FRENCH INFANTRY PENINSULA WAR 1807-14

During the revolutionary wars (1792-1799) and - especially - in the Napoleonic period (1799-1815), France probably had the most efficient war machine on the Old Continent, which almost led to its lasting hegemony over Europe. It will be a truism to say that the key element of this machine was the French army. In the same army, of course, line infantry played a very important role. Shortly after the outbreak of the Revolution, the units formed during the Ancien Regime period were separated from the volunteer units, but already in 1793 an amalgam decree was issued, which created half-brigades of line infantry consisting of the "old" line infantry battalion and two volunteer battalions. However, in 1803 Napoleon restored the regimental system. The French Line Infantry Regiment from 1803 consisted of 3 battalions, and each battalion was divided into 9 infantry companies. Another reorganization took place in 1808, when the two regiments were combined into brigades. On the other hand, the number of battalions in the regiment increased to four, one of which was in-house and did not move into the field. In addition, line battalions already had 6, not 9 companies. From 1808, the French line infantry regiment had as many as 3,970 people. In 1812, just before the campaign in Russia, the French line infantry numbered 130 regiments. The basic armament of the French infantryman was a model 1777 or AN IX rifle with a length of 1.52 meters and a caliber of 15.5 to 17.5 mm. There was also a bayonet. It is worth adding, however, that the French infantry also used captured weapons on a large scale - including Russian or British rifles.