"Grenadiers attached to French battalion often or not?" Topic

I'm working on 1809 stuff, and wonder if the regiment/brigade would have grouped the grenadiers together to make a sort of smallish battalion or if these grenadier companies would have stuck to their parent battalions. I have read the Austrians removed grenadiers to make composite units, but on average the French reading material seems to be conflicting (discussing depot and 4th and 5th battalions).

French kept their Grenadier companies while the Austrians converged theirs. But then the Austrians had no Guard

Didn't Oudinot's "Corps" appear in the 1809 campaign, made up of parts of many different regiments, including some composite battalions of grenadiers and voltigeurs? I do not paint – or study – anything other than the Peninsular War, so am really behind the curve on this one.

GdeP

I am not sure when they were disbanded but this article may be of interest

link

Regards

Yes, Oudinot, that is where the confusion comes in, according to Gill, in the first installment of Thunder on the Danube. Perhaps there would be an opportunity to model some interesting composite units.

Oudinot's grenadiers were the last time grenadier and carabineer coys were formally converged in the French Army. The Austrians continued to make separate battalions of their grenadiers until they finally disappeared from the orbat in the mid 19th Century.

Oman has grenadiers from 45th, 63rd and 95th Line and 4th Poles converged into eleven companies with one thousand men and 33 officers at Albuera as part of .

They were engaged against the Spanish Murcia and Canarias regiments who held them until the British 2/34th and 2/39th passed through the Spanish lines and fought them off. Martinien shows four officers killed and nine wounded of the 33, so the unit was quite heavily engaged.

I have quite a few grenadier figures surplus to requirements, so have been planning to use them in this unit.

The French were known to do it.
It was not a standard organization as was the Austrian, Prussian and Russian beyond that of Oudinot's ( 1805 was mainly true as elite being the elite co of the 3rd and 4th depot battalions) up to 1809.
There is a good TMP thread on that. I can't locate it at the moment since at work.
It would be by individual command ( Lannes did it in 1806 at the disagreement of his colonels)
AS plutarch 64 illustrates, it was conducted in Spain throughout.
SO as GM you should allow it for your players.
It may weaken the line units, as a provision for doing so.

MG

Good stuff!

Plutarch 64's note about the grenadiers:

45th; 63rd; and 94th must have been on loan from the 1st Corps in Spain. 63rd wore shakos with peculiar brass "flower" as holder form the scarlet plume on front of shako. The 94th had NO brass plate on the bearskin, but used all red cords,flounders and plume on the side.

No idea about the 45th. Lost their eagle at Waterloo.

GdeP

Found this older thread on this topic.
TMP link