Read The Battle of Waterloo: Europe in the Balance for Free Online Page A
Authors: Rupert Matthews
structure. Each corps could, therefore, operate quite independently, or could join with other corps to form a larger army.
The first six corps were all substantial forces commanded by experienced and talented marshals of France, and were all stationed in north-eastern France. The I Corps, under d’Erlon, was at Lille. The II Corps, commanded by Reille, was at Valenciennes. Vandamme was with the III Corps at Rocroi. The IV Corps under Gérard was at Metz. The V Corps, commanded by Rapp, was at Strasbourg. The VI Corps, under Lobau, was near Laon. The cavalry reserve was likewise in north-eastern France, at Guise, while the Imperial Guard was in Paris under Napoleon’s personal command.
The other bodies of the French army being assembled by Davout were all considerably smaller. The VII Corps, also known as the Army of the Alps, was commanded by Marshal Louis-Gabriel Suchet. It was made up of about 15,000 men, about half of whom were drawn from the National Guard, not the regular army. It was based at Lyons and had the task of watching the passes over the Alps from Switzerland and Italy.
The Army of the Jura was commanded by General Claude Lecourbe and composed of only about 6,000 men, again half of whom were from the National Guard. Lecourbe was to watch the Swiss, but to take no offensive action.
Another 5,000 men made up the Army of the Var, based at Toulon and commanded by Marshal Guillaume Brune. His task was to stop any further uprisings by the royalists of the Provence region.
Some 3,000 men made up the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees at Toulouse, while a similar sized Army of the Western Pyrenees was at Bordeaux. Both forces had the task of watching the Spanish border to stop any incursions from that direction.
Finally, the Army of the West was made up of 10,000 men under General Jean Lamarque. Their task was to put down a royalist rising in the lower Loire valley that was proving to be rather troublesome.
Davout was also supervising the mustering and equipping of more troops, drawing on both the returning prisoners of war and on new recruits. These men were being drawn from all corners of France, but were being moved towards Paris where they could act as a central reserve. The numbers were growing steadily so that by the first week of June Davout had 20,000 men with more arriving daily.
Having decided to launch a swift offensive into the Netherlands, Napoleon had Davout form a new Army of the North. This army was to be made up of I Corps, II Corps, III Corps, IV Corps, VI Corps, the cavalry reserve and the Imperial Guard. This gave him a total force of 130,000 men, the vast majority of them veterans and all of them fully equipped and well supplied. Napoleon deliberately kept these corps dispersed at the main bases until the last possible moment. He guessed that the allies had spies in France and wanted to give them as little advance warning of his intention to attack as possible. It was not until 6 June that the first units began to march for the rendezvous at Avesnes. Napoleon himself stayed in Paris, ostentatiously attending social and routine government meetings, until 3 am on 12 June. The concentration of the Army of the North took place at Avesnes on the afternoon of 13 June. After 24 hours’ rest, the army marched.
Missing from the French deployment
There were, however, three key men not present with Napoleon as the army headed north to face battle.
The first was Joachim Murat, recently ousted as king of Naples. A couple of weeks after vanishing from Naples he had arrived in Marseilles, having eluded the British naval blockade by disguising himself as a Sardinian fisherman. On arrival, he sent a message to Napoleon asking how he could be of service. Napoleon sent back a message welcoming Murat to France, but giving him no work to do. This was odd. Murat was the finest cavalry commander not just of his generation but of the entire 19th century. He had proved his loyalty, courage and skill
The first six corps were all substantial forces commanded by experienced and talented marshals of France, and were all stationed in north-eastern France. The I Corps, under d’Erlon, was at Lille. The II Corps, commanded by Reille, was at Valenciennes. Vandamme was with the III Corps at Rocroi. The IV Corps under Gérard was at Metz. The V Corps, commanded by Rapp, was at Strasbourg. The VI Corps, under Lobau, was near Laon. The cavalry reserve was likewise in north-eastern France, at Guise, while the Imperial Guard was in Paris under Napoleon’s personal command.
The other bodies of the French army being assembled by Davout were all considerably smaller. The VII Corps, also known as the Army of the Alps, was commanded by Marshal Louis-Gabriel Suchet. It was made up of about 15,000 men, about half of whom were drawn from the National Guard, not the regular army. It was based at Lyons and had the task of watching the passes over the Alps from Switzerland and Italy.
The Army of the Jura was commanded by General Claude Lecourbe and composed of only about 6,000 men, again half of whom were from the National Guard. Lecourbe was to watch the Swiss, but to take no offensive action.
Another 5,000 men made up the Army of the Var, based at Toulon and commanded by Marshal Guillaume Brune. His task was to stop any further uprisings by the royalists of the Provence region.
Some 3,000 men made up the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees at Toulouse, while a similar sized Army of the Western Pyrenees was at Bordeaux. Both forces had the task of watching the Spanish border to stop any incursions from that direction.
Finally, the Army of the West was made up of 10,000 men under General Jean Lamarque. Their task was to put down a royalist rising in the lower Loire valley that was proving to be rather troublesome.
Davout was also supervising the mustering and equipping of more troops, drawing on both the returning prisoners of war and on new recruits. These men were being drawn from all corners of France, but were being moved towards Paris where they could act as a central reserve. The numbers were growing steadily so that by the first week of June Davout had 20,000 men with more arriving daily.
Having decided to launch a swift offensive into the Netherlands, Napoleon had Davout form a new Army of the North. This army was to be made up of I Corps, II Corps, III Corps, IV Corps, VI Corps, the cavalry reserve and the Imperial Guard. This gave him a total force of 130,000 men, the vast majority of them veterans and all of them fully equipped and well supplied. Napoleon deliberately kept these corps dispersed at the main bases until the last possible moment. He guessed that the allies had spies in France and wanted to give them as little advance warning of his intention to attack as possible. It was not until 6 June that the first units began to march for the rendezvous at Avesnes. Napoleon himself stayed in Paris, ostentatiously attending social and routine government meetings, until 3 am on 12 June. The concentration of the Army of the North took place at Avesnes on the afternoon of 13 June. After 24 hours’ rest, the army marched.
Missing from the French deployment
There were, however, three key men not present with Napoleon as the army headed north to face battle.
The first was Joachim Murat, recently ousted as king of Naples. A couple of weeks after vanishing from Naples he had arrived in Marseilles, having eluded the British naval blockade by disguising himself as a Sardinian fisherman. On arrival, he sent a message to Napoleon asking how he could be of service. Napoleon sent back a message welcoming Murat to France, but giving him no work to do. This was odd. Murat was the finest cavalry commander not just of his generation but of the entire 19th century. He had proved his loyalty, courage and skill
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