Austrian armed forces. Austrian army. An excerpt characterizing the Austrian Armed Forces

Austria used the first period of respite following the severe trials of 1848 and 1849 to reorganize its army on a modern basis. Almost the entire army has undergone a radical restructuring, and is now much more combat-ready than before.

First of all - infantry. It consists of sixty-two line regiments, one regiment and twenty-five battalions of riflemen, fourteen regiments and one battalion of border infantry. The latter, together with the riflemen, form light infantry.

A line infantry regiment consists of five field battalions and one reserve battalion - a total of thirty-two companies, with field companies numbering 220 men and reserves having 130 men each. Thus, a field battalion numbers about 1,300 men, and a regiment approximately 6,000 men, that is it is equal in strength to a British division. The entire line infantry according to wartime states numbers, therefore, approximately 370,000 people.

In the border infantry, each regiment has two field battalions and one reserve - a total of sixteen companies, or 3850 people: the number of the entire border infantry is 55,000 people.

The chasseurs, or riflemen, comprise only thirty-two battalions of about 1,000 men each; the total number of these troops is 32,000 people.

The army has heavy cavalry: eight cuirassier and eight dragoon regiments; light cavalry: twelve hussars and twelve lancers (of which seven regiments were formerly light dragoons, or chevau-legers, but were then converted into lancers).

The heavy regiments consist of six squadrons, not counting one reserve; light - from eight squadrons and one reserve squadron. There are 1,200 people in a heavy regiment, and 1,600 people in a light regiment. The number of all cavalry in wartime states is approximately 67,000 people.

The artillery consists of twelve regiments of field artillery, each with wartime regulations of four six-pound and three twelve-pound foot batteries, six horse batteries, one howitzer battery - in total 1344 guns; further - from one coastal artillery regiment and a regiment rocket artillery: twenty batteries with one hundred and sixty tubes. A total of 1,500 guns and rocket tubes and 53,000 men.

The total strength of the army operating in wartime is 522,000 combat soldiers. To this should be added about 16,000 sappers, miners and pontoons, 20,000 gendarmerie personnel, transport service personnel, etc., which in total will be about 590,000 people.

By calling up reserves, the army can be increased by 100,000–120,000 men; Using the resources of the border troops to the extreme, the Austrians could have another 100,000–120,000 people. But in view of the fact that these forces cannot be assembled together at a certain time and will arrive gradually, they will serve mainly to compensate for the losses suffered. Austria can hardly immediately put more than 650,000 people under arms.

The army is divided into two parts that are sharply different from each other - the regular army and the border troops. The service period in the regular army is eight years, after which soldiers remain for another two years in the reserves. However, as in France, they are granted long leaves, and the time during which they are actually under the colors can be fixed at five years.

Border troops are organized according to a completely different principle. These are the descendants of South Slavic (Croatian or Serbian), Wallachian and partly German settlers who hold their lands under the condition of performing royal military service and were used in the past to defend the border from Dalmatia to Transylvania from Turkish raids. Now this service has been reduced to a mere formality, but the Austrian government does not intend to sacrifice such a powerful source of receiving soldiers. It was this organization of border troops that saved Radetzky's army in Italy in 1848, and in 1849 made possible the first invasion of Hungary under the command of Windischgrätz. Franz Joseph owes his throne not only to Russia, but also to the South Slavic border regiments. In the border areas they occupy, every tenant of crown land (and this is almost every resident) between the ages of twenty and fifty is obliged to serve military service upon request. The main strength of these regiments is, of course, youth; As for the elderly, they mainly serve in turn on border guards until, in the event of war, they are drafted into the army. This explains why a population of approximately 1,500,000–2,000,000 people can, if necessary, field a contingent of 150,000–170,000 people, or 10–12% of its total number.

The Austrian army has many similarities with the British. In both, there is a mixture of many nationalities, although each regiment individually, as a rule, is homogeneous in national composition. The Scotch Celt, the Welshman, the Irishman and the Englishman are hardly more different from each other than the German, Italian, Croatian and Magyar. In both armies, officers of various nationalities serve, including a large number of foreigners. In both cases, the theoretical training of officers is extremely insufficient. In both armies, many of the old linear battle formations have been preserved in tactical formations, and columns and scattered formations are used only to a very limited extent. Both have an unusual color of clothing: the British have red, the Austrians have white. But in the quality of its organization, in practical experience and training of officers and in its maneuverability, the Austrian army is far superior to the British.

The uniform of the soldiers, with the exception of the ridiculous white color of the infantryman's uniform, is quite consistent in its cut modern system A short uniform, like the Prussian one, light blue trousers, a gray overcoat, a light cap, similar to the French one, form a very good uniform, adapted to the conditions of military service; only the tight trousers of the Hungarian and Croatian regiments, which form part of their national dress, are very uncomfortable. The soldier's personal equipment is not what it should be; the criss-crossing belts remain. Border troops and artillerymen wear brown uniforms, cavalrymen wear white, brown or blue. The guns are rather bulky, and the rifles with which the chasseurs and a large part of the soldiers of each company are armed are of a rather old type and of lower quality than the Minié rifle. The usual weapon is an old flintlock, very imperfectly converted into a piston gun; This gun misfires very often.

The infantry - and in this respect it is similar to the English - is more distinguished by its action in close formation than by its mobility when serving as light infantry. We must, however, make an exception for the border troops and for the rangers. The former - at least most of them - are very skilled in firefights, especially the Serbs, whose favorite military technique is ambush. The huntsmen - almost all Tyroleans - are excellent marksmen. German and Hungarian infantry, as a rule, are distinguished by their durability, and during the Napoleonic wars they repeatedly proved that they were not inferior to the English in this respect. She also more than once met cavalry in deployed formation, not considering it necessary to reform into a square; and in those cases when it was rebuilt in a square, the enemy cavalry rarely managed to overturn it; Aspern is proof of this.

The cavalry is excellent. The heavy or “German” cavalry, consisting of Germans and Czechs, has good horses, is well armed and always operates successfully. The light cavalry, perhaps, lost because it brought together the German chevau-legers and the Polish lancers; however, the Hungarian hussars will forever remain the model of light cavalry.

The artillery, whose soldiers are recruited mainly from the German provinces, has always been at a high level, and not so much because it introduced improvements in a timely and prudent manner, but because of the practical training of its personnel. Non-commissioned officers who are higher than non-commissioned officers of any other army go through a particularly serious school. As for officers, their theoretical training is too often carried out of their own free will, and yet Austria has produced a number of excellent writers in this field. In Austria, as a rule, all, at least junior officers, study, while in England it is believed that an officer who studies his profession brings disgrace to his regiment. The special units, headquarters and engineering troops, are excellent, as evidenced by the excellent maps made from topographic survey materials, especially the map of Lombardy. The British Ordnance Survey map, although not bad, cannot compare.

