Napoleon's Balkan Troops

Napoleon's Balkan Tro ps

CONTENTS THE FRENCH EMPIRE IN THE BALKANS

VlADIMIR BRNAIlOIC WIlS zag~b In U173. Arte, graduallng fTom In. UnlYef'dty of zagreb wfIh s History degnte, he trained iIS • jou~lIst. He h.8s a kHfl intel"ftt In In. history of c.n1,.1 end Enlem Europe.n military org.niNUom., npeIng,com

To my wife Teoden and daughter Helena, and my GfIlf\llJI" ancestors 01 the 4th Szluin Regiment

. ....., &om -..y I... lIMIng lor II'oe llU'IlOM 01 private stucfy. crIt>cIIrn 01 _ . . . ~ """" II'oe Co9YfIOht, l:lMIgrlIlnd Pat.u Act, 1l18l1. no l*'l 01 _ pubIocatlan!MY t..~, lIlorild In • -1'fS*'!, 01 _ l i d In 11"1' Iorm 01 tIy -..y ....... -.:tronoc. 1iIdrlcII, _ , "'ICfIInoCII, 0l)laII. • .....-dong 01 _ _,

M nghtt _ ~.

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wrthouIlI'oe prIOr -nw. ~ oIlI'oe DllJ¥IlIhl _ t..-...cl roll'oe~.

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Acknowledgements Many people have helped me to prepaN this book. I should like to thank Dave HellOS and o.rtto PavloVIC lor their 1MMee, Dave lor l\SSIStanee with the text. and Dw1l0 for the plat.; Madame Ver1l MhaliC. my host while I was -m.ng in PBris. and Luc Oreskow;:; TOITlISlay Aralica, who aIowed me to chw upon 00th his eoIection (pICtI.ft a.:lia, NaIical and ovtstane*lg knowledge; AIfr«l Umhey, for his help WIth bn!lOllS from the Sanvnlung AItred u, RoIarId Umhey teredi\$. lJmheyl; Dr F1lInC8SCO Smoncn, for his help Wtth the ftbaI research; ArserI 0uplanl:aC, of the Iibfary of !he ArchaeologIeal Musam In Spit teredltS, AMS); Marnl Engoyac-Pisk and Jlwlko.Jelin6C, lSl. OflCll called Ilept::tnesm (the Sen~n Islands. Fr. &-pt itl'f). This ronner Vl'nelian possc\Sion of str,ltegicalh located islands, guarding the entmncc to the Adriatic Sea. W,IS ceded to France under the Treal\ of Campo FOllnio on 17 October 1797_ In 1799 the Russians captured the islands and established an imponam base for their .\lcdileITillle.m Flee!. In .\Iarch 1800 the Scplinsular Republic was created, at first under Turkish sO\ereignty. and thcn as a Russian protectOrillC_ The Russians 'lI1e1 French resumed their comest (0 control both the islands and the Adliatic dliling 1806: blH a rear I.lter the Tsar had to retum them to the French Empire under the 1807 Treat) of rilsit. Two veal"5 later, they were amalgamatcd with Francc's mainland territories to form thc Ilhrian l'rO\;ncc~; bm in late 1809 the British locil.cd fivc of the seven Ionian Islands, lcaving only Corfu and Paxos under French control, The tcrm 'llI)'ria' (Lal. /{/),l'iflllll} had been llsed for the ea~tern coast of the Adriatic since Roman limes, but hy the 18th Cl'ntlll)' it rt'ferrcd to thc territories inhabited br Slavic peoples. Tht; coa~t had becn mainly Linder Venelian rule ulltil 1797, when Austria added the defullct republic's PUloloclosions to iu, .\mall coastal pro\-ince. FoI!O\\'ing the disaster of Austcrlitz in 1805, Austria ceded the fonTler Venetian prO\-inces of btJ"i.. , Dalmatia and the Ba\ of Canaro to Napoleon. II0WI::\'cl', the FrancoRussian struggle for Adriatic domination was spreading along thc B.llkall coast throughollt 1806-07, drawing in tht' ~Iontenegrins. 1\110 sided with thc Tsar. rhe Frcnch expanded their ncw tcrritorics with the sdlllre of the independent Republic of Ragusa (Dubromik) in

