VIII Corps (Grande Armée)

The VIII Corps of the Grande Armée was the name of a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. Emperor Napoleon formed it in 1805 by borrowing divisions from other corps and assigned it to Marshal Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier. Marshal André 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.

After Jean-Andoche Junot's Army of Portugal was repatriated after the Convention of Cintra in 1808, it was reconstituted as the VIII Corps. However, Junot's command was broken up before the end of the year. In 1809, the soldiers from the Kingdom of Württemberg were formed into a new VIII Corps under the leadership of Dominique Vandamme. After seeing a few battles, they were used to protect Napoleon's rear areas. By January 1810 a new VIII Corps was created in Spain and placed under Junot. This unit participated in Masséna's invasion of Portugal before being discontinued in 1811.

A new VIII Corps was formed from Westphalians for the 1812 French invasion of Russia and placed under Junot's command. The corps was effectively destroyed during the retreat. The following year, the corps was rebuilt with Polish units and assigned to Józef Poniatowski. The VIII Corps fought in the fall 1813 campaign and ceased to exist after the Battle of Leipzig.

1805


The corps was first called into existence during the War of the Third Coalition in 1805. After destroying much of the Austrian Empire's military strength in the Ulm Campaign, Emperor Napoleon ordered his generals to advance toward the Austrian capital of Vienna. The emperor formed a new VIII Corps under Marshal Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier and assigned four divisions to the new organization. Mortier's task was to operate on the north bank of the Danube River and protect the French army's strategic left flank. The divisions were led by Generals of Division Jean-Baptiste Dumonceau, Honoré Théodore Maxime Gazan, Pierre Dupont, and Louis Klein. Dumonceau's division transferred from the II Corps, Gazan's from the V Corps, Dupont's from the VI Corps, and Klein's from the Cavalry Corps. 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 the Battle 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. The VIII Corps missed the Battle of Austerlitz.

Even after his decisive triumph at Austerlitz, Emperor Napoleon believed Archduke Charles' large army to be a threat. Therefore, he ordered Marshal André Masséna to reorganize his Army of Italy as VIII Corps. Masséna was to march east with his main body while sending his heavy cavalry to Graz. General of Division Auguste Marmont assembled at Graz with the II Corps while Marshal Michel Ney arrived at Klagenfurt with the VI Corps. The emperor placed Marshal Louis Nicolas Davout's III Corps at Bratislava (Pressburg) and Marshal Nicolas Soult's IV Corps south of Vienna. In this way, Charles' army was totally contained. On 26 December, the Treaty of Pressburg was signed, ending the war.

1806–1807


In the War of the Fourth Coalition, the VIII Corps was re-established at Mainz under Mortier. Together with troops from the Kingdom of Holland under King Louis Bonaparte, the corps defended against a westward thrust by the Prussian forces in the former Electorate of Hanover. On 17 October 1806, Napoleon ordered Mortier to seize Fulda while Louis was to capture Paderborn and Münster. From these locations they would converge on Kassel whose ruler, William I, Elector of Hesse the emperor wished to depose. On 1 November, Mortier entered Kassel from the south with General of Division Louis Henri Loison'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 near Hamelin (Hameln). Two days later, Louis pleaded illness and withdrew from the campaign.

Mortier left Dumonceau's Dutch division to carry out the Siege of Hameln. Though Dumonceau's 6,000 soldiers and 12 guns were outnumbered by General Karl Ludwig von Lecoq's 10,000 defenders, the operation was a success. General of Division Anne 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. Afterward the Dutch Division marched to Nienburg where it accepted the surrender of 2,911 Prussian soldiers on 26 November.

The VIII Corps was involved in the unsuccessful Siege 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, General of Division Charles 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. 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 the Battle of Friedland on 14 June 1807. General of Division Pierre-Louis Dupas led the all-French 1st Division, General of Division Jean Henri Dombrowski commanded the all-Polish 2nd Division, and General of Brigade Maurice Ignace Fresia directed the Dutch and Polish cavalry contingent.

1808–1809


In late 1807, General of Division Jean-Andoche Junot led a small army in the initially successful Invasion of Portugal. The French troops were isolated there when the Peninsular War broke out first in Spain, then in Portugal. After being defeated by the British at the Battle of Vimeiro, Junot's army was repatriated to France by the Convention of Cintra, signed on 22 August 1808. Upon return, the troops became the VIII Corps under Junot with three divisions. On 10 October, there were 25,730 men on the muster rolls of whom 2,137 were detached and 3,523 were in hospital. The corps had only a brief existence before being dissolved in December 1808. Junot's cavalry units were provisional; these were dispersed to join their regular regiments. General of Division Loison's 2nd Division was entirely broken up and distributed to other corps. General of Division Étienne Heudelet de Bierre's 3rd Division became the 4th Division of Soult's II Corps. General of Division Henri François Delaborde's 1st Division became the 3rd Division of II Corps.

