The III Corps of the ''

Grande Armée ''La Grande Armée'' (; ) was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empi ...

'' was a French military unit that existed during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. The corps came to prominence between 1805 and 1809 under the command of

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Louis-Nicolas Davout Louis-Nicolas d'Avout (10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and t ...

, when it repeatedly scored impressive victories single-handedly or in conjunction with other French forces. Napoleon called it ''"My tenth legion"'', in reference to

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

's finest unit, the X Equestris. Troops from III Corps then took part in many battles in Poland, during the War of the Fourth Coalition, e.g. Czarnowo, Pultusk, Golymin, Eylau.. These troops were later reorganized as the

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

and included French, German, and Polish units.

Size

By the time of

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

in 1812, the III Corps had been reorganized and went under the command of Marshal

Michel Ney Michel Ney, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of the Moskva (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one o ...

. It consisted of a mixture of Croatian, French, Portuguese, Dutch and Württemberger units and like the rest of Napoleon's forces, suffered heavy casualties as the campaign progressed. At the crossing of the

Niemen River The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...

in June 1812, the size of the corps was estimated at around 44,000 men; by the Battle of Smolensk in August, only 22,000 men remained.

Battles

The corps participated in a number of battles, including

Austerlitz Austerlitz may refer to: History * Battle of Austerlitz, an 1805 victory by the French Grand Army of Napoleon Bonaparte Places * Austerlitz, German name for Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic, which gave its name to the Battle of Austerlitz a ...

Auerstedt Auerstedt is a village and a former municipality in the Weimarer Land district of Thuringia, Germany. Since 31 December 2012, it is part of the town Bad Sulza. It lies northeast of Weimar. On October 14, 1806, the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, a de ...

, Eylau,

Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...

Lützen is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Lützen is situated in the Leipzig Bay, approximately southwest of the Leipzig city limits and northeast of Weißenfels. The town has access to the Bundesstraße 8 ...

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Budis ...

, Katzbach,

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

Ligny Ligny ( wa, Lignè) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Sombreffe, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Previously its own municipality, a 1977 fusion of the Belgian municipalities made it an '' ancienne commune'' ...

, and Waterloo.

Commanders

*Corps commander: Marshal

(1805 through 1809); **Divisional commanders: ***General

Louis Friant Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

***General

Charles-Étienne Gudin de La Sablonnière Charles-Étienne César Gudin de La Sablonnière (13 February 1768 – 22 August 1812) was a French general who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Biography Gudin was born to a noble family in Montargis, on 13 Fe ...

***General Charles Antoine Morand ***General Louis Vincent Le Blond de Saint-Hilaire ** Corps cavalry under General of Brigade Louis-Pierre Montbrun *Corps commander: Marshal

(1812-1813) **Divisional commanders: ***General Ledru (1812), later General Girard (1813) ***General Razout (1812), later General

Ricard Ricard is a surname, as well as a Catalan name. Notable people with the surname include: * Étienne Pierre Sylvestre Ricard (1771–1843), French general under Napoleon * Hámilton Ricard (born 1974), Colombian footballer *Jean-François Ricard (bo ...

(1813) ***General Royal Prince of Württemberg, later General of Division

Jean Gabriel Marchand Jean Gabriel Marchand, 1st Count Marchand (10 December 1765 – 12 November 1851) went from being an attorney to a company commander in the army of the First French Republic in 1791. He fought almost exclusively in Italy throughout the French ...

***General Souham (1813) ***General Montmorand (1813) **Corps cavalry under General-Major Woellwarth (1812), later General of Brigade Laboissière *Corps commander: General

Joseph Souham Joseph, comte Souham (30 April 1760 – 28 April 1837) was a French general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was born at Lubersac and died at Versailles. After long service in the French Royal Army, he was e ...

(1813) **Divisional commanders: ***General Brayer ***General Delmas ***General

**Corps cavalry under General of Brigade Beurmann *Corps commander: General

Dominique Vandamme General Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme, Count of Unseburg (5 November 1770, Cassel, Nord15 July 1830) was a French military officer, who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He was a dedicated career soldier with a reputation as an excellent division ...

(1815) **Divisional commanders: ***General Lefol ***General

Habert Habert is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Germain Habert (1615–1654), French churchman and brother of Philippe Habert * Henri Louis Habert de Montmor (1600–1679), French scholar and cousin of Germain and Philippe Habert ...

***General Berthézène **Corps cavalry under General Domon

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:III Corps (Grande Armee) GAI03