In AoN 28 Jerry Webster asked if we could give an authoritative breakdown of the Austrian Auxiliary Corps in Russia for the 1812 Campaign. Lo and behold, what do we get but a response from both Jack Gill and Dave Hollins how about that for service? If this isn't the full s.p., then I don't know what is! Thank you both gentlemen.

Corps Organisation

In accordance with the terms of its alliance with France, Austria assembled a force of some 30,000 men around Lemberg in May 1812. Initially known as the Austrian 'Auxiliary Corps' (Auxiliar Corps), the name was officially changed to 'Corps Autrichien' just before the campaign opened.

The June order of battle given below and subsequent alterations are drawn from Ludwig Freiherr von Welden's little tome, Der Feldzug der Oesterreicher gegen Russland im Jahre 1812 (Wien, 1870). Von Welden served as an Oberstleutnant on the corps staff during the campaign and had full access to the Austrian archives when he compiled this slender book in 1818. Moreover, he was quite careful about such details (as evidenced by his work on 1809). We can thus treat his presentation with a high degree of confidence. Furthermore, the identities of regiments and battalions he provides are in agreement with that in volume V of Gabriel Fabry's monumental Campagne de Russie (Paris, 1903); Fabry's archival source (dated 4 June 1812), however, provided only a list of units without any organisational information below the corps level.

In the following list, each division-size unit is commanded by a Feldmarschall-Leutnant (FML), each brigade by a General-Major (OM). Welden's spellings have been retained.

Right Wing:

Brigade: GM Zechmeister

6th Warasdin-St. Georger Grenzer (1 battalion) (1190)
5th Jaeger Battalion (4 companies) (580)
8th Menmayer Hussars (6 squadrons) (846)

Brigade: GM Pflacher

IR58 Beaulieu Infantry Regiment (2 battalions) (1697)
IR39 Duka Infantry Regiment (2 battalions) (1739)

Center:

Brigade: GM Lilienberg

IR48 Simbschen Infantry Regiment (2 battalions) (1622)
IR19 Alvintzy Infantry Regiment (2 battalions) (1668)

Brigade: GM Prince von Hessen- Homburg

IR33 Colloredo Infantry Regiment (2 battalions) (1711)
IR2 Hiller Infantry Regiment (2 battalions) (1766)

Brigade: GM Prince Alois Liechtenstein

Kirchenbetter Grenadier Battalion (657)
Brzeczinski Grenadier Battalion (644)
IR32 Esterhazy Infantry Regiment (2 battalions) (1709)
IR34 Davidovich Infantry Regiment (2 battalions) (1634)

Left Wing:

Brigade: GM Mayer

IR9 Czartoryski Infantry Regiment (1 battalion) (981)
IR41 Kotulinski Infantry Regiment (2 battalions) (1312)
IR30 de Ligne Infantry Regiment (2 battalions) (1887)

Brigade: GM Pflacher

7th Jaeger Battalion (4 companies) (539)
5th Warasdin-Kreuz Grenzer (1 battalion) (1257)
4th Hessen-Homburg Hussars (6 squadrons) (741)

Reserve:

Brigade: GM Frelich

1st Kaiser Hussars (6 squadrons) (901)
3rd O'Reilly Cheveauleger (6 squadrons) (804)
2nd Hohenzollern Cheveauleger (6 squadrons) (860)

Brigade: GM Wrede

6th Riesch Dragoons (4 squadrons) (601)
4th Levenehr Dragoons (4 squadrons) (631)
6th Blankenstein Hussars (6 squadrons) (801)
3 companies of artillery (501) manning: 2 x 3pdr batteries of 8 guns 4 x 6pdr batteries of 8 guns
1x 6pdr battery of 4 guns and 2 x 7pdr howitzers
1 x 12pdr battery of 4 guns and 2 x 7pdr howitzers
2 x 6pdr Cavalry batteries of 6 guns and 2 howitzers
2 companies of Handlager (Artillery Transport troops) (406)
3 companies of Pioneers (498)
2 companies of Sanitts troops
2 companies of Staff Infantry (345)
1 squadron of Staff Dragoons (85)

Total: 22,613 infantry; 6,185 cavalry; 1,502 artillery and engineers with 76 guns in 10 batteries; 604 staff infantry and dragoons.

On 7 August, the organisation changed somewhat as General Mohr was detached to guard the corps' right flank with de Ligne (both battalions), the Kienmayer Hussars (all six squadrons), three companies of Beaulieu and eight guns.

A second reorganisation occurred on 27 October when the following reinforcements joined the corps at Poprotnia: IRI Kaiser Infantry Regiment, IR12 Liechtenstein Infantry Regiment (each of two battalions), the 2nd Battalion of the Czartoryski Regiment and 7th Liechtenstein Hussars.

Analysis of the Line infantry certainly shows that all the regiments were Hungarian or Galician , and this makes sense in terms of logistics and reinforcement from the home bases, but the hand of Metternich in preserving the Western regiments cannot be ruled out. IR4 Deutschmeister were given orders to march, but these were later canceled and a reserve force was maintained in Moravia (eastern Czech Republic). Metternich also wisely negotiated for the Hilfskorps itself to be in addition to the 1809 treaty limits on the army size. In effect, Austria went bankrupt in 1811 and so financing any force was a problem.

Although as Rothenberg (Napoleon's Great Adversary) notes, the cavalry were reduced to four and six squadrons for heavy and light regiments respectively, the large cavalry component was for two reasons: First , the cavalry regiments were maintained at near wartime strength because of the time it took to train a trooper, and secondly, the Austrian Empire extended deep into what is now the western Ukraine, which is very flat and Austrian established new horse-breeding ranches in this territory during the Napoleonic Wars. Russia had huge irregular Cossack forces and the Austrians were well aware of the capabilities of this light cavalry from fighting alongside the Russians against both the Turks in the late 1780s and the French in 1799. In addition to the light cavalry (Hussars and Cheveauleger) the Austrians also used a simplified version of the Wagenburg (an earlier form of the Wild West circle of wagons).

References:

Die Teilnahme des kk Auxiliar Corps unter Gdk Schwarzenberg im Napoleon's Feldzuge gegen Russland in Mitteilungan des Kriegsarchivs, (pp1-87), Wien 1884.
Fabry, Gabriel: Campagne de Russie, Paris, 1903
Rothenberg, Gunther: Napoleon's Great Adversary, London 1982 (Reprinted by Spellmount Books 1995).
Welden's, Ludwig, Freiherr von: Der Feldzug der Oesterreicher gegen Russland im Jahre 1812, Wien, 1870.

Editor's note: At about the time that Jerry's original question came in my club wanted to play an Austro-Russian game just for a change. When I tried to construct an OB from the usual sources, I came up against a problem. All of the books that I consulted showed that Simbschen was present, but cross referencing then showed that IR43 was disbanded on the loss of its recruiting district in 1809. Both Jack and Dave also showed Simbschen as present in Russia in their replies so two quick questions drew the same answer: IR48 Vukassovich lost its inhaber at Wagram, so when Simbschen lost his meal ticket he was given IR48 instead! Was my face red - yet another gap in my library!

More Notes and Queries

Prussian National Cavalry Regiments