When protecting a retreating line, the skirmishers formed themselves parallel to the line and withdrew in such a manner that the captain could always maintain visual contact with the line he was charged with protecting. Communications were continuously maintained through the use of noncommissioned officers.
The skirmishers were trained to operate at the “pas ordinaire” and the “pas accelerò,” but they often operated at the “pas de course” because they were obliged to move quickly when covering changes in direction or charges. In case of a cavalry attack on them, the skirmishers would retire to the parent unit at the “pas de course,” but it would seem likely that they ignored a fixed cadence when executing this particular maneuver. If they did not return to the main body, they would find individual cover in holes, behind obstacles, or in other places of security from which they could continue to fire.
On a plain, the French skirmishers were to march forward silently, with calm sangfroid, holding the enemy at such a distance with their fire that his fire could not reach their parent unit. In broken terrain they were to search through any cover that might conceal an ambush. Davout's instructions went on to direct:
If the skirmishers were to traverse a village, the captain was to march in the rear with his reserve and take an advantageous post with his reserve which would permit the occupation of the principal avenues as the skirmishers searched through the village and provide the skirmishers with a rallying point.
If the skirmishers were marching through woods or through terrain broken by trenches, hedges, or ruins, etc., they must advance with the greatest caution and place themselves such that if they encounter the enemy, they are able to profit from the enemy's errors and force him to abandon his position.
If the enemy is under cover or in ambush he must be turned. Some brave individuals must make themselves visible on a high point behind the enemy, which the enemy feels to be secure. This will always force him to abandon his positions and at a considerable loss.
When advancing, the skirmishers and their officers should main-tain their attention not only on the enemy, but also on their own troops. Even more so, their attention should be directed towards the terrain, seeking places of cover in case of a fire fight or retreat.
Davout's instructions for skirmishers were simple, functional, and of practical utility for the prosecution of war in this period. His instructions for attacks on villages and entrenchments were no less judicious:
Suppose a skirmish line, followed by reserves, is ordered to advance in an attack on an entrenchment, village, farm, forest, etc. It is probable that the enemy, when attacked along the length of his front will deploy as far as possible so as to offer an equal resistance. If the attacking commander holds a good reserve force and extends his skirmishers on the double to the extremities of the enemy, where they attack the enemy vigorously on his flanks, he is assured of a complete success if he then drives his reserve into the enemy's front.
The same attack can be executed with skirmishers vigorously engaging the front of the enemy's line as the reserve drives itself into the enemy's flank.
As mentioned above, Davout's letter of 3 November 1811 concerned the forming of squares. This letter was part of his almost continuous effort to refresh his corps in all the basic tactics of the day and to ensure a uniformity of procedure among its units.
Experience, Davout said, had shown the necessity of placing a reserve in the center of any square, but this reserve was never to be made more than one-twelfth of the total strength of the unit forming that square. The officer commanding a square was required to carefully observe the sustained enemy attacks and any disorder caused in the ranks due to artillery fire so that he could reinforce weakened spots.
In response to cavalry attacks, Davout recommended that the squares use only fire by rank or by file. Fire by file commenced at a maximum range of 150 paces and from the right. Each file was to fire with increasing rapidity as the cavalry closed. Fire by rank was only to be executed at 100 paces or less. The ranks fired successively: while one was firing, the other two ranks either reloaded or stood by with loaded weapons. This last form of fire, Davout stated, was the most effective against charging cavalry.
Davout specified that squares should generally be positioned in echelons so that they were mutually supporting, with the regimental artillery pieces posted at the outermost corners of the regimental-square checkerboard in an effort to provide greater firepower at the most vulnerable part of the square. The corners subject to the lowest threat were made impenetrable by placing caissons and other train equipage in them. These were then covered with small groups of skirmishers. The intervals between the squares (usually 120 paces) were filled with other caissons, forges, field baggage, and such equipment as could not be brought into the squares. Though this might seem to provide cover for the attacking cavalry it did not. It was intended that these obstacles would break up the cavalry's formation, which was its principal strength, and which gave it the ability to break infantry squares.
