This is the order of battle of the French invasion of Russia.
Grande Armée
Napoleon organized the , the largest army assembled up to that point in European history. After a whole day of preparation by Morand and Eblé, the invasion commenced on Midsummer, 24 June 1812 with Napoleon's army crossing the river. Half of them were foreigners; Polish legions formed the largest foreign contingent); 120,000 were conscripts.Conscription Quotas for 1812 Within a few days, almost half a million men from this multinational army - split up into five columns - crossed the river Neman and entered the Russian Empire. The numbers mentioned below are based on estimates made by Clausewitz, in his book "On War" and not on the estimates in "History of the Consulate and the Empire" by Adolphe Thiers, who wrote that 600,000 men in total were moved but not all of them crossed the Neman.Thiers, Adolphe ( 1845-62) History of the consulate and the empire of France under Napoleon, Vol. VII, Book XLIII, p. 28. Translated by D.F. Campbell. Publisher: British Library] Meanwhile, an analysis of the documents shows that according to the schedules for May 1812, the army had at its disposal 674,024, which include 326,821 soldiers of non-French origin.
Commander-in-Chief: Napoleon Bonaparte; Chief of Staff: Marshal Louis-Alexandre Berthier
Northern flank X Corps (with the Prussian Corps) (30,000) commanded by Marshal Jacques MacDonald. They crossed the Niemen at Tilsit (now Sovetsk) on the 24th. He moved north in Courland but did not succeed in occupying Riga. Early August he occupied Dunaburg; early September he returned to Riga with his entire force.R.E. Parrish (2005) The Military and Diplomatic Career of Jacques Etienne Macdonald, p. 169-171 A few days after the French left Lithuania, he drew back to Königsberg, followed by Pyotr Wittgenstein. On 25 December Yorck (von Wartenburg) found himself isolated when the Russian army blocked the road during the retreat. After five days he was urged by his officers (and in the presence of Clausewitz) at least to neutralization of his troops and an armistice. According to Minard, about 6,000 men returned to Poland, according to Clausewitz 5,000 men, but Yorck's resolution had enormous consequences.
First Central force Under the Emperor's personal command it crossed the Niemen early in the morning of the 24th on three pontoon bridges (one for the 80,000 horses) nearby Napoleon's Hill.Herinneringen uit den veldtogt van Rusland, in den jare 1812 by Willem Pieter D'Auzon de Boisminart, p. 64 Afterwards, six corps destined for Vilnius or Polotsk hunted after Barclay de Tolly's First Army of the West. Imperial Guard (33,000-56,169Uffindell, A. (2007) Napoleon's Immortals. The Imperial Guard and its battles, 1804-1815. Spellmount Limited. 368pp.) commanded by Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières (Guard Cavalry); Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre (Old Guard); Marshal Edouard Mortier (Young Guard). The Guard did not take part in the fighting, but during the retreat, the Old Guard was the only unit that retained a semblance of order. The cavalry of the Guard was almost wiped out. About 7,000 Guards succeeded to arrive at the Berezina.GENERAL SIR ROBERT WILSON'S RUSSIAN JOURNAL, p. 326 Attached to the Young Guard were many multinational units e.g. the Polish Legion of the Vistula under Michel Claparède (7,000), Velites of Turin and Florence, and a Spanish pioneer battalion. Only about 1,500 returned. Grand Quartier, Headquarter's guard, Equipages, Artillery General Park, engineers and other services 14,000 (French, Swiss, Polish, Portuguese) there were attached few multinational units e.g. Portuguese chasseur à cheval, Polish Vistula Uhlan, Neuchâtel (Swiss) battalion. I Corps (72,000-96,000) commanded by Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout. The strongest corps left Vilnius on 1 July, occupied Minsk, beat Bagration at Mogilev and with only 20,000 men left he went to Smolensk and joined the main army. Only 1,800 arrived at the Berezina. II Corps (37,000-42,000) commanded by Marshal Nicolas Oudinot crossed the Niemen was sent to the other side of the Viliya and expected to join with McDonald to combat Wittgenstein, who protected the road to St Petersburg. This corps left mid-October after losing