The multinational composition of the army is a serious evil. IN british army everyone at least speaks English, whereas among the Austrians even non-commissioned officers of non-German regiments can barely communicate in German. This, of course, creates great confusion, many difficulties and the need for an interpreter even when talking between an officer and a soldier. The evil is partly mitigated by the fact that the frequent change of cantonment areas forces the officers to learn to some extent all the languages ​​spoken in Austria. But still this inconvenience has not been eliminated.

The strictness of discipline maintained among the soldiers by constant flogging with hazel rods, and the long period of service, prevent the emergence of serious conflicts between different nationalities, at least in times of peace. However, 1848 showed how weak the internal stability of this army was. In Vienna, German troops refused to fight against the revolution. In Italy and Hungary, national troops, offering almost no resistance to the rebels, went over to their side. This is precisely the weakness of the Austrian army. No one can say to what extent or for how long it will maintain its unity and how many regiments there are in certain moment will leave her to begin the fight against his former comrades in arms. There are six different nationalities and two or three religions represented in this army; As for the mutual understanding that holds it together, it must inevitably be replaced by clashes in a time like ours, when all peoples passionately desire to use their forces freely. Can we expect that in the event of a war with Russia, an Orthodox Serb, under the influence of pan-Slavist agitation, will fight against the Russians, his brothers by blood and religion? And is it possible that in the event of a revolutionary war, Italians and Hungarians will sacrifice the interests of their homeland in order to fight for an emperor who is alien to them by language and nationality? You can hardly count on this. Therefore, no matter how strong the Austrian army is, we absolutely need special conditions so that she can bring all her powers into action.

With all auxiliary contingents, separate corps and detachments, the Allied ground forces numbered about half a million soldiers. However, they were dispersed over a large area and did not have a unified command. The French army, together with Italian and Dutch contingents, numbered about 450 thousand people. But a significant part of the troops was involved in the defense of fortresses (garrisons), coasts, borders, etc. Napoleon could field no more than 250 thousand bayonets and sabers and 340 guns for the campaign. As a result, the field armies of France were significantly inferior to the coalition forces, but were concentrated into one group and subordinated to one will - the will of the emperor.

Napoleon did not wait for the Allies to push French forces out of their subordinate territories and invade France itself. “If I’m not in London in 15 days, then I should be in Vienna in mid-November,” said the emperor. London was saved, but Vienna had to pay for it. Of the many particular tasks, the emperor immediately singled out the main one: to seize the strategic initiative, defeat the main enemy group and take Vienna. Napoleon planned to withdraw the central power of the enemy coalition, Austria, in several battles and dictate peace terms to it. After this, the anti-French coalition lost most of its ability to fight France. As for other directions - Hanoverian and Neapolitan, Napoleon treated these theaters of military operations as auxiliary, reasonably believing that successes in the main direction would compensate for possible losses. In Italy there were 50 thousand. Corps of Marshal A. Massena. Massena coped with the task quite well. He defeated Archduke Charles at Caldiero, then occupied Venice, Carinthia and Styria.

At once, without hesitation, Napoleon accepts a new war plan. On August 27, he immediately summoned the Intendant General Darya and handed over the dispositions to him for delivery to the corps commanders new war. For several hours in a row, the emperor dictated the dispositions of the new campaign. Orders flew in all directions about new recruits to replenish the reserves, about supplying the army as it moved through France and Bavaria towards the enemy. To study the peculiarities of the theater of action, on August 25 Napoleon sent Murat and Bertrand on a reconnaissance mission to Bavaria to the Austrian borders. On August 28, Savary followed them, also incognito, but along a different route.

French army

Some days a huge French war machine came into motion. At the end of August 1805, Napoleon's "English Army" ("Army of the Ocean Coast"), which would be transformed into the "Great Army", began moving towards the Rhine and Danube. The French divisions left the Boulogne camp and moved east. The troops moved widely spread out inland and along the front. The infantry walked along the sides of the roads, leaving the roadway for artillery and convoys. The average pace of the march was about 30 kilometers per day. A well-developed supply system made it possible to cover the distance of 500-600 km virtually without stopping, which separated the Boulogne camp from the theater of upcoming operations.

In less than three weeks, in less than 20 days, the army, which was huge at that time, was transferred with almost no serious illnesses and stragglers to a new theater of military operations. On September 24, Napoleon left Paris, on September 26 he arrived in Strasbourg, and the crossing of troops across the Rhine immediately began.

The French army moved in seven streams, from different directions:

The 1st Corps of the “Great Army” was the former Hanoverian Army of Marshal Bernadotte - 17 thousand people. Bernadotte's corps was to pass through the Hessians and Fulda, and then reach Wüzburg, where it was to link up with the Bavarians retreating under enemy pressure.

The 2nd Corps, the former right wing of the “Army of the Ocean,” under the command of General Marmont - 20 thousand soldiers, set out from Holland and climbed up the Rhine. He was supposed to pass through Cologne, Koblena and cross the river at Mainz, moving to join the 1st Corps at Würzburg.

The 3rd Corps, a former camp in Ambleteze, under the command of Marshal Davout - 25 thousand people, was supposed to cross Monet, Namur, Luxembourg and cross the Rhine at Mannheim.

The 4th Corps under the command of Marshal Soult - 40 thousand people, and the 5th Corps led by Marshal Lannes - 18 thousand people, which were the main camps in Boulogne, were supposed to move through Mezières, Verdun and cross the Rhine at Speyer and in Strasbourg.

The 6th Corps under the command of Marshal Ney - 19 thousand people, was supposed to follow through Arras, Nancy and Saverne.

The 7th Corps under the command of Marshal Augereau - the troops of the left wing of the "Army of the Ocean Shores" stationed in Brest - about 14 thousand people, followed behind other formations as a general reserve.

These corps accompanied large formations of reserve cavalry, which moved ahead on the right flank of the main group. These were more than 5 thousand cuirassiers and carabineers in the divisions of d'Opoul and Nansouty, as well as four dragoon divisions with a total number of more than 10 thousand people, accompanied by a division of foot dragoons Barague d'Illier - 6 thousand people. The Imperial Guard, a selected formation under the command of Marshal Bessières - 6-7 thousand soldiers - set out from Paris. Together with the Bavarian, Baden and Württemberg contingents, the total strength of Napoleon's army was 220 thousand people with 340 guns. However, Napoleon could use about 170 thousand people in the first line.

