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Grande Armée

La Grande Armée (French for 'The Great Army'; French pronunciation: [ɡʀɑ̃d aʀme]) was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empire to exercise unprecedented control over most of Europe. Widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest fighting forces ever assembled, it suffered enormous losses during the disastrous Peninsular War followed by the invasion of Russia in 1812, after which it never recovered its strategic superiority and ended in total defeat for Napoleonic France by the Peace of Paris in 1815.

For the racehorse, see Grand Armee (horse).

The Great Army

1804–1807
1812
1813–1814

First French Empire

Napoleon I

French Imperial Army

Field army

600,000 men at peak strength in 1812 (before the invasion of Russia) out of 2,175,335 men conscripted in total from 1805 to 1813 in the broader French Imperial Army

Valeur et Discipline[1]

Le Tricolore

La Victoire est à nous (from the ballet-opera La caravane du Caire)

War of the Third Coalition
War of the Fourth Coalition
Russian campaign
War of the Sixth Coalition

Napoleon I

Pierre Augereau
Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte
Louis-Alexandre Berthier
Jean-Baptiste Bessières
Guillaume Brune
Louis-Nicolas Davout
Emmanuel de Grouchy
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean Lannes
François Joseph Lefebvre
Étienne MacDonald
Auguste de Marmont
André Masséna
Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey
François Christophe de Kellermann
Édouard Mortier
Joachim Murat
Michel Ney
Nicolas Oudinot
Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon
Józef Antoni Poniatowski
Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr
Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier
Jean-de-Dieu Soult
Louis-Gabriel Suchet
Claude-Victor Perrin

Ranks of the French Imperial Army

The Grande Armée was formed in 1804 from the L'Armée des côtes de l'Océan (Army of the Ocean Coasts), a force of over 100,000 men that Napoleon had assembled for the proposed invasion of Britain. Napoleon later deployed the army in Central Europe to eliminate the combined threat of Austria and Russia, which were part of the Third Coalition formed against France. Thereafter, the Grande Armée was the principal military force deployed in the campaigns of 1806/7, the French invasion of Spain, and in the War of the Fifth Coalition, where the French army slowly lost its veteran soldiers, strength and prestige, and in the conflicts of 1812, 1813–14, and 1815. In practice, however, the term Grande Armée is used in English to refer to all the multinational forces gathered by Napoleon in his campaigns.[2]


In addition to its size and multinational composition, the Grande Armée was known in history for its innovative formations, tactics, logistics, and communications. While most contingents were commanded by French generals, except for the Polish and Austrian corps, soldiers could climb the ranks regardless of class, wealth, or national origin, though the ultimate outcome was total defeat.


Upon its formation, the Grande Armée consisted of six corps under the command of Napoleon's marshals and senior generals. When the Austrian and Russian armies began preparations to invade France in late 1805, the Grande Armée was quickly ordered across the Rhine into southern Germany, leading to Napoleon's victories at Ulm and Austerlitz. The French Army grew as Napoleon seized power across Europe, recruiting troops from occupied and allied nations; it reached its peak of one million men at the start of the Russian campaign in 1812,[3] with the Grande Armée reaching its height of 413,000 French soldiers and over 600,000 men overall when including foreign recruits.[4]


In summer of 1812, as many as 300,000 French troops fought in the Peninsular War. Napoleon opened a second war front as the Grande Armée marched slowly east, and the Russians fell back with its approach. After the capture of Smolensk and victory at Borodino, the French reached Moscow on 14 September 1812. However, the army was already drastically reduced by skirmishes with the Russians, disease (principally typhus), desertion, heat, exhaustion, and long communication lines. The army spent a month in Moscow but was ultimately forced to march back westward. Cold, starvation, and disease, as well as constant harassment by Cossacks and Russian partisans, resulted in the Grande Armée's utter destruction as a fighting force. Only 120,000 men survived to leave Russia (excluding early deserters); of these, 50,000 were Austrians, Prussians, and other Germans, 20,000 were Poles, and just 35,000 were French.[5] As many as 380,000 died in the campaign.[6]


