""Grande garde"" Topic
7 Posts
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| Teodoro de Reding | 10 Dec 2017 2:38 p.m. PST |
I'm about to refight the Battle of Valls (25th Feb 1809, Catalonia). In Phase 1, Reding's Spansh advance guard crosses a bridge and clashes with French divisional pickets, who are then supported by the ‘grande garde' as more Spanish file over the bridge, and finally by the whole division (as the whole Spanish force comes across.
This French division is Souham's (pretty veteran) division, 10 batts, 5,500 to 7,000 – depending who you read. Has anyone any idea how many men would constitute the "grand garde" for a division??
Thanks for any info |
 ColCampbell  | 10 Dec 2017 4:03 p.m. PST |
They would probably be the parent unit (or units) that supplied the pickets. So I would think for a 10-battalion division, that it might be a single battalion. Jim |
| Oliver Schmidt | 10 Dec 2017 4:46 p.m. PST |
According to Duhesme, a grand'garde had the strength of uop to 120 men: Duhesme If the front to be guarded was more extendend, I believe there were several grand'gardes. |
| ColCampbell | 10 Dec 2017 8:56 p.m. PST |
Then that would make it the company to which the pickets belonged. For a line battalion, it would probably be the voltiguer company. Jim |
| Oliver Schmidt | 11 Dec 2017 12:50 a.m. PST |
Duhesme says that usually the grand'garde will be composed of men taken from all the companies of the battalion assigned to the outpost duties. The advantage of this is that if the grand'garde is surprised and lost, all companies of the battalion remain functional. |
| Teodoro de Reding | 11 Dec 2017 5:58 a.m. PST |
Thanks, very helpful.
So we have one battalion that would be assigned to outpost duties – and that battalion woulkd provide (today)
- pickets (just at a brdge)
- the 'grand garde' at company strength
- the whole outpost battalion (which would be on a greater stage of alert and finally
the whole division turns out. A dictionary definition is 'le gros' – the main body – more like Jim's two proposals. But had always thought it was a kind of bigger picket – and the Duhesme bit is pretty clear: a company sized force drawn from all companies of the battalion
Thanks to both of you |
| Oliver Schmidt | 11 Dec 2017 6:02 a.m. PST |
I don't think the battalion providing the outposts would be on a greater stage of alert. I believe it would just camp and sleep (with the exception of the guards in the camp, hopefully) together with the other battalions of the division. |
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