"I need some help understanding OOB" Topic

Greetings everyone, I have only recently started reading about the napoleonic wars, and I decided to focus (as many other, I guess) on the Peninsular war.

I have struggled a bit on OOB, though. I do not always understand everything I read. Let me show you an example:

II corps: Maréchal Bessières (Soult 11/9/08)
1st division: Général de division Merle
Brigade: Général de brigade Lefebyre
1/, 4/47th Line Regiment (2) (27/861)
etc …

and so on

Please help me read the regiment line:

First and Fourth battalions of the 47th Line Regiment?
(2) repeats the number of battalions once more?
(27? number of officials?)
861 should be total number of soldiers

This is the first question. I am sure that many more will arise, but this is where everything starts.

Thanks to whoever will enlighten me.

27/861 will no doubt be 27 officers and 861 other ranks

It is always helpful to direct us to your source, but yes I suspect the 2 refers to the number of battalions and otherwise as historyphd says.

John

I undestand too that the 47e de ligne had only two battalions there, 1st and 4th, with a total of 27 officers and 861 men…

Wow, already two answers!

My source is the Nafziger archive:

808KSCJ
French Army of Spain, 15 November 1808
PDF link

I am beginning some research on the battle of Gamonal. I started reading about it on the "Peninsular War Atlas" by Col. Lipscombe.

Exactly how I'd read it. For the cavalry, eg. guard Chasseurs a Cheval:
(4) (50/660) it'd be similar, but the (4) the number of squadrons present.

Ok the first question seems answered and I thank everyone.

Second question.

In the same OOB I read:

1/, 2/2nd & 1/, 2/3rd Swiss Line regiment (63/1063)

So it should be first and second battalions of the second Swiss regiment and first and second battalions of the 3rd Swiss regiment. 1063 soldiers in four battalions.

According to what has been discussed before, can anyone guess why there is not written (4)?

Third question:

In the 2nd division I read:

2nd légère regiment (44/1856)

How can I tell the number of battalions? If not written is there a fixed number in 1808?

Any link or reading that can help?

"there is not written (4)"
Too few men … the battalions woiuld be only ~250 men each. The number of officers looks more like nearly enough for 4 battlaions. So, it looks like it might be some sort of composite formation, using men from 4 understrength or incomplete battalions. I guess they would form as two battalions, each ~500 men and ~30 officers

For you second question, looking at the numbers, I would guess 3 battalions.

In general, you would need to locate some other sources to confirm such details.

For sources, good and in English is Oman link
(I linked volume 4, there are others – should all be free online)

Do you have the French language ?

Thanks Seroga!

I have found and read Oman. It's indeed a mine of information.

Yes I can read french. I could not say a word but reading is not that difficult, being italian.

Most like Oman, but in French, par le comte Foy : link

To see and download GoogleBooks from Europe, sometimes it is better to use a USA-based proxy server : proxy.org
Look for people and battles, etc. in French language using GoogleBooks search, confine the results to "full text" or dates before 1925.

Info about a good bibliography of French regimental histories up tp 1913 discusssed here : link . You can find many o fthese (but not all) online.

Online collection of Bibl. Nat'l. de France, with a rather good search engine : http:gallica.bnf.fr

For another English language view there is "History of the War in the Peninsula" by Major General Sir William Napier link (Volume 1), and another French woulld be "Histoire du Consulat et de l'Empire" by Adolphe Thiers gutenberg.org/ebooks/27380 (link is to Volume 1 of 20, you will need to go along a bit until 1808).

An much better multi-volume work, written by a committee of French generals, is "Victoires, conquêtes, désastres, revers et guerres civiles des Français, de 1792 à 1815" – available online form google and Gallica I think.
Excellent for the sieges is "Journaux des sièges faits et soutenus par les Français dans la Péninsule, de 1807 à 1814".

Records of La Légion d'Honneur, with new service records being added often : link . For more biographical info, look for "Fastes de la Légion d'Honneur".

Also look for online versions of the "Almanch Impérial" and the "État-militaire" for the years of interest.

Other than Oman (and maybe Napier) look for French info in French.

That's a good start, I hope.