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Thread: French Army - engineering troops

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    Prince of Essling's Avatar Napoleonic Enthusiast
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    Default French Army - engineering troops

    This note aims to address a request in the French Regimental names thread. It will cover the engineers, pionneers, & pontooniers (though technically the pontooon troops belong to the artillery) - the latter two sections are in preparation.

    To produce this note I have drawn on John R Elting “Swords around a Throne”; Colonel H C B Rogers “Napoleon’s Army”; Colonel Augoyat “Apercu Historique sur les Fortifications, les Ingénieurs et sur le Corps Génie en France (could only trace the first two of the 3 volumes); M Theodore le Puillon de Bablaye “Esquisse Historique sur les Écoles d’Artillerie pour servir à l’histoire de l’École d’application de l’Artillerie et de Génie”; Philip Haythornthwaite & Bryan Fosten “Napoleon’s Specialist Troops”; “Correspondance de l’Empereur Napoleon Ier”; various articles from Tradition magazines; Digby Smith “Napoleon’s Regiments: Battle Histories of the Regiments of the French Army, 1792-1815”;


    Le Génie (The Engineers)

    The Génie were part of the artillery until the Ordinance of 5 May 1758 split them off into the separate Corps Royal des Ingénieurs. It was a small exclusive all officer formation drawn mostly from the minor nobility and the upper middle class. To join you had to graduate from the École de Mézières. The members of the Corps was nicknamed “the Jesuits of the Army” because of their small number & the huge influence they had over army operations.

    In 1792 there were just 258 officers. The École de Mézières was shut in early 1794 and its remains transferred to Metz. In 1795 re titled École des Ingénieurs Militaires when the School of Miners was added to it. It was renamed École de Génie in 1797; and in 1799 renamed again École d’Application du Génie. On 4 October 1802 Napoleon combined it with the Chalon School of Artillery to form École d’Application de l’Artillerie et du Génie.

    The decree of 23 October 1793 converted the Génie to a combat formation, and transferred the companies of military miners from the artillery to the Génie. It also called for the formation of 12 battalions of Sapeurs de Génie.

    In 1794 two companies of Aerostatiers (balloon troops) were added. The first company was formed on 2 April 1794 in the Army of Sambre & Meuse where it remained until 1797 when it was transferred to the Army of Egypt, where it was subsequently disbanded. The 2nd company was formed on 23 June 1794 at Meudon, serving with the Army of the North and then with the Army of the Rhine; it was disbanded on 17 February 1799. A military balloon school was also formed at Meudon in 1794 surviving until 1800.

    On 3 April 1795 the engineer corps was authorised to have a strength of 437 officers comprising 7 Inspectors general of fortification (3 generals of division & 4 generals of brigade); 30 directors (chefs de brigade); 60 assistant directors (chefs de bataillon); 260 captains (12 attached to the miners); 80 lieutenants (12 attached to the miners); 6 companies of miners & 9 regiments (actually battalions) of sappers. The latter were considered attached to the corps but not part of it! The decree of 24 January 1798 reduced the number of sapper battalions to four. In 1799 the Corps numbered 637 officers, 2 sapeur battalions (each of 1,807 men each) & 6 mineur companies.

    The Corps des Ingénieurs Militaires was renamed the Corps Impérial du Génie by the decree of 25 October 1804. It had a HQ of 384 officers, which included 3 generals of division (1 was the Engineer Inspector General) & 6 generals of brigade. There were 5 battalions each 9 companies of sapeurs & 9 independent companies of miners. Each company of sapeurs & miners comprised 4 officers & 100 men. In 1805 companies were increased to 152 personnel.

    A tenth company of miners was formed in 1808 and the companies were formed into 2 battalions, each of 5 companies. In 1809 every sapeur & miner battalion had a depot company. By 1813 every battalion had 6 companies.

    The engineers like the artillery had relied on contractors/requisitions for civilian teams & vehicles to haul their tools & supplies. In 1806 Napoleon formed a provisional Train du Génie. In 1811 it had 6 field companies (each of 3 officers, five sergeants, six corporals, two trumpeters, seven artificers, & 121 privates) and 1 depot company.

