osprey .men at arms.#090. .napoleon's.german.allies.(3).saxony.1806 15.(1979)

8/10/2019 Osprey .Men at Arms.#090. .Napoleon's.german.allies.(3).Saxony.1806 15.(1979)

1/48

MEN AT ARMS SERIES

~ Q i l j

MILITARY

NAPOLEON S

GERMAN

ALLIES

3):

SAXONY

18 6 15

OTTO VON PIVKA RICHARD

OO


2/48

apoleon sGerman Allies 3 : xony 18 6 8

18 6

8

llowing the abdication of the Austrian Emperor

ranz II

from

the office of Emperor of the Holy

oman Empire

of

German Nations on 6 August

King Friedrich Wilhelm

of

Prussia sought

form a defensive coalition the North German

lliance) with Saxony

an d

the El ect orate of

essen-Kassel to c ou nt er N ap ol eo n s ruthless

pansionism in western Europe. Self-interest

wasar

ourse the main motivation. n 1803 France ha d

the Electorate

of

Hanover to Prussia see my

The King s Gennan Legion in this series)

an d

umour now had it that Napoleon ha d promised to

Hanover back to England in return for a peace

eaty. Prussia,

of

course, ha d not been consulted

bout this developmenL) Another of Napoleon s

was

the formation of the Confederation of the

see

my books

Napoleon s Gemwn Allies

and Kleve-Berg

and

2 ):

Nassau

and

and he also intended to give Russia that

of unfortunate P oland which Prussia ha d

for

herself in 1795 see my book Napoleon s

Troops .

Friedrich Wilhelm

of

Prussia, usually quite the

docile and indecisive of monarchs, thus found

forced in O a war or dishonour situation;

inking that

his

a rm y was still the magni ficent

achine that his forefather Frederick the

Great

h ad m ad e

it in the Seven Years

Wa r

of

756-1764,

he formed an

alliance with the Elector

of

Saxony

Friedrich August)

an d stood against Napoleon in

1806 supported by promises of money from

England

an d

troops from Russia.

n the twin battles of Jena

an d

Auerstiidt 14

October 1806) the myth of Prussian military

invincibility crumbled before the youthful elan of

the French army,

an d

the Saxon contingent,

although a cq ui tt in g itself with distinction, was

dragged into the defeat

and

returned home with its

morale

severely diminished.

n

fact, 170,000

F ren ch ha d beaten 1 Prussians

an d

2

Saxons, and what was so remarkable was

nOt

that

the Prussia.lS were defeated bu t

rather

the lOtai and

rapid disintegration of that army in the days

following their initial reverses in the major battles.

As an example of the

combat

value of the Saxon

army in 1806 this report of the last stages of the

battle ofJena

14 October) by the Prussian

Oberst

von Hopfner quoted from Der Krieg

18 6 18 7

will

serve to enlighten us:

Those Prussian) troops withdrawingonWeimar

those of the centre

and

right wing) were in full

flight; only

one

unit remained

steady-it

was the

Saxon Grenadier Battalion Winkel with whom the

Prince Hohenlohe) was

an d

who

commanded

it

personally for a time. n this terrible moment, when

defeat and confusion was everywhere, this bat

talion stood like a rock.

Surrounded

by fleeing allies

g

Saxon musket lBog. The weapon is about sixtyinches long and

is

shownhere withthe

ftint

lock

n the half.coc:ked position. Metal fittings arebrassj note

the

nunro stored

below the barrel and the lug

under

the muzzle on to which the bayonet 50Cket fits.

After

an

actual

example in the

MUseuD1

fUr

Deutsche

Geschichte East

Berli.n.

3


3/48

JEN

th

OCTO ER

1806

~ f r e n c h

l t pruss ia n

~ x o n

L

~ ~ 1 _ ~ 2 ~ ::;;Oyds

t t a ~ ~ e I U J

cto er

6: A

=

Pruuia.D-SasOll

forces

in

the

. t

3 4October. B

= Tauenzien early O October.

C =

l..azmes attack

on the

mornia.g

of

the I

th. D =

Soult s

advance. E

= Holtundorfl figbtiag Soult.

F

=

Hohenlobe s

advance. G =

0 1 1 8

H = Colonel

Boguslawski .

po.itioD., J

= Augereau . advance. K = Imperial Guard. Lefebvre). L =

Ney. M = French advance against

Hohen1ohe.

N = General

von Riiebel . Corps.

who had thrown away their weapons and who no

longer heeded their officers com mands con-

tinuously attacked by the enemy these men

withdrew in full control with re gul ar pace an d

with

band

playing. The battalion

had

formed

an

open square and whenever the enemy came too

close they halted to give battJe. Neither the French

cavalry constantly charging them or the relentless


4/48

Gorod4 CZ1UI). A rut 11 11: Russians:

C-D-E-KameaskiiF-G Lambert.

Allies:H =

II August; =

Reynier, II and 12 August;J

=

oq s divisioD; K Lilienberg s brigade; L

Funck .

M

=

Hessen.Homberg s division;

N

Siegenthal .

Trautenberg sdivisionandFrirnont .divisioDjP

Austria.o and Saxon

cavalry.

fire

of

the lirailltuTJ could shake them. soon as

they

had won themselves a respite, they

beat

columns of platoons

and

marched offwith

band

playing as if they had been on the

parade ground.

Whenever the enemy came too close the drums

rolled

and the battalion stood ready to receive them

again.

Following these lightning victories Napoleon,

recognizing the martial value of the Saxon

army,

immediately wooed the Elector

and

concluded a

military alliance with him. n return for political

and military support, the Electorate was to be

elevated to a kingdom and given nominal suz

erainty over the

Grand

Duchy of Warsaw, thus

reviving if

in

name only, an ancient historic

onne tion

Until the battle

of

Leipzig in

October

1813,

the

axons were to fight and die in the service

of

a man

who regarded them

at

best a efficient but expend

able cannon fodder; and their ruler, King Fried

rich August orSaxony, was to lose over halrhis state

in 1814

to Prussia, in repayment for his faithful

support for the Corsican dictator.

On 11 December

1806

the Elector of Saxony

became king and promised to support France with

a military contingent of 20,000 men. For

the

immediate campaign

against

Prussia and Russia,

however, only

6,000

were required.

This ap-

parently

heartless betrayal of his ally Prussia must

be explained: between Prussia and Saxony there

had

existed a

mutual

suspicion

and

hostility since

before

the

Seven Years

War, and

in 1756 this

culminated in a Prussian invasion ofSaxony and an

attempt

to make the Saxon

army

serve as

part

of the

Prussian military machine. The

hatred

between the

states was so

great that

almost all Saxon soldiers

and

officers) deserted from their regiments

and

made

their way to Austria or France, where they

re-enlisted in Saxon emigre regiments and fought

against Prussia for the

duration

of

the

war. The

Prussian-Saxon alliance of 1806 must thus be seen

as a britt le expedient

rather

than a genuine act of

friendship.

Saxon

Line Infantry Regt., 1806

egimental

staff: 1 Oberst (colonel), 1 Oberst

licUlenant lieutenant-colonel),

2

Majors

(majors),

Regiments-Quartiermeister (regi

mental quartermaster),

2

Adjutanten ad

jutants),

Auditeur (auditor),

Re

gimentsfeldscheer (regimental surgeon),

Stabs-Felseheer (battalion surgeon),

1 rofoss

(provost).

10

companies

(2 grenadier

and 8

musketeer totall-

in

7 Kapitans [senior captains, also called

Hauptleute infantry) or Rittmeister cav

alry)), 3 Stabs-Kapitans (junior captains), 10

Premierlieutenants,

2

Souslieutenants, 8

Fahnrichs (ensigns), 30 Sergeanten (sergeants),

Fouriers company quartermasters),

Feldscheers (company surgeons), o Korporals

(corporals), 30 Tambours (drummers), 20

feifers (fifers),

20

Zimmerleute (pioneers),

30 0

Grenadiers, 1,200 Musketiers.

rand

total

753 allranks

The 1807

Clllllpaign against

Prussia

and

Russia

The

Saxon contingent with the French

army

was as

follows:

Grenadier-Bataillon von Siissmilch (grenadiers of

the regiments Prinz Clemens and von

Oebschelwitz )

Grenadier-Bataillon von Cerrini (grenadiers of

the regiments von Sanger and von Low )

Infantry Regiments

Prinz

Anton (two battalions),


5/48

Battk

Leipzig

6 8

October

8 3.

This

t t l ~

was

c:ubnj..

nation

of

Allies

manoeuvring

during

the

1813 (1IDpaign,

during

which

they

had

been kept apart froDl. each other

by

Napoleon s cunning

thrusts.

