Battle Report #12 - Napoleon's Italian Campaign 1796.

[AUSTERLITZ]

Italian Campaign 1796 - Rise of Napoleon

I'm back finally after being down with fever and this will be my largest one yet.



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Background:
In 1789 the French revolution shattered europe.After a century of absolute monarchy,arrogance,enormous decadence and corruption on part of the nobility allied with the clergy with france facing economic bankruptcy and famine and still the nobility refusing reforms that would curtail their privilages the lower classes broke out in open rebellion .The upper classes comprised perhaps 1.5% of the total population but controlled 40% of the national wealth.They paid no taxes and also possesed immunity from criminal prosecution by any save the king.Almost all important posts were occupied by the nobility.The lower classes however had to pay half their income in taxes and their situation had become destitute and desperate in the economic crisis.The result was inevitable-Revolution.


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Inspired by the writings of Voltaire and Rousseau,the french populace led by the burgeousie adopted the slogan of 'Liberty,Equality,Fraternity' and proclaimed a republic.With the nobility killed or fled,the king executed-it was a dangerous precedent as far as the shocked european absolute monarchies were concerned.To suppress the dangerous ideas emanating from france an europe wide coalition of monarchies marched against it,determined to restore the old order.The revolutionary leaders fired by revolutionary enthusiasm also added fuel to the fire by declaring their intention to bring the revolution to all the nations of europe.However with much of the officer cadre of the army which was predominantly the nobility defected,they found serious difficulty in fielding forces to halt the allied advance at first with ill disciplined but enthusiastic rabble.As france stood alone against all europe,desperate she unleashed total war.



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Europe in 1792.Austria-Hungary,Prussia,France,Britain and Russia were the great powers of europe.Spain and the ottomans had been in decline for some time now.Habsburg austria had diverse possesions both in the netherlands,hungary,austrian heartland and italy.

In this age european armies were professional and small,but france's was giant advantage was manpower.She was the most populous nation of europe.The revolutionary leaders abandoned the old way of fighting.Universal nationwide Conscription was adopted and the guillotine and reign of terror crushed all internal dissent.The prussian army was halted at Valmy and soon prussia and russia left the coalition.Aided by her inexhaustible manpower reserves and having developed new techniques[which we discuss later].France overran austrian netherlands and belgium and attacked austrian territories in italy.A determined austria however refused to pull out of the war,furious at the execution of the french queen Marie Antionette-who had been an austrian princess and the annexation of austrian netherlands.Now after 4 years the war of the first coalition drags on in 1796.Austrian armies face and push back the main french army in germany while secondary forces oppose each other in italy.


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Italy in 1796.Austria was allied with the piedmont-sardinian monarchy ,the papal states and and naples.

Domestically however the french government was in tatters through corruption and instability.The govt was mostly bankrupt, and by this time the reign of terror of the jacobins[radicals] had been replaced by the burgoesie Directory which was not too popular.Since the time of the revolution the Paris mob had often dictated the political scene.
The revolution however had opened doors for a new generation of officers-among them an unknown corsican lieutnant of artillery,Napoleone Buonaparte.Corsica was a small mediterranean island which had only been annexed to france in 1769.The revolution however removed all previous obstacles of birth and bonaparte had impressed many of the political observers of the directory by playing a prominent role in the fall of toulon 1793 and later in his theoritical writings on the italian campaign to carnot,the main organizer of the french war effort.He was thus a promising officer considered loyal to the directory in 1795 when the paris mob attacked the directory intent on dismantling it like it had made and broken several governments before.The desperate politicians turned to bonaparte,the only general willing to take the job to repulse the 25,000 mob with 6000 troops available .Bonaparte however makes superb use of his artillery and crushes the paris mob in what became in his own words a 'Whiff of grapeshot'.


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A youthful Bonaparte in 1796.He was 27 years old and was initially seen as a green political appointment.But things would change..quickly.

The mob as a political force was finished in a brutal slaughter.As a reward for his services and also to get the now potentially ambitious general away from paris the directory sends him to command the army of italy which was a secondary and neglected theatre hoping to see the end of him.This is where the story begins.

Next: Nature of Warfare-new changes.

 

[Kompromat]

@AUSTERLITZ

Please add a 500X250 picture, it has to be the first picture. It can be resized in paint . Let me know when its done, then we'll publish it.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

THE NATURE OF WARFARE IN THE LATE 18TH CENTURY AND CHANGES -



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Battle Report #10 - Rossbach & Leuthen 1757

Plz read the sections titled nature of warfare and also the artillery section describing effects of artillery against different formations and type of artillery.If u don't read u might have trouble understanding following terms.If u have read then u have basic idea about the general formations line,column and square.That warfare which till this period was more or less same as frederick's era.Warfare was linear with infantry and cavalry massed in blocks for concentrated fire and shock effect.

Now onto the changes brought forth by the revolutionary armies.

Evolution of the French Revolutionary army -

The changes to come could be traced back to the pre-revolution era.Defeat and humiliation in the seven years war had led to an upheaval in french military thought and the next decades reforms had been made,particularly in artillery .Prominent theorists such as guibert had advocated a more mobile cohesive approach to warfare.But these were not implemented in any depth during the royalist era except in the artillery.

When the revolutionary wars broke out in 1791 french armies were to officially follow the carefully crafted army regulations dating from the royalist era with its linear formations.But the defections in the nobility heavy officer cadre coupled with the explosion of new citizen recruits brought by conscription who were enthusiastic but an ill disciplined rabble soon made this impossible.The existing drills and disciplines advocated 3 deep volleys in line followed by attack with bayonet.However these synchronized manuevering from line and column was found to be totally beyond the capacity of the raw conscripts.After a series of initial defeats,the french leaders adapted a mix of 'horde and human wave tactics'.The core of this new style was the sober fact that soldiers now with conscription were cheap and france could pump out men regardless of losses.



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French skirmishers harassing the opponent in loose order.

The basis of these new tactics were a common practice to take the most reliable men and send them out in front of the main body to act as a cloud of skirmishers operating in loose order to harass the enemy.Infantry at this time was divided into line infantry and light infantry.Line infantry fought in close formations[usually line,thus called line infantry],light infantry were bodies of individuals acting as sharpshooters.Light infantry in numbers during this time was quite rare in european armies.However the french had appreciated their effectiveness in the american revolution.In any case the border between line and light infantry in french revolutionary armies began to blur as both could act as skirmishers.The close order disciplined movements being usually beyond them.Unlike the linear formations who fought in the open,skirmishers could make good use of cover.
While this horde of skirmishers harassed the enemy the rest of the revolutionary conscript force in the rear would make up their mind to fight or flee.In case of a fight usually,the sharpshooters were concentrated on specific points of enemy lines and would be rotated to keep up the pressure,being relatively safe from the opposing line infantry by their individual mobility[line infantry being tied to the other ranks of their formation] and from artillery by their loose dispersion.If the enemy was judged weakened by mass skirmishing and the supporting french artillery,the rest of the army would form up into crude columns then to the cries of 'Vive'l'Republique' wild charges resembling human wave attacks with bayonet were released on the enemy.Often the surprised linear european armies,unable to retaliate effectively against the dispersed skirmishers,and unused to such unrefined brute force tactics that followed could be overwhelmed.



