Study Groups of the N.A.

The Napoleonic Association has a growing number of Study Groups, covering a range of Napoleonic topics. Each Group is attracting an enthusiastic following, and many of the enquiries I receive in my capacity as Research Officer are passed to these bodies for reply. The members of each group pool their resources for the benefit of other people within the group, and as some groups have overseas members this means that all have access to archive and museum sources around Europe. If you have a particular query or want to find out more about these Study Groups, their details are as follows:

German States Study Group

John Henderson is Coordinator for this group, and he envisages that the field covered will be the military history of Germany during the years 1793 to 1815, but excluding the study of Austri-an and Prussian history. There is a large range of some 400 States to study here, from the largest, the Kingdom of Bavaria, to the smallest, the Convent of St.Ulrich and St.Afra in Augs-burg. The years 1793 to 1815 cover the Revolutionary and Napole-onic Wars during which period the German States were members of firstly, the Holy Roman Empire, then the Confederation of the Rhine, and lastly the German Confederation.

The objectives of the group are to be of mutual advantage and interest to the members, perhaps to establish a newsletter, and perhaps to publish information in booklet form. If you wish to find out more about this group, contact John at 118 Milton Road, Hartlepool, Cleveland.

British Militia and Volunteers Study Group

During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars Britain became a vast armed camp, not only of regular soldiers and sail-ors preparing for overseas service, but of many thousands of ordinary men who answered the call to arms for Britain's home defence.

What happened to the many Militia, Fencible, Volunteer and Yeo-manry units? What trace of local defences and plans are left, to which these men would have marched had the enemy landed?

This Study Group has been formed to bring together the local histories of these men and units and where possible put a name or identity to those ordinary men who stepped forward in uncertain times. For more details contact David Bell, 32 Abbotts House, Pimlico, London, SW1V 3RN

Austrian Study Group

The largest individual contribution to the allied struggle against Napoleon was made by the Austrian Empire, whose troops fought in most of the major campaigns on the continent of Europe. With territories stretching from Belgium and southern Germany east to central Ukraine, and from central Poland south to central Jugoslavia, its armies included in their ranks Germans, Hungar-ians, Czechs, Croats, Serbs, Italians and many smaller nationali-ties. Under its greatest leader, Archduke Charles, it was the Austrian Army that inflicted the first defeat on Napoleon at Aspern in May 1809, and under Schwarzenberg its forces played a major role in the 1813-14 Wars of Liberation. Against French forces in general, its record is actually quite good. Yet Aus-tria’s contribution is hardly featured in English.

This group aims to redress the balance. It has members throughout the UK and Europe, and has amassed a considerable quantity of reliable material. Whilst much of this is in German, members are able to translate information to assist those unfamiliar with the language. The group produces a regular newsletter.

If you have an interest in this subject, please contact David Hollins, 15 Fox Dale, Stamford, Lincs., PE9 2XA.

British Light Infantry Study Group

This group has been formed to further research into the Light Infantry Regiments of the British Army 1793-1815. It is intended to share research, pool resources and collaborate in producing booklets on the British Army. Plans are being formulated to extend the study to include Light Infantry Regiments from Portu-gal, Brunswick and the King’s German Legion. Gradually interest will expand and material will be assembled on Wellington’s Light Cavalry and Royal Horse Artillery.

The research being performed covers campaigns, battles, tactics, weapons, uniforms, organisation and the life of the soldier on active service. The group has its own newsletter called The Skirmisher.

For further details contact Stephen Petty, 7 Albert Road, New Milton, Hants, BH25 6SP.

French Commanders Study Group

The lives of many principal figures in the Emperor’s military hierarchy have already been chronicled in detail, and full-length biographies in the English language already exist for Davout, Bernadotte, Berthier, Massena, Murat etc, quite apart from the various multi-biographied volumes on the Marshalate. But what of other senior French officers? There were over 2,000 such men. Who were they, and what were their characters? What were their back-grounds? Were they good commanders? Were they loyal Bonapartists, Republicans or Bourbons? What were their weaknesses and failings? How did they die? How are they remembered today?

The answers to these and many more questions are the aim of this Study Group. More information may be obtained from Terry Senior, 4 Parc-An-Pons, Green Lane, Marazion, Cornwall, TR17 0HQ.

Special Note

When contacting any of these Groups for further information, please enclose an A5 sae for reply.

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