His lack

of

cavalry and the

growing disaffection of

his ~ n n n vassal

contingents

gradually forced

him

on

to

the def ens iv e, h owev er ; he

abandoned

the lineof

the

Elbe

to fall

back on

Leipzig, where he

was brought to bay with hi s back agaiast the River Pleisse

after

four pre liminary battles on 6 October Mockern

where Mannont

and

the Corps lost to Blucher and York;

Wachau-NapoIeon

and

Wittgenstein-a draw; Connewitz

Poniatowsky s

vm

Corps

against

the

Austrians under

Mervddt;

an d

LindeDau, where

Bertrand s IV Corps fought

the Austrians

under

Giulay).

The

French were pressed

back

on

Leipzig where on the 18th they lost the m.ajor battle

and

fted

west over

the Pleisse

and Elster

Rivers.

The

Saxons

were

in the

east, and went over to the All ies on the afternoon

of

that

day.

vo n

Sanger two b at ta li on s) , Prinz

Max

imilian 2nd Battalion), von B evilaqua 1St

Battalion)

Konig Klirassiers the old Klirfurst Klirassiers -4

squadrons

Prinz]ohann Chevauxlegers-go men

von Polenz

Chevauxlegers-60

men

On e

artillery

detachment

two

batteries -16

guns.

T his force becam e the

st Division

of

Lefebvre s

Corps on 1 Ma rc h 1807; it was divided into two

brigades under Major-Generals von Oebschelwitz

an d von Glalrey. They served at the siege

of

Danzig

which capitulated on 27 Ma y 1807), an d un 1

June they became the 3rd Division

of

Lannes

Corps an d fought at Heilsberg. Here the Konig

Klirassiers saved the

72eme e igne from

annihi

lation

at

Russian hands.

On

14

June

18 7 the

Saxons fought in the battle

of

Friedland, where the

Detail of bearskin

for

other ranks , Saxon Leib-.

Grenadier-Garde

and

Line Grenadiers, 17 9-1806.

The brass front plate shows the Elector s cypher FA

under an

electoral cap.

The back cloth is

in the

regimental facing colour, the cross and cords

white,

the pompoo

showed

the

facing

colour over

white.

(After a COD.temporary

colour plate

by

C. A.

Hess.)

Konig

Klirassiers again distinguished themselves

an d were later rewarded with the title

Leib-Klirassier-Garde . After the PeaceofTilsit the

Saxons returned home.

The

Illog Campaign

As a result of A ustria s preparations for wa r on

France,

Saxony was required to produce he r

20,ooo-strong contingent, which was taken over by

Marshal Bernadotte, Prince

of

Ponte-Corvo, at

Dresden on

22 March

180g. The two Saxon

divisions formed the IX Corps

of

Napoleon s army,

an d in fact totalled some 16,000 men:

Order

Battle the

Corps April

8 g:

Commander

Marshal

Bernadotte;

Chief of staff;

Brigade-General

Gerard;

Commander

of

Engineers;

Bataillons-Chef Giradin; Commander of the Artillery;

Brigade-General Mossel.

~ f r e n h

~ s x o n s

l l ies

LEIPZIG

18

th

OCTOBER 8

6


6/48

st Divisio l

ommander Generallieutenant von Zeschwitz

Chiif

staff

Oberst von Gersdorff

st Brigade Generalmajor von HartilZSch); Leib

Grenadier-Garde

I

bn. ; Grenadier-Bataillon

von Bose Regiments Prinz Friedrich

and

von Burgsdorf ; Grenadier-Bataillon von

Hake Regiments Prinz Clemens and von

Oebschelwitz ); Regiment

Konig

bns.);

Regiment von Dyherrn I bn.)

7ld

Brigade Gen eralmajo r von Boxberg); Regi

ments Prinz Maximilian , Prinz Anton and

Prinz Friedrich bns. each)

Cavalry

Brigade Generalmajor von Gutschmidt);

Garde du Corps sqns.); Karabiniers sqns.);

Prinz Clemens Chevauxlegers 4 sqns.); Prinz

Albrecht Chevauxlegers

I

sqn.); Husaren 3

sqns.)

Artillery

Tw o

batteries each

of

six guns.

auk

of

Kobryrl

37t y Iu was

here

that

von

K1ens-el s

isolated ~ e was overwhelmed by vasdy superior Russian

01 5. Havmg only

three

squadrons of

cavalry,

the

Saxons

intelligence gathering was

t

adequate to warn

of

the

7 d

Divisio l

Commander

Gencrallieutcnant von Polenz

Chiif staff

Oberst von Langenau

st

Brigade

Generalmajor von Lecoq); Regiments

Prinz Clemens , von Low and von Cerrini

2

bns. each)

z ld Brigade G eneralmajor von Zeschau) ;

Grenadier-Bataillon von Radcloff Regiments

Prinz Anton

and

Niesemeuschel ); Grenadier

Bataillon von Winkelmann Regiments von

Low and von Cerrini ); Regiment von

Niesemeuschel bns. ); Regiment von

Oebschelwitz I bn.)

Cavalry Brigade Generalmajor von FeiJitzsch);

Leib-Kiirassier-Garde 4sqns.);

PrinzJohann

Chevauxlegers 4 sqns.)

Artillery

Tw o batteries each of

six

guns.

impending d.isutu.

A. the left

can be See

the initial

Russian

cavalry attack

i

the

Russian

Dlainbody came up

from

west lUld

south.

The

Saxon

last

st:aJ:l d

was on

the

old earthworks

by

the

abbey.

Bulkow

nelk

A

to

Anwpol

to

Antopol

i __:.;? m

Dywin

7


7/48

Grenadier s cartricile pouch 8 0 The central

crest of Saxony-Poland

and

expresus a historic

connection. Musketeers wore

the sam.e

central

device but no cornu

grenades.

cJ

the sharpshooters of the various Saxon infantry

regiments were concentr ated officially i nto two

battalions each of four companies of IS O men.

These later became the Light Infantry of the army.

On 3 May the Saxons moved off to Vienna,

where they arrived on 4 June and remained until

the end of the month. Bernadotte used this time to

reorganize the infantry, reducing the regiments

from two battalions each into one

and

sending the

oldest an d least suitable officers

an d

NCOs back to

Saxony to be used to train new recruits.

Corps Reserve

One artillery battery of

six

guns, artillery train,

artillery park, field hospital

an d

ration train.

On

9 April 1809 Austria declared war on France,

and

on

6

April the

IX

Corps marched

ou t

of

Saxony via Regensburg Ratisbon) to Li nz on the

Danube where it arrived on 7 May an d joined up

with the Wurttembergers of Marshal

Vandamme s

VIII Corps, who were fighting off an attack by

General Feldmarschall Colowrat

an d

his Aus

trians.

The

Wurttemberg-Saxon .cavalry clashed

with Austrian cavalr y at Dor nach

that

day,

an d

captured four guns

and

several hundred prisoners.

Next

day

the

VIII

Corps moved off to Vienna and

left the Saxons

in

possession of Linz an d the

fortified position of the Piistlingsberg. On 8 Ma y

Musketeer private .

hat,

8.0. Compared

w t

the officers

aDd

the cavalry hats,

this bicof D was

extremely

suuill and

was

copied

from

the Pru

ia.n

equivalent. The g i n ~

was

white, the pompon in the

acing

colour

over white,

the corner tassels crUnson

w t n white.

8

The

Reorgani?ed

Corps

Infantry, June 189, at

St

Polten

Vienna :

st

v s on

Generallieutenant von Zeschwitz

st

Brigade Generalmajor von Hartitzsch): Leib

Grenadier-Garde bn. ;

Grenadier-Bataillons

von Bose von Hake von Radeloff* and von

Winkelmann *;

Schlitzen-Batail lon von

Metzsch *

nd

Brigade Gener al major von Zeschau): Regi

ments Konig von Niesemeuscher and von

Dyherrn .

nd

Division

Generallieutenant von Polenz

st Brigade Generalmajor von Lecoq) : Regiments

Prinz Clemens von Low and von Cerrini ;

Schutzen-Bataillon von Egidy

nd

Brigade O berst von Steindel): Regiments

Prinz Anton Prinz Maximilian and Prinz

Friedrich .

Having been defeated for the first time in his

imperial career by the Austrians

at

Aspern-Essling

on 2

Ma y

8 9 Napoleon called up all available

forces to avenge this insult.

The

result was the battle

of Wagram

S-6

July 1809)

in

which the Saxons

stormed the Austrian centre at Wagram itself, an d

lost forty per cent

of

their strength in the bitter

fighting of the first day. That nightthey slept on the

battlefield an d renewed their struggle next morn

ing in the area of Aderklaa village, next to the

Hessians. By 4pm on 6 July the Austrians acknow

ledged defeat

and

withdrew north on Znaim.

Saxon losses were 32 officers an d 4,103 men dead,

.

=dt tached

Dupas French division

of

the

IX

Corps


8/48

ounded and missing

ou t

ofa starting strength on 5

of almosl 8,000. Bernadotte published a

order of the da y to the

IX

Corps on

18og, for which he was sharply criticized by

with whom his relat.ionship was already

Th e fighting ended when the armistice of

was signed on

July

and the Saxons

hom

on

22 January 1810

Reorganization 181O 1812

IB07and IBog

made it plain that extensive reforms

were

if

the Saxon army was to function efficiently

pa n of Napoleon s

wa r

machine. King Friedrich

instituted a military review committee

Generalmajor von Gersdorf in spring 1810

nd within a

few

weeks they produced

an

agreed

lan which included the following points:

A permanent General

Headquarters

was set up.