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An indignant french Emigre[defected french noble fighting with the european monarchies to restore the old order in france]sums it up -
''Fifty thousand savage beasts foaming at the mouth,charging with the fury of cannibals,hurl themselves at top speed''

The strength of these tactics were their pragmatism and unfamiliarity.They made most of the strength of the revolutionary armies-drive,ardour and zeal and required little discipline or precision-something they lacked entirely.
However if the attack failed,the revolutionary mob would usually lose heart and cohesion and a mass rout to the rear take place.As can be expected,such tactics exacted very heavy casualities.However at this point manpower was not an issue for the french.

Out of this chaos however gradually the conscript armies became battle hardened and more experienced and it was becoming feasible to return to conventional linear tactics emphasizing the combination of Fire and shock without discarding the new elements that had been incorporated into the french way of war.A new group of officers,who had risen from the ranks in combat also developed as leaders.The mixture of remnants of the old royal army that had been loyal to the republic and the new breed now blended into the new french army of the republic.The French military theorists now adapted to make best use of the disciplined and drilled regular old army formations along with the newly raised forces who had acquired some battlefield experience.The result of this effort was the Ordre Mixte.First proposed by guibert,the french adopted this in a unique fashion.

Further Developments in Organization and Tactics -

Revolutionary France discarded the old Regiment as the standard unit due to its feudal origins.This was replaced by Demi-Brigades.
The main problem faced by the French Revolution infantry was a lack of unity. The Army included three main types of infantry, all with different uniforms, organizations, equipment, and rates of pay:

1. regular infantry inherited from the old Royal regiments of the King, relatively well trained and equipped, dressed in white uniforms.http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tarleton_helmet&action=edit&redlink=1
2. national guard units, less well-trained or equipped, with blue uniforms
3. fédéré volunteer battalions, poorly trained and equipped, with no uniform other than a red phrygian cap and a tricolour cockade.

The variations between units created logistical problems, and animosity (due to different rates of pay) among units.

The purpose of the Demi-brigade was to blend all three formations into a single unit, with identical equipment, organization, pay, and uniforms. A Demi-brigade consisted of three infantry battalions: one battalion of regulars (from old Royal regiments), and two battalions of either volunteers or national guards. Each battalion had the same organization of one company of grenadiers (heavy infantry for bayonet assault) and eight companies of fusiliers (regular infantry). On paper, a Demi-brigade would have 2,437 men and four six pounder guns.Later seperate light infantry demibrigades were also formed.
In the use of these the Mixed order formation was advocated.These new formations, were intended to combine the discipline and training of the old army with the enthusiasm of the new volunteers.



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A demibrigade in Mixed order.The centre battalion of old regulars deployed in line in four companies .On 2 sides are battalion columns of conscript volunteers.In front is a screen of skirmishers.One company drawn from each battalion.The grenadier companies of each battalion may be held back as an assault reserve.

Mixed Order could be adapted to be used by companies or battalions and involved two or more of these units using a combination of Line and Column formations.The regular troops moving in line along with the recruits moving in column, which required far less training to perfect, either on the flanks, the centre or in the rear of the veteran units.
The column formation allowed the unit rapid movement, a very effective charge (due to weight of numbers) or it could quickly form an square to resist cavalry attacks, but by its nature only a fraction of its muskets would be able to open fire. The line offered a substantially larger musket frontage allowing for greater shooting capability but required extensive training to allow the unit to move over ground as one while retaining the line.The mixed order thus offered the best of both in a way.And was a flexible formation for both defense and offense.Napoleon advocated it as his primary tactical formation.


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French battalion in line.4 fusilier companies as standard infantry,The voltigeur company acts as light infantry screen.Grenadier companies of many battalions may be held back as an assault reserve.
Apart from the mixed order all the 3 general formations-Line,square and column were used.Though the column was favoured by a large majority by the quick moving ,less precise revolutionary forces.



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Growing sophistication in French light infantry tactics.The earlier great mob of skirmishers being replaced by better organized light infantry usage.2nd diagram here illustrates the employment of a light infantry platoon.Bulk are employed as a harassment screen,while some part are held back behind in solid formation as a point to regroup in case of enemy cavalry attack.[Best way to disperse skirmishers]



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Idealized French rotation of troops using passage of lines.In european linear warfare passage of lines was often employed to allow exhausted frontal units to regroup to the rear while reserve units moved up to replace them.Here the frontal lines form back into column and retreat while the rear formation moving up in column take their place and expand into line.Usually this synchronized movement was not achievable and the retreat to the rear by the frontal units took the shape of a shapeless mass trickling away.The whole system was inspired by the roman system of troop rotation.


NEXT: The Opposing armies and Napoleon's Art of war.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

The Army of Italy :



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The Infantry -

The army of Italy Bonaparte assumed command of was in a wretched condition,penned up in the ligurian mountains by the austrians on one side and piedmontese on the other-it was a neglected secondary theatre for the french govt.The bankrupt directory had failed to provide any support to the forces,with the consequence that the army was unpaid,dressed in rags,without shoes and arms even in many cases.Desertion was common.Starving half mutinous troops presented a gloomy picture more akin to a gang of thugs than an army.The earlier commander had resigned in protest of lack of reinforcements and support from paris.



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However beneath this seemingly hopeless situation,the actual troops were combat experienced and excellent raw material.They lacked neither courage nor ability to endure hardship.Also regardless of the misery of the troops,the subordinate officers bonaparte would inherit were a redoubtable bunch.The product of a mix of old royal army officers and the new breed of revolutionary rise through the ranks soldiers,these were battle hardened and usually competent.Most of the new revolutionary officers were younger and more energetic than the older generation.The tactics of these forces has already been discussed in earlier post.



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The french Charleville 1777 musket.Among the finest firearms of the era these were supposed to be standard issue in 1796 italy.However therwas no standardized arms or equipment in practice and many troops didn't even have any muskets waiting to capture any from the enemy if they could find them.The charleville musket reamined in use throughout the napoleonic wars and came with a socket bayonet.

One very important development that had taken place due to the inability of the french central authority to supply the armies was that the french armies learned to live off the land without being dependant on cumbersome supply columns and depots.While this meant often they went hungry,they were also much more mobile than the armies of the european monarchies who were tied to their depots and supply columns.[Not that the french didn't have depots,but supply was irregular and much was foraged from the countryside].Napoleon Bonaparte would use this advantage of strategic mobility to the hilt.

