BATTLE REPORT - Ulm-Austerlitz 1805

[Nilgiri]

HUSSARS:



The formed the eyes andflambuoyantly dressed,hard drinking womanizers,excellent swordsmen and horsemen.Hussars ears of the army and were very popular in russia.Armed with a curved sabre,pistol and carbine they were tasked with reconssaince,screening and pursuit.The finest hussar regiments were the Loubny Hussars and the Grodno Hussars.

UHLANS:

In 1805 there was only 3 regiments of this type,they were formed of foreigners -lithuanians,poles and employed the lance as their weapon.The lance was a deadly weapon in proper hands it could outreach both the bayonet and the sword,however was useless against body armor and required skill and training to use.In any case they played no major part in this campaign.

TACTICS:




The cavalry employed the common line,column and echelon attacks discussed earlier which were common to all european cavalry of the time.

COSSACKS:

''The cossacks watch,while russian army sleeps''


(cossack left)

Russian cavalry would be incomplete without the famous (or rather infamous)cossacks.They are a group of predominantly east slavic people who became known as members of democratic, semi-militarized communities which settled in the don,dneiper and ural river basins.They fought fiercely against the poles,turks and the lithuanians After the area came under domination of the czars,they provided military service in the form of militia and irregular cavalry in lieu of taxes and autonomy.Cossacks played a key role in the expansion of russian power into siberia,caucasus and central asia.


''Cossacks are the best of all light troops that exist''- Napoleon

Cossacks were superb light cavalry,brilliant at scouting,screening,pursuit and raiding.Their weapons typically included a lance and a sabre and the occasional firearm.They fought in their unique fashion,never standing to recieve a head on charge but rather continously harssing from the flank and by raiding and wearing out the enemy.Cossacks were unsurpassed in cavalry skirmishing and ambushes.



"These organised bandits are wily. They do not like infantry fire very much,they detest artillery, but when they are three to one they become impudent."- Schwarzenberg, Austrian commander-in-chief

Their greatest use was against the supply lines of an overextended enemy.They were most effective on home soil rather than in a foreign campaign,and would be a nightmare in swarms in 1812 for the grande armee.Smaller bands occupied the russian army in its campaign in 1805.


"The French typically found the cossacks contemptible, their tactics cowardly,
their mounts ugly ... French conceit came at a cost. During the Polish campaign
a considerable number of French troopers encountered the sharp end of a cossack
lance. ... During the winter campaign in Poland, the cossacks dominated
neutral ground between armies."





The french had enormous problems dealing with them in their russian campaign.

What should one do with these horse?,
If one wants to capture them, they escape;
if one wants some rest, one is not able to drive them away;
if one forms a close formation, it is being surrounded;
if one extends its own line to the same length of theirs,
they concentrate before one realises it, and break through;
if one throws them back a hundred times, they still will return,
and our horses will be destroyed by this."
However cossacks had several limitations as well.They couldn't be counted upon to perform the duties of line cavalry.They couldn't charge formed infantry on the battlefield or hold ground against heavy cavalry.Cossacks usually never directly engaged a formed enemy squadron which would overwhelm them,they prefered to scatter it by hit and run breaking it up into groups of individuals who could be picked off.Their best use was thus strategic rather than tactical,that is more useful in campaigning rather than in the battlefield itself.
They were best employed in support of a main army.They usually came from very poor families and had a wild reputation for looting.



Cossacks were led by their own 'Ataman'(commanders).Platov was the greatest cossack commander and would gain immortality in the war of 1812.During the napoleonic wars the cossacks almost captured napoleon twice.

NEXT: RUSSIAN ARTILLERY

 

[Nilgiri]

Vostok:

Cossacks were led by their own 'Hetman'(commanders).Platov was the greatest cossack commander and would gain immortality in the war of 1812.During the napoleonic wars the cossacks almost captured napoleon twice.
NEXT: RUSSIAN ARTILLERY

In Russia, the word "Hetman" practically not used, and applied only to the heads of Little Russia, who rejoined the Russian kingdom in 1654, after disconnecting from Poland. Last Hetman rules in Little Russia until 1764.
In Great Russia Cossack leaders were called "ataman" instead of "Hetman". Platov was an ataman, not hetman.
And now the leaders of all Russian Cossack armies are called atamans.
The difference is that "Hetman" - a word of German origin, and "Ataman" - most likely Turkic.


Austerlitz:

In Russia, the word "Hetman" practically not used, and applied only to the heads of Little Russia, who rejoined the Russian kingdom in 1654, after disconnecting from Poland. Last Hetman rules in Little Russia until 1764.
In Great Russia Cossack leaders were called "ataman" instead of "Hetman". Platov was an ataman, not hetman.
And now the leaders of all Russian Cossack armies are called atamans.
The difference is that "Hetman" - a word of German origin, and "Ataman" - most likely Turkic.

Sry abt that,yeah.Your right.Edited.

 

[Nilgiri]

THE RUSSIAN ARTILLERY

''The russian artillery is of the most powerful description''


Russia had been one of the pioneers in artillery development since the seven years war of the 1750s.Before austerlitz however the russian artillery arm had undergone rapid organization and re-organization in short intervals which had a disrupting effect.In 1800 there was the regimental system,in 1801 the battalion system,in 1803 again regimental system was back.Russian artillery was plentiful often deployed in masses like the french,its gunners were tenacious,trained and enthusiastic,however command and control and co-ordination was lacking.



General Arakcheev was the main artillery inspector during this period,known as the 'czar's bulldog'.He served under Paul I and Alexander as army leader and artillery inspector respectively. He had a violent temper, but was otherwise a competent artillerist, and is known for his reforms of tzarist artillery known as the "System of 1805.This system was not totally implemented by austerlitz however.The performance of Russian artillery at Austerlitz in 1805 was poor. The French skirmishers sometimes shot apart Russian batteries that stood unprotected by friendly skirmishers. Friendly infantry often marched across the front of the heavy artillery just as it was about to open fire. Infantry and cavalry failed to support the guns at critical moments. At Austerlitz the French captured 142-176 (!) Russian guns and approx. 400 ammunition wagons and caissons.
The situation improved after the disastrous Austerlitz Campaign. General Arakcheyev applied himself to learning what had gone wrong by interviewing each officer and having him sketch the movements of his battery during the battle of Austerlitz. The gunners learned to fire their pieces at wooden boards 9 feet high. They were also able to fire 25-30 live rounds per year.
The improved russian artillery would show its calibre in the campaign of 1807 and in the war of 1812.By the 1813-1814 the allied commanders considered the russian artillery to be the best amongst their forces.

Artillery Tactics:

The artillery tactics were more or less the same .However russia like all continental armies except the french didn't use artillery in an offensive role .The main difference between the Russian and French artillery was the fact that Napoleon used artillery offensively, while for the Russians the main purpose of artillery was to defend their cavalry and infantry. The same can be said about the supportive role of Prussian and British artillery.
While Napoleon's artillery prepared the way for the final blow that would decide the battle, the Russians packed their battle line with numerous guns, making it difficult to break through. They also kept a strong artillery reserve as an emergency.Russians were among the first to employ crude grand batteries at eylau in 1807 to devastating effect.


"The artillerymen are of the best description, and the NCOs equal ,
but the artillery officers of inferior rank have not the same title
to estimation as in the other European services, for their education
is not formed with the same care, and their service does not receive
the same encouragement." - Sir Robert Wilson''

Russian gunners were reknowned for fighting spirit and physical strength.
Overall the russian artillery was second only in quality to the french during the napoleonic wars and often greater in quantity.


