Over the course of the Napoleonic Wars, the great nations of Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia were driven to rapidly reform in the face of embarrassing losses. Many of these saw the French inflict heavy defeats upon the old nations of Europe who were unprepared for such innovation in the ways of war. Additional new methods of organisation, supply, mobility and command set the pace for more dynamic warfare than had been typical of the 18th century. Artillery was heavy and employed separately to the main battle.įrench reforms at the start of the Revolutionary Wars introduced conscription that dramatically enlarged the armed forces thanks to nationalist loyalty to the state: by 1794 the Republic could boast 1.1 million troops compared to the pre-Revolutionary number of 150,000. Cavalry were often upper class and few in number offering a supporting role. Low loyalty and dedication to absolute monarchs meant that large armies were not easy or cheap to maintain. Historically, in the 18th century European armies were formed from an officer corps drawn from the nobility overseeing volunteer soldiers drawn from the lower classes.
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