Napoleon's Russian Campaign of 1812Foord, Edward (Edward A.)
History
Napoleon's Russian Campaign of 1812
Foord, Edward (Edward A.)
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821 -- Military leadership; Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815 -- Campaigns -- Russia
There were 9 22-company regiments of foot artillery, 43 companies
of horse artillery in 6 regiments, and 27 6-company battalions of
artillery train. The company of foot artillery consisted of 120
officers and men, that of horse artillery of 100. A battery consisted
of a company of artillery and a company or half-company of train.
The field and horse artillery was armed with 12- and 6-pounder guns
and 32- and 24-pounder howitzers. There were also some 4-pounders. A
battery usually contained 4 or 6 guns and 2 howitzers. The regimental
guns were light 3-pounders.
The quality of the artillery was high. Many of its officers had made
a scientific study of their profession; and the force as a whole was
highly trained. The material was good, but British officers considered
it much inferior to that of their own army. Manoeuvring was for the
foot artillery a slow process, and for the rapid formation of his great
preparatory batteries Napoleon was generally obliged to rely upon the
horse artillery.
The technical troops were sufficient in number, admirable in quality,
and directed by scientific officers. All through the Napoleonic wars
the engineers did splendid service, and never was their skill and
devotion more evident than in Russia. The construction and maintenance
of the bridges of the Berezina, amid every kind of misery and
disadvantage, is perhaps the fairest leaf on the crown of the French
engineers.
Napoleon, realising that in thinly peopled Russia he could not wage
war as in Germany, had made great exertions to organise a transport
service, especially for the conveyance of food supplies. There were 26
battalions. Most of these had each 252 four-horsed waggons, each waggon
with a load of 1500 kilogrammes. Four of them had 600 light carts,
each with a load of 600 kilogrammes; and 4 were supplied each with 600
ox-waggons with a capacity of 1000 kilogrammes. The oxen were later to
be killed and eaten--a foolish idea, which it is needless to say could
not be carried out. Overworked draft cattle cannot be used for food.
In practice the transport broke down hopelessly. Despite ruthless
plundering in Prussia it was short of draft beasts from the outset. So,
too, was the artillery, and it may be imagined that when horses were
found the latter appropriated them as a matter of course. Forage was
scarce. Finally there were hardly any roads which would bear the weight
of the trains. They soon fell far to the rear, and from the first there
was a shortage of supplies at the front.
Distinct from the army as a whole was the Imperial Guard. The inception
of this force dated from 1800, when Napoleon formed a “Consular Guard”
of 2 infantry and 2 cavalry regiments, selected from men who had served
four campaigns. In 1806 and 1807 fresh regiments were raised on the
same principle, and then numerous battalions of picked recruits. When
Holland was incorporated in the Empire the Dutch Guards were also
included.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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