title: Grande Armée

text: The new "Grande Armé"e was somewhat different from before; over one-third of its ranks were now filled by non-French conscripts coming from satellite states or countries allied to France. The behemoth force crossed the Niemen River on 24 June 1812, and Napoleon hoped that quick marching could place his men between the two main Russian armies, commanded by Generals Barclay de Tolly and Pyotr Bagration. However, the campaign was characterized by many frustrations, as the Russians succeeded no less than three times in evading Napoleon's pincers. A final stand for the defence of Moscow led to the massive Battle of Borodino on 7 September 1812. There the "Grande Armée" won a bloody but indecisive and arguably pyrrhic victory. A week after the battle, the "Grande Armée" finally entered Moscow only to find the city largely empty and ablaze. Its soldiers were now forced to deal with the fires while hunting down arsonists and guarding the city's historic districts. Napoleon and his army spent over a month in Moscow, vainly hoping that the Russian emperor would respond to the French peace offers. After these efforts failed, the French set out on October 19, now only a shadow of their former selves. The epic retreat over the famous Russian winter dominates popular conceptions of the war, even though over half of the "Grande Armée" had been lost during the summer. The French were harassed repeatedly by the converging Russian armies, Marshal Michel Ney even conducting a famous rearguard separation between his troops and the Russians, and by the time the Berezina was reached Napoleon only had about 49,000 troops and 40,000 stragglers of little military value. The resulting battle and the monumental work of General Jean Baptiste Eblé's engineers saved the remnants of the "Grande Armée". Napoleon left his men in order to reach Paris and address new military and political matters. Of the 685,000 men that constituted the initial invasion force, only 93,000 survived.


title: Grande Armée

text: The catastrophe in Russia now emboldened anti-French sentiments throughout Europe. The Sixth Coalition was formed and Germany became the centrepiece of the upcoming campaign. With customary genius, Napoleon raised new armies and opened up the campaign with a series of victories at Lützen and Bautzen. But due to the poor quality of French troops and cavalry following the Russian campaign, along with miscalculations by certain subordinate marshals, these triumphs were not decisive enough to win the war and only secured an armistice. Napoleon hoped to use this respite to increase the quantity and improve the quality of the "Grande Armée", but when Austria joined the Allies, his strategic situation grew bleak. The campaign reopened in August with a significant French victory at the two-day Battle of Dresden. However, the adoption of the Trachenberg Plan by the Allies, which called for avoiding direct conflict with Napoleon and focusing on his subordinates, paid dividends as the French suffered defeats at Großbeeren, the Katzbach, Kulm, and Dennewitz. Growing Allied numbers eventually hemmed the French in at Leipzig, where the famous three-day Battle of the Nations witnessed a heavy loss for Napoleon when a bridge was prematurely destroyed, abandoning 30,000 French soldiers on the other side of the Elster River. The campaign, however, did end on a victorious note when the French destroyed an isolated Bavarian corps which was trying to block their retreat at Hanau.


title: Grande Armée

text: ""The Grand Empire is no more. It is France herself we must now defend"" were Napoleon's words to the Senate at the end of 1813. The emperor managed to raise new armies, but strategically he was in a virtually hopeless position. Allied armies were invading from the Pyrenees, across the plains of Northern Italy, and via France's eastern borders as well. The campaign began ominously when Napoleon suffered a defeat at the Battle of La Rothière, but he quickly regained his former spirit. In the Six Days' campaign of February 1814, the 30,000-man "Grande Armée" inflicted 20,000 casualties on Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher's scattered corps at a cost of just 2,000 for themselves. They then headed south and defeated Field Marshal Karl von Schwarzenberg's corps at the Battle of Montereau. These victories, however, could not remedy such a bad situation, and French defeats at the Battle of Laon and the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube dampened moods. At the end of March, Paris fell to the Allies. Napoleon wanted to keep fighting, but his marshals refused, forcing him to abdicate on 6 April 1814.


title: Grande Armée

text: After returning from exile on Elba in February 1815, Napoleon busied himself in making a renewed push to secure his empire. For the first time since 1812, the Army of the North he would be commanding for the upcoming campaign was professional and competent. Napoleon hoped to catch and defeat the Allied armies under the Duke of Wellington and Blücher in Belgium before the Russians and Austrians could arrive. The campaign, beginning on 15 June 1815, was initially successful, leading to victory over the Prussians at the Battle of Ligny on 16 June; however, poor staff work, and bad commanders led to many problems for the "Grande Armée" throughout the entire campaign. Marshal Emmanuel de Grouchy's delayed advance against the Prussians allowed Blücher to rally his men after Ligny and march on to Wellington's aid at the Battle of Waterloo, which resulted in the final, decisive defeat for Napoleon.


title: Grande Armée

text: Prior to the late 18th century, there was generally no organisational support for staff functions such as military intelligence, logistics, planning or personnel. Unit commanders handled such functions for their units, with informal help from subordinates who were usually not trained for or assigned to a specific task.


title: Grande Armée

text: The first modern use of a General Staff was in the French Revolutionary Wars, when General Louis-Alexandre Berthier (later Marshal) was assigned as Chief of Staff to the Army of Italy in 1795. Berthier was able to establish a well-organised staff support team. Napoleon took over the army the following year and quickly came to appreciate Berthier's system, adopting it for his own headquarters, although Napoleon's usage was limited to his own command group.


title: Grande Armée

text: The Staff of the "Grande Armée" was known as the Imperial Headquarters and was divided into two major sections: Napoleon's Military Household and the Army General Headquarters. A third department dependent on the Imperial Headquarters was the office of the "Intendant Général" (Quartermaster General), providing the administrative staff of the army.


title: Grande Armée

text: The Maison Militaire de l'Empereur (Military Household of the Emperor) was Napoleon's personal military staff and included the department of aides-de-camp (ADCs), orderly officers (until 1809), the Emperor's Cabinet with the Secretariat, a department that collected intelligence about the enemy using spies and the topographical department. Attached was also the Emperor's Civil Cabinet that included the office of the Grand Marshal of the Palace and the Grand Écuyer.


title: Grande Armée

text: The ADCs to the emperor were mainly loyal, experienced generals or, at times, other senior officers whom he knew from his Italian or Egyptian campaigns. All were famous for their bravery and were experts in their own branches of service. Working directly under the supervision of the emperor, these officers were sometimes assigned to temporary command of units or formations or entrusted with diplomatic missions. Most of the time, however, their tasks consisted of making detailed inspection tours and long-distance reconnaissances. When they had to carry orders from the emperor to an army commander, these would be verbal rather than written. The appointment of ADC to the emperor was so influential that they were considered to be "Napoleon's eyes and ears" and even marshals were wise to follow their advice and render them the respect due to their function.


title: Grande Armée

text: On 29 April 1809, a decree organised their service. Every morning at 0700, the duty ADC and his staff were relieved and the new ADC for the next 24 hours had to present the emperor with a list of names of the staff under his command. This would consist of two supplementary daytime general ADCs and one night ADC, one equerry and (through a rotation system) half the number of orderly officers, half the number of the "petits aides de camp" (two or three personal ADCs to the general ADCs, who might also be commanded directly by the emperor) and half the number of pages. Their number differed from time to time, but only 37 officers were ever commissioned ADC to the emperor and at normal times their number was restricted to 12. Each of these officers wore the normal general's uniform of his rank, but with gold aiguilettes as the symbol of his function. The appointment of ADC to the emperor did not always last as long as the emperor's reign; an ADC might be given another position such as a field command, a governorship, etc. and would be removed from his ADC status until recalled to that post.


title: Grande Armée

text: The "officiers d'ordonnance" (orderly officers) may be considered as junior ADCs, with the rank of "chef d'escadron", captain or lieutenant. They, too, were used for special missions such as reconnaissance and inspections, but also to carry written orders. In 1806, when these posts were created, they were members of the Imperial Guard; in 1809, while retaining their military status, they were taken under control of the "Grand Écuyer" in the Emperor's Civil Household. The decrees regulating their service were signed on 15, 19 and 24 September 1806 and finally on 19 September 1809.


title: Grande Armée

text: Alongside the Emperor's Military Household but functioning as a totally independent organisation was the "Grand État-Major Général" (Army General Headquarters). Since the earliest collaboration of Napoleon and Berthier, its organisation was more or less fixed and it would see only slight changes during the later campaigns of the empire. The Army General Headquarters included the office of the "Major-Général"'s (Chief of Staff's) Cabinet with their four departments: Movements, Secretariat, Accounting and Intelligence (orders of battle). The "Major-Général" also had his own private Military Staff which included duty Generals and Staff aides-de-camp. Finally there was the Army General Staff with the offices of the three Assistant Major-Generals to the "Major-Général".


title: Grande Armée

text: The role of Chief of Staff in the "Grande Armée" became almost synonymous with Berthier, who occupied this position in almost all the major campaigns of Napoleon. The General Headquarters was Berthier's unique domain and the emperor respected this demarcation. Its personnel received orders only from Berthier and even Napoleon did not interfere in its immense tasks; he would never walk in on Berthier's private staff while they were writing and copying the orders that he had just given. Since the emperor was his own "operations officer", it can be said that Berthier's job consisted of absorbing Napoleon's strategic intentions, translating them into written orders and transmitting them with the utmost speed and clarity. He also received in the emperor's name the reports of the marshals and commanding generals and when necessary signed them on Napoleon's behalf. Detailed reports on everything that occurred for good or ill were to be sent to Berthier, who would in turn select the most important ones and transmit them to the emperor; nothing was to be concealed from Napoleon.


title: Grande Armée

text: Lest one think this was a safe job of the modern staff officers, a contemporary subordinate staff officer, Brossier, reports that at the Battle of Marengo:


title: Grande Armée

text: "The General-in-Chief Berthier gave his orders with the precision of a consummate warrior, and at Marengo maintained the reputation that he so rightly acquired in Italy and in Egypt under the orders of Bonaparte. He himself was hit by a bullet in the arm. Two of his aides-de-camp, Dutaillis and La Borde, had their horses killed."