A general staff was established.

The army was to divided permanently into its

war

formations of divisions, brigades and

regiments.

The responsibility for clothing,

equipping

feeding

and

providing training

ammunition was

removed from the captains who commanded the

companies and given

to

the state.

Military legal affairs an d courls martial were

regularized.

Finance and rations were improved.

Tactics and drill were simplified and modelled

on the F rench method).

Provision

of

recruits was now

to

be by con

scription and no longer by enlistment of volun

leers-this

to

raise the moral quality

of

the

soldiers.

Selection of officers

and COs

to be made with

a bias towards younger men.

These proposals received the royal assent on 7

1810 and the army was at

once

re-formed

its old In sp ec to ra te s IWO each for the

nfantry a nd the cavalry, with lhe artillery under

rect control

of

the elector) imo three divisions,

infantry and one cavalry. Each division had its

CreD dier

officer s

bearskin,

.806-.8.0.

The

plate

encloses

a

central

area ofaaam.elled devices in

the following colours: crimson aad

white

electoral

cap;

black

over

wh ite shield with red s word .

Polandh

black

and

yello_

stripes

it su.per

imposed

green

clover-leaf band (Sas.ony);

crimson

field with silver cypher FA .

Alter

a contemporary

colour plate y Hess.)

general staff and there was a further staff for the

king as commander-in-chief.

The infantry regiments Oebschelwitz

l

Cerrini ,

BurgsdorP

a nd D yh er rn

the cavalry

regimem

Karabiniers

and the artillery

company

of the

Royal Household were disbanded, an d

th e

men

used to

reinforce the remaining regiments.

Each infantry division

ha d

two brigades each

of

two regiments, each of two battalions, each of two

grenadier an d eight musketeer companies. The

four

grenadier

companies

of

each brigade were

c on ce nt ra te d i mo C om bi ne d G re na di er Bat

talions

in

peace as well as in war. The two Light

Infantry Battalions were expanded into regiments;

the jager-Corps formed on 31 August 1

Bog

was

retained.

The

cavalry division was formed

of

three heavy,

rour light an d one hussar regiments each of four

9


9/48

Bean k:iD

cap, other ra.nks SaxonGarde-GreDadiere,

1815

This item isUDusual ill

that

there

no calo

or

doth

top

patch

as was

the custOI at that tUne.

This

is taken CrolD a.o actW c:.aDI.ple in Strallibourg

I UseWU

and

it is

possible that

it is a

later

reconstruction usillg an original

brass

plate.

The

cords

are

white.

squadrons,

and

was organized into three brigades.

The regimental artillery those pieces attached

to individual infantry battalions) was disbanded

and the guns concentrated into one regiment of

foot artillery of sixteen companies plus an artificer

company

and

a horse artillery brigade of two

batteries. An artillery train battalion was raised.

On

the administrative side an

lnspectcur

general

aux reuues and three SOUs lllspectellrs were appointed

to

ensure that malpractices were kept

to

a min-

Imum.

Changes in the uniform reflected the influence of

Saxony s new ally in that the shako replaced the

bicorn and French style rank and

company

badges were introduced. The pigtail

and

powdered

hair were finally abolished. In the tactical field, the

old linear infantry formation gave way

to

the new

French system of the co lumn a nd the protective,

advanced swarm of skirmishers. Training was now

10

directed more towards efficient battlefield perfor-

mance rather than parade ground precision. New

infantry muskets from Suhl were issued to

the

Light

Infantry; the Line used French

or

Austrian

weapons. Bayonets were now longer than before

and new pattern sabres replaced the old.

The

new

muskets were effective u p to paces, while

artillery could throw solid shot

1 8 0 0 2 0 0 0

paces

and

canister was used u p to

4

paces.

The

use

of

massed artillery was particularly emphasized.

The

cavalry remained least affected by these

reforms,

and

t he n mainly in the

matter

of

the new

uniforms.

On 22

an d

23

July

18

t

I,

t hi rt ccn i nf antr y

battalions five cavalry regiments three foot

artillery and two horse artillery batteries were

concentrated at Miihlberg, where they exercised as

brigades in the new regulations.

Russia 1812

By

spring relations between the French

dictator and

the Tsar

had

deteriorated to such an

extent that Napoleon issued orders

to

his vassal

states to prepare to mobilize their armies for a

punitive expedition against Russia. The cause of

this breach was the

attempt

by Napoleon to exelude

all British goods from Europe by a blockade the

Continental System as defined in

the

Berlin

Decrees of 1806). As Britain then truly ruled the

global waves this

meant

an almost total crippling of

trade, and Tsar Alexander, never a convinced ally

of France, t ur ned a bli nd eye to conti nued Russian

imports of British goods via the Baltic ports.

This

enraged Napoleon so much that he embarked on

the campaign that was to destroy halfa million Illen

and to achieve nothing but his own downfall.

The

Saxon contingent was mobilized on

February

1812 in two infantry divisions as the

VII

Corps of the Grande Armce,

and

in March the

French General Reynicr assumed command over

t

Saxon Order

aJ

Battle 8 2 as VII Corps oJthe

Grallde

nnee

Commander General Reynier;

Senior

Saxon

General

Generallieutenant Edler von Lecoq; Chiif staff:


10/48

Saxon Line Infantry Regt., 8

Regimental

staff:

I Oberst, I Oberstlieutenant,

Majors,

2

Aerzte doctorsL

J

Regiments

Quartiermeister,

I

Ober-Auditeuf,

I Ober

Regimems-Chirurgus senior surgeon),

2

Fah

nenjunker ensigns), I Stabsfourier, I Stabs

Chirurgus,

I

Regiments-Tambour regimental

drum major),

I

Bataillons-Tambour battalion

drum major), 8 Hautboisten I. Klasse first

class musicians),

12

Hautboisten

2

Klasse,

I

Biichsenmacher armourer), Biichsenschafter

musket woodworker), 1 Profoss, I

Proross-

Knecht provost s lad).

8

musketeer

and 2 grenadier companies totalling: 6

Kapitans I KfaSse, 4 Kapitans 2 Klasse,

1

Premierlieutenants, 2 Souslieutenants,

1

Feldwebel sergeant-majors), 2 Sergeants, 1

Fouriere, 5 Chirugen, 1 Korporals, 6

Grenadier-Tam bours, 24

M

uskelier

Tambours, 4 Grenadier-Zimmerlcute,

Musketier-Zimmerleute, 360 Grenadiere,

1,440 Musketiere.

Grand Total 2 73 all

ranks

Oberst von Langenau; Chiif Logistics: Major von

Ryssel;

Commander

the Artillery:

Oberstlieutenant

v Hoyes; Commander

the

Engineers:

Hauptmann

Damm

st Division

Generallieutenant Edler von Lecoq

t Brigade Generalmajor von Steindel):

Grenadier-Bataillon von Liebenau Regiments

Prinz Friedrich

an d Prinz

Clemens )

Infantry Regiment Prinz Friedrich -2 battalions

and four 4pdr. regimental guns

Infantry Regiment Prinz Clemens -2 battalions


nd

Brigade Generalmajor von Nostitz) :

Infantry Regiment Prinz Ant on -2 battalions


tst Light Infantry Regiment-2 battalions

4th Foot Artillery Battery- four 6pdr. cannon, two

8pdr. howitzers

Divisional Artillery Park and sapper company.

nd

Division

Generallieutenant von Gutschmidt

lsi

Brigade

Generalmajor von Kleugel):

Grenadier-Bataillon von Brause Regim ents

Bearskin cap, officer, Saxon Leib-Grenadier-Garde,

J8JO-J8JS,

Thegilt

plate shows

the

black,

yellow

and

green Saxon

crest over

a silver-edged crUnson field

bearing ffAR

in silver. The cords are silver.

After

Sauerweid s contetnporary watercolour.

Konig and von Niesemeuschcl )

Infantry Regiment

Konig

battalions

an d

four

4pdr. regimental guns

I nf an tr y R eg ime nt von Niesemeus chel -2 bat

talions and four 4pdr. regimental guns

nd

Brigade Generalmajor von Sahr) :

G re nad ier- Ba taillo n von A nger R eg imen ts

Prinz Anton and von Low )

Grenadier-Bataillon von Spiegel Regiments

Prinz Maximilian and von Rechten )

nd Light lrifantry Regimenl battalions

3rd Foot Artillery

Battery-four

6pdr. cannon an d

two 8pdr. howitzers

Divisional Artillery Park an d sapper company.

rd Light Cavalry Brigade Generalmajor von

Gablenz) :

Prinz Clemens

Ul ans -4

squadrons

von Polenz

Chevauxlegers-4 squadrons

Hussars-s

squadrons

Heavy

Cavalry

Brigade Generallieutenanl von

Thielmann) :

Garde du C or ps- 4 squadrons

Kurassier-Regiment von

Zastrow -4

squadrons

Prinz Albrecht

Chevauxlegers-4

squadrons

II


11/48

Saxon

infantry

.. . b r ~ pre-I806. The

grip

is

brass

the

b l a d ~ S8 7CID

long

2 gan

wide; total I ~ g t h

7OC . W eight

16kg. Source,

H i ~ b

o Stiehwaffen

Ri r

ll t

:

Saxon infantry .. . b r ~ 1806.

