Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Bertier was well aware of Bonaparte’s astounding military talent. Seeing him speak so earnestly, he quickly picked up the sheets of paper and began to examine them closely.

The title was: “On the Use of Skirmishers in Completely New Battlefield Environments”.

The Chief of Staff was somewhat surprised and glanced at Napoleon, then continued to peruse:

[Based on multiple battles on the Southern Netherlands and Italy battlefields, we now summarize the practical experience to discuss the use of skirmishers.

The old line rigid stance is no longer suitable; the flexibility and adaptability of skirmishers is the key to seizing the initiative on future battlefields…

I. An overview of the advantages of skirmishers: Compared to the clumsy line, skirmishers can maneuver through gullies, jungles, and buildings like ghosts…

II. On attritional tactics…

III. Training, equipment, and use of new type skirmishers…

IV. Organization of skirmisher corps…

V. Campaign experiences and skirmisher response modes…]

Napoleon saw Bertier reading very quickly and couldn’t help but frown slightly. With such complex and detailed content, there’s no way to really understand it by skimming through so quickly.

He was about to remind him, but then saw the Chief of Staff close the report that he hadn’t finished reading, look up with a calm expression, and say:

“It seems you’ve heard about the second military reform?”

Napoleon nodded expectantly: “Yes. So I specially prepared this report.”

Bertier exhaled: “Obviously, you haven’t truly understood the Crown Prince’s ‘scattered soldier cluster’ theory. Perhaps the person who conveyed it to you didn’t explain it clearly enough.”

“Wait!” Napoleon looked at him in surprise, “You’re saying, the Crown Prince also proposed a skirmisher theory like the one in my report…”

“Like yours?” Bertier’s expression was somewhat peculiar as he patted the report on the table, “Of course not, you only wrote a small part of His Highness’s theory.”

“How, how is that possible?” Napoleon grabbed Bertier, raising his voice, “Please, tell me more about His Highness’s theory.”

Bertier exchanged a glance with Lieutenant Colonel Gardet and, seeing the latter nod, finally turned to Napoleon and said, “Alright, then I’ll give you a rough idea.”

He spread the report open on the wooden table: “Firstly, regarding the organization of skirmisher units, a 20% quota is clearly too small, entirely insufficient as the main force of a campaign…”

Napoleon’s eyes widened immediately, “Skirmishers as the main force?!”

“That’s right.” Bertier nodded, “His Highness believes that the infantry line is too bulky and sluggish. Assuming good training, skirmishers can completely engage in decisive battles with the enemy’s infantry line.

“Especially after equipping with rifled guns, skirmishers do not need to rely on volleys to improve hit rates, or can use small-scale volleys to replace battalion-level volleys.

“If the number of skirmishers reaches one-third of the total forces, their firepower is enough to crush the enemy’s infantry line.”

Napoleon was stunned on the spot, but upon careful thought, he found that the operational mode proposed by the Crown Prince was entirely valid.

Skirmishers using rifled guns in terms of firepower density and accuracy absolutely don’t fall behind traditional infantry lines.

Meanwhile, skirmishers can hide behind trees and stones to avoid being hit by the enemy.

And the densely packed infantry line opposite is a “big fixed target.”

The core factors that previously limited skirmishers as a decisive combat arm were: skirmishers did not have dense formations and could easily scatter during grand army battles; and without officer volleys orders, soldiers could fire chaotically.

But these were entirely non-issues for France’s direct corps.

He had seen firsthand the training of the Royal Third Infantry Division, whether maintaining skirmish formations or autonomous firing, they could achieve it after at most a month’s practice.

Napoleon nodded with a pained expression: “I have to admit, His Highness’s concept is far superior to mine.”

This was inevitable because the “scattered soldier cluster” theory Joseph put forward was precisely the one that Napoleon himself proposed in history.

Only that was more than a decade later for Napoleon, after experiencing hundreds of battles, continually improving his skirmisher theory until it was eventually formed.

Now he merely had a nascent inspiration for skirmisher reform, how could he compare with the “accomplished” version of himself afterwards?

Bertier, however, did not seem to intend to stop, flipping to the “organization of skirmishers” page on Napoleon’s report: “Your method of organizing the corps also seems too crude.

“Although you use skirmishers as a complete combat force, you neglect the issue of coordination with other arms.

“His Highness mixed skirmishers, columns, and infantry lines.

“Roughly speaking, the scattered soldier cluster is at the forefront, followed by columns, and at the very back is a thin line of infantry.

“During combat, skirmishers rely on their mobility to pull at the enemy’s formation, depleting their strength.

“Once a gap appears in the enemy formation, the columns immediately charge through the skirmishers’ gaps towards the enemy, finishing with a volley.

“And the line of infantry at the back acts as a reserve, also preventing the situation from getting too complex on the battlefield, which could disrupt skirmisher formations.”

Napoleon nodded in wholehearted approval. Such a method of organization was far more flexible and efficient than a simple infantry line. The Crown Prince was indeed an unparalleled military genius, and this mode of combat was nearly perfect!

Indeed, after Napoleon’s “scattered soldier cluster” came to being in history, it immediately became the standard military theory across Europe. It continued to be used until breech-loading guns appeared, about a century later, before gradually fading into history.

Napoleon suddenly thought of something else and raised his hand: “Wait. This method of combat is indeed very efficient in offense, but if counterattacked by an enemy with superior forces, especially a cavalry surprise attack, it could be easily routed.”

Bertier chuckled: “Your concerns are valid. That’s why His Highness proposed the ‘troop switching’ tactic.

“In future corps, skirmishers and line infantry will use the same weapons and receive the same training.

“When encountering a strong enemy attack, skirmishers can gather into an infantry line to defend. Alternatively, several regiments together can form a hollow square to resist a cavalry charge.

“And when the enemy is defending tightly, the infantry column will also convert into skirmishers to intensify the harassment of the enemy.”

Napoleon’s eyes widened even more—if that were the case, then “scattered soldier cluster” would indeed be perfect!

Bertier, however, seemed to become even more interested and continued:

“In fact, His Highness also proposed the concept of ‘leaping soldiers’ to enhance the flexibility of skirmishers.”

“Leaping soldiers?”

“Yes. Selecting some shorter soldiers from the skirmishers and equipping them with horses. In battle, they ride two on one horse for short-distance mobility, quickly appearing in the enemy’s weakest area.”

Napoleon said: “This is somewhat like dragoons.”

“Indeed similar, but the cost of leaping soldiers is much lower—because there’s no need for excellent horses, as long as they can move three to four kilometers.

“Moreover, leaping soldiers can also be integrated with skirmishers, making combat deployments even more flexible.”

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