British Army during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars

Common card · No. 378206

The British Army during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars experienced a time of rapid change. At the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, the army was a small, awkwardly administered force of barely 40,000 men. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the numbers had vastly increased. At its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. The British infantry was "the only military force not to suffer a major reverse at the hands of Napoleonic France." Unlike most French cavalry troopers who after 1805 received a bare 2 to 3 weeks of training, being prosperous if they were taught basic horsemanship and drill, the British trooper received a minimum of 6 months' training. Because the French could not withdraw from continental conflict as easily as the British (due to the latter's geographic location) and were forced to wage one war after another, they often did not have time to properly train their recruits. The British Army during the Napoleonic Wars, along...

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