In the early 18th century, European armies were small. Although a large country may maintain an army of 00,000 people, the number of a single legion rarely exceeds 50,000. Frederick the Great once commanded 77,000 men in the Battle of Hohenfriedberg and 64,000 men in Prague, but in the remaining battles he commanded no more than 50,000 men. In contrast, Napoleon commanded an army of more than 100,000 men seven times - namely: Smolensk 175,000 men; Leipzig 175,000 men; Bautzen (BAUTZEN) 167,000 men; Wagram 167,000 men; Gross Vgo Gross Goschen has 160,000 people; Borodino has 1,000 people; Dresden has 100,000 people. During the Battle of Jena, despite the division of troops, there were still 96,000 troops under his personal command. The anti-French alliance was equally matched. Archduke Charles commanded 10,000 people at Wagram and 99,000 people at Aspen. Kutuzov commanded 10,000 men at Borodino; Wellington commanded 90,000 men in Spain. Moreover, the coalition forces often marched together. In the Battle of Leipzig, the coalition forces concentrated a total of 15,000 people to deal with Napoleon.
There were so many people participating in the battle, but the battlefield was limited to a relatively small space due to the range of weapons. The battlefield of Borodino is only .5 miles (5.6km) square. In the Battle of Waterloo, 140,000 people on both sides and more than 400 artillery pieces were all crowded into a place about the same size as Borodino. Wellington's British troops were fully deployed on the Mont Saint Jean ridge, with a frontal frontage of only 500 yards (00 meters). Therefore, the commander can completely grasp all the movements of both the enemy and ourselves from the commanding heights, convey orders through lower-level staff officers on horseback, and thereby control his own actions.
Even on horseback, though, the order still takes a while to arrive. An appropriate attack opportunity in the opinion of the commander will often be missed after a series of time intervals such as "communication" and "troop mobilization". Therefore, a good "sense of timing" is an essential quality for an excellent commander.
Problems with battlefield visibility further complicate the situation. After the first few shots, the smoke from the black guns mixed with the dust raised by thousands of cavalry and infantry formed the so-called "fog of battle" (fog of battle). Harris, a rifleman of the British Army, recalled: "After firing a few shots, I was enveloped in the smoke I created, and then my comrades would further enhance this effect. In the end, I could only see my own gun. The mouth flashed."
Officers commanding larger units may even lose their patience in such an environment. When Wellington ordered Sir Harry Smith (commander of the British Rifles) to advance, he replied impatiently: "In which direction? Your Excellency." (Inhichdirection,mylord?)
infantry
Infantry was the main body of the Napoleonic army. Compared to other arms, infantry often suffers the greatest casualties, but is often the key to victory or defeat. Infantry is usually divided into three categories: the infantry (the infantry of line, also called fusilier); the grenadier (Grenadier); and the light infantry (light infantry). The grenadiers will be composed of the most "valiant" and "robust" soldiers. (Personally, I think "Grenadier" is heavy infantry, Grenadier is just a name, and it doesn't really "throw grenades"). The light infantry was composed of "smaller" and "nimbler" soldiers. Countries have different names for light infantry: France calls them chasseurs, and Britain calls them light infantry or riflemen. The first two types of infantry usually form closer formations to exert their firepower. Light infantry will form a "skirmishing line", which is used to shake the enemy's defensive line when one's own is attacking; and is used to disrupt the enemy's offensive rhythm when one's own is defending.
Most of the infantry at that time were equipped with large-caliber muskets, and the principles and structures of muskets in various countries were not much different. The standard rifle (Land Pattern Musket) launched by Britain in 1740 has a barrel length of 46 inches (117cm) and a caliber of 0.75 inches (19mm). After the Seven Years' War, the barrel was shortened to 4 inches (107cm), but the caliber remained unchanged. After the war with France broke out, Britain lacked a stable source of raw materials and turned to the East India Company to manufacture a large number of "India Pattern" rifles. By 1797, this 9-inch (99cm) barrel musket had become the standard equipment of the British army. The huge output not only met the needs of the British army, but also equipped the countries of the anti-French alliance. In 1800, the British arms department launched a new rifle, but only a small number of troops were equipped with it. Despite its poor accuracy, the British musket system was still very popular with the troops and was nicknamed the "Bron Bess" by the soldiers.
The "1777" smoothbore gun mainly equipped by the French army has a barrel length of 44 inches (11cm) and a caliber of 0.69 inches (17.5mm). The entire gun is 59.5 inches (151cm) long and is slightly lighter than the British gun (about 10 pounds = 4.54kg). The trigger is strengthened, a brass priming pan is used, and the barrel is fixed with a buckle for easy replacement. During the French Revolution, only minor changes were made to the 1777 musket (becoming the "YearIX Model"). In addition to the infantry type, this musket also has many variants for equipping cavalry. These variants differed from the infantry version in length and decoration, but the caliber and firing parts remained the same.
