Napoleon is credited with the corps system. Marshal Davout's 3rd Corps, shown above as it appeared on 5 November 1805, was typical of a corps' organization with a mix of 20,000 infantry, 1,300 cavalry, and 48 artillery pieces. Each infantryman represents a company with nine companies per battalion and two battalions per regiment (six companies of the 15th Light were detached to the 5th Corps). Each cavalryman represents a platoon, two per squadron, three squadrons per regiment. There was one elite company in each infantry battalion and cavalry regiment, indicated above by a bearskin on a grenadier in the line infantry battalion, a red plume grenadier in the light infantry, and a fur busby on the cavalryman. An artillery company usually had six guns plus one spare: foot artillery two 4-pounders, two 8-pounders, and two 6-inch howitzers; horse artillery four 8-pounders and two 6-inch howitzers; a reserve foot company had six heavy 12-pounders and two replacements. Back to Table of Contents -- Napoleon #17 Back to Napoleon List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Napoleon LLC. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. The full text and graphics from other military history magazines and gaming magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com Order Napoleon magazine direct