The Italians in 1813
Reorganization of 15th Division
by A. Ricciadello, Poland
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On 10 June Fontanelli arrived to replace Peyri and commanded the division. He wanted to join up all the Italian troops in the army into the 15th division. Macdonald, however, for fear of losing Zucchi's brigade vigorously opposed the idea. As such Fontanelli set about reorganising what he had for Bertrand's IV Corps. What he had was, on 1st June, 4 infantry regiments averaging 895 men each. Over 1000 men per regiment had been for lost various reasons of attrition The Guardia di Milano from 787 effectives presented 420. It was hoped that with the arrival of the brigade d' march that the regiments would reach 1250 and the Guardia over 500. In reality the reinforcements were unequally distributed. Naturally a lot of equipment was lacking too, but this was by and large seen to, and by the end of the month what was short was on its way, or at least requested. For instance the whole division lacked 120 muskets and 160 bayonets. A lot of what could not be supplied from bases such as Dresden came locally, a good number of shoes and shirts were procured or repaired this way. Pay mostly had been made up to the middle of May, and the officers and men were satisfied with the state of things in this area. Instruction was executed vigorously under Fontanelli who had the men and officers do manoeuvres twice a day at sub battalion and battalion level, twice a week at Division level. Faring much better, were the two artillery batteries and their trains. From 623 in total they presented 468 men. The train though was mostly made up of conscripts, so to improve the situation the losses were mostly made up from experienced men of the regimental artillery. The horses too were in a good condition, only 30 needing to be replaced. The guns, caissons and wagons were also in good repair needing only minor attention and all in the number as decreed, therefore, the latter needing only the 360 horses required. All in all Fontanelli had done an excellent job providing all that could be possible. Bertrand in his inspection of July commented in his report to Berthier (4 July) that the division was complete and lacked nothing. A summary of the divisional situation is shown here;
It is hoped that this regiment will reach 1000 men with those that can come from the hospitals and from the battalion d'march, each battalion having 500 men. Superior Officers Major Ferriroli is a little advanced in years, but serves well. The two Chefd'Battn, Ponte and Jacopetti are amongst the best in the division Proposal regarding vacant posts It has been ... ... ... etc Uniforms This regiment is the one in which the clothing is in the best condition; gaiters are the item, which is in the greatest need. Equipment If the stores of the government do not provide these items, it will be difficult for this corps, as the others, to provide them. Underclothing and leg wear Shoes, shirts and other items are completely lacking but have been ordered. Armament The soldiers lack 11 muskets and 54 sabres; the rest of the armament is in a good state. The best part of the repairs have been done, and the work continues constantly to complete it. Training All the battalions of the division are exercised in the morning and evening. There is instruction to the officers and underofficers on regulations. Etc... This regiment, after the Milan battalion manages its arms the best. It is possible that this regiment could arrive to 1500 men etc;...
Discipline Discipline is good and there has not been one complaint on the part of the inhabitants. Health There are very few sick even though supplies [of food] are mediocre Pay The cheques for the month of May have been paid to the officers and soldiers. Observations on the division losses This regiment as the 7th has had the most losses in the whole campaign. In these two last months there were no old soldiers and few N. C O's. Before making any contact with the enemy this regiment had lost more than half of its effectives. On 13 May at Konigsbruk there were 423 and 411 men in each battalion etc.... The report continues in this vein with the same headings as above for the other regiments. I will continue with a summary of losses;
General Observations Most of the equipment missing has been in fact lost, but each thing will be replaced ... etc... all the soldiers are provided with a small mug. I know full well that pay has been suspended up to this date to pay for the various items that are necessary to replace. It is desirable that the battalion d' march and 1000 men that are to be found at Dresden arrive as quickly as possible to bring up the battalions to 4 to 500 men. The incorporation of the 4th battalions in the 4th and 6th regiments will be a benefit; it is demoralising for the officers and men to see the companies reduced from 35, 25 down to 14 men. The arrival of General Fontanelli has been of great benefit .... Etc ..... The state of the situation with respect to prisoners, of 2943 includes about 1000 that were believed to be prisoners, but are In fact at Dresden and should be included in the column 'left behind'. The status of this 1000 has been seen to. Sprottrau 4 June 1813. Commander General of IV Corps Bertrand A similar report deals with the 2 Italian batteries incorporated in IV Corps and reveals them to be in excellent condition with largely experienced men. The 15th division was thus reinforced and reorganised into 3 brigades:
2nd brigade General Martel
3rd brigade General St.Andrea
By 8 August the division had 12528 effectives of which 8405 were present. This was one of the major Italian contingents of the army. Zucchi was reinforced to 3731 though other Italian units were present in Macdonald's XI Corps. Other Italians, mostly cavalry were dotted about in Saxony in their respective divisions serving separately, notably the 10 and 28th Chasseurs a Cheval where in fact Italian nationals were in the great majority, as was the case in 111th Line. More Italians in 1813
Battle of Mockern Battle of Weissig Battle of Konigswartha Battle of Pilgramsdorf Reorganization of 15th Division Battle of Lahn Battle of Wartenburg Repatriation Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #55 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |
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