There were artillery artisan companies formed with 144 officers and men. The pontoonier company, attached to the sapper battalion, had eighty-two officers and men. The sapper-miner battalion had a staff and six companies of sapper/miners in addition to the pontoonier company. The staff consisted of eleven officers and men. The companies consisted of 149 officers and men.
The Army of Westphalia
Westphalia, one of the largest states belonging to the Confederation of the Rhine, was ruled by Jerome Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother. The Westphalians were, as a result, very closely tied to France.
Since the Kingdom of Westphalia had been put together from a number of smaller states in 1807, it had no military tradition or organization of consequence—it was an entirely new creation. It was totally patterned on the French model as a result. It had a guard patterned on the French Imperial Guard which even operated under the French drill regulations.
In 1812 the Westphalian army had eight line infantry regiments and four light battalions; a cavalry force of two cuirassier regiments, two hussar regiments, and two gendarme squadrons; an artillery regiment with six batteries and a pontoonier detachment; and Jerome's Guard, which consisted of the one squadron Garde-du-Corps, a chevauxléger-lancier regiment, and a Guard horse battery.
The Westphalian Guard infantry consisted of the Guard Grenadier Bataillon, Jàger-Karabinier Bataillon, and the Guard Jàger Bataillon. The Grenadier Bataillon had an upper staff of 8 officers and men, a lower staff of 23 officers and men, and four companies, each with 116 officers and men. The Jàger-Karabinier Bataillon had an upper staff of 6, a middle staff of 6, and four companies, each with 103 men. The Guard Jàgers had an upper staff of 5, a lower staff of 5, and four companies with 118 men each.
The line infantry regiments had two battalions each, except for two which had three. Each battalion had one grenadier, one voltigeur, and four fusilier companies. Each regiment had an upper staff of 13, a lower staff of 31, and a company strength of 140. The light infantry battalions shared a common staff and had the same company organization as line battalions.
The regiments had regimental batteries equipped with two 6pdr cannons. They were manned by thirty-two officers and men. In addition they had a small train unit of thirty noncommissioned officers and men.
The Westphalian Guard cavalry was not consistently organized. The Garde du Corps was literally a personal bodyguard with an upper staff of 9 officers and men, a lower staff of 43 officers and men, and a single company with 154 officers and men.
The Chevauléger-lancier Regiment had an upper staff of fifteen men,a lower staff of eleven men, and eight companies, each with ninety-four men.
Both cuirassier regiments had an upper staff with thirteen, a lower staff of eleven, and eight companies, each with seventy-nine men. The two hussar regiments had an upper staff and company strength like the cuirassiers, while the middle staff only had eleven men.
The Westphalian army had a Guard artillery company, four foot companies, and two horse companies. The Guard company had a staff of nine officers and men and a company strength of ninety-two officers and men. The line batteries had a regimental staff of nineteen officers and men. The foot batteries had 107 officers and men, and the horse batteries had 90 officers and men. All Westphalian batteries, line or Guard, had six guns, four 6pdrs or 12pdrs and two 7pdr howitzers.
As in the French army, there were artillery train companies assigned to each company to provide it with mobility. These companies had a strength of 103 officers and men.
There were sapper and ouvrier companies that had the same strength as the line foot companies.
The Wurttemberg Army
The entry of Wurttemberg into the Confederation of the Rhine was accompanied by a major reorganization. It expanded its army to eight infantry regiments, two light infantry battalions, and two jàger battalions.
On 6 April 1811 the Wurttemberg infantry regiments were slightly reorganized. It was with this organization that they entered Russia. Their staff now consisted of six officers. Each company now had 3 officers and 163 noncommissioned officers and men.
The Wurttemberg army had two chevauxléger regiments, two jàger zu pferd regiments, and a Leibgarde zu Pferd Regiment. All cavalry regiments had four squadrons, each with 102 officers and men. Their staff consisted of 20 officers.
The Leibgarde zu Pferd consisted of four independent squadrons that were never formed into a single unit except in time of war. Each squadron was responsible for its own administration and was commanded by a major and an appropriate staff. Aside from this, the squadrons were organized like line squadrons.
