| VIII Corps | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1805–1807 1812–1814 |
| Country |  First French Empire |
| Branch | French Imperial Army |
| Size | Corps |
| Engagements | War of the Third Coalition War of the Fourth Coalition Russian campaign War of the Sixth Coalition |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Jean-Andoche Junot André Masséna Édouard Mortier Józef Poniatowski Dominique Vandamme |
TheVIII Corps of theGrande Armée was a French military unit that existed during theNapoleonic Wars. EmperorNapoleon I formed it in 1805 by borrowing divisions from other corps and assigned it toMarshalÉdouard Mortier. MarshalAndré Masséna's Army of Italy was also reorganized as the VIII Corps at the end of the 1805 campaign. The corps was reformed for the 1806 campaign under Mortier and spent the rest of the year mopping up Prussian garrisons in western Germany.
A new VIII Corps was formed from Westphalians for theFrench invasion of Russia in 1812 and placed under Junot's command once more. The corps was effectively destroyed during the retreat. The following year, the corps was rebuilt with Polish units and assigned toJózef Poniatowski. The VIII Corps fought in the 1813 German campaign and ceased to exist after theBattle of Leipzig.
The corps was first called into existence during theWar of the Third Coalition in 1805. After destroying much of theAustrian Empire's military strength in theUlm campaign, Napoleon ordered his generals to advance toward the Austrian capital ofVienna. The emperor formed a new VIII Corps under Mortier and assigned four divisions to the new organization. Mortier's task was to operate on the north bank of theDanube and protect the French army's strategic left flank.[1] The divisions were led by GeneralsJean-Baptiste Dumonceau,Honoré Théodore Maxime Gazan de la Peyrière,Pierre Dupont de l'Etang, andLouis Klein. Dumonceau's division transferred from theII Corps, Gazan's from theV Corps, Dupont's from theVI Corps, and Klein's from theI Cavalry Corps.[2] On 11 November 1805, Mortier with the 5,000 men of Gazan's division bumped into a greatly superior force of Russians and Austrians. In theBattle of Dürenstein, Gazan suffered 3,000 casualties but was saved from annihilation when Dupont's division arrived later in the day. Neither Klein nor Dumonceau were engaged in the action.[3] The VIII Corps missed theBattle of Austerlitz.[4]
Even after his decisive triumph at Austerlitz, Napoleon believed Archduke Charles' large army to be a threat. Therefore, he ordered Masséna to reorganize hisArmy of Italy as the VIII Corps. Masséna was to march east with his main body while sending his heavy cavalry toGraz. GeneralAuguste de Marmont assembled at Graz with the II Corps while MarshalMichel Ney arrived atKlagenfurt with the VI Corps. The emperor placed MarshalLouis-Nicolas Davout'sIII Corps atBratislava (Pressburg) and MarshalJean-de-Dieu Soult'sIV Corps south of Vienna. In this way, Charles' army was totally contained. On 26 December, theTreaty of Pressburg was signed, ending the war.[5]
During theWar of the Fourth Coalition, the VIII Corps was re-established atMainz under Mortier. Together with troops from theKingdom of Holland under KingLouis Bonaparte, the corps defended against a westward thrust by Prussian forces in the formerElectorate of Hanover.[6] On 17 October 1806, Napoleon ordered Mortier to seizeFulda while Louis was to capturePaderborn andMünster. From these locations they would converge onKassel whose ruler,William I, Elector of Hesse the emperor wished to depose.[7] On 1 November, Mortier entered Kassel from the south with GeneralLoison's 5,500-man division composed of three French light infantry regiments. Louis arrived from the north with Dutch soldiers a few hours later to complete the bloodless conquest. On 7 November, the French and their allies arrived nearHamelin (Hameln). Two days later, Louis pleaded illness and withdrew from the campaign.[8]
Mortier left Dumonceau's Dutch division to carry out theSiege of Hameln. Though Dumonceau's 6,000 soldiers outnumbered by GeneralKarl Ludwig von Lecoq's 10,000 defenders, the operation was a success.[9] GeneralAnne Jean Marie René Savary showed up on 19 November 1806 with a preliminary armistice in which all Prussian fortresses were to be surrendered. Though the document was not ratified, Savary used it to bully Lecoq into capitulating.[10] Afterward the Dutch Division marched toNienburg where it accepted the surrender of 2,911 Prussian soldiers on 26 November.[9]
