Background Briefing

(Click to embiggen, or chase the link)
Source

So JB sent me this excellent graphic (above) a couple of weeks ago, and as I'm feeling extraordinarily lazy on this Friday afternoon (as I write) I decided to use the graphic in order to provide you, dear readers, with a bit of background on the armies of Napoléon's time.

(You there, in the back, wake up, this material WILL BE on the final exam. JK)

Anyhoo, much as it is today, military units in Napoléon's time consisted of a number of building blocks, from the individual soldier all the way up to an entire army, everything is, ya know, organized. I mean it's what makes an army credible and efficient. Well, that and the training the soldiers receive and how well they are taken care of (food, clothing, housing, medical care, etc. Oh yes, and pay, how could I forget pay?).

The basic tactical unit for the infantry was the battalion, for the cavalry it was the squadron, and for the artillery it was the battery. Organizations and uniforms tended to change over time, sometimes at the sovereign's whim, but most often due to practical necessity.

For instance, as noted above, French infantry battalions consisted of nine companies of 100 to 120 men per company. That's the 1805 table of organization, by the time of the Waterloo campaign, the number of companies per battalion had been reduced to six. This is what happens when you lose a lot of officers and non-commissioned-officers in combat. The invasion of Russia crippled the Grande Armée¹, the disastrous campaigns of 1813 and 1814 didn't help matters. The French were on the defensive and were eventually pushed back inside the borders of France and the Emperor was forced to abdicate.

So the battalions of the Waterloo campaign were smaller than those of earlier campaigns. The number of men per company did remain more or less the same.

If you'd like a more exhaustive view of Napoléon and his army (now don't all rush at once) you can chase this link, but beware, I've spent many hours over there, going down one rathole after another.

Now what, you may ask, has caused me to dial things back a bit on this series? Well, here's one answer ...

My character in Sengoku Dynasty² standing on the porch of his beach house.

My character in Sengoku Dynasty standing on the beach in front of his house.

I mean y'all knew I played computer games, right? And not to belabor the point, I am, ya know, retired and now have time to indulge myself with such things.

I'll get back to my Napoleonic "What If" series on Tuesday, I've got to figure out how to have the French win one battle which was actually a draw, of sorts, (Quatre Bras) and to make the victory at Ligny even bigger than it was. Because Napoléon didn't destroy the Prussians at Ligny, they got away and lived to fight another day, at Waterloo itself.

So until then, keep your powder dry and your nose to the wind.

¹ The Grand Army, usually what the Emperor called his main army up until it was practically destroyed in 1812, in Russia.

² Great game, for those who partake in such things, it's available on Steam, a fine purveyor of computer games. I've spent a lot of time (and money) over there, didn't feel either was wasted. YMMV