During the War of the Fifth Coalition, General of Division Dominique Vandamme assumed command of the Württemberg Corps. This unit consisted of a 3-brigade infantry division under General-Leutnant Baron von Neubronn, a two-brigade cavalry division led by General-Leutnant Freiherr von Wöllwarth, a 10-gun foot artillery company, and two 6-gun horse artillery companies. Vandamme's troops were involved in the Battle of Abensberg on 20 April 1809. At the Battle of Eckmühl on 22 April the Württembergers lost 15 killed, 98 wounded and two captured. By 17 May, when the Kingdom of Württemberg troops were engaged in the Battle of Linz-Urfahr they were officially called the VIII Corps. The corps missed the Battle of Wagram because it was serving as a garrison for Vienna. On 5 July 1809, the unit counted 10,793 soldiers including 7,560 infantry, 2,130 cavalry, and 34 guns.

1810–1811
In the 1809 war, a formation known as the Reserve Corps of the Army of Germany was assembled. This later became a new VIII Corps that served in Spain in 1810. The Reserve Corps was under the command of Marshal François Christophe de Kellermann. Its three divisions were led by Generals of Division Olivier Rivaud de la Raffinière, Eloi Laurent Despeaux, and Joseph Lagrange. Rivaud's 1st Division was composed of three brigades under Generals of Brigade Charles Malo François Lameth, Eloi Charlemagne Taupin, and Jean-André Valletaux. Each brigade was made up of three 4th Battalions. Despeaux's 2nd Division and Lagrange's 3rd Division were formed from provisional units.



This corps was ordered to march to Spain and its first units reached Burgos around 1 January 1810. On 15 January, the new corps was massed at Burgos under the command of Junot and consisted of three divisions under Generals of Division Bertrand Clausel, Lagrange, and Jean Baptiste Solignac. Clausel's 1st Division numbered 10,777 men in 12 battalions, Lagrange's 2nd Division counted 10,343 soldiers in 13 battalions, and Solignac's 3rd Division had 8,074 troops in 12 battalions. General of Brigade Charles Marie Robert Escorches de Saint-Croix led 5,479 dragoons in 32 squadrons. There were 1,710 gunners, sappers, and wagon drivers, 866 men detached to garrison Burgos, and 88 members of the staff. The grand total was 37,337 soldiers of whom 956 officers and 32,239 men were present under arms.

The VIII Corps moved into the Province of León in February. Clausel scouted the region and sent a summons of surrender to the city of Astorga on 26 February 1810. This was refused by its governor, General José María Santocildes even though the ancient walls mounted only 14 guns, the heaviest of which were two 12-pound pieces. No siege guns were immediately available, but a large convoy with heavy artillery was plodding slowly across Spain. But Junot was too impatient to wait for it. Anxious to erase the stain of his defeat at Vimeiro, Junot obtained Spanish fortress guns from Burgos and Segovia to form his own siege train. On 15 March he directed his troops to march on Astorga. Clausel's division began the Siege of Astorga on 21 March while Saint-Croix's dragoons covered the siege from La Bañeza and Solignac supported the operation from León and Benavente. Because the guns had not arrived, Clausel's men occupied themselves by digging the first parallel and preparing artillery positions.

When General Nicolás de Mahy assembled 5,000 troops, Junot ordered Clausel's division to oppose them, while sending Solignac's division and one of Lagrange's brigades into the trenches. Saint-Croix routed a Spanish detachment on 10 April near Alcañizas. On 15 April the small siege train finally arrived and the guns were mounted in batteries. By noon on the 21st a breach was battered in the wall at the northwest corner. The evening, 700 men from the elite companies of the 47th Line Infantry and Irish Regiments seized the breach and a house just inside the wall. Though they were blocked from advancing any farther, Santocildes capitulated the next morning because his men had shot away most of their ammunition. The siege cost the French 160 killed and 400 wounded of whom 112 were killed and 294 were wounded in the assault. The Spanish suffered only 51 killed and 109 wounded, but 2,500 were captured.

