long communication lines. The army spent a month in Moscow, but was ultimately forced to march back westwards. Assailed by cold, starvation and disease, and constantly harassed by Cossack
s and Russian irregulars, the retreat utterly destroyed the Grande Armée as a fighting force. Only 120,000 men survived to leave Russia (excluding early deserters). Of these 50,000 were Austrians, Prussians and other Germans, 20,000 Poles and 35,000 Frenchmen. As many as 400,000 died in the campaign.
Napoleon led a new army to the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig
in 1813, in the defence of France in 1814 and in the Waterloo campaign in 1815, but the Napoleonic French army would never regain the heights of the Grande Armée in June 1812.
The Grande Armée was originally formed as L'Armée des côtes de l'Océan (Army of the Ocean Coasts) intended for the invasion of England, at the port of Boulogne
in 1803. Following Napoleon's coronation as Emperor of the French in 1804, the Third Coalition
was formed against him and La Grande Armée turned its sights eastwards in 1805. They left the Boulogne camps late in August and through a rapid march surrounded General Karl Mack's isolated Austrian army at the fortress of Ulm
. The Ulm Campaign
, as it came to be known, resulted in 60,000 Austrian captives at the cost of just 2,000 French soldiers. In November Vienna was taken, however, Austria refused to capitulate, maintaining an army in the field and their Russian allies had not yet been committed to action. The war would continue for a while longer. Affairs were decisively settled on December 2, 1805, at the Battle of Austerlitz
, where a numerically inferior Armée routed a combined Russo-Austrian army led by Czar Alexander I
. The stunning victory led to the Treaty of Pressburg on December 26, 1805, with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire
coming the following year.
The alarming increase of French power in Central Europe disturbed Prussia
, which had remained neutral in the conflicts of the previous year. After much diplomatic wrangling, Prussia secured promises of Russian military aid and the Fourth Coalition against France came into being in 1806. La Grande Armée advanced into Prussian territory with the famed bataillon-carré ("battalion square") system, whereby corps marched in close supporting distances and became vanguards, rearguards, or flank forces as the situation demanded, and severely defeated the Prussian armies at the Battle of Jena
and the Battle of Auerstadt
, both fought on October 14, 1806. After a legendary pursuit, the French had captured about 140,000 Prussians and killed and wounded roughly 25,000. Davout
's III Corps
, the victors at Auerstadt, received the honours of first marching into Berlin. Once more, the French had defeated an enemy before allies could arrive, and once more, this did not bring peace.
on February 7 – February 8, 1807, where Russian and French casualties soared for little gain. The campaign resumed in the Spring and this time Bennigsen
's Russian army was soundly defeated at the Battle of Friedland
on June 14, 1807. This victory produced the Treaty of Tilsit between France and Russia in July, leaving Napoleon with no enemies on the continent.
Portugal
's refusal to comply with the Continental System
led to a punitive French expedition in late 1807. This campaign formed the basis for the Peninsular War
, which was to last six years and drain the First Empire
of vital resources and manpower. The French attempted to occupy Spain in 1808, but a series of disasters
prompted Napoleon to intervene personally later in the year. The 125,000-strong Grande Armée marched inexorably forward, capturing the fortress of Burgos
, clearing the way to Madrid
at the Battle of Somosierra
, and forcing the Spanish armies to retreat. They then hurled themselves towards Moore
's British army, prompting them to withdraw from the Iberian Peninsula
after a heroic action at the Battle of Corunna
on January 16, 1809. The campaign was successful, but it would still be some time before the French were able to occupy Southern Spain.
Meanwhile, a revived Austria was preparing to strike. The War Hawk
s at the court of King Francis I
convinced him to take full advantage of France's preoccupation with Spain. In April 1809, the Austrians opened the campaign without a formal declaration of war and caught the French by surprise. They were too slow to exploit their gains, however, and Napoleon's arrival from Paris finally stabilized the situation. The Austrians were defeated at the Battle of Eckmühl
, fled over the Danube, and lost the fortress of Ratisbon. But they still remained a cohesive, fighting force, which meant further campaigning was required to settle the issue. The French captured Vienna
and attempted to cross the Danube via Lobau island southeast of the Austrian capital, but they lost the subsequent Battle of Aspern-Essling
, the first defeat for La Grande Armée. A second attempt to cross the river proved more successful in July and set the stage for the two-day Battle of Wagram
, where the French emerged victorious, inflicting some 40,000 casualties on the Austrians. The defeat demoralized the Austrians so heavily that they agreed to an armistice
shortly afterwards. This eventually led to the Peace of Schönbrunn
in October 1809. La Grande Armée had brought the Fifth Coalition to an end and the Austrian Empire lost three million citizens as a result of the treaty's border changes.
The new Grande Armée was somewhat different than before; over half of its ranks were now filled by non-French conscripts coming from satellite states or countries allied to France. The behemoth force crossed the Niemen on June 23, 1812, and Napoleon hoped that quick marching could place his men between the two main Russian armies, commanded by Barclay de Tolly and Bagration
. However, the campaign was characterized by many frustrations, as the Russians succeeded no less than three times in evading Napoleon's pincers. A final stand for the defence of Moscow led to the massive Battle of Borodino
on September 7, 1812. There the Armée won a bloody but indecisive and arguably Pyrrhic victory
. Seven days after Borodino, La Grande Armée entered Moscow only to find the city largely empty and ablaze. Its soldiers were now forced to deal with the fires while hunting down the arsonists and guarding Moscow's historic districts. Napoleon and his army spent over a month in Moscow, vainly hoping that the Czar would respond to the French peace feelers. After these efforts failed, the French set out on October 19, now only a shadow of their former selves. The epic retreat over the famous Russian Winter dominates popular conceptions of the war, even though over half of the French army had been lost during the Summer. The French were harassed repeatedly by the converging Russian armies, Ney
even conducting a famous rearguard separation between his troops and the Russians, and by the time the Berezina
was reached Napoleon only had about 49,000 troops and 40,000 stragglers of little military value. The resulting Battle of Berezina
and the monumental work of Eblé
's engineers saved the remnants of the Armée. Napoleon left his men in order to reach Paris and address new military and political matters. Of the 690,000 men that comprised the initial invasion force, only 93,000 survived.
and the Battle of Bautzen
. But due to the poor quality of French cavalry following the Russian campaign, along with miscalculations by certain subordinate Marshals, these triumphs were not decisive enough to permanently conclude the war, and only secured an armistice. Napoleon hoped to use this break to increase the quantity and improve the quality of his Armée, but when Austria joined the Allies, his strategic situation grew bleak. The campaign reopened in August with a significant French victory at the two-day Battle of Dresden
. However, the adoption of the Trachenburg Plan
by the Allies, which called for avoiding direct conflict with Napoleon and focusing on his subordinates, paid dividends as the French suffered defeats at Katzbach
, Kulm
, Grossbeeren
, and Dennewitz
. Growing Allied numbers eventually hemmed the French in at Leipzig
, where the famous three-day Battle of the Nations witnessed a heavy loss for Napoleon when a bridge was prematurely destroyed, abandoning 30,000 French soldiers on the other side of the Elster River
. The campaign, however, did end on a victorious note when the French destroyed an isolated Bavarian army which was trying to block their retreat at Hanau
.
"The Grand Empire is no more. It is France herself we must now defend" were Napoleon's words to the Senate at the end of 1813. The Emperor managed to raise new armies, but strategically he was in a virtually hopeless position. Allied armies were invading from the Pyrenees
, across the plains of Northern Italy, and via France's eastern borders as well. The campaign began ominously when Napoleon suffered defeat at the Battle of La Rothiere
, but he quickly regained his former spirit. In the Six Days Campaign
of February 1814, the 30,000-man French army inflicted 20,000 casualties on Blücher
's scattered corps at a cost of just 2,000 for themselves. They then headed south and defeated Schwarzenberg at the Battle of Montereau
. These victories, however, could not cure such a bad situation, and French defeats at the Battle of Laon
and the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube
dampened moods. At the end of March, Paris
fell to the Allies. Napoleon wanted to keep fighting, but his marshals refused, forcing the Emperor of the French to abdicate on April 6, 1814.
After returning from Elba
in February 1815, Napoleon busied himself in making a renewed push to secure his Empire. For the first time since 1812, L'Armée du Nord
he would be commanding for the upcoming campaign was professional and competent. Napoleon hoped to catch and defeat the Allied armies under Wellington and Blücher in Belgium before the Russians and Austrians could arrive. The campaign, beginning on June 15, 1815, was initially successful, leading to victory over the Prussians at the Battle of Ligny
on June 16; however, poor staff work, and bad commanders led to many problems for the French army throughout the entire campaign. Grouchy's delayed advance against the Prussians allowed Blücher to rally his men after Ligny and march on to Wellington's aid at the Battle of Waterloo
, which resulted in the final, decisive defeat for Napoleon and his beloved army.
, logistics
, planning or personnel. Unit commanders
handled such functions for their units, with informal help from subordinates who were usually not trained for or assigned to a specific task.
The first modern use of a General Staff was in the French Revolutionary Wars
, when General
Louis Alexandre Berthier
(later the first Marshal of the Empire) was assigned as Chief of Staff to the French Army of Italy
in 1795. Berthier was able to establish a well organized staff support team. Napoleon Bonaparte took over the army the following year and rapidly came to appreciate Berthier's system, adopting it for his own headquarters, although Napoleon's usage was limited to his own command group.
The Staff of the Grande Armée was known as the Imperial Headquarters and was divided into two major sections: Napoleon's Military Household and the Army General Headquarters. A third department dependent on the Imperial Headquarters was the office of the Intendant Général (Quartermaster General), providing the administrative staff of the army.
) was Napoleon's personal military staff and included the department of aides-de-camp
(ADCs), orderly officers (until 1809), the Emperor's Cabinet with the Secretariat, a department that collected intelligence about the enemy using spies and the topographical department. Attached was also the Emperor's Civil Cabinet that included the office of the Grand Marshal of the Palace
and the Grand Écuyer.
The ADCs to the Emperor were mainly loyal, experienced generals or, at times, other senior officers whom he knew from his Italian or Egyptian campaigns. All were famous for their bravery and were experts in their own branches of service. Working directly under the supervision of the Emperor, these officers were sometimes assigned to temporary command of units or formations or entrusted with diplomatic missions. Most of the time, however, their tasks consisted of making detailed inspection tours and long-distance reconnaissances. When they had to carry orders from the Emperor to an army commander, these would be verbal rather than written. The appointment of ADC to the Emperor was so influential that they were considered to be "Napoleon's eyes and ears" and even marshals were wise to follow their advice and render them the respect due to their function.
On 29 April 1809, a decree organized their service. Every morning at 0700 hrs, the duty ADC and his staff were relieved and the new ADC for the next 24 hours had to present the Emperor with a list of names of the staff under his command. This would consist of two supplementary daytime general ADCs and one night ADC, one equerry and (through a rotation system) half the number of orderly officers, half the number of the petits aides de camp (two or three personal ADCs to the general ADCs, who might also be commanded directly by the Emperor) and half the number of pages. Their number differed from time to time, but only 37 officers were ever commissioned ADC to the Emperor and at normal times their number was restricted to 12. Each of these officers wore the normal general's uniform of his rank, but with gold aiguilettes as the symbol of his function. The appointment of ADC to the Emperor did not always last as long as the Emperor's reign; an ADC might be given another position such as a field command, a governorship, etc. and would be removed from his ADC status until recalled to that post.
The officiers d'ordonnance (orderly officers) may be considered as junior ADCs, with the rank of chef d'escadron
, captain or lieutenant
. They, too, were used for special missions such as reconnaissance and inspections, but also to carry written orders. In 1806, when these posts were created, they were members of the Imperial Guard; in 1809, while retaining their military status, they were taken under control of the Grand Écuyer in the Emperor's Civil Household. The decrees regulating their service were signed on 15, 19 and 24 September 1806 and finally on 19 September 1809.
. The Army General Headquarters included the office of the Major-Générals (Chief of Staff's) Cabinet with their four departments: Movements, Secretariat, Accounting and Intelligence (orders of battle). The Major-Général also had his own private Military Staff which included duty Generals and Staff aides-de-camp. Finally there was the Army General Staff with the offices of the three Assistant Major-Generals to the Major-Général.
The role of Chief of Staff in the Grande Armée became almost synonymous with Marshal Louis Alexandre Berthier
, who occupied this position in almost all the major campaigns of Napoleon. The General Headquarters was Berthier's unique domain and the Emperor respected this demarcation. Its personnel received orders only from Berthier and even Napoleon did not interfere in its immense tasks; he would never walk in on Berthier's private staff while they were writing and copying the orders that he had just given. Since the Emperor was his own "operations officer", it can be said that Berthier's job consisted of absorbing Napoleon's strategic intentions, translating them into written orders and transmitting them with the utmost speed and clarity. He also received in the Emperor's name the reports of the marshals and commanding generals and when necessary signed them on Napoleon's behalf. Detailed reports on everything that occurred for good or ill were to be sent to Berthier, who would in turn select the most important ones and transmit them to the Emperor; nothing was to be concealed from Napoleon.
Lest one think this was a safe officejob of the modern staff officers, a contemporary subordinate staff officer, Brossier, reports that at the Battle of Marengo:
(usually from five to seven), each numbering anywhere between 10,000 to 50,000, with the average size being around 20,000 to 30,000 troops. These Corps d'Armée were self-contained, smaller armies of combined arms
, consisting of elements from all the forces and support services discussed below. While capable of fully independent operations and of defending themselves until reinforced, the Corps usually worked in close concert together and kept within a day's marching distance of one another. The Corps would often follow separate routes on a wide front and were small enough to live by foraging, allowing fewer supplies to be carried. Through dispersion and the use of forced marches the Grande Armée was often able to surprise opposing armies by its speed of maneouver. A Corps, depending on its size and the importance of its mission, was commanded by a Marshal
or général de division (Major General
).
Napoleon placed great trust in his Corps commanders and usually allowed them a wide freedom of action, provided they acted within the outlines of his strategic objectives and worked together to accomplish them. When they failed to do this to his satisfaction, however, he would not hesitate to reprimand or relieve them and in many cases took personal command of their Corps himself. Corps were first formed in 1800, when General Moreau
divided the Army of the Rhine into four Corps. These were only temporary groupings, however, and it was not until 1804 that Napoleon made them permanent units. He would sometimes form the cavalry into separate Corps, so they would be able to move and mass more quickly without being slowed by the infantry or foot artillery.
The main tactical units of the Corps were the divisions
, usually consisting of 4,000 to 10,000 infantry or 2,000 to 4,000 cavalrymen. These in turn were made up of two or three brigade
s of two regiment
s apiece and supported by an artillery brigade
of three or four batteries
, each with six field cannon
s and two howitzer
s, making 24 to 32 guns in all. The divisions were also permanent administrative and operational units, commanded by a général de division and likewise capable of independent actions.
of the Guard consisted of two regiment
s, the Chasseurs à Cheval and the Grenadiers à Cheval, along with a small unit of elite Gendarmes
and a squadron
of Mamelukes. A third regiment was added in 1806, the Regiment de Dragons de la Garde Impériale (Later known as the Dragons de l'Imperatice, the Empress Dragoons). Following the Campaign in Poland in 1807, a regiment of Polish
Lancer
s, the Regiment de Chevau-Légers de la Garde Impériale Polonais was added. The final addition was made in 1810, with another Regiment of Lancers, this time drawn from French and Dutch
recruits, the 2e Regiment de Chevau-Légers Lanciers de la Garde Impériale or Red Lancers. The cavalry of the Guard was involved in combat numerous times, and with few exceptions proved its worth in action.
The scouts had only the time to distinguish themselves during the French Campaign in 1814 and were dissolved by Louis XVIII upon his restoration.
was perhaps not the most glamorous arm of service in the Grand Armée, they bore the brunt of most of the fighting, and their performance resulted in victory or defeat. The Infantry was divided up into two major types, the Infantry of the Line (Infanterie de Ligne) and the Light Infantry (Infanterie Légère).
made up the majority of the Grande Armée. In 1803, Napoleon had reinstated the term Regiment
, the revolutionary
term demi-brigade
(due to the fact there were two per brigade and it lacked the royal connotations) was now only used for provisional troops and depot units. At the time of the formation of the Grande Armée, the French Army had 133 Régiments de Ligne, a number which roughly corresponded with the number of départements in France. There would eventually be 156 Ligne regiments
The Régiments de Ligne varied in size throughout the Napoleonic Wars, but the basic building block of the Infanterie of the Line was the battalion
. A line infantry battalion was numbered at about 840 men; however, this was the battalion's 'full strength' and few units ever reached this. A more typical strength for a battalion would be 400–600 men. From 1800 to 1803 a line infantry battalion had eight fusilier companies, and one grenadier company. From 1804 to 1807 a line infantry battalion had seven fusilier companies, one grenadier company, and one voltigeur company. From 1808 to 1815 a line infantry battalion had four companies of fusiliers, one company of grenadiers, and one company of voltigeurs.
Grenadiers were the elite of the line infantry and the veteran shock troops of the Napoleonic infantry. Newly formed battalions did not have a Grenadier company; rather, Napoleon ordered that after two campaigns, several of the strongest, bravest and tallest fusiliers were to be promoted to the Grenadier company, so each line battalion which had seen more than two campaigns had one company of Grenadiers.
Regulations required that Grenadiers recruits were to be the tallest, most fearsome men in the regiments, and all were to have moustache
s. To add to this, Grenadiers were initially equipped the a bonnet à poil or bearskin
, as well as red epaulette
s on their coat. After 1807 regulations stipulated that line Grenadiers were to replace their bearskin with a shako lined red with a red plume; however, many chose to retain their bearskins. In addition to the standard Charleville model 1777 and bayonet, Grenadiers were also equipped with a short sabre
. This was to be used for close combat, but most often ended up serving as a tool to cut wood for campfires.
The Grenadier company would usually be situated on the right side of a formation, traditionally the place of greatest honour. During a campaign, Grenadier companies could be detached to form a Grenadier battalion or occasionally a regiment or brigade. These formations would then be used as a shock force or the vanguard for a larger formation.
Voltigeurs (literally, Vaulters or Leapers) were élite light infantry
of the line regiments. In 1805, Napoleon ordered that the smallest, most agile men of the line battalions be chosen to form a Voltigeur company. These troops were to be second only to the Grenadiers in the battalion hierarchy. Their name comes from their original mission. Voltigeurs were to combat enemy cavalry by vaulting
up onto the enemy's horses, a fanciful idea which failed to succeed in combat. Despite this, the Voltigeurs did perform a valuable task, skirmishing and providing scouts for each battalion, as well as providing an organic light infantry component for each line regiment. In Voltigeur training, emphasis was placed on marksmanship and quick movement.
Voltigeurs were equipped with large yellow and green or yellow and red plumes for their bicornes. After 1807, their shakos were lined with yellow and carried similar plumes. They also had yellow epaulettes lined green and a yellow collar on their coats.
Originally, Voltigeurs were to be equipped with the short dragoon
musket, however in practice they were equipped with the Charleville model 1777 and bayonet. Like Grenadiers, Voltigeurs were equipped with a short sabre for close combat, and like Grenadiers this was rarely used. Voltigeur companies could be detached and formed into regiments or brigades to create a light infantry formation. After 1808, the Voltigeur company was situated on the left of the line when in combat. This was traditionally the second highest position of honour in the line of battle.
