Napoleonsession iii

The Third Coalition

Napoleonsession iii

The Third Coalition

An army’s effectivenessdepends on its size, training,experience, and morale, and

morale is worth more than anyof the other factors combined.

--Napoleon

1805 Campaign2 December

Austerlitz

1806 Campaign14 October

Jena

major topics for this session

! Boulogne

! Trafalgar

! Le Grande Armée

! Austerlitz

! Prussia

Boulogne

Boulogne

« Première distribution de la Légion d'honneur au camp de Boulogne, le 16 août 1804 » par Victor-Jean Adam. Lithographie en couleur de C. Motte (1829)

They want us to jumpthe ditch, and we will

jump it!

NAPOLEON

! 1803-with little comprehension of naval warfare, his first plan was to build flat-bottomed unseaworthy barges to “jump the ditch”

from Potter & Nimitz, Sea Power, p. 152

! 1803-with little comprehension of naval warfare, his first plan was to build flat-bottomed unseaworthy barges to “jump the ditch”

from Potter & Nimitz, Sea Power, p. 152

! this diagram from the period shows the different types, generally flat-bottomed, of the 2,000 invasion barges nested in the basin which was dredged out for them

! the caption reads : Disposition of theEquipment of the Imperial Flotilla at the port of Boulogne Thermidor (July-August) year 13 (1805)

! 1803-with little comprehension of naval warfare, his first plan was to build flat-bottomed unseaworthy barges to “jump the ditch”

! they were assembled here at Boulogne at the Channel’s narrowest point

! the huge camp where the Army of England assembled did have one worthwhile accomplishment. It allowed for extensive training, drill and large scale tactical experiments

from Potter & Nimitz, Sea Power, p. 152

...le Grande Armée... was shaped and trained in the Boulogne camp of 1804-05….The army was originally planned as a force of well over 100,000 men to invade southeast England and it conducted extensive training for embarkation on to the large flotilla of transports and warships that was specially collected for the task…. in the event it was never called upon to perform amphibious operations any more ambitious than river crossings. Its prolonged training in large-unit drill turned out to be far more significant than its nautical training -- it perfected the art of maneuver on land rather than transport by sea…....the frequent field days and drill exercises implanted order, discipline and correct methods that would soon prove to be invaluable on the battlefield…. the army that emerged from Boulogne was no longer a hesitant collection of conscripts whose formations were likely to dissolve under pressure. It was a tough and professional army in every meaningful sense.

Paddy Griffith, French Napoleonic Infantry Tactics, pp. 29-31

The School of the Soldier

Preparatory Command = Command of Execution

From the Simple to the Complex

! individual drill; attention, left face, right face, about face, dress right dress

! squad drill; forward march, column right, wheel right, to the rear march

! platoon drill; ditto

! company drill; ditto

! battalion drill;

! regiment drill;

! brigade drill;

! division drill;

! Corps d’Armée drill;

As the invasion plan became clear in 1803, a flurry of British caricatures asserted a defiant attitude

As the invasion plan became clear in 1803, a flurry of British caricatures asserted a defiant attitude

As the invasion plan became clear in 1803, a flurry of British caricatures asserted a defiant attitude

As the invasion plan became clear in 1803, a flurry of British caricatures asserted a defiant attitude

As the invasion plan became clear in 1803, a flurry of British caricatures asserted a defiant attitude

As the invasion plan became clear in 1803, a flurry of British caricatures asserted a defiant attitude

As the invasion plan became clear in 1803, a flurry of British caricatures asserted a defiant attitude

The initial defensive strategyMajor coastal fortifications, Sea Fencibles, and the

smaller Martello towers

The initial defensive strategyMajor coastal fortifications, Sea Fencibles, and the

smaller Martello towers

The initial defensive strategyMajor coastal fortifications, Sea Fencibles, and the

smaller Martello towers

The initial defensive strategyMajor coastal fortifications, Sea Fencibles, and the

smaller Martello towers

HAMBURG

BREMEN

ENGLAND

ANTWERP

NAPOLEON90,000

TROOPS

PARIS

LONDON

AMSTERDAM

DOVER BREST

THE INVASION FRONT, 1805

! England’s strategy always placed supremacy in the Channel ahead of the Continental blockade

! thus Admiral Keith had so many frigates and smaller “cruisers” at his disposal to maintain an iron-clad watch over the Army of England at Boulogne

KEITH--11 SHIPS &

140 CRUISERS

HAMBURG

BREMEN

ENGLAND

ANTWERP

NAPOLEON90,000

TROOPS

PARIS

LONDON

AMSTERDAM

DOVER BREST

THE INVASION FRONT, 1805

! England’s strategy always placed supremacy in the Channel ahead of the Continental blockade

! thus Admiral Keith had so many frigates and smaller “cruisers” at his disposal to maintain an iron-clad watch over the Army of England at Boulogne

! the other blockaders would be able to converge “like iron filings to a magnet”

KEITH--11 SHIPS &

140 CRUISERS

As Mahan put it, “Those distant, storm-beaten ships upon which the Grand Army never looked stood between it and the domination of the world.”