The cavalry -



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The cavalry was the arm most affected by the revolution as it was almost exclusively manned by the nobility.The quality of french cavalry in the revolutionary period was generally extremely poor,a far cry from the terror it was to become later under napoleon.Lacking in quality horses,equipment and discipline they were mostly only good for reconssaince.However the austrians clear superiority in the mounted arm was negated by the hilly terrain of italy .
[Due to the relative unimportance of french cavalry in this campaign,i am not discussing the tactics which will be discussed in depth in later battle reports as napoleonic cavalry matured to for]

Artillery -



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Artillery could be said to be the most effective and reliable arm of the french army.This was due to 2 factors.
1]The artillery arm had been composed of mostly middle class citizens and was almost unaffected by the revolutionary upheaval.
2]The Gribeauval Reforms of the french artillery in wake of its poor performance in the seven years war had transformed the french artillery into arguably the best artillery force in europe.This system revolutionized French cannon, with a new production system that allowed lighter, more uniform guns without sacrificing range.Gribeauval's primary improvement came in the production of large artillery pieces.. The resulting guns had tighter manufacturing tolerance between the bore and ball and allowed thinner barrels to be made without sacrificing range. Because the projectile fit the gun much more tightly, the barrel could be shorter without reducing accuracy; the shorter, thinner, barrel reduced weight. Gribeauval also designed improved carriages which allowed highly mobile fieldpieces.


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The french artillery thus was mobile,standardized,accurate and reliable.
Field guns were standardized on the calibres-4pdr light battalion support pieces,8pdr medium pieces and 12 pdr heavy guns.

Artillery tactics can be found in battle report 10[Rossbach and leuthen-link given earlier in thsi thread ]



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Gribeauval 12 Pdr field gun.Notice the mobile carriage.

Added to this was a new generation of aggressive officers who employed massed guns in offense.The slow introduction of professional gunners also helped improve the efficiency of the artillery.And the foremost of these new breed of gunners was Bonaparte himself-An erstwhile officer of artillery and an ardent supporter of the destructive capacity of cannon.Despite the negligence of theorists like guibert who considered artillery a nuisance,napoleon[whose infantry tactics were influenced by guibert]disagreed on this point vehemently.And indeed the age of artillery would begin with napoleon.
''God is on the side with the best artillery''-Napoleon Bonaparte.

Next:Austrian Army.

 

[SQ8]

When you do the Russian Campaign by Napoleon.. please dont forget what is perhaps one of the best graphical descriptions ever made in data interpretation.

Napoleon's March to Russia.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

Austrian Army:



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The austrian army was multiethnic and had changed little from the days of frederick.The core regiments were german supplemented by those from hungary,transylvania and croatia.Croatia supplied limited numbers of Grenzer light infantry.Though not fired by revolutionary ideals and still hierarchichal and dominated by the nobility,the austrian infantry were stout and dependable.
The 'German' regiments were the best trained and disciplined part of the infantry. The 'Hungarian' regiments were renowned for their fierce fighting spirit.

."The Austrian infantry had long had the reputation of being
solid and reliable, and had fought the French to a standstill
on a number of occasions since 1792." - Robert Goetz



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Drill and discipline were espoused as secrets to battlefield success and infantry were expected to deliver 3 rounds per minute.The Line remained the formation of choice,but austrian infantry were adept at forming square-indeed solid dense mass squares.This being the result of their experience of long wars with the turkish cavalry.


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The formal warfare of the 18th century demanded synchronized manuevre and maintaining the alignment of long lines with correct intervals and the austrian infantry were trained to accomplish these.

However overdrilling and insistence on obedience led to lack of individual initiative and this manifested itself in poor ability in skirmishing except for the grenzers.
One weakness of the austrian armies was the low numbers of light infantry to match the french skirmishers and this often made the line infantry vulnerable to harassment unless cavalry support was nearby.



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The austrian infantry were organized in regiments.Each regiment had 3 battalions and a grenadier 'division'[not to be confused with modern division] Battalions were further divided into 3 divisions each,each division of 2 companies.Each battalion thus had 6 companies of 180 men each for german battalions and 200 men for hungarian ones.The zug was the lowest tactical unit.[similar to contemporary platoon].



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Hungarian musketeer reloading.



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Austrian commanders were competent but cautious.However they were conventional and often had difficulty adapting to this new mode of warfare.By and large however austria had by 1796 blunted the french revolutionary advance and with its allies now looked to go into the offensive.



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2 rank volley in line behind stakes.

One disadvantage of the austrian troops was their inferior strategic mobility compared to the revolutionary french,austrian armies were tied by their supply trains and depots and moved accordingly.Attempts to emulate the more mercurial french in living off the land were failures.The professional soldiers expected to be supplied and equipped by the state.

However on the eve of bonparte's arrival the austrian army was in a far superior situation to the wretched french forces in italy both logistically and positionally.

Next:Austrian Cavalry and artillery.

When you do the Russian Campaign by Napoleon.. please dont forget what is perhaps one of the best graphical descriptions ever made in data interpretation.

Napoleon's March to Russia.

Long way to go.
Before that napoleon's 1800 marengo campaign.The famous 1805 ulm-austerlitz campaign.1806 famous prusian jena campaign.1807 eylau-friedland polish campaign.1809 austrian camapign.Even leaving out 1798 egyptian campaign or 1808 spanish campaign.But thanks for the graph,i will surely make use of it.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

Austrian Cavalry:



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Austrian cavalry consisted of lancers,armoured sword cuirassiers,dragoons plus hungarian hussars.Much of the austrian heavies were facing the main french armies on the rhine frontier,italy being a secondary theatre and the terrain not as favourable to cavalry action.Austrian cavalry remained however the among the finest in europe and far superior to the french at this point.

The main tactical unit was the division,being composed of 2 squadrons.4 divisions made up a cavalry regiment.[For a total of 8 squadrons per regiment].Heavy cavalry squadrons numbered 150 sabres,while light cavalry and dragoons numbered 170-180.



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The Austrian cavalrymen were excellent swordsman and horsemen, well-trained and well-mounted, and enjoyed great reputation in Europe.However one drawback was that they were rarely used en masse which limited their impact.
Above is a hungarian hussar.The hungarian hussars were the finest light cavalry in europe.Adept at skirmishing and harssment they had made life hell for frederick the great during the seven years war,raiding and ransoming berlin twice.The hussar general Hadik had even emptied his pipe on frederick's throne!In italy on one hussar raid bonaparte was almost captured with his entire staff,fleeing by jumping over a wall minus one boot along with his generals massena and murat!



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Hussar raid on a french outpost.Bulk of the austrian cavalry in italy were hussars and dragoons.



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Hussar tactics.A fourth of the squadron spreads out in skirmish order before the main line for harassment with their carbines.Rest of the squadron masses in echelon formation for attack behind screen.Commander with his small escort moves up from the back to direct skirmish firing.

Austrian artillery-


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Standard austrian 6 pdr gun.

The pre-Napoleonic Austrian artillery was held up as an example to the world. It enjoyed a high reputation for the quality of gun powder and ammunition. The famous French Gribeauval system was based on Austria’s Lichtenstein system. The artillerymen, recruited mostly from the German provinces, has always stood high; not so much by early and judicious adoption of improvements, as by the practical efficiency of the men. They were volunteers and not recruits as it was the case in majority of European armies.However it had remained relatively unchanged from the seven years war period when it was the best in europe and was feeling its age in comparison with the newer gribeauval.

In terms of accuracy the Austrian gunners were superior to their British, Prussian and Belgian counterparts,in the era between 1792-1815.To all but the russians and the french.

