army Flashcards
1
Q
what was recruitment like?
A
- 1793 - 40k men
- no conscription, no press gangs
- all soldiers were volunteers
- difficult to find requisite manpower
- recruiting parties toured the country
- got men drunk, slipped a shilling into their pockets, then swore they enlisted
2
Q
what was pay like?
A
- paid less than farm workers
- offered food, shelter, drink + loot
- bounty of £40
3
Q
what were the rules on marriage?
A
- allowed but not encouraged
- families were housed in communal barrack rooms
- only a few wives were allowed to accompany their husbands on active service overseas, had to draw lots
4
Q
what was the death rate/
A
- 1794 - almost 20k died on active service
- next 2 years - 40k discharged due to wounds
- 16-24k casualties every year between 1793 and 1815
5
Q
where did recruits come from
A
- poor families, considered to be same level as common criminals
- some were criminals who chose the army over prison
- duke of wellington said army was composed of the scum of the earth
6
Q
what was the impact of foreign recruits?
A
- many hanoverians fled to britain and joined kgl after napoleon occupied hanover in 1803
- by 1813 - 52k foreigners in the army, approx 20% of the whole force
7
Q
what was army discipline like?
A
- brutal, mostly used flogging
- 25-1200 strokes, up to 700 lashes was common
- done in front of entire regiment
- some officers (eg moore) thought soldiers should be treated with dignity, wellington did not
8
Q
what impact did the militia have?
A
- made up 1/5 of land forces, used solely for home defence
- could get a £25 bounty, most soldiers preferred to be there than the army
- volunteered for regular service after french invasion scare in 1805
- 1807-12 - 74k men transferred from milita to regular service
9
Q
how was the army structured?
A
- battalion/regiments of 900-2k men
- commanded by a lieutenant-colonel with 2 majors
- each company (80-100 men) was led by a captain with 2 lieutenants or ensigns
- 2/3/4 battalions conbined into a brigade led by a commander or major general
- 2 or more brigades formed a division led by a general
10
Q
what was the true nature of the purchase system?
A
- vacancies were first offered to most senior officer of the below rank, then offered to the next and so on
- commissions were not purchased in the royal artillery or royal engineers - only promotion by seniority
- duke of york initiated reform so that officers had to serve 2 years before purchasing captaincy and 6 before becoming a major
- less then 1/5 of officers were promoted by purchase during peninsular war
- by 1808 purchase system stopped at rank of lieutenant colonel
11
Q
what was the purchase system?
A
- many officers were sons of rich fathers who bought them an ensigns commission
- they then bought successive promotions as vacancies appeared
- commissions were bought/sold like property
12
Q
who were officers?
A
- 1814 - 10k officers
- mostly came from professional classes
13
Q
what was the artillery?
A
- divided into horse/foot artillery
- received thorough training, but limited the rate at which artillery corps could be expanded
- lack of trained gunners but enough industrial resources to produce artillery
14
Q
what types of guns were there?
A
- british batteries had 6 guns - 5 cannon, 1 howitzer
- cannon - flat trajectory
- howitzer - used to shoot projectiles on top of the enemy
15
Q
what types of projectiles were there?
A
- guns could hit a target at 1000 yards
- most common was a round shot
- canister - 300 yards
- shrapnel shell - 700 yards
16
Q
what other contributions were there to weaponry?
A
- congreaves rockets - not accurate and unpopular
- heavy artillery - short of heavy guns, so difficult to undertake sieges
- not enough engineers - only a few hundred
- royal waggon train for movement of supplies, neglected by gov
17
Q
what was the cavalry?
A
- 20 regiments, meant to be just over 900 men each, but 650 in reality
- heavy and light cavalry
- carried carbines
- wellington unimpressed by quality/intelligence, thought they saw it like fox hunting
18
Q
what was the infantry?
A
- 103 regiments, each usually went into war with around 550 men
19
Q
what was the uniform?
A
red coats, some scottish regiments wore kilts and and bonnets
20
Q
what formations were there?
A
- british infantry stood shoulder to shoulder in lines, 2 ranks deep
- french attacked in columns, 170 wide and 24 deep, but only first 2 ranks could fire effectively
- battalions formed into squared when attacked by cavalry, which rarely broke the squares
21
Q
what was light infatry?
A
- used by french, then introduced by the british
- wore dark green uniform for camo purposes
- armed with baker rifle
- ## trained in sharpshooting and using cover
22
Q
what was done for injured/sick men?
A
- each battalion had a surgeon and 2 assistants
- used amputation to avoid gangrene
- disease was a greater threat than the enemy
- during peninsular war british army lost 9k men from enemy action and 25k from disease
23
Q
what reform was made by the duke of york?