Potter and Nimitz, p. 153

As Mahan put it, “Those distant, storm-beaten ships upon which the Grand Army never looked stood between it and the domination of the world.”

Potter and Nimitz, p. 153

For twenty-three years, almost without interruption, the RoyalNavy maintained a blockade off the French coast

Trafalgar

Trafalgar

The Fall of Nelson, Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805. ca. 1825

! the Peace of Amiens gave Napoleon the opportunity to use the seas once again and give his sailors the chance to train and prepare for war

! he was determined to use this time to recover his overseas colonies such as Saint-Domingue (Haiti)

! “only briefly were the English deceived. They had disarmed; Napoleon had not

! “his shipyards hummed with activity. He planned to build 25 ships of the line a year

! “with his new ships he need no longer fear the crushing blockade of the Royal Navy” --Potter & Nimitz

As First Consul, Napoleon wanted a navy and--having had one fleet shot out from under him at the battle of the Nile--insisted on a first-class navy. Practically the whole thing had to be built up again from scratch; the Revolution had closed the naval schools in favor of on-the-job training for young aspirants (candidates) who spent three years aboard ship earning an ensign’s commission. [America wouldn’t open Annapolis until 1845] Few new ships had been built; many had been lost to battle, storm, or accident. The naval arsenals were empty, and naval morale was utterly low. Men could be found…. There were gifted ship designers…. Money was found, in part through the work of the free-wheeling professional ancestor of our modern…”gimme” fundraisers. Many regiments threw a day’s pay on their drumheads; Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish clergy preached and solicited…. It all seems very modern.

Elting, Swords, p. 300

Even among Frenchmen there were great variations. Normans were good sailors and daring, savage fighters but easily discouraged and irritated. Bretons were orderly, stoically courageous, and very fond of getting drunk. Gascons were talkative but intelligent and industrious and made excellent bosuns. The southerners were hard-working but apt to drop everything to wave their arms and gabble over nothing; they frightened easily, but a spell-binding officer sometimes could talk them into putting up a first-rate fight.

Elting, Swords, p. 301

! Napoleon had tested the peace in Europe by breaking its provisions. He became President of what he called the Republic of Italy. Britain made no protest

! emboldened, Napoleon had his agents stir up violence in the Swiss Cantons. He sent Ney to invade “to protect French interests”

! when the Swiss appealed to Britain, Addington’s government made impotent protests to Paris which Napoleon ignored

! Pitt’s friends in Parliament begged him in vain to return to power

! 16 May 1803-finally, French plans to evict the British from Malta brought Addington’s government to declare war

! apart from re-instituting the blockade there was no strategic direction of the war

! Pitt loyally supported his friend Addington for the first year of the war as the threat from Boulogne grew

! 26 April 1804-St. George’s Day, he reluctantly attacked the government’s lack of fighting spirit

The Return of Pitt

! 7 May-the King sent for Pitt

! thus the human embodiment of the offensive spirit was once more leading the British

! on the same day that Pitt undertook his duties, Napoleon had himself declared Emperor of the French and executed, on trumped up charges, the Duke of Enghien

! the monarchs of Europe were prepared to listen when Pitt’s ambassadors proposed an alliance against the bloody Corsican

! all summer Pitt worked to gain allies for a Third Coalition

! November 1804-the Russians, in conjunction with Austria were prepared to sign a treaty for an Armed League to be led by Russia but paid for by Britain

! 12 December 1804-Napoleon responded by compelling his satellite Spain to declare war on Britain

! with the combined fleets of France and Spain, Bonaparte prepared a “Grand Design” for the conquest of England

The Third Coalition

Notein this map the Brits are the “good guys,” hence blue.Allied = French and Spanish

Napoleon’s Grand Design

Notein this map the Brits are the “good guys,” hence blue.Allied = French and Spanish

Napoleon’s Grand Design! in order to clear the Channel for his invasion

barges Napoleon had either to defeat the British there or lure them away

! Villeneuve was to escape from Toulon, release the Spanish ships at Cartagena, and passing Gibraltar, take the ships at Cadiz with him to the West Indies