THE GUNS:




Apart from the general field guns,russia fielded a unique type of artillery gun-the 'unicorns'.The unicorns The licorne was a hybrid between the howitzers and guns of the era , with a longer barrel than contemporary howitzers, giving projectiles a flatter trajectory, but longer range. Similar to the howitzers, they had a powder chamber of smaller diameter than the gun caliber, but whereas a howitzer's chamber was cylindrical, a licorne's was conical, with its base diameter the same as the gun bore. The conical chamber was easier to load and facilitated the placement of the projectile perfectly in the center of the barrel.Licornes were able to fire both the solid shot used for cannons and howitzer shells, as well as canister.Originallyd eveloped in the 1760s,In 1805 the unicorn was fielded in several varieties- 2 pounder light gund,10 pounder,and a heavy and light 12 pounder.To these were added the general 12 pounder field guns.

ORGANIZATION:

The basic tactical unit was the battery or company of 12 guns.
The artillery pieces were formed int tactical units:
- platoon (2 guns) was commanded by subaltern officer
- two platoons (2 x 2 = 4 guns) formed division
- three platoons (3 x 2 = 6 guns) formed half-company
- two half-companies (2 x 6 = 12 guns) formed company

In combat the company's guns (12 pieces) were placed as follow:
- on the left stood 2 unicorns
- in the center 8 cannons
- on the right were 2 unicorns

The guns were often deployed to support the infantry and dispersed accordingly,however each infantry company had 12 men trained in artillery duties to act as replacements in case of casualities.In battle the company (battery) was usually deployed not more than 100 m forward of the front of infantry.In battle the artillery caissons were positioned 30-40 meters from the guns.Russian ammunition provisions for their 12 pdr heavy guns were high for continental standards.


1. French artillery - 222 rounds

2. Russian artillery - 172 rounds

3. Austrian artillery - 150 rounds

4. Prussian artillery - 114 rounds

5. British artillery - 84 rounds



HORSE ARTILLERY:

In 1805 the russian horse artillery arm was small,to be expanded vastly later.In later years this would become the best of the russian artillery..able to stand toe to toe with the french,and played a key role in some later battles.

ARTILLERY COMMANDERS:

 

[Nilgiri]

ALEXEI YERMOLOV:

Yermolov,born in moscow, fought under suvorov and distinguished himself in the storming of warsaw,and also in the campaign against persia.He was exiled by czar paul but pardoned by alexander.In 1805 his horse battery joined kutuzov in the battle against napoleon.Amongst the panic at austerlitz he conducted himself well and allowed the cavalry to retreat giving steady cover fire.His greatest moments came at Eylau in 1807 and 1812 in borodino where his horse batteries(at eylau on his own initiative) moved up and devastated the french infantry with canister from massed guns.At eylau he was sent to reinforce the russian defense of the great redoubt under furious french attack and responded in style.He was made a scapegoat for the defeat and lutzen in 1813 and transferred to the guard infantry,however he lived to see the fall of napoleon and have his position and reputation restored and increased.He was later military governor in the caucasus and ruled with an iron hand.



ALEXY NIKITIN:
Russia's greatest horse gunner of the napoleonic wars.Nikitin was part of the russian 1805 campaign but didn't see much action.He came to prominence in the later years.At Borodino Nikitin's battery suffered heavy losses but continued firing to the very end. Nikitin distinguished himself at Krasne and Maloyaroslavetz in 1812. At Krasne his 7th Horse Company fired canister at the retreating French, then mounted and charged with swords in hand. They captured 2 guns and 300 men. At MaloYaroslavetz his gunners captured enemy’s battery !
At Lutzen in 1813, Tzar Alexandr ordered Nikitin to bring 40 horse guns and pound the French lines, adding, "I will watch your action." Nikitin brought forward the Lifeguard Horse Company (Battery), 8th Horse Company (Battery), and part of 1st and 3rd Horse Company. The Russian artillery produced a "tremendous fire". As soon as the French began wavering, the New Russia Dragoons and Chernighov Horse Jagers drew sabers and rushed forward. The Prussians seconded them with the Brandenburg Cuirassiers. The French were broken and 4 guns were captured.
In 1814 at La Rothiere Nikitin pushed 24-36 guns within musket range (!) of the French skirmishers and opened fire. At Craonne in 1814 he used artillery to cover the retreat of infantry and cavalry: in the first line were placed 36 6pdr guns, 60 paces back were 28 12pdr guns. The first line fired canister, the second fired shells.He died in 1856 ,a member of the state council.



ALEXANDER KUTAISOV:


Half turkish by birth,he had been enlisted in the guard by age 10.A linguist and a painter he fought with valour at golymin,eylau and friedland in the 1807 campaign.By age 22 he was a general.Kutaisov was kutuzov's chief of artillery at borodino in 1812.He followed yermolov against kutuzov's orders who had forbidden him to to join the battle in person knwoing his impetous nature.He was killed at borodino.

NEXT:THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL GUARD.

 

[Nilgiri]

THE IMPERIAL GUARD
"There is, however, a wide difference between the
staple of the Russian army and the Tsar's Guards.
The latter are very select, both cavalry and infantry,
nothing indeed, can be superior. The grenadiers are
generally very tall men. The cuirassiers are equally
large and stout. The discipline and well-dressed state
of these men are very imposing."



"It is impossible by any description to give an exaggerated idea of
the perfect state of these troops; their appearance and equipment
were admirable." - General Sir Charles Stewart
The czar's bodyguards the russian imperial guard evolved in the napoleonic wars from a ceremonial outfit to one of the most feared formations in the world.Although not all guardsmen were nobles, the rest of the army couldn't compare to them in social tone. With a membership composed in large part of the blue-blooded sons of the best families, the well-tailored white and green uniforms, were a frequent sight at parades and celebrations. The life of private in the guard was more comfortable than officer's in the army. They were seen outfitted for sentry duty accompanied by servants bearing their masters' weapons !
The czar Paul initiated regular drilling,discipline and made its commanders accountable.These unpopular changes contributed to his death.His son would make the guard a battlefield formation.It would gradually gain experience and become a superb corps.Already filled with the creme of russian high society it was confident,educated,trained,disciplined and desirous of battlefield glory.Privates in the guards were considered equal to NCOs of line regiments.The guard consisted of infantry,cavalry and artillery.At austerlitz 1805 the imperial guard consisted of the following-





Guard Infantry Division - GL Malutin
- - - - 1st Brigade - GM Leontii Depreradovich-I
- - - - - - - - - - - Preobrazhensk Lifeguard Regiment [2 btns.]
- - - - - - - - - - - Semenovsk Lifeguard Regiment [2 btns.]
- - - - 2nd Brigade - GM Vasilii Lobanov
- - - - - - - - - - - Izmailovsk Lifeguard Regiment [2 btns.]
- - - - - - - - - - - Lifeguard Jägers [1 btn.]
- - - - - - - - - - - Life Grenadier Regiment [3 btns.]
- - - - Lifeguard Artillery Battalion - GM Ivan Kasperski
- - - - - - - - - - - Lifeguard Heavy Battery [10 x 12-pdr guns]
- - - - - - - - - - - Lifeguard Horse Battery [10 x 6-pdr guns]
- - - - - - - - - - - Lifeguard Light Battery [10 x6-pdr guns]
- - - - - - - - - - - Lifeguard Light Battery [10x6-pdr guns]

Guard Cavalry Division - GL Andrei Kologrivov
- - - - 1st Brigade - GM Ivan Jankovich
- - - - - - - - - - - Lifeguard Cossack Regiment [5 sq.]
- - - - - - - - - - - Lifeguard Hussar Regiment [5 sq.]
- - - - 2nd Brigade - GM Depreradovich-II
- - - - - - - - - - - Lifeguard Horse Regiment [5 sq.]
- - - - - - - - - - - Guard Cavalry Regiment [5]

In total around 6730 infantrymen,3700 horsemen and 40 guns plus 100 engineers-numbering just over 10,000 men.