A feature of Napoleon's army was that each corps was an independent combat unit (“army”), which had its own artillery, cavalry and all the necessary institutions. Each corps had the opportunity to fight in isolation from the rest of the army. The main artillery and cavalry forces did not depend on any of the marshals and were not part of any of these corps. They were organized as special units of the Grand Army and were placed under the direct and immediate command of the emperor himself. Thus, Marshal Murat, who was appointed head of the entire cavalry, consisting of 44 thousand people, was the executor of the will of the emperor. This allowed Napoleon to concentrate the main power of artillery and cavalry in one area.

A special part of the army was the guard, which consisted of regiments of foot grenadiers and foot rangers, of mounted grenadiers and mounted rangers, of two squadrons of mounted gendarmes, of one squadron of Mamelukes recruited in Egypt, and of the “Italian battalion” (there were more French in it than Italians). Only particularly distinguished soldiers were taken into the Imperial Guard. They received a salary, were better supplied, enjoyed good food, lived in close proximity to the imperial headquarters, and wore smart uniforms and tall bearskin caps. Napoleon knew many of them by sight and their lives and service. At the same time, the soldiers loved Napoleon and believed that the words “in the knapsack of every soldier lies the marshal’s baton” are not an empty phrase; after all, many officers and even generals and marshals began their service as ordinary soldiers. The discipline introduced by Napoleon was unique. He did not allow corporal punishment in the army. The military court sentenced in case of major offenses to death, to hard labor, and in milder cases to military prison. But there was one particularly authoritative institution - a comradely court, when the soldiers themselves could, for example, sentence a comrade to death for cowardice. But the officers did not interfere.

Napoleon was very attentive to the command staff and did not hesitate to promote talented commanders. Napoleon surrounded himself with a whole retinue of brilliantly gifted commanders. Almost all of them were decisive and independent, had “their” talents and at the same time were excellent performers, understanding Napoleon’s thought perfectly. In the hands of the strategist Napoleon, this magnificent cohort of commanders and tacticians was a formidable force. As a result, the senior command of the French army was head and shoulders above the command of the same Austria. And Napoleon himself during this period was at the peak of his talents.

The French army had a high morale, since it was a victorious army, confident in the justice of the war that France was waging. “This army,” noted Marmont, “was powerful not so much in the number of its soldiers as in their nature: almost everyone had already fought and won victories. The inspiration of the revolutionary wars still remained, but it entered a directional channel; starting from the commander-in-chief, from corps and division commanders to ordinary soldiers and officers, everyone was seasoned in battle. The 18 months spent in the camps gave her additional training, unprecedented chemistry and boundless confidence in her soldiers.”

Austrian army offensive

While the troops marched along the roads of France, Napoleon closely watched the enemy's actions from Paris. Marshal Murat and his headquarters were located in Strasbourg, from where he constantly informed the emperor about the actions of the Austrian army.

The Austrian army was supplied and organized incomparably better than before. Mack's army was intended for the first encounter with the advanced forces and especially high hopes were placed on it. A lot depended on the first battle. In Austria, Russia and England they believed in the success of Mack's Danube Army. This belief occurred not only due to knowledge of the good condition of the Austrian army, but also the assumptions of the allied command that Napoleon would not be able to transfer the entire “English army” at once and would send part of it, and even if he sent the entire army, he would not be able to quickly transfer and focus it on the Rhine.

On September 8, 1805, Austrian troops under the command of Archduke Ferdinand and Mack crossed the Inn River and invaded Bavaria. A few days later the Austrians occupied Munich. The Bavarian Elector hesitated and was in constant fear. He was threatened by the powerful coalition of Austria, Russia and Britain, demanding an alliance; he was threatened, also demanding an alliance, by the French emperor. The ruler of Bavaria first entered into a secret alliance with the anti-French coalition, promising Vienna assistance in the outbreak of war. However, a few days later, after some further reflection, he took his family and government and, together with the army, fled to Würzburg, where Bernadotte’s troops were heading. So, Bavaria remained on Napoleon's side. As a result, the anti-French coalition suffered its first diplomatic defeat - Bavaria could not be forced to act against France. The Elector of Württemberg and the Grand Duke of Baden also remained on Napoleon's side. As a reward for this, the electors of Bavaria and Württemberg were made kings by Napoleon. Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden were awarded territorial grants at the expense of Austria.

After the Austrians failed to force Bavaria to side with the anti-French coalition, Mack, instead of stopping and waiting for the Russian army to approach, continued to lead troops to the west. On September 21, the advanced units of the Austrians reached Burgau, Günzburg and Ulm, and after receiving the first information about the approach of the French army to the Rhine, it was decided to pull up the lagging units to the front line - the line of the Ipper River. At the same time, the Austrian army was frustrated by the forced march along bad roads, the cavalry was exhausted, and the artillery could barely keep up with the rest of the troops. Thus, before the clash with the enemy, the Austrian army was not in the best condition.

It must also be said that Karl Mack went from soldier to general. Possessing certain abilities and, no doubt, courage and tenacity, he was not a good commander and was not noted for particularly brilliant military operations. Mack was more of a theorist than a practitioner. In 1798, commanding 60 thousand. The Neapolitan army was defeated by 18 thousand. French corps. At the same time, Mack himself was captured. However, this was not blamed on him, since the low fighting qualities of the Italian troops at that time were well known. But Mack liked the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice-Chancellor Ludwig von Kobenzel, since he did not belong to the aristocratic generals, was not a supporter of Archduke Charles and shared the militant views of the Vice-Chancellor. Thanks to this, Mac made a dizzying career, taking the place of Quartermaster General under the formal commander-in-chief of the young Archduke Ferdinand.

By September 22, the Danube Army with four detachments - Aufenberg, Werpeck, Risch and Schwarzenberg - was located along the banks of the Danube and Ipper in the Günzburg, Kempten sector. The right flank was provided by Kienmayer's 20,000-strong corps, scattered from Amberg to Neuburg with detachments at the Danube crossings. Kutuzov's army at that time was 600 kilometers from the Danube Army and was marching with a forced march to the aid of the Austrians. Russian troops were partially transported on carts to speed up their movement. However, Mak's army itself did everything so that the Russians would not have time to help.

Ulm operation

Napoleon decided to send the corps in independent columns and, gradually narrowing the front of the offensive, cross the Danube between Donauwerth and Regensburg, bypassing the right flank of the Austrian army. Deep coverage implied the entry of the “Great Army” into the enemy’s line of operations, which inevitably led to the defeat of the Austrian army. On October 1, Napoleon concluded an alliance with Bavaria, and on October 2 with Württemberg, receiving auxiliary German contingents and securing his lines of operations.

