La Grande Armée Forces Of La Grande Armée Cavalry

Napoleon first attached the name to the army numbering some 200,000 men slated for the invasion of Britain during the period from 1803 to August 1805. The army was assembling at Boulogne on the French coast of the English Channel to this end but was hurriedly ordered across the Rhine into southern Germany by Napoleon upon his discovery the Prussian and AustriaAustria is a landlocked country in Central Europe, a federation of nine states. Austria is bordered by Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to then armies were preparing to invade France.

La Grande Armée originally consisted of six corps under the command of Napoleon's marshalMarshal (more seldom spelled Marshall is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word derives from Old Germanic marah "horse" and scalc "servant", and originally meant "stable keeper". As marshals became betrusted members. As Napoleon's might spread across Europe, the army grew in size. It reached its maximum size of 600,000 men in 1812Events January 1 the Allgemeines Burgerliches Gesetzbuch, the Austrian civil code enters into force in the Austrian Empire February 2 Russia establishes a fur trading colony at Fort Ross, California February 7 The strongest in a series of massive earthqua at the start of the invasion of RussiaNapoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, which Napoleon called the Second Polish War and which is known in Russia as the Patriotic War ( Otechestvennaya Voyna in Russian) was one of the turning points of the Napoleonic wars, proving disastrous for France an against the Sixth CoalitionThe Sixth Coalition ( 1813- 1814) was a coalition of the United Kingdom, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Austria and a number of German States against the Napoleonic France. After Napoleon's disastrous defeat in Russia, the continental powers who had been humili. At that the army consisted of

With the exception of the Polish and Austrian corps, each contingent was commanded by French generals.

1 Forces of La Grande Armée

1.1 Cavalry

In Napoleon's army, there were four seperate types of cavalry:

Cuirassiers: These were the heavy cavalry, equipped almost like knights with a heavy cuirass (breastplate) and a brass and iron helmet. Because of the weight, both the trooper and horse had to be big and strong, and could consequently put a lot of force behind the charge.
Dragoons: The Dragoons were the mainstay of the French cavalry, and were used for both battle and scouting. Because of their versitility, they were armed not only with traditional sabres, but also pistols and carbines , enabling them to fight as infantry.
Hussars: Hussars were both the eyes and egos of the Napoleonic armies. Tactically, they were used as scouts and a screen for the army to keep their commanders informed of enemy moves while denying the same information to the foe.
Lancers : Some of the most feared cavalry in Bonaparte's armies were the Polish lancers. Lancers were excellent against infantry in square - where their lances could outreach the infantry bayonets - and also in hunting down a routed enemy.

1.2 Infantry

Line Infantry: The bulk of the army was made of standard line infantry. Infantry regiments were known as demi-brigades and were made of three or four battalions.
Light Infantry: The voltiguer companies began to be added to French line regiments in 1801. The voltigeurs were usually nimble fighters whose job it was to advance in front of the attack and try to disrupt enemy formations or artillery crews.
Imperial Guard: France's Imperial Guard was the elite military force of its time and grew out of the Garde des Consuls and Garde Consulaire. Napoleon Bonaparte wanted it as the example for the army to follow and also as a force that had fought with him over several campaigns and was utterly loyal to him. Usually kept in reserve, the Guard was often thrown in to a battle as the killing blow. Of course, the morale of line troops soared when the Grumblers moved forward into the fray.

1.3 Artillery

As one would expect with the Emperor being a former artillery officer, France's cannons made up the backbone of the ground forces. The French guns were generally used in massed batteries to soften up enemy formations before being subjected to the closer attention of the infantry or cavalry. Superb gun-crew training allowed Bonaparte to move the weapons at great speed to either bolster a weakening defensive position, or else hammer a potential break in enemy lines. In general, French guns were 4-pounders, 8-pounders or 12-pounders, 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.

1.4 Engineers

While the glory of battle went to the cavalry and infantry, the bridge builders of Napoleon Bonaparte's army - the pontonniers - were an indispensable part of the military machine. Their main contribution was helping the emperor to get his forces across water obstacles by erecting pontoon bridges. The skills of his pontonniers allowed Bonaparte 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 Bonaparte clearly valued his pontonniers and had 14 companies commissioned into his armies.

2 See also

French Imperial Eagle

3 References

1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow, Adam Zamoyski, BooksEnthsiast.com

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