El Division del Norte Part 1

ORGANISATION OF THE SPANISH ARMY IN 1807

The Spanish Line regiments consisted of three, four company battalions. The first battalion consisted of 2 Grenadier and 2 Musketeer companies, whilst the second and third battalions consisted of 4 Musketeer companies. Each company consisted of 180 men so with the staff, the battalion numbered some 726 officers and men, and the regiment 2178. These strengths are at variance with Bueno and Nafziger, whose quoted TO&E is too small to produce the unit strengths actually acheived.

Some references indicate that the third battalion was to act as a reserve unit, and certainly Castanos used the third battalions for training during the Baylen campaign of 1808, but since all the units in Denmark kept their third battalions with them, I do not feel that this was their prime purpose.

The Light units consisted of 1, 6 Company battalion, one company being considered elite, although there were no overt company distinctives; each company was some 195 strong, both officers and men, giving a full strength of 1200. Because of their large size, each unit was apparently capable of forming 2 half-battalions, as can be seen in some of the earlier orders of battle of the War of Independence. There is no evidence that this splitting took place during the division's sojourn in Denmark, but perhaps one would not expect it given that the units were in garrison.

Spanish cavalry consisted of three distinct types: horse, dragoons, and hussars. The dragoons had been suppressed in 1800, and the regiments converted into Cazadores, but the loss was felt and in 1806 they were converted back again. It would seem, however, that some of the required uniform changes lagged however (see below), and as a consequence, Villaviciosa was still regarded as a light regiment in Denmark. All the regiments, irrespective of branch of service, were 5 squadrons strong, with an authorised strength of 140 of whom only 108 had horses, giving a regimental strength of 700 but a mounted strength of 540.

The Artillery batteries were equipped with Gribauval system artillery, and most contemporary observers were of the opinion that the artillery was the best part of the army. The presence of the Train in the Order of Battle would seem to indicate that the companies had dedicated drivers, instead of the civilians which would normally be used. The guns, limbers and their associated caissons would likely have been pulled by horses, instead of the mules or oxen that would do the job later in Spain, their slowness often leading to wholesale capture of an army's artillery train.

I cannot find out what particular equipments were supplied to the Division, but would suggest 8 pounders for the foot companies, and 4 pounders for the horse; there is a reference to the 4s being rebored to take a heavier ball (what was the recoil like?!), but I suspect that this was unlikely at this juncture. Unless someone has better information, it was likely that the foot companies were 8 guns strong, and the horse 6.

As can be seen by comparing the authorised strengths to the actual Order of Battle noted earlier, all the units were either up to, or slightly over, establishment, but only at the expense of drafting soldiers, and in the case of cavalry, horses, from other units. This had the effect of weakening home garrisons, a situation that was to bedevil the cavalry arm throughout the War of Independence.

El Division del Norte Part 1
El Division del Norte Part 2
El Division del Norte Part 3