To mislead the enemy, Napoleon ordered the troops of Lannes and Murat to make a demonstration in the direction of the Kinzig River valley towards the Black Forest passes, creating the impression that the main French forces were moving from the Black Forest, from the west. As a result, Mack believed that the French were moving, as planned, with west, and remained in place. He did not organize long-range reconnaissance and was not aware of how the French corps were moving. Mack had no idea about the threatening detour, and the news of the enemy’s appearance near Würzburg led him to the conclusion that the French had set up a barrier against Prussia here. The movement of the French corps was carried out secretly from the Austrians. The corps were covered by a cavalry curtain. Only Ney in the center openly marched towards Stuttgart with the aim of disorienting the Austrians. During the movement, the general front of the French corps, which amounted to 250 kilometers on the Rhine, gradually narrowed. Therefore, if the Austrians tried to attack one of the French corps, then within a few hours they would be attacked by several corps.

Only on October 5, when the French reached the Gmünd-Ellingen line, did the Austrians discover the enemy’s outflanking maneuver. However, even then Mack remained in place, not believing that the main forces of the French army were making a detour. It seemed to him that the French were demonstrating envelopment in order to force him to abandon a strong position and expose the flank of the Austrian troops in the Tyrol and Italy. In reality, Napoleon was afraid that Mack would have time to retreat and deprive him of the opportunity to impose a battle on the enemy on his terms, that the Austrians would have time to unite with the Russian army. He even spread a rumor that an uprising had begun in Paris and French troops were preparing to return to France.

On October 6, French troops reached the banks of the Danube behind the right flank of the main Austrian forces. The grand strategic outreach was a success. "The little corporal seems to have chosen new way“waging war,” the soldiers joked, “he fights with our feet, not with bayonets.” On the evening of October 7, Murat's cavalry and Vandam's division from Soult's corps, having crossed at Donauwerth, were already on the right bank of the Danube. They threw back the weak Austrian units located here and moved on. Kienmayer's Austrian corps, not accepting the battle, retreated towards Munich. The rest of Napoleon's corps and the Bavarians approached the Danube, preparing to cross. Only Ney's corps had to remain on the left bank of the river opposite Ulm to block possible way withdrawal of the Austrians to the northeast.

Napoleon's army pushed through the right flank of the Austrian army with a powerful wedge. What's next? Napoleon, overestimating Mack's determination, decided that the Austrians would break through to the east or south, into Tyrol. Napoleon almost ruled out the withdrawal of the Austrians along the left bank of the Danube in a northeast direction, since this would expose them to the danger of encirclement. Austrian troops could, by sacrificing their rear, concentrate their forces and break through to the east, crushing individual French columns. In this case, the general superiority of the French army was compensated by the concentration of the Austrians in certain directions and the vigor of the onslaught. The withdrawal of the Austrians to the south was the safest option, but extremely unprofitable strategically, since it took Mack's army away from the main theater of operations, excluding for a long time the possibility of participation in the war.

On October 7, the Austrians received news that the enemy had crossed the Danube at Donauwerth. Mack realized that his army was being cut off from Austria, but did not attach much importance to this, since he thought that the French army was approximately equal in size to the Austrian army (60-100 thousand people) and was not afraid of it. He planned to rely on the powerful stronghold of Ulm and remain on the Danube, threatening the enemy’s left or right flank. General Auffenberg's detachment of 4,800 people was sent through Wertingen to Donauwerth to overturn Napoleon's "avant-garde".

Meanwhile, the main forces of Napoleon's army were transported to the right bank of the Danube. Murat transferred almost all of his divisions to the other side of the river, Soult's corps crossed the water barrier at Donauwerth, and parts of Lannes' corps crossed the Danube at Mupster. Davout crossed the river at Neuburg, followed by Marmont and Bernadotte. Soult rushed to Augsburg, Murat's cavalry rushed to Zusmarshausen.

Napoleon, seeing the enemy's inactivity, decided that Mack would break through to the east, through Augsburg. Therefore, he decided to concentrate troops around this city and block the enemy’s path to the east. This task was to be accomplished by Soult's 4th Corps, Lannes' 5th Corps, and Murat's guard and reserve cavalry. Marmont's 2nd Corps was also supposed to come to the aid of these troops. The corps of Davout and Bernadotte were supposed to serve as a barrier to the east, against the possible appearance of the Russian army. Ney’s corps, along with which the dragoon division Barague d’Ilier was marching, was decided to be thrown onto the flank and rear of the retreating enemy army. Ney was supposed to cross the Danube at Günzburg.

On October 8, Auffenberg’s Austrian detachment slowly walked towards Wertingen, not realizing that the main forces of the French army were ahead. Murat's cavalry attacked the Austrians on the move. Beaumont's 3rd Division broke into Wertingen. Klein's 1st Dragoon Division and a regiment of hussars attacked the Austrian cuirassiers. It must be said that the Austrian cavalry was one of the best in Europe. The cuirassier regiments were especially famous for both the coherence of their actions and the quality of their horsepower. Therefore, a stubborn battle ensued here with varying success. However, more and more troops approached the French and soon the Austrian cuirassiers were enveloped from all sides and overturned with heavy losses. The Austrian infantry, under threat of attack on the flank and rear, began to retreat. Here Oudinot’s infantry, walking at the head of Lanna’s corps, also approached. The Austrians wavered and ran into the forest, trying to escape the broadswords of the advancing French dragoons and the sabers of mounted rangers from Lanna's corps. Auffenberg's detachment was completely destroyed, losing about half of its strength in killed, wounded and captured. General Auffenberg himself was captured. Thus, the Austrian soldiers paid for the mistake of their command.

By the evening of October 8, French troops blocked the route to the east. At this time, Mac could not decide what to do. At first I wanted to retreat to Augsburg. But having learned about the defeat of Auffenberg and the appearance of large French forces on the right bank, he abandoned this idea and decided to move to the left bank of the Danube. At the same time, he believed that this would be a counteroffensive with the goal of defeating the French army. On October 9, the Austrian commander-in-chief gave the order to concentrate the scattered troops at Günzburg and restore the previously destroyed bridges.

Marshal Ney, who was supposed to advance through Günzburg, did not know that the main enemy forces were located here. Therefore, he sent here only the 3rd division of General Mahler. On the approach to the city, Mahler divided his troops into three columns, each of which was tasked with capturing one of the bridges. One of the columns got lost and returned back. In the afternoon, the second column reached the central bridge near the city, attacked the Austrians guarding it, but, encountering strong fire resistance, retreated. The third column of Brigadier General Labosse got lost, but still reached the river. The French grenadiers captured the bridge with a surprise attack and took up a position on the right bank, where they repelled enemy counterattacks until dark. As a result, one French regiment recaptured the crossing under the nose of the entire Austrian army. The next day, a confused Mack withdrew a significant part of his troops to Ulm, including Jelacic's left flank corps.