THE GUARD INFANTRY:


" The Prussians are excellent troops ,
but after seeing the Russian foot guard
I cannot look at them."
- Eyewitness in 1814


The creme de la creme of the russian infantry.In 1805 russia had 3 crack grenadier footguard regiments each of 2 battalions of 2 companies each.To these were added a half-regiment jaeger battalion and a provisional 3 battalion life grenadier regiment.Eventually the guard infantry would be expanded to full 8 regiments with 3 battalions each.The russian footguard along with the cavalry would play a crucial role at austerlitz.The 3 senior infantry regiments in the footguard were -
THE IZMAILOVSKY FOOTGUARD REGIMENT:

"... our canister knocked them down, but these brave warriors let nothing bother them and continued to come at us as before." -A french officer on the regiment's performance at borodino.

Formed in 1730,the izmailovsky suffered the least of the guard regiments at austerlitz.It suffered at freidland 1807.It covered itself in glory at borodino and participated in the later battles of 1813 and 1814.Disbanded 1917.

PREOBRAZHENSKY FOOTGUARD REGIMENT :

Formed in 1680s by Peter the great,it was along with the semenovsky the most senior russian regiment and consisted solely of members of the aristocracy.It was considered the highest in military preferance and saw action throughout the later half of the 18th century.They were catherine's bodyguards.They suffered heavy casualities at austerlitz.But thereafter performed with valour at friedland and the later campaigns.Their greatest performance came at kulm 1813.Disbanded in 1917.Reformed 2013.



SEMENOVSKY FOOTGUARD REGIMENT:

Formed by Peter,the twin senior regiment of the russian army.They had a savage baptism of fire at austerlitz where their square was broken by the mamelukes and they were routed .After that however they gradually showed their worth throughout the period.Disbanded 1917,reformed 2013.

THE GUARD CAVALRY:

 

[Nilgiri]

The mounted guards in 1805 consisted of 4 regiments each of 5 squadrons.The heavy life guard horse and chevalier guards and the light Lifeguard hussars and Lifeguard cossacks.These were superbly trained and equipped troops but had no battle experience.They created a crisis at the height of the battle of austerlitz by routing 2 french infantry regiments and seizing the only lost french eagle.When the infantry failed to contain them,napoleon unleashed his own guard cavalry.Even then the battle remained even and hard pressed until the final french reserve-the crack veterans of the heavy horse guard grenadiers swung the balance.Overall the performance of the horse guards at austerlitz was good.They were expanded as the years went on and played key roles in later battles.



THE CHEVALIER'S GARDE-REGIMENT:After a ceremonial existence in the 18th century this unit became active in 1800.It soon emerged as the most prestigious russian cavalry regiment favoured by aristocrats.They had a rough start at austerlitz where they were routed by the french heavy horse guard grenadiers.Thereafter their performance steadily improved.They fought well at freidland beating back the dutch cuirassiers.In 1812 they were issued armor,and at borodino defeated the vaunted saxon cuirassiers.They outshone the french dragoons in the campaigns of 1814.

LIFEGUARD HORSE REGIMENT:The most senior cavalry regiment.At austerlitz they broke 2 french regiments and seized a eagle creating a crisis before being beaten off.They fought in the 1807 campaign with valor.They joined with their fellow rival regiment-the chevalier guards to defeat the saxon cuirassiers at borodino.In the 1814 campaign they performed superbly.They were possibly the best horse guard regiment.



LIFEGUARD HUSSARS REGIMENT:Very popular with the ladies,the lifeguard hussars were formed in 1796.At austerlitz they were roughed up by the veteran french guard cavalry.However in the 1807 campaign they performed well.At ostrovno 1812,they routed the french hussars only to be ambushed and be routed in turn by french chasseurs.For the rest of the campaign they performed more or less well.However at leipzig 1813 they were crushed by the heavy french cuirassiers despite gallant resistance.

LIFEGUARD COSSACKS REGIMENT:A splendid regiment raised in 1798,the lifeguard cossacks had a distinguished service record.They covered the russian retreat at austerlitz and fought in the 1807 campaign.At 1807 Friedland they shocked the elite french line cavalry regiment the 1st horse carabiniers and in a stunning reversal sent them routing with the loss of an eagle,the carabiniers being unable to cope with the cossacks skill with their long lances.At leipzig 1813 they contained the further advance of murat's cuirassiers after a dangerous situation had arose with the defeat of the lifeguard hussars.

GUARD ARTILLERY:

The guard artillery in 4 batteries with 40 guns was to support the imperial guard at austerlitz,but failed to impress.It was revamped with the whole artillery arm and later produced much superior results.

COMMANDER:



The commander of the imperial guard was the czar's brother Grand Duke Constantine.An average commander,and a brutal hard headed character he was not very well liked but obeyed.

NEXT: RUSSIAN COMMANDERS ; AUSTRIAN ARMY.

 

[Nilgiri]

RUSSIAN COMMANDERS:



"Although it has been fashionable for many historians
to discount Kutuzov's showing as a commander, there
is little doubt that he was a general of great ability.
... He was a cunning and able strategist ..."

MIKHAIL KUTUZOV:

The commander-in-chief of the russian army was Mikhail Kutuzov,though he was answerable to the young czar.He entered military service under czarina katarina. He spent several years as a guest in Berlin having discussions on military matters with frederick the great.He also went on trips to london and holland where he studied washington's campaign against the british in the american war of independence.Here he came to the conclusion that it was not necessary to win battles to win the war.He served with distinction under suvorov against the turks.At 1805 he was initially reluctant to offer battle at austerlitz,he may have not understood napoleon's plan..but he sensed the trap.The czar and the russian noble commanders however disregarded him.Disgraced for a time after austerlitz he regained favour with victory over the ottomans.Kutuzov led the russian army to victory in the war of 1812.His excellent elusive movements prevented napoleon from being able to destroy the outnumbered russian army,but his passivity also allowed the remnants of the grande armee to escape.
Kutuzov had both virtues and vices.He was fat,corrupt and an average tactician,lacking the brilliance of a suvorov.However he was a very cunning and brilliant strategist.He favourite style was the fabian tactic(continous harassment of enemy supply lines,never give open battle,let geography and attrition do ur job)which was especially suited to russia.He firmly believed in the maxim- A battle avoided can't be lost.
Kutuzov also disliked pompous dresses and was a simple in this regard unlike some of the parade ground commanders of the time.He was far sighted in matters of development of light infantry.He was also a stern realist,and fully understood the threat posed by napoleon.Kutuzov didn't wish to pursue napoleon's forces out of russia,content at driving them out.Kutuzov died in 1813.Napoleon paid a tribute to him by calling him the Old fox who cheated him of his victory.





DMITRY DOKHTUROV:

Dokhturov commanded one of the main allied columns at austerlitz.Here his performance was poor.Nearly his entire column was trapped and destroyed,he was accused of having become drunk mid-battle and wailing ''I have been abandoned''.However after this debacle he performed commendably in the wars of 1807 and 1812.




PYOTR BAGRATION:

Bagration,a georgian was one of Suvorov's lieutenants and a popular and excellent commander.In the lead up to austerlitz he brilliantly commanded the russian retreat with rearguard actions that blunted and mauled murat's pursuing forces.At austerlitz ,though defeated after a hard fight by lannes,his force was able to retreat in better shape than the rest of the allied army.He performed consistently exceptionally throughout the campaign of 1807.Also participated in campaign vs the turks before 1812.At the opening stages of 1812 he was overwhelmed at mogilev,but led a dogged and bloody defence of the russian left at borodino against none other than davout.He kept giving orders to the end despite being wounded and finally died of them.He was a very capable commander,a soldier's general and highly respected amongst the russian soldiery.The WW2 soviet Offensive in 1944 was named Operation Bagration in his honour.




LOUIS LANGERON:

A French Emigre(Exiled noble),he commanded one of the allied columns.Though his performance was mostly average ,he failed to co-ordinate with dokhturov.After the battle he was disgraced and made a scapegoat.He was restored to position in 1815.




