I Corps (Grande Armée)


The I Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. The corps was composed of French troops.

Campaigns

The corps was formed in 1805, with Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte appointed as its commander.

War of the Third Coalition

The corps took part in the Ulm campaign before participating at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805.

War of the Fourth Coalition

The corps took part in the battles of Schleiz, Halle, and Lübeck in 1806, and Mohrungen and Spanden in 1807. After Bernadotte was wounded at Spanden, General Claude Victor-Perrin led the I Corps at Friedland where his tactics earned him a marshal's baton.

Peninsular War

Victor continued to lead the I Corps in Spain where it was engaged at Uclés, Medellín, Alcantara, and Talavera in 1809, the Siege of Cádiz beginning in 1810, and Barrosa in 1811.

Russian campaign

The corps was reorganized into a strength of five infantry divisions for the invasion of Russia in 1812 and Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout was appointed to lead it. At the crossing of the Niemen River in 1812, the size of I Corps was around 79,000 men, but by the Battle of Smolensk, about 60,000 men remained. By the end of the Russian campaign, only 2,235 men remained.
Under Davout, the unit fought at Borodino, Vyazma, and Krasnoi before dissolving as an effective unit during the retreat from Moscow.

War of the Sixth Coalition

In 1813, the I Corps was reconstituted and placed under the command of General Dominique Vandamme. The corps was destroyed at Kulm, with the remnants surrendering together with XIV Corps following the siege of Dresden in November 1813.

War of the Seventh Coalition

The corps was rebuilt in 1815 during the Hundred Days, and was assigned to General Jean-Baptiste Drouet, under whom it fought at the Battle of Waterloo

Order of Battle, 15th June 1815