3

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AUSTRIAN EMPIRE

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OCCUPIED II!I08

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GAlNEO 1llO9

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REGIMENTAL AREAS OF

CHASSEURS OUYRIE

KINGDOM OF ITALY

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ARINTH

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1 • 1~ Regl. (u.u:c.r- GIR I) 2-2nd Reg!. (.,.~ GlR No 21 3· 3rd Regl ( u ~ GlR No 3) • - 41h Reg! (.. GlR No 4) 5·5111 Regl (..-1S1 a.n.l GlR No 10) 6 -1IIIl Reg!. (a-2nd 8MIoI GIR No 11)

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REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS

BOSNIA

OTTOMAN EMPIRE SM_

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D'lm'"e and the lIIyna" Provlneea, 1809-14, with •• rlle,

8cqul,ltlona ,inca 1805. In that Y'" the French took the t.rritone. which had originally H.n undar V.nallan rule until 1787, when tMy tlad brleny p. .aed to Auetrla uncler the peace treaty '"dins! the War of the Fin' C_litlon.

4

1806. These territories were initially incorporated inlo Ihc Kingdom of lraly. il satellite kingdom uncler Napoleon's personal rule as king since 1804. Another defeat in 1809 cost Austria more territory, including her small coastline: the reSl of Istria. Trieste. parts of Carinthia and Camiola. and Croalia somh of the Sava River. including the Croat and Banal districlS of the region designated as the Ausman ~Iilitar}' Border (Mditiirgrnnt'). Napoleon's intention ....·as to CUI the Austrian Empirc off fro III thc sea. and to seal ofT the last southern access for Crcat BI;lain to European markclS. At thc So"\I1lC time, he wanted to secure French control of the Alpine passes between {;cnual Europe and the Adriatic. in order to open land rolltcs for French lr.lde ....;th thc Middle E.."\St to replace the maritime rOlltCS no..... blocked b}' the RO\'al Nan'. Ilis 1809 gains \\'erejoincd to Dalmatia and Istria on 25 December 1809. to form the III)'rian I'rm;nces (Us P'fwbl{''5 IllJrimtl'5 - imuking the ancient name) as a dircct dependcllcy of the Frcllch Empire.

c.nblnlers of the Ao~el o.l",etlan leillon p.8fedlng bel_ Nepoleon 'n Venice on 21 November t807. The green uniform has rwd laclne- end dlstlnctlon.. and Is wom ova, s wtllte we'stc_t, with black 1leIf-g"ters, anod French -.qulprnenl Including the eabIwbrique'. The shako pompon Is eppa.-nlty halved rwd Oftf

green. tzanonl, court. .~ U"'.... yJ

The combined provinces covered an area of about 21.500 square miles with a population of around 1,500.000. The}' wcre di\idcd into six chil distriCL~: Carniola; Carinthia with Vilbch and Lim.; Isuia with Trieste and Gorizia; Ci\il Croatia, Dalmatia \\iI11 the Bar of Canaro; thc territol)' of the fanner Republic of Ragu5.."1; and Milil:lI)' Croatia (La Crootil' militairt'). TI1C adminisuro\"inces took part in the 1812 invasion of Russia.