title: Grande Armée

text: One of the most important factors in the "Grande Armée"'s success was its superior and highly flexible organisation. It was subdivided into several corps (usually from five to seven), each numbering anywhere between 10,000 and 50,000, with the average size being around 20,000 to 30,000 troops. These "Corps d'Armée" were self-contained, smaller armies of combined arms, consisting of elements from all the forces and support services discussed below. While capable of fully independent operations and of defending themselves until reinforced, the corps usually worked in close concert together and kept within a day's marching distance of one another. The corps would often follow separate routes on a wide front and were small enough to live by foraging, allowing fewer supplies to be carried. Through dispersion and the use of forced marches the "Grande Armée" was often able to surprise opposing armies by its speed of manoeuver. A Corps, depending on its size and the importance of its mission, was commanded by a marshal or "Général de Division" (major general).


title: Grande Armée

text: Napoleon placed great trust in his corps commanders and usually allowed them a wide freedom of action, provided they acted within the outlines of his strategic objectives and worked together to accomplish them. When they failed to do this to his satisfaction, however, he would not hesitate to reprimand or relieve them and in many cases took personal command of their corps himself. Corps were first formed in 1800, when General Jean Moreau divided the Army of the Rhine into four corps. These were only temporary groupings, however, and it was not until 1804 that Napoleon made them permanent units. He would sometimes form the cavalry into separate corps, so they would be able to move and mass more quickly without being slowed by the infantry or foot artillery.


title: Grande Armée

text: The main tactical units of the corps were the divisions, usually consisting of 4,000 to 10,000 infantry or 2,000 to 4,000 cavalrymen. These in turn were made up of two or three brigades of two regiments apiece and supported by an artillery brigade of three or four batteries, each with six field cannons and two howitzers, making 24 to 32 guns in all. The divisions were also permanent administrative and operational units, commanded by a "Général de Division" and likewise capable of independent actions.


title: Grande Armée

text: The Imperial Guard ("Garde Impériale") was one of the most elite military forces of its time, and grew out of the "Garde du Directoire" and "Garde Consulaire". It formed a single "Corps d'Armée" with infantry, cavalry and artillery units like other corps, but with unique identities and uniforms. Napoleon also wanted it to be an example for the entire army to follow, and a force that, since it had fought with him over several campaigns, was completely loyal. Although the infantry was rarely committed en masse, the Guard's cavalry was often thrown into battle as the killing blow and its artillery used to pound enemies prior to assaults.


title: Grande Armée

text: The four regiments of marines of the "Ancien Régime" disappeared on 28 January 1794. The "Marins" (French spelling) of the "Grande Armée" were divided into the "Bataillon des Marins de la Garde Impériale", also known eventually as the "Matelots de la Garde", formed on 17 September 1803, and "Matelots des Bataillons de la Marine Impériale" of which some 32,000 served with the French Navy at its height of expansion by Napoleon. Units of the latter were created for service on land by conscripting naval personnel surplus to requirement of the navy. There was also the marine artillery, which were mostly naval gunners used for coastal batteries and fortresses called "bataillons de la Matelot du Haut-Bord" (or "Les Equipages de Haut-Bord" – marines of the High Shore) created by decree of Napoleon on 1 April 1808. The flag of the "1er Régiment d'Artillerie de Marine" survives today, and lists Lützen 1813 as one of its battle honours. Some 63 artillery batteries were manned (some numbers remaining vacant). Some examples include:


title: Grande Armée

text: The "Marins de la Garde" (transliterated as "Sailors of the Guard", but more accurately "Marines of the Guard)" were organised into five "equipages" (ship's company), each with five "escouades", with a total strength of 737 men, the unit having been created ostensibly for preparation of the invasion of Britain.


title: Grande Armée

text: The unit was almost entirely destroyed in the Spanish campaign of 1808 at Bailén, but was rebuilt, and in 1810 the battalion was expanded to eight "equipages" with a total of 1,136 men, but this was severely reduced during the Russian campaign, and only 350 officers and men remained in its ranks by 1813. With Napoleon's first abdication, an ensign and 21 marines accompanied him to Elba, and returned with him for the Hundred Days campaign when their strength was increased to an "equipage" of 150 officers and men.


title: Grande Armée

text: The marines were distinct in several ways from other "Grande Armée" units in that naval rather than army ranks were used, the uniform was based on that of those of the hussars, and it was the only unit of the "Grande Armée" in which the musicians used both the drums and the trumpets.


title: Grande Armée

text: The battalions of marine artillery were conscripted for the 1813 German Campaign, and included four regiments with the 1st regiment intended to have 8 battalions, 2nd regiment with 10 battalions, and the 3rd and 4th regiments with four battalions each, totalling 9,640 men in all serving with Marshal Auguste de Marmont's VI Corps. Combined with sailor battalions, these fought as part of the "Division de Marine" at the battles of Lützen, Bautzen, Dresden, and won high praise at the Battle of Leipzig. The Marine Guard units were disbanded in 1815.


title: Grande Armée

text: In 1804, the Cavalry of the Guard consisted of two regiments, the "Chasseurs à Cheval" and the "Grenadiers à Cheval", along with a small unit of elite Gendarmes and a squadron of Mamelukes. A third regiment was added in 1806, the "Regiment de Dragons de la Garde Impériale" (Later known as the "Dragons de l'Imperatice", the Empress Dragoons). Following the campaign in Poland in 1807, a regiment of Polish lancers, the "Regiment de Chevau-Légers de la Garde Impériale Polonais" was added. The final addition was made in 1810, with another regiment of lancers, this time drawn from French and Dutch recruits, the "2e Regiment de Chevau-Légers Lanciers de la Garde Impériale" or Red Lancers. The Cavalry of the Guard was involved in combat numerous times, and with few exceptions proved its worth in action.


title: Grande Armée

text: The scouts had only the time to distinguish themselves during the defence of France in 1814 and were dissolved by King Louis XVIII upon the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy.


title: Grande Armée

text: While the infantry was perhaps not the most glamorous arm of service in the Grande Armée, they bore the brunt of most of the fighting, and their performance resulted in victory or defeat. The infantry was divided up into two major types, the Infantry of the Line ("Infanterie de Ligne") and the Light Infantry ("Infanterie Légère").


title: Grande Armée

text: The line infantry made up the majority of the "Grande Armée". In 1803, Napoleon had reinstated the term "regiment", the revolutionary term "demi-brigade" (due to the fact there were two per brigade and it lacked the royal connotations) was now only used for provisional troops and depot units. At the time of the formation of the "Grande Armée", the French Army had 133 "Régiments de Ligne", a number which roughly corresponded with the number of "départements" in France. There would eventually be 156 "Ligne" regiments.


title: Grande Armée

text: The "Régiments de Ligne" varied in size throughout the Napoleonic Wars, but the basic building block of the Infantry of the Line was the battalion. A line infantry battalion was numbered at about 840 men; however, this was the battalion's 'full strength' and few units ever reached this. A more typical strength for a battalion would be 400–600 men. From 1800 to 1803, a line infantry battalion had eight fusilier companies and one grenadier company. From 1804 to 1807, a line infantry battalion had seven fusilier companies, one grenadier company, and one voltigeur company. From 1808 to 1815, a line infantry battalion had four companies of fusiliers, one company of grenadiers, and one company of voltigeurs. According to the 1808 regulation, the staff of each company and the regiment HQ was the following:


title: Grande Armée

text: In total, there were supposed to be 3,970 men in a regiment (840 in each four main battalions, and 560 in the rear battalion), among them 108 officers and 3,862 noncommissioned officers and privates.


title: Grande Armée

text: Grenadiers were the elite of the line infantry and the veteran shock troops of the "Grande Armée". Newly formed battalions did not have a grenadier company; rather, Napoleon ordered that after two campaigns, several of the strongest, bravest, and tallest fusiliers were to be promoted to a grenadier company, so each line battalion which had seen more than two campaigns had one company of grenadiers.


title: Grande Armée

text: Regulations required that grenadier recruits were to be the tallest, most fearsome men in the regiments, and all were to have moustaches. To add to this, grenadiers were initially equipped with a "bonnet à poil" or bearskin, as well as red epaulettes on their coat. After 1807, regulations stipulated that line grenadiers were to replace their bearskin with a shako lined red with a red plume; however, many chose to retain their bearskins. In addition to the standard Charleville model 1777 and bayonet, grenadiers were also equipped with a short sabre. This was to be used for close combat, but most often ended up serving as a tool to cut wood for campfires.


title: Grande Armée

text: A grenadier company would usually be situated on the right side of a formation, traditionally the place of greatest honour since the days of hoplite warfare in which a corps' right flank had less protection from the shield line of its formation. During a campaign, grenadier companies could be detached to form a grenadier battalion or occasionally a regiment or brigade. These formations would then be used as a shock force or the vanguard for a larger formation.


title: Grande Armée

text: Voltigeurs (literally, "Vaulters" or "Leapers") were elite light infantry of the line regiments. In 1805, Napoleon ordered that the smallest, most agile men of the line battalions be chosen to form a voltigeur company. These troops were to be second only to the grenadiers in the battalion hierarchy. Their name comes from their original mission. Voltigeurs were to vault upon horses of friendly cavalry for faster movement, an idea which proved impractical if not outright impossible. Despite this, the voltigeurs did perform a valuable task, skirmishing and providing scouts for each battalion, as well as providing an organic light infantry component for each line regiment. In training, emphasis was placed on marksmanship and quick movement.


title: Grande Armée

text: Voltigeurs were equipped with large yellow and green or yellow and red plumes for their bicornes. After 1807, their shakos were lined with yellow and carried similar plumes. They also had yellow epaulettes lined green and a yellow collar on their coats.


title: Grande Armée

text: Originally, voltigeurs were to be equipped with the short dragoon musket, however in practice, they were equipped with the Charleville model 1777 and bayonet. Like grenadiers, voltigeurs were equipped with a short sabre for close combat, and like grenadiers this was rarely used. Voltigeur companies could be detached and formed into regiments or brigades to create a light infantry formation. After 1808, the voltigeur company was situated on the left of the line when in combat. This was traditionally the second highest position of honour in the line of battle.