Fusilier
The Fusiliers made up the majority of a line infantry battalion, and may be considered the typical infantryman of the Grande Armée. The Fusilier was armed with a smoothbore
, muzzle-loaded flintlock
Charleville model 1777
musket
and a bayonet
. Fusilier training placed emphasis on speed of march and endurance, along with individually aimed fire at close range and close quarters combat. This differed greatly from the training given to the majority of European armies, which emphasised moving in rigid formations and firing massed volleys. Many of the early Napoleonic victories were due to the ability of the French armies to cover long distances with speed, and this ability was thanks to the training given to the infantry. From 1803, each battalion comprised eight Fusilier companies
. Each company numbered around 120 men.
In 1805, one of the Fusilier companies was dissolved and reformed as a Voltigeur company. In 1808, Napoleon reorganised the Infantry battalion from nine to six companies. The new companies were to be larger, comprising 140 men, and four of these were to be made up of Fusiliers, one of Grenadiers, and one of Voltigeurs.
The line Fusilier wore a bicorne
hat, until this was superseded by the shako
in 1807. The uniform of a Fusilier consisted of white trousers, white surcoat and a dark blue coat (the habit long model until 1812, thereafter the habit veste) with white lapels, red collar and cuffs. Each Fusilier wore a coloured pom-pom on his hat. The colour of this pom-pom changed depending on the company the man belonged to. After the 1808 reorganisation, the First company was issued with a dark green pom-pom, the second with sky blue, the third with orange
and the fourth with violet
.
) also played an important role. The Légère regiments never numbered more than 36 (compared with the 133 of the Ligne regiments), and the Ligne could perform all the same manoeuvres, including skirmishing. The difference lay in the training and the resulting high esprit de corps.
Training for Légère units placed a strong emphasis on marksman
ship and fast movement. As a result, the general Légère soldier was able to shoot more accurately and move faster than his Ligne counterpart. Légère regiments tended to see more action and were often used to screen large manoeuvres. Naturally, because commanders turned to the Légère for more missions than the Ligne, the Légère troopers enjoyed a higher esprit de corps and were known for their flamboyant uniforms and attitude. Also, Légère troops were required to be shorter than line troops, which helped them to move quickly through forests as well as to hide behind obstacles when skirmishing. The formation of a Légère battalion exactly mirrored that of a battalion of line infantry, but different troop types were substituted for the Grenadiers, Fusiliers and Voltigeurs.
The Carabiniers were the grenadiers of the Légère battalions. After two campaigns, the tallest and bravest chasseurs were chosen to join the Carabinier company. They performed as élite shock troops for the battalion. As with the grenadiers, Carabiniers were required to wear moustaches. They were armed with the Charleville model 1777, a bayonet and a short sabre. The Carabinier uniform consisted of a tall bearskin cap (superseded in 1807 by a red trimmed shako with a red plume). They wore the same uniform as the chasseurs, but with red epaulettes. Carabinier companies could be detached to form larger all Carabinier formations for assaults or other operations requiring assault troops.
Light Voltigeurs
Voltigeurs performed exactly the same mission in the Légère battalion as they did in the line battalions, only they were more nimble and better marksmen. The Légère voltigeurs were dressed as chasseurs, but with Yellow and green epaulettes and before 1806, a colpack (or busby
) replaced the shako. The colpack had a large yellow over red plume and green cords. After 1807, a shako replaced the colpack, with a large yellow plume and yellow lining. As with the line voltigeurs, légère voltigeurs could be detached and used to form larger formations as needed.
Chasseurs (Hunters) were the fusiliers of the Légère battalions. They made up the majority of the formation. They were armed with the Charleville model 1777 musket and a bayonet, and also with a short sabre for close combat. As was common in the Napoleonic army, this weapon was quickly blunted by being used to chop wood for fires.
From 1803, each battalion comprised eight chasseur companies. Each company numbered around 120 men. In 1808, Napoleon reorganised the Infantry battalion from nine to six companies. The new companies were to be larger, comprising 140 men, and four of these were to be made up of chasseurs.
The chasseurs had far more ornate uniforms than their contemporaries the fusiliers. Until 1806, they were equipped with a cylindrical shako with a large dark green plume and decorated with white cords. Their uniform was a darker blue than that of the line regiments, to aid with camouflage while skirmishing. Their coat was similar to that of the line troops, but their lapels and cuffs were also dark blue, and it featured dark green and red epaulettes. They also wore dark blue trousers and high imitation hussar
boots. After 1807, the cylindrical shako was replaced with the standard shako, but was still embellished by white cords. As with the line fusiliers, chasseur companies were distinguished by coloured pom-poms, but the colours for the different companies changed from regiment to regiment.
typically comprised between a fifth and a sixth of the Grande Armée. Cavalry regiments of 800–1,200 men were made up of three or four Escadrons
of two companies each, plus supporting elements. In light cavalry
and dragoon
regiments, the first company of the every regiment's first escadron, was always designated as 'Elite', with presumably, the best men and horses. In the revolution's wake, the cavalry suffered the greatest from the loss of experienced aristocratic officers and NCOs still loyal to the crown of the Ancien Régime. Consequently, the quality of French cavalry drastically declined. Napoleon rebuilt the branch, turning it into arguably the finest in the world. Until 1812 it was undefeated in any large engagements above the regimental level. There were two primary types of cavalry for different roles, heavy
and light
.
Carabiniers-à-Cheval
The elite among all French heavy cavalry line formations, the two regiments of Mounted Carabiniers have a very similar appearance with the Mounted Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard; bearskins, long blue coats, etc. and were mounted exclusively on big black horse prior to 1813. They were largely used in identical manner to the Cuirassiers, however, being(initially) unarmored, they were less suited for close-quarters, melee
combat compared to their armored brethren. It should be noted though that unarmored heavy cavalry was the norm in Europe during most of the Napoleonic War, with the French being the first to reintroduce the back-and-breastplate. In 1809, appalled by their mauling at the hands of the Austrian Uhlans, Napoleon ordered that they be given armour. The Carabinier's refusal to copy the less elite Cuirassiers resulted in them being given special armor, with their helmets and cuirasses being sheathed in bronze for added visual effect. But this did not prevent them from being defeated by the Russian cuirassiers at Borodino in 1812, and panicking before the Hungarian hussars at Leipzig the following year.
Cuirassier
The heavy (Grosse) cavalry, equipped and armed almost like the knights of old with a heavy cuirass
(breastplate) and helmets of brass and iron and armed with straight long sabers, pistols and later carbines. As with the knights, they served as the shock troops
of the cavalry. Because of the weight of their armour and weapons, both trooper and horse
had to be big and strong, and could consequently put a lot of force behind their charge. Though the cuirass could not protect against flintlock musket fire, it could deflect shots from long range, offered some protection from pistol fire and could protect the wearer from ricochets. More importantly, in an age which saw cavalry used in large numbers, the breastplates provided protection against the swords and lances of opposing cavalry. Napoleon usually combined together all of his cuirassiers and carabiniers into a cavalry reserve, to be used at the decisive moment of the battle. In this manner they proved to be an extremely potent force on the battlefield, leaving their opponents impressed if not awestruck. The British, in particular, who mistakenly believed the cuirassiers were Napoleon's bodyguard, and would later come to adapt their distinctive helmets and breastplates for their own Household Cavalry
. There were originally 25 cuirassier regiments, reduced to 12 by Napoleon initially who later added three more. At the beginning of his rule most of Cuirassier regiments were severely understrength, so Napoleon ordered the best men and horse to be allocated to the first 12 regiments, while the rest were changed into dragoons. He also reintroduced the practice of wearing body armor, which had practically disappeared in Europe during the 18th century.
Dragoons (Dragons)
The medium-weight mainstays of the French cavalry, although considered heavy cavalry, who were used for battle, skirmishing and scouting. They were highly versatile being armed not only with traditional sabre
s (the finest with three edges made of Toledo steel
), but also muskets with bayonets (which were kept in a saddleboot when riding), enabling them to fight on foot as infantry
as well as mounted. Part of the price for this versatility was their horsemanship and swordsmanship were often not up to the same standards as that of the other cavalry troops, which made them the subjects of some mockery and derision. Finding enough of the right kinds of horses for these part-time cavalrymen also proved a challenge. Some infantry officers were even required to give up their mounts for the dragoons, creating resentment towards them from this branch as well. There were 25, later 30, dragoon regiments. In 1815, only 15 could be raised and mounted in time for the Hundred Days
.
Hussars (Hussards)
These fast, light cavalrymen were the eyes, ears and egos of Napoleonic armies. They regarded themselves as the best horsemen and swordsmen (beau sabreurs) in the entire Armée. This opinion was not entirely unjustified and their flamboyant uniforms reflected their panache. Tactically, they were used for reconnaissance
, skirmishing and screening for the army to keep their commanders informed of enemy movements while denying the foe the same information and to pursue fleeing enemy troops. Armed only with curved sabres and pistols, they had reputations for reckless bravery to the point of being almost suicidal. It was said by their most famous commander Antoine Lasalle that a Hussar who lived to be 30 was truly an old guard and very fortunate. There were 10 regiments in 1804, with an 11th added in 1810 and two more in 1813.
These were light cavalry identical to Hussars in arms and role. But, unlike the chasseurs of the Imperial guard discussed previously and their infantry counterparts discussed below, they were considered less prestigious or elite. Their uniforms were less colourful as well, consisting of infantry-style shakos (in contrast to the fur busby worn by some French hussars), green coats, green breeches and short boots. They were, however, the most numerous of the light cavalry, with 31 regiments in 1811, 6 of which comprised non-French Belgians, Swiss, Italians and Germans.
Some of the most feared cavalry in Napoleon's armies were the Polish lancers of the Vistula Uhlan
s. Nicknamed Hell's Picadors or Los Diablos Polacos (The Polish Devils) by the Spanish, these medium and light horse (Chevau-Légers
Lanciers) cavalry had speed nearly equal to the Hussars, shock power almost as great as the Cuirassiers and were nearly as versatile as the Dragoons. They were armed with, as their name indicates, lances along with sabres and pistols. Initially French ministers of war insisted on arming all lancers identically, real battlefield experience however proved that the Polish way of arming only the first line with lance while the second rank carried carbine instead was much more practical and thus was adopted. Lancers were the best cavalry for charging against infantry in square, where their lances could outreach the infantry's bayonet
s, (as happened to Colborne's British brigade at Albuera in 1811) and also in hunting down a routed enemy. They could be deadly against other types of cavalry as well, most famously demonstrated by the fate of Sir William Ponsonby and his Scots Greys at Waterloo. Excluding those of the guard, there were 9 lancer regiments. After the wars, the British were impressed enough to create their own lancer regiments.
officer, and reportedly said
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." As may therefore be expected, French cannons were the backbone of the Grande Armée's forces, possessing the greatest fire-power of the three arms and hence the ability to inflict the most casualties in the least amount of time. The French guns were often used in massed batteries (or grandes batteries
) to soften up enemy formations before being subjected to the closer attention of the infantry or cavalry. Superb gun-crew training allowed Napoleon to move the weapons at great speed to either bolster a weakening defensive position, or else hammer a potential break in enemy lines.
Besides superior training, Napoleon's artillery was also greatly aided by the numerous technical improvements to French cannons by Jean Baptiste de Gribeauval
which made them lighter, faster and much easier to sight, as well as strengthened the carriages and introduced standard sized calibres. In general, French guns were 4-pound
ers, 8-pounders or 12-pounders and 6 inches (152.4 mm) howitzers with the lighter calibres being phased out and replaced by 6-pounders later in the wars. French cannons had brass barrels and their carriages, wheels and limbers were painted olive-green. Superb organization, fully integrated the artillery into the infantry and cavalry units it supported, yet also allowed it to operate independently if the need arose. There were two basic types, Artillerie à pied (Foot artillery) and Artillerie à cheval (Horse artillery).
Battery personnel included not only gun crews, NCOs and officers but drummers, metal workers, woodworkers, ouvriers, furriers and artificers. They would be responsible for fashioning spare parts, maintaining and repairing the guns, carriages, caissons and wagons, as well as tending the horses and storing munitions.
The cavalry were supported by the fast moving, fast firing light guns of the horse artillery
. This arm was a hybrid of cavalry and artillery with their crews either riding on the horses or on the carriages into battle. Because they operated much closer to the front lines, the officers and crews were better armed and trained for close quarters combat, mounted or dismounted much as were the dragoons. Once in position they were trained to quickly dismount, unlimber (deploy) and sight their guns, then fire rapid barrages at the enemy. They could then quickly limber (undeploy) the guns, remount, and move on to a new position. To accomplish this, they had to be the best trained and most elite of all artillerymen. The horse batteries of the Imperial guard could go from riding at full gallop to firing their first shot in just under a minute. After witnessing such a performance, an astounded Duke of Wellington
remarked, "They move their cannon as if it were a pistol!" There were 6 administrative regiments of horse artillery plus one in the guard. In addition to the batteries assigned to the cavalry units, Napoleon would also assign at least one battery to each infantry corps or, if available, to each division. Their abilities came at a price, however, horse batteries were very expensive to raise and maintain. Consequently they were far fewer in number than their foot counterparts, typically comprising only 1/5 of the artillery's strength. It was a boastful joke among their ranks that the Emperor knew every horse gunner by name. Besides better training, horses, weapons and equipment, they used far more ammunition. Horse batteries were given twice the ammo ration of the foot, those of the guard three times.
used in the Napoleonic Wars
the cast iron, spherical, round shot
was the staple of the gunner. Even at long range when the shot was travelling relatively slowly it could be deadly, though it might appear to be bouncing or rolling along the ground relatively gently. At short range carnage would result.
Round shot were undeniably inaccurate. This was because, despite their name, round shot were never perfectly spherical, nor did they fit their gun barrels exactly. Air acted on the irregular surface of the projectile. These irregularities invariably threw them off target to some degree. It is often also a matter of confusion as to why a 12pdr shot was so much more effective than a 6pdr shot. This is because the impact of a shot was not only related to its weight but also to its velocity
, which, with a heavier projectile, was much greater at the end of the trajectory.
There were two forms of close-range weapon, which were extremely useful at up to 274 m (300 yard
s). Grape shot and canister
, or case, were the anti-personnel weapons of choice of the gunner. Grape was a cluster of large metal spheres tied together around a central spindle and base and normally sewn into a bag, whereas canister was a metal case filled with smaller iron or lead spheres. The whole purpose of these types of shot was to break up when fired from the gun forming a wide cone of flying metal that acted in the same way as a shotgun
cartridge
.
For longer-range anti-personnel work the common shell
was also used. This was normally only fired from a mortar
or howitzer
and was a hollow sphere filled with gunpowder
charge. The top of the shell had thinner walls than the bottom and had an orifice into which was forced a wooden fuse
normally made of beech
wood. The fuse was designed to be ignited by the discharge of the gun and had a central channel drilled through it filled with a burning compound. Before firing, the fuse was cut to a certain length corresponding to the desired time of burning and hammered into the top of the shell by a mallet
. When it arrived over the target the fuse, if correctly prepared, exploded the main charge, breaking open the metal outer casing and forcing flying fragments in all directions. Although favoured for siege
work, the common shell was not always effective against infantry
.
The final type of projectile for the field artillery used by the French was the incendiary or carcass
(a name for an incendiary projectile). Initially this device was composed of a metal frame, which was covered with a canvas cover and filled with a special recipe, typically saltpetre
50 parts, sulfur
25 parts, rosin
8 parts, antimony
5 parts, and pitch
5 parts. However, during the early 19th century, another form of carcass became common and this took the form of a common shell with two or three apertures in its exterior into which a similar composition was put. Carcass rounds were normally only issued to howitzers or mortars, the suggestion being they were intended to attack towns. This does not preclude them from being used on the field but quite what their purpose would have been there is not clear.
It is important to know that not all nations shared the same types of artillery projectiles. For example, the Congreve rocket
, inspired from the Mysorean rocket artillery
, or the Shrapnel shell, which combined the killing effect of grape shot with the ranges achieved by round shot, were used only by the British Army
.
guerillas.
Each train d'artillerie battalion was originally composed of 5 companies. The first company was considered elite and was assigned to a horse artillery battery; the three "centre" companies were assigned to the foot artillery batteries and "parks" (spare caissons, field forges, supply wagons, etc.); and one became the depot company for training recruits and remounts. Following the campaigns of 1800, the train was re-organized into eight battalions of six companies each. As Napoleon enlarged his artillery, additional battalions were created, rising to a total of fourteen in 1810. In 1809, 1812 and 1813 the first thirteen battalions were "doubled" to create 13 additional battalions. Additionally, after 1809 some battalions raised extra companies to handle the regimental guns attached to the infantry.
The Imperial Guard had its own train, which expanded as La Garde's artillery park was increased, albeit organized as regiments rather than battalions. At their zenith, in 1813–14, the Old Guard artillery was supported by a 12-company regiment while the Young Guard had a 16-company regiment, one for each of their component artillery batteries.
The four regiments of the marines of the Ancien Régime disappeared on 28 January 1794.
The Marins (French spelling) of the Grande Armée were divided into the Bataillon des Marins de la Garde Impériale, also known eventually as the Matelots de la Garde, formed on 17 September 1803, and Matelots des Bataillons de la Marine Impériale of which some 32,000 served with the French Navy at its height of expansion by Napoleon. Units of the later were created for service on land by conscripting naval personnel surplus to requirement of the Navy. There also existed the marine artillery, which were mostly naval gunners used for coastal batteries and fortresses called bataillons de la Matelot du Haut-Bord (or Les Equipages de Haut-Bord – marines of the High Shore) created by Napoleon's decree on 1 April 1808. The flag of the 1er Régiment d'Artillerie de Marine survives today, and lists Lutzen 1813
as one of its battle honours. Some 63 artillery batteries were so manned (some numbers remaining vacant). Some examples include:
The Marins of the Guard were organised into five equipages (ship's company), each with five escouades, with a total strength of 737 men, the unit having been created ostensibly for the preparation of the invasion of England
.
The unit was almost entirely destroyed in the Spanish Campaign
of 1808 at Baylen
, but was rebuilt, and in 1810 the battalion was expanded to eight equipages with a total of 1,136 men, but this was severely reduced by the casualties of the Russian Campaign
, and only 350 officers and men remained in the ranks in 1813. With Napoleon's first abdication, an ensign and 21 marins accompanied him to Elba
, and returned with him for the Hundred Days
Campaign when their strength was increased to an equipage of 150 officers and men.
The marines were distinct in several ways from other Grande Armée units in that naval rather than Army ranks were used, the uniform was based on that of those of the Hussar
s, and it was the only unit of the Grande Armée in which the musicians used both the drum
s and the trumpet
s.
The battalions of marine artillery were conscripted for the 1813 campaign, and included four regiments with the 1st regiment intended to have 8 battalions, 2nd regiment 10 battalions and the 3rd and 4th regiments four battalions each, totalling 9,640 men in all serving with Marshal Marmont's 6th Corps. Combined with sailor battalions, these fought as part of the Division de Marine at the battles of Lutzen
, Bautzen
, Dresden
, and won high praise at the Battle of Leipzig
. The marine units were disbanded in 1815.
Many European armies recruited foreign troops, and Napoleonic France was no exception. Foreign troops played an important role and fought with distinction in La Grande Armée during the Napoleonic Wars
. Almost every continental European country was, at different stages, a part of La Grande Armée. By the end of the conflict tens-of-thousands had served. In 1805 35,000 troops from the Confederation of the Rhine
were used to protect lines of communications and flanks of the main army. In 1806 27,000 more troops were called up for similar purposes, plus 20,000 Saxon troops were used for mopping up operations against the Prussians. In the Winter Campaign of 1806–7, Germans, Poles, and Spaniards helped seize Baltic ports at Stralsund
and Danzig on La Grande Armée's left flank. At the Battle of Friedland
in 1807, the Corps of Marshal Lannes was formed considerably from Poles, Saxons, and Dutch. For the first time foreign troops had played a role in a major battle, and done so with distinction. In the 1809 Austrian Campaign possibly as many as one-third of the La Grande Armée, were from the Confederation of the Rhine, and one-quarter of the Army in Italy was Italian. At La Grande Armée's peak in 1812, more than half the troops that marched into Russia were non-French and represented 20 different countries, including Austrian and Prussian troops. Grawert
initially led the Prussian detachment, but was replaced by Yorck.
s of various types.