As a result of all these maneuvers of the Austrian army, Napoleon could not understand the enemy. He calculated the best options for the enemy. He himself, as a brave and decisive commander, would prefer a breakthrough to the east. Therefore, he paid the greatest attention to this option, directing the main forces of the French army to block the escape routes in the Vienna direction. On October 10 and 11, no news was received about the Austrians' movement for a breakthrough. Ney did not enter into battle with the Austrians and occupied the designated crossings, that is, the Austrians did not intend to cross to the left bank of the Danube. It turned out that Mak's army would go south. It was urgent to block this path. As a result, Napoleon divided the troops into three groups: 1) Bernadotte's corps and the Bavarians were to advance on Munich; 2) the corps of Lannes, Ney and parts of the cavalry under the overall command of Murat were to pursue the “retreating” Mack; 3) the corps of Soult, Davout, Marmont, two divisions of foot cavalry and the guard were to occupy a central position until further clarification of the situation.

It could not have occurred to Napoleon that the Austrians were not taking any emergency measures to save the army in a catastrophic situation for them. Mack, instead of withdrawing troops to the south by forced marches, or trying to break through to the east, marked time, which demoralized the army. On October 10, Mack concentrated troops in Ulm, and on October 11 he again decided to leave along the left bank. The vanguard under the command of General Klenau set out from Ulm, and was followed by the rest of the troops, except Jelačić.

On the same day, the French General Dupont received an order from Marshal Ney to move his division (6,400 people and 14 guns) to Ulm and occupy the city, while the rest of Ney's corps was going to cross to the right bank. Not suspecting that his division was heading straight towards the entire Austrian army, Dupont approached the village of Haslau, 6 kilometers north of Ulm, by noon, and here he encountered the Austrians. Dupont's troops entered into battle with superior enemy forces. The French lost 2 thousand people and retreated to Albek.

Disoriented by the stubborn resistance of the enemy, Mack decided that this was the vanguard of the main forces of the French army and decided to return to Ulm and the next day begin a retreat to Bohemia (Czech Republic). Mack decided to cover this maneuver with a demonstration of Schwarzenberg’s detachment along the right bank, and with Jelacic’s troops along the left bank of the Iller River. However, when Jelačić was already on the march from Ulm on October 13, Mack, under the influence of “confirmed” false rumors about an English landing on the shores of France and the retreat of the French army to the Rhine that began in connection with the “uprising” in Paris, ordered his troops to concentrate again in Ulm fortress.

It must be said that Mack was confused by the skilled spies sent by Napoleon, led by the most famous of them, Schulmeister, who assured the Austrian general that he needed to hold on, that the French would soon retreat, since an uprising had broken out in Paris. When Mack began to doubt, the spy let the French camp know, and there, using a field printing press, a special issue of a Parisian newspaper was printed with a message about the imaginary revolution in Paris. This number was passed on to Mack, who read it and calmed down.

Defeat. Results

On October 14, the French began to calmly surround the Ulm fortified area. The Austrians were defeated in several skirmishes, and Mack's army lost several thousand people. By October 16, the encirclement was closed. Mac's situation became completely desperate. The shocked Austrian general asked for a truce. Napoleon sent a truce to him demanding surrender, warning that if he took Ulm by storm, no one would be spared. In fact, the general battle never happened. After the artillery shelling of Ulm began, Mack personally went to the French emperor on October 17 and announced his decision to capitulate.

By October 20, 1805, the surviving army of Mack with all military supplies, artillery, banners and with it the Ulm fortress were surrendered to the mercy of the winner. 23 thousand people were captured, 59 guns became French trophies. At the same time, part of the Austrian army still tried to escape. 8 thousand General Werneck's detachment, pursued by Murat and surrounded by him near Trachtelfilgen, was also forced to capitulate. Jelacic with a 5 thousand detachment was able to break through to the south. And Archduke Ferdinand and General Schwarzenberg with 2 thousand horsemen managed to escape from Ulm to the north at night and go to Bohemia. Some of the soldiers simply ran away. These examples show that, with a more decisive leader, a significant part of the Austrian army had a good chance of a breakthrough. For example, it was possible to take the army south, to Tyrol. The army dropped out of the fight on the main (Viennese) direction, but was preserved.

Thus, 70 thousand. Mack's Austrian army ceased to exist. About 12 thousand died and were wounded, 30 thousand were captured, some were able to escape or fled. Napoleon released Mack himself, and sent the surrendered army to France for various jobs. The French army lost about 6 thousand people. Napoleon won this battle mainly through skillful maneuvering. On October 21, Napoleon addressed the troops: “Soldiers of the Grand Army, I promised you a big battle. However, thanks to the bad actions of the enemy, I was able to achieve the same successes without any risk... In fifteen days we completed the campaign.” He turned out to be right; this battle led to the collapse of the strategy of the third coalition and its defeat.

As a result, Napoleon completely seized the strategic initiative into his own hands, began to beat the enemy piece by piece and opened the road to Vienna. The French quickly moved towards Austrian capital and captured many more prisoners. Their number reached 60 thousand people. Austria was no longer able to recover from this blow and lost the war. In addition, the Austrians, with their incompetent planning, exposed the Russian army under the command of Kutuzov to attack, which, after a difficult march on October 11, reached Branau and found itself alone against the main forces of the French emperor. The Russians again had to make a difficult march, now so as not to fall under the attack of superior enemy forces.

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INSIGNIA AND UNIFORMS OF THE AUSTRIAN ARMY 1918 - 1938.

M. Razygraev

With almost all revolutions, changes in form government, the collapse of the country, new symbols (emblems) appear, including insignia of military personnel and civilian officials. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was no exception in this regard. After its collapse, the Republic of Austria arose in territories with a German-speaking population (German Austria). In 1918–1920, soldiers of the German-Austrian Volkswehr (Volkswehr- People's Army)continued to wear the old Imperial-Royal Army uniform with new insignia on the sleeves. Unfortunately, the author has information relating only to chief and staff officers.

According to the Saint-Germain Peace Treaty of 1919, restrictions were established for Austria on the size of the armed forces (no more than 30 thousand people, of which 1,500 officers and 2,000 non-commissioned officers), the number of heavy weapons - artillery and machine guns - was limited, it was forbidden to have military aircraft and produce armored vehicles. The Austrian government strictly observed all these restrictions, and only in 1933-34, with the consent of Great Britain and France, some army reforms were carried out.

The highest unit of the Austrian army was a mixed brigade - infantry or mountain infantry regiments and an artillery division. There was also a separate artillery regiment, and the cavalry was consolidated into two regiments.

