VII Corps (Grande Armée)
Military unit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The VII Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. It was formed in 1805 and assigned to Marshal Pierre Augereau. From 1805 to 1807, Augereau led the VII Corps in the War of the Third Coalition and the War of the Fourth Coalition. It was disbanded after being nearly wiped out at the Battle of Eylau in February 1807 and its surviving troops were distributed to other corps.
VII Corps | |
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Active | 1805–1807 1812–1813 1814 |
Country | First French Empire |
Branch | French Imperial Army |
Size | Corps |
Engagements | War of the Third Coalition War of the Fourth Coalition War of the Fifth Coalition War of the Sixth Coalition |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Pierre Augereau François Joseph Lefebvre Nicolas Oudinot Jean Reynier Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr |
In 1812, a new VII Corps composed of soldiers from Saxony was created for the invasion of Russia and General Jean Reynier took command. This formation survived to fight during the War of the Sixth Coalition, but ceased to exist after the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813 due to the defection of the Saxons. The VII Corps was recreated during the 1814 campaign in France and assigned to Marshal Nicolas Oudinot. The formation consisted of one Young Guard division and two regular divisions of Peninsular War veterans.