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III Corps (Grande Armée)

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III Corps
Active1805–1807
1812–1814
1815
Country First French Empire
Branch French Imperial Army
SizeCorps
Part ofGrande Armée
EngagementsWar of the Third Coalition
War of the Fourth Coalition
Russian campaign
War of the Sixth Coalition
War of the Seventh Coalition
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Louis-Nicolas Davout
Michel Ney
Joseph Souham
Dominique Vandamme

The III Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. The corps came to prominence between 1805 and 1809 under the command of Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout, when it repeatedly scored impressive victories single-handedly or in conjunction with other French forces. Napoleon called it "My tenth legion", in reference to Julius Caesar's finest unit, the X Equestris. Troops from III Corps then took part in many battles in Poland, during the War of the Fourth Coalition, e.g. Czarnowo, Pultusk, Golymin, Eylau.. These troops were later reorganized as the I Corps and included French, German, and Polish units.

Size

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By the time of Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, the III Corps had been reorganized and went under the command of Marshal Michel Ney. It consisted of a mixture of Croatian, French, Portuguese, Dutch and Württemberger units and like the rest of Napoleon's forces, suffered heavy casualties as the campaign progressed. At the crossing of the Niemen River in June 1812, the size of the corps was estimated at 44,000 men; by the Battle of Smolensk in August, only 22,000 men remained.[1]

Battles

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The corps participated in a number of battles, including Austerlitz, Auerstedt, Eylau, Borodino,[2] Lützen, Bautzen, Katzbach, Leipzig, Ligny, and Waterloo.

Commanders

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References and notes

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  1. ^ Badone, Jean Cerino; et al. "1812 - Invasion of Russia". Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  2. ^ Badone, Jean Cerino; et al. "Battle of Borodino, 1812 - Armies. "French and Russian Orders of Battle"". Retrieved 2007-08-16.