Rations
The infantryman was concerned with tactics, but his principal concern was the same in 1812 as it is today: his rations. The rations issued in 1812 were set by the Decree of 20 June 1810. The noncommissioned officers and soldiers received a daily bread or biscuit ration. This bread was three-quarters wheat and one-quarter rye or barley of good quality. On campaign the soldier received a biscuit ration (in place of the bread) which weighed 550 grams (1.2 ounces), a rice ration weighing 30 grams (1 ounce) or 60 grams (2.1 ounces) of dried vegetables, 240 grams (8.6 ounces) of fresh meat or 200 grams (7.1 ounces) of salted beef or lard, 16 grams (0.6 ounces) of salt, and a liquor ration. The latter, distributed by special orders from the commanding officer, consisted of a liter of wine for four men, a liter of brandy for six men, and in hot weather, a liter of vinegar for twenty men.
In addition to food, each soldier was authorized a wood ration of 2.4 kilograms (6.1 pounds) or 1.2 kilograms (3 pounds) of coal or peat during the winter. This ration was progressively diminished as the wars progressed. Each soldier was also authorized 15 kilograms (HVi pounds) of straw for bedding every fifteen days.
Officers received various numbers of the basic rations. Senior officers received several rations so that they might provide for their suites and for those whom they would entertain.
Infantry Weapons
After rations, the soldier was most concerned with his weapons. The most common infantry weapon in use in 1812 was the Charville 1777. This was issued to the fusiliers and grenadiers, while the voltigeurs were generally issued a lighter weapon, a “fusil de dragon.” The sappers were issued musketoons.
The munitions issued with these weapons were in the form of cartridges. Thirty cartridges were carried in their “giberne” or bullet pouch. The weight of powder was usually equal to the weight of the ball. The balls varied from sixteen to twenty to the pound.
The French word for cartridge, “cartouche,” is derived from the Italian word “cartocchio,” which means a “large paper.” This transition from the Italian to the French occurred because the cartridge was a small paper bag that contained both powder and shot.
The infantry generally did not carry munitions unless they were on campaign. On the day of battle the drum-major and his drummers were sent to the divisional artillery caissons to obtain cartridges for their regiments. The general practice, although not required by regulation, was to stack the cartridges behind the ranks.
The voltigeur sergeants carried rifles, the only rifled weapons in the French army in this period. The sergeants carried loose powder and shot instead of the cartridges issued the other infantrymen.
Infantry Equipment
Noncommissioned officers, grenadiers, drummers, hornists, musicians, and sappers were equipped with a “sabre-briquet” or short infantry sword. Each soldier carried a haversack divided into four compartments. The bottom compartment was separated into two compartments by a linen divider. The third compartment, a sack that hung
on the side of the haversack, was for dirty linen. The fourth compartment was formed by a wooden palette.
The lowest compartment was for the soldier's personal effects. He placed his two rolled shirts, stockings, handkerchiefs, a collar, and clean gaiters here. Over the shirts he placed a pair of linen pants. The soldier's case was placed in a corner of the haversack.
The greatcoat was carried on the haversack and tied with two leather thongs. A pouch in the palette carried the soldier's extra pair of shoes, his brush, and his heelball.
A four-day ration of bread was carried in the front pocket of the haversack. Any additional bread was hung from the haversack on a cord. Although it was subject to spoilage from the sun and rain, as well as loss and theft, the soldiers never abandoned this traditional practice.
The meat ration was divided into two- or three-pound sections and placed in a handkerchief or hung in a sack from the haversack. If the meat was dried or salted it would be wrapped and placed in the haversack with the bread ration.
In addition to the thirty cartridges in his giberne, the soldier carried a number of tools in a small pine box. There was a sheepskin pouch that had a screwdriver, a bullet extractor, spare flints, some shot, some grease, a block of wood or horn, and a sheepskin apron called a “sous-palette,” which kept the cartridges together and separated them from the other items in the giberne.