! there he would join Missiessy and be joined by Ganteume

! then the huge Armada would sail for the Channel

! if Ganteume did not appear, Villeneuve was to wait 40 days, then recross the Atlantic, liberate Ganteume, and cover the invasion

! the Grand Design failed for many reasons, but its inherent weakness was not understanding that Britain would never fail to protect her strategic home waters

NAVAL OPERATIONSMARCH-OCTOBER 1805

!! here French are “good guys, hence blue and Brits are “bad guy” red

Although Nelson’s arrival was not marked with outward show, his spirit quickly permeated the fleet. Never had Nelson’s leadership shown itself more inspired…. Every officer and man who came under his influence soon realized this Admiral was no autocrat to demand blind obedience. He was rather a leader who inspired his subordinates to work with a will, with intelligence, and with freedom to exercise initiative to achieve a common goal.

Potter & Nimitz, p. 163

No one could tell where the blow would fall. So long as Nelson held his course, the Allied van had to brace to receive the onslaught of Nelson’s 12 juggernauts. Yet by simply putting the helm over, Nelson could deliver his thrust to Villeneuve’s center, with the van held out of action by the wind…. Thus was concentration achieved at Trafalgar, for Nelson’s squadron acted as a holding force on the All ied center and van to support Collingwood’s attack on the rear…. In this double role for his own squadron lay Nelson’s brilliance...by his knowledge of the enemy’s psychology and by his threat to the van, insured it would be out of action while he and Collingwood disposed of the center and rear.

Potter & Nimitz, p. 165

England expects that every man will do his duty

N

westerly windshifting west by southwest

to west by northwest

...Hardy hastened below to speak to his dying leader. “I hope that none of our ships have struck [surrendered], Hardy”…

“No, my Lord, there is no fear of that.”

Then Hardy was summoned to the quarterdeck to repulse a counterattack.. Within 20 minutes the attack had failed and once again he went below to report to Nelson to report to Nelson that 14 or 15 of the enemy had struck.

“That is well,” whispered Nelson, “but I had bargained for 20.”

“Anchor, Hardy, Anchor!”

“Thank God I have done my duty. God and my Country.”

Potter & Nimitz, pp. 166-167

Le Grande Armée

Le Grande Armée

Le Serment de l'armée fait à l'Empereur après la distribution des Aigles au Champ-de-Mars le 5 décembre* 1804

(The Oath the Army makes to the Emperor after the distribution of the Eagles on the Field of Mars…) * note the date Jacques-Louis David, 1810

The famous Imperial eagle---

The first French Eagle to be captured by the British was taken by the 87th Foot from the French 8e Ligne at the Battle of Barrosa on 5 March 1811. The first British soldier to touch the battle standard was a young officer, Ensign Edward Keogh, although as his hand grasped it, he was immediately shot through the heart and killed. He was followed by Sergeant Patrick Masterson who grabbed the eagle from the French ensign who carried it, reputedly with the cry "By Jaysus, boys, I have the Cuckoo!".

Corps dʼArmée Corps dʼCavalerie

(US Army calls these engineers)

(supply, transport, food, medical, provost, music)

InfantryLes Grognards (the Grumblers/Growlers)

map symbol

for the crossed belts each soldier wears to support his cartridge box and his sword

Cavalryun beau sabreur (a fine swordsman)

map symbol

for the single belt each rider wears to support his his sword

Artilleryle brutal (the brutal one)

map symbol

for the cannon ball

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Text

c

cc

The Corps d’Armée System

! traditional armies marched along a single line of communication (road) with infantry, then those cavalry not thrown out as a screen, the artillery and the baggage train

! this clogged up the roads of the time and slowed the advance

! Napoleon combined all these elements at the corps size (12,000-15,000 men), small armies, and directed them to advance along separate lines of communication a day’s march from one another

! this confused his enemies as to his direction and speed of advance

! each corps d’armée might have attached two to four divisions of infantry with their organic artillery, it had its own cavalry division and corps artillery, plus support units. With this organization a corps was expected to be able to hold its ground against, or fight off, an enemy army for a least a day, when neighboring corps could come to its aid

The operational flexibility afforded by the widely placed location of the French corps wou ld enab l e Napoleon to trap the enemy wherever he chose to mass--in other w o r d s , N a p o l e o n w a s n o t committed to any one course of action by his initial dispositions, but could adjust his master plan to any particular circumstances.

