The French Grande Armèe

Formation

The Grand Armée of France was created by Emperor Napoleon in 1805 in anticipation of war with Great Britain, France's most powerful foe. The army won significant battles that lead to treaties allying Prussia, Austria, and Russia to France.

Composition

Command

Control of activities in the Grand Armée came from the General Headquarters, consisting of Napoleon's cabinet, aides-de-camp and orderlies, and a General Staff. Army and cavalry corps were commanded by marshals, while divisions were led by generals. Some marshals and divisional generals could command independently, while others had to receive direct orders from Napoleon. The former included Eugène Beauharnais, viceroy of italy, and marshals L. N. Davout, M. Ney, and N. Soult, and divisional general L. G. St-Cyr. The latter included marshal I. Murat and divisional generals A. Junot and E. Grouchy.

Corps

The Grand Armée was composed of several army corps. Each corps was comprised of three arms: infantry, cavalry, and artillery. A corps might contain from two to five infantry divisions and one or two light cavalry brigades. Reserve cavalry corps had one to three heavy cavalry divisions and a light cavalry division.

Guard

The Imperial Guard was created in 1804 out of the former Consular Guard. They functioned as a separate corps, comprised of soldiers of exceptional merit. The Guard consisted of three divisions, the Old Guard, the Middle Guard, and the Young Guard. The primary function of the Imperial Guard was to provide personal protection for the Emperor. During the Battle of Borodino the artillery corps of the Guard took part. Later, during the rout, marshal Ney's Young Guard performed a valiant rear-guard.

Infantry

The Infantry of the Grand Armée were divided into line infantry and light infantry. The line infantry consisted of fusiliers (soldiers armed with light flintlock muskets) and grenadiers (soldiers armed with grenades). Grenadiers were the corps d'elite of the infantry. Fusiliers carried out actions in close columns. Voltigeurs and chasseurs comprised the light infantry. They operated in loose, highly maneuverable formations and protected the line infantry as well as cavalry during close fighting.

Cavalry

The cavalry of the Grand Armée were divided into light and heavy cavalry. The heavy cavalry consisted of cuirassiers, carabineers and dragoons. The cuirassiers had body armor (cuirsasses) and helmets. Carabineers were armed with carbines. Dragoons were heavily armed mounted troops. The light cavalry consisted of hussars (mounted units modeled after Hungarian light cavalry of the 15th century), chasseurs-a-cheval (lightly armed and highly maneuverable cavalry), and chevauxlegers (pikemen). During cavalry attacks the light cavalry protected the flanks of the heavy cavalry. They also served as reconnaissance units and advanced guards.

Artillery

The artillery divisions of the Grand Armée consisted of field, siege, and regimental artillery. The field artillery consisted of foot artillery and horse artillery. Field artillery comanies were associated with divisions and corps. Separate siege and regimental artillery corps. Napoleon was innovative in his use of massed batteries of artillery. As many as 100 guns were coordinated for devastating effect, shredding selected spots in the enemy front.

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Credits

Last Updated Saturday, October 4, 1997.