French Cavalry
Just as with the infantry, French cavalry was broken into two types: heavy and light. Unlike the infantry, there were other differentiations beyond these two basic groups.
In 1812 the heavy cavalry consisted of two carabinier regiments, fourteen cuirassier regiments, and thirty dragoon regiments. Although their origins, traditions, and original purposes were different, all three shared the primary function of shock or battle cavalry. As the main striking force of the Grande Armée, the heavy cavalry was designed to strike and rupture the enemy's line, thus causing the disintegration of the enemy army. In addition, the dragoons were often employed as vedettes, patrols, convoy escorts, and in antipartisan operations. These functions were a holdover from their historical roots as mounted infantry. These tasks were, as a result, not performed by the carabiniers or cuirassiers.
The light cavalry consisted of eleven hussar regiments, thirty-one chasseur à che vai regiments, and nine chevauléger-lancier regiments. The light cavalry was intended as a scouting and reconnaissance force or used to pursue the beaten enemy, but it was also used for shock actions on the battlefield.
All French line cavalry regiments were organized with four squadrons. Each squadron had two companies. Since a squadron generally had 125 horses when on a wartime footing, the theoretical strength of a regiment was 1,100 men and 1,000 horses. Before the invasion of Russia, Napoleon tried to ensure that each regiment would be able to present between 850 and 900 sabers on the battlefield, but as the campaign progressed, 500 men per regiment was a more common figure.
The Decree of 18 June 1811 ordered the conversion of six dragoon regiments and one chasseur regiment into chevauléger-lancier regiments. According to the Decree of 15 July 1811, each of these regiments was to have four squadrons of two companies each (the first company of the first squadron was designated as the elite company).
The Decree of 4 December 1811 increased the strengths of the other line cavalry regiments to a uniform 1,044 men in the field and 50 in the depot. This was further altered by the Decree of 10 January 1812, which ordered the raising of a fifth squadron in the two carabinier regiments, the fourteen cuirassier regiments, and the four dragoon regiments that were part of the Grande Armée. The chasseur à cheval, hussar, and chevauléger-lancier regiments were exempt from this order. Though the decree was issued, none of the fifth squadrons participated in the campaign.
The Men and the Horses
The recruiting standards for the cavalry prescribed maximum and minimum height standards for both the troopers and their mounts. Carabi-niers and cuirassiers were to be 5 feet 10 inches and 5 feet 8 inches or taller respectively. The Decree of 21 April 1807 set the range of heights for hussars and chasseurs between 5 feet 3 inches and 5 feet 5 inches tall. Entry into the dragoons was less restrictive and men under 5 feet 4 inches were taken. This applied to the chevauléger-lancier regiments as well.
Standards for the horses were also stringent. Mounts had to be between five and eight years old and were subject to the following height restrictions: for carabiniers and cuirassiers, 5 feet 1 inch to 5 feet 3 inches tall (at the withers); for dragoons and horse artillery, 5 feet to 5 feet 3 inches tall; for chasseurs and hussars, 4 feet 10 inches to 5 feet; and for the chevauléger-lanciers, 4 feet 9.5 inches to 4 feet 11 inches. In any given cavalry unit, one-sixth of the horses were whole mares and the rest were geldings. A horse for a cuirassier or carabinier cost 520 francs, all the rest cost 380 francs.
In order to acclimate the horses to the noise of war, the French employed a very simple system. Initially the horses would be subjected to random pistol shots on their way to the stables or when they were feeding. Gradually the intervals between shots would be shortened until the horses were acclimated to a considerable din. Once this was done a number of troopers would form a line, armed with pistols and muskets. The young horses walked towards this line as the troopers fired their weapons. When the horses closed to 25 yards, the firing stopped. The horses continued to close, and once they reached the line they were caressed and fed. This process would be repeated several times until the horses were undisturbed by any of the battlefield noises.