Clausel's and Solignac's divisions of Junot's corps joined the II Corps and the VI Corps in Marshal André Masséna's 1810 invasion of Portugal. VIII Corps was not engaged during the Battle of Bussaco. When Masséna's army arrived before the Lines of Torres Vedras, Clausel's men clashed with the defenders in the Battle of Sobral in mid-October. Checked before the Lines, the French army starved and the unsuccessful invasion caused serious losses in VIII Corps. Clausel's division shrank from 6,794 men on 15 September 1810, to 3,610 men on 15 March 1811. By the latter date, the 4th Battalions of the division were so weak that the cadres had to be sent home and the survivors distributed to II Corps units. Solignac's division diminished from 7,226 men on 15 September 1810, to 4,553 men on 15 March 1811. Solignac's division was present at the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro on 3–5 May 1811. It was not engaged and suffered only two men wounded. After Marshal Auguste Marmont replaced Masséna in command, the army's three corps were suppressed and the troops reorganized into independent divisions. The new 5th and 6th Divisions under Generals of Division Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune and Antoine François Brenier de Montmorand were created from units of VIII Corps and of Loison's VI Corps division.

1812–1813


The corps was reconstituted for the French invasion of Russia and leadership was given to Vandamme. Together with the V Corps (Poles), VII Corps (Saxons), and IV Cavalry Corps, it was assigned to the 2nd Support Army under King Jerome Bonaparte. All the corps troops belonged to Jerome's Kingdom of Westphalia. General of Division Jean Victor Tharreau commanded the 1st Division and General of Division 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. Later, command of the corps passed to Junot. Jerome's inexperience as a general was mitigated by the appointment of General of Division Jean Gabriel Marchand as his chief of staff. Nevertheless, after being harshly criticized in a letter by his imperial brother, Jerome resigned his command on 14 July and went home.

At the Battle of Valutino on 18 August 1812, the VIII Corps was ordered to cross the Dnieper River and block the retreat of the Russian army toward Moscow. After taking a long time to cross the river, Junot failed to advance any farther, allowing the Russians to escape. At the Battle of Borodino on 7 September, the corps started out in reserve along with the Imperial Guard and the reserve cavalry. By 8:30 AM, Junot's men were sent into action. At 10:00 AM they joined the I Corps and III Corps in a massed attack on the flèches which was successful. Tharreau was among Borodino's many fatalities. That autumn, the Imperial armies withdrew from Moscow. By the time they reached Smolensk, the combined V and VIII Corps counted no more than 1,500 men.

In the following year, Prince Józef Poniatowski was appointed to command the VIII Corps, which was rebuilt as an all-Polish unit. At the Battle of Leipzig on 16–19 October 1813 the corps consisted of the 26th Infantry Division under General of Division Kaminiecki, the 27th Infantry Division led by General of Division Jean Henri Dombrowski (Jan Henryk Dąbrowski), the 27th Light Cavalry Brigade of Brigadier General Jan Nepomucen Umiński, and the 44 guns of the corps artillery under Colonel Redel. Marshal Joachim Murat assumed command of a wing that included the II, V, and VIII Corps plus cavalry. His orders were to delay the advance of the Army of Bohemia from the south. On 16 October, the 26th Division fought near the villages of Markkleeberg and Dölitz in the southern part of the battlefield. Meanwhile, Dombrowski's division became involved in the fighting to the north. During the rear guard fighting on the 19th, a panicky sapper prematurely blew up the bridge over the Weisse Elster River, trapping the VII, VIII, and XI Corps in Leipzig. The wounded Poniatowski drowned trying to escape and the encircled troops surrendered.

Dürenstein: November 1805


Marshal Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier Source: 
 * 1st Division (VI Corps): General of Division Pierre Dupont de l'Etang
 * Brigadiers: Generals of Brigade Marie François Rouyer, Jean Gabriel Marchand
 * 9th Light Infantry Regiment (two battalions)
 * 32nd Line Infantry Regiment (two battalions)
 * 96th Line Infantry Regiment (two battalions)
 * 1st Hussar Regiment (three squadrons)
 * Artillery: (three guns)
 * 2nd Division (V Corps): General of Division Honoré Théodore Maxime Gazan
 * Brigadiers: Generals of Brigade Jean François Graindorge, François Frédéric Campana
 * 4th Light Infantry Regiment (three battalions)
 * 54th Line Infantry Regiment (three battalions)
 * 100th Line Infantry Regiment (three battalions)
 * 103rd Line Infantry Regiment (three battalions)
 * 4th Dragoon Regiment (three squadrons)
 * Artillery: (three guns)
 * 3rd Division (II Corps): General of Division Jean-Baptiste Dumonceau (not engaged)
 * 1st Dragoon Division (Cavalry Corps): General of Division Louis Klein (not engaged)