Austrian army however was the only major force that lacked well-developed horse artillery. Kevin Kiley writes, "The Austrians' cavalry batteries were organized in the 1780s, their new light 6pdr gun and the 7-pounder howitzer being the usual armament of these mobile units. The cannoneers were not individually mounted, but first rode modified caissons, commonly called Wurst-Wagen, sitting astride them one behind the other, while others rode the gun carriage astride a specially made seat on the trail.



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The comparison of the French and Austrian artillery is quite interesting. The Austrian artillery had powder and ammunition of higher quality than the French and the Russian artillery. Their tactics and organization however were behind the French.
The gunners of Austrian horse artillery sat on caission while the French were mounted on horses. It made the Austrian batteries slower in movement across fields and roads, but they were quicker in deploying and unlimbering the guns. The Austrians also needed less horses, were cheaper, required less space and therefore were a smaller target for enemy's guns.
The French gunners however were more dashing and imaginative and their guns had longer range and heavier calibres than Austrians'. For example in 1798 the captured 6pdr Austrian guns were equal to French 5pdrs (the Austrian pound was smaller than the French). Finally, the individual battery commanders, described by Charles as 'often old and frail, and having been slowly advanced up the ladder', still tended to regard the individual piece as a discreet fire element, while generals often lacked the feeling for the proper use of artillery. As a result the archduke's instructions that artillery should always act as part of a combined arms team as often were neglected."

Piedmontese army:The piedmontese forces were tarined on the model of habsburg austria and of similar calibre and disposition.

Next : Napoleon's Method of War.

 

[vostok]

When you do the Russian Campaign by Napoleon.. please dont forget what is perhaps one of the best graphical descriptions ever made in data interpretation.

Napoleon's March to Russia.

You know, we were taught in school that Napoleon had 600,000 troops when he invaded Russia.

 

[Truth Finder]

@AUSTERLITZ
Do a report on 1905 Russia-Japan War where tiny Japan defeated the mighty Russia. Don't know how it was possible!!!

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

@AUSTERLITZ
Do a report on 1905 Russia-Japan War where tiny Japan defeated the mighty Russia. Don't know how it was possible!!!

Yes,but later.Mostly happened due to russian underestimation[Czar thought japanese were little yellow monkeys no good at fighting] and the battle taking place in siberia which limited russian ability to bring their whole might on land to bear due to a single railway availble. and total corruption during the late czarist regime's days.On sea the disciplined japanese navy was among the finest in the world,second only to perhaps britain[being trained by the RN].Still japan was exhausted by the end of the war and couldn't have continued much longer either.

You know, we were taught in school that Napoleon had 600,000 troops when he invaded Russia.

Around 550,000 when he set out.When he crossed the niemen 420,000.The incredible attrition that one sees is due to the french practice of living off the land.In mainland europe this worked,but in barren russia and spain this was a curse.And also the extra numbers further compounded the problem.Add to that napoleon's armies in 1812 were multinational and also had large numbers of conscripts who were not as good at forced marching as the veterans of the grande armee of the glory years and suffered horribly.Finally the winter was the deathblow.Also take into account the heavy casualities in the numerous battles with the retreating russians.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

NAPOLEON'S ART OF WAR :​

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[Note that this section will analyze napoleon's methods throughout the whole 20 yr period and not just 1796 as it is impossible to do it in isolation.So some terms like corps which were not in use in 1796 will be involved but i will explain them.]

History records no greater strategist than napoleon.He marks the departure from the great commanders of old whose fame rested on mastery of battlefield tactics.Not that napoleon was not a first rate tactician,but napoleon's uniqueness is in his mastery and revolutionization of operational strategy.He can be termed the first modern or scientific strategist and the napoleonic age signals the beginning of the trend where strategy came to decide the fate of battles and campaigns rather than tactics as in the older times.

''Strategy is the art of making use of time and space.Space i can recover,time..NEVER''- Napoleon.

Approach to Strategy :

Napoleon's style was a synthesis of reforms and vague concepts propounded by military theorists of the late 18th century and his own ideas moulded to form a formidable systematic approach to war.
In doing so he transformed the art of war itself.
Before the french revolution wars tended to fall into formal patterns,characterized more by back and forth inconclusive manuevering, taking of strongpoints and fortresses rather than battles.Not that there wasn't the occasional general who thrived on battle-namely marlborough and frederick.But even then battles were few and far in between mostly.Marlborough fought 4 pitched battles in his career.Even Frederick who warred constantly fought 14.Napoleon in contrast would fight 58 - more than any other commander in history.The arms and equipment of napoleon's armies were more or less same as that of marlborough or frederick's men.The key difference would be in the employment of the men .



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Napoleon laid down 5 Principles of Strategy.

1]An army must have a single line of Operations.That is- The objective must be clearly laid out and every available formation be directed towards it.This doesn't mean they all use a single road[not prudent in terms of giving away intelligence,speed and logistics] but that ultimate objective be the same and minimal numbers of men wasted in secondary operations.This corresponds to the modern principles of war,namely - a]Concentration of Effort and b]Selection and Maintainence of Aim.

2]Second,The opposing enemy army must be the main objective.Not strongpoints,not his capital[though this may be attacked to force the enemy army to battle],not fortresses but the enemy army.The destruction of the enemy's main field force is the objective.This was a radical departure from contemporary practices and is the core principle of Blitzkrieg tactics.Move rapidly and destroy the enemy army in a swift and decisive campaign of movement.
''There are many good generals in europe today,but they see too many things at once.I see only one thing-the enemy's main body.I try to crush it,confident that secondary matters will then settle themselves'' - Napoleon.

3]The French army is to move in a way to place itself on the enemy's flanks and rear .Move always for effect,and upset the enemies equillibrium.This will be expanded in detail later in the post.

4]The enemy's Lines of communication must be a prime target to force the enemy into an inoppurtune battle and to cut off his supplies and retreat.

5]The french army must keep its own lines of communication safe and open and adjust them regularly to keep up with movement and repositioning.

Apart from these Napoleon also heavily stressed Unity of command and the Effect of Morale.
''One bad general is better than 2 good ones'' - Napoleon.
''Morale is to material as three is to one'' -Napoleon

For winning the hearts of his soldiers he made a conscious attempt with rewards,medals,a show of personal care and remembering individual names and feats-all added to a string of continous victories.He also made it a point to keep the army open to all men of talent and instill a sense of pride and a thirst for La Gloire,declaring -
''In every french soldier's Knapsack is a marshal's baton''
Such was his personal magnetism,aura and the fanatical devotion inspired by him in the course of time,wellington thought 'his presence on the battlefield to be worth 40,000 men'.

Contribution to Military Organization-

Napoleon's main contribution to military organization was the establishment of Permanent Army corps.At this timeframe armies were organized into regiments which were divided into adhoc divisions in wartime.Napoleon established permanent corps with their own staff.A corps was essentially a miniature army,an all arms formation of infantry,cavalry and artillery sized from 15,000/20,000 to 40,000 depending on its role and ability of its commander.It had its own integral infantry divisions[2-3,the division itself being composed of regiments,and regiments of battalions], medium or light cavalry division and integral corps artillery[The regiments had light artillery pieces[later abolished then reintroduced] and the heavy artillery was concentrated into a corps artillery reserve].