title: Grande Armée

text: The fusiliers made up the majority of a line infantry battalion, and may be considered the typical infantryman of the "Grande Armée". Fusiliers were armed with a smoothbore, muzzle-loaded flintlock Charleville model 1777 musket and a bayonet. Fusilier training placed emphasis on speed of march and endurance, along with individually aimed fire at close range and close quarters combat. This differed greatly from the training given to the majority of European armies, which emphasised moving in rigid formations and firing massed volleys. Many of the early Napoleonic victories were due to the ability of the French armies to cover long distances with speed, and this ability was thanks to the training given to the infantry. From 1803, each battalion comprised eight fusilier companies. Each company numbered around 120 men.


title: Grande Armée

text: In 1805, one of the fusilier companies was dissolved and reformed as a voltigeur company. In 1808, Napoleon reorganised the infantry battalion from nine to six companies. The new companies were to be larger, comprising 140 men, and four of these were to be made up of fusiliers, one of grenadiers, and one of voltigeurs.


title: Grande Armée

text: The fusiliers wore a bicorne, until this was superseded by the shako in 1807. The uniform of a fusilier consisted of white trousers, white surcoat and a dark blue coat (the "habit long" model until 1812, thereafter the "habit veste") with white lapels, red collar and cuffs. Each fusilier wore a coloured pom-pom on his hat. The colour of this pom-pom changed depending on the company the man belonged to, as military uniforms reached their excessive pinnacle at around this period in time. After the 1808 reorganisation, the first company was issued with a dark green pom-pom, the second with sky blue, the third with orange and the fourth with violet.


title: Grande Armée

text: While the infantry of the line made up the majority of the "Grande Armée"'s infantry, the "Infanterie Légère" (Light Infantry) also played an important role. The "Légère" regiments never numbered more than 36 (compared with the 133 of the "Ligne" regiments), and the "Ligne" could perform all the same manoeuvres, including skirmishes. The difference laid in the training and the resulting high "esprit de corps".


title: Grande Armée

text: Training for "Légère" units placed strong emphasis on marksmanship and fast movement. As a result, the general "Légère" soldier was able to shoot more accurately and move faster than his "Ligne" counterpart. "Légère" regiments tended to see more action and were often used to screen large manoeuvres. Naturally, because commanders turned to the "Légère" for more missions than the "Ligne", the "Légère" troopers enjoyed a higher esprit de corps and were known for their flamboyant uniforms and attitude. Also, "Légère" troops were required to be shorter than line troops, which helped them to move quickly through forests as well as to hide behind obstacles when skirmishing. The formation of a "Légère" battalion exactly mirrored that of a line infantry battalion, but different troop types were substituted for the grenadiers, fusiliers and voltigeurs.


title: Grande Armée

text: The carabiniers were the grenadiers of the "Légère" battalions. After two campaigns, the tallest and bravest chasseurs were chosen to join a carabinier company. They performed as elite shock troops for the battalion. As with the grenadiers, carabiniers were required to wear moustaches. They were armed with the Charleville model 1777, a bayonet, and a short sabre. The carabinier uniform consisted of a tall bearskin cap (superseded in 1807 by a red trimmed shako with a red plume). They wore the same uniform as the chasseurs, but with red epaulettes. Carabinier companies could be detached to form larger all carabinier formations for assaults or other operations requiring assault troops.


title: Grande Armée

text: Voltigeurs performed exactly the same mission in the "Légère" battalion as they did in the line battalions, only they were more nimble and better marksmen. The "Légère" voltigeurs were dressed as chasseurs, but with yellow and green epaulettes and before 1806, a "colpack" (or busby) replaced the shako. The colpack had a large yellow over red plume and green cords. After 1807, a shako replaced the colpack, with a large yellow plume and yellow lining. As with the line voltigeurs, "légère" voltigeurs could be detached and used to form larger formations as needed.


title: Grande Armée

text: Chasseurs ("Hunters") were the fusiliers of the "Légère" battalions. They made up the majority of the formation. They were armed with the Charleville model 1777 musket and a bayonet, and also with a short sabre for close combat.


title: Grande Armée

text: From 1803, each battalion comprising eight chasseur companies. Each company numbered around 120 men. In 1808, Napoleon reorganised the infantry battalion from nine to six companies. The new companies were to be larger, comprising 140 men, and four of these were to be made up of chasseurs.


title: Grande Armée

text: The chasseurs had far more ornate uniforms than their contemporaries the fusiliers. Until 1806, they were equipped with a cylindrical shako with a large dark green plume and decorated with white cords. Their uniform was a darker blue than that of the line regiments, to aid with camouflage while skirmishing. Their coat was similar to that of the line troops, but their lapels and cuffs were also dark blue, and it featured dark green and red epaulettes. They also wore dark blue trousers and high imitation hussar boots. After 1807, the cylindrical shako was replaced with the standard shako, but was still embellished by white cords. As with the line fusiliers, chasseur companies were distinguished by coloured pom-poms, but the colours for the different companies changed from regiment to regiment.


title: Grande Armée

text: By decree of the emperor himself, cavalry typically were between a fifth and a sixth of the "Grande Armée". Cavalry regiments of 800–1,200 men were made up of three or four escadrons of two companies each, plus supporting elements. In light cavalry and dragoon regiments, the first company of every regiment's first escadron, was always designated as 'elite', with presumably, the best men and horses. In the revolution's wake, the cavalry suffered the greatest from the loss of experienced aristocratic officers and NCOs still loyal to the "Ancien Régime". Consequently, the quality of French cavalry drastically declined. Napoleon rebuilt the branch, turning it into arguably the finest in the world. Until 1812, it was undefeated in any large engagements above the regimental level. There were two primary types of cavalry for different roles, heavy and light.


title: Grande Armée

text: The elite among all French heavy cavalry line formations, the two regiments of mounted carabiniers had a very similar appearance with the mounted grenadiers of the Imperial Guard; bearskins, long blue coats, etc. and were mounted exclusively on black horses prior to 1813. They were largely used in identical manner to the Cuirassiers, but being (initially) unarmored, they were less suited for close-quarters, melee combat. Unarmored heavy cavalry was the norm in Europe during most of the Napoleonic Wars, with the French being the first to reintroduce the back-and-breastplate. In 1809, appalled by their mauling at the hands of Austrian uhlans, Napoleon ordered that they be given armour. The carabinier's refusal to copy the less elite cuirassiers resulted in them being given special armor, with their helmets and cuirasses being sheathed in bronze for added visual effect. But this did not prevent them from being defeated by Russian cuirassiers at Borodino in 1812, and panicking before Hungarian hussars at Leipzig the following year.


title: Grande Armée

text: The heavy cavalry, wearing a heavy "cuirass" (breastplate) and helmets of brass and iron and armed with straight long sabers, pistols, and later carbines. Like medieval knights, they served as mounted shock troops. Because of the weight of their armour and weapons, both the trooper and the horse had to be big and strong, and could put a lot of force behind their charge. Though the "cuirass" could not protect against direct musket fire, it could deflect ricochets and shots from long range, and offered some protection from pistol shots. More importantly, the breastplates protected against the swords and lances of opposing cavalry. Napoleon often combined all of his cuirassiers and carabiniers into a cavalry reserve, to be used at the decisive moment of the battle. In this manner, they proved to be an extremely potent force on the battlefield. The British, in particular, who mistakenly believed the cuirassiers were Napoleon's bodyguard, and would later come to adapt their distinctive helmets and breastplates for their own Household Cavalry. There were originally 25 cuirassier regiments, reduced to 12 by Napoleon initially who later added three more. At the beginning of his rule, most of the cuirassier regiments were severely understrength, so Napoleon ordered the best men and horses to be allocated to the first 12 regiments, while the rest were reorganised into dragoons.


title: Grande Armée

text: The medium-weight mainstays of the French cavalry, although considered heavy cavalry, who were used for battle, skirmishing, and scouting. They were highly versatile being armed not only with distinctive straight swords, but also muskets with bayonets enabling them to fight as infantry as well as mounted, though fighting on foot had become increasingly uncommon for dragoons of all armies in the decades preceding Napoleon. The versatility of a dual-purpose soldier came at the cost of their horsemanship and swordsmanship often not being up to the same standards as those of other cavalry. Finding enough large horses proved a challenge. Some infantry officers were even required to give up their mounts for the dragoons, creating resentment towards them from this branch as well. There were 25, later 30, dragoon regiments. In 1815, only 15 could be raised and mounted in time for the Waterloo campaign.


title: Grande Armée

text: These fast, light cavalrymen were the eyes, ears, and egos of the Napoleonic armies. They regarded themselves as the best horsemen and swordsmen ("beau sabreurs") in the entire "Grande Armée". This opinion was not entirely unjustified and their flamboyant uniforms reflected their panache. Tactically, they were used for reconnaissance, skirmishing, and screening for the army to keep their commanders informed of enemy movements while denying the enemy the same information and to pursue fleeing enemy troops. Armed only with curved sabres and pistols, they had reputations for reckless bravery to the point of being almost suicidal. It was said by their most famous commander General Antoine Lasalle that a hussar who lived to be 30 was truly an old guard and very fortunate. Lasalle was killed at the Battle of Wagram at age 34. There were 10 regiments in 1804, with an 11th added in 1810 and two more in 1813.


