Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T14:24:27.219Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

5 - Napoleon’s Grande Armée

from Part II - The State of the Armed Forces

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2022

Bruno Colson
Affiliation:
Université de Namur, Belgium
Alexander Mikaberidze
Affiliation:
Louisiana State University, Shreveport
Get access

Summary

The Grande Armée is an incredible military institution that allowed Napoleon to implement well-defined operational process within the framework of conventional wars. Favoring mobility (in particular by living off the land), the Emperor innovated by creating an army model that reflect his conceptions of war, with an unparalleled staff organization, military structure based on corps that incorporated infantry, cavalry, a large artillery reserve (from 1809) and a “large park of artillery, engineers and crews” to meet various logistical needs. The operational and tactical superiority born out of this conceptual advance shone in early years but diminished due to sustained campaigning, internal entropy, and advances made by the opponents in response to the French victories. From a historical point of view, the Grande Armée served as a model for the field armies of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×