The IV Corps of the '' Grande Armée'' was a French military unit that existed during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. It consisted of several different units and commanders.

War of the Third Coalition

The corps was formed in 1805, with Marshal

Jean-de-Dieu Soult Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia, (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and often called Marshal Soult. Soult was one of only six officers in Frenc ...

being appointed as its commander.Chandler, 417. The IV Corps formed part of the extended center of the French line at the

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz i ...

in December 1805.Chandler, 31. During the battle, Napoleon ordered Soult to attack the Pratzen Heights, from which the Allies had been attacking the French right wing. Repeated attacks from the Russians under General

Kutuzov Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov ( rus, Князь Михаи́л Илларио́нович Голени́щев-Куту́зов, Knyaz' Mikhaíl Illariónovich Goleníshchev-Kutúzov; german: Mikhail Illarion Golenishchev-Kut ...

almost broke through the line of IV Corps, but aid from Marshal

Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte sv, Karl Johan Baptist Julius , spouse = , issue = Oscar I of Sweden , house = Bernadotte , father = Henri Bernadotte , mother = Jeanne de Saint-Jean , birth_date = , birth_place = Pau, ...

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

allowed the French to maintain their control of the Heights. The survivors then moved south and enveloped General

Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoeveden Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Buxhoevden (russian: Фёдор Фёдорович Буксгевден, ''Fyodor Fyodorovich Buksgevden''; other spellings: ''Feodor Buxhoeveden'', ''Buxhœwden'', ''Buxhöwden'') (September 14, 1750 Võlla, Govern ...

's column, sending the Allies into a retreat.Chandler, 35.

War of the Fourth Coalition

The corps formed the right wing of the French line at the Battle of Jena in October 1806.Chandler, 215. At Eylau in February 1807, the corps was beaten back by the Russian Army under Generals Tutchkov and

Dmitry Dokhturov Dmitry Sergeyevich Dokhturov (russian: Дмитрий Серге́евич Дохтуро́в) (1756 - November 14(26), 1816, Moscow) was a Russian infantry general and a prominent military leader during the Patriotic War of 1812. General Durin ...

.Chandler, 146 In 1808, Soult was transferred to Spain, where he took command of the II Corps in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

Russian campaign

The corps consisted mainly of troops from the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

by the time of the invasion of Russia in 1812. It was commanded by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's stepson

Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marr ...

. The corps participated in the Battle of Borodino, where it formed the left wing of the French line. Later, it also fought at the battles of Malojaroslavec and Viazma. The corps suffered heavy casualties during the retreat.
Commanders at Borodino *Corps commander: Prince

; **Divisional commanders: ***General de division Delzons ***General de division Broussier ***General de brigade

Lechi Lehi (; he, לח"י – לוחמי חרות ישראל ''Lohamei Herut Israel – Lehi'', "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel – Lehi"), often known pejoratively as the Stern Gang,"This group was known to its friends as LEHI and to its enemie ...

** Corps cavalry under General de division d'Ornano ** Corps artillery under General de division d'Anthouard de Vraincourt

War of the Sixth Coalition

Under the command of General

Henri Gatien Bertrand Henri-Gatien Bertrand (28 March 1773 – 31 January 1844) was a French general who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Under the Empire he was the third and last Grand marshal of the palace, the head of the M ...

, it took part in the battles of Lützen,

Großbeeren Großbeeren is a municipality in the district of Teltow-Fläming in the German state of Brandenburg. Geography Located about 3 km south of Berlin's city limits. It includes the localities of ''Diedersdorf'', ''Heinersdorf'' and ''Kleinbeeren ...

, Dennewitz, Wartenburg and

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

War of the Seventh Coalition

The corps was headed by General

Étienne Maurice Gérard Étienne Maurice Gérard, 1st Comte Gérard (4 April 177317 April 1852) was a French general, statesman and Marshal of France. He served under a succession of French governments including the ''ancien regime'' monarchy, the Revolutionary govern ...

in 1815 and took part in the

Battle of Ligny The Battle of Ligny, in which French troops of the Armée du Nord under the command of Napoleon I defeated part of a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, was fought on 16 June 1815 near Ligny in what is now Belgium. The result was a t ...

and the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

Notes

References

* Chandler, David G. (1979). ''Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars''. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. {{DEFAULTSORT:IV Corps (Grande Armee) 1805 establishments in France GAI04