title: Grande Armée

text: These were light cavalry identical to hussars in arms and role. But, unlike the chasseurs of the Imperial Guard and their infantry counterparts, they were considered less prestigious or elite. Their uniforms were less colourful as well, consisting of infantry-style shakos (in contrast to the fur busby worn by some French hussars), green coats, green breeches, and short boots. They were, however, the most numerous of the light cavalry, with 31 regiments in 1811, 6 of which comprised Flemish, Swiss, Italians and Germans. was a cavalry composed of chasseurs but on the horse, they could load into melee or shoot as light infantry


title: Grande Armée

text: Some of the most feared cavalry in the "Grande Armée" were the Polish lancers of the Vistula Uhlans. Nicknamed "Hell's Picadors" or "Los Diablos Polacos" (The Polish Devils) by the Spanish, these medium and light horse ("Chevau-Légers Lanciers") cavalry had near equal speed to the hussars, shock power almost as great as the cuirassiers, and were nearly as versatile as the dragoons. They were armed with, as their name indicates, lances along with sabres and pistols. Initially, French ministers of war insisted on arming all lancers identically. Real battlefield experience, however, proved that the Polish way of arming only the first line with lance while the second rank carried carbines instead was much more practical and thus was adopted. Lancers were the best cavalry for charging against infantry squares, where their lances could outreach the infantry's bayonets, (as was the case with Colborne's British brigade at Albuera in 1811) and also in hunting down a routed enemy. Their ability to scour and finish off the wounded without ever stepping off their saddle created perfect scenes of horror for the enemy. They could be deadly against other types of cavalry as well, most famously demonstrated by the fate of Sir William Ponsonby and his Scots Greys at Waterloo. Excluding those of the Guard, there were 9 lancer regiments.


title: Grande Armée

text: The emperor was a former artillery officer, and reportedly said ""God fights on the side with the best artillery."" As such, French cannons were the backbone of the "Grande Armée", possessing the greatest firepower of the three arms and hence the ability to inflict the most casualties in the least amount of time. The French guns were often used in massed batteries (or "grandes batteries") to soften up enemy formations before being subjected to the closer attention of the infantry or cavalry. Superb gun-crew training allowed Napoleon to move the weapons at great speed to either bolster a weakening defensive position, or else hammer a potential break in enemy lines.


title: Grande Armée

text: Besides superior training, Napoleon's artillery was also greatly aided by the numerous technical improvements to French cannons by General Jean Baptiste de Gribeauval which made them lighter, faster, and much easier to sight, as well as strengthened the carriages and introduced standard sized calibres. In general, French guns were 4-pounders, 8-pounders, or 12-pounders and howitzers with the lighter calibres being phased out and replaced by 6-pounders later in the Napoleonic Wars. French cannons had brass barrels and their carriages, wheels, and limbers were painted olive-green. Superb organisation fully integrated the artillery into the infantry and cavalry units it supported, yet also allowed it to operate independently if the need arose. There were two basic types, "Artillerie à pied" (foot artillery) and "Artillerie à cheval" (horse artillery).


title: Grande Armée

text: As the name indicates, these gunners marched alongside their guns, which were, of course, pulled by horses when limbered (undeployed). Hence, they travelled at the infantry's pace or slower. In 1805, there were eight, later ten, regiments of foot artillery in the "Grande Armée" plus two more in the Imperial Guard, but unlike cavalry and infantry regiments, these were administrative organisations. The main operational and tactical units were the batteries (or companies) of 120 men each, which were formed into brigades and assigned to the divisions and corps.


title: Grande Armée

text: Battery personnel included not only gun crews, NCOs, and officers, but drummers, trumpeters, metal workers, woodworkers, ouvriers, furriers, and artificers. They would be responsible for fashioning spare parts, maintaining and repairing the guns, carriages, caissons and wagons, as well as tending the horses and storing munitions.


title: Grande Armée

text: The cavalry were supported by the fast moving, fast firing light guns of the horse artillery. This arm was a hybrid of cavalry and artillery with their crews riding either on the horses or on the carriages into battle. Because they operated much closer to the front lines, the officers and crews were better armed and trained for close quarters combat, mounted or dismounted much as were the dragoons. Once in position, they were trained to quickly dismount, unlimber (deploy), and sight their guns, then fire rapid barrages at the enemy. They could then quickly limber (undeploy) the guns, remount, and move on to a new position. To accomplish this, they had to be the best trained and most elite of all artillerymen. The horse batteries of the Imperial Guard could go from riding at full gallop to firing their first shot in just under a minute. After witnessing such a performance, an astounded Duke of Wellington remarked, ""They move their cannon as if it were a pistol!"" There were 6 administrative regiments of horse artillery plus one in the Guard. In addition to the batteries assigned to the cavalry units, Napoleon would also assign at least one battery to each infantry corps or, if available, to each division. Their abilities came at a price, however, as horse batteries were very expensive to raise and maintain. Consequently, they were far fewer in number than their foot counterparts, typically constituting only one fifth of the artillery's strength. It was a boastful joke among their ranks that the emperor knew every horse gunner by name. Besides better training, horses, weapons, and equipment, they used far more ammunition. Horse batteries were given twice the ammo ration of the foot, three times that of the Guard.


title: Grande Armée

text: Of all the types of ammunition used in the Napoleonic Wars, the cast iron, spherical, round shot was the staple of the gunner. Even at long range when the shot was travelling relatively slowly it could be deadly, though it might appear to be bouncing or rolling along the ground relatively gently. At short range, carnage could result.


title: Grande Armée

text: Round shots were undeniably inaccurate. This was because, despite their name, round shots were never perfectly spherical, nor did they fit their gun barrels exactly. Air acted on the irregular surface of the projectile. These irregularities invariably threw them off target to some degree. It is often also a matter of confusion as to why a 12pdr shot was so much more effective than a 6pdr shot. This is because the impact of a shot was not only related to its weight but also to its velocity, which, with a heavier projectile, was much greater at the end of the trajectory.


title: Grande Armée

text: There were two forms of close-range weapons, which were extremely useful at up to 270m (300 yards). Grapeshot and canister, or case, were the anti-personnel weapons of choice of the gunner. Grape was a cluster of large metal spheres tied together around a central spindle and base and normally sewn into a bag, whereas canister was a metal case filled with smaller iron or lead spheres. The whole purpose of these types of shot was to break up when fired from the gun forming a wide cone of flying metal that acted in the same way as a shotgun cartridge.


title: Grande Armée

text: For longer-range anti-personnel work, the common shell was also used. This was normally only fired from a mortar or howitzer and was a hollow sphere filled with gunpowder charge. The top of the shell had thinner walls than the bottom and had an orifice into which was forced a wooden fuse normally made of beech wood. The fuse was designed to be ignited by the discharge of the gun and had a central channel drilled through it and filled with a burning compound. Before firing, the fuse was cut to a certain length corresponding to the desired time of burning and hammered into the top of the shell by a mallet. When it arrived over the target, the fuse, if correctly prepared, exploded the main charge, breaking open the metal outer casing and forcing flying fragments in all directions. Although favoured for siege work, the common shell was not always effective against infantry.


title: Grande Armée

text: The final type of projectile for the field artillery used by the French was the incendiary or carcass (a name for an incendiary projectile). Initially, this device was composed of a metal frame, which was covered with a canvas cover and filled with a special recipe, typically 50 saltpetre parts, 25 sulfur parts, 8 rosin parts, 5 antimony parts, and 5 pitch parts. However, during the early 19th century, another form of carcass became common and this took the form of a common shell with two or three apertures in its exterior into which a similar composition was put. Carcass rounds were normally issued only to howitzers or mortars, the suggestion being they were intended to attack towns. This does not preclude them from being used on the field, but quite what their purpose would have been there is not clear.


title: Grande Armée

text: It is important to know that not all nations shared the same types of artillery projectiles. For example, the Congreve rocket, inspired from the Mysorean rocket artillery, or the shrapnel shell, which combined the killing effect of grapeshot with the ranges achieved by round shot, were used only by the British Army.


title: Grande Armée

text: The "train d'artillerie", was established by Napoleon in January 1800. Its function was to provide the teamsters and drivers which handled the horses that hauled the artillery's vehicles. Prior to this, the French, like all other period armies, had employed contracted, civilian teamsters who would sometimes abandon the guns under fire, rendering them immobile, rather than risk their lives or their valuable teams of horses. Its personnel, unlike their civilian predecessors, were armed, trained, and uniformed as soldiers. Apart from making them look better on parade, this made them subject to military discipline and capable of fighting back if attacked. The drivers were armed with a carbine, a short sword of the same type used by the infantry, and a pistol. They needed little encouragement to use these weapons, earning surly reputations for gambling, brawling, and various forms of mischief. Their uniforms and coats of grey helped enhance their tough appearance. But their combativeness could prove useful as they often found themselves attacked by Cossacks and Spanish and Tyrolian guerillas.


title: Grande Armée

text: Each "train d'artillerie" battalion was originally composed of 5 companies. The first company was considered elite and assigned to a horse artillery battery; the three "centre" companies were assigned to the foot artillery batteries and "parks" (spare caissons, field forges, supply wagons, etc.); and one became a depot company for training recruits and remounts. Following the campaigns of 1800, the train was re-organised into eight battalions of six companies each. As Napoleon enlarged his artillery, additional battalions were created, rising to a total of fourteen in 1810. In 1809, 1812, and 1813 the first thirteen battalions were "doubled" to create 13 additional battalions. Additionally, after 1809 some battalions raised extra companies to handle the regimental guns attached to the infantry.


title: Grande Armée

text: The Imperial Guard had its own train, which expanded as "La Garde"'s artillery park was increased, albeit organised as regiments rather than battalions. At their zenith, in 1813–14, the Old Guard artillery was supported by a 12-company regiment while the Young Guard had a 16-company regiment, one for each of their component artillery batteries.


title: Grande Armée

text: Many European armies recruited foreign troops, and France was no exception. Foreign troops played an important role and fought with distinction in the "Grande Armée" during the Napoleonic Wars. Almost every continental European country was, at different stages, a part of the "Grande Armée". By the end of the conflict, tens-of-thousands had served. In 1805, 35,000 troops from France's allies were used to protect lines of communications and flanks of the main army. In 1806, 27,000 more troops were called up for similar purposes, plus 20,000 Saxon troops who were used for mopping up operations against the Prussians. In the winter of 1806–7, Germans, Poles, and Spaniards helped seize the Baltic ports of Stralsund and Danzig on the army's left flank. At the Battle of Friedland in 1807, Marshal Jean Lannes' corps was formed considerably from Poles, Saxons, and Dutch. For the first time, foreign troops had played a role in a major battle, and done so with distinction. During the War of the Fifth Coalition, as many as one-third of the "Grande Armée", were from the Confederation of the Rhine, and one-quarter of the Army in Italy was Italian. At the "Grande Armée"'s peak in 1812, more than one-third of the troops that marched into Russia were non-French and represented 20 countries, including Austria and Prussia. General Julius von Grawert initially led the Prussian detachment, but was replaced by General Ludwig Yorck.


