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Napoleon's practical strategic triumphs, repeatedly leading smaller forces to defeat larger ones, inspired a whole new field of study into military strategy. In particular, his opponents were keen to develop a body of knowledge in this area to allow them to counteract a masterful individual with a highly competent group of officers, or general ...
Military forces during the Napoleonic Wars consisted largely of the three principal combat arms, and several combat support services, and included the infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineers, and logistics troops which were called the army train during the period. The period gave a start to what are today military staffs to help administer and ...
Fearing that Napoleon was going to strike him first, Blücher ordered this army to march north to join the rest of his own army. [25] The Prussian General Friedrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf initially commanded this army before he fell ill on 18 June and was replaced by the Hessen-Kassel General Von Engelhardt.
French line infantry grenadier (left) and voltigeur (right) c. 1808 Cornet in imperial livery and officer of the line voltigeurs (1812). In 1804, each French Line (Ligne) and Light (Légère) infantry battalion was ordered to create one company of ninety of the best shots who would serve as elite skirmishers. [3]
This regiment escorted Napoleon himself during his flight from Russia in December 1812, back to Paris, alongside the Guard Hussar regiment. Additionally, in 1806, there was a squadron of elite Mounted Gendarmes that took duties as military police. In 1808, Murat formed the Corps of Mounted Velites (Veliti a Cavallo) out of the personal ...
A highly trained soldier could fire once about every 15–20 seconds until black powder fouled and the weapon had to be cleaned before firing again. The French musket of 1777 could fire about 100 yards (91 m), but "suffered about one misfire out of every six rounds." [4] Many soldiers on Napoleonic battlefields were coerced into staying in battle.
Artillery has been one of primary weapons of war since before the Napoleonic Era. Several countries have developed and built artillery systems, while artillery itself has been continually improved and redesigned to meet the evolving needs of the battlefield. This has led to a multitude of different types and designs which have played a role in ...
The French artillery was the military arm least affected by the chaos accompanying the French Revolution. [23] By the Napoleonic Wars, the French realized that artillery had become one of the three main combat arms, together with infantry and cavalry. On a number of battlefields, the artillery won the day. [24]