Chandler, p. 152

The Corps d’Armée Systemin Motion

Grand Tactics: Napoleon’s BasicBattle Plan (the Strategic Battle

by Phases); schematic

Chandler, p. 186

Napoleon’s FavoriteStrategy

ofthe Central Position

Chandler, p. 173

Command, Communications,Control &

Intelligence(C3I)

Les Grands Chapeaux (The Big Hats)

1-Napoleon in the uniform of a Chasseur of the Imperial Guard

2-an Imperial aide-de-camp. They delivered the Emperor’s orders and messages to the corps and divisional commanders

3-a colonel on the staff

4-a marshal of the

Empire, c. 1805

5-Roustam, Bonaparte’s personal Mameluke servant and bodyguard

6-personal servants of the Imperial household

7-Marshall Berthier, his Chief of Staff

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élite; no guard or work details, extra pay. Also like the grenadiers, they

earned their place by demonstrated

bravery

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Infantryman attached to the foot artillery

Artilleryman gunners

Ammunition

Limber

model of a mobile field kitchen

famous for saying “The army marches on its stomach,” Napoleon continued the work of the Revolutionary Army on canning food

Austerlitz

Austerlitz

Bivouac on the Eve of the Battle of Austerlitz, 1st December 1805. 1808.

The First Blitzkrieg?

The Austrian commander-in-chief, Archduke Charles,...advanced into Italy to confront the French forces there under Marshal Masséna, while further east a Russian army under General Mikhail Kutusov ( kuh•TOO•zuf) slowly advanced through Poland to assist the Austrians in Moravia. The Austrians were shocked to discover that Napoleon had made such remarkably rapid progress, crossing the Rhine on 26 September and reaching the Danube on 6 October. In the course of this march, the French had moved in a broad arc around Mack’s army near Ulm, cutting his lines of communication and isolating him from reinforcement. After a feeble attempt to break through the cordon at Elchingen on 14 October, Mack surrendered his entire force of 27,000 men on 17 October, making the encirclement at Ulm one of history’s greatest strategic manoeuvres.

Gregory Fremont-Barnes, Napoleon Bonaparte, pp. 15-16

The Capitulation of Ulm by Charles Thevenin. Oil on canvas.

General Mack surrenders to Napoleon

Austerlitz

In the foreground a cuirassier displays captured Russian colors while guarding a Hungarian officer of grenadiers and a Russian general. Here, at 0800, an aide-de-camp hands the emperor a message that the Allies Pratzen Heights have sent troops south. Napoleon orders Soult to advance up the slope, out of the fog, to take this key feature.

Napoléon at the Battle of Austerlitz, by François Gérard (Galerie des Batailles, Versailles)

One has but a short time for war.In another five or six years

[1810-1811] even I will be unable to continue.

--Napoleon

The general who cannotlook dry-eyed upon a battlefield will lose lives unnecessarily. One cannot make an omelette without

breaking eggs.

--Napoleon

Wikipedia

The Outcome

Austerlitz stands as one of the greatest victories in military history. Napoleon’s prowess and the effectiveness of the Grande Armée as a fighting force reached its apogee there, and it constituted the battle of which the Emperor was most proud. In 20 days he had marched his army from Boulogne to the Rhine; in two months it had entered the Austrian capital; and three days later he had destroyed the Third Coalition. Napoleon had gambled supremely in the campaign of 1805, and generally gambled correctly. If any single factor contributed to success it was speed, which enabled him to encircle Mack before the Russians could come to his aid…. On 26 December Napoleon and Francis concluded a treaty of peace at Pressburg, where the latter agreed to cede German and Italian territory to France….

Gregory Fremont-Barnes, Napoleon Bonaparte, pp. 26-27

The End of the Holy Roman Empire800 (?)-1806

! this medieval, feudal dinosaur had endured such modern upheavals as the Thirty Years War, 1618-1648

! but in the age of modern nation states such a collection of tiny principalities, each enjoying “the German liberties” of sovereignty was anachronistic

The End of the Holy Roman Empire800 (?)-1806

! this medieval, feudal dinosaur had endured such modern upheavals as the Thirty Years War, 1618-1648

! but in the age of modern nation states such a collection of tiny principalities, each enjoying “the German liberties” of sovereignty was anachronistic

The End of the Holy Roman Empire800 (?)-1806

! this medieval, feudal dinosaur had endured such modern upheavals as the Thirty Years War, 1618-1648

! but in the age of modern nation states such a collection of tiny principalities, each enjoying “the German liberties” of sovereignty was anachronistic

! 1789-the 306 separate principalities varied in size from the 40 million Austrian Empire, to the Abbey of Heiligenblut in the Rhineland, which consisted of the Abbess, 27 nuns and the peasants who worked their lands, some 58 hectares (143 acres)

