Napoleonic infantry

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Russia; Line Infantry 1805. Rear- Musketeer Officer, Lithuanian Regt. Front L to R Musketeer Sergeant Ukraine Regt, Private Semenovski Lifeguards & Musketeer Rostov Regt.

Aspern-Essling, May 21-22, 1809. (Artwork by Jeffrey Burn)

Organization Upon his accession to the throne, Tsar Paul launched a series of reforms aimed at transforming the Russian Army. His Gatchina Troops (the tsar's personal guard at the palace of that name), trained in the Prussian manner, became the pattern for the rest of the imperial army. New drill regulations were introduced in December 1796, while new uniforms were issued in the Prussian style, and soldiers were required to wear their hair pulled back behind their heads in tightly braided…

The Russian Army of 1812 was, in many respects, quite different from the one Napoleon faced in 1805 and 1807. The lessons of Austerlitz, Eylau and Friedland

The Old Guard (French Vieille Garde) were the elite veteran elements of the Emperor Napoleon's Imperial Guard. As such it was the most prestigious formation in Napoleon's Grande Armée. French soldiers often referred to Napoleon's Imperial Guard as "the Immortals." The Old Guard was formed of veteran soldiers who had served Napoleon since his earliest campaigns.

AUSTRIAN INFANTRY

Have you ever wondered what those funny looking pompoms on the shakos actually meant? They actually correspond to which of the 6 companies that make up a French infantry battalion the soldier is from. As the image shows, the left hand body of men are from the 1st(1er) company of the battalion, and the right hand body of men are from the 2nd (2eme) company.

Austrian Infantry