Order of battle of the Armée d'Orient (1798) facts for kids
The Armée d'Orient (which means Army of the East in English) was a special French army. It was put together in 1798 by the French government at the time, called the French Directory. Their big mission was to travel to Ottoman Egypt. The main goal was to stop Great Britain from easily reaching its valuable colonies in India. This important army was led by a famous general named Napoleon Bonaparte.
Contents
The Army on Land
The land part of the Armée d'Orient was a large force. It had many different types of soldiers ready for battle.
Leaders and Numbers
- Commander-in-Chief: The overall leader was Général Napoléon Bonaparte.
- Chief of Staff: His main helper was Général Berthier.
- Total Soldiers: About 45,000 soldiers were part of this army. Around 33,000 of them actually went to Egypt.
Special Units
- Compagnie des guides: This was a special unit of about 500 men. They served as guides and bodyguards for the commanders.
Infantry Divisions
The army was split into several large groups called divisions. Each division had thousands of infantry (foot soldiers).
- Desaix's Division: Led by Général Louis Charles Antoine Desaix, this group had about 5,600 men. It included three main infantry units.
- Reynier's Division: Général Reynier commanded about 3,450 soldiers in his division.
- Kleber's Division: This division, led by Jean-Baptiste Kléber, had around 4,900 men.
- Menou's Division: Général Jacques-Francois Menou led about 5,200 soldiers in his division.
- Bon's Division: Général Louis André Bon commanded a division of about 4,700 men.
Cavalry Division
- Dumas's Cavalry: This division was made up of soldiers on horseback, led by Général Dumas. It had about 3,050 men. They rode in different types of cavalry regiments, like hussars and dragoons.
Artillery Division
- Dommartin's Artillery: The artillery, which means cannons and other big guns, was led by Général Dommartin.
- Firepower: They had 171 artillery pieces in total. This included large siege cannons, howitzers (which fire shells in a high arc), and mortars (which fire shells straight up).
- Soldiers: About 3,150 men worked with the artillery. They were organized into different companies, some on horseback and some on foot.
Engineer Division
- Caffarelli's Engineers: This important group was led by Général Caffarelli du Falga.
- Numbers: They had about 1,200 men. These engineers were crucial for building things like bridges or digging trenches.
- Roles: Their tasks included being sappers (who dig tunnels or destroy obstacles), miners, and other skilled workers. They even had a small group of balloonists!
Garrison Troops
Before heading to Egypt, some soldiers were stationed in other places.
- Corsica: About 3,600 men were stationed on the island of Corsica.
- Malta: A larger force of about 8,000 men was stationed on the island of Malta. These troops were divided into two main divisions, led by General Chabot and General Vaubois.
The naval part of the expedition was called the Escadre d'Orient. These ships carried the soldiers and supplies. Sometimes, they even helped the land forces during battles.
- Commander: The fleet was commanded by admiral Brueys.
- Total Boats: There were 335 boats in total. However, only 55 of these were armed warships.
Ships of the Line
These were the largest and most powerful warships. They were called "ships of the line" because they fought in a line formation.
- There were 15 ships of the line in the fleet.
- Flagship: The most important ship was the L'Orient, which had 120 guns. This was the admiral's main ship.
- Other powerful ships included Le Guillaume-Tell, Le Franklin, and Le Tonnant, which had 80 guns.
- Many other ships, like Le Spartiate and Le Généreux, had 74 guns. Some smaller ones had 64 guns.
Frigates
Frigates were smaller and faster than ships of the line. They were often used for scouting, protecting convoys, or raiding.
- There were 13 frigates in the fleet.
- Many of them had 40 guns, such as La Justice and La Diane.
- Others, like L'Alceste and La Sérieuse, had 36 guns.
- Some smaller frigates had 30 guns.
Other Ships
The fleet also included many other types of vessels for different purposes:
- A corvette (a small warship) called La Badine.
- Many brigs (two-masted sailing ships).
- Bomb vessels (ships designed to fire bombs).
- Avisos (small, fast ships for messages).
- Tartanes (small Mediterranean sailing vessels).
- Various types of gunboats, schooners, and other cargo ships like pinques and polacres.