MIKHAIL MILORADOVICH:

Boastful and dashing,'The russian murat',of serbian origin,Miloradovich was a court favorite.Served under Suvorov .He covered the russian retreat before austerlitz extremely well.But at austerlitz his actions were bland..he mostly spent time commanding his column in front of the eyes of the czar to win his favour(something that his rivals complained about) encouraging the soldiers and brandishing his sabre rather than planning the movements of the column with his staff.After this however he generally performed well throughout the napoleonic wars and fought in nearly all the french-russian battles.Overall he was an inconsistent commander.Similar to marshal ney,he could be spectacular one day and commit blunder or be hesitant the next.He had a personal rivalry with bagration.He boasted he was lucky and that in fifty battles he had never been scratched.

(Note i haven't included some of the famous cavalry commanders Platov and Orourke as tehy were not involved in this campaign)

NEXT: THE AUSTRIAN ARMY

 

[Nilgiri]

THE AUSTRIAN ARMY

"... the Austrian army ... carried most of the burden of the war on land.
Though repeatedly defeated, it always rose again...
Austria was the most implacable of Napoleon's continental enemies''.


Austria possesed the third largest army in the world(after russia and france) and was throughout napoleon's most consistent enemy.The habsburg(the ruling dynasty) territories were immense and diverse and the army formed the unifying factor.The army was composed mainly of germans and hungarians and balkan contingents.Hungary was semi-autonomous with its own parliament.The main problem of the austrian army was its lack of homogeniety.This was attempted to be circumvented by arousing pride in one's regiment than nationality.

" The great confusion of nationalities is a serious evil [in the Austrian Army ] .
In the British army, every man can at least speak English, but with the Austrians,
even the NCOs of the non-German regiments can scarcely speak German."
The germans were considered solid,disciplined and educated,but slow and methodical.Hungarians were fierce and great horsemen,but lesser disciplined.Romanians were hardy,brave but vengeful.Croats and serbians were great fighters but didn't like discipline,and were unpredictable.Poles and ukrainians came from recently conquered areas and had little loyalty or enthusiasm to fight for the austrian monarch and were seen as idlers and timeservers.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE AUSTRIAN ARMY:

In the 1730s austria was at the peak of her prestige in europe,the seat of the holy roman empire it had weathered the storm of Louis XIV's france in the last century(1660-1715) and also the last ottoman surges,under their great commander Eugene of Savoy-french expansion had been contained(eugene and marlborough partnership) and huge swathes of territory formerly under ottoman control regained by Eugene's conquests.Then in the 1740s came the shock of defeat after defeat to the upstart house of brandenburg under Frederick of Prussia.The string of defeats to which the Prussians had subjected them had amply demonstrated that the army was in no fit state to contend with an adversary of this calibre. A process of reform was therefore begun which touched every aspect of military life.Austrian army improved to such degree that in the War of the Bavarian Succession it managed to neutralize the Prussians almost completely by taking up defensive positions so formidable that Frederick the Great dared not attack it. This was the state of affairs when the seven years war ended in the 1760s.After that the army had mostly been idle except keeping an eye on prussia and an expansionist russia under catherine and seeking an oppurtunity for expansion themselves in the balkans.Royalist France was an ally by marriage.

THE WARS OF THE REVOLUTION:

Then came the shattering events of the french revolution,austria joined the conservative monarchies to snuff out the radical republicans of a reawakened france..only to see the emergence of a nation in arms.The austrian netherlands were overun by sheer weight of french numbers,but elsewhere in germany and italy the austrian whitecoats kept the french at bay.Until the ogre came.Italy was seized by the french under napoleon in 1796(war of the first coalition) and despite an attempt to regain it in allainace with russia,napoleon returned from egypt ,seized power and defeated the austrians again at marengo 1800(war of the second coalition).An exhausted austria was forced to cede much of her former possesions,but furious and waited for an oppurtunity to strike back.After these string of setbacks reforms were begun to deal with the new french enemy,these were underway when political developments led to austrian entry into the third coalition.

The revolutionary wars of the 1790s had shown the austrian army stuck with an obsolete set of military ideas against the mobile and hard hitting french.Austrian ideas of importance based on strongpoints and often methodical static defense had their roots in their relative success against frederick in the last years,but napoleon was not frederick,and his style was entirely different and had proved too much for the austrians in battle after battle.
"Many of the officers had grown old in the service, and the generals were mostly veterans of the Seven years War. ... and many of them proudly preserved attitudes that had been formed when war was touched with a certain chivalry. ... It took a long time for some Austrian officers to realise that noble behaviour indeed to be tempered with pragmatism, especially when your opponent was hell-bent on gaining every possible advantage from a situation.

The message had clearly still not got through to General Kienmayer when, in 1805, he informed Marshal Murat, Napoleon's cavalry commander, that his troops desperately needed a rest, and therefore requested him not to advance on Vienna too rapidly.
One example of this methodical,traditional,slow attitude of the austrian officer corps is given by the complaints of an austrian officer priosner to his captors in the 1796 campaign to napoleon's style of fighting -

'But there is no understanding it at all. We have to do with a young general who is in this moment before us, then again behind us, then again on our flanks - one does not know where to place oneself. This manner of making war is insufferable and violates all usage and custom'.

REFORMS IN THE AUSTRIAN ARMY:


Despite these issues,the core rank and file remained solid and on numerous occasions had fought the french to a standstill.New ideas were needed to combat the french,reorganize the army and prepare for a new struggle.To this view in 1801 the emperor appointed his brother archduke charles(pic) ,possibly the best austrian general to this task.But owing to acute shortage of funds this process went forward slowly.Charles strongly opposed a new war with france as he believed austria unprepared,but during this period the austrian war party was steadily gaining influence in the court.It was headed by General Mack,a theorist more than a proven battlefield commander his enthusiasm encouraged the austrian monarch,bitter about the scathing losses of land and prestige to the french.Mack claimed to have found the secret or the essence of the french revolutionary fighting spirit and preached -''In war ,the objective is to defeat the enemy,not merely avoid being defeated''.Mack was appointed chief of staff and took over the reforms process.

Mack was faced with a daunting task,in just 1804 defence spending had been halved to recover from the massive finacial losses of the war years.Many of troops had been disbanded and a section wagon teams and artillery had been broken up.Only the aristocratic cavalry remained in proper state.Mack worked dilligently to solve these issues and made widespread reforms into the infantry.Unfortunately while in the long term these reforms may have been sensible,coming just months before the outbreak of war,the restructuring of the regiments created chaos and confusion and as a result the officers of the new regiments where often unfamiliar with their men .


(General Mack)
Mack sought to imitate napoleon's reputation and the french system of living off the land.This backfired badly,unlike the mercurial french who had picked up these skills in the desperate days of the revolution out of need for bare survival where the government simply couldn't provide for them..the oppurtunistic austrian quartermasters promptly washed their hands off their supply obligations.As a result before the austrian army marched slowly with 9 days rations worth of wagons trailing it,now it marched slower on hungry stomachs often.
Another problem of the austrians was the outdated staff system,it provided huge amounts of unwieldy paperwork for the commands of each regiment,the result of not having any permanent unit over the regimental level.Unlike the french corps this created delays,confusion and chaos.Overall the army was good and battle hardened but offset by several issues in its organization,structuring and officerkorps.

When the war broke out,archduke charles was sent to take command in italy to face massena(austria expected napoleon to strike here like in 1796 and 1800) while mack with an army-in-transition led the march into bavaria( small french ally)for a tryst with fate and napoleon bonaparte .

