The Mixed Order () was a tactical formation originally used by ''demi-brigades'' of the French Revolutionary Army and then later by Napoleon's

Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...

to great effect. First proposed by the French theorist Comte de Guibert, the Mixed Order could be adapted to be used by

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s and involved two or more of these units using a combination of Line and

Column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

formations. Its origins were in the revolutionary wars where massed French militias lacked the training and experience to complete complicated manoeuvres and by necessity adopted a mixed order of veteran trained units and newly recruited/conscripted units. The regular troops moving in line along with the recruits moving in column, which required far less training to perfect, either on the flanks, the centre or in the rear of the veteran units. The column formation allowed for rapid movement, a very effective charge (due to weight of numbers), and could quickly be formed into an infantry square to resist cavalry attacks, but by its nature only a fraction of its muskets would be able to open fire. The line offered a substantially larger musket frontage allowing for greater shooting capability but required extensive training to allow the unit to move over ground as one while retaining the line. The mixed order remained a part of French tactical doctrine as the French army grew in discipline, capitalising as it did on the strengths of both the line and column formations, while avoiding some of their inherent weaknesses. It was used extensively by Napoleon when commanding the ''Grande Armée''.

List of key battles it was used in

* Tagliamento (1797) * Marengo (1799) * Austerlitz (1805) * Jena (1806) * Borodino (1812)

Notes and references

{{Reflist, refs= {{Cite book , publisher = Macmillan , isbn = 9780312375874 , last = Books , first = Amber , author2=Michael Pavkovic , author3=Rob S. Rice , author4=Frederick S. Schneid , author5=Chris Scott , title = Fighting Techniques of the Napoleonic Age: Equipment, Combat Skills, and Tactics , date = 2008-04-15 {{Cite book , publisher = Liège, C. Plomteux, imprimeur , last = Guibert , first = Jacques Antoine Hippolyte , author-link = Jacques Antoine Hippolyte , title = Essai général de tactique , accessdate = 2013-01-05 , date = 1775 , url = https://archive.org/details/essaignraldetac00guibgoog {{Cite book , publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group , isbn = 9780313332692 , last = Neiberg , first = Michael S. , author-link = Michael S. Neiberg , author2=Dennis E. Showalter , author2link = Dennis Showalter , title = Soldiers' Lives Through History: The Nineteenth Century , date = 2006-10-30 {{Cite book , publisher = Square One Publishers, Inc. , isbn = 9780757001543 , last = Britt , first = Albert Sidney , title = The Wars of Napoleon: The West Point Military History Series , date = 2003 {{Cite book , publisher = H. Holt , last = Fisher , first = Herbert Albert Laurens , title = Napoleon , date = 1913 Tactical formations Tactical formations of the Napoleonic Wars

List of key battles it was used in

See also

Notes and references