The infantry and mountain infantry units were armed with: the 8-mm Mannlicher rifle model 1895, the 8-mm Schwarzlose machine gun model 1907 and its modification mod. 1907/12; 8 mm light machine gun. The cavalry was armed with an 8-mm Mannlicher carbine and a saber model 1904, machine guns - like in the infantry. Non-commissioned officers and privates of some specialties received automatic pistols various systems. The artillery was equipped with: 75 mm mountain guns, 100 mm mountain howitzers, 76.5 mm field guns and 100 mm mechanical and horse-drawn howitzers, as well as mortars. All artillery systems are from the period of the 1st World War.

When formingF federal ground forces ( Bundesheer) in 1920 a new system of insignia was established. For thirteen years, Austrian soldiers and military officials wore insignia that had nothing in common with the traditional collar insignia of the Austro-Hungarian army.

The military personnel were divided into the following groups: lower ranks, non-commissioned officers, chief officers, staff officers, generals. Military officials consisted of junior officials (corresponding to the rank of staff sergeant), officials without class (corresponding to the rank of “acting officer”) and class officials (corresponding to both R- both staff officers and generals).

The insignia established in 1920 were horizontal stripes above the cuffs (the width of the braid or braid, the color of the braid or braid, the color of the gaps, the order of placement of the stripes are presented in the table). The length of the braid for privates and non-commissioned officers was about 13 cm, the braid for officers and military officials was half as long - approximately 6 - 6.5 cm.

The top row of braid (braid) or the only one (for the group commander and lieutenant) had a special difference - a piece of braid (braid) was sewn together in the form of a ring and sewn at the upper edge of the horizontal patch. This distinction was granted only to military personnel.

The junior official corresponded in rank to a staff sergeant, but the insignia was distinguished not only by the absence of a ring, but also by a separately sewn horizontal braid 1 cm wide.

The non-commissioned officer's braid and the officer's braid resembled the Russian “hussar braid” - there was a zigzag pattern in the middle, not reaching the edges. It is quite possible that instead of metallized braid, silk braid was used for certain types of uniforms.

On September 11, 1923, another change in insignia took place, this time the German system of insignia used inReichsheerWeimar Republic .

The lower ranks received galloon chevrons on the sleeves; non-commissioned officers - shoulder straps with a rounded top, trimmed with silver galloon with four-beam with or without stars, and with edging according to the color of the branch of service or service; junior officers - shoulder straps made of parallel folded silver cords on a lining in the color of the branch of service or service with four-beam with or without asterisks;senior officers and generals - strands of silver and gold threads on a lining in the color of the branch of service or service with or without stars. The numbers or letters of units and institutions were also attached to the shoulder straps.

At the ends of the collar there were buttonholes in the form of “double coils” made of silver braid with the colors of the military branch. The following colors were established for the military branches and services:

cavalry - golden yellow;

infantry or alpine rangers - grass green;

artillery – scarlet;

pioneers (sappers) – black;

telegraph troops - light brown;

senior management (General Staff) – crimson;

automobile troops - pink;

bicycle parts – yellow-green.

Generals originally wore "double coils" of silver braid on their collars with a scarlet lining, but on December 21, 1925 they were replaced by gold patterned embroidery (similar to the sewing of the generals of the old Prussian army) on a red lining.

The system of insignia continued to improve: on September 24, 1924, the rank was introduced vice lieutenant (Vizeleutnant), and on August 14, 1925 - ensign ( F ähnrich). The insignia of these two ranks were the same - the shoulder straps were trimmed on three sides with a double silver cord, and a double silver cord was sewn longitudinally in the center. There is a gap between the side and central cord according to the color of the shoulder strap (i.e., the color of the branch of service or service). For the fenrich, a smooth golden button was additionally attached to the rear end of the buttonhole.

On December 22, 1927, the rank was introduced corporal (Korporal) for which two sleeve chevrons were installed, and platoon leader (Zudführer) began to wear three chevrons, respectively.

In 1929, there was a division of generals into two categories: general from infantry and general from artillery; outwardly this division was not expressed in anything.

The insignia established in 1923 was used until 1933, when it was decided to return to the traditional Austrian insignia - colored buttonholes with various combinations of braid and six-pointed starsand the military personnel put on old Austrian-style uniforms.

The appearance of the military personnel changed slightly compared to the military personnel of the former Imperial-Royal Army of Austria-Hungary. The same field blouse with a secret fastener, a stand-up collar with buttonholes, breast and side welt pockets with flaps remained; trousers with cuffs (breeches with leather leis for cavalrymen), a soft cap for lower ranks and a hard cap of the French type for officers, boots for infantry and boots for cavalry. Only the color of the blouse, instead of the previous gray-blue, became similar to the German one.”feldgrau” – gray-green, and the trousers changed color to gray. Field and everyday uniforms for all branches of the military were of the same type and differed only in finishing elements.

Cavalry officers had two options for their uniform: 1st - a blue blouse with a secret fastener, a stand-up collar, white piping along the side, no pockets; there are golden plaits on the shoulders; long black trousers with maroon piping, black cap; 2nd – blouse, as in the first option; maroon breeches, maroon cap.

For officers of the Guards Battalion, the uniform included a green blouse similar in cut to a cavalry blouse with red piping along the side; long black trousers with red piping, black cap.

In the cold season, they wore a double-breasted gray-green overcoat with buttonholes on the collar. Instead of an overcoat, cavalrymen were given an insulated jacket like a hussar's mentik, which in warm weather was worn draped over the left shoulder; cavalrymen's breeches were hemmed with leather leis. When out of formation, officers could wear untucked black trousers and black caps; while in casual and field uniforms, they could wear khaki caps. Boots were worn by infantry officers, and in the cavalry by all personnel, in addition, privates and non-commissioned officers of some branches of the military received black leather leggings. The German steel helmet model 1916 in the Guards battalion had a stamped image on the front side state emblem, and during reviews, parades and exercises it was decorated on the left side with the traditional Austrian “feldabzeichen” (field honors) – an oak or spruce branch. In other units there was no coat of arms on the helmet, and the twig was worn in the same way as in the guard.

Insignia were six-pointed stars (celluloid for non-commissioned officers and metal for officers) and braid of various widths, sewn along the front and bottom edges of the buttonhole. If the braid was silver, then the stars were golden and vice versa. Generals of all branches of the army were entitled to only gold braid. Silver braid was worn by officers of mountain infantry units and infantry; most other units used gold braid.

Ranks up to and including platoon level belonged to the rank and file, from sergeant to Fenrich inclusive - to non-commissioned officers, all others - officers and generals.

The ranks and insignia remained as in the previous imperial army:

Another tradition passed down from the Austro-Hungarian army is the “own” color of the buttonhole field for units and subunits.

