Introuction to the Army during the Napoleonic WarsThe British army had a huge history. Throughout 350 years, Britain had fought many wars and gained many colonies. Although a lot of this was because of the Navy, the Army also played a massive and significant role. Some say that the best part of the army was the infantry.
The age of British infantrymen during the Napoleonic Wars were between 15-45:
- 50% were between 18-29
- 17% were younger
- 33% were 30 or older
The height of a British infantryman:
- 3% were 5'10 or taller
- 16% were between 5'7 an 5'9
- 60% were between 5'4 and 5'7
- 21% were shorter
RegimentsBritish line infantry regiments mainly consisted of Englishmen, Scottishmen and Irish men. Infact, there were Irish regiments that contained Scottish, and Scottish that contained Irish. In the 42nd Regiment of Foot "Black Watch" Highlanders they had 84 Englishmen and 201 Irishmen.In the 88th Regiment of Foot "Connaught Raiders" they had 178 Englishmen and 50 Scottishmen. In the 52nd Regiment of Foot "Oxfordshire" Light Infantry they had 90 Scottishmen and 1,031 Irishmen.
Military SchoolThere were two types of warfare being taught in military schools. They were named "The American School" and "The German School".
- The American School taught open formations and light infantry tactics that were useful in North Ameriaca. They liked 2-rank formations and the use of light infantry equipped with rifles.
- The German School taught disciplined and close order drill that were used in the flat areas of Central Europe. This school liked 3-rank formations.
FormationsThe British army were built upon 3-rank formations. Although during the Peninsular War, Wellington used 2-rank formations and it turned out to be successful. The Duke of York allowed regiments to pass through using the 2-rank formation regardless of strength. In 1815 at the Battle of Quatres Bras several British regiments were severly chopped down by French lancers, cuirassiers and chasseuers. To prevent this they used a defensive 4-rank formation and this formation was much deeper than an average French line.
Companies and Regimental PlacementsGenerally, each company consisted of:
- 3 officers (including 1 captain)
- 5 NCOs (2 sergeants and 3 corporals)
- 1 drummer (and sometimes 1 fifer)
- 85-100 privates (in foot guard there is more)
A British field battalion had 10 companies: 1 light company, 1 grenadier company and 8 line infantry companies. The Light/Grenadier companies drummers formed behind their own company:
Statistics:In March 1806 the strength of the British army was approximately 160,000 men including the KGL. This table shows Wellington's infantry in Autumn 1813 in Spain:
- 1st Division (General Howard) - 3700 men in 4 battalions, 3200 men in 5 KGL battalions
- 2nd Division (General Stewart) - 5800 men in 9 battalions, 2700 men in 5 Portugese battalions
- 3rd Division (General Colville) - 5000 men in 8 battalions, 2500 men in 5 Portugese battalions
- 4th Division (General Cole) - 4000 men in 7 battalions, 2500 men in 5 Portuegese battalions
- 5th Division (General Hay) - 3000 men in 6 battalions, 1500 men in 5 Portugese battalions
- 6th Division (General Clinton) - 4700 men in 7 battalions, 2000 men in 5 Portugese battalions
- 7th Division (General Le Cor) - 3500 men in 7 battalions, 2500 men in 5 Portugese battalions
- Light Division (General von Alten) 3300 men in 5 battalions, 1600 men in 4 Portugese battalions
- Division (General Hamilton) - 5000 men in 9 Portugese battalions
British GrenadiersThe British Grenadiers were normally seen with red wings with white fringdes, white-plumed shakos and officers wore chain or laced wings. This company, along with the Light Company, were usually referred to as the flanking companie, not a lot of flanking companies were formed in 1811 in the Barrosa Campaign. The Light/Grenadier companies were known as elite companies. In August 1812, the grenadiers of the 1st Foot Guards stormed an captured a Bridge in Seville. It was rare for the British to detach and form entire battalions of Grenadiers. It's known in 1793 detached from their parent battalions and formed 3 grenadier battalions.
RedcoatsThe term 'Redcoat' is oftenly referred to a British infantryman. They were first used in 1645, in the New Model army under command of Oliver Cromwell. In America, the term is associated with the British soldiers that fought against the American colonists. Some nicknames for them were "regulars" an "the King's men". Some abusive nicknames included "bloody backs" because of their red uniforms and the whipping of their soldiers for military offenses, and "lobsters" or "lobsterbacks". Britain are the only nation to keep the red coats, and it's brilliancy used to strike terror into the enemy. The Danish and Hanoverian soldiers used to wear the red coat, but dropped it very shortly. While the rifle regiments and KGL were allowed to adopt the green clothing and black leather equipment the light infantry were forced to use the red uniforms. For rankers, the cloth was dull red but for officers it was scarlet red. Officers jackets were double-breasted, well tailored and often padded to exaggerate the outline.
