"Question about French Napoleonic Skirmishers ..." Topic

Was this function performed by the light infantry or did the line infantry do it as well? Were there specific skirmisher units and if so what were they called?

Same question as it applies to the Prussians .... Did the Landwehr units perform the skirmishing role?

Thanks!

French line infantry was trained to do it as well but each line battalion had it's own company of light infantry comprised of Voltiguers. So there was always some element of any French regiment capable of skirmishing effectively.

Then there were whole regiments of light infantry caled the Legere.

The Young Guard served primarily as light infantry in many engagements and were often committed to action - unlike the Old Guard.

By the way, Auggie, I saw you on the Office with yer buddy Gareth. Auggie, Auggie, Auggie!! ;)

Thanks Flashman but I don't get the office thing with Gareth. Sorry.

The Legere regiments considered themselves superior to their fellow line regiments because of their ability to skirmish. In the ordinary Line regiments each battalion had their own voltigeur company as well as a grenadier company which could skirmish.
The voltigeurs were distinguished by epaulettes, plumes, shako cords and sword knots in various colour combinations of green, yellow and red.

My understanding is that the only difference between Ligne and Legere what one of uniform and "élan", their battlefield roles being for the most part identical - both were line infantry with a light company in each battalion, voltigeurs in the case of Ligne, chasseurs in the Légere.

Cheers/Fredrik

...the difference WAS one of uniform... My speling skills aren't up to par today.

I agree with fredrik there was little practical difference between line and legere regiments. There were some uniform differences and some terminology differences.

The elite companies of line battalions were grenadiers and voltigeurs. The elite companies of legere battalions were grenadiers and tirailleurs.

These companies could skermish, as for the rest of the battalion it depended on the particular year and trining of the troops. For example in 1805 the entire battalion of either line or legere could probably skirmish. In 1814 it was most likely only the elite companies of these battalions due to the number of inexperienced conscripts in the French army. I

With the Prussians it gets complicated, fusiliers were light infantry, but also the 3rd rank of musketeer battalions could be used as skirmish troops. It appears whole battalions of line or landwehr musketeers were ordered into the skirmish line without regards to their training.

Read the two Peter Hofschroer books on the Waterloo campaign for good Prussian information.

The elite companies of French legere battalions were carabiniers and voltigeurs, not 'grenadiers and tirailleurs.' The center or battalion companies of ligne and legere units were fusiliers and chasseurs, respectively. Elite companies in ligne battalions were grenadiers and voltigeurs.

The voltigeurs were not 'official' until 1805, though many, if not most, regiments had eclaireur (scout) companies in their battalions before then. The voltigeurs were short men, outstanding soldiers that were too short to be either grenadiers or carabiniers. They were efficient, and with the grenadiers/carabiniers, were always kept up to 'war' strength.

While the legere regiments were trained and equipped the same as the ligne units, there was a definite difference between them. Legere outfits had a tradition of advance, flank, and rearguard service, of raids and ambuscades, and of fighting in open order, sometimes as whole regiments. Napoleon tried to assign one legere regiment to each infantry division and gradually increased the arm's strength. It was also tradition that the legere regiment's led all attacks. Massena overlooked this fact once and was bluntly informed of his error.

Ligne outfits, as has been previously stated, could also skirmish, fight in open order, and operate in that capacity quite well. Davout's corps usually only had one legere regiment, and it didn't hamper his operations. Even in 1813, French commanders would deploy entire regiments in open order or as skirmishers. Many times the Frnech would fight as a heavy skirmish line on both offense and defense instead of the regulation three-deep line.

For the Prussians, it would also be helpful to read Yorck and the Era of Prussian Reform by Peter Paret, Prussian Military Reforms 1806-1813 by William O. Shanahan, and The Enlightened Soldier by Charles White. All three have worked from Prussian/German primary source material and give a very interesting picture of the Prussian Army of 1806 and 1813.

Auggie,

For the majority of the Napoleonic period "theoretically" all battalions could skirmish to a degree. As mentioned the third rank was often considered the basis for battalion skirmishers, esp. in the days prior to any fixed skirmish companies at battalion level.

However there is a big difference between theoretical ability and actual practice. In reality line battalions were only rarely deployed in skirmish order, and this was usually restricted to those line battalions which were well trained and drilled in such manoeuvres, as has been mentioned.

Yes, Prussian landwehr were occasionally thrown out into skirmish order but this was more often to support/reinforce an already established skirmish line made up of genuine light troops, jagers or fusiliers. And I wouldn’t expect too much from these landwehr skirmishers or indeed ever expect to see them again once they had disappeared into the smoke!

Hence the vast majority on Napoleonic commanders stuck with using just the light battalions in the skirmish role, but even then the whole battalion was rarely deployed as such, more often than not it was just the dedicated light companies of the battalions.

DB