The following colors were assigned to the branches of the military, services, individual regiments and even some units:

bright blue - 4th Infantry Regiment;

carmine - 5th Infantry Regiment;

ash gray - 6th and 13th infantry regiments;

brown-yellow - 15th Infantry Regiment;

blue-green - 11th Infantry Regiment, Engineer Troops and Signal Corps;

dark brown - 7th Infantry Regiment;

orange - 12th Infantry Regiment;

white – 1st Dragoon Regiment;

dark red – headquarters and 2nd squadron of the 1st Dragoon Regiment;

dark green - 1st, 2nd, 3rd infantry regiments, 2nd dragoon regiment;

bright yellow - 2nd squadron of the 2nd dragoon regiment, 10th regiment of alpine riflemen;

light blue – supply units and military administration;

crimson - 3rd and machine-gun squadrons of the 1st Dragoon Regiment, artillery battalions and a separate artillery regiment;

black - 14th Infantry Regiment, automobile units;

light green - 8th, 9th regiments of Alpine riflemen, 3rd, 5th battalions of Alpine riflemen, Tyrolean riflemen.

In some cases, two colors were used:

General Staff - black and red;

medical service - black and blue;

Guards battalion - red and white.

For the air force recreated in the early 30s, a special system of insignia was established. Insignia were placed on the sleeves above the cuffs; in addition, for each category of military personnel (privates, non-commissioned officers, officers) distinctions were introduced on headdresses. The colors of insignia were established for privates - blue, non-commissioned officers - silver, officers and generals - gold.

The generals' galloons were sewn onto a red cloth lining; for officers of the General Staff, the braid was sewn on black cloth, and a narrow strip of red cloth was sewn along the contour above the top braid.

For all aviation ranks, a single cap was installed with a black band and a gray crown, a black fiber visor, on the band there was a single emblem - a flying eagle in a wreath, on the crown there was a national red and white cockade with a “shine”.

The differences between rank groups were as follows:

Privates - a blue cord above the visor, a blue braid along the lower edge of the band, the emblem is blue, a cockade with a blue “shine” on the crown;

Non-commissioned officers - a silver cord above the visor, a silver braid along the lower edge of the band, a silver emblem, a cockade with a silver “shine” on the crown;

Junior officers - a gold cord above the visor, gold braid along the lower edge of the band, a gold emblem, a cockade with a gold “shine” on the crown;

Senior officers - a gold cord above the visor, 2 rows of gold braid along the band, the emblem is gold, on the crown there is a cockade with a gold “shine”;

Generals - a gold cord above the visor, 3 rows of gold braid along the band, the emblem is gold, and there is a cockade with a gold “shine” on the crown.

Officers of the General Staff and generals of the ground forces and aviation wore double-row red stripes on their trousers.

In a number of units there were special differences, for example: in the Guards battalion they wore a white and red aiguillette with two cords, and in the 4th Infantry Regiment all ranks were given a small blue aiguillette with two balls. The personnel of the mountain infantry units wore a metal emblem on the left side of the cap and in the buttonholes - silver edelweiss, under which there could be a lining of light green cloth. In automobile parts, a golden emblem was worn on the buttonholes - a “winged” steering wheel.

The infantry soldier's equipment included: a leather waist belt with ammunition pouches; a satchel, on top of which an overcoat roll was attached; a flask in a case, a biscuit bag traditional for the Austrian army; mask; sheath for bayonet. The cavalryman's equipment included a sword belt, on the waist belt of which pouches were attached and a saber was fastened; saddle bags were used for transporting personal belongings. Officers and generals, as well as non-commissioned officers in individual positions, wore sword belts with a holster, field bags, binoculars in a case or case, and a whistle.

In 1938, Wehrmacht breast eagles were sewn onto the uniform, and in 1939, the personnel of the armed forces were included in the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe units, and the Austrian armed forces were completely disbanded and were revived only in 1955.

COMPOSITION OF THE AUSTRIAN ARMY

The army is recruited by conscription, to which, with few exceptions, all Austrian subjects are subject upon reaching the age of twenty. The annual contingent is 80,000 - 85,000. But you can pay off the concept. The service life in the active forces is eight, in the reserve is two years. The latter does not gather in peacetime. The short duration of service in the reserve is a weak point of the Austrian organization, although it should be noted that the role of the reserve is generally played by leave pay from those on active service more than by the so-called reserve itself.

Every infantry and cavalry regiment is constantly recruited in a certain district of the same province; only special types of weapons are recruited from all parts of the empire, and the fleet is from the coastal provinces. As a result, the Austrian army is an amalgam of regiments recruited from a mass whose parts are not only not connected common interests, but are hostile towards each other, especially towards the dominant German tribe. This makes it extremely difficult to command an army and complicates its bringing into martial law: active regiments are never located in the provinces from which they are recruited, because placing them in their homeland or nearby is considered dangerous; It is considered no less dangerous to give regiments officers of a non-alien nationality, as a result of which there cannot be much in common between commanders and subordinates, since only command words are understandable to both sides. In such a situation, there is, of course, no point in thinking about, for example, means of development such as literacy.

Thus, it is completed with:

In addition, the Military Frontier and the Tyrol are subject to special provisions. All male population Military Border, capable of carrying weapons, is considered to be in service starting from the age of 20; The border guard has no property and uses the land only as long as he is in service. Moreover, he does not have the right to engage in any craft, neither the soldier nor the officer have the right to buy land. In wartime, the border guards consist of 14 regiments and 1 separate battalion. The Border Guards represent the only foreign infantry branch in Austria that has officers from their compatriots.

Tyrol and Vorarlberg comprise only one regular unit - the imperial rifle regiment, consisting of 6 battalions. In case of war, a special militia is formed for local defense, consisting of drafts: 1) rifle companies - 6200 people, 2) volunteer companies,

3) Landsturm.

The active army has the following composition:

1) Infantry. 80 regiments, consisting of 4 battalions and one reserve cadre each; from the latter, in wartime, two companies of the fifth battalion are formed, assigned to serve in the fortresses. Six-company battalions. 38 Jaeger battalions also consist of six companies, including the Imperial Jaeger Regiment. Each battalion has a cadre to form one reserve company for the duration of the war.

Granichary - 8 regiments of four battalions;

3 regiments of three battalions, with the addition of a separate division (2 companies); 3 regiments of three battalions.

The fourth battalions, where all are four companies, and the others are six companies.

Line infantry is armed with rifled rifles with triangular bayonets, and light infantry with rifles with double-edged bayonets; The whole thing is built in two ranks.