The End of the Holy Roman Empire800 (?)-1806

! this medieval, feudal dinosaur had endured such modern upheavals as the Thirty Years War, 1618-1648

! but in the age of modern nation states such a collection of tiny principalities, each enjoying “the German liberties” of sovereignty was anachronistic

! 1789-the 306 separate principalities varied in size from the 40 million Austrian Empire, to the Abbey of Heiligenblut in the Rhineland, which consisted of the Abbess, 27 nuns and the peasants who worked their lands, some 58 hectares (143 acres)

The End of the Holy Roman Empire800 (?)-1806

! this medieval, feudal dinosaur had endured such modern upheavals as the Thirty Years War, 1618-1648

! but in the age of modern nation states such a collection of tiny principalities, each enjoying “the German liberties” of sovereignty was anachronistic

! 1789-the 306 separate principalities varied in size from the 40 million Austrian Empire, to the Abbey of Heiligenblut in the Rhineland, which consisted of the Abbess, 27 nuns and the peasants who worked their lands, some 58 hectares (143 acres)

! Napoleon considered it his mission to bring the principles of the Revolution to this part of Europe

The Vendôme Column

! Napoleon erected the original column, modeled after Trajan’s column, to celebrate the victory at Austerlitz

! its veneer of 425 spiraling bas-relief bronze plates were made out of cannon taken from the combined armies of Europe, according to his propaganda

! the usual figure given of guns is hugely exaggerated: 133 cannon were actually captured at Austerlitz

! A statue of Napoleon, bare-headed, crowned with laurels and holding a sword in his right hand and a globe surmounted with a statue of Victory in his left hand, was placed atop the column

! after the Bourbon restoration the statue was pulled down

The Vendôme Column

the triggering event

! 1805-Prussia mobilized but had remained neutral during the formation of the Third Coalition and the events leading to Austerlitz

! 1806-but when Bonaparte created the Confederation of the Rhine on Prussia’s border, a shift occurred

! the Treaty of Lunéville (1801)had incorporated the German left (west) bank of the Rhine directly into France

! now, in effect the Holy Roman Empire was ended and a huge German satellite was added to the all-conquering French Empire

! the Rheinbund was right against Prussia’s border

Prussia

Rheinbund

Austria

immediate aftermath

! 12 July 1806-on the signing of the Rheinbundachte, 16 German states formally left the Holy Roman Empire and joined a confederation (états confédérés du Rhin)

! Napoleon was its “protector”

! 6 August-following an ultimatum by Napoleon, Francis II gave up his title of Emperor and declared the Holy Roman Empire dissolved

! In the years that followed, 23 more German states joined the Confederation; Francis's Habsburg dynasty would rule the remainder of the empire as Austria

! According to the treaty, the confederation was to be run by common constitutional bodies, but the individual states (in particular the larger ones) wanted unlimited sovereignty

! the Confederation was above all a military alliance: the members had to supply France with large numbers of military personnel. In return for their cooperation some state rulers were given higher statuses. Divide and conquer

the end of “Old Prussia

! 1792-94--as Crown Prince he had fought in the Revolutionary wars against France

! 1797-as monarch he had all the Hohenzollern determination to retain personal power without the Hohenzollern genius for using it

Frederick William III

(German: Friedrich Wilhelm III.)

(1770 -1797-1840)

the end of “Old Prussia

! 1792-94--as Crown Prince he had fought in the Revolutionary wars against France

! 1797-as monarch he had all the Hohenzollern determination to retain personal power without the Hohenzollern genius for using it

! October 1806-the 36-year-old monarch led his country into war with Saxony as his ally

! his military command structure was unequal to the task:

! positions were held by multiple officers, e.g., Chief of Staff by three men, resulting in over a month’s delay before the final order of battle was prepared

! five main plans of battle emerged for discussion, shifting the initiative to the French

Frederick William III

(German: Friedrich Wilhelm III.)

(1770 -1797-1840)

Officers of the élite Prussian Gardes du Corps, wishing to provoke war, ostentatiously sharpen their swords on the steps of the French embassy in Berlin in the autumn of 1805.

Wars generally begin because of irrational acts by one or both of the opponents. King Frederick William’s decision to make war on France in autumn of 1806 was so irrational as to defy belief. It might have seemed reasonable prior to the battle of Austerlitz...though considering the obsolete state of the Prussian army that would have been far from certain. Now, nine months later, it was a foreordained disaster.