The VIII Corps was involved in the unsuccessfulSiege of Kolberg from 20 March to 2 July 1807. Mortier's 14,000 men and 41 guns included the Fusilier-Chasseurs and Fusilier-Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard under Savary, Loison's French division of six infantry battalions and nine cavalry squadrons, GeneralCharles Louis Dieudonné Grandjean's Dutch contingent with 12 battalions and two hussar regiments, six Italian battalions with supporting cavalry, two Polish battalions, and seven German battalions. The VIII Corps lost 5,000 killed, wounded, or died of illness. The defenders of the 230-gun Kolberg fortress lost 3,000 of the 6,000-man garrison killed, wounded, or died of disease.[11] In June, however, Mortier was called to join the main army. He led 8,465 foot soldiers and 1,200 horsemen in the thick of the action at theBattle of Friedland on 14 June 1807. GeneralPierre-Louis Dupas led the all-French 1st Division, GeneralJean Henri Dombrowski commanded the all-Polish 2nd Division, and GeneralMaurice Ignace Fresia directed the Dutch and Polish cavalry contingent.[12]
The corps was reconstituted for theinvasion of Russia and leadership was given to Vandamme. Together with the V Corps (Poles),VII Corps (Saxons), andIV Cavalry Corps, it was assigned to the 2nd Support Army underJérôme Bonaparte. All the corps troops belonged to Jérôme'sKingdom of Westphalia. GeneralJean Victor Tharreau commanded the 1st Division and General von Ochs led the 2nd Division. On 24 June 1812, the corps consisted of 15,885 infantry in 18 battalions, 2,050 cavalry in 12 squadrons, and 34 artillery pieces. Jérôme's inexperience as a general was mitigated by the appointment of GeneralJean Gabriel Marchand as his chief of staff.[13] Nevertheless, after being harshly criticized in a letter by his brother, Jérôme resigned his command on 14 July and went home.[14] The command of the corps passed to Junot.[15]
At theBattle of Valutino on 18 August 1812, the VIII Corps was ordered to cross theDnieper River and block the retreat of the Russian Army towardMoscow. After taking a long time to cross the river, Junot failed to advance any farther, allowing the Russians to escape.[16] At theBattle of Borodino on 7 September, the corps started out in reserve along with theImperial Guard and the reserve cavalry.[17] By 8:30 AM, Junot's men were sent into action. At 10:00 AM they joined theI Corps and III Corps in a massed attack on theflèches which was successful.[18] Tharreau was among Borodino's many fatalities.[19] That autumn, theGrande Armée withdrew from Moscow. By the time they reachedSmolensk, the combined V and VIII Corps counted no more than 1,500 men.[20]
In the following year, PrinceJózef Poniatowski was appointed to command the VIII Corps, which was rebuilt as an all-Polish unit. At theBattle of Leipzig on 16–19 October 1813 the corps consisted of the 26th Infantry Division under General Kaminiecki, the 27th Infantry Division led by General ofJean Henri Dombrowski (Jan Henryk Dąbrowski), the 27th Light Cavalry Brigade under GeneralJan Nepomucen Umiński, and the 44 guns of the corps artillery under Colonel Redel.[21] MarshalJoachim Murat assumed command of a wing that included the II, V, and VIII Corps plus cavalry. His orders were to delay the advance of theArmy of Bohemia from the south.[22] On 16 October, the 26th Division fought near the villages ofMarkkleeberg and Dölitz in the southern part of the battlefield.[23] Meanwhile, Dombrowski's division became involved in the fighting to the north.[24] During the rear guard fighting on the 19th, a panicky sapper prematurely blew up the bridge over theWhite Elster River, trapping the VII, VIII, and XI Corps in Leipzig. The wounded Poniatowski drowned trying to cross the river and the encircled troops surrendered.[25]
MarshalÉdouard Mortier
Source:Smith, Digby (1998).The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. p. 213.ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
Marshal Édouard Mortier
Source:Smith, Digby (1998).The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. p. 233.ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
General of Division Jean-Andoche Junot (8,900, 30 guns)
Source:Mikaberizde, Alexander; Vovsi, Eman (2007)."The Battle of Borodino: Order of Battle of the Allied Army". The Napoleon Series. Retrieved20 December 2012.
MarshalJózef Poniatowski †
Source:Millar, Stephen (2004)."French Order of Battle at Leipzig: The Northern Sector". The Napoleon Series. Retrieved18 October 2013.
Source:Millar, Stephen (2004)."French Order of Battle at Leipzig: The Southern Sector". The Napoleon Series. Retrieved18 October 2013.