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La Grande Armée (in English, the Big or Grand Army) is the French military term for the main force in a military campaign. In practice, however, the phrase is inextricably linked with the multi-national armies gathered by Napoleon I in his campaigns of the early nineteenth century (see Napoleonic Wars). The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
A nations army is its military, or more specifically, all of its land forces. ...
Bonaparte as general, by Antoine-Jean Gros. ...
Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Napoleonic Wars are the wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule of France. ...
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 Austrian armies were preparing to invade France. 1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...
Boulogne-sur-Mer is a city and commune in northern France, in the Pas-de-Calais département of which it is a sous-préfecture. ...
The English Channel ( French:La Manche) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. ...
The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1,320 km Elevation of the source Vorderrhein: approx. ...
The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and...
La Grande Armée originally consisted of six corps under the command of Napoleon's marshals. As Napoleon's might spread across Europe, the army grew in size. It reached its maximum size of 600,000 men in 1812 at the start of the invasion of Russia against the Sixth Coalition. At that the army consisted of Marshal (also spelled Marshall) is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. ...
1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...
The invasion of the Russian Empire led by Napoleon in 1812 was a critical turning point in the Napoleonic wars. ...
The Sixth Coalition (1812-1814) was a coalition of the United Kingdom, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Austria and a number of German States against Napoleonic France. ...
- Around 300,000 Frenchmen, Belgians and Dutchmen.
- 95,000 Poles
- 25,000 Italians
- 24,000 Bavarians
- 20,000 Saxons
- 17,000 Westphalians
- 20,000 Prussians
- 35,000 Austrians
- 15,000 Swiss
- 3,500 Croatians
With the exception of the Polish and Austrian corps, each contingent was commanded by French generals. The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ...
The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). ...
With an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ...
The Saxons were a large and powerful Germanic people located in what is now northwestern Germany and a small section of the eastern Netherlands. ...
Westphalia (in German, Westfalen) is a (historic) region in Germany, centred on the cities of Dortmund, Münster, Bielefeld, and Osnabrück and now included in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia (and the (south-)west of Lower Saxony). ...
The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and...
Forces of La Grande Armée
In Napoleon's army, there were four separate types of cavalry: An army unit consisting of mounted soldiers is commonly known as 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.
Cuirassiers were mounted soldiers with firearms originating in 16th-century Europe. ...
A statue of an armoured knight of the Middle Ages For the chess piece, see knight (chess). ...
Binomial name Equus caballus The Horse (Equus caballus) is a large ungulate mammal, one of the seven modern species of the genus Equus. ...
This article deals with technology from the Cosmic Era timeline of the Gundam fictional universe metaseries. ...
For other uses, see Sabre (disambiguation). ...
A pistol is a usually small, projectile weapon, normally fired with one hand. ...
A carbine is a firearm, similar to but shorter than an ordinary rifle or musket in barrel and stock. ...
Infantry in the First World War Infantry (or Infantrymen) are soldiers who fight primarily on foot, using personal weapons. ...
Polish Hussar Hussar (original Hungarian spelling: huszár, plural huszárok) refers to a number of types of cavalry used throughout Europe since the 15th century. ...
A Lancer was a cavalry soldier who fought with a lance. ...
- 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 voltigeur 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. Later, separate light infantry regiments were formed.
Infantry in the First World War Infantry (or Infantrymen) are soldiers who fight primarily on foot, using personal weapons. ...
In military terminology, a battalion consists of two to six companies typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel. ...
Traditionally light infantry (or skirmishers) were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. ...
As one would expect with the Emperor being a former artillery officer, France's cannon 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. Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ...
France's Imperial Guard was the elite military force of its time and grew out of the Garde des Consuls and Garde Consulaire. It was, quite literally, an army unit itself with both infantry and cavalry divisions. 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. Although the infantry was rarely committed, the Guard's cavalry was often thrown in to a battle as the killing blow. There were three sections: The Imperial Guard was originally a small group of elite soldiers under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. ...
- Old Guard: This was the creme de la creme of Napoleon's army. The Old Guard was made up of the longest serving veterans (3-5 campaigns).
- Middle Guard: Consisted of veterans with 3-5 campaigns.
- Young Guard: initially was made up of veterans with at least one campaign under their belts as well as bright young officers.
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. A military engineer is primarily responsible for the design and construction of offensive and defensive structures for warfare. ...
A pontoon bridge Pontoon bridges are floating bridges supported by floating pontoons with sufficient buoyancy to support the bridge and dynamic loads. ...
Saint Basils Cathedral Moscow (Russian/Cyrillic: Москва́, pronunciation: Maskvá listen) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva, and encompassing 1097. ...
See also Although they were presented with Regimental Colours, the regiments of Napoleon I tended to carry at their head the Imperial Eagle. ...
References - 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow, Adam Zamoyski, ISBN 0007123752
- Blundering to Glory: Napoleon's Military Campaigns (2nd edition) Owen Connelly. 254 pages. 1999. ISBN:0842027807
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