The s imp-

brass

hilt rdlects gradual m o v e

towards functional

weapons

without

excessive Ol DJUDeDtation..

Blade

59CID

x 28ani total length

]2C1D

weight

62kg.

Source,

i eb

..o

Sticllwaff_.

T

lilt:

PalUucli of Saxon

Kiirasaien

other

ranks , 1806. The bra basket hilt

bears

the

cypher

FA under the

dft>

t caPi the

sheath

in brown

leather;

brass tip steel

rings . Blade

93 SCID x 3 3C1D, total leagth IOg SCID,

W eisbt 1 27Kg. Source Hieb

uNJ.

StieIlUiaffera

each

of

four 6pdr.

cannon and two

8pdr. howitzers

2nd Horse Artillery

Battery-four

6pdr.

cannon

an d two

8pdr.

howitzers.

orps

rtill ry

eserve

St

Horse Artillery Ba ttery }

St

Foot Artillery Battery

2nd Foot Artillery Battery

Artillery Park

Pontoon train

On

9 April the corps reached Kalisch, where the

S ax on Kiirassier Brigade under General von

Thielmann,

together with Hiller s horse artil lery

b att er y, was d et ac he d as th e 20th

Heavy

Cavalry

Brigade,

and

the Chevauxlegers Regiment Prinz

Albrecht was detached to join two Bavarian

Chevauxlegers regiments as the t7th Light Cavalry

Brigade.

The

Saxon

infantr y regiments von

Rechten and von Low were detached as garrison

troops in the fortresses

of

Danzig an d Glogau

respectively.

After these reductions the VI I Corps

numbered

t8 battalions,

squadrons, 5 balteries

of

artillery

each

of

6 guns including Roth s horse artillery

baltery) and 20 regimental pieces.

The

lack of

cavalry an d

th e

s ub se qu en t lack

of adequate

reconnaissance was to prove nearly disastrous for

t he Saxons la te r in th e c am pa ig n.

The V 1\ Corps now joined the V Poles

under

Poniatowski)

and

the

VIII

Corps Westfalians

under Vandamme

as

th e

right wing

of

the

Grande

Armee,

under

Napoleon s younger brother King

Jerome

of

Westfalia,

near

Lu blin on t he ViSlula.

On the extreme sou ther n flank was the Austrian

Corps 35,000 men)

under

Prince Schwarzenberg.

At

the

en d of Ma y

the allies were opposed by Prince

B agrati on with eight Russian divisions an d 200

guns on the right

bank of

the Bug from

TarnopollO

Brest-Litowsk.

Napoleon invaded Russia with the

main

body of

his a rmy o n

28June

t8t2 an d the Saxons advanced


12/48

Kleck Lithuania), which they reach ed on

5

ly, while the Austrians to their right were

at

on

the

2 th

Reynicr now ordered the two

rps to e xc ha ng e their positions, a nd th e Saxons

to Pruszana and

K ob ry n. K le ng el s

rigade was detailed to garrison Kobryn, a little

oden town,

and

early on 27

July his

2,400 men,

ith eight 4pdr. regimental guns and three

of

Ulans, were surprised by General

ormassow with 12,000 men. The Saxons fought

ntil th eir ammunition was exhausted and the

wn was in flames before being forced to sur

nder. T orm as so w was

so impressed by their

conduct that he permitted the captured

ficers to retain

their

swords Saxon casual

ties

were

8

dead and 78 wounded, the rest captured.

ssian losses were about 600 dead and wounded.

d the Saxons

had more

cavalry, a better

connaissance would have revealed

the

Russian

rce in time for th e b ri ga de to w it hd ra w in tact.

Undismayed by this disaster,

Reynier

and

S ch wa rz en be rg u ni ted th eir forces

and

moved

against an 8,000-strong Russian force with twelve

guns under General Lambert at P ru sz an a, a nd

attacked them on August. Lambert fell back on

Kobryn, but stood behind a boggy stream at

Gorodeczno on August. The allies

came

up,

found the crossing points covered

by

artillery and

set

about

outflanking

Lambert that

night.

They

found an unguarded crossing to the Russian left,

and

the 2nd Battalion, st Light Infantry Regiment

secured it. By gam on 2 August a considerable

S axon force had been developed across the stream

and in the rear

of

the Russian flank

To

counter

this, Lambert had to change front hastily. There

now followed a battle between 30,000 Russians

reinforcements

had

arrived) and 5,000 Saxons,

with the Austrians pressing forward against the

guarded

crossings to

the

north. By 7pm the

Austrians had crossed the river

in

the north and had

also sent a division to su pp or t the Saxons in their

day-long battle, and Lambert began to withdraw

towards Kobryn. Saxon losses were 75men and go

horses dead, 688 men and

32

horses wounded, 68

me n captured or missing.

The

allies pursued the

Russians

and occupied

Kobryn

on

ugust

Tormassow evacuated Volhyniaand withdrew past

Dywin.

The

Saxon cavalry was now so weak

that

infantry units were used for outpost

duty,

and on 24

August they had a successful clash

at

Luboml with

the ubiquitous Russian cossacks

In

late

ugust-

early S ep te mb er the Saxons re ma in ed in th e area

Kuszelin-Macowice-Toczyn, with the Austrians to

their left at Golowi and Kolki with a 5 ,0 00-m an

detachment

at Pinsk.

Constant

outpost bickering

with the numerically superior Russians further

reduced the Saxon cavalry strength. Allied strength

here along the River S tyr was now 40,000 men, but

the opposing Russians had 65,000, as

Tschitschagoff s Army

of

Moldavia

had

joined

Tormassow. This reinforcement was

made

possible

by the conclusion of a Russo-Turkish peace treaty

which released the Moldavian army for duties

agains Napoleon.

On

25 September the Russians attacked and

drove back

a Polish brigade under General

Kosinski at

Pawlowice

;

as their flank was

now

turned, the Austrians

and

Saxons fell back over the


13/48

Officer s

gorget,

1806.

The

gilt

gorget

had a

crimson velvet

centrepiece

framed

n silver

and

carrying the silver

cypher

IFA under the electoral

cap.

Museum

tiir

Deutsche Ges

chiebte, East Berlin.

River

Tara at

Turysk to Kowel

and

later to

Lubom\. By now the allies

ha d

36,000 men, the

Russians 70,000,

an d

Schwarzenberg

ordered

a

further withdrawal over the

River Bug. The Saxons

crossed that river n ea r

Opalin

on

October

at

loam.

On

4

October

the allies stood again

at

Brest

Litowsk, until to October when Russian pressure

forced t he m to w it hd ra w ov er t he

River

Lesna.

Things

r em ai ne d fairly s tat ic until 27 October

when the

enemy

suddenly

an d

inexplicably

fell

back,

an d contact

with

them

was lost until

Durutte s division arrived to reinforce the allies and

a reconnaissance in force was undertaken.

t

was

discovered that the Russian main body

ha d

moved

away to Sionim Tschitschagoffwas moving

up to

a tt ac k t he

remnants of

the

Grande Armee

as they

stumbled back towards the Beresina). Although the

allies followed by forced marches, they were unable

to c at ch t he

enemy again

the lack of cavalry was

severeIy fel

t

The Saxons became separated from the Aus

trians and were suddenly confronted

by

superior

Russian forces under Generals von Sack en

and

Essen III. On 14 N ov em be r the

battle

of Wol

kowysk took place;

Reynier

withdrew that night

but was caught again next day,

an d

the struggle

was renewed.

The

16th found the Saxons still

holding on grimly by Wolkowysk, not

daring

to fall

back as they were so weak, when cannon shots from

the

rear

of

the Russian lines at Izabelin) heralded

the arrival of Schwarzenberg s Austrians.

Th e

Russians withdrew-there was no pursuit as the

S axon caval ry

ha d

practically ceased to exist.

Saxon losses from 2 1 6 November were 1,300 dead

and wounded.

The

Austrians

an d

Saxons now moved

to

Rudnia

an d

thence

to

Brzesc, chasing Sacken s corps

an d

capturing a large

part

of his baggage train.

On

29

November an order was received from Napoleon to

ac t against Tschitschagoff ,

but

th e Russian was

already over the Njiemen and pursuit was

in

vain.

