AUSTRIAN GRENADIERS STANDING SHOULDER ARMS (NAPOLEONIC WARS)

When the wars with revolutionary France broke out (1792-1799), the Austrian army was perceived as one of the largest and strongest in Europe. It is true that she suffered a number of defeats during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), but during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) she was able to keep the field of the great Prussian army, and even (though rarely) deal defeats - as in the Battle of Kolin in 1757. The Austrian army also performed well during the War of the Bavarian Succession (1778-1779). However, despite the reforms carried out during the reign of Maria Theresa (1740-1780) and Joseph II (1780-1790), the Austrian army turned out to be inferior in the field to the troops of revolutionary and Napoleonic France, which was clearly demonstrated by the Italian campaign of 1796-1797 and such battles as Austerlitz (1805) or Wagram (1809). Given the above, it is not surprising that during the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) the Austrian army underwent changes and reforms (similarly to the Prussian army after 1806), and these changes most often affected the Austrian infantry. These changes also applied to grenadier units - the elite of Austrian infantry. Until 1805, the battalion of Austrian grenadiers consisted of 4 companies, while after 1809, battalions of 6 companies were introduced. In 1813, the Austrian army consisted of 15 grenadier battalions of 6 companies each and 6 battalions of 4 companies. The companies of grenadiers (after 1809) consisted of 60 to 100 soldiers. Like the rest of the Austrian infantry, the grenadiers wore white uniforms. In 1805, in the grenadier battalion, two companies wore fur coats and two - distinctive helmets. Simply put, it can be assumed that Austrian grenadiers in the period 1799-1815 used mainly two types of rifles: Infanteriegewehr M1798 and M1807, the weight of which ranged from 4.2 to 4.6 kilograms. Grenadier battalions had a well-deserved reputation for tough soldiers, with a high level of training and high combat value.