The bridge builders of the Grande Armée, the pontonniers, were an indispensable part of Napoleon's military machine. Their main contribution was helping the emperor to get his forces across water obstacles by erecting pontoon bridge
s. The skills of his pontonniers allowed Napoleon to outflank enemy positions by crossing rivers where the enemy least expected and, in the case of the great retreat from Moscow, saved the army from complete annihilation at the Beresina.
They may not have had the glory, but Napoleon clearly valued his pontonniers and had 14 companies commissioned into his armies, under the command of the brilliant engineer, General Jean Baptiste Eblé
. His training along with their specialized tools and equipment, enabled them to quickly build the various parts of the bridges, which could then be rapidly assembled and reused later. All the needed materials, tools and parts were carried on their wagon trains. If they did not have a part or item, it could be quickly made using the pontonniers' mobile wagon-mounted forges. A single company of pontonniers could construct a bridge of up to 80 pontoons (a span of some 120 to 150 metres long) in a just under seven hours, an impressive feat even by today's standards.
In addition to the pontonniers, there were companies of sapper
s, to deal with enemy fortifications. They were used far less often in their intended role than the pontonniers, however, since the emperor had learned in his early campaigns (such as at the Siege of Acre
) that it was better to bypass and isolate fixed fortifications, if possible, than to directly assault them, so the sapper companies were usually put to other tasks.
The different types of engineer companies were formed into battalions and regiments called Génie, which was originally a slang
term for engineer. This name, which is still used today, was both a play on the word (jeu de mot) and a reference to their seemingly magical abilities to grant wishes and make things appear much like the mythical Genie
.
. The troops of the Grande Armée each carried 4 days' provisions. The supply wagon trains following them carried 8 days', but these were to be consumed only in emergency. Insofar as possible, Napoleon encouraged his men to live off the land through foraging and requisition of food (which was known as La Maraude
). An integral part of the French logistics system was the inclusion in every regiment of several women known as cantinières (also known as viandières, but "cantinière" was by far the more common term among French troops). These women were married to soldiers in their regiments, and acted as sutlers, selling food and drink (especially alcohol) to the troops. They were considered "absolutely necessary" to the functioning of the army, and the Consular Decree of 7 Thermidor, Year VIII set their number at four per battalion and two per cavalry squadron. These women fed the troops when all other logistical arrangements broke down.
Additional supplies would be stockpiled and stored at forward bases and depots which he would establish before the start of his campaigns. These would then be moved forward as the army advanced. The Grande Armée's supply bases would replenish the Corps and Divisional depots, which in turn would replenish the Brigade and Regimental supply trains, which would distribute rations and ammunition to the troops as needed to supplement their foraging. The reliance on foraging was sometimes determined by political pressures. When marching over friendly territory armies were told to "live off what the country can supply", but when marching over neutral territory they were issued with supplies. It was this system of planned and improvised logistics which enabled the Grande Armée to sustain rapid marches of up to 15 miles per day for up to 5 weeks. The logistical system was also aided by a technological innovation in the form of the food preservation technique invented by Nicolas Appert
, which led to modern canning
methods.
The medical services had the least glory or prestige, yet they were required to deal with the full horrors of war's aftermath. Every regiment, division and corps had its own medical staff, consisting of corpsmen to find and transport the wounded, orderlies to provide assistance and nursing functions, apothecaries, surgeons and doctors. These staffs were often filled by poorly-trained and inept men, unfit for any other work. Conditions in the Grande Armée, as in all armies of the time, were primitive at best. Far more soldiers died of their wounds or from sickness than in battle (see Napoleonic Wars casualties
). There was no knowledge of hygiene
or antibiotic
s. Virtually the only surgical procedure was amputation
. The only anaesthetic consisted of strong alcohol
ic drink or even, in some cases, knocking the patient unconscious. Typically only a third survived the operation.
While the technology and practice of military medicine did not advance significantly during the Napoleonic wars, the Grande Armée did benefit from improvements in the organization of staffs and the establishment of a Flying Ambulance system, by its Surgeon General, Baron Dominique Jean Larrey
. After seeing the speed with which the carriages of the French flying artillery manoeuvred across the battlefields, General Larrey adapted them for rapid transport of the wounded and manned them with trained crews of drivers, corpsmen and litter bearers. This forerunner of the modern military ambulance
system, was eventually adapted by armies throughout the world in the following decades. In addition, Larrey increased the mobility and improved the organization of field hospital
s, effectively creating a prototype for the modern Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
.
Accounts of the ordeals of the wounded are horrific reading. Napoleon, himself, once noted "It requires more courage to suffer than to die", so he made sure those who did survive were given the best treatment available at the best hospitals in France while they recuperated. In addition, the wounded survivors were often treated as heroes, awarded medals, pensions and provided with prosthetic limbs if needed. Knowing that they would be promptly attended to, then honored and well looked after once back home, helped boost morale in the Grande Armée, and thus further contributed to its fighting abilities.
es were conveyed as they had been for centuries, via messengers on horseback. Hussars, due to their bravery and riding skills, were often favoured for this task. Shorter range tactical signals could be sent visually by flags or audibly by drums, bugles, trumpets and other musical instruments. Thus standard bearers and musicians, in addition to their symbolic, ceremonial and morale functions, also played important communication roles.
The Grande Armée did benefit from innovations made in long range communications during the French Revolution
. The French army was among the first to employ homing pigeons
as messengers in any large and organized manner, and also the first to use observation balloons
for reconnaissance and communications. But the real advance for conveying long range dispatches came in the form of an ingenious optical Telegraph Semaphore system invented by Claude Chappe.
Chappe's system comprised an intricate network of small towers, within visual range of one another. On top of each was a 9 metre mast, with three large, movable wooden rods mounted on them. These rods, called the régulateur (regulator), were operated by trained crews using a series of pulleys and levers. The four basic positions of the rods could be combined to form 196 different "signs". Provided with good crews of operators and decent visibility conditions, a sign could be sent through the 15 station towers between Paris and Lille
, a distance of 193 km (119.9 mi), in only 9 minutes, a complete message of 36 signs in about 32 minutes. From Paris to Venice
, a message could be sent in only six hours.
Chappe's telegraph soon became one of Napoleon's favourite and most important secret weapons. A special portable version semaphore telegraph travelled with his headquarters. Using it he was able to coordinate his logistics and forces over longer distances in far less time than his enemies. Work was even begun on a wagon-mounted version in 1812, but not completed in time for use in the wars.
While Napoleon is best known as a master strategist and charismatic presence on the battlefield, he was also a tactical innovator. He combined classic formations and tactics which had been used for thousands of years, with more recent ones such as Frederick the Great's
"Oblique Order" (Best illustrated at the Battle of Leuthen
) and the "Mob tactics" of the early Levée en masse
armies of the Revolution. Napoleonic tactics and formations were highly fluid and flexible. In contrast, many of the Armée's opponents were still wed to a rigid system of "Linear" (or Line) tactics and formations, in which masses of infantry would simply line up and exchange vollies of fire, in an attempt to either blow the enemy from the field or outflank them. Due to the vulnerabilities of the line formations to flanking attacks, it was considered the highest form of military manoeuvre to outflank ones' adversary. Armies would often retreat or even surrender if this was accomplished. Consequently, commanders who adhered to this system, would place a great emphasis on flank security, often at the expense of a strong centre or reserve. Napoleon would frequently take full advantage of this linear mentality, by feigning flank attacks, or offering the enemy his own flank as "bait" (Best illustrated at the Battle of Austerlitz
and also later at Lützen
), then throw his main effort against their centre, split their lines and roll up their flanks. He always kept a strong reserve as well, mainly in the form of his Imperial Guard, which could deliver a "knockout blow" if the battle was going well or turn the tide if it was not.
Some of the more famous, widely used, effective and interesting formations and tactics included:
, where every soldier, no matter how humble of birth, could rise rapidly to the highest levels of command, much as he had done (provided, of course, they did not rise too high or too fast). This was equally applied to the French and foreign officers, and no less than 140 foreigners attained the rank of Général. By and large this goal was achieved. Given the right opportunities to prove themselves, capable men could rise to the top within a few years, whereas in other armies it usually required decades if at all. It was said that even the lowliest private carried a marshal's baton in his knapsack.
! Grande Armée rank !! Modern U.S. equivalent
|-
| colspan=2 | Commissioned officers
|-
|Maréchal d´Empire || Lieutenant General
|-
|Général de division || Major General
|-
|Général de brigade || Brigadier General
|-
|Colonel || Colonel
|-
|Major || Lieutenant Colonel
|-
|Chef de bataillon or Chef d'escadron ||Major
|-
|Capitaine || Captain
|-
|Lieutenant || First Lieutenant
|-
|Sous-lieutenant || Second Lieutenant
|-
| colspan=2 | Non-commissioned officers
|-
|Adjudant-Chef || Warrant Officer
|-
|Adjudant || Sergeant-Major
|-
|Sergent-Major or Maréchal des logis Chef || First sergeant
|-
|Sergent or Maréchal des Logis || Sergeant
|-
|Caporal-Fourrier or Brigadier-Fourrier || Company clerk/supply Sergeant
|-
|Caporal or Brigadier (Cavalry, Horse Artillery and Gendarmerie) || Corporal
|-
|Soldat or Cavalier(Cavalry) or Canonnier(Artillery)|| Private
|}
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
renamed the army that he had assembled on the French coast of the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
for the proposed invasion
Napoleon's invasion of England
Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom at the start of the War of the Third Coalition, although never carried out, was a major influence on British naval strategy and the fortification of the coast of south-east England. French attempts to invade Ireland in order to destabilise the...
of Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. It never achieved its primary goal, as Napoleon had to re-deploy it East in order to eliminate the threat of Austria
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
and Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, which were part of the Third Coalition assembled against France.
Thereafter, the name was used for the principal French army deployed in the Campaigns of 1805–07 (where it got its prestige), 1812, and 1813–14. In practice, however, the term "Grande Armée" is used in English to refer to all of the multinational forces gathered by Napoleon I
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
in his campaigns of the early 19th century (see Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
).
The first Grande Armée consisted of six corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
under the command of Napoleon's marshals
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
and senior generals. When Napoleon discovered that Russian and Austrian armies were preparing to invade France in late 1805, the Grande Armée was quickly ordered across the Rhine into Southern Germany, leading to Napoleon's victories at Ulm
Battle of Ulm
The Battle of Ulm was a series of minor skirmishes at the end of Napoleon Bonaparte's Ulm Campaign, culminating in the surrender of an entire Austrian army near Ulm in Württemberg....
, Austerlitz
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
and Jena
Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia...
.
The army grew in size as Napoleon's might spread across Europe. It reached its maximum size of 600,000 men at the start of the invasion of Russia in 1812. All contingents were commanded by French generals, except for a Polish and an Austrian corps. The huge multinational army marched slowly eastwards, with the Russians falling back before it. After the capture of Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
and victory in the Battle of Borodino
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
, Napoleon and a part of the Grande Armée reached Moscow on 14 September 1812; however, the army was already drastically reduced due to the numbers killed and wounded in battles with the Russians, disease (principally typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
), desertion
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
and long communication lines. The army spent a month in Moscow, but was ultimately forced to march back westwards. Assailed by cold, starvation and disease, and constantly harassed by Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
s and Russian irregulars, the retreat utterly destroyed the Grande Armée as a fighting force. Only 120,000 men survived to leave Russia (excluding early deserters). Of these 50,000 were Austrians, Prussians and other Germans, 20,000 Poles and 35,000 Frenchmen. As many as 400,000 died in the campaign.
Napoleon led a new army to the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
in 1813, in the defence of France in 1814 and in the Waterloo campaign in 1815, but the Napoleonic French army would never regain the heights of the Grande Armée in June 1812.
History
For a history of the French army in the period 1792–1804 during the wars of the First and Second Coalitions see French Revolutionary Armies.1804–1806
The Grande Armée was originally formed as L'Armée des côtes de l'Océan (Army of the Ocean Coasts) intended for the invasion of England, at the port of Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
in 1803. Following Napoleon's coronation as Emperor of the French in 1804, the Third Coalition
Third Coalition
The War of the Third Coalition was a conflict which spanned from 1803 to 1806. It saw the defeat of an alliance of Austria, Portugal, Russia, and others by France and its client states under Napoleon I...
was formed against him and La Grande Armée turned its sights eastwards in 1805. They left the Boulogne camps late in August and through a rapid march surrounded General Karl Mack's isolated Austrian army at the fortress of Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
. The Ulm Campaign
Ulm Campaign
The Ulm Campaign consisted of a series of French and Bavarian military maneuvers and battles to outflank and capture an Austrian army in 1805 during the War of the Third Coalition. It took place in the vicinity of and inside the Swabian city of Ulm...
, as it came to be known, resulted in 60,000 Austrian captives at the cost of just 2,000 French soldiers. In November Vienna was taken, however, Austria refused to capitulate, maintaining an army in the field and their Russian allies had not yet been committed to action. The war would continue for a while longer. Affairs were decisively settled on December 2, 1805, at the Battle of Austerlitz
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
, where a numerically inferior Armée routed a combined Russo-Austrian army led by Czar Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
. The stunning victory led to the Treaty of Pressburg on December 26, 1805, with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
coming the following year.
The alarming increase of French power in Central Europe disturbed Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, which had remained neutral in the conflicts of the previous year. After much diplomatic wrangling, Prussia secured promises of Russian military aid and the Fourth Coalition against France came into being in 1806. La Grande Armée advanced into Prussian territory with the famed bataillon-carré ("battalion square") system, whereby corps marched in close supporting distances and became vanguards, rearguards, or flank forces as the situation demanded, and severely defeated the Prussian armies at the Battle of Jena
Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia...
and the Battle of Auerstadt
Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia...
, both fought on October 14, 1806. After a legendary pursuit, the French had captured about 140,000 Prussians and killed and wounded roughly 25,000. Davout
Louis Nicolas Davout
Louis-Nicolas d'Avout , better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a Marshal of France during the Napoleonic Era. His prodigious talent for war along with his reputation as a stern disciplinarian, earned him the title "The Iron Marshal"...
's III Corps
III Corps (Grande Armée)
The III Corps of the Grande Armée were few military units during the Napoleonic Wars. The III Corps came to prominence between 1805 and 1809 under the command of Marshal Louis Nicolas Davout, when it repeatedly scored impressive victories single-handedly or in conjunction with other French forces...
, the victors at Auerstadt, received the honours of first marching into Berlin. Once more, the French had defeated an enemy before allies could arrive, and once more, this did not bring peace.
1807–1809
Napoleon now turned his attentions to Poland, where the remaining Prussian armies were linking up with their Russian counterparts. A difficult winter campaign produced nothing but a stalemate, made worse by the Battle of EylauBattle of Eylau
The Battle of Eylau or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, 7 and 8 February 1807, was a bloody and inconclusive battle between Napoléon's Grande Armée and a Russian Empire army under Levin August, Count von Bennigsen near the town of Preußisch Eylau in East Prussia. Late in the battle, the Russians...
on February 7 – February 8, 1807, where Russian and French casualties soared for little gain. The campaign resumed in the Spring and this time Bennigsen
Levin August, Count von Bennigsen
Levin August Gottlieb Theophil , Count von Bennigsen was a German general in the service of the Russian Empire....
's Russian army was soundly defeated at the Battle of Friedland
Battle of Friedland
The Battle of Friedland saw Napoleon I's French army decisively defeat Count von Bennigsen's Russian army about twenty-seven miles southeast of Königsberg...
on June 14, 1807. This victory produced the Treaty of Tilsit between France and Russia in July, leaving Napoleon with no enemies on the continent.
Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
's refusal to comply with the Continental System
Continental System
The Continental System or Continental Blockade was the foreign policy of Napoleon I of France in his struggle against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the Napoleonic Wars. It was a large-scale embargo against British trade, which began on November 21, 1806...
led to a punitive French expedition in late 1807. This campaign formed the basis for the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
, which was to last six years and drain the First Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
of vital resources and manpower. The French attempted to occupy Spain in 1808, but a series of disasters
Battle of Bailén
The Battle of Bailén was contested in 1808 between the Spanish Army of Andalusia, led by Generals Francisco Castaños and Theodor von Reding, and the Imperial French Army's II corps d'observation de la Gironde under General Pierre Dupont de l'Étang...
prompted Napoleon to intervene personally later in the year. The 125,000-strong Grande Armée marched inexorably forward, capturing the fortress of Burgos
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
, clearing the way to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
at the Battle of Somosierra
Battle of Somosierra
The Battle of Somosierra occurred November 30, 1808 in the Peninsular War, when a French army under Napoleon I forced a passage through the Sierra de Guadarrama shielding Madrid....
, and forcing the Spanish armies to retreat. They then hurled themselves towards Moore
John Moore (British soldier)
Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, KB was a British soldier and General. He is best known for his military training reforms and for his death at the Battle of Corunna, in which his force was defeated but gained a tactical advantage over a French army under Marshal Soult during the Peninsular...
's British army, prompting them to withdraw from the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
after a heroic action at the Battle of Corunna
Battle of Corunna
The Battle of Corunna refers to a battle of the Peninsular War. On January 16, 1809, a French army under Marshal Soult attacked the British under Sir John Moore...
on January 16, 1809. The campaign was successful, but it would still be some time before the French were able to occupy Southern Spain.
Meanwhile, a revived Austria was preparing to strike. The War Hawk
War Hawk
War Hawk is a term originally used to describe members of the Twelfth Congress of the United States who advocated waging war against the British in the War of 1812...
s at the court of King Francis I
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
convinced him to take full advantage of France's preoccupation with Spain. In April 1809, the Austrians opened the campaign without a formal declaration of war and caught the French by surprise. They were too slow to exploit their gains, however, and Napoleon's arrival from Paris finally stabilized the situation. The Austrians were defeated at the Battle of Eckmühl
Battle of Eckmühl
The Battle of Eckmühl fought on 21 April – 22 April 1809, was the turning point of the 1809 Campaign, also known as the War of the Fifth Coalition...
, fled over the Danube, and lost the fortress of Ratisbon. But they still remained a cohesive, fighting force, which meant further campaigning was required to settle the issue. The French captured Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and attempted to cross the Danube via Lobau island southeast of the Austrian capital, but they lost the subsequent Battle of Aspern-Essling
Battle of Aspern-Essling
In the Battle of Aspern-Essling , Napoleon attempted a forced crossing of the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were driven back by the Austrians under Archduke Charles...
, the first defeat for La Grande Armée. A second attempt to cross the river proved more successful in July and set the stage for the two-day Battle of Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...
, where the French emerged victorious, inflicting some 40,000 casualties on the Austrians. The defeat demoralized the Austrians so heavily that they agreed to an armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
shortly afterwards. This eventually led to the Peace of Schönbrunn
Treaty of Schönbrunn
The Treaty of Schönbrunn , sometimes known as the Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria at the Schönbrunn Palace of Vienna on 14 October 1809. This treaty ended the Fifth Coalition during the Napoleonic Wars...
in October 1809. La Grande Armée had brought the Fifth Coalition to an end and the Austrian Empire lost three million citizens as a result of the treaty's border changes.