By 7 December the Saxons were in Rozanna, the

Austrians in Slonim having lost over

800

men en

route due to exhaustion and frostbite. t was here

that the allies received news of the dreadful

catastrophe

which

ha d

overtaken the

Grande

Annc.::c. ReYllier was lefllo do as he thought best by

Napoleon, an d he withdrew to Brzesc by 20

December while the Austrians went their own way

to

Ostrolenka. Saxon strength was now down to

6 0 0 0 men, but on that day the Grenadier-

Bataillon Eychelberg with 900 men

joined

them

from Bialystock, where they had been serving as

garrison since 5

July.

Re yn ie r now p ul led f ur th er

back to Siedlce, Sokolow an d Losyce,

an d Schwar-

zen berg also moved west

to

Pultusk.

The

Russians

occupied Brzesc

an d

crossed the frozen

River

Bug.

On 28

December

the VII Corps

withdrew

over the

Liwiec at Liw and Wengrow, and the Russian

pursuit slackened olf. On 3 January 1813 the

Saxons

were

around

vVarsaw

and were attacked on

1 January by large numbers of cossacks; on 30

January

Reynier crossed the frozen Vistula north of

Warsaw, where he was

joined

by Bianchi s Austrian

division next day. By this time the Austrians had

adopted

almost a

neutral

attitude, as they knew

that their emperor would change sides

an d

join the

Tsar

against Napoleon as soon as possible. The VI I

Corps now numbered about 4 000 men; Reynier,

knowing of the probability of

an

Austro-Russian

alliance, withdrew to Petrikau on 6 February and

The

Saxon

von

Zastrow Kiirassiers stonning the Rajewski

redoubt

at Borodino.

The

impractical old cavalry bicorn

was

replaced n

1810

by the

much more impressive brass helmet

shown

here.

Officers wore a wreath of gilt oak leaves

around

the black fur turban; only the front plate of the Kiirass was

worn.

After

Knotel.


14/48


15/48

chwarzenberg surrendered Warsaw and 1,500

Saxon sick and wounded to the Russians.

Reynier continued westwards Kalisch.

On 13

February the Saxons were dispersed in widely

scattered cantonments

around

that town.

In

view

of

the proximity

of

the enemy axon generals

advi ed Reynier to concentrate the corps, bu t

Reynier ignored them

and

the result was

that

at

3pm

that

day they were attacked by superior

Ru ian force and uffered heavy

ses as each

mall detachment fought its way back to Kalisch.

One

uch force 600 men and 200 horses and a

battery

of

horse artillery

under

Generalmajor von

Gablenz was completely cut off and did not rejoin

the main body for some month after the battle

of

Liitzen during which it wandered through

Poland, Moravia and Bohemia. Saxon

combat

losse on

13

February

were over 1,000 men

and

six

4pdr. regimental guns, all

of

which could have been

avoided.

The VII

Corps-now orily one weak

division

crossed the Oder at Glogau on

17

February; by 1

March they were in Bautzen,

and

reached Dresden

on the 7th.

Here

600 Saxon reinforcements joined

them, bringing their strength up to 2,000.

The

co a ks followed closely,

and

on

19 March

Mar

hal

Davout

blew up the two central arches

of

th Elbe br idge in Dresden, all ferrie and boats on

the river having been concentrated in Torgau

and

Konig tein fortres

es On 21 March

the Saxons in

the VII Corp were reorganized into a single

brigade, and Durutte s division provided a further

1,800 men.

Hehnet of a

Saxon

Kiirassier officer, 1810-1815. This item is

similar to

that

worn by Aus tr ia n heavy cavalry in th e lion

emblem

along th e side

of

th e combe.

At

th e

front of

th e combe

is

th e crowned

cypher

FA ,

an d

officer

s tatu s i s indicated by

th e gilt oak

le af w rea th a nd

th e Medusa s h ea d c hin stra p

bosses. The

crest shown is obviously

an

iteIn

added at some

time after th e Napoleonic era. (Museum fUr

Deutsche

Ges

chichte,

East

Berlin.)

Cartridge pouch,

officer of

t he Banne r

of

Saxon Volunteers ,

1813, When

Landwehr and

volunteer

fOrInations

were ra ised

in

GerInany

in 1813 t he re was a

strong

upsurge

of

religious

fervour

connected with their

mobilization,

doubtless

a

Russian import Note th e o ak an d laurel leaves around th e

cross . (Museum fUr Deutsche

Geschichte, East Berlin.)

Saxony was now split into two parts, one

under

French occupation, the other in Russian possession.

The King ofSaxony negotiated with apoleon that

the old VII Corps now only 1,836 men strong

should be allowed to retire into the Saxon fortres

of

Torgau,

there to be united with 6,000 new recruits

under

Generallieutenant

von Thielmann von

Gablenz s formation

of

1,000 men was still wander

ing through ustria . Thus as ured, King Friedrich

Augu t now went to Regen burg, hoping to receive

favourable terms from Austria which would

enable

him to break free from the French yoke

and

join the


16/48


17/48

Tostedt towards Hamburg, w here l ig ht cossack

forces were p u hed back.

On 8

March a Russian

cossack formation

attacked

them, an d the newly-

formed

Hanoverian

Landwehr came

up

in

support

of

their Russian allies.

Morand

was

no t content

to

give way to such lowly opponents, and on 3 March

he

marched

east against Luneburg; early on 1 April

the division stormed the town an d captured it

easily, driving off the few cossacks

an d

local militia

who formed the garrison. Morand s casualties were

two lightly wounded, while the Russians

an d

Hanoverians lost

about

forty dead. Al tho ugh he

now o cc up ie d th e t own , armed citizens continued

to snipe

at

the invaders; an d next

morning

the

Rus o-Pru sian division

of

General von

Dornberg,

aided by

detachments from

Tschernitscheff s

troops, invested

Luneburg

an d s to rm ed it. A ft er a

violent struggle, in whic h Morand was mortally

wounded, the

badly-managed Franco-Saxon gar

rison was scattered

an d captured.

Saxon losses were

255

me n

dead an d wounded, an d the rest of the

regiment Prinz Maximilian was

captured.

he l ] ampaigns

In

the first three mo nths

of

the

year

apoleon s

incomparable

genius

an d

energy threw a new

army

t og et he r in France an d brought it into central

Germany to oppose Russian, Austrian an d Prussian

forces. The vassal states

of

the Confederation

of

the

Rhine,

still

under French

control, were

unable

to

break w it h the

dictator

an d

join

the Allies as they

really wished.

March Saxony

ha d 1 1 , 0 0 0 me n

in

Torgau fortress an d was u rg en tl y t ra in in g these

new recruits for the coming campaign, hopefully on

the side

of

the Allies.

On

May

apoleon

and

P rin ce E ug en e wit h

1 0 0 , 0 0 0 me n

d ef ea te d t he Allies

at Lut zen and

forced them to

withdraw

o ve r the El be,

an d

on 10

M ay K in g

Friedrich August

of

Saxony was forced

to issue orders for his troops to rejoin the Grande

Armee.

Generallieutenant

von Thielmann, com-

mander

of

Torgau, could

no t

stomach this

order;

he

handed

over his command to

Generalmajor

Sahrer

von Sahr

an d joined

the Russian army.

On 1 1 May 6 , 0 0 0

Saxons in on e division were

placed

under

General Reynier s

command and,

8

Shako,

sergeant

of

Grenadiers,

Line

Infantry, 1810-1813. This

very F re n ch i te m s bows th e extent o f the influence

of

that

nation on t h e d r e s s

of

t h e i r v a s s a l s t at e s. T h e c o r ds an d

plume

are

red,

p l at e a n d chinscales brass, to p band gold.

The

white

cockade over th e crown) is JDissing.

MuseUID

r

Deutsche

Geschichte,

East

Berlin.)

together with

Durutte s

French division without

cavalry) they formed the new

VII

Corps.

Together

with the

III Corps

ey)

and

the V Corps

Lauriston) they were to

operate against Berlin

under ey s control, an d to destroy their Prussian

opponents under Bulow.

A change

of plan

took place, however, and

Napoleon ordered ey to bring his three corps

against Barclay de Tolly

an d

Blucher

86 000

men,

7 0 0

guns)

together

with

other French

troops


18/48

160,000 men, 450 guns). On 21 May the battle of

utzen began.

ot

surprisingly, the numerically

French won the day, but the Russo

u sians withdrew in good or der .

Du e

to lack of

valry, a pol eon was unable to reap the fruits of

is tactical victory; the VII Corps spearheaded his

r uit. In the next

few

days heavy skirmishing

place during which the Russo-Prussians fell

ck slowly. By 24 May they

ha d

withdrawn

er the River eisse. Saxon combat losses from 2

24 May

were 40 de .d, 508 wounded

an d

98

ing most of the missing rejoined wi thi n t he

few day).

othing more of note occ urre d

fore hostilities ended for six weeks on

une, in

cordance with the armistice of Poischwitz.