Napoleon led a new army during the campaign in Germany in 1813, the defense of France in 1814, and the Waterloo campaign in 1815, but the Grande Armée would never regain its height of June 1812, and France would find itself invaded on multiple fronts from the Spanish border to the German border. In total, from 1805 to 1813, over 2.1 million Frenchmen were conscripted into the French Imperial Army.[7]

Old Guard

[29]

Middle Guard (Moyenne Garde)

[32]

Young Guard (Jeune Garde)

[35]

(Ligne): The basic three rank line formation, best used for delivering volley fire and was also a decent melee formation for infantry or cavalry, but it was relatively slow moving and vulnerable on the flanks.

Line

(Colonne de Marche): The best formation for rapid or sustained movement of troops and a good melee attacking formation, but it offered little firepower and was also vulnerable to flank attack, ambush, artillery, and "funneling".

March Column

(Colonne de Charge): An arrow or spearhead shaped cavalry formation, designed to close rapidly and break the enemy's line. Classic and effective mounted formation used throughout history, and still used by tanks today. But if the wedge was halted, or its attack lost momentum, then it was vulnerable to counter-pincer movements on its flanks.

Wedge

Attack Column (Colonne d'Attaque): A wide column of infantry, almost a hybrid of line and column, with light infantry skirmishers in front to disrupt the enemy and screen the column's advance. Once the column closed, the skirmishers would move off to its flanks, then the column would fire a massed musket salvo and charge with their bayonets. An excellent formation against a standard, thin line. The Attack Column was developed from the "Mob" or "Horde" tactics of the early French Revolutionary Armies. Its disadvantages were a lack of massed firepower and vulnerability to artillery fire.

(Ordre Mixte): Was Napoleon's preferred infantry formation. Some units (usually regiments or battalions in size) would be placed in line formation, with other units in attack column behind and in between them. This combined the firepower of the line with the speed, melee, and skirmishing advantages of the attack column. It also had some of the disadvantages of both, so support from artillery and cavalry were especially vital for this tactic to succeed.

Mixed Order

(Ordre Ouvert): Foot and/or horse would spread out by unit and/or individually. This formation was best for light troops and skirmishers. It allowed for rapid movement, especially over broken or rough terrain such as hills or forests, and offered the best protection from enemy fire since the troops were spread out. Its disadvantages were it did not allow for massed or volley fire and was terrible for melee or close quarters fighting and thus, especially vulnerable to cavalry.

Open Order

(Carré): Classic infantry formation for defence against cavalry. Soldiers would form a hollow square at least three or four ranks deep on each side, with officers and artillery or cavalry in the middle. It offered infantry their best protection against charges, especially on good defensive terrain such as on the top or reverse slope of a hill. Squares were slow moving, almost stationary targets, however. This, along with their density, made squares very vulnerable to artillery and to a lesser extent, infantry fire. Once broken, squares tended to completely collapse.

Square

Flying Battery (Batterie Volante): Designed to take advantage of the French artillery's mobility and training. A battery would move to one area on the field, lay down a short, sharp barrage, then rapidly redeploy to another area and fire another barrage, then quickly redeploy again, etc. The combined, cumulative effect of numerous batteries doing this all along the enemy's lines could be devastating. The horse artillery were especially well suited for this tactic. Napoleon used it to great success in the early campaigns of the Grande Armée. Its flexibility allowed him to quickly mass well-aimed fire anywhere it was needed. But it required superbly trained and conditioned artillerymen and horses as well as close command, coordination, and control in order to work.

