Reply To: [1805] On the Sources for Austerlitz

[OotKust]

Side-stepping for a moment, I have followed the higher numbered ‘regiments de ligne‘ for a while now.  Already we have read about the 108e and sibling corps, some of ‘Italian’ origin and some amalgamations of diverse territories of France.

Here I was looking at another of the remarkable Davouts III Corps- thrown in fast and forced marched to the emerging battle that Austerlitz was.

One of those units was the 111eme de ligne- Piedmontaise and ex-Sardinian mostly. Berjauds synopsis of their Colonel in his http://frederic.berjaud.free.fr/111edeligne/111eligne.htm .

GIACOMO FRANCESCO (Jacques François) GAY

(reformatted_dww)

Born in Turin on 23 February 1759 and began his service in the ranks of the Army of the King of Sardinia on 23 July 1775, with the rank of Second Lieutenant, then he was appointed Lieutenant on 28 March 1777 and Captain on 15 August 1784.

On 5 May 1791, he was transferred to the Regiment of Pioneers and took part in the 1792 campaign and the following ones, reaching the rank of Major on 27 April 1795.

Piedmont annexed to France, Gay became Chef de Bataillon adjoint, Staff of General Victor, participating in the campaigns of 1798 and 1799. On October 16, he passed, still with the same rank, to the 29th Demi-brigade de Ligne.

He was appointed Director of the Piedmont Military Topographic Service on 1 October 1800 with the rank of Chef de Brigade, and remained there until 28 January 1802, when he was appointed commandant of the 111th Demi- Brigade, which subsequently became the 111th Line Infantry Regiment.

Chevalier then Officer of the Legion of Honor, he was made Baron of the Empire and Member of the constituency of the Department of Po on March 19, 1808.

He took part in the 1805 and 1806 campaigns with the III Corps, leading brilliantly the 111th at Austerlitz and Auerstadt until 29 October 1806, when he handed command of the Regiment to Colonel Husson.

He was promoted Général de brigade et d’Inspecteur aux revues; and, on 19 November, that of Intendant of Kalisch in Poland.

On 1 March 1807, he became Inspecteur aux revues du 1er Corps d’armée à Preussische-Hollande and held this post in 1807 and 1808.

He was then seconded to Spain with the 1st Corps and on October 7, 1808 was sent to Bayonne to head the become Directeur Bureau Central des Revues et des Décomptes de l’armée française en Espagne.

On January 24, 1811, he became Inspector of the Reviews of the 29th Military Division.

After the fall of the Empire, he joined the Sardinian army with the rank of Colonel and then became Head of the Division of the Secretariat of War (1815), a Major General (1817), Commander of the Division of Genoa (1820), then Cuneo (1821).

And finally, Governor of the ‘second’ house of Les Invalides (1822) he died in Aix en Savoie on September 11, 1826.
– –

The 111eme  was part of:

– GBD Lochet (2e Brigade)

48° Ligne [2 bataillons – 1522 h]
111° Ligne [2 bataillons – 1778 h]

Lochets and the 3rd Brigade were force-marched more North East toward Turas from 0600. After witnessing the results of the combat at Tellnitz by his ‘first’ brigade (Heudelet) approximately 0830 Davout went off to direct the march on Sokolnitz with greater haste.

He had been informed, both by gun fire and orderlies, that the Russians had appeared before the entrances to Sokolnitz from the East, ie the Pratzen Plateau roads.

About 0900 Davout encountered GDV Friant and staff on the march well in front of the column. He directed Friant to make haste to Sokolnitz directly East-NE and they arrived there [Edit] AFTER about 0915-0930.

Two versions of their appearance West of Sokolnitz village are made. In one, the 111eme is alone with the “15e Legere- balance of 1er et 2eme bons (12 companies) excluding all elites”. The 15e Legere were part of the 3e Brigade (Kister) and it’s not impossible that their enthusiasm, or coordination as legere, allowed them to cross country faster than the route-marching de ligne.

The 15e were quite weak, only 6 chasseur companies in each battalion, totalling 905 hommes according to prior returns. Their elite Carabiniers and 1st Chasseur companies from each battalion had been ‘detached to Oudinots Reserve Grenadiers Division in 1804, so were far off in the Northern sphere with La Garde Imperiale as Army ‘Grand Reserves’.

In the other, it arrived as the normal brigade dispositions. Their combat (all units) is well depicted by Robert Goetz in ‘Austerlitz: 1805’.

Les pertes du Régiment sont énormes: 138 morts et blessés, 68 hommes prisonniers, sur un total de 1300 hommes engagés.

As a summary of the battle, it is notable from a ‘hesitant’ analyst:-

General Friant, a man of reluctant praise [!] about his soldiers and firmly convinced of the poor military skills of the Italians, had to change his mind, and in the days following the battle he used exhilarating words in his official reports to Marshal Davout about the Piedmontese of the 111th, who had resisted for a long time in extreme conditions.

regards
-d