The French Armies of the Revolution and those of the later First Empire, have long held a degree of fascination to the student of military history. Much has been attributed to them in the way of military innovations; much of which, historically, should not be credited to them. For the real influences we must look back to three individuals who left their stamp upon the armies of the l'ancien regime'. The following notes, by no means definitive, offer a glance at the development of French military thought through the 18th Century. The reader is cautioned not to take the following three individuals as the only influences on French Military Thought, but rather the three on this short series of notes. To the historic wargamer, you are directed to notice the application of these notes to game knowledge. Saxe The first then to be considered is Marshal Maurice de Saxe, 1696-1750, who was a strong advocate of the use or skirmishers. Saxe felt that they should receive target practice so that on the battlefield they could deliver independent aimed fire. He was the first to emphazise the importance of troop moral. His recommendations included a vigorous pursuit of a defeated enemy; keeping the heavy cavalry at full strength in both peace and war; advocated compulsory five year military service; that the purpose of drill was to teach mobility; that there should be regimental artillery. When in a defensive position redoubts should be mutually supporting so that they break up an enemy attack in which the enemy exhaust itself on the redoubts; then the army counter-attacks. . During the War of the Austrian Succession, 1740-1748 Saxe brought France many great victories and was later greatly admired by Napoleon. Guibert Our second individual is General Jacques Antoine Hipployte, Comte de Guibert, who lived from 1743 to 1790, and who, like Saxe, greatly influenced the Emperor. His military service included the Seven Years War, but his influence extended to military writings. His two best known works being 'Essai de Tactique Generale', published in 1772 and 'Defense du Systeme de Guerre Moderne" of 1777. These later became established textbooks thus exerting a great force on the minds of young officers who would someday be leading regiments, brigades, divisions and corps in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He stated that the tactics of the troops must conform to their armament. He favored the three rank deep deployment and stated that cavalry must never attack infantry that is ready to receive it; that the column attack should be used when the terrain is restricted, otherwise a line attack; Officers of command rank should know the capabilities AND the limitations of ALL arms under their command. He stressed the need for small units of properly trained light troops and that for all troops practical maneuverability was an absolute necessity. On the subject of artillery he had the following thoughts. Interlocking fire was to be attempted whenever possible, especially oblique fire. Guns should be concentrated in strong batteries not spread out all over the battlefield; (visions of Drouot and Senarmont). The gunners should never engage in counter-battery fire unless there were no troops or fortifications to fire upon, as these latter were their true targets. Finally, the crews shouldn't fight to the death over their guns. Their function was to serve them. Additionally Guibert felt the need for coordination of the various divisions for an attack within supporting range of each other; that training camps should be established as serious business and therefore not near cities; and trained Staff Officers to run staff schools. As for tactics, in minor affairs he favored the "1'ordre mixte." Gribeauval Our last individual, and the one whose name is most associated with the period, is Jean-Baptiste Vacquette, Comte de Gribeauval, whose very name was applied to the French artillery system until 1827. After having served in the Austrian Army during the Seven Years War he returned to France. One of the influence he already was under was that of Prince Joseph Wenzel Liechtenstein, who had recently transformed the Austrian Artillery into a very deadly factor in battle, admired even by its main enemy, Frederick the Great. Concerning the French artillery, Gribeauval improved the elevating and sights and had the size (diameter) of the solid shot increased, the result being greater range and accuracy. The length of the barrel was reduced and made lighter. He improved upon the gun carriages and his work even extended to better horse harnesses for better pulling. All this made the French Artillery a powerful force for the coming conflicts. Saxe, Guibert and Gribeauval; their military training, experiences and writings aided in the development of the French military philosophy that would carry the French soldier across a continent and create a legend that endures to this very day. As a parting note I would highly recommend to everyone reading Background of Napoleonic Warfare by R.W.S. Quimby, Columbia, 1957. Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 1 No. 48 Back to EEL List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1980 by Jean Lochet 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