NEXT: AUSTRIAN INFANTRY

 

[Nilgiri]

AUSTRIAN INFANTRY



"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."
Austrian infantry regiments were raised on a territorial ethnic basis to prevent confusion and retain some homogeniety.While the regiments individually were good the whole body was often found to be less than the sum of its parts.Austrian infantry fo the period is described thus -
"The great confusion of nationalities is a serious evil. In the British army, every man can at least speak English, but with the Austrians, even the NCOs of the non-German regiments can scarcely speak German.
This creates, of course, a deal of confusion, difficulty, and interpreting, even between the officer and the soldier. It is partly remedied by the necessity in which frequent change of quarters places the officers of learning at least something of every language spoken in Austria. But yet, the inconvenience is not obviated...
The infantry, and in this respect it is similar to the English [infantry], is more distinguished by its action in masses [lines], than by its agility in light infantry service. We must, however, except the frontier troops (Grenzers) and the jagers. The first are; for the most part, very efficient in skirmishing, especially the Serbians, whose favorite warfare is one of ambuscades. The jagers are mainly Tyroleans, and first-rate marksmen. But the german and hungarians generally impose by their solidity, and ... have more than once received cavalry, in line, without deigning to form square, and wherever they have formed squares, the enemy's cavalry could seldom break them up .''

The basic austrian musket was an older design and considered inferior to the french charleville because it weighed too much.

LINE INFANTRY:



The 'German' regiments were the best trained
and disciplined part of the infantry. "German
sense of duty caused them to rally after lost
battle to fight again." - Ch Duffy

The 4rth and 1st line regiments formed from ethnic austrians largely from vienna were the 2 best line infantry regiments.In austria regiments were usually not numbered but named after their colonels.One big problem was the regiments were brought together in war time as ad-hoc forces to form temporary larger columns,but the huge amount of paperwork involving orders to each individual regiment overwhelmed the commanders and created chaos and delay.Even the russian allies,not masters of staffwork themselves were astonished by the confusion.



The 'Hungarian' regiments were renowned for their fierce fighting spirit, and their grenadiers were best of them. "The Hungarians counted as one of the 'hot' nations of Europe, along with the emotional English and Italians ... The difficulty was not to get them to fight, but to enlist in the first place... they were convinced that they were unsuitable for dismounted service."

ORGANIZATION:

Austrians had 3 basic infantry formations - german infantry regiments,hungarian infantry regiments and grenadier battalion.These were supllemented by jaegers and grenzers.
Austria followed a unique composite infantry organization model.There were no seperate fusilier/musketeer and grenadier regiments,instead composite infantry regiments of grenadiers and fusiliers.
The basic organizational unit was the regiment while the basic tactical sub-unit was the battalion.In 1805 regiments had 2-4 battalions,but in june Mack's reforms sought to standardize them at a paper strength of 3800 men per regiment.Each regiment to have 1 battalion of grenadiers and 4 battalions of fusiliers(line infantry).The battalions were subdivided into companies and companies into half-companies or zugs for small -level tactical operations.The grenadiers battalion numbered 600 men and the fusiliers battalion 800 men.However when war began this reorganization was in transition and only part of the army had been changed to this model.

GRENADIERS:



Unlike russia and france,austria possesed no imperial guard.Grenadiers formed austria's elite assault infantry and gave a good account of themselves throughout the war.Selected from the cream of the line infantry for valor,marksmanship,at least 1 campaign and 5 yrs service and a height requirement they were proficient with the bayonet.Grenadiers in 1805 were divided into 120 man companies ,a grenadiers battalion having 5 such companies.There were no individual grenadiers regiments.In battle grenadier battalions from the infantry regiments were held back as an assault reserve.Usually only the hungarians and germans served in the grenadier battalions.

JAEGERS:

" You should not tell a recruit : I will make you into a jager !


You must instead take them from the forests."- Gen. deLigne

Austria had been the pioneer of light infantry in the 18th century and its skirmishers had caused frederick the great major problems,however this style of fighting was never adopted enmasse by the austrians and relegated to a niche role unlike the french.Jaegers or light infantry formed austria's answer to french voltigeurs and tirailleurs.Small in number they were excellent sharpshooters and well trained.Their weakness was however numbers.The jaeger battalion was a meagre 400 men and there were only 9 battalions of jaegers in the whole army of nearly 300,000.These made their impact insignificant in many cases.Jaegers fired in 3 ranks,the first 2 carried muskets and the third carried rifles.The rifle took ages to reload but was far more accurate and had longer range than the musket..it was a sharpshooters weapon.



GRENZERS:

The Grenzers came from military frontier (called Military Borders) between Austria and Turkey settled by Christian refugees. These areas were subject to attack by the Turks and man living in these areas was expected to participate in their defence, so effectively that almost the entire adult male population was militarised. Their uniforms and fierce demeanor gave them a brigandlike air that seemed to portend great deeds on the battlefield. Nominally militia they were considered midway between light and line infantry.Austria experimented with turning them into standrad line infantry but results were not impressive,in the process many of these regiments lost their light infantry skills gained in border defence duty.Grenzers remained a solid addition to the austrian army and performed well at austerlitz.There were around 15 regiments of grenzers.

 

[Nilgiri]

TACTICS:


"For charging, the line was considered 'the proper formation for infantry,
permitting the best use of its weapons, that is the musket musket for
fighting at long range and the bayonnet for close-in". - John Stallaert
The tactical formations used by the Austrian infantry were lines, columns, and skirmishing chains. The Austrian army however "retained faith in 18th century constricted manoeuvre at the expense of the less formalised movements employed by the French. Baron Zach expressed the general reliance on old-fashioned, close and linear formations, an advance-

'courageously in closed formation, with bands playing, and keeping their formation' being, in his opinion, a guarantee of success. 'Unnecessary skirmishing can only be detrimental ... a determined charge delivered in close order ... will certainly result in victory with very few casualties'." (- John Stallaert)



(Austrian company in 3 ranks,austrians divided their companies into 4 Zugs or sections or 2 halfcompanies)

The line was considered by the Austrians as the best formation for infantry. The tallest men stood in the first rank, the shortest in 2nd and the ablest in 3rd, each man's elbows touching his neighbours. The distance between ranks was one pace.The regulations introduced in 1805 (Abrichtungs Reglement für die K. und K.K. Infanterie 1806 ) abolished the practice of kneeling the 1st rank of infantry while firing. It confirmed that during musketry the 3rd rank stood with shouldered arms and only the 1st and 2nd fired. The 2nd rank stepped to the right so that the left shoulder of each soldier was behind the right shoulder of the man to their front.Temporary Zugs were often formed by taking men from the 3rd rank and employing them as a flanking force by extending the line.
Columns were prefered less unlike the french,this made austrian armies slower and less mobile on the battlefield though solid and steady.




Austria uniquely employed 2 types of anti-cavalry formations -The traditional square and the masse.Above is the traditional square being formed from a column of half companies(2 zugs each in a half company)
The Masse came in 2 varieties,the divisionmasse and the battalionmasse.In 1805 only the battalionmasse was in large use.
It was basically a closed column formation of several companies or a solid square.Several battalionmasses closed up formed a divisionmasse.It combined some of the advantages of the line with those of a column.



The smaller battalionmasse in front,the larger divisionmasse in the back.Masses with extended frontage on the sides.Masses had several advantages -they were far quicker to form than squares and also provided far more depth,unlike a square which could be broken up if cavalry got inside it..there was no getting inside a solid masse of bodies.It was invulnerable to cavalry more or less.However it used up much more men than in the square to repulse cavalry.The masse could move faster than a square like a phalanx.It could also adjust its frontage more readily ,however its greatest problem was its vulnerability to enemy fire.It was the most exposed formation to enemy artillery which completly shatter it,and in danger from massed skirmishing as well.Some measures were taken to protect against skirmishers.See the picture above,small zugs of infantrymen are detatched from the masses in and around it to keep enemy skirmishers at bay,if attacked by cavalry they would quickly flee back to the safety of the masse,but it remained a terribly vulnerable formation against artillery.The battalionmasse evolved from austria's struggles against the superb turkish cavalry.Turks lacked effective mobile field artillery,negating the formations main weakness.