    In 1809 the Corps Impériale des Ingénieurs Géographes was formed. It comprised 90 officers (ranging from student sous-lieutenants to colonels). Their primary responsibility was for surveying and the production of maps of theatres of war and of operations. [Note – created in 1696 by Vauban as Ingénieurs des camps et des armée. The 26 February 1777 Ordnance reorganised the corps for surveying and production of topographic and military maps. The National Assembly disbanded them in 1791 but due to objections from Army commanders the Géographes were allowed to continue on an informal basis. They worked under the Depot of Military Archives until Napoleon formed them into the Corps Impériale des Ingénieurs Géographes.]

    In 1811 a Sapper-Ouvrier company was raised to service the engineer arsenal at Metz. Their role was the manufacture & repair of engineering material. In 1814 four more companies & 10 half-companies were briefly activated.

    In 1811 two sapeur battalions were added – Bataillon de Sapeurs de Walcheren (6th Dutch) and Bataillon de Sapeurs de l’Ile d’Elbe (7th Italian). Each battalion had 4 companies of 3 officers & 180 men. In 1812 a Bataillon de Sapeurs d’Espagnol was added.

    In 1814 the Bourbons reorganised the Sapeur du Génie into 3 regiments of 2 battalions each of 6 companies (4 sapeur & 1 miner). The Train was reduced to 1 company & the Sapper-Ouvrier company was retained.
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    Prince of Essling's Avatar Napoleonic Enthusiast
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    Default Re: French Army - engineering troops

    Les Pionniers (The Pioneers)

    These were the men who undertook the hard pick-axe & shovel work.

    Les Pionniers Noirs – the decision of 29 May 1802 formed 3 auxiliary companies of “black men” from coloured men who had been shipped from Guadeloupe and Santo Domingo, and others who had chosen to leave Egypt with the French. The companies were stationed on the l’Ile d’Aix, Hyères & Oléron. A 4th company was formed on 21 April 1802 & stationed at Sainte-Marguerite. A battalion of “Chasseurs Africains” was formed for service in India on 11 January 1803. The “Bataillon de Pionniers Noirs” was formed in Mantua on 11 May 1803 from the Chasseurs Africains & auxiliary companies. The battalion had a HQ of 10 personnel and 9 companies each of 4 officers & 106 other ranks (the privates were called “Fusiliers-pionniers”). In 1805 the battalion participated in the attack on the Austrian held city of Fiume. In 1806 they were sent to assist in the siege of the Neapolitan fortress of Gaeta. The battalion passed into the service of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples on 14 August 1806 and became 7° Reggimento di Linea "Real Africano".

    Régiment de Pionniers Blancs – raised on 15 February 1806 from Austrian Prisoners of War who wished to remain in French service after the War of the Fourth Coalition. The regiment comprised a HQ of 17 personnel and 2 battalions (and a depot) of 4 companies each of 3 officers & 208 other ranks. All of the NCOs & Officers were French. Originally assigned to the Ministry of the Interior they were soon employed in company strength throughout the Empire. 3 companies went to Spain in 1808 as part of the Engineering park and served at Bailen and the siege of Gerona. Disbanded in 1810 the personnel were put into 5 compagnies de pionniers Volontaires Étrangers (see separate entry).

    Les Pionniers Volontaires Étrangers – raised on 1 September 1810 from the Régiment de Pionniers Blancs with 5 companies each of 200 men; (1st compagnie was the former 1st compagnie of the Régiment de Pionniers Blancs; 2nd formed from former 5th & 7th; 3rd from former 6th & 8th; 4th was the former 4th; & 5th was the former depot). 6th compagnie formed February 1811, and 7th & 8th compagnies formed September 1811. The latter two companies are supposed to have consisted of former troops of the Duke of Brunswick and Major Schill who had been captured in 1809 & spent the intervening years in prison as galley slaves. Disbanded August 1814 and the remnants incorporated into Foreign Colonial Regiment.

    To be continued..............
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    Biggus Splenus's Avatar Primicerius
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    Default Re: French Army - engineering troops

    Very nice Prince +rep

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