"James Aronld Book Napoleon Counquers Austria " Topic

Later this year a group of friends are doing a re fight of the Battle of Aspen Essling, have the James Arnold book Napoleon Conquers Austria, it the order of battle it says that Messena corps has not guns attached to his corps?.
Have have the order of battle from the Nagzer list showing he had artillery on the battle field, is this right.
I have also looked at other order of Battle and they all come up that he had Artillery with his corps, so I do not understand why in James Arnold book has none with his corps?
Which is right?.
Darren

I don't know, but for Aspern-Essling you may want to introduce a random element to determine what actually got across the Danube bridge and on to the battlefield.

That MAY account for the lack of artillery. But that's just a guess.

HI
We are using a set of cards that a drawn every hour, one card will have the Pontoon bridge has been damaged, with more cards added for the second days fighting.
Once the damage card has been drawn it will be placed back into the deck, we have a list of troops crossing and times.

Sounds good.

I just looked at my copy of N Conquers Austria and I may be misreading something, but it seems to show that Massena had 64 guns total. It shows that he had 2 batteries of 8 guns in corps reserve of which at least 1 is a 12 lbr battery. Again, I may be reading it incorrectly and since the corps order of battle seems to continue from page 208 to 209, I may be confusing things. Armies on the Danube by Scott Bowden and Charles Tarbox show the same 2 12 lbr batteries as corps reserve. I hope that helps.

Gill is the best researched work on this. He gives 56 guns altogether. But he doesn't give details: just the number of companies and the men in each. Bowden/Tarbox give full details, showing 62. But they say that the Baden artillery was detached, and Gill (who has been through the Baden sources) says that the Baden foot battery was present with one regiment of the infantry. I think Gill leaves out 2 foot batteries.

Yet another source, Castle in the Osprey agrees with Arnold's 64.

So, using Gill's numbers and Bowden/Tarbox compositions I would say:
Legrand: 1 French horse 6(4 6pdr, 2 how), 1 Baden foot 8(6 6pdr, 2 how)
Carra St-Cyr: 1 French horse 6 (4 6pdr, 2 how)and 1 Hesse-Darmstadt foot 8 (7 6pdr, 1 how).
Molitor and Boudet 1 French foot company each, both with just 6 6 pdrs
Reserve: 2 foot companies 8, (6 12pdr, 2 how, and 2 12pdr, 4 6pdr, 2 how).

That's 56. To get it up to 64 add in a French foot battery (6 6pdr, 2 how) to Molitor or Carra St Cyr.

All the howitzers are shown as being the An XI 5.5in ones.

Matthew

Hi
looking in the book on page 254 the list for Messena show no Artillery with his corps?, is this a mistake in the order of battle?.
I read another order of battle that say he had 56 guns.