Army of Germany (1809)
TheArmy of GermanyorArmée d'Allemagnewas a military formation of theFirst French Empireduring theWar of the Fifth Coalitionin 1809.
The Army of Germany was distinct from theGrande Armée(Great Army) of the precedingCoalition Wars,which the EmperorNapoleon Ihad disbanded in October 1808.[1]In a letter to GeneralLouis-Alexandre Berthierdated 8 April 1809, Napoleon describes the new army's creation: "from 1 April, all the troops that I have in Germany will be known under the titleArmée d'Allemagne,of which I reserve to myself the command in chief. "He goes on to name its officers and describe its composition.[2]
At its formation, the Army of Germany's French units were scattered in cantonments throughout France's allies in theConfederation of the Rhine.Thecavalryreserve had not been formed and theImperial Guardassigned to it was still en route from Spain. Besides French units, the army incorporated many German units from France's allies. It took days to muster the army at its assigned places, and this was not complete at the start of the war on 10 April. Berthier wasde factoin command until Napoleon arrived at headquarters inDonauwörthon 17 April.[3]
The total strength of the Army of Germany was about 160,000, with a higher proportion of conscripts than theGrande Arméeof 1804–1808, with which its performance has been unfavourably compared. It was short on equipment and structurally incomplete at the start of hostilities, but, after a setback atAspern-Essling,it won the war atWagram.[3]
References
[edit]- ^John H Gill,The Battle of Znaim: Napoleon, The Habsburgs and the end of the War of 1809(Greenhill, 2020), pp. 47–.
- ^Correspondance de Napoléon Ier(Paris: Imprimerie Impériale, 1865), Vol. 18,no. 15029, pp. 521–524:"...à dater du 1er avril, toutes les troupes que j'ai en Allemagne seront connues sous le titre d'Armée d'Allemagne, dont je me réserve le commandement en chef... "
- ^abJohn H. Gill, "1809: The Most Brilliant and Skillful Maneuvers", in Michael V. Leggiere (ed.),Napoleon and the Operational Art of War: Essays in Honor of Donald D. Horward(Brill, 2016), pp. 235–264, esp. 239–240 and 262.