Concerning the employment of light infantry,austria continued to lag behind the french.They were not incapable of skirmishing and better than the prussians or russians but traditional attitudes and lack of numbers often hindered their usage.Austrians employed advnace guards of light troops which often gave a good account of themselves,but the general infantry was not particualrly proficient at skirmishing whereas every french infantryman(save grenadiers) could potentially act as a skirmishers.
General Rosemberg wrote: "[Austrian troops] are not fully prepared and too incapable of helping themselves. they are too used to being in closed lines and to acting automatically on the word of command, but they must be capable of relyin on their own initiative."
General Radetzky wrote that "too much drill" was the cause of poorer combat effectiveness of Austrian skirmishers. He also added that Austrian generals "don't understand this kind of fighting."

NEXT: AUSTRIAN CAVALRY

 

[Nilgiri]

AUSTRIAN CAVALRY

The Austrian cavalrymen "were as superior to us
as we were to the trained-bands in the city."
- General John Le Marchant, British cavalry



"... both cuirassiers and hussars are superb"-Wilson
Austrian cavalry had always enjoyed great reputation in europe and was considered the best part of the army.Largely aristocratic it was superbly mounted,well trained..the men themselves being excellent horsemen and swordsmen.As individual swordsmen and horsemen the austrians,particularly the hungarians were considered among the best in europe.Its main problems lay in organization that prevented effective use in mass.Austrian cavalry forces consisted of Cuirassiers,Dragoons,Uhlans,Hussars and chevauxlegers.

ORGANIZATION:Regiments formed the main administrative unit,while squadrons formed the tactical sub-unit.The regiments were composed of 2 to 4 'divisions',each of 2 squadrons.The cuirassier and dragoon regiments had 6 squadrons,the uhlans and cheavuxlegers- 8 squadrons and the hussars from 6 to 10.The cuirassiers/dragoon squadrons had around 110 men per squadron ,while the others had around 150.A cuirassier or dragoon regiment numbered around a 1000 men,and the other around 1500.


TACTICS:In battle the squadron was divided into 4 manuever elements or zugs.The 2 rank-deep knee to knee cavalry charge in line remained the standrad formation,the austrian cavalry rarely used the column unlike the french cavalry.The cavalry was well trained and great emphasis was placed upon proper pacing,and galloping only at 80 paces from the enemy so as to not blow the horses before the charge had reached him.However the 2 line formation lacked depth against a head on column attack by the french,though a good commander could extend his frontage and attempt to outflank the column.

The main disaster for the austrian cavalry was in the detail of its cavalry organization.The strength of organization depended upon the officer to trooper ratio and the placement of officers in a squadron.In both cases the austrians came out poorly.The austrian officer to men ratio was the lowest amongst all major powers in europe 1:8.(u can find the others in french and russian cavalry sections),its officer placement too was the worst in europe.It had ZERO officers leading a squadron and directing its manuever elements.Austria placed all its officers on the flanks of the squadron focusing solely on lateral control emphasizing keeping a squadron packed and regulating its pace.However in the lack of forward control it was very difficult to rally a squadron after a charge and massed charges were very difficult to execute.(for details of forward and lateral control see the other 2 armies cavalry sections).

"Austrian cavalry was well mounted and generally good
but seldom operated effectively in mass."
- John Elting
Another disadvantage for austria was the lack of large scale multi-regiment exercises,so the austrians were usually unable to co-ordinate large scale attacks using massed cavalry.A bad habit was to distribute the cavalry amongst the infantry and it became a infantry support force rather than an independent assault force like the french cavalry.

"The enemy had charged us 3 or 4 times during this engagement. Some of them would break into our ranks, many passed right through and circled back to regain their lines, and after charge they ended in complete disorganization. The French, on the other hand, although they also lost formation after a charge, kept together far more and every time were quicker to regain order.
... although the Hungarians drove home their attacks with determination, they were harder to reform into some sort of order. The French, on the other hand, knew that their own horses lacked the Austrians' speed and endurance, and would launch their attacks from closer range and so retained formation right to the end of the charge, and regained it more quickly afterwards. ... ''-French Officer
In battle,often single regiments and squadrons launched unco-ordinated and unsupported charges on full brigades of french cavalry.Despite being superb horsemen organizational defects placed the austrian cavalry at a disadvantage in such encounters.In total in 1805 austria's regular cavalry numbered 60,000.


CUIRASSIERS:The heavy cuirassiers formed the elite of the austrian cavalry.Regiments numbered around a 1000 men at six squadrons.These tall picked whitejacketed men were equipped with straight swords,rifles or carbines and cuirasses.However the austrian cuirasses lacked the backplate unlike their french counterparts,putting them in a disadvanatge in a head on clash and when pursued.

DRAGOONS:The medium all-purpose cavalry dragoons were a common sight,in the austrian army they performed more the role of shock cavalry rather than mounted infantry.Dragoon regiments had same organization and whitecoats as cuirassires and carried a straight sword and carbines.They lacked body armor.

UHLANS:Austria had just 3 regiments of uhlans.These green jacketed lancers armed with sabres ,lances and pistols could be a nasty shock for a foe unfamiliar with facing the long reach of the weapon.They were recruited from the poles.

CHEVAUXLEGERS:



"... the most useful force of cavalry
is presented by the chavaulegers"
- General Daun


Chevauxlegers were a unique component of the austrian mounted force.Literally light cavalry,these performed somewhat the role of dragoons in the austrian army.Capable of all light cavalry duties as well as being used as shock cavalry,they were more akin to hussars.Armed with carbines,curved sabres they were masters at skirmishing and small scale combat.

HUNGARIAN HUSSARS:



I "... was of the opinion then, as I am still today, that the
Austrian light horse is the best trained in this kind of
warfare [skirmishing, scouting]. The Austrians are always
the most skilled at placing outposts to guard their army."
- Dezydery Chlapowski, Napoleon's Old Guard Lancers
The best part of the austrian cavalry were the hungarian hussars.Along with the polish lancers they were considered the best light cavalry in europe.Hungarians in austrian service had originally popularized hussars as a form of cavalry in europe and enjoyed a superb reputation.The Austrian cavalrymen were excellent swordsman and horsemen, well-trained and well-mounted, and enjoyed great reputation in Europe. "... most Hungarians learned to ride in childhood and when out riding soon acquired a natural sense of direction, making them the ideal recruits for light cavalry duties."

In the seven years war the hungarian hussars had famously raided and captured berlin and the leader Hadik emptied his pipe on frederick's throne.Hussar service was voluntary but standards were high.Armed with sabres and pistols they were dashing and imitated all over europe in the 17th and 18th century.The hungarian hussars nearly captured napoleon in a famous incident in the 1796 campaign.In 1796 at Borghetto, Bonaparte was lunching with generals Massena and Murat when the Austrian light cavalry surprised them. Bonaparte fled by climbing over a wall and lost his boot in the process. Murat and Massena followed their chief.Austria had 12 hussar regiments-all from the balakans,8 of them hungarians,2 transylvanians and 2 slovakians.They acted as the eyes and ears of the army.

NEXT: AUSTRIAN ARTILLERY

 

[Nilgiri]

AUSTRIAN ARTILLERY



''The Austrian gunners, 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. ''
Austria had introduced the world's first modern artillery system in europe in the 1750s.Under joseph lichtestein the famous lichtenstein system was held up as a model to all european militaries and austrian artillery maintained a formidable in the seven years war.


Joseph Wenzel Liechtenstein was the father of Austrian artillery. He became Artillerie General-Director and by the outbreak of Seven Yaers War was able to furnish the army with a corps of thoroughly professional gunners, together with a train of excellent new pieces of artillery. All the work of elevating and depressing the massive barrels was now done by a simple screw device. Liechtenstein also did away with the slow, wasteful and dangerous bussiness of loading the loose powder down the muzzles from open-topped ladles. However the long years of peace had led to stagnation,gribeauval - a frenchman who had served under lichtenstein had introduced in france a better upgraded version of the lichtenstein system that came to be known as the gribeauval system and was one of the cornerstones of french artillery superiority.
In terms of accuracy tests show the austrian gunners to be superior to the prussians and british and about equal with the russians.In terms of ammunition supply for their heavy guns they were behind only the french and russians.