1810–1812
With the exception of Spain, a three-year lull ensued. Diplomatic tensions with Russia, however, became so acute that they eventually led to war in 1812. Napoleon assembled the largest army he had ever commanded to deal with this menace.The new Grande Armée was somewhat different than before; over half of its ranks were now filled by non-French conscripts coming from satellite states or countries allied to France. The behemoth force crossed the Niemen on June 23, 1812, and Napoleon hoped that quick marching could place his men between the two main Russian armies, commanded by Barclay de Tolly and Bagration
Pyotr Bagration
Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration was a general of the Russian army. He was a descendant of the Georgian royal family of the Bagrations.- Life :...
. However, the campaign was characterized by many frustrations, as the Russians succeeded no less than three times in evading Napoleon's pincers. A final stand for the defence of Moscow led to the massive Battle of Borodino
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
on September 7, 1812. There the Armée won a bloody but indecisive and arguably Pyrrhic victory
Pyrrhic victory
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat.-Origin:...
. Seven days after Borodino, La Grande Armée entered Moscow only to find the city largely empty and ablaze. Its soldiers were now forced to deal with the fires while hunting down the arsonists and guarding Moscow's historic districts. Napoleon and his army spent over a month in Moscow, vainly hoping that the Czar would respond to the French peace feelers. After these efforts failed, the French set out on October 19, now only a shadow of their former selves. The epic retreat over the famous Russian Winter dominates popular conceptions of the war, even though over half of the French army had been lost during the Summer. The French were harassed repeatedly by the converging Russian armies, Ney
Michel Ney
Michel Ney , 1st Duc d'Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon I...
even conducting a famous rearguard separation between his troops and the Russians, and by the time the Berezina
Berezina River
The Berezina is a river in Belarus and a tributary of the Dnieper River.The Berezina Preserve by the river is in the UNESCO list of Biosphere Preserves.-Historical significance:...
was reached Napoleon only had about 49,000 troops and 40,000 stragglers of little military value. The resulting Battle of Berezina
Battle of Berezina
The Battle of Berezina took place November 26–29, 1812 between the French army of Napoleon, retreating after his invasion of Russia and crossing the Berezina , and the Russian armies under Mikhail Kutuzov, Peter Wittgenstein and Admiral Pavel Chichagov. The battle ended with a mixed outcome...
and the monumental work of Eblé
Jean Baptiste Eble
Jean Baptiste Eblé was a French General, Engineer and Artilleryman during the Napoleonic Wars. He is credited with saving Napoleon's Grand Army from complete destruction in 1812.-Biography:...
's engineers saved the remnants of the Armée. Napoleon left his men in order to reach Paris and address new military and political matters. Of the 690,000 men that comprised the initial invasion force, only 93,000 survived.
1813–1815
The catastrophe in Russia now emboldened anti-French sentiments throughout Germany and Austria. The Sixth Coalition was formed and Germany became the centrepiece of the upcoming campaign. With customary genius, Napoleon raised new armies and opened up the campaign with a series of victories at the Battle of LützenBattle of Lützen (1813)
In the Battle of Lützen , Napoleon I of France lured a combined Prussian and Russian force into a trap, halting the advances of the Sixth Coalition after his devastating losses in Russia. The Russian commander, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, attempting to undo Napoleon's capture of Leipzig, attacked...
and the Battle of Bautzen
Battle of Bautzen
In the Battle of Bautzen a combined Russian/Prussian army was pushed back by Napoleon, but escaped destruction, some sources claim, because Michel Ney failed to block their retreat...
. But due to the poor quality of French cavalry following the Russian campaign, along with miscalculations by certain subordinate Marshals, these triumphs were not decisive enough to permanently conclude the war, and only secured an armistice. Napoleon hoped to use this break to increase the quantity and improve the quality of his Armée, but when Austria joined the Allies, his strategic situation grew bleak. The campaign reopened in August with a significant French victory at the two-day Battle of Dresden
Battle of Dresden
The Battle of Dresden was fought on 26–27 August 1813 around Dresden, Germany, resulting in a French victory under Napoleon I against forces of the Sixth Coalition of Austrians, Russians and Prussians under Field Marshal Schwartzenberg. However, Napoleon's victory was not as complete as it could...
. However, the adoption of the Trachenburg Plan
Trachenburg Plan
The Trachenberg Plan was concocted by Allied commanders in the 1813 German Campaign during the War of the Sixth Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars. The plan advocated avoiding direct engagement with the French emperor, Napoleon I. This resulted from fear of the Emperor's now legendary prowess in battle...
by the Allies, which called for avoiding direct conflict with Napoleon and focusing on his subordinates, paid dividends as the French suffered defeats at Katzbach
Battle of Katzbach
The Battle of Katzbach on 26 August 1813, was an accidental engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the forces of the First French Empire under Marshal MacDonald and a Russo-Prussian army of the Sixth Coalition under Prussian Marshal Graf von Blücher...
, Kulm
Battle of Kulm
The Battle of Kulm was a battle near the town Kulm and the village Přestanov in northern Bohemia. It was fought on 29–30 August 1813, during the War of the Sixth Coalition...
, Grossbeeren
Battle of Grossbeeren
In the Battles of Großbeeren and neighboring Blankenfield and Sputendorf an allied Prussian-Swedish army under Crown Prince Charles John - formerly Marshal of France Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte - defeated the French under Marshal Oudinot...
, and Dennewitz
Battle of Dennewitz
The Battle of Dennewitz took place on 6 September 1813 between the forces of the First French Empire and an army of Prussians and Russians of the Sixth Coalition. It occurred in Dennewitz, a village of Germany, in the Prussian province of Brandenburg, near Jüterbog, 40 km. S.W...
. Growing Allied numbers eventually hemmed the French in at Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, where the famous three-day Battle of the Nations witnessed a heavy loss for Napoleon when a bridge was prematurely destroyed, abandoning 30,000 French soldiers on the other side of the Elster River
Weiße Elster
The White Elster or Weisse Elster is a long river in central Europe, right tributary of the Saale. Its source is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, near Aš. After a few kilometres, it flows into eastern Germany...
. The campaign, however, did end on a victorious note when the French destroyed an isolated Bavarian army which was trying to block their retreat at Hanau
Battle of Hanau
The Battle of Hanau was fought on between Karl Philipp von Wrede’s Austro-Bavarian corps and Napoleon's retreating French during the War of the Sixth Coalition....
.
"The Grand Empire is no more. It is France herself we must now defend" were Napoleon's words to the Senate at the end of 1813. The Emperor managed to raise new armies, but strategically he was in a virtually hopeless position. Allied armies were invading from the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, across the plains of Northern Italy, and via France's eastern borders as well. The campaign began ominously when Napoleon suffered defeat at the Battle of La Rothiere
Battle of La Rothiere
The Battle of La Rothière was fought on 1 February 1814 between the French Empire and allied army of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and German States previously allies with France. The French were led by Emperor Napoleon and the coalition army was under the command of Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher...
, but he quickly regained his former spirit. In the Six Days Campaign
Six Days Campaign
The Six Days Campaign was a final series of victories by the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte as the Sixth Coalition closed in on Paris....
of February 1814, the 30,000-man French army inflicted 20,000 casualties on Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt , Graf , later elevated to Fürst von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig in 1813 and at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 with the Duke of Wellington.He is...
's scattered corps at a cost of just 2,000 for themselves. They then headed south and defeated Schwarzenberg at the Battle of Montereau
Battle of Montereau
The Battle of Montereau was fought near Montereau-Fault-Yonne on 18 February 1814 and resulted in the victory of the French under Napoleon Bonaparte against the Austrians and the Württembergers under the King of Württemberg.- Background :...
. These victories, however, could not cure such a bad situation, and French defeats at the Battle of Laon
Battle of Laon
The Battle of Laon was the victory of Blücher's Prussian army over Napoleon's French army near Laon.-Prelude:An Allied coalition attempted to complete the destruction of Napoleon's French Empire in 1814. France had been defeated in Russia in 1812 and in Central Europe in 1813...
and the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube
Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube
The Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube was Napoleon’s penultimate battle before his abdication and exile to Elba...
dampened moods. At the end of March, Paris
Battle of Paris (1814)
The Battle of Paris was fought during the Napoleonic Wars in 1814. The French defeat led directly to the abdication of Napoleon I.-Background:...
fell to the Allies. Napoleon wanted to keep fighting, but his marshals refused, forcing the Emperor of the French to abdicate on April 6, 1814.
After returning from Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
in February 1815, Napoleon busied himself in making a renewed push to secure his Empire. For the first time since 1812, L'Armée du Nord
L'Armée du Nord
The Army of the North or Armée du Nord is a name given to several historical units of the French Army. The first was one of the French Revolutionary Armies that fought with distinction against the First Coalition from 1792 to 1795...
he would be commanding for the upcoming campaign was professional and competent. Napoleon hoped to catch and defeat the Allied armies under Wellington and Blücher in Belgium before the Russians and Austrians could arrive. The campaign, beginning on June 15, 1815, was initially successful, leading to victory over the Prussians at the Battle of Ligny
Battle of Ligny
The Battle of Ligny was the last victory of the military career of Napoleon I. In this battle, French troops of the Armée du Nord under Napoleon's command, defeated a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, near Ligny in present-day Belgium. The bulk of the Prussian army survived, however, and...
on June 16; however, poor staff work, and bad commanders led to many problems for the French army throughout the entire campaign. Grouchy's delayed advance against the Prussians allowed Blücher to rally his men after Ligny and march on to Wellington's aid at the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, which resulted in the final, decisive defeat for Napoleon and his beloved army.
Staff system
Prior to the late 18th century, there was generally no organizational support for staff functions such as military intelligenceMilitary intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
, logistics
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
, planning or personnel. Unit commanders
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
handled such functions for their units, with informal help from subordinates who were usually not trained for or assigned to a specific task.
The first modern use of a General Staff was in the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, when General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Louis Alexandre Berthier
Louis Alexandre Berthier
Louis Alexandre Berthier, 1st Prince de Wagram, 1st Duc de Valangin, 1st Sovereign Prince de Neuchâtel , was a Marshal of France, Vice-Constable of France beginning in 1808, and Chief of Staff under Napoleon.-Early life:Alexandre was born at Versailles to Lieutenant-Colonel Jean Baptiste Berthier ,...
(later the first Marshal of the Empire) was assigned as Chief of Staff to the French Army of Italy
Army of Italy (France)
The Army of Italy was a Field army of the French Army stationed on the Italian border and used for operations in Italy itself. Though it existed in some form in the 16th century through to the present, it is best known for its role during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic...
in 1795. Berthier was able to establish a well organized staff support team. Napoleon Bonaparte took over the army the following year and rapidly came to appreciate Berthier's system, adopting it for his own headquarters, although Napoleon's usage was limited to his own command group.
The Staff of the Grande Armée was known as the Imperial Headquarters and was divided into two major sections: Napoleon's Military Household and the Army General Headquarters. A third department dependent on the Imperial Headquarters was the office of the Intendant Général (Quartermaster General), providing the administrative staff of the army.
Napoleon's Military Household
The Maison Militaire de l'Empereur (Military Household of the EmperorMilitary Household of the Emperor
The Military Household of the Emperor was the immediate entourage of the Emperor of the French during the First French Empire. At the end of december 1806, no less than 800 men were members of the Military Household...
) was Napoleon's personal military staff and included the department of aides-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
(ADCs), orderly officers (until 1809), the Emperor's Cabinet with the Secretariat, a department that collected intelligence about the enemy using spies and the topographical department. Attached was also the Emperor's Civil Cabinet that included the office of the Grand Marshal of the Palace
Grand Marshal of the Palace
Grand Marshal of the Palace was the title employed to refer to the leader of the Military Household of the Emperor, during the First French Empire...
and the Grand Écuyer.
The ADCs to the Emperor were mainly loyal, experienced generals or, at times, other senior officers whom he knew from his Italian or Egyptian campaigns. All were famous for their bravery and were experts in their own branches of service. Working directly under the supervision of the Emperor, these officers were sometimes assigned to temporary command of units or formations or entrusted with diplomatic missions. Most of the time, however, their tasks consisted of making detailed inspection tours and long-distance reconnaissances. When they had to carry orders from the Emperor to an army commander, these would be verbal rather than written. The appointment of ADC to the Emperor was so influential that they were considered to be "Napoleon's eyes and ears" and even marshals were wise to follow their advice and render them the respect due to their function.
On 29 April 1809, a decree organized their service. Every morning at 0700 hrs, the duty ADC and his staff were relieved and the new ADC for the next 24 hours had to present the Emperor with a list of names of the staff under his command. This would consist of two supplementary daytime general ADCs and one night ADC, one equerry and (through a rotation system) half the number of orderly officers, half the number of the petits aides de camp (two or three personal ADCs to the general ADCs, who might also be commanded directly by the Emperor) and half the number of pages. Their number differed from time to time, but only 37 officers were ever commissioned ADC to the Emperor and at normal times their number was restricted to 12. Each of these officers wore the normal general's uniform of his rank, but with gold aiguilettes as the symbol of his function. The appointment of ADC to the Emperor did not always last as long as the Emperor's reign; an ADC might be given another position such as a field command, a governorship, etc. and would be removed from his ADC status until recalled to that post.
The officiers d'ordonnance (orderly officers) may be considered as junior ADCs, with the rank of chef d'escadron
Chef d'escadron
In the French armed forces , Chef d'escadron is the title of a commandant in the Artillery and Baggage Train Corps and in the Gendarmerie....
, captain or lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. They, too, were used for special missions such as reconnaissance and inspections, but also to carry written orders. In 1806, when these posts were created, they were members of the Imperial Guard; in 1809, while retaining their military status, they were taken under control of the Grand Écuyer in the Emperor's Civil Household. The decrees regulating their service were signed on 15, 19 and 24 September 1806 and finally on 19 September 1809.
Army General Headquarters
Alongside the Emperor's Military Household but functioning as a totally independent organization was the Grand État-Major Général (Army General Headquarters). Since the earliest collaboration of Napoleon and Berthier, its organization was more or less fixed and it would see only slight changes during the later campaigns of the EmpireFirst French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. The Army General Headquarters included the office of the Major-Générals (Chief of Staff's) Cabinet with their four departments: Movements, Secretariat, Accounting and Intelligence (orders of battle). The Major-Général also had his own private Military Staff which included duty Generals and Staff aides-de-camp. Finally there was the Army General Staff with the offices of the three Assistant Major-Generals to the Major-Général.
Louis Alexandre Berthier
Louis Alexandre Berthier, 1st Prince de Wagram, 1st Duc de Valangin, 1st Sovereign Prince de Neuchâtel , was a Marshal of France, Vice-Constable of France beginning in 1808, and Chief of Staff under Napoleon.-Early life:Alexandre was born at Versailles to Lieutenant-Colonel Jean Baptiste Berthier ,...
, who occupied this position in almost all the major campaigns of Napoleon. The General Headquarters was Berthier's unique domain and the Emperor respected this demarcation. Its personnel received orders only from Berthier and even Napoleon did not interfere in its immense tasks; he would never walk in on Berthier's private staff while they were writing and copying the orders that he had just given. Since the Emperor was his own "operations officer", it can be said that Berthier's job consisted of absorbing Napoleon's strategic intentions, translating them into written orders and transmitting them with the utmost speed and clarity. He also received in the Emperor's name the reports of the marshals and commanding generals and when necessary signed them on Napoleon's behalf. Detailed reports on everything that occurred for good or ill were to be sent to Berthier, who would in turn select the most important ones and transmit them to the Emperor; nothing was to be concealed from Napoleon.
Lest one think this was a safe officejob of the modern staff officers, a contemporary subordinate staff officer, Brossier, reports that at the Battle of Marengo:
"The General-in-Chief Berthier gave his orders with the precision of a consummate warrior, and at Marengo maintained the reputation that he so rightly acquired in Italy and in Egypt under the orders of Bonaparte. He himself was hit by a bullet in the arm. Two of his aides-de-camp, Dutaillis and La Borde, had their horses killed."
Organization
One of the most important factors in the Grande Armée's success was its superior and highly flexible organization. It was subdivided into several CorpsCorps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
(usually from five to seven), each numbering anywhere between 10,000 to 50,000, with the average size being around 20,000 to 30,000 troops. These Corps d'Armée were self-contained, smaller armies of combined arms
Combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different branches of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects...
, consisting of elements from all the forces and support services discussed below. While capable of fully independent operations and of defending themselves until reinforced, the Corps usually worked in close concert together and kept within a day's marching distance of one another. The Corps would often follow separate routes on a wide front and were small enough to live by foraging, allowing fewer supplies to be carried. Through dispersion and the use of forced marches the Grande Armée was often able to surprise opposing armies by its speed of maneouver. A Corps, depending on its size and the importance of its mission, was commanded by a Marshal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
or général de division (Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
).
Napoleon placed great trust in his Corps commanders and usually allowed them a wide freedom of action, provided they acted within the outlines of his strategic objectives and worked together to accomplish them. When they failed to do this to his satisfaction, however, he would not hesitate to reprimand or relieve them and in many cases took personal command of their Corps himself. Corps were first formed in 1800, when General Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.- Early life :Moreau was born at Morlaix in Brittany...
divided the Army of the Rhine into four Corps. These were only temporary groupings, however, and it was not until 1804 that Napoleon made them permanent units. He would sometimes form the cavalry into separate Corps, so they would be able to move and mass more quickly without being slowed by the infantry or foot artillery.
The main tactical units of the Corps were the divisions
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
, usually consisting of 4,000 to 10,000 infantry or 2,000 to 4,000 cavalrymen. These in turn were made up of two or three brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s of two regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
s apiece and supported by an artillery brigade
Artillery brigade
An artillery brigade is a specialised form of military brigade dedicated to providing artillery support. Other brigades might have an artillery component, but an artillery brigade is a brigade dedicated to artillery and relying on other units for infantry support, especially when...
of three or four batteries
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
, each with six field cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s and two howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
s, making 24 to 32 guns in all. The divisions were also permanent administrative and operational units, commanded by a général de division and likewise capable of independent actions.
Imperial Guard
France's Imperial Guard (Garde Impériale) was the elite military force of its time and grew out of the Garde du Directoire and Garde Consulaire. It was, quite literally, a Corps d'Armée itself with infantry, cavalry and artillery. Napoleon wanted it also to be an example for the entire army to follow, and a force that, since it had fought with him over several campaigns, was completely loyal. Although the infantry was rarely committed en masse, the Guard's cavalry was often thrown into battle as the killing blow and its artillery used to pound enemies prior to assaults.| Size of the guard over time | |
|---|---|
| Year | Number of soldiers |
| 1800 | 3,000 |
| 1804 | 8,000 |
| 1805 | 12,000 |
| 1810 | 56,000 |
| 1812 | 112,000 |
| 1813 | 85,000 (mostly young guards) |
| 1815 | 28,000 |
Infantry of the Guard
There were three sections:- Old Guard (Vieille Garde): Composed of the longest serving veterans who had served three to five campaigns in Napoleon's army, the Old Guard was the elite of the elite guards regiments of the Grande Armée.