On 1 May 1810 the Wurttemberg artillery corps underwent a major reorganization and now consisted of a staff, three horse companies, a foot battalion consisting of four foot companies, and an arsenal/depot company. The staff consisted of 9 officers and men. The 1st (Guard) and 2nd Horse Artillery Companies consisted of four 6pdr cannons, two 7pdr howitzers, six munition caissons, one tool caisson, three officers, ninety-seven noncommissioned officers and artillerists, twenty-four train soldiers, six other attendants, thirty-two mounts, and forty-eight draft horses.
The 3rd Horse Artillery Company consisted of three 6pdr cannons, one 7pdr howitzer, four munition caissons, one tool caisson, two officers, sixty-six noncommissioned officers and artillerists, and five other men.
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Foot Batteries had six 6pdr cannons, two 7pdr howitzers, eight munition caissons, three officers, 118 noncommissioned officers and men, and three artisans.
The 4th Foot Battery or Park Company in fact consisted of two batteries which had five 12pdr cannons, two heavy howitzers, and three munition caissons. These two forces were manned by 2 unterlieutenants, 2 sergeants, 112 artilleristen, and 6 handwerksleute.
In January 1810 the 2nd Horse Artillery Company was reduced to the strength and structure of the 3rd Horse Artillery Company. That October the artillery corps was again reassigned. The Guard Horse Battery (1st) remained part of the “maison du roi,” while the other two were attached to the cavalry brigade. The foot artillery battalion was split between two infantry divisions.
On 2 December 1810 four 3pdrs were organized and manned by the excess artillerists. Three of these guns were attached to the Infantry Regiment Prinz Friederich.
On 24 April 1811 an artillery commando was dispatched to the fortress of Danzig in preparation for the pending invasion of Russia. This commando had three officers, eighty-one noncommissioned officers and artillerists, fifteen trainsoldaten, seven other men, two 6pdr cannons, two reserve caissons, two infantry caissons, two mounts, and twenty-four draft horses.
On 30 June 1811 the foot artillery battalion was re-armed and the four companies now had two 12pdr cannons, two 6pdr cannons, and two 7pdr howitzers each. In addition, the battalion still had the reserve park company. These reequipped and reorganized foot companies now had three officers, twenty-one noncommissioned officers, two drummers, seventy-six artillerists, two wagonmasters, forty-three train soldiers, three mounts, and forty-four draft horses. The reserve company consisted of 5 officers, 26 noncommissioned officers, 126 artillerists, 1 oberwagen-meister (senior wagonmaster), 6 wagon masters, 243 train soldiers, 7 mounts, and 476 draft horses.
In 1812, when the Wurttemberg contingent joined the Grande Armée in the great invasion of Russia, it consisted of two horse, two foot, and one heavy foot batteries. The horse batteries had four 6pdr cannon and two 7pdr howitzers. These guns were manned by (from sergeant down) 149 men, 44 train soldiers, 54 mounts, and 76 draft horses. The light foot batteries had three 6pdrs and two 7pdr howitzers. They were crewed by (from sergeant down) 153 men, 44 train soldiers, 2 mounts, and 76 draft horses. The 12pdr foot battery had six cannons, a few more men than the 6pdr foot batteries, two mounts, and eighty-eight draft horses. The artillery corps had a total of 1,020 men, 119 mounts, and 617 draft horses.
The Contingents of the Smaller German States
Among the many states that provided soldiers for
Napoleon's Grande Armée were a number of very small principalities that were also part of the Confederation of the Rhine. The contingents of some of these states were so small that they had to be combined with the contingents of other states to form viable units. These troops were organized into the “division princière,” under the command of General Daendels, and eventually became part of the 34th Division under General Morand. Some of these troops served as garrisons in the German fortresses and cities while others were sent into Russia.