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The corps organization allowed flexible independent movement and also confused enemy intelligence as to the main point of french effort when multiple corps were manuevering.Napoleon designed these mini armies in a way that even when faced with a larger enemy force they could hold out on their own for about 24 hrs provided they were reinforced in time.This meant they could pin down larger enemy forces for moderate periods of time without additional support.It also greatly simplified handling by the army commander as he had to deal with a handful corps and not hundreds of regiments.
The corps system was eventually adopted by all armies and is the standard large unit formation of modern militaries.
[Note the corps system was not in place in 1796.But during the italian campaign we will see bonaparte detatching independent combined arms division sized forces under subordinates using them on the same principle.The scale and size of the italian campaign armies was smaller,but increase the scale from division to corps, and the general principle used of an independent detatchment able to move and act on its own for a limited time remains the same]


Another feature was the development of the first modern general staff system.Each corps and its commander had his own permanent staff.On top of these was the imperial headquarters general staff which carried out the emperor's orders[Napoleon travelled with his mobile headquarters on campaign] to the various corps formations and controlled their movements and directed them to the single objective along various routes all the while being in mutually supporting positions.

Changes In Cavalry and Artillery Doctrine -

"Convinced that it was not possible to fight anything but a defensive war without at least parity in cavalry, Napoleon made great efforts to turn this branch into a powerful striking force, capable of rupturing the enemy front, while retaining its ability for exploitation, pursuit, and reconnaissance." (- Gunther Rothenberg)

Napoleon totally overhauled the cavalry arm of the french armies to the extent that they would become the terror of europe.Adding to improvements in structure and organization[to be detailed in later battle reports as this didn't take place until after 1800 and beyond the timeframe of this campaign],the doctrine of use of cavalry was revolutionazied with roles of light[hussars,chasseurs],medium[lancers,dragoons] and heavy cavalry[cuirassiers,carabiniers]being clearly defined.


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The role of the light cavalry was the traditional screening.harassment and reconssaince.Each corps had its light cavalry division[of hussars and dragoons usually] for corps reconssaince and screening as well as co-operating with the infantry in battle.
Apart from parceling out the light and medium cavalry among the corps napoleon retained numbers at an army level to provide screening for the whole army and for large scale strategic pursuits after victory.
''Without cavalry battles are without result''-Napoleon[On the utility of cavalry in pursuit of a defeated enemy]
However the heavy cavalry was not distributed among corps and exclusively concentrated into heavy cavalry divisions which were kept together in a large heavy cavalry reserve only for the big battle.This army level heavy cavalry reserve had one duty-To smash the enemy ranks with brute force and massed shock in combat.The cavalry would thus be versatile and effective.Thus the comment-
''Cavalry is useful before,during and after the battle''-Napoleon.
Before in screening -denying intelligence to the enemy and reconssaince,during in massed brute force shock charges and co-operation with infantry[timely cavalry charges in conjunction with french infantry forced enemy infantry to form squares reducing their firepower by 1/4 and making them vulnerable to artillery and french infantry],and after in pursuit of an enemy.Napoleon thus added a strategic dimension to the role of cavalry,not just tactical.

However in 1796 the french cavalry was a joke and none of this was possible,but we will see glimpses of their use nonetheless.

One of Napoleon's practices with regards to artillery was to not only have each corps have their own integral artillery,but to mass a force of heavy guns and keep them in reserve as an army artillery reserve for deployment at a crucial point in battle in a chosen sector.This role was usually played by the imperial guard artillery.Thus napoleon attempted to always keep a reserve of heavy cavalry and artillery at hand for a smashing blow at a chosen moment.How this 'moment' was chosen will be explained below.The forming of massed 'Grande batteries' is a practice that dates from this era.He lavished attention on his guns and the french artillery was manned by aggressive officers who didn't disappoint their emperor's faith in them.Napoleon would make excellent use of his artillery in italy.



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Disposition and March of the French army :[note-for this 1796 campaign replacing corps with the word division will give a good idea of the following]

Napoleon was extremely thorough in preparation for a campaign[usually reading all books/maps on topography from french national library of the area] 3-4 months in advance.He possesed a near photographic memory[in 1813 he pointed out while reading a report from a subordinate omission of 2 guns by the coast he had seen while on inspection in 1804 and was proved right,and as commander he dealt with hundreds of guns daily!].Add to this was an inexhaustible capacity for work-18 hours a day being standard practice.He was a firm believer in the offensive,but not at the cost of security.
''The whole art of war consists in a well reasoned and extremely circumspect defense,followed by a rapid and audacious attack''-Napoleon.

The principal aim of french movement was to seek out and rapidly engage and destroy the enemy army.Under napoleon initially the corps would seem spread out and isolated.But this was deceptive.They were actually laid out in a carefully designed web of positioned mobile formations,in mutually supporting distances[within 24 hrs march] and the trap on an unwise allied commander engaging an apparently isolated corps could be quickly shut as others arrived by forced marches and converged on his position from multiple directions.The corps system coupled with the practice of living off the land and bold leadership thus gave the french very high strategic mobility their enemies couldn't match.



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The standard strategic march formation devised by Napoleon was the 'Battalion Carre' [Battle square].The army was divided into 4 parts .The advance guard ,the left wing,the right wing and the reserve.Each of these parts would consist of 1-2 Corps depending on the overall size of the french army.Each part was thus semi-independent and capable of holding out for 24 hrs or so on their own.Each neighbouring wing was within 24 hrs marching distance and could come faster by forced marching.In the centre was napoleon with his headquarters guiding the movements of hundreds of thousands of men in his different corps with his unseen masterhand.With him would be the imperial guard,the army artillery reserve and the heavy cavalry reserve.The army light cavalry would screen the main army seeking out the opposing army.
The whole army would move towards the reported position of the enemy army in this formation in parallel lines.
The formation was balanced and flexible.Its beauty was that -

a]The initial dispersion confused the enemy to the real point of french effort.
[Conventional armies usually moved in 1-2 big masses and either manuevred inconclusively or engaged in a tactical slugfest. As u have seen if u read Frederick the great age battle report]

b]Lured an unwise commander into attacking an isolated french corps inviting disaster.[the corps could hold out for 24 hrs and pin the enemy]

c]Simplified logistics as each of the corps marched by different roads but were all moving on the same strategic objective-masterminded and controlled by napoleon.Thus bonaparte's maxim -
''Seperate to live,unite to strike''

d]Until the last moment napoleon could keep his options open as to where to concentrate,and converge no matter where it met the enemy be it front or wings the whole formation could swing round and concentrate rapidly on the enemy force.As u can see in the 2nd and 3rd picture,even if the enemy engaged in the flank or rear,the engaged wing would merely become the advance guard and pin him down while the advance guard and reserve became the wings and rapidly converged on the position.Napoleon would arrive in person with the imperial guard infantry,army artillery and heavy cavalry reserve.
Thus the flexibility of this formation was superb.

''Aptitude for manuever is the supreme skill of a general.It is the most useful and rarest gift by which genius is estimated'' - Napoleon.

Apart from this napoleon also used other strategic march formations.