- Grenadiers à Pied de la Garde Impériale (Imperial Guard Foot Grenadiers): The Grenadiers of the Guard was the most senior regimentRegimentA regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
in La Grande Armée. During the 1807 campaign in Poland, the Grenadiers were given the nickname les grognards ("the grumblers") by Napoleon himself. They were the most experienced and brave infantrymen in the Guard, some veterans having served in over 20 campaigns. To join the Grenadiers, a recruit had to have been under the colours for at least 10 years, have received a citation for bravery, be literate and be over 178 cm tall. The troops of the Old Guard were usually held in reserve for crucial moments on the battlefield and unleashed to act as a hammer blow to a shaken enemy, the 1st regiment of Grenadiers à Pied saw heavy action at the Battle of EylauBattle of EylauThe Battle of Eylau or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, 7 and 8 February 1807, was a bloody and inconclusive battle between Napoléon's Grande Armée and a Russian Empire army under Levin August, Count von Bennigsen near the town of Preußisch Eylau in East Prussia. Late in the battle, the Russians...
. By 1815, the Old Guard grenadiers numbered four regiments, the 3e Grenadiers and 4e Grenadiers having been added in 1810 and 1815 respectively. These regiments (3rd, 4th grenadiers) plus the older 2nd grenadiers were fully engaged at LignyBattle of LignyThe Battle of Ligny was the last victory of the military career of Napoleon I. In this battle, French troops of the Armée du Nord under Napoleon's command, defeated a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, near Ligny in present-day Belgium. The bulk of the Prussian army survived, however, and...
. Two days after Ligny, it was these regiments which were defeated by the British as they advanced to in an attempt smash the weakened British line at WaterlooBattle of WaterlooThe Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, the two battalions of the 1st Grenadiers formed square and fended off allied attacks to protect the general retreat. The Grenadiers à Pied wore a dark blue habit long (coat with long tails) with red turnbacks, epaulettes and white lapels. The Grenadiers most distinguishing feature was the tall bearskinBearskinA bearskin is a tall fur cap, usually worn as part of a ceremonial military uniform. Traditionally, the bearskin was the headgear of grenadiers, and is still worn by grenadier and guards regiments in various armies.-Origins:...
hat, decorated with an engraved goldGoldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
plate, a red plumeHackleThe hackle is a clipped feather plume that is attached to a military headdress.In the British Army and the armies of some Commonwealth countries the hackle is worn by some infantry regiments, especially those designated as fusilier regiments and those with Scottish and Northern Irish origins. The...
and white cords. - Chasseurs à Pied de la Garde Impériale (Imperial Guard Foot Chasseurs): The Chasseurs of the Guard were the second most senior regiment in La Grande Armée. The 1er Chasseurs were the sister formation to the 1er Grenadiers à Pied. They had the same entry criteria, however accepted men who were 172 cm and taller. The Chasseurs were in action in several crucial battles. Following Napoleon's return in 1815, the Chasseurs was expanded to four regiments also, with the 2e, 3e and 4e regiments being formed from recruits with only four years experience. These regiments also formed the assault of the Guard during the final phase of the battle of Waterloo. The 2nd battalion of the 1st Chasseurs joined in the main attack of the Middle Guard, but were repulsed, while the second guarded the Emperor's headquarters. The Chasseurs à Pied wore a dark blue habit long (coat with long tails) with red turnbacks, red epaulettes fringed green and white lapels. On campaign, the Chasseurs often wore dark blue trousers. As with the Grenadiers, the Chasseurs most distinguishing feature was the tall bearskin, decorated with a red over green plume and white cords.
- Grenadiers à Pied de la Garde Impériale (Imperial Guard Foot Grenadiers): The Grenadiers of the Guard was the most senior regiment
- Middle Guard (Moyenne Garde): Consisted of veteran soldiers of at least 3 campaigns.
- Fusiliers-Chasseurs: In 1806, the Fusiliers-Chasseurs was formed as a regiment of middle guard infantry. All members of the Middle guard were veterans of 2–3 campaigns, and were commissioned as NCOs in the Line regiments. Arguably the best infantry of the entire Guard, the Fusiliers-Chasseurs most often operated together with its sister formation, the Fusiliers-Grenadiers, as part of a Guard Fusilier-Brigade. The Fusilier-Chasseurs saw extensive action, proving their worth time and time again, until they were disbanded in 1814 following Napoleon's abdication. The Fusiliers-Chasseurs were not reformed in 1815 for the Waterloo campaign. Fusiliers-Chasseurs wore a dark blue habit (or coat) with green epaulettes fringed red, red turnbacks and white lapels. Under this they wore a white waistcoat and either blue or brown trousers. The Fusiliers-Chasseurs shakoShakoA shako is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a peak or visor and sometimes tapered at the top...
had white cords and a tall red over green plume. The Fusiliers-Chasseurs were armed with a Charleville modele 1777Charleville musketThe Charleville muskets were .69 caliber French muskets used in the 18th century.- History :Marin le Bourgeoys created the first true flintlock weapons for King Louis XIII shortly after his accession to the throne in 1610. Throughout the 17th century, flintlock muskets were produced in a wide...
musketMusketA musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
, bayonet and a short sabre. - Fusiliers-Grenadiers: Formed in 1807, the Fusiliers-Grenadiers was a regiment of middle guard infantry. The Fusiliers-Grenadiers was organised in the same way as the Fusiliers-Chasseurs, being a slightly larger formation. The Fusiliers-Grenadiers most often operated together with its sister formation, the Fusiliers-Chasseurs, as a part of a Guard Fusilier-Brigade. The Fusilier-Grenadiers saw extensive action, proving their worth time and time again, until they were disbanded in 1814 following Napoleon's abdication. The Fusiliers-Grenadiers were not reformed in 1815. Fusiliers-Grenadiers wore a dark blue habit (or coat) with red epaulettes, red turnbacks and white lapels. Under this they wore a white waistcoat and white trousers. The Fusiliers-Grenadiers shakoShakoA shako is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a peak or visor and sometimes tapered at the top...
had white cords and a tall red plume. The Fusiliers-Grenadiers were armed with a Charleville modele 1777 musket, bayonet and a short sabre. - Marins de la Garde (Marines of the Guard): Sometimes translated as The Seamen of the Guard, were formed in 1803, with their initial purpose being to man the vessel transporting the Emperor during the expected crossing of the English channelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
prior to the invasion of England. The battalion was formed with five equipages (or crews), companies in all but name. After the cancellation of the invasion, the Marines remained a part of the Guard, manning whatever boat, bargeBargeA barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
or other water vessel Napoleon traveled in, as well as acting as a combat unit. Seamen of the Guard wore navy blue hussar-style dolmanDolmanA Dolman Originally, the term referred to a long and loose garment with narrow sleeves and an opening in the front. It was worn generally by the Turks, and is not unlike a cassock in shape.-Military dolman:...
jackets, laced gold, with navy blue HungarianHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
style trousers decorated with gold lace. They wore a shakoShakoA shako is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a peak or visor and sometimes tapered at the top...
trimmed in Gold with a tall red plume. Seamen were armed as infantry, with a Charleville modele 1777Charleville musketThe Charleville muskets were .69 caliber French muskets used in the 18th century.- History :Marin le Bourgeoys created the first true flintlock weapons for King Louis XIII shortly after his accession to the throne in 1610. Throughout the 17th century, flintlock muskets were produced in a wide...
musketMusketA musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
and bayonet, and many seamen were also equipped with pistols, less cumbersome during their engineering tasks.
- Fusiliers-Chasseurs: In 1806, the Fusiliers-Chasseurs was formed as a regiment of middle guard infantry. All members of the Middle guard were veterans of 2–3 campaigns, and were commissioned as NCOs in the Line regiments. Arguably the best infantry of the entire Guard, the Fusiliers-Chasseurs most often operated together with its sister formation, the Fusiliers-Grenadiers, as part of a Guard Fusilier-Brigade. The Fusilier-Chasseurs saw extensive action, proving their worth time and time again, until they were disbanded in 1814 following Napoleon's abdication. The Fusiliers-Chasseurs were not reformed in 1815 for the Waterloo campaign. Fusiliers-Chasseurs wore a dark blue habit (or coat) with green epaulettes fringed red, red turnbacks and white lapels. Under this they wore a white waistcoat and either blue or brown trousers. The Fusiliers-Chasseurs shako
- Young Guard (Jeune Garde): Initially was made up of veterans with at least one campaign under their belts, together with bright young officers and the best of the annual intake of conscripts. Later its ranks would be filled almost entirely by select conscripts and volunteers.
- Tirailleurs-Grenadiers: In 1808, Napoleon ordered the most intelligent and strongest recruits to be formed into the first regiments of the Young Guard. The taller of the recruits were inducted into the Tirailleurs-Grenadier regiments (renamed to Tirailleurs in 1810). All officers of the Tirailleurs-Grenadiers were drawn from the Old Guard, and as such were entitled to wear bearskins. The NCOs were drawn from the Middle Guard. Having this leavening of hardened veterans helped to increase the morale and combat abilities of the Tirailleurs-Grenadiers, and its sister formations the Tirailleurs-Chasseurs. Tirailleurs-Grenadiers wore a dark blue habit (or coat) with red epaulettes and dark blue turnbacks and lapels piped white. The Tirailleurs-Grenadiers' shakoShakoA shako is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a peak or visor and sometimes tapered at the top...
had red cords, with a long red plume. - Tirailleurs-Chasseurs: The shorter recruits of the Young Guard were inducted into the Tirailleurs-Chasseurs (renamed to Voltigeurs in 1810). The formation was identical to that of the Tirailleurs-Grenadiers, with all officers being drawn from the Old Guard, and NCOs coming from the Middle Guard. Tirailleurs-Grenadiers wore a dark blue habit (or coat) with red turnbacks and dark blue lapels piped white. This was further decorated by green epaulettes with red fringing. Their shako was decorated with a large plume, which could be coloured either green or red over green.
- Tirailleurs-Grenadiers: In 1808, Napoleon ordered the most intelligent and strongest recruits to be formed into the first regiments of the Young Guard. The taller of the recruits were inducted into the Tirailleurs-Grenadier regiments (renamed to Tirailleurs in 1810). All officers of the Tirailleurs-Grenadiers were drawn from the Old Guard, and as such were entitled to wear bearskins. The NCOs were drawn from the Middle Guard. Having this leavening of hardened veterans helped to increase the morale and combat abilities of the Tirailleurs-Grenadiers, and its sister formations the Tirailleurs-Chasseurs. Tirailleurs-Grenadiers wore a dark blue habit (or coat) with red epaulettes and dark blue turnbacks and lapels piped white. The Tirailleurs-Grenadiers' shako
Cavalry of the Guard
In 1804, the CavalryCavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
of the Guard consisted of two regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
s, the Chasseurs à Cheval and the Grenadiers à Cheval, along with a small unit of elite Gendarmes
Gendarme (historical)
A gendarme was a heavy cavalryman of noble birth, primarily serving in the French army from the Late Medieval to the Early Modern periods of European History...
and a squadron
Squadron (cavalry)
A squadron was historically a cavalry sub unit. It is still used to refer to modern cavalry units but can also be used as a designation for other arms and services.-United States:...
of Mamelukes. A third regiment was added in 1806, the Regiment de Dragons de la Garde Impériale (Later known as the Dragons de l'Imperatice, the Empress Dragoons). Following the Campaign in Poland in 1807, a regiment of Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Lancer
Lancer
A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used in mounted warfare by the Assyrians as early as and subsequently by Greek, Persian, Gallic, Han-Chinese, nomadic and Roman horsemen...
s, the Regiment de Chevau-Légers de la Garde Impériale Polonais was added. The final addition was made in 1810, with another Regiment of Lancers, this time drawn from French and Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
recruits, the 2e Regiment de Chevau-Légers Lanciers de la Garde Impériale or Red Lancers. The cavalry of the Guard was involved in combat numerous times, and with few exceptions proved its worth in action.
- Imperial Guard Horse Grenadiers (Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale)Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde ImpérialeThe Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale constituted a heavy cavalry regiment in the Consular, then Imperial Guard during the French Consulate and First French Empire respectively...
: Known as the Gods or the Giants, these troopers were the elite of Napoleon's guard cavalry and the mounted counterparts of the Grognards. The Horse Grenadiers wore tall bearskins, dark blue coats and collars, white lapels and tall boots. The entire formation was mounted on large black horses. A prospective recruit had to be over 176 cm tall, have accrued 10 years of service serving in a minimum of four campaigns, and have received a citation for bravery. The Grenadiers performed admirably at Austerlitz, where they defeated the Russian Guard Cavalry, but their most famous combat was at the Battle of EylauBattle of EylauThe Battle of Eylau or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, 7 and 8 February 1807, was a bloody and inconclusive battle between Napoléon's Grande Armée and a Russian Empire army under Levin August, Count von Bennigsen near the town of Preußisch Eylau in East Prussia. Late in the battle, the Russians...
. After standing under the fire of sixty Russian guns for a time, the troopers began to search for cover. Their commander, Colonel Louis LepicLouis LepicLouis Lepic, count, was a French commander of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, who eventually rose to the rank of général de division and held the prestigious command of the Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale, the senior heavy cavalry regiment of the Imperial Guard.-Early...
, ordered the troops "Up with your heads gentlemen, those are only bullets, not turds". Soon after they joined Murat's charge into the Russian lines. The Horse Grenadiers, together with the Polish Lancers, were the only Guard Cavalry units never beaten in battle.
- Imperial Guard Horse Chasseurs (Chasseurs à cheval de la Garde ImpérialeChasseurs à Cheval de la Garde ImpérialeThe Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde Impériale constituted a light cavalry regiment in the Consular, then Imperial Guard during the French Consulate and First French Empire respectively. They were the second senior "Old Guard" cavalry regiment of the Imperial Guard, after the Grenadiers à Cheval...
): Known as the "Favoured Children" (connotations of Spoiled Brats), the Chasseurs à Cheval of the Guard were the light cavalry of the Guard, Napoleon's favourites and one of the most recognisable units in La Grande Armée. In 1796, during the Italian Campaign, Napoleon ordered the formation of a bodyguard unit after he narrowly escaped an attack by Austrian light cavalry at BorghettoBattle of BorghettoThe Battle of Borghetto, near Valeggio sul Mincio in the Veneto of northern Italy, occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. On 30 May 1796, a French army led by General Napoleon Bonaparte forced a crossing of the Mincio River in the face of opposition...
while at lunch. This 200 man unit of Guides was the forerunner of the Chasseurs à Cheval of the Guard, and their close affiliation with the Emperor was shown by the fact that he often wore the uniform of a Colonel of their regiment. In their flamboyant green, red and gold hussar style uniforms, the chasseurs were known to exploit their position as the emperor's favourites, showing poor discipline and even insubordination on some occasions. They first saw combat during the battle of Austerlitz, where they played a role in defeating the Russian Guard cavalry. During the Peninsular WarPeninsular WarThe Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
the Chasseurs were ambushed by a large British cavalry force at BenaventeBenavente, ZamoraBenavente is a municipality in the north of the province of Zamora, in the autonomous community Castile and León of Spain. It has about 20,000 inhabitants....
in 1808 and defeated. They regained their reputation by showing extreme bravery during the Battle of Waterloo. - Elite Gendarmes (Gendarmerie d'Elite): Nicknamed The Immortals because they rarely saw combat, the Gendarmes nonetheless performed a vital role. Gendarmes were the military policeMilitary policeMilitary police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
of La Grande Armée. Along with maintaining security and order near the headquarters, the Gendarmes would provide honour guards for high ranking visitors, interrogate prisoners and protect the Emperor's personal baggage. The Gendarmes wore dark blue coats with red lapels and tall boots, along with a bearskin slightly smaller than that of the Horse Grenadiers. After 1807, the Gendarmes began to see more combat, distinguishing themselves in guarding the DanubeDanubeThe Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
bridge at Aspern-Essling in 1809. - Squadron of Mamelukes (Escadron de Mamalukes): Fearsome desert warriors, whose loyalty Bonaparte purchased during his Egyptian campaign. They combined superb horsemanship and swordsmanship with fanatical courage. Often romantically viewed as "authentic sons of the desert" or even "head-hunters", their officers were French, the NCOs and ranks comprised not only Egyptians and Turks but Greeks, Georgians, Syrians and Cypriots as well, and even many of them were French. Originally they were an attached company (or "Half-Squadron") of the Chasseurs-a-Cheval de la Garde. They distinguished themselves at AusterlitzBattle of AusterlitzThe Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
in 1805, winning their own standard, a second trumpeter and promotion to full squadronSquadron (cavalry)A squadron was historically a cavalry sub unit. It is still used to refer to modern cavalry units but can also be used as a designation for other arms and services.-United States:...
. This unit eventually became part of the Old guard, and served the Emperor right up to Waterloo. In 1813, a second Mameluke company was raised and attached to the Young guard. As with their predecessors, they were incorporated into the Chasseurs, and served alongside with them during the Hundred days in 1815. By this time the personnel comprised almost exclusively of Frenchmen. Their distinct and colourful uniforms consisted of a green (later red) cahouk (hat), white turban, a loose shirt and a vest and red saroual (pants), with yellow, red or tan boots. Their weapons consisted of a long, curved ScimitarScimitarA scimitar is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia .The Arabic term saif translates to "sword" in general, but is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in particular.The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Muslim...
, a brace of pistols and a dagger. Their hats and weapons were inscribed with a crescent and star insignia of brass. - Lancers of the Guard (Chevau-Légers-Lanciers de la Garde Impériale):
- 1st Light Horse Regiment (Polish)Polish 1st Light Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial GuardThe [Polish] 1st Light Cavalry Lancer Regiment of the Imperial Guard was a formation of Polish light cavalry that served Emperor Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars.The Regiment, as part of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, fought in many battles,...
In 1807 Napoleon authorized the raising of a guard regiment of Polish light horse. They were to be given French instructors and training. But during their first review before the Emperor, their ranks became so entangled that Bonaparte quipped, "These people only know how to fight!" and dismissed their instructors on the spot. But he kept his Poles by his side and the following year at SomosierraBattle of SomosierraThe Battle of Somosierra occurred November 30, 1808 in the Peninsular War, when a French army under Napoleon I forced a passage through the Sierra de Guadarrama shielding Madrid....
they would have another opportunity to prove themselves, on the battlefield instead of the parade ground. Napoleon ordered them to charge against a heavily fortified Spanish artillery position. Armed with only sabres and pistols, they overran four batteries, capturing over 20 cannons and decisively turned the tide. Following this, almost legendary, feat Napoleon proclaimed "Poles, You are worthy of my Old Guard I proclaim you my bravest cavalry!". Promoted to the Old Guard, they were then given lances, remained at the Emperor's side until Waterloo, and were never defeated by enemy cavalry. The 1e Regiment of the Guard developed a rivalry with their fellow Poles of the 1e Vistula Uhlans of the regular Armee. This was not simply based on who was the better unit, but on deep political differences as well, with the Lancers fanatical Bonapartists, while many, if not most, of the Uhlans held fiercely Republican sentiments. Such differences, political and otherwise, between units were not unusual and are well illustrated here. From being instructed by the French, they, along with their Vistula rivals, would go on to serve as instructors and models for the French and most other lancer regiments of the Armée, thus greatly multiplying their fearsome effectiveness.
- 2e Regt (French-Dutch Lancers) Formed in 1810 from a French and Dutch cadre. They were called Les Lanciers Rouges (the Red Lancers) due to their distinctive uniforms. They too suffered heavily in Russia at the hands of the Cossacks and the hardships of the winter, with most of its men and all but a handful of the horses lost. The regiment was rebuilt in 1813 and it became a powerful unit with its first four squadrons of veterans in the Old Guard and the new recruits of 6 junior squadrons in the young. They would distinguish themselves in numerous engagements, including, finally, Waterloo.