By the end of] uly the Saxons were joined in the ir

n ea r Garlitz

by new battalions which

rmitted the formation of two divisions again:

st

Division 24th

the

Grande Armee

Commander:

Generallieutenant Edler von Lec oq

Chief

General

Staff:

Major von Koppenfels

stBrigade

Oberst von Brausse) :

Leib-Grenadier

Garde

I

bn.), L ig ht Infan try

Regiment

v on

sergeant

of

Musketeers, Line

Infantry,

1810-1813.

cockade and pOlnpon are

m i s s i ng ; t h e

to p band is gold,

w h it e, c h in s ca l es

and

plate

brass. Note

the

way the

are b u c k le d

around

th e p lw n e socket. Musewn

r

sche Geschichte, East

Berlin.)

H us s a r sabretasche,

B a n n e r o f Sa x o n Volunteers,

1813.

Although a n iteJn worn b y t ro op er s, t he re is a considerable

aJDount o fexpensive

decoration

o n t h i s exaJllple. Musewn r

Deutsche

Geschichte,

East

Berlin.)

Lecoq 2 bns.), 1St Bn. I nf an tr y R eg im en t

Prinz Maximilian ,

2nd Bn. von

Rechten ,

company Feldjager military police)

2nd Brigade Generallieutenant von Mellentin) :

Grenadier-Bataillon von Spiegel companies of

the Regiments Prinz Maximilian , von

Rec hten , P rinz

Friedrich

an d

von Steindel ),

Infantry

Regiments

Prinz

Friedrich August

2

bns.)

and

von Steindel

2

bns.)

Artillery Major von Roth) :

1St

an d 2n d foot batte ries eight 6pdr. guns each)

under

Hauptmann

Kuhnel an d

Hauptmann

Rouvroy

Engineers One company of sappers

2nd Division 25th

the

Grande

Armee

Commander:

Generallieutenant

Sahrer

von

ahr

Chief

General

Staff:

Major

von Cerrini

stBrigade

Oberst von Bose):

Grenadier-Bataillon von Sperl companies of the

Regiments

Konig ,

von Niesemeuschel , Prinz

Anton an d

von Low ) ,

Light Infantry

Regi

ment von Shar 2 bns.)


19/48

Infantry

Regiments Konig an d von Niesemeus

chel I bn. each)

nd Brigade Oberst von Ryssel:

Infantry Regiments

Prinz

nton an d v on Low

2 bns. each)

rtiLLelY Major

Gau):

3r d an d 4th foot batteries

eight 6pdr. guns each) under

Hauptmann

Dietrich

a nd H au pt ma nn Z an dt

i ht Cavalry Brigade Generalmajor von

Gablenz):

Husaren

8

qn .), lanen 5 qns.)

Two horse artil lery batteries each

of

six

g u n s

Hauptmann von Prob thayn

Reserve rtiLLery

One

battery

of eight 12pdr. guns-Hauptmann

Rouvroy

Artillery Park

On

August the strength

of

the corps was 18,344

all ranks including sick

a nd wou nd ed ;

battalions

w re

under

600 strong, batteries below 160, an d the

two ca val ry regiments h ad 1,200 horses between

them.

Durutte s

division the 32nd) now had about

8,000 m n.

The

1813

Autumn

CatIlpaign

During the armistice fruitless peace negotIatIon

were conducted in Prague,

an d

with their final

breakdown a new

anti-

apoleonic alliance was

formed between Russia, Prussia, Austria, Britain

an d

Sweden. Total field force were 490,000 men,

100,000 horses an d 1,470 guns, a figure which owed

a lot to the Prussian

Krumper

sy tern by which

thou a nd s of potential recruits ha d been trained

an d then discharged again in the years 1807-18 3

allowing a rapid build-up

of

the army to be

achieved. The allies were divided into three armies,

one in

northern

Bo hem ia Austrian)

under

Schwarzenberg, one in Silesia mainly Prussians

an d Ru s

ians)

under

Blucher,

an d

the Army

of

the

orth

under

Bernadotte crown prince of Sweden)

con isting of 80,000 Prussians Bulow an d Tauen

zien), 10,000 Russians W in zi nge ro de ), 25,000

Swede an d 15,000 volunteer north

Germans

an d

some Briti h).

Opposing them was apoleon with 360,000

men, 40,000 horses

an d

1,300 guns, with Dresden

fortified

an d

supplied a the base for his future

operation.

It will be noted that apoleon enjoyed

the advantages

of

a unified

command

system, a

single political aim an d interior lines of operation.

20

Dolman o f a trooper, Saxon

Hus s a r s , 1810-1813 T h is t ra di

tional

Hunga r ia n

g a n n e n t is clearlyshown in al l

it s detail.

T he

c e n t ra l b a l l buttons

a re larger

tha n those

a t

t h e s id e ; n o te the

puffed shoulders, a n d

th e

cuffs which

a r e

only

a dd ed o n

the

oute r

p a rt

o f th e sleeve. Th e Dlus ket

a nd

he lme t a r e s hown

in

detail in

o t h e r

illustrations.

MuseUDl

r Deutsche

Ges

chichte,

Ea s t

Berlin.)

The Saxons

VII

Corps) were

grouped

together

with the IV

Corps under

B er tr and French,

Italians

an d

W

urttem bergers-

18,000 m en), the

XII

Corps under O ud in ot Bavarians, West

falians, Hessen-Darmstadters an d F r e nc h

24,000 men)

an d

the

III

Cavalry

Corps

under

Arrighi 27 squadrons of light cavalry of various

nations). Commander of this wing of the Grande

Armee was

Marshal

Oudinot, an d its task was to

operate

against the Army of the

orth,

which

covered Berlin.

On 17 August the armistice ended

an d

all Saxon

ick were sent off to

Torgau

fortres . O ud in ot a t

once

made

a thrust at Berlin which led to the battIe

of

Gr o

s-Beeren on 24 August, in which the VII

Corps

made an advance

into

that

village which was

not upported by the IV an d XII Corps. As a result,


20/48

he Saxons were a ttac ke d by 30,000 infantry an d

cossacks

under

Bulow

and

when

Durutte s

crumble d a nd fell back, leaving them

mpletely unsupported, they

ha d

no alternative

to withdraw, fighting heavily all the way.

axon losses were General von Sahr badly woun

116 dead 359 wounded an d 1,564 captured.

fell back on Wittenberg.

On

29

August a Prussian column of their IV

under Generalmajor von Wobeser, attacked

e village of Luckau, whose garrison consisted of

French

a nd I ta li an

gunners

an d

sappers

an d

men of the S axon I nf an tr y R eg im en t P ri nz

an d forced them to

surrender

after

etting fire to the place.

apoleon would not tolerate Oudinot retreat

nd replaced him with Marshal ey on 4 Septem

er. ext day the

IV

VII

an d

X II Corps began

an

o n ] uterbogk. On 6 S ep te m be r t he b at tl e

f ]iiterbogk occurred in which von Bulow an d

auenzien defeated the French and their allies.

IV

Corps was overrun, the Saxon infantry

vanced in square to help them, b ut d ue to lack of

Fr e n c h Cuirassiers s to n n in g t he G ra nd Redoubt

Borodino.

Repeated

c h a r g e s a n d counter-eharges

were m a d e

a t

this

defence

work

w h ic h c h an g e d

hands

s e v e r a l tUn e s

d u r in g t he

day.

Russian casualties in t h is b a tt le we r e higher t n they

need

h av e b ee n d ue to their

close

deep fonnations.

support from the

X II

Corps the re erve)

an d

to the

appearance of the Russians an d wedes at 4pm the

day was lost. The axons withdrew, again in

squares, to guard against the ubiquitous enemy

cavalry. ey reported to apoleon that the Saxons

ha d failed in this

battle-in

truth they an d the

Bavarians

ha d

saved a withdra wa l from bec oming

a debacle an d the withdrawal was caused by ey s

bad general hip.

The Saxons

fell

back on

Torgau

in good o rd er ,

the IV

an d

XII Corps were in much worse

condition. In the last eight days the Saxon 1

es

were 1,098 men dead and w ou nd ed , 2,000 c ap

tured,

12

guns an d 40 waggons lost. Each infantry

regiment was now re-formed intoone battalion, and

on

21

September the VII Corps was reduc ed to one

division

again:


21/48

ommander Generallieutenant von Zeschau

hief

i f

staff

Major von Cerrini

St Brigade Oberst von Brause

Ojficers Men

Horses

Light Infantry Regiment von Lecoq I bn.)

17

75

0

Infantry Regiment von

Rechten

I bn.) 12

3

00

Infantry Regiment Prinz Friedrich

I

bn.)

15

580

Infantry Regiment von Steindel I bn.)

17

620

1st Grenadier-Bataillon von Spiegel

9 33

0

Feldjager I company)

3

74

Totals

73

2,654

nd Brigade

(Generalmajor von Ryssel):

2nd Grenadier-Bataillon von Anger

9 3

20

Infantry Regiment Konig (I bn.)