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. 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. 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 austrian gunners were professional,volunteers and reliable if conventional.The French gunners however were more dashing and imaginative and their guns had longer range and heavier calibres than Austrians'.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."

ORGANIZATION:



Austrian artillery was divided into battalion guns for infantry support and heavy guns for reserve ,plus cavalry guns.While for administrative purposes they were organized into regiments in battle they would be grouped in batteries.A battery consisted of 6-8 guns.Guns consisted of 4 types primarily - 12pdr heavy guns,3pdr light infantry support guns,,6pdr medium guns and howitzers.(6pdr guns being used as cavalry guns)

Batteries were of 3 types -Brigade Batteries (lighter guns) - attached to infantry brigades
Position Batteries (heavier guns) - they formed artillery reserves
Cavalry Batteries (lighter guns) - attached to cavalry

Around 60% of the artillery was 6pdrs,12% 12-pdrs,17% howitzers and 12% light battalion guns.One problem with austrian artillery was it was distributed piecemeal to the infantry in large quantities,not only the organic 3pdrs which ahd little killing power but also many of the 6pdrs.There was a lack of a central army artillery reserve like the french guard artillery which its elite heavy 12pdr horse batteries that could quickly turn a battle.Austrians didn't form grand batteries until the late years of the war.

 

[Nilgiri]

AUSTRIAN COMMANDERS


ARCHDUKE CHARLES: The brother of kaiser francis,and austria's finest commander the young archduke had a brillinat reputation winning several victories over the revolutionary french in the 1790s.He was however outmanuevered by napoleon in the closing stages of the 1796 campaign but emerged as the only senior austrian commander not disgraced after austria's defeat in the second coalition 1800.He was initially in charge of the post war reforms but heavily opposed to a new war,overtaken by the war party represented by general mack in 1805.When war broke out he was sent to italy to deal with the french forces there,but was unable to defeat massena.After the third coalition war he took charge of a radical reforms process and was supreme head of austrian forces in the war of the 4rth coalition in1809.Despite being eventually outmanuevred and defeated by napoleon,the austrian army performed exceptionally during this conflict and charles was the first commander to give napoleon his first setback at aspern essling during this campaign.He held no further commands.



KARL MACK:Mack emerged as the face of the new war party in vienna and was appointed chief of staff and began a set of reforms when war broke out.He would take the austrian army into bavaria and wait for kutuzov to join him-events that would lead to the catastrophe at ulm.Mack's reputation was built on books written on military theory and not field record,after the war he was court martialled and imprisoned for the scale of the disaster.Though rehabilitated in 1815,he remains known to history as the 'unfortunate general mack'.



ARCHDUKE FERDINAND: Brother of the emperor,he was supposed to be in only nominal command of the forces invading bavaria while mack retained operational control,a role he was not properly ready to follow.This lead to differences in opinion with mack on the conduct of the campaign and ferdinand abandoned the army and escaped the debacle of ulm with a part of the cavalry.



PRINCE LICHTENSTEIN:The leader of the austrian cavalry,lichtenstein served with distinction in the revolutionary wars and the austro-turkish wars.A talented cavalry commander he held command over the allied cavalry at austerlitz and faced off against murat.He later acted as a diplomat but resigned from state service after the 1809 war.He is the founding father of the current royal house of lichtenstein.



KARL SCHWARZENBERG:Originally a cavalry commander schwarzenberg served with valour throughout the revolutionary wars and was promoted rapidly.In 1805 he was in command of one of mack's divisions and experienced the debacle first hand but managed to escape with a band of cavalry.He continued his service in the 1809 war and in 1813 after kutuzov's death was appointed supreme allied commander.After a initial string of allied(russia-austria-prussia-sweden)defeats to napoleon even with his depleted army after the russian campaign,schwarzenberg and his chief of staff radetzky came up with the famous trachenberg plan which finally manged to defeat napoleon at leipzig.The plan advocated avoiding direct engagement with the main french army under Napoleon. This resulted from fear of the Emperor's now legendary prowess in battle. Consequently the Allies planned to engage and defeat the French marshals and Generals separately, and thus weaken his army while they built up an overwhelming force even he could not defeat.Though derided for being overcautious and timid, ,he was a realist and 1805 was to be a learning experience for schwarzenberg.

FRANZ WEYROTHER:Weyrother was to be the chief of staff of the allied army at auSterlitz and drew up the battleplan.Weyrother had served with distinction as a staff officer in the revolutionary wars until the austrian relief attempts of mantua under alvintzi in 1796 had resulted in heavy defeats to napoleon at arcola and rivoli.(weyrother was chief of staff to alvinzti).Weyrother made amends with signal service as suvorov's main staff officer during the russian expedition in italy 1799.In 1805 he was initially requested by kutuzov to serve as the head of the joint allied staffs.Before austerlitz he won over the czar and the russian nobility and most of the allied high command,though kutuzov remained unenthusiatic about his attack plan.Disgraced after the disaster at austerlitz he died heartbroken in 1806.

(Other austrian commanders who came into prominence in the later years will be posted in later campaigns)

NEXT: CAMPAIGN BEGINS.

 

[Nilgiri]

CAMPAIGN BEGINS: PLANS AND PREPARATIONS


British prime minister William Pitt was the architect of the 3rd coalition and czar alexander the prime mover.Once the royal courts of europe had decided on war full scale preparations had begun.Of the four continental major powers russia and austria were ranged against napoleonic france,with prussia vacillitating but nonetheless tilting towards the allies slowly but surely.France would have the small german states of baden and wurtemmberg as allies,and had a secret alliance with bavaria.The coalition on the other hand included naples and sweden.

AUSTRIAN PREPARATIONS:
Austrian mobilized paper strength stood at 369 infantry battalions and 278 cavalry squadrons.They were allocated thus-
Army of Germany(Mack/Ferdinand) - 167 battalions,156 squadrons
Army of Italy (Archduke Charles) - 121 battalions,80 squadrons
Army of Tyrol (Archduke John) - 51 battalions,24 squadrons
Garrisons - 30 battalions,18 squadrons
RUSSIAN PREPARATIONS:
Russian regular mobilized paper strength stood at 343 infantry battalions and 297 cavalry squadrons.But geographical distances between several fronts meant several forces could not be used for a campaign in western europe,and also garrisoning the border with turkey required a number of troops.212 battalions and 207 squadrons were allocated for the war against the french.These were formed under several columns which would eventually be combined into 3 large bodies under generals kutuzov,bennigsen and buxhowden.

Other allied contributions from britain,sweden and naples would bring in another 100 odd infantry battalions and several cavalry squadrons(British strength in colonies and homeland defence not counted) though the main effort rested upon the austrians and the russians.Particularly the neapolitan army was a rabble.

Apart from this Prussia had 168 battalions and 245 squadrons at her disposal which would likely join the effort against the french at some point .

FRENCH STRENGTH:
These forces were ranged against france which had the largest army in the world,but much of it was required to hold the colonies or garrison its conquests.The cream of the french army consisted of La Grande Armee stationed in Boulogne poised at england.The french forces were arrayed thus -(excluding colonial forces)

La Grande Armee (Napoleon)-190 infantry battalions,213 cavalry squadrons
Army of Italy (Massena) -71 infantry battalions,61 squadrons
Army of Reserve(Joseph Bonaparte) -67 battalions,12 squadrons
Garrisons/coastal defence -124 battalions,36 squadrons
Army of Naples(St Cyr) - 22 battalions,24 squadrons.

Of these the reserve army was raised as a emergency measure of conscripts midway after the campaign began .However the french frontline units like the grand armee had a 1000 men in battalions compared to 800 austrian.

THE ALLIED GRAND PLAN:


Throughout early 1805 the allied staffs had busied themselves with planning the offensives that restore europe to pre revolution borders and put an end to napoleonic france.Gradually the grand scheme that evolved was ambitious and staggering in its scope.
>In North italy Archduke charles with 95,000 troops would attack the french satellite state the kingdom of italy.