A
- got rid of the worst of the purchase system
- established a military college + school for cadets
- standardised tactical drills/maoeuvres
- created light infantry regiments
- reform was made until 1815
24
Q
what happened during the french revolutionary war?
A
- 40k british soldiers died of yellow fever, another 40k dismissed
- 1795 - britain captured cape colony + trincomalee
-1798 - britain had captured st lucia grenada etc
25
Q
what successes did britain have in india?
A
- 1793 - lord cornwallis caotured seringapatam, mysore made oeace with britain
- 1799 - wellington captured seringapatam
- 1800 - wellington as independent commander, defeated doondia’s army at conagul in september
- 1803 - war with mahratta confederacy, wellington given 19k men, mostly sepoys
- september 1803 - 7k men under wellington vs 40k indians, britain won at assaye, then again at argaum
- forced mahratta confederacy to make peace
26
Q
what happened when war recommenced in 1803?
A
- british forces recaptured colonies
- 1805 - 15k men sent to hanover but had to be evacuated
- 1806 - army under general stuart won at maida in sicily
- 1807 - failed effort to capture spanish colonies in south america
- 1809 - austria declared war on napoleon, 40k british troops dispatched to capture flushing in the netherlands
- successful but 4k men died of disease and 11k men put on the sick list
27
Q
what happened at the start of the peninsular war?
A
- 1807 - junot + french army seized portugal, which was still trading with britain
- early 1808 - french troops entered spain and took over key cities, napoleon persuaded king to abdicate and was replaced by joseph bonaparte
- june 1808 - juntas formed in spain and raised forces
- junot was cut off from france in portugal due to french arrogance
28
Q
what happened in portugal in 1808?
A
- 9k men sailed to iberian peninsula under wellesley on 12 july
- 1 august - disembarked at mondego bay, reinforced by 5k more men
- 15k more prepared to set sail from britain
- dalrymple appointed as commander due to size, burrard second in command, moore also on the way
29
Q
what happened at the battle of vimeiro?
A
- 17 august - wellesley won at rolica then reached vimeiro
- 20 august - burrard arrived but slept on board ship, wellesley found out junot was advancing towards him
- junot attacked and wellesleys light infantry held him back, stood on reverse slop so french were less effective
- burrard arrived but allowed wellesley to continue in command
- french lost 2k men, britain lost 720
30
Q
what was the convention of cintra?
A
- agreed that the 24k french soldiers in portugal would be transported back on british ships
- negative public reaction
- december 1808 - military inquiry singled wellesley out for praise, but burrard and dalrymple never held command again
31
Q
what happened leading up to corunna?
A
- october 1808 - moore marched into spain with 25k men, 10k were sick and left in lisbon
- planned to combine with baird at salamanca
- unsuccessful, napoleon crossed into spain with 200k in november and captured madrid
- 12 december - moores army left salamanca and joined forces with baird at mayorga
- napoleon returned to paris, soult left
32
Q
what happened at corunna?
A
- 11 january 1809 - moore reached corunna ahead of troop transports, which arrived on 15th
- moore forced to fight, and then died
- both sides lost 700-900 men
- diverted french troops from attacking portugal/southern spain
33
Q
what did wellesley do when he returned?
A
- stipulated that 20k british troops be dispatched to portugal + portuguese army should be reorganised
- april 1809 - given command of new british army to be sent to portugalw
34
Q
what happened at oporto?
A
- captured by soult 29 march
- victor threatened lisbon from the east
- soult believed wellesley would be unable to cross river douro
- 12 may - wellesley ferried men across river in wine barges, and then occupied a seminary building
- soult escaped back into spain and lost 4k men, while british lost less than 200
35
Q
what happened at talavera?
A
- favourable for british - 280k french soldiers were widely dispersed + war between austria and france
- july 1809 - british crossed into spain w spanish army led by cuesta and marched towards talavera
- spanish were useless allies, ran away at the sound of their own gunfire
- fought 27 july, victor launched night attack which was driven back by rowland hill
- 28 july - victor launched assault, but british held french columns, french retreated
36
Q
what were the consequences of talavera?
A
- cuesta wanted to march on madrid but wellesley refused and retreated to the border
- wellesley became viscount wellington
- beresford trained portuguese troops, 25k ready by mid 1810
- french captured seville, most of spain under french occupation
37
Q
what happened at cuidad rodrigo and almeida?
A
- massena appointed by napoleon to lead portuguese army
- may 1810 - french besieged cuidad rodrigo, surrendered 10 july
- french moved to almeida, blew up their gunpowder magazine, and the town surrendered on 28 august
- wellington said portugal was to be defende by a scorched earth policy + ordenanza
38
Q
what happened during massena’s invasion of portugal?
A
- september 1810 advanced towards coimbra, wellington blocked up main road of bussaco
- french attack failed
- french occupied and looted coimbra, then went south, pressed on until he reached the lines of torres vedras
39
Q
what were the lines of torres vedras?