(Grande Batterie): An alternative artillery tactic, when circumstances prohibited the flying batteries. Artillery would mass its fire at a single, crucial point on the battlefield (usually against the enemy's centre). It could be devastating if the enemy was caught by surprise or in the open. But massing large numbers of guns in a single area without the enemy's knowledge could be tricky. Once the battery opened fire and its target became clear, measures could be taken to avoid it. It was also vulnerable to counter-battery fire from enemy artillery and needed protection from cavalry attack. Although this has become the most well known French artillery tactic, Napoleon preferred the flying batteries and used it only when he had to or thought it posed a better chance of success. Often at the start of a battle, he would mass batteries into a large battery, then after a few salvoes, break it up into flying batteries. In the early campaigns it was rarely used, but as the quantity of the horses of the Grande Armée and the quality of its artillerymen declined, Napoleon would be forced to employ it much more frequently in later battles.

Grand Battery

Boar's Head (Tête du Sanglier): Another hybrid formation, somewhat like the mixed order, but combining all three arms into a wedge-like square, which could be used for assault or defence. Infantry would form a short, but thick, line many ranks deep on the front, which would be the boar's "snout" (boutoir). Behind them would be two groups of artillery batteries or the "eyes" of the boar. On their flanks and behind them, in oblique order, would be other infantry in column, line, or square to form the boar's "face". Protecting their flanks and rear would be two groups of cavalry, which would serve as the boar's "tusk". This was a highly complex formation, which could not be formed as easily or quickly as the others. Once formed, except for the tusks, it had slow mobility. It was, however, faster moving than the traditional square and less vulnerable to artillery or infantry fire. The "tusks" also gave it stronger offensive capabilities. It would later be employed to great effect during the French conquests in North Africa during the 1830s and 1840s, and would be used up until the 1920s.

While Napoleon is best known as a master strategist and charismatic presence on the battlefield, he was also a tactical innovator. He combined classic formations and tactics that had been used for thousands of years with more recent ones, such as Frederick the Great's "Oblique Order" (best illustrated at the Battle of Leuthen) and the "mob tactics" of the early Levée en masse armies of the Revolution. Napoleonic tactics and formations were highly fluid and flexible. In contrast, many of the Grande Armée's opponents were still wedded to a rigid system of "Linear" (or Line) tactics and formations, in which masses of infantry would simply line up and exchange vollies of fire, in an attempt to either blow the enemy from the field or outflank them. Due to the vulnerabilities of the line formations to flanking attacks, it was considered the highest form of military manoeuvre to outflank one's adversary. Armies would often retreat or even surrender if this was accomplished. Consequently, commanders who adhered to this system would place a great emphasis on flank security, often at the expense of a strong centre or reserve. Napoleon would frequently take full advantage of this linear mentality by feigning flank attacks or offering the enemy his own flank as "bait" (best illustrated at the Battle of Austerlitz and also later at Lützen), then throw his main effort against their centre, split their lines, and roll up their flanks. He always kept a strong reserve as well, mainly in the form of his Imperial Guard, which could deliver a "knockout blow" if the battle was going well or turn the tide if it was not.


Some of the more famous, widely used, effective, and interesting formations and tactics included:

British Army during the Napoleonic Wars

French Imperial Eagle

Legion of Honour

List of French general officers (Peninsular War)

Types of military forces in the Napoleonic Wars

Uniforms of La Grande Armée

Weapons of Honour

Social background of officers and other ranks in the French Army, 1750–1815

Spanish Army (Peninsular War)

, G. (1916). Losses of Life in Modern Wars, Austria-Hungary; France. Creative Media Partners, LLC. ISBN 978-1371465520.

Bodart

(2000). 1812: Napoleon's Invasion of Russia. Greenhill Books. (Originally published in three volumes: The March on Moscow, Napoleon in Moscow, The Great Retreat.). ISBN 1-85367-415-X

Britten Austin, Paul

(1973). Campaigns of Napoleon. ISBN 0-02-523660-1

Chandler, David G.

(1979). Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars, London.

Chandler, David G.

Connelly, Owen (1999). Blundering to Glory: Napoleon's Military Campaigns (2nd edition).  0-8420-2780-7

ISBN

Dempsey, Guy C. (2016). Pen and Sword. ISBN 1-85367-488-5

Napoleon's mercenaries: foreign units in the French Army under Consulate and Empire, 1799 to 1814.