title: Grande Armée

text: While the glory of battle went to the cavalry, infantry, and artillery, the army also included military engineers of various types.


title: Grande Armée

text: The bridge builders of the "Grande Armée", the "pontonniers", were an indispensable part of Napoleon's military machine. Their main contribution was helping the emperor to get his forces across water obstacles by erecting pontoon bridges. The skills of his pontonniers allowed Napoleon to outflank enemy positions by crossing rivers where the enemy least expected and, in the case of the great retreat from Moscow, saved the army from complete annihilation at the Berezina River.


title: Grande Armée

text: They may not have had the glory, but Napoleon clearly valued his "pontonniers" and had 14 companies commissioned into his armies, under the command of the brilliant engineer, General Jean Baptiste Eblé. His training, along with their specialized tools and equipment, enabled them to quickly build the various parts of the bridges, which could then be rapidly assembled and reused later. All the needed materials, tools, and parts were carried on their wagon trains. If they did not have a part or item, it could be quickly made using the mobile wagon-mounted forges of the "pontonniers". A single company of "pontonniers" could construct a bridge of up to 80 pontoons (a span of some 120 to 150 metres long) in just under seven hours, an impressive feat even by today's standards.


title: Grande Armée

text: In addition to the "pontonniers", there were companies of sappers, to deal with enemy fortifications. They were used far less often in their intended role than the "pontonniers". However, since the emperor had learned in his early campaigns (such as the Siege of Acre) that it was better to bypass and isolate fixed fortifications, if possible, than to directly assault them, the sapper companies were usually put to other tasks.


title: Grande Armée

text: The different types of engineer companies were formed into battalions and regiments called , which was originally a slang term for engineer. This name, which is still used today, was both a play on the word ("jeu de mot") and a reference to their seemingly magical abilities to grant wishes and make things appear much like the mythical Genie.


title: Grande Armée

text: One of Napoleon's most quoted lines is his dictum that ""An army is a creature which marches on its stomach"", illustrating the vital importance of military logistics. The troops of the "Grande Armée" each carried four days' provisions. The supply wagon trains following them carried eight days', but these were to be consumed only in emergency. One man was allotted to 750 grams of bread, 550 grams of biscuits, 250 grams of meat, 30 grams of rice, and 60 grams of grain; one litre of wine was shared between four men. Insofar as possible, Napoleon encouraged his men to live off the land through foraging and requisition of food (which was known as "La Maraude"). An integral part of the French logistics system was the inclusion in every regiment of several women known as "cantinières" (also known as "vivandières", but "cantinière" was by far the more common term among French troops). These women were married to soldiers in their regiments, and acted as sutlers, selling food and drink (especially alcohol) to the troops. They were considered "absolutely necessary" to the functioning of the army, and the Consular Decree of 7 Thermidor, Year VIII set their number at four per battalion and two per cavalry squadron. These women fed the troops when all other logistical arrangements broke down.


title: Grande Armée

text: Additional supplies would be stockpiled and stored at forward bases and depots which Napoleon would establish before the start of his campaigns. These would then be moved forward as the army advanced. The supply bases of the "Grande Armée" would replenish the corps and divisional depots, which in turn would replenish the brigade and regimental supply trains, which would distribute rations and ammunition to the troops as needed to supplement their foraging. The reliance on foraging was sometimes determined by political pressures. When marching over friendly territory armies were told to "live off what the country can supply", but when marching over neutral territory they were issued with supplies. It was this system of planned and improvised logistics which enabled the "Grande Armée" to sustain rapid marches of up to 15 miles per day for up to five weeks. The logistical system was also aided by a technological innovation in the form of the food preservation technique invented by Nicolas Appert, which led to modern canning methods.


title: Grande Armée

text: The medical services had the least glory or prestige, but were required to deal with the full horrors of the war's aftermath. The technology and practice of military medicine did not advance significantly during the Napoleonic Wars, but the "Grande Armée" did benefit from improvements in organisation and mobility. The established practice was for the wounded to be collected and treated after the battle had ended, by which time many wounded soldiers would have died. The systems adopted by the French Army in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic period were the forerunners of almost all modern military ambulance and triage systems, being adopted by the armies of most other Western nations in the following decades.


title: Grande Armée

text: The most significant innovation was the establishment of a system of "ambulances volantes" (flying ambulances) in the closing years of the 18th century by Dominique Jean Larrey (who would later become Surgeon-General of the Imperial Guard). His inspiration was the use of fast horse artillery, or "flying artillery", which could manoeuver rapidly around the battlefield to provide urgent artillery support, or to escape an advancing enemy. The flying ambulance was designed to follow the advance guard and provide initial dressing of wounds (often under fire), while rapidly transporting the critically injured away from the battlefield. The personnel for a given ambulance team included a doctor, quartermaster, non-commissioned officer, a drummer boy (who carried the bandages), and 24 infantrymen as stretcher bearers.


title: Grande Armée

text: Another French military surgeon, Baron L.P. Percy, implemented another system. He was the first to introduce "a regularly trained corps of field litter bearers, soldiers regularly formed and equipped for the duty of picking up the wounded... and carrying them on stretchers to the place where means of surgical aid were provided". Percy's system essentially served as a method of moving surgeons and their instruments closer to the engaged forces from where stretcher bearers would retrieve the wounded, rather than placing an emphasis on evacuating the wounded to the rear in a vehicle.


title: Grande Armée

text: During the Napoleonic Wars, every French regiment, division, and corps had its own medical staff, consisting of ambulance units, orderlies to perform nursing duties, apothecaries, surgeons, and doctors. Larrey was instrumental in reorganising military hospitals and making them more mobile. This was more than any other army would be able to offer until the 1850s and 1860s, half a century later. Knowing that they would be promptly attended to, then honored and well looked after once back home, helped boost morale in the "Grande Armée", and thus further contributed to its fighting abilities. The most revolutionary aspect of the system was Larrey's attention to the wounded on both sides of the battlefield, a practice now enshrined in various Geneva Conventions. Napoleon held the French medical services, and Larrey, in high regard. As stated in the "Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène", ""The Emperor had only the highest praise for Dr Larrey, declaring that he left him with the image of a truly good man who combined all the virtues of effective philanthropy and science to the highest degree. Every wounded soldier was a member of his family. Larrey is the most virtuous man I have ever met.""


title: Grande Armée

text: Despite these innovations, conditions in the "Grande Armée", as in all armies of the time, were primitive at best. Far more soldiers died of their wounds or from sickness than in battle (see Napoleonic Wars casualties). There was little knowledge of hygiene and nothing of antibiotics. The main surgical procedure was amputation. The only crude form of anaesthetic readily available was a strong alcoholic drink, or even, in some cases, knocking the patient unconscious. Opiates such as laudanum were occasionally available for pain control. Typically, only about two-thirds survived such an operation, but this number increased with swift attention.


title: Grande Armée

text: Accounts of the ordeals of the wounded are horrific reading. Napoleon himself once noted, ""It requires more courage to suffer than to die"", so he made sure those who did survive were given the best treatment available at hospitals in France, in particular Les Invalides, while they recuperated. The wounded survivours were often treated as heroes, awarded medals, pensions, and provided with prosthetic limbs if needed.


title: Grande Armée

text: Most dispatches were conveyed as they had been for centuries, via messengers on horseback. Hussars, due to their bravery and riding skills, were often favoured for this task. Shorter range tactical signals could be sent visually by flags or audibly by drums, bugles, trumpets, and other musical instruments. Thus, standard bearers and musicians, in addition to their symbolic, ceremonial, and morale functions, also played important communication roles.


title: Grande Armée

text: The "Grande Armée" did benefit from innovations made in long-range communications during the French Revolution. The French Army was among the first to employ homing pigeons as messengers in any large and organised manner, and also the first to use observation balloons for reconnaissance and communications. But the real advance for conveying long-range dispatches came in the form of an ingenious optical telegraph Semaphore system invented by Claude Chappe.


title: Grande Armée

text: Chappe's system consisted of an intricate network of small towers, within visual range of one another. On top of each was a 9-metre mast, with three large, movable wooden rods mounted on them. These rods, called the "régulateur" (regulator), were operated by trained crews using a series of pulleys and levers. The four basic positions of the rods could be combined to form 196 different "signs". Provided with good crews of operators and decent visibility conditions, a sign could be sent through the 15 station towers between Paris and Lille, a distance of , in only 9 minutes, a complete message of 36 signs in about 32 minutes. From Paris to Venice, a message could be sent in only six hours.


title: Grande Armée

text: Chappe's telegraph soon became one of Napoleon's favourite and most important secret weapons. A special portable version semaphore telegraph travelled with his headquarters. Using it, he was able to coordinate his logistics and forces over longer distances in far less time than his enemies. Work was even begun on a wagon-mounted version in 1812, but was not completed in time for use in the wars.


title: Grande Armée

text: While Napoleon is best known as a master strategist and charismatic presence on the battlefield, he was also a tactical innovator. He combined classic formations and tactics that had been used for thousands of years with more recent ones, such as Frederick the Great's "Oblique Order" (best illustrated at the Battle of Leuthen) and the "mob tactics" of the early "Levée en masse" armies of the Revolution. Napoleonic tactics and formations were highly fluid and flexible. In contrast, many of the "Grande Armée"'s opponents were still wedded to a rigid system of "Linear" (or Line) tactics and formations, in which masses of infantry would simply line up and exchange vollies of fire, in an attempt to either blow the enemy from the field or outflank them. Due to the vulnerabilities of the line formations to flanking attacks, it was considered the highest form of military manoeuvre to outflank one's adversary. Armies would often retreat or even surrender if this was accomplished. Consequently, commanders who adhered to this system would place a great emphasis on flank security, often at the expense of a strong centre or reserve. Napoleon would frequently take full advantage of this linear mentality by feigning flank attacks or offering the enemy his own flank as "bait" (best illustrated at the Battle of Austerlitz and also later at Lützen), then throw his main effort against their centre, split their lines, and roll up their flanks. He always kept a strong reserve as well, mainly in the form of his Imperial Guard, which could deliver a "knockout blow" if the battle was going well or turn the tide if it was not.