DALMATIA & 1ST RIA Dalmatians had a reputation as good soldiers and sailors, so Napoleon follo\\'ed the previoLls Venetian traditions in cmploying them. The Frcnch raised onc b."1ualion from Istria, together with t"wo banal ions and one Legion from Dalmatia, all of which wcre pan or the Ro)'al Italian Ann)' (even after thc Illyrian Pl'o\'inces were cstablished in 1809). These Dalmatian troops were later merged iTllo one regimenl. while sailors wcre also recruited from both tCITitOlies for thc Roral Italian Na\)', 1st & 2nd Dalmatian Battalions

Following the 1805 Treat)' of Pressburg, the rcmnants of Austria's three Dalmatian ballalions \,'cre u-ansfcrred to the ann}' of the Kingdom of Ital}' as the lsI and 2nd Dalmatian BatlaliollS (Bnllagiio", Dalmnta) on 17 February 1806, They were under the comlll:md of a ch~f tU bataillorl "ith an adjutant-major and a quartermaster, Fonncd frOIll the first twO Austrian HnilS, 1st Battalion had 27 officers. 968 NCOs and men in one

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TNs IIh.,tntlon of • c ....blnler of tIM Roy81 O.llNItI.n Regl,,",nt i. from regul.tlon. pub+l,hed In MIl.n in tBOt. Note tIM IWd 8P8ule«. . .nd ....... 0 coni, 1Wd. OOIef'iI~ pompon, .nd whlt8 ,word knot with IWd b,. .I. The inscription 'RRO' .nd tM crown of Lomban:ty on tIM dl.mondsh8p8d ,ellow .............0 pl.t. .... shown . , bleck. lUmtteri

•

grenadier and seven fllsilier companies. each COllimanded by a captain, a lieutenant and a second-lieutenant. It was Slationcd first at I\tantua and then at Ci\ita\'ecchia in northern Italy. The 2nd llattalion (formed from the third Ausman unit) \\'::LS based in Venice and attached 10 the Na\)'. Both battalions adopted the six-compan\' establishmcnt ofthe Frcnch light infanu1' by an order of 18 June 1806. \\ith a lIl:"tfT expanded by the addition of an adjutant NCO, a surgeon. a corporal-dnllnmer. an armourer, a tailor and a shoemaker, A month later the 1st llatlalion, 882 strong, was reorgani7ed: eOrdls respectively: c;:lch compan\ had a sergealll major. six sergeantS, eight corporals and twO dnmuncrs, t",o pioneers, 20 sharpshooters and 160 soldiers with fOllr sen'lIltS. The famous IJopfNl.5lutz.n1 (double-barrelled rifle/musketS) had been spilited aW;:I)' to Ausman depotS, so the sharpshooter deladuncnL'i were ..... ho prmidc the ltOldicrs' uniforms: if the unifonns werc prescribed in the ....' ;1\ tJml the families cannot make thcm thcmselvcs. i.e. Ihat the: families have to bur tJ1cm. lhis single order ....·ould cause a n·\·ohll.ion and the emigration of a largc numbcr of those. I\ho ....ould be unable 1.0 comph ....ith this dem.md. ' Thc illlroduction of a ncw uniform was immediatch sllspended and was in fact ne\er impicmellled in Ihe I'ro\inccs, bUl also had the CffCCI of slopping the introdUCIion of Ihe blue unifonns. Thus lhe lroops SClit to Gcrmam and hah in 1813 apparcntJ\ wore '-drialions of Ihe b1'0"'11 AUSlrian uniforms. Although the organiLUioll:11 tables lisl six standard-bearers. tJlCre is no c\idcncc lhat the IIhTi;lI1s were c\cr gil'cn Eagles. Just onc \\hitc fanion of Ihe 3rd (Ogulin) Kcgimcllt's lsi HanaHon has suni\'cd, and presumabh the other battalions al~ carried llll:m.

