Hat 8204 Napoleonic Austrian Grenzer

When the wars with revolutionary France broke out (1792-1799), the Austrian army was perceived as one of the largest and strongest in Europe. It is true that she suffered a number of defeats during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), but during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) she was able to keep the field of the great Prussian army, and even (though rarely) deal defeats - as in the Battle of Kolin in 1757. The Austrian army also performed well during the War of the Bavarian Succession (1778-1779). However, despite the reforms carried out during the reign of Maria Theresa (1740-1780) and Joseph II (1780-1790), the Austrian army turned out to be inferior in the field to the troops of revolutionary and Napoleonic France, which was clearly demonstrated by the Italian campaign of 1796-1797 and such battles as Austerlitz (1805) or Wagram (1809). Considering the above, it is not surprising that during the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) the Austrian army underwent changes and reforms (similarly to the Prussian army after 1806), and these changes most often affected the Austrian infantry, including the Grenzer formation (one could call it the frontier troops). This formation was something between line infantry, light infantry, and Landwera. The main task of Grenzer soldiers in peacetime was to guard the border with Turkey, and they performed their service for 6-7 months a year. In total, the Austrian army could deploy about 17-18 regiments of this formation. In peacetime (in 1807), a single regiment consisted of three battalions: one reserve and two field battalions, and each field battalion consisted of six companies of approx. 200 men each. The Grenzer regiments were trained primarily for irregular combat, reconnaissance, reconnaissance and insurance of the marches of their own troops. They also did great in wooded or mountainous terrain. It is worth adding that they could be successfully used on the battlefield.