Regimental Lacings and PlumesThe following a list of the regimental lacings:White - 17th, 32nd, 43rd, 47th, 59th, 65th, 74th,
Pale Yellow - 9th, 10th, 12th, 20th, 26th, 30th, 46th, 57th, 67th, 82nd, 83rd, 84th, 91st,
Yellow - 13th, 15th, 16th, 28th, 29th, 34th, 37th, 38th, 44th, 75th, 77th, 80th, 85th, 86th, 88th, 93rd,
Deep Yellow - 6th, 25th, 72nd,
Yellow Green - 5th, 36th, 54th, 66th,
Light Green - 39th,
Blue Green - 11th, 19th, 24th, 45th, 49th, 51st, 55th, 63rd, 68th, 69th, 73rd, 79th, 87th, 94th
Pale Buff - 27th,
Buff - 3rd, 14th, 22nd, 31st, 48th, 52nd, 61st, 62nd, 71st, 78th, 81st, 96th
Deep Buff - 40th, 90th,
Orange - 35th,
Red - 33rd, 41st, 53rd, 76th,
Purple - 56th,
Blue - 1st, 2nd, 3rd Foot Guards, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, 42nd, 60th,
Black - 50th, 58th, 64th, 70th, 89th
Plumes of line infantry:white for grenadier company
green for light company
red over white for center companies
(only in 42nd the center companies had red plumes,
light company had red over green plume
grenadier company had red over white plume)
Plumes of light infantry (& rifles):green for grenadier company
green for light company
green for center companies
UniformsTrousersIn parade time during peacetime British soldiers wore white breaches with black gaiters. During campaign, they whore white during summer and grey-blue during winter. At Waterloo, however, they all wore grey trousers.
Kilts With the exception of the 71st-75th regiments, all Highlander regiments wore kilts. But at Waterloo, apart from the 42nd, 79th and 92nd all of the regiments didn't wear kilts.
ShakosIn 1806 the heavy and uncomfortable leather shako was replaced by the felt shako. In a 1811 report it said that the shako was unsuitable and was easily damaged, so a new shako was designed and approved in 1812. It was called the Belgic shako, and was almost identical to the Portugese shako. This shako (also known as the "Waterloo Shako) was allowed to be used in December 1811. It was made of black felt, 8.5 inches hih in the front and 6 inches at the back. A red and white plume was worn on the left side, emering from behind a black cloth rosette.
The shako cords were, as of 1815 were:
- gold crimson for the officers
- white for the NCO's, grenadiers and fusiliers
- green for light infantry
Privates of the 42nd Black Watch wore the hummel bonnet. It was made of blue clotoh and black ostrich feathers on the left side, which were rooped over to the right side, making it look like an all-feather bonnet. The heaband had 3 bands of (red, white and green) diced cloth. On the left side there was a black cockade with a regimental pattern button into which was attached white-over-red plume. The chinstraps were made of black leather.
Foot GuardsMost monarchies have at least one regiment of Foot Guards, which were used to protect them. Many nations have guard regiments in their armies, and the word "guard" is an honorable rank to differentiate them from the normal soldiers. Guards were recruited from the biggest and the best volunteers, and were usually war veterans. The guard were known for high discipline and were uniformed like normal line infantry but with regimental differences. There were 3 regiments of Foot Guards in the British Army. These are the 3 foot guard regiments:
- The 1st Regiment was the first foot guard regiment to be created and is the most senior Line Infantry regiment in the whole army, and the most senior Foot Guard regiment in the whole army. As a result of them driving off the French Grenadiers at the Battle of Waterloo they were re-named Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards, and are the only regiment to be named after their actions during battle.- The 2nd Regiment is also known as the Coldstream Guards, and are the oldest regiment in the whole army. They can be traced back to the New Model army, and were formed on the Scottish Border in 1650. They were known for their active service during the Napoleonic Wars (Egypt, CopenHagen, Portugal, Walcheren Expedition, Waterloo) and was a part of the allied occupation forces of Paris until 1816.- The 3rd Regiment of Footguards, also known as the Scots Guards, can be traced back to 1642 and was raised by Archibald 1st Marquess of Argyll. Light InfantryThe British well trained light infantry were mocked by American farmers, militia and Indians fighting in loose formations and irregular combat. The Light Infantry (except the 60th and 95th Regiment) were classed under the French light infantry. Described by French General Foy they have nothing light about them but the name and that they wore regular infantry uniforms but with small enhancements. He also stated that the British light infantry lacke sufficient intelligence to be a real sharpshooter, but you could aruge that he's been biased. Three elite units (60th, 95th and KGL) were all armed with rifles. Marshal Soult spoke honourably about the light infantry, saying that the Light Infantry were killing the French officers very fast, in proportion with the French rankers. However, a Royal Scots officer wrote that after Waterloo the French skirmishers were generally better trained, and much more effective in this type of warfare. The 43rd and 52nd Light Infantry regiments recieveed special training from Sir John Moore and formed the famous Light Division in Wellington's army, in Spain and Portugal. There was the 71st Highland Light Infantry Regiment and the 2 rifle units, the 60th and the 95th. In some cases the Light Infantry were transported on horseback (the Russians did it with their jagers during 1812 and 1813).