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These were used sparingly, compared to the battalion carre mostly due to terrain features obstructing one wing.Note how all advances go along roads.This is where napoleon's planning and preparation came into fore.Quite a few times napoleon's mental calculations could deduce where he would face the enemy[Austerlitz,marengo examples]
The initial corps dispersion deluded the enemy and then napoleon would 'steal a march' by a rapid forced march at night presenting his stunned enemy with a battle he couldn't win with multiple corps converging on him the next day.

However this concentration was not just a crude throwing in of every bayonet available.It was equally important that they be dispersed enough to make provision for a outflanking force.And also hide their intention from the enemy.That a single mind controlled hundreds of thousands of men in such a precise and balanced manner day after day for 20 yrs is almost a miracle of human genius.This was perhaps illustrated in a celebrated incident in 1805 when a french regiment on the march had lost its way and its officers were pouring over maps looking for directions.Napoleon's headquarters came across them and on spot bonaparte told the astounded officers what their march route was,the direction and current position of their parent formation,where they were supposed to be over the next few days and even their lodgings!And this was a mere part of a regiment among an army of 200,000 on the march!

NEXT: Napoleon's Operational systems of Manuever in Detail and Grand Tactics.

 

[vostok]

Suvorov dying regretted that he had not fought against Napoleon.

 

[MohitV]

many great leaders have tried to conquer russia....but failed.....be it hitler or napoleon

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

NAPOLEON'S ART OF WAR - PART II

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Now that a basic idea about the movement patterns of the french armies has been established we move on to napoleon's methods of strategically checkmating enemy forces .Napoleon never openly disclosed systematic precise methods,prefering only indirect hints and maxims and during the napoleonic wars the allies were unable to really decipher his methods for the most part.Post war 2 scholars - Jomini and Von clausewitz came closest to understanding napoleon's way of war and both had an immense impact on commanders of the 19th centrury such as moltke,schlieffen,Robert lee and stonewall jackson etc.After a century of study by napoleonic scholars 3 systems have emerged as the templates upon which napoleon built his successes.



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1) La Manuever Sur les Derrieres or Strategy of the Indirect Approach -

Napoleon's Favourite Move used as many as 30 times between 1796 to 1815.In french it means literally -'move on to the rear'. In modern terminology as coined by Liddell hart the Indirect Approach attack.
This was Napoleon's strategy of Superiority/Equity.Used when he had parity or superiority in numbers against a single opposing army.Its aim was to achieve a situation where the battle would be fought on bonaparte's terms.Bonaparte disliked fighting a full frontal battle[to march and face the enemy fully arrayed in a starightforward tactical contest].This strategy entailed for a secondary force [1-2 corps] to pin the enemy down in a feint attack,while napoleon force marched his main force through the nearest flanking route hidden by a cavalry screen and natural obstacle to arrive on the enemy's rear or flank and sever his line of communications.



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A manuevre sur le derrieres operation in detail taking into account all possible variations.
On the extreme left is the french secondary force that diverts enemy attention, any garrisons in nearby areas[optional and conditional] may also serve as diversions.Meanwhile aided by a natural obstacle and covered by a cavalry screen the main army force marches to attack the enemies lines of communication.[Note in this case its a river,it could also be a hill/forest.In 1800 marengo campaign the Alps served as the natural barrier,in 1805 ulm the black forest,in 1806 prussian campaign the thuringwald forest etc].This movement required excellent mobility and very bold leadership and nerve.Once arrived on his enemies flank or rear napoleon whenever possible attempted to set up a 'strategic curtain' based on a natural barrier.All river crossings would be blocked[blocking bridges required very few troops,1-2 regiments],thus isolating his victim from reinforcements ,supply and retreat.If there was possibility of reinforcement a corps of observation could be set up to pin down any approaching reinforcements[This was a rare and conditional variation,as if napoleon was faced by 2 armies he usually reverted to his second move that will be discussed later].After establishing the strategic curtain he then relentlessly advanced on the main enemy army from its rear or flank.Now the enemy had 2 choices fight on unfamiliar ground or even worse be caught from the rear while engaged with secondary force[if he failed to detect the turning movement] or surrender/flee with whatever forces could be salvaged out of the trap.

Now it seems all too easy on paper.So how would an enemy commander react to napoleon's attempt to turn his flank?
Advantages of the strategy are high.Enemy would be surprised and his equillibrium shaken at the sudden threat to his rear.An enemy general could attempt 3 things at this juncture.

a]If he was confident enough he could continue to advance against the french secondary force.
However Napoleon was always careful to see to it that the pinning force was strong enough to resist for a certain amount of time,and also that it was covered by a river line or nearby fortress.[See the image,secondary force based on easily defensible riverline with fortress nearby for refuge in case of emergency].However the kicker is that even if the enemy was successful in forcing his way through and advanced against the secondary force-he would still be only more and more entangling himself into the trap.Going deeper and deeper into hostile territory,cut off from provisions and a rampaging napoleon about to descend upon him from the rear.

b]He could attempt to attack Napoleon's main force's overextended Lines of communication[LoC] in turn,trying to cut off the army that is attempting to sever his LoC.However to do such a thing the enemy would have to split his army up piecemeal.One to engage the secondary pinning force in front.One to watch napoleon in the rear and finally the rest to conduct the actual operation.This dispersal would be fatal to the enemy,as napoleon's main army would not oblige to being 'watched' and would descend upon the outnumbered forces with utmost speed and ruthlessness and next on the one engaging the original french secondary force in all probability annihilating both seperately.If napoleon thus linked up with his original secondary force his new lines of communication along the straight route though the secondary force would make the allied attack on his previous LoC irrelevant.
In any case the french were accustomed to living of the countryside and thus far less vulnerable to temporary disruption in supply than he european armies of the period.Napoleon during a campaign kept his line short and constantly readjusted them,focusing them on a few Centre of operations directly to the armies rear.[shown on diagram- petit palace and centre of operations denote french mobile supply depots changing places].Napoleon was thus prepared to accept a temporary break in his supply columns if it meant placing the enemy army in a scattered and vulnerable position.

c]Finally,the opposing commander could turn back in a hurry and march to offer battle to napoleon's main force.[the course of action depicted in the diagram]And this is playing Napoleon's game.Battle would be fought on ground chosen by napoleon,and the enemy morale would be shaken and his formations scattered and disorganized by the sudden withdrawal.And he would still require to leave behind a force to contain the original french secondary force or risk being taken in the rear mid-battle.Note that if the enemy army was defeated in such a position in the resulting battle,it would likely be destroyed as its retreat was cut off and french cavalry could conduct a total strategic pursuit.

This move thus devised by napoleon was both deadly and very flexible.Its requirements were to seize the initiative at the outset,consistent bold leadership and movement and high mobility.

* An allied commander faced with this would require early prompt intelligence of what was afoot[the french turning move]to withdraw or luck.[in 1807 polish campaign bennigsen,the russian commander was aided by a captured french dispatch and was able to thus escape the trap about to close on him]

* Or they could refuse any prolonged engagement with the secondary force and retreat continously denying any sort of big battle to the french.However this meant usually surrendering key political areas including your capital to the mercy of the french without a fight and required enormous strategic space.[Used by the russians in 1812 and was unique to russia due to her geographic advanatge.]