Cavalry Drill and Tactics
French cavalry regulations prescribed three gaits for the cavalry: the pace, the trot, and the gallop. Since usual reckoning held that a horse's stride was 2 feet 9 inches at the pace, 4 feet at the trot, and 10 feet 8 inches at a gallop, a pacing horse could cover 120 yards in a minute, a trotting horse, 260 yards, and a galloping horse, 330 yards.
While infantry regulations prescribed the number of steps per minute for an infantryman, the cavalry regulations did not do the same for the horses. The regulations did, however, establish squadron schools where the officers learned to regulate the unit's speed and maintain formation. The officers were taught to judge and measure both distances and the time necessary to cover them at various gaits. They also learned how to estimate the frontage of a squadron or regiment in relation to the number of files it had.
The cavalry regulation used in 1812 was issued on 22 September 1804, though an unaltered second edition was published in 1810. This regulation established regimental schools in which both the horses and troopers learned their trade. The men's and horses' training began with a series of long marches in groups of four men on horseback. This progressed to full pelotons (squadrons) and finally divisions (two squadrons). During this training such evolutions as direct and oblique marches, conversions from fixed and moving pivots, flank marches, formation and column marching, the elongated column, the tight column, and finally the marching column were taught. The marching column was used solely to accommodate the march. It was formed by fours, but more commonly by twos, to allow the riders to select the easiest paths for their horses.
The cavalry was taught to form and use the various combat formations, column, line, and echelon. These were mass formations where the horses were closed in tight and the knees of the troopers touched, much as the elbows of the infantry touched.
The troopers in the first rank were taught to carry their sabers during a charge with the wrist twisted at one-third of the height of the eye, the arm half-extended, and the cutting edge of the saber to the right with the point somewhat lower than the hilt. The second rank was taught to hold their sabers elevated, the arm half-extended, the point a little below the head and higher than the hilt.
Among the various procedures taught the cavalry, the most significant and important was to rally quickly in the event of an unsuccessful charge. Blown cavalry milling about, out of formation, was highly vulnerable, and the sooner it could re-form the more likel
y it was to survive.
The cavalry was also taught to operate in skirmishing formation, by squad. The squad would deploy sixty paces in front of the squadron and spread out to cover its entire front.
In addition to the usual cavalry training, the dragoons also received infantry drill. This was a vestige from the days when dragoons were mounted infantry, not battle cavalry. Reflecting this heritage, the formation of dragoons remained identical, whether on foot or mounted. Each squadron constituted a foot division, each platoon a section, and the entire regiment an infantry battalion with four divisions. Each squadron also had sixteen men designated as the “peloton de flanquers,” or skirmishing squad. The French dragoons did not generally operate on foot, but they did so occasionally when the terrain did not favor mounted cavalry action, such as at Corunna in Spain. In 1805, because of a lack of horses, several foot dragoon regiments operated with the Grande Armée.
Other regulations set the wartime forage rations for the cavalry. These rations were set by the Regulation of 30 June 1810. When the cavalry was on the march, the straw ration was not changed, but the hay ration was increased by five pounds.
Prior to the issuance of this regulation, the French cavalry lived principally off the land, and forage rations were modified to supplement the countryside's ability to support the cavalry. Even with the issuance of the Regulation of 1810, French cavalry often reverted to its old practice of living off the land.
Cavalry Weapons and Equipment
The weapons issued to the French cavalryman in 1812, with the exception of the chevauléger-lancier, consisted of a saber, a pair of pistols, and a musketoon. Heavy cavalry was armed, pursuant to the Decree of 25 December 1811, with a Year XI Musketoon that was 2 feet 6 inches long. The musketoon of the light cavalry was 3 feet 7.5 inches long. The saber of the light cavalry was half curved, that of the hussars was fully curved, and that of the heavy cavalry was straight.
Napoleon's Invasion of Russia Page 5