- 3e regt (Polish) was formed in 1812 as part of the Young Guard. Its officers and NCOs were veterans, but its ranks were filled by enthusiastic yet inexperienced students and sons of Polish and Lithuanian landholders. With little training, they were thrown into the Russian campaign where they were surrounded and the entire regiment wiped out at SlonimSlonimSlonim is a city in Hrodna Voblast, Belarus, capital of the Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa rivers, 143 km southeast of Hrodna. The population in 2008 was 50,800.-Etymology and historical names:...
, later that year by Cossacks and hussars.
- 1st Light Horse Regiment (Polish)
- Empress Dragoons (Dragons de l'Impératice): Formed in 1806 as the Imperial Guard Dragoon Regiment (Regiment de Dragons de la Garde Impériale), it was renamed in honor of Empress Josephine the following year. Originally candidates had to have at least 6 (later 10) years of service, participated in no fewer than 2 campaigns with citations for bravery, be literate and at least 173 cm tall (slightly shorter than for the Horse Grenadier Guards). No more than 12 candidates from each of the 30 regular Dragoon regiments were allowed to apply at any one call, this quota would later be reduced to 10. Volunteers from other guard regiments were also allowed to transfer. Since this was as much a ceremonial as a combat unit and was rarely committed in battle, billets in the Empress Dragoons were highly sought after positions. As with the Red Lancers, it had squadrons in both the Old and Young guards and served with the Emperor until the end.
- Scouts of the Imperial Guard (Eclaireurs de la Garde Impériale) : During the terrible retreat from Moscow, Napoleon was very impressed by the skills of many regiments of cossacks. He used them as a model to create a new cavalry brigade, the Scouts, which were formed during the Imperial Guard reorganization in December 1813. 3 regiments of a thousand men each were created and their squardrons attached to existing regiments:
- 1st Rgt: scouts-grenadiers under Colonel-Major Claude Testot-FerryClaude Testot-FerryGénéral Baron Claude Testot-Ferry was a cavalry veteran of the armies of the First French Republic, First French Empire and Bourbon Restoration.-Origins:...
's command (wounded and titled Baron of the Empire by Napoleon himself on the battlefield of CraonneBattle of CraonneThe Battle of Craonne was fought on March 7, 1814, and resulted in a French victory under Napoleon I against Russians and Prussians under General Blücher.Craonne is a village on the Chemin des Dames, in the département of Aisne....
on 7 March 1814) - 2nd Rgt: scouts-dragoons under Colonel Hoffmayer's command
- 3rd Rgt: scouts-lanciers under Jean Kozietulski's command
- 1st Rgt: scouts-grenadiers under Colonel-Major Claude Testot-Ferry
The scouts had only the time to distinguish themselves during the French Campaign in 1814 and were dissolved by Louis XVIII upon his restoration.
Infantry
While the infantryInfantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
was perhaps not the most glamorous arm of service in the Grand Armée, they bore the brunt of most of the fighting, and their performance resulted in victory or defeat. The Infantry was divided up into two major types, the Infantry of the Line (Infanterie de Ligne) and the Light Infantry (Infanterie Légère).
Line Infantry
The Line InfantryLine infantry
Line infantry is a type of infantry which composed the basis of European land armies from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century....
made up the majority of the Grande Armée. In 1803, Napoleon had reinstated the term Regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
, the revolutionary
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
term demi-brigade
Demi-brigade
Not to be confused with 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign LegionThe Demi-brigade was a military formation first used by the French Army during the French Revolutionary Wars. The Demi-brigade amalgamated the various infantry organizations of the French Revolutionary infantry into a single unit...
(due to the fact there were two per brigade and it lacked the royal connotations) was now only used for provisional troops and depot units. At the time of the formation of the Grande Armée, the French Army had 133 Régiments de Ligne, a number which roughly corresponded with the number of départements in France. There would eventually be 156 Ligne regiments
The Régiments de Ligne varied in size throughout the Napoleonic Wars, but the basic building block of the Infanterie of the Line was the battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
. A line infantry battalion was numbered at about 840 men; however, this was the battalion's 'full strength' and few units ever reached this. A more typical strength for a battalion would be 400–600 men. From 1800 to 1803 a line infantry battalion had eight fusilier companies, and one grenadier company. From 1804 to 1807 a line infantry battalion had seven fusilier companies, one grenadier company, and one voltigeur company. From 1808 to 1815 a line infantry battalion had four companies of fusiliers, one company of grenadiers, and one company of voltigeurs.
Grenadiers
Regulations required that Grenadiers recruits were to be the tallest, most fearsome men in the regiments, and all were to have moustache
Moustache
A moustache is facial hair grown on the outer surface of the upper lip. It may or may not be accompanied by a type of beard, a facial hair style grown and cropped to cover most of the lower half of the face.-Etymology:...
s. To add to this, Grenadiers were initially equipped the a bonnet à poil or bearskin
Bearskin
A bearskin is a tall fur cap, usually worn as part of a ceremonial military uniform. Traditionally, the bearskin was the headgear of grenadiers, and is still worn by grenadier and guards regiments in various armies.-Origins:...
, as well as red epaulette
Epaulette
Epaulette is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations.Epaulettes are fastened to the shoulder by a shoulder strap or "passant", a small strap parallel to the shoulder seam, and the button near the collar, or by laces on the...
s on their coat. After 1807 regulations stipulated that line Grenadiers were to replace their bearskin with a shako lined red with a red plume; however, many chose to retain their bearskins. In addition to the standard Charleville model 1777 and bayonet, Grenadiers were also equipped with a short sabre
Sabre
The sabre or saber is a kind of backsword that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger...
. This was to be used for close combat, but most often ended up serving as a tool to cut wood for campfires.
The Grenadier company would usually be situated on the right side of a formation, traditionally the place of greatest honour. During a campaign, Grenadier companies could be detached to form a Grenadier battalion or occasionally a regiment or brigade. These formations would then be used as a shock force or the vanguard for a larger formation.
Voltigeurs of the Line
Voltigeurs (literally, Vaulters or Leapers) were élite light infantry
Light infantry
Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...
of the line regiments. In 1805, Napoleon ordered that the smallest, most agile men of the line battalions be chosen to form a Voltigeur company. These troops were to be second only to the Grenadiers in the battalion hierarchy. Their name comes from their original mission. Voltigeurs were to combat enemy cavalry by vaulting
Jumping
Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory...
up onto the enemy's horses, a fanciful idea which failed to succeed in combat. Despite this, the Voltigeurs did perform a valuable task, skirmishing and providing scouts for each battalion, as well as providing an organic light infantry component for each line regiment. In Voltigeur training, emphasis was placed on marksmanship and quick movement.
Voltigeurs were equipped with large yellow and green or yellow and red plumes for their bicornes. After 1807, their shakos were lined with yellow and carried similar plumes. They also had yellow epaulettes lined green and a yellow collar on their coats.
Originally, Voltigeurs were to be equipped with the short dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
musket, however in practice they were equipped with the Charleville model 1777 and bayonet. Like Grenadiers, Voltigeurs were equipped with a short sabre for close combat, and like Grenadiers this was rarely used. Voltigeur companies could be detached and formed into regiments or brigades to create a light infantry formation. After 1808, the Voltigeur company was situated on the left of the line when in combat. This was traditionally the second highest position of honour in the line of battle.
FusilierFusilierFusilier was originally the name of a soldier armed with a light flintlock musket called the fusil. The word was first used around 1680, and has later developed into a regimental designation.-History:...
s
Smoothbore
A smoothbore weapon is one which has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.-History of firearms and rifling:...
, muzzle-loaded flintlock
Flintlock
Flintlock is the general term for any firearm based on the flintlock mechanism. The term may also apply to the mechanism itself. Introduced at the beginning of the 17th century, the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the doglock, matchlock and wheellock...
Charleville model 1777
Charleville musket
The Charleville muskets were .69 caliber French muskets used in the 18th century.- History :Marin le Bourgeoys created the first true flintlock weapons for King Louis XIII shortly after his accession to the throne in 1610. Throughout the 17th century, flintlock muskets were produced in a wide...
musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
and a bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
. Fusilier training placed emphasis on speed of march and endurance, along with individually aimed fire at close range and close quarters combat. This differed greatly from the training given to the majority of European armies, which emphasised moving in rigid formations and firing massed volleys. Many of the early Napoleonic victories were due to the ability of the French armies to cover long distances with speed, and this ability was thanks to the training given to the infantry. From 1803, each battalion comprised eight Fusilier companies
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
. Each company numbered around 120 men.
In 1805, one of the Fusilier companies was dissolved and reformed as a Voltigeur company. In 1808, Napoleon reorganised the Infantry battalion from nine to six companies. The new companies were to be larger, comprising 140 men, and four of these were to be made up of Fusiliers, one of Grenadiers, and one of Voltigeurs.
The line Fusilier wore a bicorne
Bicorne
The bicorne or bicorn is an archaic form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American military and naval officers...
hat, until this was superseded by the shako
Shako
A shako is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a peak or visor and sometimes tapered at the top...
in 1807. The uniform of a Fusilier consisted of white trousers, white surcoat and a dark blue coat (the habit long model until 1812, thereafter the habit veste) with white lapels, red collar and cuffs. Each Fusilier wore a coloured pom-pom on his hat. The colour of this pom-pom changed depending on the company the man belonged to. After the 1808 reorganisation, the First company was issued with a dark green pom-pom, the second with sky blue, the third with orange
Orange (colour)
The colour orange occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum at a wavelength of about 585–620 nm, and has a hue of 30° in HSV colour space. It is numerically halfway between red and yellow in a gamma-compressed RGB colour space, the expression of which is the RGB colour wheel. The...
and the fourth with violet
Violet (color)
As the name of a color, violet is synonymous with a bluish purple, when the word "purple" is used in the common English language sense of any color between blue and red, not including either blue or red...
.
Light Infantry
While the Infantry of the Line made up the majority of the Grande Armée's infantry, the Infanterie Légère (Light InfantryLight infantry
Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...
) also played an important role. The Légère regiments never numbered more than 36 (compared with the 133 of the Ligne regiments), and the Ligne could perform all the same manoeuvres, including skirmishing. The difference lay in the training and the resulting high esprit de corps.
Training for Légère units placed a strong emphasis on marksman
Marksman
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...
ship and fast movement. As a result, the general Légère soldier was able to shoot more accurately and move faster than his Ligne counterpart. Légère regiments tended to see more action and were often used to screen large manoeuvres. Naturally, because commanders turned to the Légère for more missions than the Ligne, the Légère troopers enjoyed a higher esprit de corps and were known for their flamboyant uniforms and attitude. Also, Légère troops were required to be shorter than line troops, which helped them to move quickly through forests as well as to hide behind obstacles when skirmishing. The formation of a Légère battalion exactly mirrored that of a battalion of line infantry, but different troop types were substituted for the Grenadiers, Fusiliers and Voltigeurs.
Foot Carabiniers
The Carabiniers were the grenadiers of the Légère battalions. After two campaigns, the tallest and bravest chasseurs were chosen to join the Carabinier company. They performed as élite shock troops for the battalion. As with the grenadiers, Carabiniers were required to wear moustaches. They were armed with the Charleville model 1777, a bayonet and a short sabre. The Carabinier uniform consisted of a tall bearskin cap (superseded in 1807 by a red trimmed shako with a red plume). They wore the same uniform as the chasseurs, but with red epaulettes. Carabinier companies could be detached to form larger all Carabinier formations for assaults or other operations requiring assault troops.
Light VoltigeursVoltigeursThe Voltigeurs were French military skirmish units created in 1804 by Emperor Napoleon I.-Etymology:Voltigeurs hold their name from their originally conceived role of cavalry-transported skirmishers: the voltigeurs were intended to jump onto the croup of cavalry horses in order to advance more...
Voltigeurs performed exactly the same mission in the Légère battalion as they did in the line battalions, only they were more nimble and better marksmen. The Légère voltigeurs were dressed as chasseurs, but with Yellow and green epaulettes and before 1806, a colpack (or busby
Busby
Busby is the English name for the Hungarian prémes csákó or kucsma, a military head-dress made of fur, worn by Hungarian hussars. In its original Hungarian form the busby was a cylindrical fur cap, having a bag of coloured cloth hanging from the top. The end of this bag was attached to the right...
) replaced the shako. The colpack had a large yellow over red plume and green cords. After 1807, a shako replaced the colpack, with a large yellow plume and yellow lining. As with the line voltigeurs, légère voltigeurs could be detached and used to form larger formations as needed.
Chasseurs
Chasseurs (Hunters) were the fusiliers of the Légère battalions. They made up the majority of the formation. They were armed with the Charleville model 1777 musket and a bayonet, and also with a short sabre for close combat. As was common in the Napoleonic army, this weapon was quickly blunted by being used to chop wood for fires.
From 1803, each battalion comprised eight chasseur companies. Each company numbered around 120 men. In 1808, Napoleon reorganised the Infantry battalion from nine to six companies. The new companies were to be larger, comprising 140 men, and four of these were to be made up of chasseurs.
The chasseurs had far more ornate uniforms than their contemporaries the fusiliers. Until 1806, they were equipped with a cylindrical shako with a large dark green plume and decorated with white cords. Their uniform was a darker blue than that of the line regiments, to aid with camouflage while skirmishing. Their coat was similar to that of the line troops, but their lapels and cuffs were also dark blue, and it featured dark green and red epaulettes. They also wore dark blue trousers and high imitation hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
boots. After 1807, the cylindrical shako was replaced with the standard shako, but was still embellished by white cords. As with the line fusiliers, chasseur companies were distinguished by coloured pom-poms, but the colours for the different companies changed from regiment to regiment.
Cavalry
By decree of the Emperor himself, cavalryCavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
typically comprised between a fifth and a sixth of the Grande Armée. Cavalry regiments of 800–1,200 men were made up of three or four Escadrons
Squadron (cavalry)
A squadron was historically a cavalry sub unit. It is still used to refer to modern cavalry units but can also be used as a designation for other arms and services.-United States:...
of two companies each, plus supporting elements. In light cavalry
Light cavalry
Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...
and dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
regiments, the first company of the every regiment's first escadron, was always designated as 'Elite', with presumably, the best men and horses. In the revolution's wake, the cavalry suffered the greatest from the loss of experienced aristocratic officers and NCOs still loyal to the crown of the Ancien Régime. Consequently, the quality of French cavalry drastically declined. Napoleon rebuilt the branch, turning it into arguably the finest in the world. Until 1812 it was undefeated in any large engagements above the regimental level. There were two primary types of cavalry for different roles, heavy
Heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry is a class of cavalry whose primary role was to engage in direct combat with enemy forces . Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, they were generally mounted on large powerful horses, and were often equipped with some form of scale,...
and light
Light cavalry
Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...
.
Carabiniers-à-ChevalCarabiniers-à-ChevalThe Carabiniers-à-Cheval were mounted troops in the service of France.Their origins date back to the mid-16th century, when they were created as elite elements of the French light cavalry, armed with carbines but then gradually evolved towards semi-independent status during the XVIIIth century...
(Horse Carabiners)
The elite among all French heavy cavalry line formations, the two regiments of Mounted Carabiniers have a very similar appearance with the Mounted Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard; bearskins, long blue coats, etc. and were mounted exclusively on big black horse prior to 1813. They were largely used in identical manner to the Cuirassiers, however, being(initially) unarmored, they were less suited for close-quarters, melee
Mêlée
Melee , generally refers to disorganized close combat involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group tactics or fighting as an organized unit; each participant fights as an individual....
combat compared to their armored brethren. It should be noted though that unarmored heavy cavalry was the norm in Europe during most of the Napoleonic War, with the French being the first to reintroduce the back-and-breastplate. In 1809, appalled by their mauling at the hands of the Austrian Uhlans, Napoleon ordered that they be given armour. The Carabinier's refusal to copy the less elite Cuirassiers resulted in them being given special armor, with their helmets and cuirasses being sheathed in bronze for added visual effect. But this did not prevent them from being defeated by the Russian cuirassiers at Borodino in 1812, and panicking before the Hungarian hussars at Leipzig the following year.
CuirassierCuirassierCuirassiers were mounted cavalry soldiers equipped with armour and firearms, first appearing in late 15th-century Europe. They were the successors of the medieval armoured knights...
s
The heavy (Grosse) cavalry, equipped and armed almost like the knights of old with a heavy cuirass
Cuirass
A cuirass is a piece of armour, formed of a single or multiple pieces of metal or other rigid material, which covers the front of the torso...
(breastplate) and helmets of brass and iron and armed with straight long sabers, pistols and later carbines. As with the knights, they served as the shock troops
Shock troops
Shock troops or assault troops are formations created to lead an attack. "Shock troop" is a loose translation of the German word Stoßtrupp...
of the cavalry. Because of the weight of their armour and weapons, both trooper and horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
had to be big and strong, and could consequently put a lot of force behind their charge. Though the cuirass could not protect against flintlock musket fire, it could deflect shots from long range, offered some protection from pistol fire and could protect the wearer from ricochets. More importantly, in an age which saw cavalry used in large numbers, the breastplates provided protection against the swords and lances of opposing cavalry. Napoleon usually combined together all of his cuirassiers and carabiniers into a cavalry reserve, to be used at the decisive moment of the battle. In this manner they proved to be an extremely potent force on the battlefield, leaving their opponents impressed if not awestruck. The British, in particular, who mistakenly believed the cuirassiers were Napoleon's bodyguard, and would later come to adapt their distinctive helmets and breastplates for their own Household Cavalry
Household Cavalry
The term Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions, a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state.Canada's Governor General's...
. There were originally 25 cuirassier regiments, reduced to 12 by Napoleon initially who later added three more. At the beginning of his rule most of Cuirassier regiments were severely understrength, so Napoleon ordered the best men and horse to be allocated to the first 12 regiments, while the rest were changed into dragoons. He also reintroduced the practice of wearing body armor, which had practically disappeared in Europe during the 18th century.
Dragoons (Dragons)DragoonThe word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
The medium-weight mainstays of the French cavalry, although considered heavy cavalry, who were used for battle, skirmishing and scouting. They were highly versatile being armed not only with traditional sabre
Sabre
The sabre or saber is a kind of backsword that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger...
s (the finest with three edges made of Toledo steel
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
), but also muskets with bayonets (which were kept in a saddleboot when riding), enabling them to fight on foot as infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
as well as mounted. Part of the price for this versatility was their horsemanship and swordsmanship were often not up to the same standards as that of the other cavalry troops, which made them the subjects of some mockery and derision. Finding enough of the right kinds of horses for these part-time cavalrymen also proved a challenge. Some infantry officers were even required to give up their mounts for the dragoons, creating resentment towards them from this branch as well. There were 25, later 30, dragoon regiments. In 1815, only 15 could be raised and mounted in time for the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
.
Hussars (Hussards)HussarHussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
These fast, light cavalrymen were the eyes, ears and egos of Napoleonic armies. They regarded themselves as the best horsemen and swordsmen (beau sabreurs) in the entire Armée. This opinion was not entirely unjustified and their flamboyant uniforms reflected their panache. Tactically, they were used for reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, skirmishing and screening for the army to keep their commanders informed of enemy movements while denying the foe the same information and to pursue fleeing enemy troops. Armed only with curved sabres and pistols, they had reputations for reckless bravery to the point of being almost suicidal. It was said by their most famous commander Antoine Lasalle that a Hussar who lived to be 30 was truly an old guard and very fortunate. There were 10 regiments in 1804, with an 11th added in 1810 and two more in 1813.
Chasseurs-à-Cheval (Horse Rifle Hunters)
These were light cavalry identical to Hussars in arms and role. But, unlike the chasseurs of the Imperial guard discussed previously and their infantry counterparts discussed below, they were considered less prestigious or elite. Their uniforms were less colourful as well, consisting of infantry-style shakos (in contrast to the fur busby worn by some French hussars), green coats, green breeches and short boots. They were, however, the most numerous of the light cavalry, with 31 regiments in 1811, 6 of which comprised non-French Belgians, Swiss, Italians and Germans.
