Dwan, Mr S Henry
Description
Quickly recovering from the disasters of the previous year, by early 1813 Napoleon had rebuilt La Grande Armée using a core of survivors from the Russ
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ian campaign, units recalled from the Peninsula, naval personnel and newly raised conscript levies. The army was predominantly young and quick to tire yet remained enthusiastic. Cavalry was the emperor’s biggest problem with something like 80% of the new troopers never having mounted a horse before. His other major problem was his wavering allies. The Germans were questioning which side they should be on and even the Poles were having doubts. Worse than this, by the beginning of 1813 the alliance that had been forced on Prussia was over as she sided with Russia and Great Britain. Sweden would follow then Bavaria. Austria would remain on the side lines until mid-August before taking the opportunity to align herself with the other major powers with one aim – Napoleon’s overthrow.
By early June the Russian and Prussian armies in Saxony were practically on their knees. Caught out by Napoleon’s march into Saxony, they had been defeated again and again in quick succession – most notably at Lützen and Bautzen; proof that the French emperor remained the first soldier of his age. In need of rest and reinforcement the Russo-Prussian alliance was let off the hook when the welcome offer of an armistice came. Arguably a mistake on Napoleon’s part he also benefited from this since it allowed his own reinforcement and the restoration of his cavalry arm. Perhaps seen in retrospect as a ploy to regain their posture, the allies were able to regroup and strengthen whilst demanding impossible terms which amounted to the virtual dissolution of the French empire. Unsurprisingly, war resumed on 14th August, this time with Austria and Sweden adding their armies to the allied host. A series of manoeuvres and engagements followed as the allies sought initially to take Leipzig then settled on Dresden. With a small garrison defending it in the face of odds of ten to one, the important Saxon capital was on the verge of being lost – but help was coming…..Napoleon was on his way.
This, the tenth volume in the Orders of Battle series covers the Grande Armée and The Army of Bohemia present during the battle. As with previous volumes in the series, an outline to the armies and a brief synopsis of the battle is included along with a detailed representation of the corps, regiments, squadrons and artillery batteries present. Use has been made of available orders of battle to ensure accuracy by cross referencing to produce the most complete record. Exhaustive research has also been made of the uniforms worn and the flag standards carried by the individual regiments to give an accurate visual interpretation of the way each unit would have actually appeared at the battle rather than its prescribed ‘parade uniform’. A scale of 1:10 has been used to help visualise an accurate image of the actual size of each unit and the text describing the units, their strength and commanders has been drawn from several available sources to give what is hoped is the most complete record available.
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