Nice!
Bill Peters wrote:
What Robert Goetz said in his book on the Austerlitz campaign was that in this particular case ONLY the elite Grenadier company was stripped from the regiments that offered up the men for these Grenadier regiments.
I should check with Paco Palomo on this but I am sure that Goetz knew what he was talking about.
So later on in 1807 the Voltiguers were added in .... at least that is how I read it ... these regiments were "provisional" meaning they were not permanent. Their composition changed as the need arose.
But then Goetz bring himself in trouble, either the grenadier only thing is correct but then his numbers must be wrong, or his numbers are right and he is wrong(or meant something else) regarding the used companies. Afaik the French grenadier companies at this stage were even smaller(80-90) then the usual French companies of 120 men, that 3 grenadier companies are collected to form a battalion and that this would be so large doesn't work out. Even for the smallest regiment he gives 762 men, that would be 381 per battalion what would mean about 127 men per company, so already here doesn't work out and the largest regiment he gives has 1070 men what clearly proves there must be other companies then only the grenadiers in them.
Sizes he gives are:
1st Grenadier Regiment 762
2nd Grenadier Regiment 1025
3rd Grenadier Regiment 941
4th Grenadier Regiment 857
5th Grenadier Regiment 1070
Looking at Nafziger numbers from various OOBs in 1805 even after the campaign the batallions were too strong for having only 3 companies.
5 December 1805 shows:
Grenadier Division: Général de division Oudinot
Brigade: Généraux de brigade Dupas & Ruffin
1st Grenadier Regiment
58th Line Regiment (16/439)
13th Line Regiment (15/508)
2nd Grenadier Regiment
9th Line Regiment (19/470)
81st Line Regiment (15/515)
3rd Grenadier Regiment
2nd Légère Regiment (18/499)
3rd Légère Regiment (18/549)
4th Grenadier Regiment
28th Légère Regiment (20/547)
31st Légère Regiment (22/588)
5th Grenadier Regiment
12th Légère Regiment (20/560)
15th Légère Regiment (20/516)