Cavalry. 12 cuirassier regiments of five squadrons; 2 dragoons, 14 hussars, 13 lancers of six squadrons. In wartime, the fifth squadrons in heavy and sixth squadrons in light regiments are separated from the regiments and form reserve units for the formation of recruits and dressage horses.

Artillery. 12 regiments of ten batteries: 9 of them have 6 four-pound and 2 eight-pound foot batteries, 2 four-pound horse batteries of eight guns; one park, four fortress companies and one missile battery. The remaining three regiments represent the difference that they have 1 four-pound, 4 eight-pound foot and 5 horse batteries.

In peacetime, there is only one serf company and one reserve company for training recruits.

All Austrian field artillery is armed with copper rifled guns, muzzle loaded.

Corps of Engineers. Two engineering regiment, four battalions each, four companies strong. With martial law, one reserve company is formed for each battalion. There are six pioneer battalions of four companies.

Sanitary companies numbering 10, for picking up the wounded and setting up dressing stations.

6) Transport squadrons, number 24.

Austria began military preparations in early March: the first step was to strengthen the troops located in Bohemia and Galicia, call up the leavers of these units and order the preparation of five armored frigates in the Adriatic Sea. Newspapers were strictly forbidden to print anything about these preparations.

In mid-April, according to the old style, the following order was issued:

On bringing to martial law the regiments occupying the Venetian region, as well as those recruited from it. Their fourth battalions were also attached to the first of these regiments to occupy the fortresses of the quadrangle.

On the mobilization of active battalions in the border regiments, which were supposed to occupy Dalmatia and strengthen the garrisons of Italian fortresses.

On taking all measures to speed up the collection of vacation pay in those recruitment areas where this has not yet been done.

4) On the purchase of horses for cavalry, artillery, and convoys.

The order to bring the entire army on a military footing followed soon after these orders.

In view of the possible speedy departure of active regiments to Bohemia and Italy, in Vienna, Linz, Graetz, Lemberg and others big cities local brigades were formed from the fourth battalions; in the month of May, in the recruiting areas, first the fifth and then the sixth battalions were formed from reserve divisions, which were staffed partly with reservists, partly with volunteers.

Only after completing the staffing of these units was it allowed to form volunteer rifle corps in Vienna, Styria, Bohemia and Hungary and a cavalry legion in Galicia.

At the beginning of June, a second recruitment was announced throughout the empire, excluding provinces with special rights, and a five new Jaeger battalions.

The shortage of doctors prompted the government, at the very beginning of armament, to invite free practitioners to serve, canceling their preliminary three-month test and assigning 200 guilders to senior and 100 junior doctors as a reward, not counting the raise money.

To ensure food supply for the army, contracts were concluded in May for the supply of supplies to Bohemia and Italy.

To care for the wounded, the War Ministry ordered the establishment of hospitals on the main railway lines, on navigable rivers, away from large cities, in noble castles and government buildings. Many hospitals were entrusted to the care of civilian doctors, city societies and private individuals.

The population responded to this call more sympathetically than could be expected from the apathy to which it was led in Austria by internal politics. What they would not have done, perhaps out of sheer affection for their own government, they were ready to do out of hatred for the Prussians. The middle class was inspired by anger at the instigators of the war, which threatened to undermine its already precarious well-being. The nobility was also ready to make some sacrifices, because Prussian tendencies towards the unification of Germany threatened to undermine the Austrian order, thanks to which this nobility had prospered very, very much, despite the misfortunes of the people. These fears resulted in the fact that not only in German, but also in other provinces, the developed part of the population was quite favorably disposed before the war. But there could not be any special inner strength in such a mood, which was revealed by the extreme modesty of the donations made to the army.

There was not even that slight agitation against the Italians that the Prussians had caused: many among the Austrian subjects even found it very natural that they would want to free their brothers from foreign rule.

The regular strength of the Austrian army before the war was as follows:

80 infantry regiments - 240 battalions... 253,000 people

80 fourth battalions - 80 battalions... 80,000

43 Jaeger battalions (including newly formed ones) ... 46,000

14 border regiments - 42 battalions... 42,000

12 heavy cavalry regiments - 48 squadrons ... 32,000

29 regiments of line cavalry - 145 squadrons ... 32,000

12 artillery regiments - 120 batteries, 960 guns... 43,000

2 engineering regiments - 8 battalions... 7000

6 pioneer battalions - 6 battalions ... 6000

10 sanitary companies... 2000

24 convoy squadrons ... 24,000

Tyrolean militia... 6000

Volunteer corps… 12,000

Total: 558,000

Reserve troops:

80 fifth and 80 sixth battalions... 160,000

41 squadron... 7000

8 engineering companies... 1000

Total: 163,000

It should be noted, however, that the difference between the regular and available numbers, judging by rumors, was very large. Unfortunately, I could not collect much positive data regarding the Austrian army.

All active troops, with the exception of 19 batteries and most of the fourth battalions, became part of the Italian and Bohemian armies, except for one division sent to the allied corps and the troops defending Dalmatia.

With the distribution of these forces among the armies, two new corps had to be formed, which indicates the uselessness of the corps organization in peacetime.

The Northern Army, entrusted to Feldzeichmeister Bepedek, consisted of seven corps and five cavalry divisions.

The corps consisted of: 1) four brigades (the division into divisions was abolished after the Italian campaign), each consisting of two infantry regiments, a Jaeger battalion, and a battery

4-pounder, squadron and engineer company.

2) From an artillery reserve of 6 batteries, with a squadron as permanent cover.

Pioneer battalion and four engineering companies.

One sanitary company.

Two field hospitals.

Telegraph office.

The Third Corps represented the difference that it was a force of five brigades, of which one consisted of only five battalions: a regiment of border guards and two fourth battalions.

The first light cavalry division consisted of three, the second - of two brigades; three reserve ones - each of two.

In total, the northern army represented a force of 199 battalions, 163 squadrons, 648 guns, 6 pioneer battalions, 12 engineering and 5 sanitary companies.

These forces should also include the Saxon army, remarkable both for its excellent spirit and for its small German armies she was the only one who was ready on time. In spirit and education of the officers, it stands quite close to the Prussian army, which was revealed in action: despite the fact that the Saxon army was in all cases against the northern mass of Prussian forces, it did not submit to the needle panic, fought excellently everywhere, and even after the Königgrätz pogrom retreated in much greater order than the Austrian corps, which stood in reserve and took very little part in the battle. The Saxon army represented a corps with a force of 20 battalions, 16 squadrons, 58 guns, consisting of two infantry divisions, one cavalry and an artillery reserve. Two squadrons were assigned to each infantry division.

The artillery consisted half of Prussian rifled guns and half of howitzers. Two batteries were assigned to the infantry divisions and one battery to the cavalry; the remaining five batteries constituted the artillery reserve.