Lancers (Lanciers)
Some of the most feared cavalry in Napoleon's armies were the Polish lancers of the Vistula Uhlan
Uhlan
Uhlans were Polish light cavalry armed with lances, sabres and pistols. The title was later used by lancer regiments in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian armies....
s. Nicknamed Hell's Picadors or Los Diablos Polacos (The Polish Devils) by the Spanish, these medium and light horse (Chevau-Légers
Chevau-légers
The Chevau-légers was a generic French name for several units of light cavalry, roughly similar to lancers in the armies of other states during the Napoleonic Wars. Perhaps the most famous of all such units were the Polish 1st Light Cavalry Regiment of the Guards and the French 2nd Light Cavalry...
Lanciers) cavalry had speed nearly equal to the Hussars, shock power almost as great as the Cuirassiers and were nearly as versatile as the Dragoons. They were armed with, as their name indicates, lances along with sabres and pistols. Initially French ministers of war insisted on arming all lancers identically, real battlefield experience however proved that the Polish way of arming only the first line with lance while the second rank carried carbine instead was much more practical and thus was adopted. Lancers were the best cavalry for charging against infantry in square, where their lances could outreach the infantry's bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
s, (as happened to Colborne's British brigade at Albuera in 1811) and also in hunting down a routed enemy. They could be deadly against other types of cavalry as well, most famously demonstrated by the fate of Sir William Ponsonby and his Scots Greys at Waterloo. Excluding those of the guard, there were 9 lancer regiments. After the wars, the British were impressed enough to create their own lancer regiments.
Artillery
The Emperor was a former artilleryArtillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
officer, and reportedly said
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." As may therefore be expected, French cannons were the backbone of the Grande Armée's forces, possessing the greatest fire-power of the three arms and hence the ability to inflict the most casualties in the least amount of time. The French guns were often used in massed batteries (or grandes batteries
Grand Battery
Grand Battery was a French artillery tactic of the Napoleonic wars. It involved massing all available batteries into a single large, temporary one, and concentrating the firepower of their guns at a single point in the enemy's lines.Substituting volume of fire for accuracy, rate of fire and rapid...
) to soften up enemy formations before being subjected to the closer attention of the infantry or cavalry. Superb gun-crew training allowed Napoleon to move the weapons at great speed to either bolster a weakening defensive position, or else hammer a potential break in enemy lines.
Besides superior training, Napoleon's artillery was also greatly aided by the numerous technical improvements to French cannons by Jean Baptiste de Gribeauval
Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval
Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval was a French artillery officer and engineer who revolutionized French cannon, creating a new production system that allowed lighter, more uniform guns without sacrificing range. His Gribeauval system superseded the de Vallière system...
which made them lighter, faster and much easier to sight, as well as strengthened the carriages and introduced standard sized calibres. In general, French guns were 4-pound
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
ers, 8-pounders or 12-pounders and 6 inches (152.4 mm) howitzers with the lighter calibres being phased out and replaced by 6-pounders later in the wars. French cannons had brass barrels and their carriages, wheels and limbers were painted olive-green. Superb organization, fully integrated the artillery into the infantry and cavalry units it supported, yet also allowed it to operate independently if the need arose. There were two basic types, Artillerie à pied (Foot artillery) and Artillerie à cheval (Horse artillery).
Foot artillery
As the name indicates, these gunners marched alongside their guns, which were, of course, pulled by horses when limbered (undeployed). Hence they travelled at the Infantry's pace or slower. In 1805 there were 8, later 10, regiments of foot artillery in the Armée plus 2 more in the Imperial guard, but unlike cavalry and infantry regiments, these were administrative organizations. The main operational and tactical units were the batteries (or companies) of 120 men each which were formed into brigades and assigned to the divisions and corps.- Divisional artillery: Every division had a brigade of 3 or 4 batteries of 8 guns (6 cannons and 2 howitzers) each.
- Corps artillery reserve: Each Corps would also have its own artillery reserve, of one of more Brigades, armed mostly with the larger, heavier calibre pieces.
Battery personnel included not only gun crews, NCOs and officers but drummers, metal workers, woodworkers, ouvriers, furriers and artificers. They would be responsible for fashioning spare parts, maintaining and repairing the guns, carriages, caissons and wagons, as well as tending the horses and storing munitions.
Horse artillery
Horse artillery
Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving and fast-firing artillery which provided highly mobile fire support to European and American armies from the 17th to the early 20th century...
. This arm was a hybrid of cavalry and artillery with their crews either riding on the horses or on the carriages into battle. Because they operated much closer to the front lines, the officers and crews were better armed and trained for close quarters combat, mounted or dismounted much as were the dragoons. Once in position they were trained to quickly dismount, unlimber (deploy) and sight their guns, then fire rapid barrages at the enemy. They could then quickly limber (undeploy) the guns, remount, and move on to a new position. To accomplish this, they had to be the best trained and most elite of all artillerymen. The horse batteries of the Imperial guard could go from riding at full gallop to firing their first shot in just under a minute. After witnessing such a performance, an astounded Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
remarked, "They move their cannon as if it were a pistol!" There were 6 administrative regiments of horse artillery plus one in the guard. In addition to the batteries assigned to the cavalry units, Napoleon would also assign at least one battery to each infantry corps or, if available, to each division. Their abilities came at a price, however, horse batteries were very expensive to raise and maintain. Consequently they were far fewer in number than their foot counterparts, typically comprising only 1/5 of the artillery's strength. It was a boastful joke among their ranks that the Emperor knew every horse gunner by name. Besides better training, horses, weapons and equipment, they used far more ammunition. Horse batteries were given twice the ammo ration of the foot, those of the guard three times.
Ammunition
Of all the types of ammunitionAmmunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
used in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
the cast iron, spherical, round shot
Round shot
Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...
was the staple of the gunner. Even at long range when the shot was travelling relatively slowly it could be deadly, though it might appear to be bouncing or rolling along the ground relatively gently. At short range carnage would result.
Round shot were undeniably inaccurate. This was because, despite their name, round shot were never perfectly spherical, nor did they fit their gun barrels exactly. Air acted on the irregular surface of the projectile. These irregularities invariably threw them off target to some degree. It is often also a matter of confusion as to why a 12pdr shot was so much more effective than a 6pdr shot. This is because the impact of a shot was not only related to its weight but also to its velocity
Velocity
In physics, velocity is speed in a given direction. Speed describes only how fast an object is moving, whereas velocity gives both the speed and direction of the object's motion. To have a constant velocity, an object must have a constant speed and motion in a constant direction. Constant ...
, which, with a heavier projectile, was much greater at the end of the trajectory.
There were two forms of close-range weapon, which were extremely useful at up to 274 m (300 yard
Yard
A yard is a unit of length in several different systems including English units, Imperial units and United States customary units. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches...
s). Grape shot and canister
Canister shot
Canister shot is a kind of anti-personnel ammunition used in cannons. It was similar to the naval grapeshot, but fired smaller and more numerous balls, which did not have to punch through the wooden hull of a ship...
, or case, were the anti-personnel weapons of choice of the gunner. Grape was a cluster of large metal spheres tied together around a central spindle and base and normally sewn into a bag, whereas canister was a metal case filled with smaller iron or lead spheres. The whole purpose of these types of shot was to break up when fired from the gun forming a wide cone of flying metal that acted in the same way as a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
.
For longer-range anti-personnel work the common shell
Shell (projectile)
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...
was also used. This was normally only fired from a mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
or howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
and was a hollow sphere filled with gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
charge. The top of the shell had thinner walls than the bottom and had an orifice into which was forced a wooden fuse
Fuse (explosives)
In an explosive, pyrotechnic device or military munition, a fuse is the part of the device that initiates function. In common usage, the word fuse is used indiscriminately...
normally made of beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
wood. The fuse was designed to be ignited by the discharge of the gun and had a central channel drilled through it filled with a burning compound. Before firing, the fuse was cut to a certain length corresponding to the desired time of burning and hammered into the top of the shell by a mallet
Mallet
A mallet is a kind of hammer, usually of rubber,or sometimes wood smaller than a maul or beetle and usually with a relatively large head.-Tools:Tool mallets come in different types, the most common of which are:...
. When it arrived over the target the fuse, if correctly prepared, exploded the main charge, breaking open the metal outer casing and forcing flying fragments in all directions. Although favoured for siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
work, the common shell was not always effective against infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
.
The final type of projectile for the field artillery used by the French was the incendiary or carcass
Carcass (projectile)
A carcass was an early form of incendiary bomb or shell, intended to set targets on fire. It comprised an external casing, usually of cast iron, filled with a highly flammable mixture, and having three to five holes through which the burning filling could blaze outward...
(a name for an incendiary projectile). Initially this device was composed of a metal frame, which was covered with a canvas cover and filled with a special recipe, typically saltpetre
Potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
50 parts, sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
25 parts, rosin
Rosin
.Rosin, also called colophony or Greek pitch , is a solid form of resin obtained from pines and some other plants, mostly conifers, produced by heating fresh liquid resin to vaporize the volatile liquid terpene components. It is semi-transparent and varies in color from yellow to black...
8 parts, antimony
Antimony
Antimony is a toxic chemical element with the symbol Sb and an atomic number of 51. A lustrous grey metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite...
5 parts, and pitch
Pitch (resin)
Pitch is the name for any of a number of viscoelastic, solid polymers. Pitch can be made from petroleum products or plants. Petroleum-derived pitch is also called bitumen. Pitch produced from plants is also known as resin. Products made from plant resin are also known as rosin.Pitch was...
5 parts. However, during the early 19th century, another form of carcass became common and this took the form of a common shell with two or three apertures in its exterior into which a similar composition was put. Carcass rounds were normally only issued to howitzers or mortars, the suggestion being they were intended to attack towns. This does not preclude them from being used on the field but quite what their purpose would have been there is not clear.
It is important to know that not all nations shared the same types of artillery projectiles. For example, the Congreve rocket
Congreve rocket
The Congreve Rocket was a British military weapon designed and developed by Sir William Congreve in 1804.The rocket was developed by the British Royal Arsenal following the experiences of the Second, Third and Fourth Mysore Wars. The wars fought between the British East India Company and the...
, inspired from the Mysorean rocket artillery
Rocket artillery
Rocket artillery is a type of artillery equipped with rocket launchers instead of conventional guns or mortars.Types of rocket artillery pieces include multiple rocket launchers.-History:...
, or the Shrapnel shell, which combined the killing effect of grape shot with the ranges achieved by round shot, were used only by the British Army
British Army during the Napoleonic Wars
The British Army during the Napoleonic Wars experienced a time of rapid change. At the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, the army was a small, awkwardly administered force of barely 40,000 men. By the end of the period, the numbers had vastly increased. At its peak, in 1813, the...
.
Artillery train
The Train d'artillerie, was established by Bonaparte in January 1800. Its function was to provide the teamsters and drivers which handled the horses that hauled the artillery's vehicles. Prior to this, the French, like all other period armies, had employed contracted, civilian teamsters who would sometimes abandon the guns under fire, rendering them immobile, rather than risk their lives or their valuable teams of horses. Its personnel, unlike their civilian predecessors, were armed, trained and uniformed as soldiers. Apart from making them look better on parade, this made them subject to military discipline and capable of fighting back if attacked. The drivers were armed with a carbine, a short sword of the same type used by the infantry and a pistol. They needed little encouragement to use these weapons, earning surly reputations for gambling, brawling and various forms of mischief. Their uniforms and coats of grey helped enhance their tough appearance. But their combativeness could prove useful as they often found themselves attacked by cossacks, Spanish and TyrolianCounty of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
guerillas.
Each train d'artillerie battalion was originally composed of 5 companies. The first company was considered elite and was assigned to a horse artillery battery; the three "centre" companies were assigned to the foot artillery batteries and "parks" (spare caissons, field forges, supply wagons, etc.); and one became the depot company for training recruits and remounts. Following the campaigns of 1800, the train was re-organized into eight battalions of six companies each. As Napoleon enlarged his artillery, additional battalions were created, rising to a total of fourteen in 1810. In 1809, 1812 and 1813 the first thirteen battalions were "doubled" to create 13 additional battalions. Additionally, after 1809 some battalions raised extra companies to handle the regimental guns attached to the infantry.
The Imperial Guard had its own train, which expanded as La Garde's artillery park was increased, albeit organized as regiments rather than battalions. At their zenith, in 1813–14, the Old Guard artillery was supported by a 12-company regiment while the Young Guard had a 16-company regiment, one for each of their component artillery batteries.
Imperial marines
The Marins (French spelling) of the Grande Armée were divided into the Bataillon des Marins de la Garde Impériale, also known eventually as the Matelots de la Garde, formed on 17 September 1803, and Matelots des Bataillons de la Marine Impériale of which some 32,000 served with the French Navy at its height of expansion by Napoleon. Units of the later were created for service on land by conscripting naval personnel surplus to requirement of the Navy. There also existed the marine artillery, which were mostly naval gunners used for coastal batteries and fortresses called bataillons de la Matelot du Haut-Bord (or Les Equipages de Haut-Bord – marines of the High Shore) created by Napoleon's decree on 1 April 1808. The flag of the 1er Régiment d'Artillerie de Marine survives today, and lists Lutzen 1813
Battle of Lützen (1813)
In the Battle of Lützen , Napoleon I of France lured a combined Prussian and Russian force into a trap, halting the advances of the Sixth Coalition after his devastating losses in Russia. The Russian commander, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, attempting to undo Napoleon's capture of Leipzig, attacked...
as one of its battle honours. Some 63 artillery batteries were so manned (some numbers remaining vacant). Some examples include:
- 22ième Équipage de Haut-Bord from the ship DonauwörthDonauwörthDonauwörth is a city in the German State of Bavaria , in the region of Swabia . It is said to have been founded by two fisherman where the Danube and Wörnitz rivers meet...
- Marine Regiment de RochefortRochefort, Charente-MaritimeRochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
included the 16ième bataillon de marins - Marine equipage de vasseux Admiral de RuyterMichiel de RuyterMichiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter is the most famous and one of the most skilled admirals in Dutch history. De Ruyter is most famous for his role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. He fought the English and French and scored several major victories against them, the best known probably...
- Marine equipage de vasseux L’Hannibal (serving with the Regiment de Rochefort 16ième bataillon)
- 4ième Équipage de Haut-Bord de vasseux FriedlandBattle of FriedlandThe Battle of Friedland saw Napoleon I's French army decisively defeat Count von Bennigsen's Russian army about twenty-seven miles southeast of Königsberg...
- 5ième and 48ième Équipage de Haut-Bord de vasseux La Licorne
The Marins of the Guard were organised into five equipages (ship's company), each with five escouades, with a total strength of 737 men, the unit having been created ostensibly for the preparation of the invasion of England
Napoleon's invasion of England
Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom at the start of the War of the Third Coalition, although never carried out, was a major influence on British naval strategy and the fortification of the coast of south-east England. French attempts to invade Ireland in order to destabilise the...
.
The unit was almost entirely destroyed in the Spanish Campaign
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
of 1808 at Baylen
Battle of Bailén
The Battle of Bailén was contested in 1808 between the Spanish Army of Andalusia, led by Generals Francisco Castaños and Theodor von Reding, and the Imperial French Army's II corps d'observation de la Gironde under General Pierre Dupont de l'Étang...
, but was rebuilt, and in 1810 the battalion was expanded to eight equipages with a total of 1,136 men, but this was severely reduced by the casualties of the Russian Campaign
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
, and only 350 officers and men remained in the ranks in 1813. With Napoleon's first abdication, an ensign and 21 marins accompanied him to Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
, and returned with him for the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
Campaign when their strength was increased to an equipage of 150 officers and men.
The marines were distinct in several ways from other Grande Armée units in that naval rather than Army ranks were used, the uniform was based on that of those of the Hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
s, and it was the only unit of the Grande Armée in which the musicians used both the drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s and the trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s.
The battalions of marine artillery were conscripted for the 1813 campaign, and included four regiments with the 1st regiment intended to have 8 battalions, 2nd regiment 10 battalions and the 3rd and 4th regiments four battalions each, totalling 9,640 men in all serving with Marshal Marmont's 6th Corps. Combined with sailor battalions, these fought as part of the Division de Marine at the battles of Lutzen
Battle of Lützen (1813)
In the Battle of Lützen , Napoleon I of France lured a combined Prussian and Russian force into a trap, halting the advances of the Sixth Coalition after his devastating losses in Russia. The Russian commander, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, attempting to undo Napoleon's capture of Leipzig, attacked...
, Bautzen
Battle of Bautzen
In the Battle of Bautzen a combined Russian/Prussian army was pushed back by Napoleon, but escaped destruction, some sources claim, because Michel Ney failed to block their retreat...
, Dresden
Battle of Dresden
The Battle of Dresden was fought on 26–27 August 1813 around Dresden, Germany, resulting in a French victory under Napoleon I against forces of the Sixth Coalition of Austrians, Russians and Prussians under Field Marshal Schwartzenberg. However, Napoleon's victory was not as complete as it could...
, and won high praise at the Battle of Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
. The marine units were disbanded in 1815.
Foreign troops in the Grande Armée
Many European armies recruited foreign troops, and Napoleonic France was no exception. Foreign troops played an important role and fought with distinction in La Grande Armée during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Almost every continental European country was, at different stages, a part of La Grande Armée. By the end of the conflict tens-of-thousands had served. In 1805 35,000 troops from the Confederation of the Rhine
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the...
were used to protect lines of communications and flanks of the main army. In 1806 27,000 more troops were called up for similar purposes, plus 20,000 Saxon troops were used for mopping up operations against the Prussians. In the Winter Campaign of 1806–7, Germans, Poles, and Spaniards helped seize Baltic ports at Stralsund
Stralsund
- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...
and Danzig on La Grande Armée's left flank. At the Battle of Friedland
Battle of Friedland
The Battle of Friedland saw Napoleon I's French army decisively defeat Count von Bennigsen's Russian army about twenty-seven miles southeast of Königsberg...
in 1807, the Corps of Marshal Lannes was formed considerably from Poles, Saxons, and Dutch. For the first time foreign troops had played a role in a major battle, and done so with distinction. In the 1809 Austrian Campaign possibly as many as one-third of the La Grande Armée, were from the Confederation of the Rhine, and one-quarter of the Army in Italy was Italian. At La Grande Armée's peak in 1812, more than half the troops that marched into Russia were non-French and represented 20 different countries, including Austrian and Prussian troops. Grawert
Julius von Grawert
Julius August Reinhold von Grawert was a Prussian general. During the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt on 14 October 1806, he led a division under Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen at Jena....
initially led the Prussian detachment, but was replaced by Yorck.
Engineers
While the glory of battle went to the cavalry, infantry and artillery, the army also included military engineerMilitary engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
s of various types.
The bridge builders of the Grande Armée, the pontonniers, were an indispensable part of Napoleon's military machine. Their main contribution was helping the emperor to get his forces across water obstacles by erecting pontoon bridge
Pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge or floating bridge is a bridge that floats on water and in which barge- or boat-like pontoons support the bridge deck and its dynamic loads. While pontoon bridges are usually temporary structures, some are used for long periods of time...
s. The skills of his pontonniers allowed Napoleon to outflank enemy positions by crossing rivers where the enemy least expected and, in the case of the great retreat from Moscow, saved the army from complete annihilation at the Beresina.