A
- constructed by richard fletcher
- 3 defensive rings
- 500 square miles for 200k portuguese refugees to be safe
- manned by portuguese militia, ordenanza, spanish troops and british artillerymen
- 60k british men deployed behind the lines
- massena isolated, couldn’t communicated with spain
- starvation and disease had bigger effect on french, over 500 dying every week by feb 1811w
40
Q
what happened at fuentes de onoro?
A
- massena advanced towards almeida
- allied troops repelled attack on fuentes de onoro, massena attacked again 2 days later
- massena retreated after allied troops held the village
- massena replaced by marmont
41
Q
what happened at albuera?
A
- beresford besieged badajoz, soult set out to relieve it
- met at albuera 16 may
- british advance broke french resistance,= despite having a smaller army
- french reinforcements arrived, allies had to abandon siege of badajoz
42
Q
what happened at cuidad rodrigo and badajoz?
A
- 1812 - wellington wanted to capture both
- january - besieged cuidad rodrigo, captured it in under 2 hours, men started raping drinking looting
- moved to badajoz in march, ordered assault in april
- taken quickly as marmont was threatening cuidad rodrigo, succeeded but lost nearly 5k men
43
Q
what happened at the battle of salamanca?
A
- french forces weakened by war in russia in 1812
- june - 49k allied troops advanced towards salamanca, marmont had similar sized army and fell back
- 22 july - wellington struck and succeeded, french lost 14k men
44
Q
what happened throughout the rest of 1812?
A
- wellington entered madrid in may, then burgos in september
- threatened by armies under soult junot and suchet
- october - abandoned burgos and retreated, joined forces with hill at salamanca
- napoleon lost tens of thousands of men in russia
- britain forced french to abandon southern spain
45
Q
what happened at the battle of vitoria
A
- may 1813 - wellington advanced through spain with 80k men
- used spanish guerillas to locate french troops
- 21 june - wellington attacked joseph bonapartes army at vitoria, who lost 8k men + abandoned most of their supplies
- british couldn’t pursue french due to weather
- coalition of russia, prussia + sweden against napoleon, austria joined in august
46
Q
what happened at the pyrenees?
A
- end of june 1813 - wellington drove most french forces back across pyrenees
- 3 enemy pockets left - vera, san sebastian, pamplona
- vera fell by mid july, wellington fought soult at san sebastian, allied troops stormed it 31 august
- pamplona held out until 25 october
47
Q
what happened during the invasion of france?
A
- 7 october - allies crossed river bidasoa, breaking french line of defence
- napoleon defeated at leipzig on 19 october 1813 and retreated to the rhine
- 10 november - british crossed river nivelle, french casualities were double british
- 9 december, allied troops crossed river nive but stopped for 9 weeks due to winter
- february 1814 - wellington pressed north, soult retreated, fought at toulouse
- prussian/russian/austrian forces had entered paris 31 march and napoleon abdicated
- britain only lost 36k men, 200k enemy troops were killed wounded or captured
48
Q
what happened during the war of 1812?
A
- war between usa and britain
- ended with treaty of ghent in october 1814
- british forced led by pakenham, attaked new orleans january 1815
49
Q
what happened during the hundred days?
A
- napoleon had been exiled to italian island of elba
- feb 1815 - escaped, entered paris in march and louis xviii fled
50
Q
what happened at ligny and quatre bras?
A
- wellington had army of 90k men, blucher had prussian force of similar size
- occupied southern belgium together
- 15 june 1815 - 120k french troops moved north
- 16 june - napoleon defeated prussians at ligny
- wellington was attacked by marshal ney at quatre bras
- napoleon sent 1/3 of army to pursue prussians under grouchy
51
Q
what happened during the battle of waterloo?
A
- 17 june 1815 - wellington retreated towards brussels
- bad weather meant french postponed attack until 11:30am on the 18th
- gave 72k prussians time to reach the battlefield
- french failed to capture chateau of hougemont
- 1:30pm - bluchers troops arrived, napoleon had to divert his troops to fight of the threat
- french failed to break wellingtons centre, sent in imperial guard
- wellington had 1.5k men lying down who fired at them, then they ran awat
- prussians advanced, french fled, napoleon abdicated again
- 25k french casualties, 15k british, 7k prussian
52
Q
what was the situation in 1815?
A
- 15 july 1815 - napoleon surrendered on hms bellerophon
- britain had strong growing economy
- british navy had as many ships as combined fleets of france, russia, netherlands, spain, portugal and usa
- british armed forces suffered severe cuts as parliament wanted to reduce taxation + national debt
- warships in commission fell from 713 to 121 in 181
- 1817- nearly 90% of naval were on half oay
- army fell from 240k soldiers to 103k in 1828
