AustriaKaiserthum Oesterreich

Called the Holy Roman Empire at the beginning of the French Revolution, and Austria-Hungary by the end of the period, by whatever name, Austria was at war for more years and fought more land battles than any continental nation other than France. The Austrian Army earned a reputation during the Seven Years War (1756—1763) as a competant well-led force capable of fighting Frederick the Great to a draw, but, as with many other continental armies by the time of the French Revolution, the Austrian army was in deep decay.

Until the reforms of Archduke Charles, the Austrian army was very much a product of the 18th Century, with no permanent organization higher than regiment. Because of this, army commanders lacked the ability to react to fast-moving French maneuvers. Prior to 1805, the infantry usually moved and fought in line formation, placing it at a great mobility disadvantage when maneuvering on the battlefield. Austrian artillery was divided into two-gun sections to provide direct general support to the infantry, and the cavalry, while good, was poorly led. The catharsis occurred during the War of 1805, when the Austrian army was virtually destroyed. After that watershed year, Archduke Charles, the brother of the Emperor, reformed the army to reflect the changes wrought by Napoleon and the French Revolution.

During and after the 1809 campaign, the Austrians proved to be a very tough proposition for the French. Their infantry drill was changed with the emphasis placed on maneuvering in column on the battlefield. The cavalry maintained its high standards, though the quality of its horseflesh fell off a bit, and artillery reserves of heavy 12 pounder guns were established. Perhaps the most important reform was the implementation of an Austrian version of the French corps d 'armee system with permanent divisional and corps organizations. That Charles’ system failed to produce victory in 1809 can be largely attributed to the inflexibility of the Austrian subordinate officers, who time and again proved incapable of taking advantage of the streamlined organization.

Initially called Cette Caine by Napoleon the 60 or so regiments of Austrians and Hungarian line infantry were individually very capable soldiers, and, after 1809, Napoleon never again referred to them as dogs. While mention of the Hungarians raises romantic thoughts of wild elite soldiers, there was very little to choose from between them and the other line regiments of the Austrian Empire, be they German, Italian or Dalmatian. Throughout the era Austria continued to maintain “inhabers” or royal sponsors for each regiment and the quality of the regiments depended more on the amount of money and time its inhaber was willing to spend than to any perceived difference between the Empire’s many different nationalities.

Assigned to any Austrian advance guard were the jager battalions and the grenzer regiments. The jager battalions were specially-trained light infantry armed with rifles. The grenzers were tough irregular light troops from the provinces which bordered on the Ottoman Empire. Though lacking an imperial guard, the Austrians fielded brigades and eventually divisions of converged grenadier battalions. These battalions were formed by stripping the line infantry regiments of their grenadier companies and converging them into battalions which acted as an army reserve.

At the beginning of the Revolution, the Austrian cavalry, though poorly led, was of high quality, and this quality was largely maintained throughout the period. The heavy cavalry consisted of cuirassiers which were usually held in a cavalry reserve. The rest, dragoons, chasseurs, hussars, and lancers, could all be classified as light cavalry and were normally parcelled out to the corps and the advanced guard divisions, to provide the infantry with support and scouting capabilities.

Austrian artillery, even more so than the rest of their army, was a product of the Seven Years War. The doctrine of dividing the batteries into two-gun sections continued through 1805. During the reforms of 1808, Charles established 12 pounder artillery reserve batteries which were greatly expanded by 1813. Uniquely, Austria did not have a true horse artillery branch, but, rather, what was called “cavalry artillery”. The difference between cavalry and true horse artillery was that the gunners in cavalry artillery did not ride individual horses but rather the limber and even the gun trail. While more mobile than foot artillery, the Austrian cavalry artillery could not maneuver as quickly as true horse artillery. Somehow, this lack of responsiveness and mobility strangely fits well into the character of the Austrian army.

Gaming The Austrian Army: The major strength of the Austrian army prior to Austerlitz was its cavalry, its usually numerous light infantry, and the line infantry’s ability to fight in line. Supported by cavalry and buttressed by artillery, on defense the Austrians can be a difficult proposition. The trick is to anticipate the more agile French maneuvers. On the downside, the major problems, and they are major, are the command structure and the infantry’s lack of training to fight in column. These factors combine to make the Austrians a plodding group susceptible to being outmaneuvered. The only plus about the small quantities of artillery available in the early years is that the French don’t have much either. It is important to keep the army in command control and maintain a reserve of cavalry to support the infantry. The difficulty is that the large mixed infantry and cavalry commands often overtax Austrian command control, leaving the player with unacceptable choices and many units out of command. The Austrians best chance is usually to remain on the defensive, repulse the French attack, and, only then, launch a counterattack.

After 1809, because of the improved command structure and a change in the infantry drill the army becomes much more maneuverable. Conversely, the quality of the cavalry falls when compared to the French while the quality of the commanders remains a stable mediocre to poor. With a beefed-up reserve artillery attached to each corps, and more numerous grenadier brigades, the gamer will be able to launch modest attacks with some hope of success. The noticeable difference, however, will be in the ability of the infantry to fight as well as move in column. From this point on the infantry is capable of carrying attacks against the French and after 1812 (due to the drop in French quality) they generally achieve parity. The post-1809 Austrian army is capable of rolling with the punches and launching punishing counterattacks. The player’s overriding problem will be to keep the army in command control. The simple fact was that the Austrians had officers who were not capable of commanding the large divisions and corps to which they were assigned.