Hameln: November 1806


Marshal Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier Source: 
 * Division: General of Division Jean-Baptiste Dumonceau (6,000, 12 guns)
 * 1st Brigade: General of Brigade Crass
 * 1st Dutch Jager Regiment (1st Battalion)
 * 2nd Dutch Jager Regiment (1st Battalion)
 * 3rd Dutch Jager Regiment (1st Battalion)
 * 2nd Brigade: General of Brigade von Heldring
 * 2nd Dutch Line Infantry Regiment (two battalions)
 * 3rd Dutch Line Infantry Regiment (two battalions)
 * 4th Dutch Line Infantry Regiment (one battalion)
 * 3rd Brigade: General of Brigade von Hasselt
 * 7th Dutch Line Infantry Regiment (two battalions)
 * 8th Dutch Line Infantry Regiment (one battalion)
 * 4th Brigade: General of Brigade Mascheck
 * 3rd Dutch Hussar Regiment
 * Two horse artillery batteries

Spain: October 1808


General of Division Jean-Andoche Junot (20,070) ''Source:
 * 1st Division: General of Division Henri François Delaborde
 * 15th Line Infantry Regiment (3rd Battalion)
 * 47th Line Infantry Regiment (2nd Battalion and one other)
 * 70th Line Infantry Regiment (1st and 2nd Battalions and one other)
 * 86th Line Infantry Regiment (1st and 2nd Battalions)
 * 4th Swiss Regiment (1st Battalion)
 * 2nd Division General of Division Louis Henri Loison
 * 2nd Light Infantry Regiment (3rd Battalion)
 * 4th Light Infantry Regiment (3rd Battalion)
 * 12th Light Infantry Regiment (3rd Battalion)
 * 15th Light Infantry Regiment (3rd Battalion)
 * 32nd Line Infantry Regiment (3rd Battalion)
 * 58th Line Infantry Regiment (3rd Battalion)
 * 2nd Swiss Regiment (2nd Battalion)
 * 3rd Division General of Division Étienne Heudelet de Bierre
 * 31st Light Infantry Regiment (3rd Battalion)
 * 32nd Light Infantry Regiment (3rd Battalion)
 * 26th Line Infantry Regiment (3rd Battalion and one other)
 * 66th Line Infantry Regiment (3rd and 4th battalions)
 * 82nd Line Infantry Regiment (3rd Battalion)
 * Légion du Midi (1st Battalion)
 * Hanoverian Legion (one battalion)

Abensberg: April 1809


General of Division Dominique Vandamme Source: 
 * Reserve Artillery: Colonel Schnadow
 * 1st Foot Artillery Company: eight 6-pound cannons, two 7-pound howitzers (184)
 * 1st Horse Artillery Company: four 6-pound cannons, two 7-pound howitzers (115)
 * 2nd Horse Artillery Company: four 6-pound cannons, two 7-pound howitzers (114)
 * Württemberg Infantry Division: Lieutenant General Neubronn
 * Brigade: General-Major Franquemont
 * Prince Royal Regiment (1,331 in two battalions)
 * Duc Wilhelm Regiment (1,383 in two battalions)
 * 1st battalion Neubronn Fusilier Regiment (702)
 * Brigade: General-Major Scharfenstein
 * Phull Regiment (1,359 in two battalions)
 * Camrer Regiment (1,387 in two battalions)
 * 2nd battalion Neubronn Fusilier Regiment (691)
 * Light Brigade: General-Major Hügel
 * König Jäger battalion (704)
 * 1st Wolff Light battalion (674)
 * 2nd Bruselle Light battalion (689)
 * Württemberg Cavalry Division: Lieutenant General Wöllwarth
 * Brigade: General-Major Roeder
 * König Chevau-léger Regiment (565 in four squadrons)
 * Duc Henry Chevau-léger Regiment (545 in four squadrons)
 * Brigade: General-Major Stettner
 * König Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment (555 in four squadrons)
 * Duc Louis Chevau-léger Regiment (549 in four squadrons