Field service: the Croatian Provisional Regiments Conlinuing Austrian CrclIl.er pmclice, the IIInian Chas~ellrs 11(.,\·cr scl"\·t'd on campaign as complete rebtimcms, but operated as independem bau.•"llions. The high casualties sustaincd by lhe Crenzers o\'cr thc pre\'iolls 20 rears iniliall) made it difiicuh for each regilllelll to prmidc morc than one hallalion for field scnice. so these baualions ,,'ere paired into four Croatian Provisional Regiments (Rigilll,mts prolli.wires croates) of two batlaliolls each. The first to be read}' \\';15 tJ1C 3l'd Provisional Regiment, organizcd from the 1st Bns of 5th and 6th RegIS of 1II)'l'ian Ch;lSsellrs (formcrly 1st and 2nd Banal KcglS) on 21 September 1811.

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A ..nlor otf1e.r, drum.m./or, and two o"lell" 01 Croatian Pro... lalonal Reglmenta, 1812-13. All th,... o"le... hava green eoatl, y.lIow faelng. with red eollar .oglng and p.teh.., allver 'metal', and g,...n b,...eh.. or lrounrl with y.lIow stripes. Th. right hand flgu,.. Is probably from a earablnl.r eompany, gl....n his dant brown fur busby with red pompon and bag, and red walsteoll. Th. greateoals a.. earrl.o roll.o o....r the right should.r, th... a,.. shown .s light brown. 1M e...blnl.r's as grey. Tha "mbou,..majot' has YIIIl_·striped g..y ~MrS; his lac... sllv.r. Inc:litdlng Se~ of the Legion of Honour. The regimelll lost 1\\0 officers killed and nine wounded. and was reduced to less than 650 eITeni\'cs. While Col ~Iamul" and a cadre from the 2nd Bll retul"lwd to Croatia to r.li.sc more recruiLS, the undel'-strength lSI Bu. under thl' command of O"f d, oolm!JfJl/ \'inisch, joined the 1st BI1 of the 1st Pro\'isional Regt in Glogall (sec abo\·e). where both remained 1I1llilthcir deparlllre in Januar, 1814. The 4th Croatian Pro\isio'nal Regiment was formed at !\IOIuechiaro in hah :lIld \\-.lS auached to Vicerm Eugene's ;lnll\, but apparellth neH.'r ~'1\\' action. Considered unreliable, the regiment \\Has sent to Corsica in Z"o\'ember 1813 to be di\Olnlled and cOlwerled to Pioneers. The regiment I\';ts formalh dish:'llded ;It Ajaccio 011 23Janua.... 1814, and its officers and men incorporaH.·d illlo the 2nd Colonial Battalion: but the\ were repatriated in ~I;". Uniforms

The 3rd Croatian Pro\isional Regt had arri\'ed in Paris and p.'1r.Jded before the emperor ·... in old AU:Mi'lIl uniforms. the onh change being that the Ausui'lIl cockade w;ts replaced with the French one.' An unhapp\ Napol(>()n ordered the Minister of War to design a new uniform for the I'rO\;-loional regiments. and Ihe old proposal of introducing a green unifol'lll was relived. This consisted ofa green jacket and trouscrs, \\;Ih crimson facings in the light infalllry pattern. white hllllOlH and a \\,;,istcoaL ~apolcoll made a minor alteration in changing the facings to yellow, and to incre.tse production rates he sent six Imperial Guard tailors to each h:'ttaliOlI. Just a month later, in earh Januan- 1812. thc Croats \\en: i~IlCd with their nc\\' grcen unifonn. Thejacket was of the old lighl infant!")· stde, upen from the chest dowllwards, with }'ello\\' facings on the collar and pointed CIIITS, and rellow piping on the turn-backs, lapels and shoulder loops. The cam· billiers wore rcd epalllclles, the cha~seurs fed with yellow fringes and the mltigellrs b'Teen with \ellow fringes. The breeches were deCOl':lled 011 the seam in yellow, and the shon black braiters had a "ellow, tasselled hussar-st\le tOp edge. On field sen'ice long trousers \\ith vellow

.."

