VII Corps (Grande Armée)

VII Corps
Active 1805–1814
Country France First French Empire
Branch Army
Type Army Corps
Size 2 to 6 infantry divisions plus cavalry
Engagements Napoleonic Wars
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Pierre Augereau
Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr
François Joseph Lefebvre
Jean Reynier
Nicolas Oudinot

The VII Corps of the Grande Armée was the name of a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. It was formed in 1805 and assigned to Marshal Pierre Augereau. From 1805 through 1807, Augereau led the army corps in the War of the Third Coalition and the War of the Fourth Coalition. It was disbanded after being nearly wiped out at the Battle of Eylau in February 1807 and its surviving troops were distributed to other army corps. At the end of 1808, the VII Corps was reconstituted in Catalonia during the Peninsular War and Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr was given command. The corps fought in Spain until 1811, when it was renamed the Army of Catalonia. At that time it was again led by Augereau.

A parallel VII Corps was created for the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 and assigned to Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre. This formation was entirely made up of troops from the Kingdom of Bavaria. In 1812, a new VII Corps composed of soldiers from the Kingdom of Saxony was created for the invasion of Russia and Jean Reynier took command. This formation survived to fight during the War of the Sixth Coalition but ceased to exist after the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813 due to the defection of the Saxons. The VII Corps was recreated during the 1814 Campaign and assigned to Marshal Nicolas Oudinot. The formation consisted of one Young Guard division and two regular divisions of Peninsular War veterans.

Orders of battle

October 1806

Color print depicts a light-haired man with a long nose and dark eyebrows. He wears a dark uniform liberally sprinkled with gold braid and medals.
Pierre Augereau

Marshal Pierre Augereau (17,672, 36 guns)[1]

November 1808

Print depicts a hatless and clean-shaven man with a confident look. Looking to the viewer's left, he wears a dark military coat with epaulettes and a high collar with lots of gold braid.
Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr

General of Division Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr (42,382)[2]

April 1809

Print shows a stern man with a cleft chin in a dark military uniform with epaulettes and lots of gold braid.
François Lefebvre

Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre[3]

January 1810

Painting shows a gray-haired man with his arms folded. He wears a dark blue military uniform with lavish amounts of gold braid and a red sash.
Joseph Souham

Marshal Pierre Augereau (1,338 officers, 33,145 men present for duty, 1,172 detached, 15,250 sick)[4]

August 1812

Print depicts a defiant-looking man with shoulder-length hair and a cleft chin. He wears a blue French military coat of the 1790s.
Jean Reynier

General of Division Jean Reynier (15,008 infantry in 18 battalions, 2,186 cavalry in 16 squadrons)[5]

October 1813

Print depicts a man in a dark military coat with a lot of gold braid. His right eye is damaged and closed while his left cheek is badly scarred.
Pierre Durutte

General of Division Jean Reynier (12,837, 48 guns)[9]

Notes

  1. ↑ Chandler (2005), 37
  2. ↑ Oman (2010), I, 647-648
  3. ↑ Bowden & Tarbox (1980), 61-62
  4. ↑ Oman, III, 536-537. All subsequent strengths represent those present for duty.
  5. ↑ Chandler (1966), 1112. This authority listed totals only.
  6. ↑ Smith (1998), 385. This source gave the order of battle for Gorodeczna on 12 August.
  7. ↑ Smith (1998), 382. This 3,500-man brigade was captured at Kobryn on 27 July. By deduction, it must have been the 1st Brigade of 22nd Division.
  8. ↑ Smith (1998), 402. Durutte's division was attached from IX Corps and fought at Wolkowysk on 14–16 November.
  9. ↑ Smith (1998), 463-464. The Saxon troops defected to the Allies on 18 October.

References

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