>In germany the central theater,the main effort would take place General Mack(nominally ferdinand)would lead 72,000 austrian troops and invade bavaria.He would be joined by 2 russian armies under kutuzov(40,000) and buxhowden (40,000) and a third russian army under bennigsen(20,000) would finally follow.

>Archduke John in Tyrol and the alps would serve as a link between the armies of italy and germany with 23,000 men .

>In the north from swedish pomerania a joint swedish-russian attack would be launched on french held hannover which would also be supported by british troops.

>In the south russian and british troops would land in naples and supported by the neapolitan army clear italy of the french and join archduke charles in north italy.

After taking hannover in the north and italy in the south,with allied armies assembled on the rhine -the anglo-swedish-russian forces in hannover could attack france from the north,while the main allied army from germany would be in a position to penetrate central france and the combined armies of the archduke charles and the naples forces would invade provence in southern france.
The primary objective of the coalition was to push france back to her pre revolutionary borders .In the process put an end to the upstart bonaparte and (if possible) restore the bourbon monarchy on the throne.
The coalition thus aimed to hurl nearly half a million men at napoleon and france who could counter only with 250,000 regulars and over 100,000 hastily raised conscripts.The addition of prussia even belated,would bring another 150,000-200,000 men into the allied side.
In its scale the third coalition was to be the largest and greatest in european history till that time and the military men of Vienna,London and St.petersberg confidently talked of carrying the war to the gates of paris.

NAPOLEON'S COUNTER-PLAN:



Allied preparations of this scale didn't go unnoticed and by mid july napoleon had decided to postpone the invasion of england and deal with his continental rivals.Senior french officers including murat carried out reconssaince in person of the roads leading into germany and the possible fronts,and french spies and ambassadors sent a stream of information.On examining the strategic problem bonaparte habitually largely ignored the peripheral fronts in naples and hannover in keeping with his maxim to focus solely on the enemy's main body.Archduke charles would pose a serious threat to french possesions in north italy but most of all should the austrian and russian armies unite in germany their strength would be overwhelming.
Napoleon's plan was simple and daring.The bulk of the french forces camped at boulogne and hannover were designated into seven army corps and a heavy cavalry reserve,each usually under a marshal,these would be hurled at fullspeed at the advancing austrian army of mack and would converge on him in an attempt to encircle and destroy him before the russians could arrive.If succesful it would leave kutuzov's advancing forces outnumbered and in turn vulnerable to being destroyed.The obliteration of the main allied body would shatter the coalition plans and make the secondary theatres redundant.
Meanwhile as the main french strength was unleashed in germany,subsidiary forces would try to delay and pin down the allied forces in naples and italy(where the veteran massena was sent).30,000 troops would be left behind in boulogne as deception and as a defense against a british landing,the new conscripts would be formed into a ad-hoc 'army of the reserve' which would watch the entry points into northern france over the rhine.
The plan called for 210,000 men,30,000 cavalry and 400 guns to move over 200 miles from the french coast over the rhine to the danube in 2 weeks,an inconcievable feat for the allied forces.Indeed something like this had never been undertaken.The great french marshal turenne ruled that great manuevres were possible with an army of upto 50,000 men.In 1704 The duke of marlborough's march with 40,000 men from holland to the rhine was hailed as a miracle of manuever.Yet the french would succeed,what would make it possible would be the Corps system.Europe was to witness a fully evolved corps system in action for the first time in history.On 23rd august napoleon wrote to talleyrand his foreign minister -''I am marching on vienna'' as the grand armee began its preparations for the epic march.
NEXT:MARCH OF THE GRANDE ARMEE-BOULOGNE TO RHINE RIVER -THE MANUEVER OF ULM -STRATEGIC TRIUMPH

 

[Nilgiri]

MARCH OF THE EAGLES - BOULOGNE TO THE RHINE


Initial troop dispositions.Napoleon had 6 armeekorps[Lannes on the border,3 at boulogne,1 in holland(marmont) and 1 in hannover(bernadotte)] plus the cavalry reserve under murat not shown here.And the 7000 strong imperial guard.The VII armeekorps was in brest on the extreme western french coast not shown in map,under augereau this corps was also ordered to move.Among the austrians jellacic and hiller were originally part of charles command but in process of being transfered to the army of germany(in last post u will see battalions allocated to army of germany exceed charles's force-this is because though initially charles was allocated the larger body adjusted dispositions were transfer these troops to mack).

Napoleon wanted a quick pre-emptive strike on the austrian army,to march at once with the highest possible strength he ordered the first 2 battalions of each regiment to draw men from the 3rd and 4rth battalions to march overstrength or fullstrength.The depleted 3rd and 4rth battalions left behind would then be added to newly raised conscripts to form a emergency army of the reserve for defense on the northern border and could serve as a body for reinforcements.Same was adopted for the 4rth squadrons of cavalry.



(The 'tor rents' of the grande armee-the seven armee korps)

Bonaparte meticulously worked out the marching route details and berthier worked out the logistical inticracies,Each corps was routed along an independent line of march to ease supply problems yet within supporting distance of each other.Each had 2-4 infantry divisions,its own artillery and a light cavalry division for screening and reconssaince.The remainder of the cavalry 22,000 strong under murat was tasked to screen the whole army and distract the austrians from the main point of attack when it made contact.The infantry marched on the sides of the road forming column between 4 and 6 in the morning and marching all day till noon,they foraged the evening and rested the night.French forces averaged 30 kms and advnaced with almost mechanical precision,regardless of bad weather .The infantry marched in files on the sides leaving the centre free for movement of carriages,cavalry and artillery.Each division was alloted a foraging space of 20 square kms.
Napoleon initially hoped to cross the rhine on 17th september,but a financial crisis in paris kept him busy.He took command of the army in person on the 26th of september,the previous day the first french troops had crossed the rhine and seven army korps were now moving into position to strike into the austrian heartland.

AUSTRIAN INVASION OF BAVARIA:



(Showing austrian advance into bavaria and bavarian retreat)
Austrian planners didn't expect napoleon to wholly abandon the invasion of england,nor did they anticipate the speed of the blow..and even if it came it was thought it would come in italy like in 1796 and 1800.Mack delayed mobilization until the last moment to preserve surprise but this had no effect since the main french army on the coast facing england was already mobilized.Instead the hastily mobilized austrian forces left many battalions understrength.On 6th august mack recieved news kutuzov's force would be delayed,he calculated that it would take kutuzov 64 days to join him in bavaria and it was impossible for the french to reach bavaria before 68 days,and went ahead with the early invasion of bavaria-whom he expected to capitulate and join austria.
On 5th september the austrian army moved into bavaria,the elector fled and the bavarians army retreated without a fight north to join the french..as mack consolidated his position and sorted out supply issues(arisen from sudden adoption of french foraging system)he had not the slightest inclination that unknown to him the french had marched a week before him and seven french corps were homing in on him.



Troop levels 26th september.Six french armycorps and the cavalry reserve assembled on the rhine while mack still consolidates the detachments of the austrian army in bavaria.The natural barriers of the black forest and the rhine hid the scale of french concentration along with superb cavalry screening my murat's cavalry and the speed of french intelligence.
FROM RHINE TO THE DANUBE:

While mack was now aware of the appearance of the french he had little idea about the strength and location of theire forces and the austrian forces generally intended to concentrate around ulm and await the russians,waiting for the french to cross the rhine and come through the black forest before him,an attack from the north was blocked he believed by the prussian enclave of ansbach,to pass the french would need to violate prussian neutrality which would surely bring prussia into the allied side.Napoleon would have no such scruples-for the interest of speed and surprise bernadotte's I corps would indifferently pass through ansbach (napoleon calaculated it would take prussia 3 months to fully mobilize and march here armies to make their presence felt in the combat area,by which time he expected to decide the campaign).





(French corps begin their wheeling movement-september 27)