The 3rd Rhinbund Regiment consisted of two battalions from Frankfurt and was organized on the French model. The 4th Rhinbund Regiment had three battalions formed with troops from the five Saxon ducal houses of Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Coburg, Saxe-Gotha, Saxe-Weimar, and Saxe™ Hildburghausen. The 5th Rhinbund Regiment had three battalions formed with troops from Lippe, Lippe-Detmold, Lippe-Schaumburg, Anhalt-Kothen, Anhalt-Dessau, and Anhalt-Bernberg. The 6th Rhinbund Regiment had two battalions formed with the troops from Reuss, Waldeck, Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen, and Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. The 7th Rhinbund Regiment had three battalions and was raised in Wurzburg.
In addition, Wurzburg also provided a 6pdr foot battery and a squadron of chasseurs. The latter were quickly withdrawn from the Grande Armée because they were also the only police force in Wurzburg.
The 8th Rhinbund Regiment was formed with two battalions and drawn from the states of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Stelitz.
The Austrian Army
In contrast to most of the armies, the Austrian army was not organized along the lines of the French army and did not follow French practice when operating in the field. It had a long military tradition of its own and was faithful to this tradition where its practice differed from that of the French.
Austria provided a contingent for the Grande Armée as a result of the Treaty of 14 March 1812. Napoleon's faith in this contingent was mixed. He had married Marie Louise, the daughter of the Austrian emperor, and this should have given him considerable assurance of any Austrian contingent. However the Austrians had been among France's fiercest enemies until that marriage, and the considerable anti-French sentiment that had led the Austrians to the tremendous military disasters of 1805 and 1809 still existed.
The Austrian army had four distinct types of infantry: “German” line infantry, “Hungarian” line infantry, “Grenz” infantry and “Jàgers. “The German and Hungarian line infantry regiments both had three battalions of six companies and two grenadier companies that were generally detached. They also had staffs with seventy-five officers and men, but that's where the similarities ended. The German infantry company consisted of 198 officers and men while the Hungarian infantry company consisted of 218 officers and men. The grenadier companies of both regiments had 144 officers and men.
The German infantry regiment had a total of 4,077 officers and men with 3,639 serving in the three field battalions. The Hungarian regiments had a total of 5,167 officers and men with 3,999 serving in the three field battalions.
The Grenz infantry regiments were raised from men serving on the southern frontiers of the Austrian empire. They were military colonists and designated as the border guards (“Grenz” is the German word for border). They constantly skirmished with the Turks and because of this were one of the principal light infantry formations in the Austrian army. Their internal organization was much like that of the line. They had, however, only two battalions per regiment. Their company structure was identical to that of the Hungarian regiments, but they had a staff of only sixty-one officers and men. In addition they had regimental batteries with fifty officers and men each. The regiments had a total of 2,727 men.
The last infantry formation, also a light infantry formation, was Austria's seven jàger battalions. Each battalion had a staff of 14 officers and men, and six companies, each with 137 officers and men. The battalions had a total of 762 men each.
The Austrians, having a long military tradition of their own, did many things in the mode of the day, which were similar to the French methods, and did other things after their own manner. The drill regulations used by the Austrians in 1812 were written by Archduke Charles in 1807. These regulations set each company with a three-rank formation, each rank being two feet from the next rank. The interval between companies was four feet. The soldiers in a rank stood elbow to elbow, as in the French army. They normally marched at 90 to 95 paces per minute with a charge pace of 120 paces per minute. The archduke also introduced a new “ maneuver pace” of 105 to 108 paces per minute.
Though most of the formations and tactics used by the Austrians were, for all intents and purposes, identical to those used by the rest of Europe's armies, the Austrians did have two unique formations: the “bataillonmasse” and the “divisionmasse.” These two formations were in essence dense blocks of infantry that were formed in lieu of a square. The “divisionmasse” consisted of two companies organized such that it had a front of a half company and was four half-companies thick. The rear three ranks and the three flank files all faced outwards, forming what amounted to a hedgehog. The “bataillonmasse” was a column of companies formed as densely as the “divisionmasse.” In both instances the ranks were closed up so that the gap between all ranks, different companies not being a consideration, was two feet. This dense formation gave the attacking cavalry no opportunity to penetrate its ranks. It did have one serious weakness, however, which was recognized by the Austrians. That was that artillery, when firing on this formation, would wreak havoc on it. Other formations, being less dense, would survive artillery fire with fewer casualties.