They may not have had the glory, but Napoleon clearly valued his pontonniers and had 14 companies commissioned into his armies, under the command of the brilliant engineer, General Jean Baptiste Eblé
Jean Baptiste Eble
Jean Baptiste Eblé was a French General, Engineer and Artilleryman during the Napoleonic Wars. He is credited with saving Napoleon's Grand Army from complete destruction in 1812.-Biography:...
. His training along with their specialized tools and equipment, enabled them to quickly build the various parts of the bridges, which could then be rapidly assembled and reused later. All the needed materials, tools and parts were carried on their wagon trains. If they did not have a part or item, it could be quickly made using the pontonniers' mobile wagon-mounted forges. A single company of pontonniers could construct a bridge of up to 80 pontoons (a span of some 120 to 150 metres long) in a just under seven hours, an impressive feat even by today's standards.
In addition to the pontonniers, there were companies of sapper
Sapper
A sapper, pioneer or combat engineer is a combatant soldier who performs a wide variety of combat engineering duties, typically including, but not limited to, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, demolitions, field defences, general construction and building, as well as road and airfield...
s, to deal with enemy fortifications. They were used far less often in their intended role than the pontonniers, however, since the emperor had learned in his early campaigns (such as at the Siege of Acre
Siege of Acre (1799)
The Siege of Acre of 1799 was an unsuccessful French siege of the Ottoman-defended, walled city of Acre and was the turning point of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and Syria.-Background:...
) that it was better to bypass and isolate fixed fortifications, if possible, than to directly assault them, so the sapper companies were usually put to other tasks.
The different types of engineer companies were formed into battalions and regiments called Génie, which was originally a slang
Grande Armée slang
As with all armed forces throughout history, the French Grande Armée of the Napoleonic Wars used a colorful and extensive vocabulary of slang terms to describe their lives, times and circumstances and express their reactions towards them....
term for engineer. This name, which is still used today, was both a play on the word (jeu de mot) and a reference to their seemingly magical abilities to grant wishes and make things appear much like the mythical Genie
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
.
Logistics
One of Napoleon's most quoted lines is his dictum that "An army is a creature which marches on its stomach". This clearly illustrates the vital importance of military logisticsMilitary logistics
Military logistics is the discipline of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with:...
. The troops of the Grande Armée each carried 4 days' provisions. The supply wagon trains following them carried 8 days', but these were to be consumed only in emergency. Insofar as possible, Napoleon encouraged his men to live off the land through foraging and requisition of food (which was known as La Maraude
La Maraude
La Maraude describes the tactic employed by Napoleonic armies of scavenging for supplies instead of relying on extended lines of supply. It was Napoleon’s belief that armies should be largely self-sufficient, as this freed them from the constraints of supply lines and allowed them to move far more...
). An integral part of the French logistics system was the inclusion in every regiment of several women known as cantinières (also known as viandières, but "cantinière" was by far the more common term among French troops). These women were married to soldiers in their regiments, and acted as sutlers, selling food and drink (especially alcohol) to the troops. They were considered "absolutely necessary" to the functioning of the army, and the Consular Decree of 7 Thermidor, Year VIII set their number at four per battalion and two per cavalry squadron. These women fed the troops when all other logistical arrangements broke down.
Additional supplies would be stockpiled and stored at forward bases and depots which he would establish before the start of his campaigns. These would then be moved forward as the army advanced. The Grande Armée's supply bases would replenish the Corps and Divisional depots, which in turn would replenish the Brigade and Regimental supply trains, which would distribute rations and ammunition to the troops as needed to supplement their foraging. The reliance on foraging was sometimes determined by political pressures. When marching over friendly territory armies were told to "live off what the country can supply", but when marching over neutral territory they were issued with supplies. It was this system of planned and improvised logistics which enabled the Grande Armée to sustain rapid marches of up to 15 miles per day for up to 5 weeks. The logistical system was also aided by a technological innovation in the form of the food preservation technique invented by Nicolas Appert
Nicolas Appert
Nicolas Appert , was the French inventor of airtight food preservation. Appert, known as the "father of canning", was a confectioner.-Biography:...
, which led to modern canning
Canning
Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
methods.
Medical staff
Napoleonic Wars casualties
The casualties of the Napoleonic Wars , direct and indirect, break down as follows:Note that deaths listed include being killed in action as well as deaths from other causes, such as: from disease; from wounds; of starvation; from exposure; of drowning; from friendly fire; as a result of...
). There was no knowledge of hygiene
Hygiene
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
or antibiotic
Antibiotic
An antibacterial is a compound or substance that kills or slows down the growth of bacteria.The term is often used synonymously with the term antibiotic; today, however, with increased knowledge of the causative agents of various infectious diseases, antibiotic has come to denote a broader range of...
s. Virtually the only surgical procedure was amputation
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
. The only anaesthetic consisted of strong alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
ic drink or even, in some cases, knocking the patient unconscious. Typically only a third survived the operation.
While the technology and practice of military medicine did not advance significantly during the Napoleonic wars, the Grande Armée did benefit from improvements in the organization of staffs and the establishment of a Flying Ambulance system, by its Surgeon General, Baron Dominique Jean Larrey
Dominique Jean Larrey
Dominique Jean Larrey was a French surgeon in Napoleon's army and an important innovator in battlefield medicine.-Biography:...
. After seeing the speed with which the carriages of the French flying artillery manoeuvred across the battlefields, General Larrey adapted them for rapid transport of the wounded and manned them with trained crews of drivers, corpsmen and litter bearers. This forerunner of the modern military ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
system, was eventually adapted by armies throughout the world in the following decades. In addition, Larrey increased the mobility and improved the organization of field hospital
Field hospital
A field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...
s, effectively creating a prototype for the modern Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
The Mobile Army Surgical Hospital refers to a United States Army medical unit serving as a fully functional hospital in a combat area of operations. The units were first established in August 1945, and were deployed during the Korean War and later conflicts. The U.S...
.
Accounts of the ordeals of the wounded are horrific reading. Napoleon, himself, once noted "It requires more courage to suffer than to die", so he made sure those who did survive were given the best treatment available at the best hospitals in France while they recuperated. In addition, the wounded survivors were often treated as heroes, awarded medals, pensions and provided with prosthetic limbs if needed. Knowing that they would be promptly attended to, then honored and well looked after once back home, helped boost morale in the Grande Armée, and thus further contributed to its fighting abilities.
Communications
Communications, though described here last, were certainly not the least of essential support services. Most dispatchDispatch (logistics)
Dispatch is a procedure for assigning employees or vehicles to customers. Industries that dispatch include taxicabs, couriers, emergency services, as well as home and commercial services such as maid services, plumbing, HVAC, pest control and electricians.With vehicle dispatching, clients are...
es were conveyed as they had been for centuries, via messengers on horseback. Hussars, due to their bravery and riding skills, were often favoured for this task. Shorter range tactical signals could be sent visually by flags or audibly by drums, bugles, trumpets and other musical instruments. Thus standard bearers and musicians, in addition to their symbolic, ceremonial and morale functions, also played important communication roles.
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. The French army was among the first to employ homing pigeons
War pigeon
Pigeons have long played an important role in war. Due to their homing ability, speed, and altitude, they were often used as military messengers. After World War II, they ceased being used.- Nineteenth century :...
as messengers in any large and organized manner, and also the first to use observation balloons
Hot air balloon
The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
for reconnaissance and communications. But the real advance for conveying long range dispatches came in the form of an ingenious optical Telegraph Semaphore system invented by Claude Chappe.
Chappe's system comprised an intricate network of small towers, within visual range of one another. On top of each was a 9 metre mast, with three large, movable wooden rods mounted on them. These rods, called the régulateur (regulator), were operated by trained crews using a series of pulleys and levers. The four basic positions of the rods could be combined to form 196 different "signs". Provided with good crews of operators and decent visibility conditions, a sign could be sent through the 15 station towers between Paris and Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, a distance of 193 km (119.9 mi), in only 9 minutes, a complete message of 36 signs in about 32 minutes. From Paris to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, a message could be sent in only six hours.
Chappe's telegraph soon became one of Napoleon's favourite and most important secret weapons. A special portable version semaphore telegraph travelled with his headquarters. Using it he was able to coordinate his logistics and forces over longer distances in far less time than his enemies. Work was even begun on a wagon-mounted version in 1812, but not completed in time for use in the wars.
Formations and tactics
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
"Oblique Order" (Best illustrated at the Battle of Leuthen
Battle of Leuthen
In the Battle of Leuthen or Lissa, fought on 5 December 1757, Frederick the Great's Prussian army used maneuver and terrain to decisively defeat a much larger Austrian army under Charles of Lorraine, thus ensuring Prussian control of Silesia during the Seven Years' War.- Background :While Frederick...
) and the "Mob tactics" of the early Levée en masse
Levée en masse
Levée en masse is a French term for mass conscription during the French Revolutionary Wars, particularly for the one from 16 August 1793.- Terminology :...
armies of the Revolution. Napoleonic tactics and formations were highly fluid and flexible. In contrast, many of the Armée's opponents were still wed to a rigid system of "Linear" (or Line) tactics and formations, in which masses of infantry would simply line up and exchange vollies of fire, in an attempt to either blow the enemy from the field or outflank them. Due to the vulnerabilities of the line formations to flanking attacks, it was considered the highest form of military manoeuvre to outflank ones' adversary. Armies would often retreat or even surrender if this was accomplished. Consequently, commanders who adhered to this system, would place a great emphasis on flank security, often at the expense of a strong centre or reserve. Napoleon would frequently take full advantage of this linear mentality, by feigning flank attacks, or offering the enemy his own flank as "bait" (Best illustrated at the Battle of Austerlitz
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
and also later at Lützen
Battle of Lützen (1813)
In the Battle of Lützen , Napoleon I of France lured a combined Prussian and Russian force into a trap, halting the advances of the Sixth Coalition after his devastating losses in Russia. The Russian commander, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, attempting to undo Napoleon's capture of Leipzig, attacked...
), then throw his main effort against their centre, split their lines and roll up their flanks. He always kept a strong reserve as well, mainly in the form of his Imperial Guard, which could deliver a "knockout blow" if the battle was going well or turn the tide if it was not.
Some of the more famous, widely used, effective and interesting formations and tactics included:
- LineLine (formation)The line formation is a standard tactical formation which has been used in Early modern warfare.It continues the phalanx formation or shield wall of infantry armed with polearms in use during antiquity and the Middle Ages....
(Ligne): The basic three rank line formation, best used for delivering volley fire and was also a decent melee formation for infantry or cavalry, but it was relatively slow moving and vulnerable on the flanks. - March Column (Colonne de Marche): The best formation for rapid or sustained movement of troops and a good melee attacking formation, but it offered little firepower and was also vulnerable to flank attack, ambush, artillery and "funneling".
- WedgeFlying wedgeA flying wedge is a configuration created from a body moving forward in a triangular formation. This V-shaped arrangement began as a successful military strategy in ancient times when infantry units would move forward in wedge formations to smash through an enemy's lines...
(Colonne de Charge): An arrow or spearhead shaped cavalry formation, designed to close rapidly and break the enemy's line. Classic, and effective, mounted formation used throughout history, and still used by tanks today. But if the wedge is halted, or its attack loses momentum, then it is vulnerable to counter-pincer attack on its flanks. - Attack Column (Colonne d'Attaque): A wide column of infantry, almost a hybrid of line and column, with light infantry skirmishers in front to disrupt the enemy and screen the column's advance. Once the column closed, the skirmishers would move off to its flanks, then the column would fire a massed musket salvo and charge with their bayonets. An excellent formation against a standard, thin line. The Attack Column was developed from the "Mob" or "Horde" tactics of the early French revolutionary armies. Its disadvantages were a lack of massed firepower and vulnerability to artillery fire.
- Mixed OrderMixed OrderThe Mixed Order was a tactical formation originally used by demi-brigades of the French Revolutionary Army and then later by Napoleon's Grande Armée to great effect....
(Ordre Mixte): Was Napoleon's preferred infantry formation. Some units (usually regiments or battalions in size) would be placed in line formation, with other units in attack column behind and in between them. This combined the firepower of the line with the speed, melee and skirmishing advantages of the attack column. It also had some of the disadvantages of both, so support from artillery and cavalry were especially vital for this tactic to succeed. - Open Order (Ordre Ouvert): Foot and/or horse would spread out by unit and/or individually. This formation was best for light troops and skirmishers. It allowed for rapid movement, especially over "broken" or rough terrain such as hills or forests, and offered the best protection from enemy fire since the troops were spread out. Its disadvantages were it did not allow for massed or volley fire and was terrible for melee or close quarters fighting and thus, especially vulnerable to cavalry.
- SquareInfantry squareAn infantry square is a combat formation an infantry unit forms in close order when threatened with cavalry attack.-Very early history:The formation was described by Plutarch and used by the Romans, and was developed from an earlier circular formation...
(Carré): Classic infantry formation for defence against cavalry. Soldiers would form a hollow square at least three or four ranks deep on each side, with officers and artillery or cavalry in the middle. It offered infantry their best protection against charges, especially on good defensive terrain such as on the top or reverse slope of a hill. Squares were slow moving, almost stationary targets, however. This, along with their density, made squares very vulnerable to artillery and to a lesser extent, infantry fire. Once broken, squares tended to completely collapse. - Flying Battery (Batterie Volante): Designed to take advantage of French artillery's mobility and training. A battery would move to one area on the field, lay down a short, sharp barrage, then rapidly redeploy to another area and fire another barrage, then quickly redeploy again, etc. The combined, cumulative effect of numerous batteries doing this all along the enemy's lines could be devastating. The horse artillery were especially well suited for this tactic. Napoleon used it to great success in the Armée's early campaigns. Its flexibility allowed him to quickly mass well-aimed fire anywhere it was needed. But it required superbly trained and conditioned artillerymen and horses as well as close command, coordination and control in order to work.
- Grand BatteryGrand BatteryGrand Battery was a French artillery tactic of the Napoleonic wars. It involved massing all available batteries into a single large, temporary one, and concentrating the firepower of their guns at a single point in the enemy's lines.Substituting volume of fire for accuracy, rate of fire and rapid...
(Grande Batterie): An alternative artillery tactic, when circumstances prohibited the flying batteries. Artillery would mass its fire at a single, crucial point on the battlefield (usually against the enemy's centre). It could be devastating if the enemy was caught by surprise or in the open. But massing large numbers of guns in a single area without the enemy's knowledge could be tricky. Once the batterie opened fire and its target became clear, measures could be taken to avoid it. It was also vulnerable to Counter-battery fireCounter-battery fireCounter-battery fire is a type of mission assigned to military artillery forces, which are given the task of locating and firing upon enemy artillery.-Background:...
from enemy artillery and needed protection from cavalry attack. Although this has become the most well known French artillery tactic, Napoleon preferred the flying batteries and used it only when he had to or thought it posed a better chance of success. Often at the start of a battle, he would mass batteries into a Big Battery, then after a few salvoes, break up it up into flying batteries. In the early campaigns it was rarely used, but as the quantity of the Armée's horses and quality of its artillerymen declined, Bonaparte would be forced to employ it much more frequently in later battles. - Boar's Head (Tête du Sanglier): Was another hybrid formation, somewhat like the mixed order but combining all three arms into a wedge-like square, which could be used for assault or defence. Infantry would form a short, but thick, line many ranks deep on the front, which would be the boar's "snout" (boutoir). Behind them would be two groups of artillery batteries or the "eyes" of the boar. On their flanks and behind them, in oblique order, would be other infantry in column, line or square to form the boar's "face". Protecting their flanks and rear would be two groups of cavalry, which would serve as the boar's "tusk". This was a highly complex formation, which could not be formed as easily or quickly as the others. Once formed, except for the tusks, it had slow mobility. It was, however, faster moving than the traditional square and less vulnerable to artillery or infantry fire. The "tusks" also gave it stronger offensive capabilities. It would later be employed to great effect during the French conquests in North Africa during the 1830s and 1840s, and would be used up until the 1920s.
Ranks of the Grande Armée
Unlike the armies of the Ancien Régime and other monarchies, advancement in the Grande Armée was based on proven ability rather than social class or wealth. Napoleon wanted his army to be a meritocracyMeritocracy
Meritocracy, in the first, most administrative sense, is a system of government or other administration wherein appointments and responsibilities are objectively assigned to individuals based upon their "merits", namely intelligence, credentials, and education, determined through evaluations or...
, where every soldier, no matter how humble of birth, could rise rapidly to the highest levels of command, much as he had done (provided, of course, they did not rise too high or too fast). This was equally applied to the French and foreign officers, and no less than 140 foreigners attained the rank of Général. By and large this goal was achieved. Given the right opportunities to prove themselves, capable men could rise to the top within a few years, whereas in other armies it usually required decades if at all. It was said that even the lowliest private carried a marshal's baton in his knapsack.
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- {| class="wikitable"
-
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-
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! Grande Armée rank !! Modern U.S. equivalent
|-
| colspan=2 | Commissioned officers
|-
|Maréchal d´Empire || Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (United States)
In the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...
|-
|Général de division || Major General
|-
|Général de brigade || Brigadier General
|-
|Colonel || Colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
|-
|Major || Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
|-
|Chef de bataillon or Chef d'escadron ||Major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
|-
|Capitaine || Captain
Captain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
|-
|Lieutenant || First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
|-
|Sous-lieutenant || Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
|-
| colspan=2 | Non-commissioned officers
|-
|Adjudant-Chef || Warrant Officer
Warrant Officer
A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...
|-
|Adjudant || Sergeant-Major
|-
|Sergent-Major or Maréchal des logis Chef || First sergeant
First Sergeant
First sergeant is the name of a military rank used in many countries, typically a senior non-commissioned officer.-Singapore:First Sergeant is a Specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First Sergeants are the most senior of the junior Specialists, ranking above Second Sergeants, and below Staff...
|-
|Sergent or Maréchal des Logis || Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
|-
|Caporal-Fourrier or Brigadier-Fourrier || Company clerk/supply Sergeant
|-
|Caporal or Brigadier (Cavalry, Horse Artillery and Gendarmerie) || Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
|-
|Soldat or Cavalier(Cavalry) or Canonnier(Artillery)|| Private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
|}
See also
- French Imperial EagleFrench Imperial EagleFrench Imperial Eagle refers to the figure of an eagle on a staff carried into battle as a standard by the Grande Armée of Napoleon I during the Napoleonic Wars....
- Grande Armée SlangGrande Armée slangAs with all armed forces throughout history, the French Grande Armée of the Napoleonic Wars used a colorful and extensive vocabulary of slang terms to describe their lives, times and circumstances and express their reactions towards them....
- Uniforms of La Grande ArméeUniforms of La Grande ArméeThe uniforms of La Grande Armée, the army of Napoleon I, are described in this article.-Infantry of the Line and light infantry:From 1793, the uniforms of the demi-brigades of the line infantry wore the blue "National Uniform" that was to be worn by all soldiers...
- Royal Saxon ArmyRoyal Saxon Army-Overview:The Royal Saxon Army was under the command of the Rulers of Saxony. With the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon the Royal Saxon Army joined the French "La Grande Armée" along with 37 other German states. The commander of the Royal Saxon Army at this time, was...
External links
- French website displaying flags of the Grande Armée
- Soldiers of Fortitude: The Grande Armee of 1812 in Russia by Major James T. McGhee
- French Heavy and Light Cavalry (Lourde et Légère Cavalerie)
- French article on Chappe telegraphs, Les Télégraphes Chappe, l'Ecole Centrale de Lyon
- Uniforms of Napoleon's Guard
- Illustrations (uniforms) by Hippolyte Bellangé from the book P.-M. Laurent de L`Ardèche «Histoire de Napoléon», 1843