Grande Armée

 The Grande Armée (French for "Great Army") was first documented in 1804, when Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, renamed the army stationed on France's north shore after preparing for an invasion of Britain. However, because the French could not achieve their major goal, the invasion had to be abandoned as Napoleon transferred his army east to reduce the threats of Austria and Russia, which were part of the Third Coalition that was formed to oppose France.

Later, the term was adopted by the main French army, which was engaged in the campaigns of 1805–1807 (where they gained prestige), 1812, and 1813–1814. In reality, however, the phrase "Grande Armée" refers to all multinational forces raised by Napoleon throughout his early-nineteenth-century battles (see Napoleonic Wars).

The Grande Armée was formed with six legions under the direction of Marshal Napoleon and high-ranking generals. When Napoleon learned that Russian and Austrian armies were preparing to invade France in late 1805, he promptly ordered an offensive east, across the Rhine, into southern Germany, resulting in his victories at Ulm, Austerlitz, and Jena.

As Napoleon marched over Europe, the number of soldiers steadily grew. It reached a peak of 600,000 men at the start of the Russian invasion in 1812. With the exception of a Polish and an Austrian corps, all corps were under the authority of the French general. The massive multinational army marched slowly eastward.

After capturing the citadel of Smolensk and winning the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon and a wing of the Grande Armée reached Moscow on September 14, 1812. However, their numbers were greatly reduced due to the number of soldiers killed and wounded during the war with the Russians, illness (mostly typhus), or the desertion of soldiers. The army spent a month in Moscow but was eventually forced to march west. Haunted by cold, hunger, and disease, and constantly harassed by the Cossacks, the retreat left the Grande Armée almost completely destroyed. Only 120,000 people survived leaving Russia (not including the first groups of deserters). Of these, more than 50,000 were Austrian, Prussian, and other Germanic states; 20,000 were Poles; and 35,000 were French. So, that means 400,000 people lost their lives in the campaign.

Napoleon led new recruits to the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, the defense of France in 1814, and the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, but Napoleon's French army never regained their memorable days in June 1812.

The Grande Armée evolved from the L'Armée des Côtes de l'Océan (Ocean Coast Army), which was founded in 1803 in the port of Boulogne to prepare for an invasion of England. Following Napoleon Bonaparte's coronation as Emperor of France in 1804, the Third Coalition was established against him, and La Grande Armée switched its sights eastward in 1805. They departed Boulogne at the end of August and quickly approached General Karl Mack's sieged Austrian army in the fortress of Ulm.

The Ulm campaign resulted in the deaths of 60,000 Austrians, while the Grande Armée suffered only 2,000 casualties. France demanded capitulation, but Austria resisted, retaining an army in the area. The war has to last a little longer. The battle of Austerlitz on 2 December 1805, decided the question, with the Grande Armée defeating the Russo-Austrian force led by Tsar Alexander I with fewer troops. This resounding victory resulted in the Treaty of Pressburg on December 26, 1805, and the subsequent breakup of the Holy Roman Empire.