MARSHAL LOUIS N. DAVOUT AND THE ART OF COMMAND A ...

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Danube at Ratisbon. He was well aware that this was not the correct disposition for his forces, and was attempting to hurry his movement to concentrate at Ingolstadt. Davout, as well as Napoleon, realized that the Ingolstadt position was important at this point. Charles had attacked prior to the French concentration at Ratisbon. Although the Austrian movement was ponderously slow they would still reach Ratisbon before the French could hope to concentrate at that location. So Davout's movement to Ingolstadt was correct in that it allowed the French to concentrate before coming in contact with the Austrians. However, as Berthier did not have Davout's operational vision he dispersed rather than concentrated the French forces in the face of 200,000 advancing Austrians. So why did Berthier oppose Davout and commit a tactical blunder by dispersing the army? The answer lies in both the problems of the French command structure and Berthier's obscured operational vision. Napoleon was attempting to control the concentration of the French forces from Paris. He was issuing orders to the armies in the field through Berthier who was in Strassbourg. The only way to pass orders was by courier on horseback or through the semaphore telegraph, (the French had installed a visual telegraph system from Paris forward to Strassbourg). On a clear day a message could be
transmitted from Napoleon to Berthier in under three hours. It would then take another two days to get to the front in Germany. under ideal conditions this was not too bad for 1809. Unfortunately this system was to cause most of the confusion. Napoleon sent two messages to Berthier on10 April. These messages were sent before Napoleonlearned of the Austrian attack. The first message wasdispatched via the telegraph system. In the messageNapoleon said; "1 think the Emperor of Austria will soonattack . . . and if the enemy attacks before the 15thconcentrate the army on Augsburg and Donauw~erth.~~~ Thisis the same as the Ingolstadt area toward which Davout wasmoving to at the time the message was dispatched. Laterthat same day Napoleon dispatched another note carried byhorseback. This message was more detailed than the onedispatched by telegraph. In it he again states his desireto assemble the army around Ingolstadt if the Austriansattacked before the fifteenth. However, he added the line"If the enemy makes no move . . . the Duke of Auerstaedtwill have his headquarters at Ratisbon, his army willhuddle within one day's march of this city and this isunder all circumstances. lt3By Ifattack" Napoleon of course meant the strategic advance of the Austrians into Bavaria. He did not mean the tactical engagement of forces. Even Berthier did not
Page 3 and 4: ABSTRACT MARSHAL LOUIS N. DAVOUT AN
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS ?&%slsAPPROVALPAG
Page 7 and 8: CHAPTER 1 BUT WHAT ARE WE TO UNDERS
Page 9 and 10: the study of simple strategy and ta
Page 11 and 12: This fact becomes even more obvious
Page 13 and 14: the grand tactic. Operational warfa
Page 15 and 16: Burgundian countryside. He was born
Page 17 and 18: In1803 Davout was given command of
Page 19 and 20: then launch a major offensive into
Page 21 and 22: This attack'then ensured victory fo
Page 23 and 24: would actually go to war. However,
Page 25 and 26: Bluecher made four unsuccessful att
Page 27 and 28: fight entirely on his own. The batt
Page 29 and 30: title until two years after the bat
Page 31 and 32: Without hesitation Davout pushed fo
Page 33 and 34: most of his marshals, generals, the
Page 35 and 36: CHAPTER 3 THE AUSTRIANS ARE OUR WOR
Page 37 and 38: Finally, with Davout's information
Page 39 and 40: Austrian influence in Germany and I
Page 41 and 42: organization, always slow to act. M
Page 43 and 44: course of action. They now had a be
Page 45 and 46: elieved Prince Eugene and Marshal A
Page 47 and 48: 22 March Davout had sent a message
Page 49 and 50: were designated VII Corps and consi
Page 51 and 52: and intelligence at the strategic l
Page 53: across the Danube. The Austrians al
Page 57 and 58: Normally, the message dispatched by
Page 59 and 60: me that the best maneuver would be
Page 61 and 62: Berthier chose to overlook this cor
Page 63 and 64: Landshut were only one corps and no
Page 65 and 66: destroy him. On the eighteenth Char
Page 67 and 68: critical for the French. Napoleon r
Page 69 and 70: Throughout these ten days before th
Page 71 and 72: CHAPTER 5 YOU ONLY HAVE A CURTAIN O
Page 73 and 74: Gudin to support the movement of hi
Page 75 and 76: well. They bought Davout the necess
Page 77 and 78: The remainder of the Austrians then
Page 79 and 80: His tactical leadership was at its
Page 81 and 82: Napoleon's vision of the battlefiel
Page 83 and 84: against the French. His troops succ
Page 85 and 86: to surrender at 5:00 P.M. Now Charl
Page 87 and 88: pursuit on two parallel roads leadi
Page 89 and 90: important part in Davout's decision
Page 91 and 92: orders and directions. While Davout
Page 93 and 94: Corps. He received no reply from th
Page 95 and 96: convinced he was being attacked by
Page 97 and 98: CHAPTER 6 THE DUKE OF AUERSTAEDT IS
Page 99 and 100: eginning to feel the fatigue of con
Page 101 and 102: Just as the Austrians began to move
Page 103 and 104: effect, Davoutfs forces became the
Page 105 and 106:
The French carabiniers fired a volZ
Page 107 and 108:
Charles would lose his desire to st
Page 109 and 110:
The ~re'nch prevailed over the Aust
Page 111 and 112:
CHAPTER 7 IN BATTLE MEN ARE NOTHING
Page 113 and 114:
counter orders did nothing but conf
Page 115 and 116:
doctrine, and most importantly the
Page 117 and 118:
The art of war on land is an art of
Page 119 and 120:
Maintaining this vision or coup d'o
Page 121 and 122:
internal fears rather than obstinac
Page 123 and 124:
who never made a mistake. The key i
Page 125 and 126:
too seemed only to be small diversi
Page 127 and 128:
helped to provide definition to the
Page 129 and 130:
Figure 1.Theater of Operations.
Page 131 and 132:
INITIALACTIONSABOUT 1500Counteratta
Page 133 and 134:
Figure 5.Davout's Running Fight on
Page 135 and 136:
N1- 'LABER RIVER' SCHlERLlNGLANNESI
Page 137 and 138:
Reserve Division: Demont' (3,215) 2
Page 139 and 140:
APPENDIX C ORDER OF BATTLE CHANGES
Page 141 and 142:
ll~avidG. Chandler, The Cam~aians o
Page 143 and 144:
3~hisis noted in Napoleon's corresp
Page 145 and 146:
20~his is from correspondence numbe
Page 147 and 148:
WORKS CITED Primarv Sources Bonapar
Page 149 and 150:
Arnold, James R. Crisis on The Danu
Page 151 and 152:
ackground material and specifics on
Page 153 and 154:
secondary source but all informatio
Page 155 and 156:
INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST 1. , Comb
Page 157:
STATEMENT A: Approved for public re
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