9 3

00

Infantry Regiment von Niesemeuschel I bn.) 6

54

0

Infantry Regiment Prinz Anton

I

bn.) 9 600

Infantry Regiment von Low I bn.)

7

25

0

Light

Infantry

Regiment von

Sahr

bn.)

16

7

00

Totals

56

2 7

1

Sappers and pontoniers

4

64

18

Artillery

1st Foot Battery, 8 guns

(Hauptmann

Dietrich)

4

133

10

7

2nd Foot Battery, 8 guns

(Hauptmann

Zandt)

4

133

10

7

1St Horse Battery, 4 guns (Hauptmann Probsthayn) }

6

20

9

277

2nd Horse Battery, 4 guns

(Hauptmann

Birnbaum)

12pdr. reserve battery

3

177 15

0

Artillery Park and

Train

12

54

0

575

Totals

29

1 19

1 216

Cavalry Brigade (Oberst von

Lindenau):

Husaren-Regiment

16 60

7

60

3

Ulanen-Regiment 21

6 7

594

Totals

37

1 224

t,197

Grand

tolals:

199

officers, 7,844 men,

2 431

horses,

30

guns

At the same time the XII Corps was disbanded

and

Guilleminot s division was given to the VII

Corps.

Meanwhile the other two Allied armies-those

of Silesia and

Bohemia-advanced

and made

contact with the Army of the North; Napoleon

concentrated his forces at Dresden.

The

Prussian

General Yorck (Army ofSilesia) crossed the Elbe at

Wartenberg,

and

beat off the

IV

Corps which

opposed him.

22

On 9 October apoleon reviewed the VII Corps

near

Eilenburg, and del ivered the following

address:

Soldiers of the

VII

Corps You French and

Saxons You have

been

very unfortunate in the last

affair. I have come to put myself at your head and

to give you revenge

It

is nothing new to see the

French eagle

and

the Saxon flag together, as this

alliance has existed since the Seven Years

War

You should remember

that

you are the same


22/48

ldiers as at Friedland and Wagram

I have not

made

peace

so

that

the enemy

can

his

frontiers to the Elbe. The king, who is

father has given his

army

into my hand; he

cannot erve his king faithfully can go

Thi addre

s

translated imul taneously into

erman by Caulaincourt for the benefit of the

was greeted by the French officers with the

ual cries of Vive l Empereur

and

by the Saxons

an eloquently stony silence. Their enthusiasm

the French cause had wilted as they had seen

homes

plundered and

destroyed by

apoleon s men during 18[3. All they wanted was

the Allie, and throw the dictator out oftheir

apoleon thrust forward at the Army of Silesia

Wartenburg, but his quarry crossed to the left

of the Saale on 2 October, joined

rnadotte s Army of the orth,

and marched

up

course

of

that river. apoleon re-concentrated

forces around Leipzig.

The

VII Corps arrived

Paunsdorfat 4am on

7

October,

remaining in

erve

on

that and the next day. was at this

The Grande Annee crossing a r iver dur ing

the

advance into

Russia in

1812. Although only a nUnor strelUll, th is p icture

gives

some

idea

of

the disrupt ion

an d

chaos which could

be

caused by a water obstacle. The

steepness of the banks

was

as

considerable a problem

as th e depth of th e wat er when

considering the passage of horse-drawn vehicles of the

artillery

train.

juncture that the Saxons, voted with their feet,

leaving the French lines to march into the arms of

their natural allies.

The

German defections suffered

by apoleon

at

this period were as follows:

As the tide of events turned against apoleon in

the autumn of 1813, his

German

vassal states

contingents

began

to fall away from

him

on the

battlefields. On the night of 23 September at

Worlitz near Oranienbaum, the Saxon Bataillon

Konig of the 2nd Brigade (eight officers and 300

men under

Major

von Bi.inau) went over to the

Swedes.

On

22-23 August the 1st and 2nd

Westfalian Hussars

had

defected to the Allies at

Zittau, and the 25th (Wi.irttemberg)

Light

Cavalry

Brigade under Generalmajor Graf ormann did

the same on 8 October.

The King of

Saxony

publicly condemned this action,

and Major

von

Bi.inau was court-martialled in

bsenti

23


23/48

On

30

September

the Army ofSilesia crossed the

Elbe at Wartenburg and on 3 October they broke

through the IV Corps (Bertrand) which opposed

their bridgehead; Napoleon

had

to abandon the

line of the Elbe.

The

three Allied armies con

centrated east of Leipzig and pushed Napoleon

back;

he decided to stand

at that

city,

an d

this

resulted in the Battle

of

the Nations (16--18

October

1813).

Describing the mood of the Saxons on hearing

Napoleon s address to the

VII

Corps quoted above,

a Saxon officer wrote: I

t

must have been obvious to

any bystander of this scene that the Saxon reaction

was not rehearsed bu t spontaneous. This mood was

not solely the result

of

their recent battle

losses bu t

certainly

of

the time spent in

Torgau

fortress [April

and May 1813] during which hopes ran high that

they vauld soon join their German brothers in the

common

fight against their

arrogant

French

oppressors. Fate had decreed otherwise, bu t there

was certainly no Saxon soldier there that day who

followed the French eagles with a light heart.

Their

discontent

had

grown throughout

8

3 as they ha d

seen their homeland desolated, plundered an d

burnt by their French all ies . cost the officers

immense trouble to maintain order in their units.

At dawn on

i

October, Reynier

an d

the

VII

Corps reached the outwork Zum Heitern Blick at

Leipzig when the battle had already been raging

for

more than a

day;

they moved to Paunsdorfthat

v ning

V here

n ws

reached them that the Saxon

division was to march o[fto

Torgau.

(Napoleon had

just heard that the Bavarians had defected to the

Allies,

an d

no longer trusted any

German

troops.)

Enemy

a lion

prevented this order being carried

out, however, an d the Saxons had to take up

position at Paunsdorf opposing the Russians an d

Austrians under Bennigsen, Platow and Bubna.

During the morning

of

8

October

the Saxon

Bataillon Prinz Friedrich and some French units

were captured in Taucha by the Army of the

North, and the Saxon division was ordered to cover

Ney s Left flank in the ensuing crisis.

was here

that the defection of the Saxons occurred. The first

to go was the Light Cavalry Brigade (Hussars

an d

Prinz Clemens Ulans), then the Schlitzen

Bataillon

and

between 4 an d

5pm

the infantry

an d

artillery. Th e Allies, informed of what was about to

happen, greeted the Saxons with cheers

an d

sent

24

PlatolPs cavalry to

hinder

the

French

pursuit. The

Saxon generals (Zeschau an d Gersdorf) refused to

sanction this movement, but General von

Gersdorfs ambiguous written reply to a request to

defect did not help e1arify matters: Even now

every brave Saxon must fight with increased vigour

for the good of the Fatherland and for the King .

Thus

Napoleon lost a division, complete with

thirty-eight guns,

at

a most critical moment.

The

Saxon troops were sent to Leipzig after the

battle

to

be reorganized.

n llied Service

On 9October

Generalmajor von R

yssel

assumed

command

of the Saxon division, which was sent to

join Tauenzien s Prussian corps at the blockade of

Torgau. On 28 October

King Friedrich August

of

Saxony was taken into captivity by the Allies

an d

a

Russian, Prince Repnin, was appointed to govern

Saxony. Generallieutenant von Thielmann (pre

viously

commander of Tor gau and

now in Russian

service) assumed

command of

the Saxon army.

Dresden capitulated to the Allies on

November.

On 4November remnants of the Saxon army left

Torgau

and marched to Merseburg, where on the

15th a reorganization took place.

Four

old infantry

regiments von Niesemeuschel

,

von Rechten

,

on Low an d von SteindeJ ) were disbanded, and

the following units established:

Provisional

Garde Regiment of three battalions:

st

B n . - th e old Leib-Grenadier-Garde ; 2nd

B n . - th e old Bataillon

Konig ;

3rd Bn.-the

grenadiers of all remaining infantry regiments

Provisional 1st Line Infantry Regiment of

two bat

talions: mainly from the old regiment Prinz

Anton

Provisional

2nd

Line Infantry Regiment of two bat

talions: mainly from the regiment

P ri nz M ax

imilian an d the

disbanded

regiments von

Rechten an d on Steindel

1St Light Infantry Regiment of two battalions: the st

Bn.

ou t of

the old regiment von Lecoq , the 2nd

Bn.

of

reconvalescents an d ex-prisoners

of

war

2nd

i ht Infantry Regiment of two battalions: the St

Bn formed

of

ex-prisoners

of

war, the 2nd Bn.

of


24/48

G re n a d i e r

officer Inf.Regt.