Robert B. Asprey, The Reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, p. 25

On October 12, 1806, French cavalry swept abruptly through the little Saxon city of Zeitz, some 25 miles south of Leipzig. Chasseurs a cheval in dark green, jaunty hussars in brown-and-blue, white-and-blue, and green-red-and-yellow, they were the leading squadrons of the cavalry screen that shrouded the swift northward advance of the Emperor Napoleon’s Grande Armée. Close behind the leading brigade, his white uniform a dazzle of gold braid, lace, and galloons, rode Marshal Joachim Murat, the army’s cavalry commander. Probably he halted impatiently in the Zeitz market square while his staff interrogated the local postmaster, minister, and mayor as to the whereabouts of the Prussian and Saxon armies for which his troopers

Prologue I have shown the Emperor, Monsieur le général Pino, the report which you have sent me. It is essential that you write your reports more legibly, and especially show the date plainly; that which you have written is not clear; one cannot tell whether it is the 11th, the 21st, or the 22d. Besides the date, it is always necessary to show the hour at which you write, and the place.

Berthier in Mémoirs de Prince Eugene

On October 12, 1806, French cavalry swept abruptly through the little Saxon city of Zeitz, some 25 miles south of Leipzig. Chasseurs a cheval in dark green, jaunty hussars in brown-and-blue, white-and-blue, and green-red-and-yellow, they were the leading squadrons of the cavalry screen that shrouded the swift northward advance of the Emperor Napoleon’s Grande Armée. Close behind the leading brigade, his white uniform a dazzle of gold braid, lace, and galloons, rode Marshal Joachim Murat, the army’s cavalry commander. Probably he halted impatiently in the Zeitz market square while his staff interrogated the local postmaster, minister, and mayor as to the whereabouts of the Prussian and Saxon armies for which his troopers

Prologue I have shown the Emperor, Monsieur le général Pino, the report which you have sent me. It is essential that you write your reports more legibly, and especially show the date plainly; that which you have written is not clear; one cannot tell whether it is the 11th, the 21st, or the 22d. Besides the date, it is always necessary to show the hour at which you write, and the place.

Berthier in Mémoirs de Prince Eugene

were probing. Somewhere in Zeitz, at any rate, an inconspicuous civilian sifted through the gawking townspeople, identified himself as a French spy, and reported that the principal enemy army lay to the west and south around Erfurt. A staff officer fished pen, paper, and a portable inkwell from his saddle-bags, settled himself at a chair and table outside a nearby beer hall, and quickly converted the spy’s report into several copies of a message to the Emperor. Murat handed one copy to an aide-de-camp, who buckled it carefully into the sabretache dangling from his sword belt, then put his eager horse into a gallop southward. A second copy went to a scar-faced brigadier of Murat’s guides. A horse was found for the spy, and spy and brigadier pounded off together in the aide’s wake. Ten minutes later another aide spurred away with orders to follow a different road from that taken by his comrades. A final copy went into the staff records folder, with the name of each messenger and the date and hour of his departure. The roads southward were filled with the infantry of Marshal Jean Bernadotte’s I Corps, pressing forward through a low haze of dust and the hanging smell of sweat, onions, and rank French tobacco. Along the principal road waited a string of small cavalry detachments serving as estafettes; mounts at those relay stations--the distinctive fawn-amaranth-and

were probing. Somewhere in Zeitz, at any rate, an inconspicuous civilian sifted through the gawking townspeople, identified himself as a French spy, and reported that the principal enemy army lay to the west and south around Erfurt. A staff officer fished pen, paper, and a portable inkwell from his saddle-bags, settled himself at a chair and table outside a nearby beer hall, and quickly converted the spy’s report into several copies of a message to the Emperor. Murat handed one copy to an aide-de-camp, who buckled it carefully into the sabretache dangling from his sword belt, then put his eager horse into a gallop southward. A second copy went to a scar-faced brigadier of Murat’s guides. A horse was found for the spy, and spy and brigadier pounded off together in the aide’s wake. Ten minutes later another aide spurred away with orders to follow a different road from that taken by his comrades. A final copy went into the staff records folder, with the name of each messenger and the date and hour of his departure. The roads southward were filled with the infantry of Marshal Jean Bernadotte’s I Corps, pressing forward through a low haze of dust and the hanging smell of sweat, onions, and rank French tobacco. Along the principal road waited a string of small cavalry detachments serving as estafettes; mounts at those relay stations--the distinctive fawn-amaranth-and