title: Grande Armée

text: Unlike the armies of the "Ancien Régime" and other monarchies, advancement in the "Grande Armée" was ideally at least based on proven ability rather than social class or wealth. Napoleon wanted his army to be a meritocracy, where every soldier, no matter how humble of birth, could rise rapidly to the highest levels of command, much as he had done. This was equally applied to the French and foreign officers, and no less than 140 foreigners attained the rank of "Général". By and large this goal was achieved. Given the right opportunities to prove themselves, capable men could rise to the top within a few years, whereas in other armies it usually required decades if at all. It was said that even the lowliest private carried a marshal's baton in his knapsack.


title: Grande Armée

text: "Maréchal d'Empire", or Marshal of the Empire, was not a rank within the "Grande Armée", but a personal title granted to distinguished divisional generals, along with higher pay and privileges. The same applied to the corps commanders ("General de Corps d'armee") and army commanders ("General en chef"). The highest permanent rank in the "Grande Armée" was actually "Général de division" and those higher than it were positions of the same rank but with separate insignia for appointment holders. The position of Colonel General of a branch (such as dragoons or grenadiers of the Guard) was akin to Chief Inspector-General of that branch, whose office holder used his current officer rank and its corresponding insignia.


title: TSG Entertainment

text: TSG Entertainment Finance LLC (d.b.a. TSG Entertainment) is an American film financing entity which primarily funds live action films. TSG stands for parent company The Seelig Group.


title: TSG Entertainment

text: TSG was established after the U.S. theatrical release of "Parental Guidance" to replace Dune Entertainment as a result of Dune not renewing their deal with 20th Century Fox. Fox was looking for a new long term co-financing arrangement and made a deal with TSG Entertainment. The financing entity was founded by former Dune partner Chip Seelig with majority funding from Magnetar Capital with additional funding from Seelig and others. Seelig had left Dune in May 2011 to launch a new funding company. TSG was also looking for some ($300–400 million) debt financing from banks at this time. In November 2015, Bona Film Group, a Chinese film studio, invested $235 million in TSG. Because of The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox (sans certain units) on March 20, 2019, Disney inherited Fox’s deal with TSG for 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios).


title: TSG Entertainment

text: TSG's logo is a depiction of a man with a bow shooting an arrow through several axe heads, similar to Odysseus from Homer's "Odyssey".


title: Next Friday

text: Next Friday is a 2000 American stoner comedy film and the sequel to the 1995 film "Friday". It is the first film to be produced by Ice Cube's film production company Cubevision. It was directed by Steve Carr and stars Ice Cube, Mike Epps, John Witherspoon, Tamala Jones, and Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr. It is the second installment in the "Friday series". "Next Friday" was theatrically released on January 12, 2000, grossing $59 million worldwide. The film has received generally negative reviews from critics, but has since gained a cult following.


title: Next Friday

text: A third film, titled "Friday After Next", was released in November 2002. This film also received negative reviews but has since gained a cult following as well.


title: Next Friday

text: After finding out Deebo escaped prison to get revenge on Craig, Willie decides it would be safer for Craig to move to Rancho Cucamonga to live with his uncle Elroy and cousin Day-Day, who had just won the lottery. Day-Day shows Craig around the house and neighborhood. Day-Day explains to Craig that after winning the lottery, all of the taxes and fees that were taken out only left them enough to buy their house and Day-Day's car. A notice arrives informing them that their house could face repossession.


title: Next Friday

text: Later, Craig visits Day-Day at work, a record shop. Day-Day hides from his pregnant ex D'Wana and her little sister Baby D who constantly stalk and harass him saying that he is the baby's father. Day-Day's boss Pinky arrives at the store finding it locked. While Day-Day and his co-worker Roach are in the back, a scuffle between Craig and Pinky ensues in which Pinky mistakes him for a robber, while Craig tries to explain that he is Day-Day’s cousin. Pinky then fires Day-Day and Roach.


title: Next Friday

text: Craig, Day-Day, and Roach try to figure out how to keep the house. Craig remembers seeing their neighbors, a trio of gang member brothers known as "the Jokers", who live with their sister Karla carrying a hydraulic pump. Suspecting that it may be hiding cash, Craig convinces Day-Day and Roach to help him get inside the Jokers' house and steal the pump.


title: Next Friday

text: Later that night, Roach drugs the Jokers' Bull Terrier Chico with Cannabis to keep him distracted while Craig sneaks into the Jokers' house. Craig locates the pump finding cash is hidden inside and taking some for himself. He escapes out of a window. Panicking after the eldest Joker closes the window (the way Craig got into the house), Day-Day and Roach knock on the Jokers' door as a diversion for Craig to escape. After discovering money missing, The Jokers take Day-Day and Roach hostage and tie them up.


title: Next Friday

text: Willie returns to the neighborhood while unknowingly hauling Deebo and his brother Tyrone in his truck, who snuck in earlier. Craig returns to Elroy's house only to find Day-Day and Roach missing. Craig, Willie, and Elroy decide to investigate the Jokers' house with Elroy's girlfriend Suga saying she will call the police if they aren’t back in ten minutes.


title: Next Friday

text: The trio sneaks into the Jokers' backyard. Joker sends Baby Joker and Lil' Joker to get a chainsaw from the toolshed. Willie knocks Baby Joker with a 2x4 and Elroy tackles Lil' Joker. Willie ties the younger Jokers up and puts them in the shed.


title: Next Friday

text: Joker goes to look for his brothers and finds Elroy on the ground due to his back giving out after tackling Lil' Joker. Craig then engages him in a fight. As Craig and Joker fight, Elroy unties Day-Day and Roach. Joker gains the upper hand when he picks up an AK-47, Deebo appears and knocks Joker out. Armed with Joker’s rifle, Deebo prepares to shoot but not before he is bitten by Chico. The police arrive and arrest the Joker brothers, Deebo, and Tyrone. Craig leaves with the Jokers' pump.


title: Next Friday

text: DJ Pooh, who previously portrayed Red in the first film, appears in an uncredited voice role as himself in the opening title sequence.


title: Next Friday

text: Chris Tucker was approached to return as Smokey, but he declined. This was covered up in Craig's opening narration which stated that Smokey checked in rehab one month ago.


title: Next Friday

text: The film's soundtrack, which featured appearances from Aaliyah, Eminem, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Ice Cube, N.W.A., Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan, and Wyclef Jean, peaked at number five on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts, and nineteen on the Billboard 200 in 2000.


title: Next Friday

text: "Next Friday" was released on DVD format on June 6, 2000. The single disc DVD contains a theatrical trailer, music videos, a "making of..." featurette, behind the scenes footage, and an alternate ending as well as cast and crew information.


title: Next Friday

text: "Next Friday" grossed $14.5 million in its opening weekend in 1,103 theaters, averaging $13,114 per theater. The film grossed $57.3 million in North America and $2.5 million in the foreign box office, for a total of $59.8 million worldwide. The film is the most successful in the franchise.


title: Next Friday

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 21% based on 66 reviews with an average rating of 4.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""Next Friday" lacks the fun of the original "Friday". The movie is messy and plotless and relies on unfunny vulgar gags." On Metacritic, the film received a weighted average score of 41 based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Karan Kapoor

text: Karan Kapoor (born 18 January 1962) is an Indian photographer, actor and model. He is the son of actors Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kendal. His paternal grandfather was Prithviraj Kapoor and his paternal uncles are Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor. His elder brother Kunal Kapoor and younger sister Sanjana Kapoor have also acted in some films. His maternal grandparents, Geoffrey Kendal and Laura Kendal, were actors who toured India and Asia with their theatre group, Shakespearana, performing Shakespeare and Shaw. The Merchant Ivory film, "Shakespeare Wallah", was loosely based on the family, which starred his father and his maternal aunt, actress Felicity Kendal.


title: Karan Kapoor

text: Karan Kapoor was born on 18 January 1962 to actor Shashi Kapoor and British theatre actress Jennifer Kendal. Early in his career he was a popular model made famous by the Bombay Dyeing advertisement campaign and he also acted in "Sultanat" (1986), opposite Juhi Chawla as well as later in "Loha" with Dharmendra. Karan now runs a photography company in the UK. He was married to English model Lorna Tarling Kapoor; the couple are now separated. They have a daughter, Aliya Kapoor and son Zak Kapoor.


title: Karan Kapoor

text: Kapoor has two siblings. His brother Kunal Kapoor formerly acted in Bollywood movies and now runs ad company "Adfilms Valas". Kunal was married to filmmaker Ramesh Sippy's daughter Sheena, who is a well known photographer. They also have two children, Shaira and Zahan. Kunal and Sheena are now divorced.


title: Karan Kapoor

text: Jennifer Kapoor was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer in 1982 and succumbed to the disease in 1984.


title: Karan Kapoor

text: He made his debut in Shyam Benegal's critically acclaimed 1978 film "Junoon", which also featured his parents and both siblings. He had a minor part in his father's production "36 Chowringhee Lane" (1981). He appeared in the British television series "The Jewel in the Crown" in 1984.


title: Karan Kapoor

text: He made his debut in mainstream Bollywood films with "Sultanat" (1986), alongside Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and Juhi Chawla. He later acted in "Loha" (1987) and "Afsar" in 1988, but did not have many offers as an actor. He also modeled major Indian brands, including Bombay Dyeing.


title: Karan Kapoor

text: He has since become a photographer and lives in Chelsea, London, with his wife Lorna, his daughter Aliya, and Zach, his son.