Portugal: September 1810
General of Division Jean-Andoche Junot (16,939) Source: 
 * 1st Division: General of Division Bertrand Clausel
 * 1st Brigade: General of Brigade Jean François Ménard
 * 19th Line Infantry Regiment (653 in 4th Battalion)
 * 25th Line Infantry Regiment (587 in 4th Battalion)
 * 28th Line Infantry Regiment (459 in 4th Battalion)
 * 34th Line Infantry Regiment (639 in 4th Battalion)
 * 2nd Brigade: General of Beigade Eloi Charlemagne Taupin
 * 15th Light Infantry Regiment (834 in 4th Battalion)
 * 46th Line Infantry Regiment (564 in 4th Battalion)
 * 75th Line Infantry Regiment (551 in 4th Battalion)
 * 3rd Brigade: General of Brigade Roch Godard
 * 22nd Line Infantry Regiment (2,507 in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions)
 * 2nd Division: General of Division Jean Baptiste Solignac
 * 1st Brigade: General of Brigade Pierre Guillaume Gratien
 * 15th Line Infantry Regiment (1,325 in 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions)
 * 86th Line Infantry Regiment (1,145 in 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions)
 * 2nd Brigade: General of Brigade Jean Guillaume Barthélemy Thomières
 * 65th Line Infantry Regiment (2,762 in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions)
 * Irish Regiment (1,008 in 2nd and 3rd Battalions)
 * Prussian Regiment (986)
 * Cavalry Brigade: General of Brigade Charles Marie Robert Escorches de Saint-Croix (1,863)
 * 1st and 2nd Dragoon Regiments (3rd and 4th Squadrons)
 * 4th and 9th Dragoon Regiments (3rd and 4th Squadrons)
 * 14th and 26th Dragoon Regiments (3rd and 4th Squadrons)
 * Reserve Artillery: General of Division Louis François Foucher de Careil (981)

Borodino: September 1812


General of Division Jean-Andoche Junot (8,900, 30 guns) Source: 
 * 23rd Infantry Division: General of Division Jean Victor Tharreau
 * 1st Brigade: General of Brigade Damas
 * 3rd Westphalian Light Infantry Battalion
 * 2nd Westphalian Line Infantry Regiment (two battalions, two guns)
 * 6th Westphalian Line Infantry Regiment (two battalions, two guns)
 * 2nd Brigade: General of Brigade von Borstell
 * 2nd Westphalian Light Infantry Battalion
 * 3rd Westphalian Line Infantry Regiment (two battalions, two guns)
 * 7th Westphalian Line Infantry Regiment (three battalions, two guns)
 * Divisional Artillery:
 * 1st Westphalian Foot Artillery Company (eight guns)
 * 24th Infantry Division: General of Division von Ochs
 * 1st Brigade: General of Brigade Legras
 * Westphalian Guard Grenadier Infantry Battalion
 * Westphalian Guard Chasseur Infantry Battalion
 * Westphalian Guard Chasseur-Carabinier Infantry Battalion
 * 1st Westphalian Light Infantry Battalion
 * Divisional Artillery:
 * 2nd Westphalian Foot Artillery Company (eight guns)
 * 1st Westphalian Guard Horse Artillery Company (four guns)
 * Corps Cavalry: General of Brigade von Hammerstein
 * 24th Light Cavalry Brigade: General of Brigade von Hammerstein
 * 1st Westphalian Hussar Regiment (four squadrons)
 * 2nd Westphalian Hussar Regiment (four squadrons)
 * Guard Cavalry Brigade: General of Brigade Wolf
 * Westphalian Guard Chevau-léger Regiment (four squadrons)
 * Corps Artillery: Major Schulz
 * 1st Westphalian Guard Horse Artillery Company (two guns)

Leipzig: October 1813


Marshal Józef Poniatowski Source:  Source: 
 * 26th Infantry Division: General of Division Ludwik Kaminiecki
 * Brigade: General of Brigade Jan Kanty Julian Sierawski
 * 1st Polish Infantry Regiment (two battalions)
 * 16th Polish Infantry Regiment (two battalions)
 * Legion of the Vistula (two battalions)
 * Brigade: General of Brigade Casimir Malachowski
 * 8th Polish Infantry Regiment (two battalions)
 * 15th Polish Infantry Regiment (two battalions)
 * Divisional Artillery:
 * 5th Polish Foot Artillery Battery
 * 7th Polish Foot Artillery Battery
 * 14th Polish Foot Artillery Battery
 * 27th Infantry Division: General of Division Jean Henri Dombrowski
 * Brigade: General of Brigade Edward Zoltowski
 * 2nd Polish Infantry Regiment (two battalions)
 * 14th Polish Infantry Regiment (two battalions)
 * Brigade: General of Brigade Stefan Grabowski
 * 12th Polish Infantry Regiment (two battalions)
 * Divisional Artillery:
 * 10th Polish Foot Artillery Battery
 * Polish Horse Artillery Battery
 * 27th Light Cavalry Brigade: General of Brigade Jan Nepomucen Uminski
 * 14th Cuirassier Regiment (two squadrons)
 * Krakus Regiment (four squadrons)
 * Corps Artillery: Colonel Jakob Antoni Redel
 * 11th Polish Foot Battery