There was yet another formation used by the Austrians. This was the “klumpen” or quick squares. This formation was used by any infantry formation caught out of square. A noncommissioned officer or officer would call to his men and direct them to form around him in a tight ball formation with everyone facing outwards. This formation had no ability to move and its fire was not very effective. However, it would keep its members from being ridden down by the attacking cavalry. In contrast, the “bataillonmasse” and “divisionmasse” could both maneuver and fire quite effectively.
The Austrians also had their version of the French “ordre mixte.” In this instance a single battalion would form a line and the end divisions formed in “divisionmasse.”
The Austrians also attempted to copy the French practice of employing light infantry as an integral part of the battalion. To this end the Austrian infantry regulations directed that two corporals and twelve soldiers from each company in the battalion be armed with rifles and twenty-five rounds of ammunition. When operating as skirmishers, these men operated at about 300 paces from their parent company.
The jàgers operated with the same tactical formations as the line infantry, but they were also a skirmish formation. One third of the jàgers were armed with rifles, which had the disadvantage of reducing their rate of fire to one round for every two fired by the musket-carrying jàgers, but the range was about 350 yards, markedly superior to those muskets.
The Austrian cavalry consisted of heavy and light regiments. The heavy regiments—cuirassiers and dragoons—had six squadrons each. The light regiments—-chevauxlégers, hussars, and uhlans—had eight squadrons each. The staff of the heavy regiments consisted of forty-two officers and men. Each squadron consisted of 169 officers and men. This gave a heavy regiment a total strength of 1,267 officers and men. The staff of the hussar and uhlan regiments had fifty-three officers and men, the chevauxléger regiments had fifty-one. Their squadrons had 177 officers and men. This gave a hussar or uhlan regiment a total strength of 1,477 officers and men. The chevauxléger had 1,475 officers and men.
Like the French cavalry, the Austrian cavalry formed in two lines. In contrast to the French, where the company was the smallest tactical formation, the Austrians used the squadron as their basic tactical unit. There were, however, few other significant differences between the Austrian and French cavalry.
The Austrian artillery establishment consis
ted of four regiments. Each regiment had four battalions and each battalion had sixteen companies. Each company had 184 officers and men.
The Austrians had both foot and “wurst” companies. The foot batteries were formed into either position or brigade batteries. The position batteries had either four 6pdrs or 12pdrs and two 7pdr howitzers. The brigade batteries had eight 3pdrs or 6pdrs.
The brigade batteries operated with the second regiment of the brigade to which they were attached, unless they were equipped with 6pdrs. In that case they operated in front of the brigade. The position batteries served as a reserve and were deployed as requirements dictated. These were, with the wurst guns, the only guns generally considered discretionary and intended for use in large batteries. It was, however, unusual to find more than twenty Austrian guns operating in a single battery.
The “wurst” batteries, the Austrian equivalent of a horse battery, had four 6pdrs and two 7pdr howitzers. These “wurst” guns, the pattern for the Bavarian light batteries, had a sausage-like leather seat on the trail of the guns and on the caissons for the artillerists to ride into battle. The German word for sausage is “wurst,” hence the name.
The laborers attached to each battery came from “handlager” companies, which served the same function as the French artillery train companies. Generally speaking, these companies operated in pairs or “divisions.” The peacetime establishment of a “handlager” battalion consisted of a staff and eight companies. However, in wartime the number of companies expanded to the number necessary for the job at hand. These companies consisted of 181 officers and men. Each company was slightly more than was necessary to man three batteries.
The Austrian army was always noted as having a very large baggage train. This had been reduced by the Archduke Charles, but it still remained large. The train attached to a line regiment was thirteen wagons and twenty-six pack animals. A Grenz regiment had nine wagons and an indefinite number of pack animals. The jàgers had seven wagons and twelve horses and cavalry regiments had six wagons and no pack horses.
Napoleon's Invasion of Russia Page 9