title: Karan Kapoor

text: After a gap of nearly 25 years, Karan has now come back into the public and returned to India with a series of his photography exhibitions, "Time & Tide". Karan's "Time & Tide" photography exhibition started in his home town Mumbai in November 2016 then taking place in Bangalore, Kolkata, New Delhi, Ahmedabad & Jaipur throughout 2017. Karan has done much research in the Anglo-Indian communities and travelled through various parts of India in the 1980s to meet these communities and has taken photographs. His articles were published in the BBC, Indian Express, Hindustan Times and other newspapers in November 2016. In his recent interview, Karan said that he is quite keen to do more photography projects in India, because his children have now grown up so he could spend more time in India. Karan also said that he was always interested in photography since his childhood even though being a part of very famous Bollywood family of Kapoors. Karan's elder brother Kunal Kapoor is now a leading ad-maker of India and younger sister Sanjana Kapoor runs the Junoon foundation to promote arts, culture and drama.


title: Karan Kapoor

text: His photograph "Old Couple" won the International Photography Awards 2009 in the People/Lifestyle category. It was one of five nominations he received that year.


title: Oval Office

text: The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C.


title: Oval Office

text: The oval-shaped room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk and a fireplace at the north end. It has two built-in bookcases, and four doors: the east door opens to the Rose Garden; the west door leads to a private study and dining room; the northwest door opens onto the main corridor of the West Wing; and the northeast door opens to the office of the president's secretary.


title: Oval Office

text: Presidents generally decorate the office to suit their personal taste, choosing furniture, drapery, and often commissioning their own oval-shaped carpet. Artwork is selected from the White House's own collection, or borrowed from museums for the length of the president's term in office.


title: Oval Office

text: The Oval Office has become associated in Americans' minds with the presidency itself through memorable images, such as a young John F. Kennedy, Jr. peering through the front panel of his father's desk, President Richard Nixon speaking by telephone with the Apollo 11 astronauts during their moonwalk, and Amy Carter bringing her Siamese cat Misty Malarky Ying Yang to brighten her father President Jimmy Carter's day. Several presidents have addressed the nation from the Oval Office on occasion. Examples include Kennedy presenting news of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), Nixon (1974), Ronald Reagan following the Space Shuttle "Challenger" disaster (1986), and George W. Bush in the wake of the September 11 attacks (2001).


title: Oval Office

text: George Washington never occupied the White House. He spent most of his presidency in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which served as the temporary national capital for 10 years, from 1790–1800, while Washington, D.C. was under construction.


title: Oval Office

text: In 1790, Washington built a large, two-story, semi-circular addition to the rear of the President's House in Philadelphia, creating a ceremonial space in which the public would meet the president. Standing before the three windows of this bow window, he formally received guests for his Tuesday afternoon audiences, delegations from Congress and foreign dignitaries, and the general public at open houses on New Year's Day, the Fourth of July, and his birthday.


title: Oval Office

text: Washington received his guests, standing between the windows in his back drawing-room. The company, entering a front room and passing through an unfolding door, made their salutations to the President, and turning off, stood on one side.


title: Oval Office

text: President John Adams occupied the Philadelphia mansion beginning in March 1797, and used the bow window in the same manner as his predecessor.


title: Oval Office

text: Curved foundations of Washington's bow window were uncovered during a 2007 archaeological excavation of the President's House site. They are exhibited under glass at the President's House Commemoration, just north of the Liberty Bell Center.


title: Oval Office

text: Architect James Hoban visited President Washington in Philadelphia in June 1792, and would have seen the bow window. The following month Hoban was named winner of the design competition for the White House.


title: Oval Office

text: The "elliptic salon" at the center of the White House was the outstanding feature of Hoban's original plan. Oval rooms became common in early-19th-century neoclassical architecture.


title: Oval Office

text: In November 1800, John Adams became the first president to occupy the White House. He and his successor, President Thomas Jefferson, used Hoban's oval rooms in the same ceremonial manner that Washington had used the bow window, standing before the three windows at the south end to receive guests.


title: Oval Office

text: During the 19th century, a number of presidents used the White House's second-floor Yellow Oval Room as their private office or library. This cultural association between the president and an oval room was more fully expressed in the Taft Oval Office (1909).


title: Oval Office

text: The West Wing was the idea of President Theodore Roosevelt, brought about by his wife's opinion that the second floor of the White House, then shared between bedrooms and offices, should be solely a domestic space. Completed in 1902, the one-story Executive Office Building was intended to be a temporary structure, for use until a permanent building was erected on that site or elsewhere. Siting the building to the west of the White House allowed for the removal of a vast, dilapidated set of pre-Civil War greenhouses that had been constructed by President James Buchanan.


title: Oval Office

text: Roosevelt moved the offices of the executive branch into the newly constructed wing in 1902. His workspace was a two-room suite of Executive Office and Cabinet Room, occupying the eastern third of the building. Its furniture, including the president's desk, was designed by architect Charles Follen McKim and executed by A. H. Davenport and Company, of Boston. Now much altered, the 1902 Executive Office survives as the Roosevelt Room, a windowless interior meeting room diagonally opposite the Oval Office.


title: Oval Office

text: President William Howard Taft made the West Wing a permanent building, doubling its size by expanding it southward, and building the first Oval Office. Designed by Nathan C. Wyeth and completed in 1909, the office was centered on the building's south facade, much as the oval rooms in the White House are. Taft wanted to be more involved with the day-to-day operation of his presidency, and intended the office to be the hub of his administration. The Taft Oval Office had ample natural light from its three windows and skylight. It featured a white marble mantel, simple Georgian Revival woodwork, and twin glass-doored bookcases. It also was likely the most colorful presidential office in history; its walls were covered with vibrant seagrass green burlap.


title: Oval Office

text: On December 24, 1929, during the first year of President Herbert Hoover's administration, a fire severely damaged the West Wing. Hoover used this as an opportunity to create additional space, excavating a partial basement for staff offices. He restored the Oval Office, upgrading the quality of trim and installing air-conditioning. He also replaced the furniture, which had undergone no major changes in twenty years.


title: Oval Office

text: Dissatisfied with the size and layout of the West Wing, President Franklin D. Roosevelt engaged New York architect Eric Gugler to redesign it in 1933. To create additional staff space without increasing the apparent size of the building, Gugler excavated a full basement, added a set of subterranean offices under the adjacent lawn, and built an unobtrusive "penthouse" story. The directive to wring the most office space out of the existing building was responsible for its narrow corridors and cramped staff offices. Gugler's most visible addition was the expansion of the building eastward for a new Cabinet Room and Oval Office.


title: Oval Office

text: The modern Oval Office was built at the West Wing's southeast corner, offering Roosevelt, who was physically disabled and used a wheelchair, more privacy and easier access to the Residence. He and Gugler devised a room architecturally grander than the previous two offices, with more robust Georgian details: doors topped with substantial pediments, bookcases set into niches, a deep bracketed cornice, and a ceiling medallion of the Presidential Seal. Rather than a chandelier or ceiling fixture, the room is illuminated by light bulbs hidden within the cornice that "wash" the ceiling in light. In small ways, hints of Art Moderne can be seen, in the sconces flanking the windows and the representation of the eagle in the ceiling medallion. Roosevelt and Gugler worked closely together, often over breakfast, with Gugler sketching the president's ideas. One notion resulting from these sketches that has become fixed in the layout of the room's furniture is that of two high back chairs in front of the fireplace. The public sees this most often with the president seated on the left and a visiting head of state on the right. This allowed Roosevelt to be seated, with his guests at the same level, de-emphasizing his inability to stand without help. Construction of the modern Oval Office was completed in 1934.


title: Oval Office

text: The basic Oval Office furnishings have been a desk in front of the three windows at the south end, a pair of chairs in front of the fireplace at the north end, a pair of sofas, and assorted tables and chairs. The Neoclassical mantel was made for the Taft Oval Office in 1909 and salvaged after the 1929 West Wing fire. A tradition of displaying potted Swedish ivy ("Plectranthus verticillatus") atop the mantel goes back to the administration of John F. Kennedy, and the current plants were rooted from the original plant.


title: Oval Office

text: A Federal longcase clock, made in Boston by John and Thomas Seymour c. 1795–1805 – commonly known as the Oval Office grandfather clock – was purchased by the White House Historical Association in 1972, and has stood next to the Oval Office's northeast door since 1975.


title: Oval Office

text: President Harry S. Truman replaced the Oval Office's 23-year-old dark green carpet in 1947. He had revised the Seal of the President of the United States after World War II, and his blue-gray carpet incorporated the , represented monochromatically through varying depths of its cut pile. The Truman carpet remained in the office through the Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy administrations. Jacqueline Kennedy's redecoration of the Oval Office began on November 21, 1963, while she and President Kennedy were away on a trip to Texas. The following day, November 22, a red carpet was installed, just as the Kennedys were making their way through Dallas, where the president was assassinated. Johnson had the red carpet removed and the Truman carpet reinstalled, and used the latter for his administration. Since Johnson, most administrations have created their own oval carpet, working with an interior designer and the Curator of the White House.


title: Oval Office

text: Six desks have been used in the Oval Office by U.S. presidents. The Theodore Roosevelt desk was made in 1902 for Roosevelt's (non-oval) office at the southeast corner of the West Wing. Subsequently, the desk was used by five presidents in the Taft Oval Office, and by Truman and Eisenhower in the Modern Oval Office.


title: Oval Office

text: Also popular is the "Resolute" Desk, so named because it was made from the timbers of the British frigate HMS "Resolute". The ship had been frozen in Arctic ice and abandoned but was later found and freed by American seamen. It was refurbished and presented as a gift from the United States to Queen Victoria in 1856. When the ship was decommissioned from the Royal Navy in 1879, Queen Victoria ordered twin desks made from its timbers, keeping one and presenting the other as a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered a kneehole panel with the Presidential Seal added, but work was not completed until after his 1945 death in office. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy had the desk restored, and she was the first to place it in the Oval Office. Following the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy, the desk toured the country as part of a traveling exhibit for the Kennedy Presidential Library and was then lent to the Smithsonian Institution. President Jimmy Carter brought the desk back to the Oval Office in the 1970s. Since then, presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden have also used it as their Oval Office desk.


title: Oval Office

text: When not in use in the Oval Office, a desk is often placed in the adjacent Oval Office Study, in the White House, or is used by the vice president.


title: Oval Office

text: Artworks are selected from the White House collection or may be borrowed from museums or individuals for the length of an administration.