OffIcen, dnlmmer .nd c:h.e5M'U'

of 2nd Cl"Htlen Pro.... fional A"llt In o.nn.n»" 1813. They .....11 w ••rt. . the brown vnlfonn with

yellow fkl.... the omc:en ha.... wtlft. 'metal' .nd wtlit. bimellts of lIIyrian Chasscll1's (1'>I'."e abo\'e), \\'hile the slllA' wcre primaril}' ca\,IIf\,nen from mam' moull!ed units. \\'110 \\'ere promou.-d . 011 lr:msfcr. Bertrand himself \''as rewarded \Iith command of IV COIVS of the Grande Anncc. \\'hich the Croatian 1-!U5S.,r Regl was ordered lojoin in Germany in Aplil 1813: bUI il never did, since il \\'as not ret full} equipped, Ne\'enheless. lo~elher \\;th 1.000 soldiers of the 4th 1l1p;an Chasseurs. some 220 of the Ilus.sars succe1'>Sflllly repulsed a cross-border Io\\'. a long red wool sash with gold tassels. and a thick goatskin cloak that is impenncable to l .hako embelll.hmant .-.d. E.Fle", lIlu.t•• t . . ttll, type o'ltOldl.r with .ky-blu. cuff.

and flaps, dart! blue .11.leoat, undeco,..ted trou..,. .nd whit. g.ltars, and .nows an .J1.~ Hbre knot. (Alatian M,nuKript, court. .y Umhey)

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The Oriental Chasseurs (Cllassellrs d'OrifmJ) originated in the local volunteer units raised b)' the French from the Creeks. Turks. Copts and Srrians in the Middle East during Napoleon's 1798-99 campaign. These troops wert: shipped back to Marseille after Eb"Ypt W;,IS (."\.Ieuated in 180 I, alld organized into a light ullit b)' all order of 7January 1802. The eight companies, including one each of car.tbiniers and anillcqmen, totalled just 339 men. Despite a stead)' strcarll of desertions. an order of 10 September 1802 directed the batt.alion to be expanded to \,000 men organized into a staff and ten companies, but it never numbered more thall 400. Nevertheless. when ;lSsigned to Cell ~lolitor's expeditiun to relieve Cen Lallliston besieged in Dllbrovnik in 1806 by the Russians and '\\olllenegrins, lhe lInit distinguished them~el\'es and eamed three crosses of the Legion of Honour: but the price was he;I\Y. LOlal st.rcngth being reduced (0 17 onicers and 60 men by 20 November 1806. After sen'ice in southern France and Itah. (he battalion was tr'lI1sferred in 1809 to garrisons in Dalmatia and lhen Corfu. where it was auached to the Albanian Regimen!. Despite additional local recruiting (an 1812 list includes 18 French, four Italians. one Neapolitan. one Gennan, one Pole. one Ilungarian. 17 Dalmatians. 14 Archipelago Creeks. 30 Ionian Creeks. one Serb and 15 EK''Ptians). the banalion's strength fell from 293 in 1810 to 96 in February 1813, when

french gunne.. inltructing Greeks of the Septinlular Artlnery. Although thl. unit is uld to hille worn the lame uniforms II fren.ch line foot IrtUlery, the.. Grnh Ire .hown In their nalllle cottume, which i. more Ukely. (P.WIgner, courte.y Umheyl

the unil "'as shipped from Corfu to Ancona in h.·t1\,. It continued to fight alollhrside the Frel1ch ulltil 1814, when it \\'as again transfen'ed 10 ~larseil1e, All non-French wcrc sent 10 a refugee depol. and the battalion was officialh disbanded on 24 September 1814 at L~'on. The uniform, e(luipmcnt ,lIId :mnamelll of the ~Iiddle Eastelll Ch:u..seun. "ere the sa.me as those of the French light infalllry,

• • •

Scver.ll French and Italian units sen cd in Il1vria from 1806 10 1813. 111(.' first wcrc thc French.:>c, 23c, 79c and 81c de Ligne from Cell ~Iolitor's division, which occupied the terrilories acquired under the 'Ii·eaty of Pn..'SSburg e1~

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