Zeitz

Erfurt

were probing. Somewhere in Zeitz, at any rate, an inconspicuous civilian sifted through the gawking townspeople, identified himself as a French spy, and reported that the principal enemy army lay to the west and south around Erfurt. A staff officer fished pen, paper, and a portable inkwell from his saddle-bags, settled himself at a chair and table outside a nearby beer hall, and quickly converted the spy’s report into several copies of a message to the Emperor. Murat handed one copy to an aide-de-camp, who buckled it carefully into the sabretache dangling from his sword belt, then put his eager horse into a gallop southward. A second copy went to a scar-faced brigadier of Murat’s guides. A horse was found for the spy, and spy and brigadier pounded off together in the aide’s wake. Ten minutes later another aide spurred away with orders to follow a different road from that taken by his comrades. A final copy went into the staff records folder, with the name of each messenger and the date and hour of his departure. The roads southward were filled with the infantry of Marshal Jean Bernadotte’s I Corps, pressing forward through a low haze of dust and the hanging smell of sweat, onions, and rank French tobacco. Along the principal road waited a string of small cavalry detachments serving as estafettes; mounts at those relay stations--the distinctive fawn-amaranth-and

white uniforms of Murat’s aides and guides were authority enough for such an exchange. On into the deepening night they galloped, to be halted at last outside the city of Gera by a challenge from the vedettes of the 1st Hussar Regiment, temporarily serving as Napoleon’s escort, their faded sky-blue uniforms almost invisible in the gloom. Directed to a nearby chateau, they were passed in by sentinels from the grenadiers of the Imperial Guard, tall, fierce-eyed veterans in lofty bearskin caps. And so they came to a quiet room where beside a crackling fire their Emperor worked over his orders for the next day. Beside him was a stocky older officer in equally simple uniform, Marshal Louis-Alexandre Berthier, Napoleon’s chief of staff. Around them the quiet officers of the advance echelon of the Imperial Headquarters came and went. Even while Napoleon minutely interrogated the spy and the aides-de-camp, their messages went into the routine staff processing. In the next room, where the Emperor’s situation map lay spread across a banquet table, lighted by candles at each corner, Chef d’Escadron Louis Bacler d’

white uniforms of Murat’s aides and guides were authority enough for such an exchange. On into the deepening night they galloped, to be halted at last outside the city of Gera by a challenge from the vedettes of the 1st Hussar Regiment, temporarily serving as Napoleon’s escort, their faded sky-blue uniforms almost invisible in the gloom. Directed to a nearby chateau, they were passed in by sentinels from the grenadiers of the Imperial Guard, tall, fierce-eyed veterans in lofty bearskin caps. And so they came to a quiet room where beside a crackling fire their Emperor worked over his orders for the next day. Beside him was a stocky older officer in equally simple uniform, Marshal Louis-Alexandre Berthier, Napoleon’s chief of staff. Around them the quiet officers of the advance echelon of the Imperial Headquarters came and went. Even while Napoleon minutely interrogated the spy and the aides-de-camp, their messages went into the routine staff processing. In the next room, where the Emperor’s situation map lay spread across a banquet table, lighted by candles at each corner, Chef d’Escadron Louis Bacler d’

Gera

Albe of the Topographical Engineers shifted pins with heads of various colors to indicate the last reported positions of the enemy and Murat’s cavalry screen. Each messenger was given a receipt showing the time and place he had made delivery. Other messengers came striding in, to report with a clash of spurs and scabbard: a rider from Marshal Pierre Augereau VII Corps, 20 miles to the southwest; another from Marshal Louis Davout’s III Corps, 20 miles to the northwest. All had the same word--the enemy was massing to wedtward around Erfurt and Weimar. Finally, his questioning finished, the Emperor turned to Berthier and be- gan a rush of rapid, harsh-accented orders, seemingly too swift for pen to follow. unperturbed, Berthier made quick entries in a green-covered note- book. The dictation over, he turned to his waiting staff. Breaking down Napoleon’s general operations order, Berthier drafted specific orders for each of the major units involved. The finished versions were presented to the Emperor for any necessary corrections and additions and his approval. That secured, additional copies were written out, aides and staff officers summoned to deliver them. Meanwhile, Berthier went ahead with supple-mentary orders to ensure that the supply trains and supporting units

further to the rear were properly redirected to follow the Grande Armée’s westward wheel. One such order dealing with resupply of shoes and overcoats, went through the rear echelon of Imperial Headquarters, two days of ordinary marching (approximately 60 miles) farther south, and then on south and west to the Grande Armée’s administrative headquarters, where Intendent General Pierre Daru wrestled with a chaotic logistical situation. Daru started what stocks he had been able to collect forward in requisitioned wagons and dispatched another urgent appeal to the Ministry of the Administration of War. Reaching the fortress city of Strasbourg, his courier handed his message to the local director of the Telegraph Service, who sent it off along the line of semaphore signal towers to Paris. At the Ministry, somehow, things always went more slowly than they should, but eventually a bored commissaire des guerres took notice of the message and summoned an equally bored clerk.