Kurfiirst gala u n i f o r m

2 Sergeant Inf.Regt.

P r i n z Fri e d ri c h

8 6

3 NCO Saxon

H u ssar s

8 6

OO

8 6


25/48

3

RICH RD HOOK

2

Musketeer

Inf.Regt. v on

Thummel

8 6

2

Corporal

Inf.Regt. Pr inz Anton 8 6

3 Artil lery

officer

everyday dress 8 6

\

~ ~ /


26/48

Artillery s en io r

NCO

p a r a d e d r es s 80 6

M u s k eteer

officer Inf.Regt.

v on

Biinau

everyday d r es s 80 6

3

G r en ad ier Inf.Regt. v o n Biinau pa ra de d r es s 80 6

HOOK

3

c


27/48

Troopers

G ar de d u

Corps parade dress 806

RICH RD HOOK


28/48

OO

NCO

Chevauxlegers

Regt.

Prinz Clemens

8 6


29/48

,

P r e m i e r Lieutenant Saxon Light

Infantry 810- 8 3

Jager 8 0- 8 3

3

M u sk et eer d r u m m e r Inf.Regt.

Pr inz Friedrich

August

8 0- 8 3


30/48

Officer o f H u s sa r s Banner of Saxon Volunteers 8 3


31/48RI H RD HOD

.

;

P ri v a t e axon L a n d w e h r

F i e ld o f fi c er S a xo n L a n d w e h r

ger

zu

F u s s B a n n e r o f Saxon

V o l u n t e e r s


32/48

of

the old Light

Infantry

Reg imen t von

Jagers

Kiirassier Regimelll} h

h

. cae

0 tree

Ulallell Reglmellt

usaren Regiment squa rons

artillery

was re-formed into two foot batteries

of

eight guns and two horse batteries each

of

guns.

ellgilleers

alld

a bridgillg

Iraill

er the Austrian and Prussian models, a Land-

territorial defence force) was set up,

of

four regiments each

of

three

bat-

and a Banner

of

Volunteers

of

two

of light infantry

and

five squadrons of

sars was also raised.

here was a desperate shortage

of

everything

shirts

to

weapons and uniformity

of

dress was

to be seen. On November

in

an order

the day Generallicutcnant von

Thielmann

ged the national cockade from white

to

green,

and

black.

The

Saxons joined the II [

German

Army Corps

on 8 December.

was

commanded

by the Duke of

Saxe-Weimar a Russian general

of

cavalry) and in

cluded only the Saxons and a Fusilier Battalion from

Saxe-Weimar. During t8t4 the

Corps operated

in

the Netherlands a nd invested the fortress of

Maubeuge which agreed to an armistice on

April following Napoleon s abdication. While the

Saxon

Landwehr

now went home, the

army

moved

to

Aachen

and,

on 2t June, to the

area

Koblenz

Bonn on the Rhine.

On

9 August they moved

to

take possession of the Electorate of Hessen-Kassel,

which was being revived after having been sup

pressed by Napuleun in 18u6.

By

5 August they

returned to the Rhine.

On

8 Nov ember 1814,

in

accordance

wi

th a decision by the Congress

of

Vienna the Russian administration of Saxony was

handed over to Prussia, with Minister von der

Recke taking over the gove rnme nt

and

General

von

Gaudi

the army.

The

Saxon

army

remained

around

K6 n

on the Rhine.

The

King ofSaxony was

still a prisoner of the Allies in Berlin.

Standard

Gar de du Corps .8.0 .812.

White

cloth g ol d an d

blue

borders gold

embroidery and pike

tip red pike. This standard

was lost

in

Russia.

eschichte

der

SiU:hsi CMn

hxex

un d

StGftdarlcm

5


33/48

Obverse King s Colour Infantry

Regiment ~

Low 1 8 1 ~ 1 8 1 2 :

White

doth; gold cypher

shield

edging and

pike

tip;

lsteel grenades

with

red

and

yellow

8.a.rnes;

black border green

oak

leaves

brown acorns

and

white dUunonds. Reverse as

for

reverse of

cavalry Stalldards but with

white

corner

shields

bearins RS

in black. Gel ichichte

der

i hm heft Fahrte1l

und

St4ndiJrllm)

Napoleon s

return

to France from exile

in

Elba in

April

8 I5 threw the Congress of Vienna into chaos

an d

their armies into a frenzy

of

activity. General

von Lecoq had now been replaced as

commander

of

the Saxon field army by the ubiquitous General

lieutenant von

Thielmann who

had now transfer-

red to Prussian service.

He

was

undemandably

regarded by his one-time compatriots as a blataIll

opportunist

an d

was very unpopular.

On

7

April

he left to take over the

I Prussian corps an d

General von Ryssel assumed command

of

the

Saxons.

Th e

Congress

of

Vienna had meanwhile decided

thaI in

payment

for

Saxony s faithful service to the

Corsican dictator she should be divided, losing over

half her area

an d

nearly

half

her population to

greedy Prussia.

The

army too was to be divided, all

those living in the northern (new Prussian ) area

of

the kingdom being transferred to the Prussian

army.

When Marshal Blucher held a conference wiIh

I

I

i

Soldiers I have not spoken to you

for

a long time.

The circumstances which preveIlled this are known

to you. I have however alwa),s shared your fa Ie and

been touched by the many expressions

of

de

pendence, love

an d

loyalty which you have made.

Unavoidable

pressures have forced

me

to

pan

from you a great

number

of

your

comrades and give

them illlo foreign

sovereignty to

me a painful

process.

Only

few

of

you

ar e

left,

but it

is not

numbers but the inner strength, the spirit which

makes an army honourable.

You have always retained your courage and I

am convinced that this will be so in the future; but

good discipline, strict obedience to the orders of

your superiors,

prompt

fulfilment

of

all your duties

an d

good treatmeIll

of

the populace be

it

in an

allied

or

enemy

country are

also necessary

for

your

good reputation.

L et

it be

your

target that in all

Germany nay

the Saxon senior olficers

on

the evening

of

2

Ma y

1815 near Liege to discuss details

of

the division

of

the army neXI day, some members

of

the Pro

visional

Garde-Rcgimem

mutinied and conducted

a noisv

demonstrauon

outside Blucher s

headquar-

ters in protest

at

the impending division breaking

the

window of

his office

and causing

a great

disturbance. Order was restored; next day the

seven ringleaders were

courl-manialled

and shot

an d

the

Rag of

the regimenI ordered to be burned

publicly.

There

is

considerable

doubt

if

this lasI

order

was actually carried

out certainly

at least

the centre portion

of

the colour was smuggled

to

safety.

Th e

original plan for a quick division

of

the army

was replaced by a more gradual process which was

formulated in the area Venlo-Geldern-Krefeld

from

I I

to

Ma),.

The

Saxons then marched

east to Waldeck, where the king s proclamauon

of

abdication from north Saxony was read

10

them

an d

the division

of

the field army took place.

Prussia gained 6,807 men; 7,968 remained with

Saxony. This sorry

day

concluded with the new

Prussians being officially reminded

of

their loyalty

an d

duty

to King Friedrich Wilhelm Il l mora l e

can scarcely have been good.

Shortly

after

this a

proclamation of

King

Friedrich August

of

Saxony was read 10 his

remalnlllg troops.

,

,

I

,

_

... :.

0

,

:

I

0

I

I

I

,

~

~

: ,

,

,

26


34/48

_

Saddle furniture trooper Garde du

Corps

1806.

Oearly

shown are the black

sbeepskin saddle

cover red

sbabraque and pistol bolster covers white greatcoat

regi.menta1lace and the

musket

the muzzle up

position.

all Europe the name Saxon will only be

ken with honour. For my

part

you will always be

of

my consideration and paternal affection.

May

1815

Friedrich August

On

June the re-formation of the Saxon field

y was begun

at

Osnabriick. By 7

July

there

three line inrantry regiments each or two

and

one grenad ier battalions, a light

antry regiment two battalions) and a

Jager

The cavalry consisted of the Leib-

irassier-Garde , a regiment of Ulans a nd one of

The

artillery had four foot and two horse

Manpower came from the disbanded

ssian-German Legion, the Ba nn er of Saxon

and from the Saxon L an dweh r. On 8

ly the Saxon corps was attached to the Austrian

of the Upper Rhine under Prince Schwarz

berg; here they took

part

in the blockades

of

the

of Neu-Breisach and Schlettstadt, while

the reserve was at Colmar. Schlettstadt capitul.ated

on

August, Neu-Breisach somewhat later.

The

Saxons marched home at last on 20 November

,

8t

5

h ni trms

Infantry

Unifonns

1806

usketeer

rivates

Small bicorns with white p omp on ha vi ng a c en tr e

in thc facing colour, round white cockade

made

of

paper, white coat with facing colour on lapels,

collar and cuffs, white or yellow buttons. White

waistcoat and knee breeches, long black gaiters

with brass bu tto ns and shoes. White bandoliers,

square brass buckle on waistbelt front with Saxon

crest, calfskin pack, black cartridge pouch; musket

and bayonet, straight-bladed sword. Powdered

hair, one roll over each ear

and

a long pigtail bound

in black. R ed stock.


35/48

Table of

Saxon

RegUneDts, 1806

disbanded

8

disb

osprey .men at arms.#090. .napoleon's.german.allies.(3).saxony.1806 15.(1979)

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