Elting, John Robert (1997). Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armée. Da Capo Press.  0-306-80757-2

ISBN

Fisher, Todd & Fremont-Barnes, Gregory (2004). The Napoleonic Wars: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd.  1-84176-831-6

ISBN

Haythornthwaite, Philip (1998). Who Was Who in the Napoleonic Wars. London.

Haythornthwaite, Philip; Bryan Fosten (1983). Napoleon's Line Infantry.  0-85045-512-X

ISBN

Luvaas, Jay (1999). Napoleon on the Art of War.  0-684-85185-7

ISBN

McNab, Chris (2009). Armies of the Napoleonic Wars. Osprey Publishing Ltd., Oxford.  978-1-84603-470-1

ISBN

Mearsheimer, John J. (2001). . W.W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-32396-2.

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics

Watson, S. J. (1957). By command of the Emperor: A life of Marshal Berthier. The Bodley Head, London.

La Grande Armée: Introduction to Napoleon's Army, Mas, M.A. M., Andrea Press, 2005.

Royal, Republican, Imperial, a History of the French Army from 1792–1815: Vol 1 – Infantry – History of Line Infantry (1792–1815), Internal & Tactical Organization; Revolutionary National Guard, Volunteers Federes, & Compagnies Franches; and 1805 National Guard., Nafziger, George. 98 pages. <>

THE NAFZIGER COLLECTION

Royal, Republican, Imperial, a History of the French Army from 1792–1815: Vol 2 – Infantry – National Guard after 1809; Garde de Paris, Gendarmerie, Police, & Colonial Regiments; Departmental Reserve Companies; and Infantry Uniforms., Nafziger, George. 104 pages. <>

THE NAFZIGER COLLECTION

Royal, Republican, Imperial, a History of the French Army from 1792–1815: Vol 3 – Cavalry – Line, National Guard, Irregular, & Coastal Artillery, Artillery & Supply Train, and Balloon Companies., Nafziger, George. 127 pages.

Royal, Republican, Imperial, a History of the French Army from 1792–1815: Vol 4 – Imperial Guard, Nafziger, George. 141 pages. <>

THE NAFZIGER COLLECTION

1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow, , ISBN 0-00-712375-2

Adam Zamoyski

James Burbeck, War Times Journal.

The Bridges That Éblé Built: The 1812 Crossing Of The Berezina

With Napoleon in Russia, Armand-Augustin-Louis de Caulaincourt, Duc de Vicence, Grosset & Dunlap, 1959

Capt. Jose M. Ortiz.

The Revolutionary Flying Ambulance of Napoleon's Surgeon

The Encyclopedia Of Military History: From 3500 B.C. To The Present. (2nd Revised Edition 1986), R. Ernest Dupuy, and Trevor N. Dupuy.

of the Duke Rovigo

Memoirs

The Journal of the International Napoleonic Society

Supplying War: Logistics From Wallenstein to Patton, 2nd Edition, Martin van Crevald. 2004.  0-521-54657-5

ISBN

Napoleonic Artillery:Firepower Comes Of Age, James Burbeck. War Times Journal

Napoleon's Elite Cavalry: Cavalry of the Imperial Guard, 1804–1815, Edward Ryan with illustrations by Lucien Rousselot, 1999, 208 pages  1-85367-371-4

ISBN

1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow (2004), Adam Zamoyski, HarperCollins Publishing,  0-00-712374-4

ISBN

French website displaying flags of the Grande Armée

Archived 2019-04-28 at the Wayback Machine by Major James T. McGhee

Soldiers of Fortitude: The Grande Armee of 1812 in Russia

French Heavy and Light Cavalry (Lourde et Légère Cavalerie)

French article on Chappe telegraphs, Les Télégraphes Chappe, l'Ecole Centrale de Lyon

Uniforms of Napoleon's Guard

Illustrations (uniforms) by Hippolyte Bellangé from the book P.-M. Laurent de L`Ardèche «Histoire de Napoléon», 1843