* Or the single allied army had to be overwhelmingly big,so numerically superior to the french that even if it was divided piecemeal,the parts could face bonaparte's flanking force on relatively equal terms.[Allied strategy in last years 1813-1814]

The Indirect Approach attack is a manuevre often used in modern warfare ,though the tools have changed-the concept remains the same.Some of the most famous uses of the Indirect approach except napoleon are the numerous uses in the American Civil war -especially the chancellorsville and peninsular campaigns by Robert Lee and Stonewall Jackson.[both students of the napoleonic style],By von moltke[using planned system of railways for required superior mobility]in 1870 Sedan vs the french.



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The German masterplan in the West against France in WWI,the schlieffen plan-laid down by the former head of the german general staff count schlieffen[like moltke a student of von clausewitz,who in turn fought in the napoleonic wars and studied napoleon,his 'god of war'.]This is a classic manuever sur les derrieres almost identical to napoleon's famous Ulm operation of 1805.German divisions on the frontier holding the disputed border provinces act as bait and a secondary force,while bulk of the german army swings entering france wide by invading belgium and netherlands. The french who would eager to reclaim alsace and lorraine would advance,and be trapped from the rear in an annhilation envelopment.It came within an hairsbreath of knocking france out,but failed due to passive and hesitant leadership from the german high command and loss of mobility [Foot infantry in later stages vs french emergency reinforcements in automobiles in 'Miracle on the marne']-thus underscoring in both essential requirements.

It was also employed in the eastern front in WW I against the imperial Russian armies with stunning success.A series of operations culminating in hindenburg and ludendorff routing the russian forces at Tannenburg.[1914]

German Blitzkrieg of 1940 in france was a combination of the indirect approach and napoleon's second move.The Inchon landing operations in the korean war and recently the 1991 gulf war saw its usage.

2)The Strategy of the Central Position -

''The art of generalship consists in when being inferior to the enemy overall,being superior to him on the battlefield'' - Napoleon.

Coming back to Napoleon,France was often at war with the bulk of Europe and many times napoleon would be faced by not one but 2 enemy armies .Usually allied armies.In a single contest the french armies were among the largest in europe,but against the combined forces of 2 national armies Napoleon would be at a overall numerical disadvantage.Thus the turning movement was not useful in such a scenario.For this Napoleon fell back on his strategy of central position.It was his Strategy of Inferiority.



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Phase I :
Above diagram illustrates the initial position.Overall the allied armies outnumber the french,but seperately the french usually outnumbered them[France being the most populous nation fielded large armies].
1.The french would seize the initiative and march to prevent the unification of the allied armies.First napoleon collected all available intelligence and determined the hinge or weak joint between the enemies strategic dispositions.This joint may be a lightly defended enemy position which could be rapidly overrun and occupied in a surprise attack or in most cases simply a geographical position the french would occupy by rapid movement even before the allied armies had a chance to unite.
Shielded by a cavalry screen French advance guard and elements of the heavy cavalry reserve achieves a crash concentration and seizes the 'central position'.
2.Rest of the formations of the battalion carre -The wings and reserve advance and mass on this point.Bonaparte has now succeded in interposing his army between the 2 enemy forces.They now have to operate on 'exterior lines'[Greater distance from one flank to another for the whole of the allied forces] while the french using 'Interior lines' require shorter distances to travel.The davance guard and cavalry meanwhile pushes back the enemy cavalry patrols.The star indicates napoleon's position,probably travelling with the imperial guard.[Guard artillery performs role of army artillery reserve]



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Phase II:
Now having seized the central position,it would be highly risky to turn the whole french army on one allied force as the other allied army could strike the french from the rear and napoleon would be crushed between 2 numerically superior armies.

1.To prevent this possibility,The 2 wings move to engage the respective allied armies pinning them down.Napoleon now proceeds to isolate his first adversary confident the other wing can hold for a limited amount of time.The first target is usually the army closest to the central position.
2.The french light cavalry forms a screen severing all communications between the seperated allied armies.At this point both allied commanders possibly believe they are facing the main french attack.
3.The french reserve splits in 2 .
4.One part of the reserve moves to form up on the flank of the right wing thus extending the french line to match the allied one.This new arrival may prompt the allied commander to shift some of his reserves to this wing.
5.The French advance guard now arrives and makes a flank attack on the other allied flank.This coming in quick succesion to the french reinforcement of the right wing,is sure to confuse to enemy commander.In desperation he releases his final reserves and extends and bends his right flank to contain this new threat frontally.
6.The rest of the reserve coupled with french heavy cavalry reserve and guard artillery form a 'mass d' decision' ,now are unleashed on the weakened bent of the right right flank to complete his destruction.The allied commander with no more reserves can't respond effectively.



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Phase III :
1.The french right wing and light cavalry[formerly acting as screen] continues heavy pursuit of the defeated allied army.While the mass of decision after doing its work regroups .
2.Advance guard turns back and marches to form up alongside the near exhausted french left wing engaged with the other allied army thus reinforcing and extending the line.It may prompt allied commander to disptach some reserves in this direction.
3.The former mass d' decision marches to the aid of the other french army.
4 and 5.The other half of the reserve previously acting as flank reinforcement in the earlier battle now force marches the greater distance and arrives suddenly at the left flank of the second allied army,thus playing the role that the aldvance guard played in the first battle.
6.In the same sequence,final allied reserves are expended to meet this new threat as allied commander predictably bends his right .Again the mass of decision and cavalry reserve are unleashed on the hinge to complete the rout.

Thus by brilliant operational manuevering an inferior french force overall could concentrate and achieve battlefield numerical superiority in both cases in a classic exapmle of a 'defeat in detail'.The requirements for the central position tactic was again- 'Seize the initiative,bold movement and leadership and finally reasonably able subordinates[who could pin an army in place for a certain time and also carry out the pursuit of the defeated army with vigour to prevent it regrouping [something that happened at waterloo-Marshal grouchy failed to properly pursue prussians under blucher resulting in him suddenly appearing to wellington's aid midst-second battle].

Drawbacks of this type of battle were that napoleon couldn't be present in both sectors in person,and more importantly-the need to immediately turn back on the second allied army meant that a total pursuit of the first was not possible,as in the case of a manuever sur les derrieres battle,and chances of a decisive success were lower.After thes econd battle too french army was likely to be exhausted from 2 battles and incessant marching within a very short period of time and pursuit would not be as effective.

The Strategy of the Central Position was used several times in the american civil war,as well as being used on a grand strategic scale by the germans in WW1 and israelis in 1967 and 1973.Rommel used it in his tunisian campaign.

The german blitzkreig of 1940 in France was briliant combination of both the central position and the indirect approach .[i will not expand on this as next battle report will do so]



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Strategic Penetration -

Napoleon's third move was simple and was often a launching board for his 2 other techniques.The strategic Penetration technique was used when napoleon found the enemy holding a broad front cordon type defensive line.The french achieved a rapid concentration at one point and broke through the enemy front in a narrow frontage.Once inside the enemies lines napoleon would the commence operations using his above 2 techniques.This method in reality was still one in development,because campaigns at this time were still decided by field battles the 3rd technique alone would not be decisive yet.However a century later in an era where the broad front trench warfare was norm,it would be the germans who would fully develop it and give it its ultimate shape.In form of narrow panzer spearheeads to rupture an enemy front followed by rapid infiltration,exploitation and eventual encirclement in their own unique way ['kesselschlacht'-next battle report]what became known as blitzkrieg.