title: Oval Office

text: Most presidents have hung a portrait of George Washington – usually the Rembrandt Peale "Porthole" portrait or the Charles Willson Peale three-quarter-length portrait – over the mantel at the north end of the room. A portrait of Andrew Jackson by Thomas Sully hung in Lyndon B. Johnson's office and in Ronald Reagan's, George H. W. Bush's and Bill Clinton's. A portrait of Abraham Lincoln by George Henry Story hung in George W. Bush's office, continued in Barack Obama's and currently hangs in Joe Biden's. Three landscapes/cityscapes – "City of Washington from Beyond the Navy Yard" by George Cooke, "Eastport and Passamaquoddy Bay" by Victor de Grailly, and "The President's House", a copy after William Henry Bartlett – have adorned the walls in multiple administrations. "Passing the Outpost" (1881) by Alfred Wordsworth Thompson, a Revolutionary War genre scene of a carriage stopped at a British checkpoint, hung in Gerald Ford's office, and in Jimmy Carter's and Ronald Reagan's. "The Avenue in the Rain" by Childe Hassam and "Working on the Statue of Liberty" by Norman Rockwell flanked the "Resolute" desk in Bill Clinton's office and did the same in Barack Obama's. "Avenue in the Rain" currently hangs beside the "Resolute" desk in Joe Biden's office.


title: Oval Office

text: Statuettes, busts, heads, and figurines are frequently displayed in the Oval Office. Abraham Lincoln has been the most common subject, in works by sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Gutzon Borglum, Adolph Alexander Weinman, Leo Cherne and others. Over time, traditional busts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or Benjamin Franklin have given way to heads of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman or Dwight Eisenhower. Western bronzes by Frederic Remington have been frequent choices: Lyndon Johnson displayed "The Bronco Buster", as did Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush added its companion piece, "The Rattlesnake".


title: Oval Office

text: According to "The New York Times", an estimated 43 paintings and one photograph have decorated the walls of the Oval Office since 1961.


title: Oval Office

text: Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to occupy the Modern Oval Office, and placed Rembrandt Peale's "George Washington" over the mantel. Assorted prints of the Hudson Valley hung on the walls.


title: Oval Office

text: President Harry S. Truman displayed works related to his home state of Missouri, prints of biplanes and sailing ships, and models of jet-airplanes. A series of paintings held pride of place over the mantel, including Rembrandt Peale's "George Washington", Charles H. Woodbury's "Woodrow Wilson", Luis Cadena's "George Washington" (the gift of Ecuador), and a copy of Tito Salas's "Equestrian Portrait of Simon Bolivar" (the gift of Venezuela). A large photograph of the White House portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt, under whom Truman had served as vice president and who died in office in 1945, hung beside the mantel and later beside his desk. He also displayed the painting "Fired On" by Western artist Frederic Remington.


title: Oval Office

text: President Dwight D. Eisenhower filled the office walls with landscape paintings, as well as a portrait of Robert E. Lee.


title: Oval Office

text: President John F. Kennedy surrounded himself with paintings of naval battles from the War of 1812, photographs of sailboats, and ship models.


title: Oval Office

text: President Lyndon Johnson installed sconces on either side of the mantel, and added the office's first painting by a woman artist, "Franklin D. Roosevelt" by Elizabeth Shoumatoff.


title: Oval Office

text: President Richard Nixon tried three different portraits of George Washington over the mantel, and hung a copy of "Earthrise" – a photograph of the Earth taken from the Moon's orbit during the Apollo 8 mission – besides his desk.


title: Oval Office

text: President Gerald Ford hung historic paintings, possibly in anticipation of the 1976 Bicentennial. Most of these works remained in place through the administrations of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.


title: Oval Office

text: President George H. W. Bush hung landscape paintings on the walls, along with three portraits: Rembrandt Peale's "George Washington", Charles Willson Peale's "Benjamin Henry Latrobe", and Thomas Sully's "Andrew Jackson".


title: Oval Office

text: President Bill Clinton chose the Childe Hassam and Norman Rockwell paintings mentioned above, along with "Waiting for the Hour" by William T. Carlton, a genre scene depicting African-Americans gathered in anticipation of the Emancipation Proclamation going into effect on January 1, 1863.


title: Oval Office

text: President George W. Bush mixed traditional works with paintings by Texas artists and Western sculptures. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, British Prime Minister Tony Blair lent him a bust of Winston Churchill, who had guided Great Britain through World War II.


title: Oval Office

text: President Barack Obama honored Abraham Lincoln with the portrait by Story, a bust by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. Below the proclamation was a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. by Charles Alston, and in the nearby bookcase was displayed a program from the August 28, 1963, March on Washington, at which King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.


title: Oval Office

text: President Donald Trump hung mostly portraits on the office walls: Rembrandt Peale's "George Washington", George H. Story's "Abraham Lincoln", Asher B. Durand's "Andrew Jackson", George P. A. Healy's "Thomas Jefferson", John Trumbull's "Alexander Hamilton", Joseph-Siffred Duplessis's "Benjamin Franklin". He later substituted in other portraits: Rembrandt Peale's "Thomas Jefferson" and Ralph E. W. Earl's "Andrew Jackson".


title: Oval Office

text: President Joe Biden's Oval Office features a cluster of five portraits at its north end, with Frank O. Salisbury's "Franklin D. Roosevelt" given pride of place over the mantel.


title: Oval Office

text: A tradition evolved in the latter part of the twentieth century of each new administration redecorating the office to the president's liking. A new administration usually selects an oval carpet, new drapery, the paintings on the walls, and some furniture. Most incoming presidents continue using the rug of their predecessor until their new one is installed. The retired carpet very often is then moved to storage.


title: Oval Office

text: The redecoration of the Oval Office is usually coordinated by the first lady's office in the East Wing, working with an interior designer and the White House curator.


title: Oval Office

text: Since the present Oval Office's construction in 1934 during the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt the room has remained mostly unchanged architecturally. More than any president, Roosevelt left an impression on the room and its use. Doors and window frames have been modified slightly. A screen door on the east wall was removed after the installation of air conditioning. President Lyndon B. Johnson's row of wire service Teletype machines on the southeast wall required cutting plaster and flooring to accommodate wiring. The Georgian style plaster ornament has been cleaned to remove accumulated paint, and a series of electrified wall sconces have come and gone.


title: Oval Office

text: Though some presidents have chosen to do day-to-day work in a smaller study just west of the Oval Office, most use the actual Oval Office for work and meetings. Traffic from the large numbers of staff, visitors, and pets over time takes its toll. There have been four sets of flooring in the Oval Office. The original floor was made of cork installed over softwood; however, President Eisenhower was an avid golfer and damaged the floor with his golf spikes. Johnson had the floor replaced in the mid-1960s with wood-grain linoleum. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan had the floor replaced with quarter sawn oak and walnut, in a cross parquet pattern similar in design to a 1933 Eric Gugler sketch, which had never been executed. In August 2005, the floor was replaced again under President George W. Bush, in exactly the same pattern as the Reagan floor.


title: Oval Office

text: In the late 1980s, a comprehensive assessment of the entire house, including the Oval Office, was made as part of the National Park Service's Historic American Buildings Survey . Detailed photographs and measured drawings were made documenting the interior and exterior and showing even slight imperfections. A checklist of materials and methods was generated for future conservation and restoration.


title: American lion

text: Panthera atrox, better known as the American lion, also called the North American lion, or American cave lion, is an extinct pantherine cat that lived in North America during the Pleistocene epoch and the early Holocene epoch, about 340,000 to 11,000 years ago.


title: American lion

text: Its fossils have been excavated from Alaska to Mexico. Genetic analysis has shown that the American lion and the Late Pleistocene Eurasian cave lion ("Panthera spelaea") are sister lineages.


title: American lion

text: The first specimen now assigned to "Panthera atrox" was collected in the 1830s and placed in the collection of by William Henry Huntingtion Esquire, who announced their discovery to the American Philosophical Society on April 1, 1836 and placed with other fossils from Huntington's collection in the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. The specimen had been collected in ravines in Natchez, Mississippi and that were dated to the Pleistocene and the specimen consisted only of a partial left mandible with 3 molars and a partial canine. The fossils didn't get proper description until in 1853, Joseph Leidy named the fragmentary specimen (ANSP 12546), "Felis atrox" ("savage cat") Leidy named another species seen as synonymous with "P. atrox" in 1873, "Felis imperialis" ("imperial cat"), based on a mandible fragment from Pleistocene gravels in Livermore Valley, California.


title: American lion

text: Few additional discoveries came until 1907, when the American Museum of Natural History and College, Alaska collected several "Panthera atrox" skulls in a locality originally found in 1803 by gold miners in Kotzebue, Alaska. The skulls were referred to a new subspecies of "Felis" ("Panthera") "atrox" in 1930, "Felis atrox" "alaskensis""." Despite this, the species didn’t get a proper description and is now seen as a "nomen nudum" synonymous with "Panthera atrox". Further south in Rancho La Brea, California, a large Felid skull was excavated and later described in 1909 by John C. Merriam, who referred it to a new subspecies of "Felis atrox", "Felis atrox bebbi". The subspecies is synonymous with "Panthera atrox."


title: American lion

text: Throughout the early to mid 1900s, dozens of fossils of "Panthera atrox" were excavated at La Brea, including many postcranial elements and associated skeletons. The fossils were described by Merriam & Stock in detail in 1932, who synonymized many previously named taxa with "Felis atrox." At least 80 individuals are known from La Brea Tar Pits and the fossils define the subspecies, giving a comprehensive view of the taxon. It wasn’t until 1941 that George Simpson moved "Felis atrox" to "Panthera", believing that it was a subspecies of jaguar. Simpson also referred several fossils from central Mexico, even as far south as Chiapas, as well as Nebraska and other regions of the western US to "P. atrox". 1971 witnessed the description of fragmentary remains from Alberta, Canada that extended "P. atrox"’s range north. In 2009, an entrapment site at Natural Trap Cave, Wyoming was briefly described and is the second most productive "Panthera atrox"-bearing fossil site. It most importantly contains well preserved mitochondrial DNA of many partial skeletons.