RiflesThe rifle was a more accurate weapon than the smoothbore muskets. In 1797, a gun was used by the 60th. It was designed primarily for hunting, and was accurate, but had a slow reloading speed and needed to be re-loaded every few shots. A london gunsmith named Ezekial Baker, designed a new rifle which was aimed and military purposes rather than hunting requirements. This rifle had similar accuracy as the previous rifle and reduced the amount of fouling massively, allowing more shots between reloading. Because of this nature, the rifle was more sooted to sharpshooters than regular line infantry, and was given to them instead. A well-trained rifleman could fire 1 round per minute, approximately. This was called the Baker Rifle. At Waterloo, 4000 men were armed with Baker rifles.
Weaknesses of rifles:- Long reloaded time
- Needed good cleaning
- They become easily fouledRiflemen used a thing called a long bayonet, also known as "sword bayonet" desinged to make the rifle the same size as a musket equipped with a regular bayonet. It wasn't great in hand-to-hand combat though.
95th Rifles "The Grasshoppers"The 95th Rifles earned the nickname "The Grasshoppers" because of their green uniforms and fast agility. Apart of Wellington's Light Division, they were the eyes and ears for Wellington. They were usually spread out, had no colours, and reacted to wistle/bugle calls instead of drumming. The 95th Regiment of Foot was formed due to the American Militia fighting in the American Revolutionary War. After a long time of extensive training, many men were extracted from line infantry regiments and first saw action in August 1800. During the Peninsular Campaign, the 95th Rifles participated in numerous skirmishes an light infantry combats. They became famous because of many battles, including Salamanca. In the Battle of Quatres Bras, the 95th Rifles were sent to re-take the village from General Bachelu. They failed and the Prince of Orange sent the 27th Dutch Jagers were sent with the 95th but they also failed.
Highlanders and LowlandersDuring history, the English and Scottish were very unfriendly wich each other. Dating back to the 1600s, Oliver Cromwell even sold them into history. They were sold in auctions, with only 3s being spent on their food weekly. They were driven from their homes (often by bayonet, truncheon and fire) and were used in mass sheep farming for the English. In Scotland, there was a big divide between Lowlanders and Highlanders. Lowlanders often spoke English and were a mixture of all races that had invaded England many years before. The Lowlanders had a society based on money. The Highlanders however, came from Celtic and Viking origins and other faces. They spoke Gaelic and a society based on loyalty and power. The Lowlanders wore the uniform of English line infantry, while the Highlanders wore kilts (apart from 71st-75th Regiments). One of the most famous, and popoular Highlander regiments was the 42nd Regiment of Foot, and were known as the "Black Watch". The first companies were raised as militia in 1725. The nickname comes from the dark tartans they wear.
List of Scottish regiments during the Napoleonic wars (1808):3rd Foot Guards 'Scots Guards' (Lowlanders)
- 1st Foot 'Royal Scots' (Lowlanders)
- 21st Foot (Lowlanders)
- 25th Foot (Lowlanders)
- 26th Foot (Lowlanders)
- 42nd Royal Highlanders 'Black Watch'
- 70th Foot (Lowlanders)
- 71st Highlanders/light infantry
- 72nd Highlanders
- 73rd Highlanders
- 74th Highlanders
- 75th Highlanders
- 76th Highlanders
- 77th Highlanders
- 78th Highlanders
- 79th Cameron Highlanders
- 84th Highlanders
- 89th Gordon Highlanders
- 90th Highlanders
- 91st Highlanders
- 92nd Gordon Highlanders
- 93rd Highlanders
- 94th HighlandersIrishmenThe British Army had alaways used Irishmen. One of the most famous and "most Irish" regiments were the 88th Regiment of Foot 'Connaught Raiders'. The were well known for plundering and hard fighting, and Wellington described them as "the most astonishing infantry". General Picton gave them the infamous nickname of "The Devil's Own". These are the Irish regiments during the Napoleonic Wars:
18th Foot 'Royal Irish'
- 27th Foot 'Inniskilling'
- 83rd Foot
- 86th Foot
- 87th Foot
- 88th Foot 'Connaught Rangers'
- 89th Foot
- 99th Foot
- 100th Foot
- 101st Foot
- 103rd Foot