Strategic Pursuit - A key feature of napoleonic warfare and one of nappy's cherished goals was the total annihilation of an enemy army after a battle by strategic pursuit with cavalry.This tall ask was however achieved completely only twice- in 1806 prussia and in Italy 1796.

Napoleon formulated his methods of war before 1796 and all these would on frequent display in 1796 campaign,though initially in a crude embryonic fashion.As they were refined over the decade,they would be unleashed on the hapless armies and generals of europe.

A key thing to note about these strategies are their relative modernity.This was the first real systemization of operational strategy in military history and forms napoleon's legacy.

Next: Napoleon's Grand/Battle Tactics.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

Napoleon's Grand Tactics



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In the earlier post we have seen how napoleon set up his battles using strategy so as to gain a almost insurmountable advantage even before the contest had begun.But how did he actually win the battles?

Napoleon's Battles have been generally divided into 2 types.

1]The 'Strategic Battle' or 'Battle of Manuever' -

The battle of manuever or Strategic Battle was Napoleon's favourite.Elements of it have already been described in the last post under central position.It consisted of essentially a massive tactical flanking move supported by firepower and shock.Napoleon's strategic dispositions would constantly upset the enemies equillibrium as new formations arrived from different directions.Since strategy to a large extent determined the success of this form of battle its called 'Strategic battle'.These often consisted of his greatest victories.



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1.Elements of the french light cavalry screen make contact with enemy main body.They swiftly fall back and notify french command.
2.The leading divisions/corps of the advance guard immediately advances to engage in a pinning operation against the enemy army.
3.They are swiftly reinforced by the nearest corps from wings,main body or rest of advance guard.These advance and form up on the flanks of the first force,extending the line and settling into a prolonged frontal pinning battle.
4.The cavalry screen moves to the flanks as a screen and flank protection.
5.Rest of the french army rapidly approaching.



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1.Inconclusive Frontal battle ongoing along the front.
2.As more French formations arrive,they concentrate on one enemy flank.Usually the one closest to the enemies line of Communication.
3.Seeing this reinforcement of the french force,the allied commander moves his initial reserve to prevent it from outflanking his frontline.At this point he might be shaken by constant french reinforcement and attempt a desperate push which would only play into napoleon's hands as that would mean emptying of all his reserves against the next stage that is coming.
4.At this point the Heavy artillery of the 2 french corps of the right flank[II and III] are massed into a 'grand battery' to pound the austrian line in this sector.
5.Behind this action,Another french corps -usually the one under the best subordinate commander.Conducts a rapid flank march hidden by the light cavalry screen,aiming to arrive across the enemy's LoC.The Enemy army distracted by heavy pressure on the front of the flank and steady frontal pinning action is oblivious to this new threat.
6.The last of the french reserves arrive arrive usually with the imperial guard and the heavy cavalry reserve ,they are being steadily concentrated behind the main body to form 'Mass de' Decision'[Or mass of Rupture].



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1.Napoleon judges the situation,once confident that the enemy has already deployed a large part of his reserves he gives the preagreed signal.[Maybe a dispatch,a flag signal or usually a simultaneous cannonade by a number of guns twice or thrice in pre timed intervals].Now from behind the cavalry screen the enveloping force would suddenly reveal itself approaching the enemies rear.
2.Now,almost simultaneously the french would begin a general vigorous pinning attack all along the line preventing any troops from being moved from these sectors.
3.Once the allied general sees the suddenly appearing flanking force about to descend on him,he would in panic quickly attempt to extend his flank and create a new line to face this.To do this he would deploy his final remaining reserves.Also before the reserves could deploy time would have to be bought by scraping up a line from whatever troops were nearmost.These being the rear battalions of the nearest flank.This sector already under heavy grand battery fire would thus be further weakened.
4.This weakening of the enemy sector and deployment of his final reserves is Napoleon's 'Moment' of the battle.

''In battle there is but one moment,the great art is to seize it.It is the one drop of water that makes the cup tip over '' -Napoleon.

Now the imperial guard artillery would released from the reserve.Its elite fresh horse batteries would gallop up and unlimber at almost point blank range,joining the general grande battery in the onslaught of canister.The weakened enemy sector would bear the brunt of this savage firepower.
5.Behind the grande battery,the mass of decision begins it advance usually formed up by infantry divisions in giant assault columns or Mixed order formation supported by packed ranks of steel clad cuirassiers of the heavy cavalry reserve.Its target is the hinge or junction of the bent allied flank already weakened by stripping of reserves,exhausted by constant fighting and mauled by savage artillery bombardment.



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1.Determined renewed pinning attacks all along the line.
2 and 3.Closely following the massive artillery bombardment of the chosen weak sector would be massed shock charges by armoured heavy cuirassiers of the cavalry reserve.Wave after wave would be hurled in to smash the remaining enemy lines of this sector with brute force.Mostly they would succeed ,however even if some held out.Behind the cuirassiers the advancing french infantry assault columns and imperial guard would finally crush all resistance and rupture the allied flank.[Infantry formed in squares to resist cuirassiers being highly vulnerable to french infantry and artillery]

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4.With the collapse of the allied flank the light cavalry would now swiftly move through and begin the pursuit ,placing themselves along the fleeing enemies LoC for Maximum effect.
5.As the rest of the allied army attempted to retreat they would have the unenviable job of doing so with their retreat route blocked by the french and the french cavalry around them.

Thus the enemy army could be dealt a devastating blow by carefully combining strategy with battlefield tactics.

2)FRONTAL BATTLE OR BATTLE OF ATTRITION -

The second type of battle was the attrition battle.The frontal battle resembled the normal conventional battles of the era,with 2 armies slugging it out fully arrayed in a contest of attrition.Napoleon disliked this type and used it only when no other alternative was present.



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The basic premise was usually a penetration of the centre attack.After initial reconssaince to identify a likely weak spot in the enemy line,pinning attacks would launched on other sectors.Now massive quantities of artillery would be massed in grande batteries on this point and pounded constantly until it began to break under sheer volume of fire.This type of battle was likened by napoleon to be similar to a siege.


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Finally after wearing it down with massive firepower,the heavy cavalry reserve would be unleashed in massed squadrons to tear open a hole through the remnants with brute force like a battering ram.They would be followed closely by the mass of rupture[the reserve and guard infantry].Once they expanded the hole they had hacked through and broken the enemy center,light cavalry would swarm through and begin pursuit.
This type of battle was costly and often resulted in pyrrhic victories,and even a rare defeat.[Waterloo-failed because blucher's arriving prussians diverted all reserves needed to expand the gap in wellington's center].Although Napoleon did win a few decisive battles even with this type of battle [Eg-Freidland] he generally tended to avoid it.

Next: Campaign begins -Bonaparte arrives in Italy.

Feeling a bit relieved after shedding all that heavy stuff off my head.