I Corps (Grande Armée)
{{Short description|Military unit of the Grande Armée}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = I Corps
| dates = 1804–1807
1812–1814
1815
| branch = {{army|First French Empire}}
| country = {{flag|First French Empire}}
| size = Army Corps
| command_structure = Grande Armée
| battles = (Notable Battles:)
- Ulm Campaign
- Battle of Austerlitz
- Battle of Jena–Auerstadt
- Battle of Friedland
- Battle of Smolensk
- Battle of Borodino
- Siege of Dresden
- Battle of Waterloo
| notable_commanders = * Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte
- Louis-Nicolas Davout
- Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon
- Claude Victor-Perrin, Duc de Belluno
- Dominique Vandamme
}}
The I Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. Though disbanded in 1814, following the Treaty of Fontainebleau, it was reformed in April 1815 following the return of Napoléon during the Hundred Days. During the Hundred Days, the corps formed part of the quickly re-formed Army of the North.{{Grand Armee Corps}}
Campaigns
During the mobilisation by Napoléon in 1803, and the subsequent ordnance reforming the army, the new "Army of Hanover or Armée de Hanovre" was formed in French occupied Hanover. This new army was the size of a corps, but under this reorganisation this meant the corps was to be deemed an army (for psychological reasons). On 17 June 1805 Jean Baptiste Bernadotte was made Governor of Hanover, and on 29 August 1805 took control of the new I Corps, and remained in this role for another seven years.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}
=War of the Third Coalition=
When the War of the Third Coalition was declared, the Army of Hanover was separate from the new Army of Hanover (responsible for the defence of Hanover) and the I Corps. This new corps was formed as part of what later became the famed Grande Armée. On 29 August 1805 the I Corps arrived in Würzburg, and tasked with providing support to the Bavarian Army (now a French ally). During the famed Ulm campaign, the I Corps formed part of the far left flank, preventing the possible retreat of the Austrians under General Karl Mack von Leiberich. As Russian General Mikhail Kutuzov arrived in Eastern Austria/Bavaria, the reality of the situation caused a general retreat towards Moravia, and the I Corps was tasked with ensuring they wouldn't escape. This plan however failed, and it was because of this move that the Battle of Austerlitz in-fact went ahead, because of Kutuzov's successful retreat.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}
Below is the order of battle of the corps on the eve of the Grande Armée's crossing of the Rhine into (what is now) Germany.
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!Order of Battle on 26 October 1805Smith 1998; p. 216.{{Cite web|url=https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/documents/carl/nafziger/805JXA.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316224533/https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/documents/carl/nafziger/805JXA.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 March 2023|author=George Nafziger|location=United States Army Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavanworth, Kansas|accessdate=27 November 2020|title=French Grande Armée 26 October 1805 Upon its Crossing of the Rhine}} |
| colspan="2" |
I Corps Headquarters; Maréchal d'Empire Jean Baptiste Bernadotte
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=War of the Fourth Coalition=
==Order of battle, 1808==
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! colspan="" |Order of battle in December 1808 just before it was disbandedGeorge Nafziger, [https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/documents/carl/nafziger/808LSCW.pdf French I Corps 15 December 1808]{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, United States Army Combined Arms Center. |
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=Russian campaign=
The corps was reorganised into a strength of five infantry divisions for the invasion of Russia in 1812 and Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout was appointed to lead it. At the crossing of the Niemen River in 1812, the size of I Corps was around 79,000 men, but six weeks later, about 60,000 men remained.{{cite web|last=Badone|first=Jean Cerino|title=1812 – Invasion of Russia|url=http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/FRENCH_ARMY.htm#french1812|accessdate=16 August 2007|display-authors=etal}} By the end of the Russian campaign, only 2,235 men remained.{{cite web|last=Badone|first=Jean Cerino|title="I have no army any more!" – Napoleon|url=http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/FRENCH_ARMY.htm#french1812|accessdate=16 August 2007|display-authors=etal}}
Under Davout, the I Army Corps left Minsk on 12 July 1812 to cut off Pyotr Bagration from Barclay de Tolly. It fought at Battle of Smolensk (1812), Borodino, Vyazma, and Krasnoi before dissolving as an effective unit during the retreat from Moscow.
=War of the Sixth Coalition=
In 1813, the I Corps was reconstituted and placed under the command of General Dominique Vandamme. The corps was destroyed at Kulm, with the remnants surrendering together with XIV Corps following the siege of Dresden in November 1813.
==Order of battle, 1813==
| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"
! colspan="" |Order of battle in September 1813 just before the War of the Sixth CoalitionGeorge Nafziger, [https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/documents/carl/nafziger/813IXB.pdf French I Corps 25 September 1813]{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, United States Army Combined Arms Center. |
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==Order of battle, 1814==
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! colspan="" |Order of battle in February 1814 just before the invasion of FranceGeorge Nafziger, [https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/documents/carl/nafziger/814BDD.pdf French I Corps 1 February 1814]{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, United States Army Combined Arms Center. |
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=War of the Seventh Coalition=
The corps was rebuilt in 1815 during the Hundred Days, and was assigned to General Jean-Baptiste Drouet, under whom it fought at the Battle of Waterloo.
==Order of battle, 1815==
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! colspan="" |Order of battle in June 1815 |
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Notes
{{reflist}}
References
- {{cite book|last=Chandler, David G. |year=1966 |title=The Campaigns of Napoleon |location=New York, NY |publisher=Macmillan}}
- {{cite book|last=Oman, Charles |year=2010 |title=A History of the Peninsular War Volume I |location=La Vergne, Tenn. |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |isbn=978-1432636821}}
- {{cite book|last=Oman, Charles |year=1995 |title=A History of the Peninsular War Volume II |location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania |publisher=Stackpole |isbn=1-85367-215-7}}
- {{cite book|last=Oman, Charles |year=1996 |title=A History of the Peninsular War Volume III |location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania |publisher=Stackpole |isbn=1-85367-223-8}}
- {{cite book|last=Oman, Charles |year=1996 |title=A History of the Peninsular War Volume IV |location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania |publisher=Stackpole |isbn=1-85367-224-6}}
- {{cite book|last=Petre, F. Loraine |title=Napoleon's Last Campaign in Germany, 1813 |year=1912 |publisher=John Lane Company |location=New York |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=hFdEAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&authuser=0&hl=en&pg=GBS.PR3}}
- {{cite book | last=Smith | first=Digby | title=The Greenhill Napoleonic wars data book | publisher=Greenhill Books Stackpole Books | publication-place=London Mechanicsburg, PA | year=1998 | isbn=978-1-85367-276-7 | oclc=37616149}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:I Corps (Grande Armee)}}
Category:Military units and formations established in 1805
Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1813
Category:Military units and formations established in 1815
Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1815