Elting, Swords Around A Throne, pp. 1-3

AUERSTADT

JENA

Hohenlohe(35,000)

Brunswick(63,000)

Napoleon

Davout(26,000)

(26,000)

Bernadotte(20,000)

Augereau(16,500)

Ney(19,500)

Murat(7,300)

Soult(20,000)

Lannes(20,500)

converging on Jena(84,000)

“There are moments in war when no consideration should override the advantage of anticipating the enemy and striking first -- NAPOLEON

Murat(6,000)

WEIMAR

Davout’s corps wrote one of the most brilliant chapters in military history, Bernadotte’s one of the most dismal. Attacked by an enemy nearly three times his strength, in just 4 hours Davout put that enemy to flight. Success cost dearly: 40 per cent casualties in Gudin’s division, a total corps loss of 7,000 men. Bernadotte’s corps suffered no casualties. Although his orders were, should he find himself at Dornburg, to march to the sound of cannon, he marched to support neither nor Napoleon…. Napoleon praised the one and damned the other, but in so doing added yet another footnote. Never ever would he refer to the battle as other than that of Jena.

Asprey, Reign, p. 33

Morandʼs Flexible Maneuversabout 9,000 men in 9 battalions & 12 guns

1-the 1er Battalion ofthe 61é Régiment deLigne from column of march into column of attack.skirmish line forward2-from column intoline

when the Prussian infantryfalls back, it is the turn ofBlücherʼs cavalry (6) toattack and the battalion toform a square (7). After thesquare drives off the cavalry, Morandʼs battalions once more formcolumns of attack (8) andhelp drive the enemy offthe field.

Morandʼs Flexible Maneuversabout 9,000 men in 9 battalions & 12 guns

when the Prussian infantryfalls back, it is the turn ofBlücherʼs cavalry (6) toattack and the battalion toform a square (7). After thesquare drives off the cavalry, Morandʼs battalions once more formcolumns of attack (8) andhelp drive the enemy offthe field.

Morandʼs Flexible Maneuversabout 9,000 men in 9 battalions & 12 guns

Morandʼs Flexible Maneuversabout 9,000 men in 9 battalions & 12 guns

1 Theorydrill book diagram for wheeling a three

rank platoon from facing the front tofacing the right flank

Morandʼs Flexible Maneuversabout 9,000 men in 9 battalions & 12 guns

1 Theorydrill book diagram for wheeling a three

rank platoon from facing the front tofacing the right flank

2 Reality

Morandʼs Flexible Maneuversabout 9,000 men in 9 battalions & 12 guns

1 Theorydrill book diagram for wheeling a three

rank platoon from facing the front tofacing the right flank

2 Reality

3 From column to Square

Napoleon reviewing the Imperial Guard, by Horace Vernet.

Murat leading the charge

Seldom in history has an army been reduced to impotence more swiftly or decisively. The great traditions of Frederick the Great and his justly famed techniques proved fatal to his successors. Complacency led to the rejection of all schemes of modernization, and overconfidence resulted in a complete misappreciation of what was needed to face Napoleon…. Opposed to them had been the will of a single man, with complete control over his forces and a clear notion of how to effect the overthrow of his adversaries.

Chandler, p. 503

Prussia’s humiliation led to agonizing reappraisals. It demonstrated the need for liberal reforms in what was then still a very much feudal Prussian state and army. Important Prussian reformers like Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Clausewitz served at the battle. Their reforms, together with civilian reforms instituted over the following years, began Prussia's transformation into a modern state, which took the forefront in expelling France from Germany and eventually assumed a leading role on the continent.

wikipedia

The “World Spirit” on Horseback

! in the small university town of Jena a 36-year-old “extraordinary professor” of philosophy was finishing a treatise

! 13 October 1806-the day before the battle, he recorded his impressions after seeing Napoleon:

GFW Hegel in 1831

The “World Spirit” on Horseback

! in the small university town of Jena a 36-year-old “extraordinary professor” of philosophy was finishing a treatise

! 13 October 1806-the day before the battle, he recorded his impressions after seeing Napoleon:

! I saw the Emperor – this Weltgeist (world-soul )– riding out of the city on reconnaissance. It is indeed a wonderful sensation to see such an individual, who, concentrated here at a single point, astride a horse, reaches out over the world and masters it . . . this extraordinary man, whom it is impossible not to admire

GFW Hegel in 1831

In 1807, Napoléon ordered the construction of a bridge overlooking the Military School, and named the bridge after his victory in 1806 at the Battle of Jena.