Pictured below: A French 1777 smoothbore gun BIXYear improved version C British 4-inch smoothbore gun Note that the French gun has a buckle to fix the barrel, making it easy to replace. The one under the barrel is the loading rod.
The muskets of other participating countries include: Prussian 178 model, Nothardt musket (1805), Prussian new model (1809), but in fact after Prussia was defeated in 1806, it basically relied on British aid and capture. The 1770 model used by the Austrian army had some improvements to the firing device in 1798. Russian musket equipment is relatively confusing, and it has been equipped with no less than one type of musket. Among them, the 1810 model from Tula Arsenal has the best performance.
We have already talked about the limitations of firearms at that time in the previous part. It was these shortcomings that made the army at that time rely heavily on formations to improve the shooting effect of muskets. In the early days of the French Revolution, due to the lack of training and the large number of undisciplined volunteers, the traditional three-row formation was able to be formed when defending, but it was impossible to form an effective formation when attacking. Commanders had to increase the size of the skirmisher line, sometimes even The entire battalion of soldiers became "stragglers." At the same time, countries in continental Europe still maintained the linear formations popular in the 18th century, whether offensive or defensive. These countries did not reform because the French "skirmishing" tactics did not pose a threat to their formations. The Austrian general believed: "Scattered shooting by skirmishers cannot shake a well-trained infantry array." As the training level of the French army continued to improve, the role of formations gradually received more attention. There was usually a battalion column following the skirmish line to provide support. This tactic was very effective at the time. After Napoleon came to power, the armies of various European countries also introduced skirmisher line tactics. The interference effect of France's skirmisher line was greatly reduced, and the task of shaking the enemy's front was mostly completed by artillery. Therefore, the skirmisher lines were appropriately weakened, and the attack columns were greatly strengthened. In Napoleon's later campaigns, entire divisions were even used to form attack columns to attack enemy defensive positions (used in Waterloo). In comparison, the three-row linear formation of other countries is a bit thin. In 1806, the Austrian army adopted an attacking column similar to the French army. The Prussian army in 1807 and the Russian army in 1810 also carried out similar reforms. The only country that maintains horizontal formations is the United Kingdom (for both offense and defense). British regulations stipulate three horizontal formations, but Wellington and other British generals often use two horizontal formations. Their reason is also simple: keep the front wider to better utilize their firepower.
The "battalion" was the basic tactical unit of the army at that time. Due to the lack of information on other countries, we had to take the situations of France and Britain as examples. In the early days, the French army had eight companies in a battalion. In 1808, it was changed to six companies in accordance with Napoleon's instructions. However, the number of people in the battalion did not change much, but the size of the company only increased. Whether it is 6 companies or 8 companies, they all include a grenadier company and a chasseur company, and the rest are fusilier companies. According to the instructions, a French army battalion should have about 800 people, but most troops cannot reach this number. Usually there are about 600 to 700 people in a French battalion. During the Battle of Waterloo, the French army had an average of about 560 men per battalion. The picture below shows a marching and attacking column of a 6-company battalion (similar to an 8-company battalion), followed by two companies of grenadiers and chasseurs. If it was necessary to form a skirmish line, the company of chasseurs would be drawn away, leaving only one company behind. The grenade company is not always in the rear. When morale is low, the more elite grenade company is in the rear to stabilize the morale and prevent the troops in front from collapsing. When morale is high, the grenade company usually leads the attack from the right front of the column. The company maintains three horizontal lines, with a distance of about 1 meter between columns. The distance between companies is about 8 to 10 meters, and the depth of the entire column is about 5 meters. It may be wider when marching. The positions of officers and sergeants are marked on the map. (Added in Chinese using Photoshop, the "battalion staff officer" is probably equivalent to the battalion deputy, but the French army classifies it as a staff officer. The last one is also a sergeant, but I don't know how to translate it. Please help!) Sometimes, the Chasseur Company is missing The battalion column will use one company as the front and five companies arranged in sequence, but this type of column is rare.
A British battalion consists of 10 companies, including a grenade company and a chasseur company, with a total of about 640 officers and soldiers. The picture below shows the general defensive and offensive formation of the British military camp - two horizontal lines. The front is about 00 meters wide. The legend of the officers is basically the same as that of the French army, and the black dots are drummers. The British army's marching formation was also in columns, with each company in two columns, and 10 companies lined up in sequence. (To be continued)