the Second Battle of Polotsk; it was joined by IX corps (reserve).Borodino 1812: Napoleon’s great gamble by Philip Haythornthwaite, p. 78 Arriving at the Berezina before Wittgenstein they played a key role in securing the crossing of the river; Nicolas Joseph Maison took over. 300 were able to leave the country? III Corps (40,000) commanded by Marshal Michel Ney. He defended downstream the 4th pontoon bridge at Aleksotas which could be used to escape; he then went to Polotsk. During the retreat his corps was in the rear. After being cut off from the main army in the Battle of Krasnoi Ney managed to escape in heavy fog and thin ice over the Dnieper River but without his artillery.David G. Chandler (1966) The Campaigns of Napoleon, p. 829-831
Reserve cavalry (vanguard) Marshal Joachim Murat, his brother-in-law, under King of Naples, followed with (21,000) Napoleon to Vilnius and Vitebsk I Reserve Cavalry Corps (11,000) commanded by General Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty went to Polotsk II Reserve Cavalry Corps (10,000) commanded by General Louis-Pierre Montbrun went to Polotsk
Second Central force It followed behind the central force and (81,000) crossed at Pilona and avoided Vilnius IV Corps (46,000) commanded by General Eugène de Beauharnais, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy. They crossed the Niemen 20 km upstream near Piliuona.Adam (2005) , Napoleon's Army in Russia translated by Jonathan North, plate 7.Labaume (1817), p. 30.Clausewitz (1843), p. 48 Unlike the I, II and III Corps Napoleon's stepson had orders to avoid Vilnius on his way to Vitebsk; only 1,600 arrived at the Berezina. VI Corps (25,000 – 30,000) commanded by General Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr. They crossed at Pilona and moved east.Mémoires et correspondence politique et militaire de Eugène de Beauharnais He went to Polotsk to attack Wittgenstein. When Oudinot was wounded in the Battle of Klyastitsy he took over command of the II corps; he retreated after the Second Battle of Polotsk. III Reserve Cavalry Corps (10,000) commanded by General Emmanuel de Grouchy crossed as first the Dniepr at Mogilev
Right flank force
Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte King of Westphalia (62,000) crossed the Niemen near Grodno on 1 July, and moved towards Bagration's (second western) army. On the order of Napoleon, Davout secretly took over the command on 6 July.Correspondance de Napoleon, Tome XXIV, 18911, p. 28 In the Battle of Mir Jerome let Platov escape by deploying too few of Poniatowki's troops.Chandler (1966), p. 776 Jérôme was sent to Slutsk but left the army after being criticised by Davout.Correspondance de Napoleon, Tome XXIV, 18984, p. 80 He went home at the end of July,Experience of War: ‘I Have Never Seen As Much Suffering’ by Jonathan North taking a battalion of guards with him.Mustafa, S.A. (2017) Napoleon's Paper Kingdom: The Life and Death of Westphalia, 1807-1813, p. 252. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Davout took over the command of Latour's cavalry, trying to prevent Bagration from moving north. V Corps (36,000 Polish) commanded by General Józef Poniatowski. He joined Davout and went to Mogilev and Smolensk. Early November Zajączek took over the command but the corps ceased to exist after the Battle of Krasnoi; Dombrowski stayed around Minsk; 8,000 men arrived at the Berezina. VIII Corps (17,000 Westphalians) under Vandamme. Early July Jérôme Bonaparte took over and Vandamme was sent home. Jérome resigned on 15 July when he found out Davout had been secretly given the command. Early August the command was given to Junot.A.F.F. Seydlitz (1823) Tagebuch des königlich Preussischen Armeekorps, p. 113 Junot didn't take part in the Battle of Smolensk (1812) as he was sent to bypass the left flank of the Russian army, but then got lost. Junot was blamed for allowing the Russian army to retreat at the Battle of Valutino; General Rapp took over.M. De Fezensac - The Russian Campaign, 1812, p. 25. After the Battle of Borodino the corps had only 2,000 men left. They were ordered to stay behind and clear up the site. At the end of the war 1,200 arrived in Poland.The Dynamics of Defeat: French Army Leadership by F.C. Schneid, p. 21 IV Reserve Cavalry Corps (9,000) commanded by General Victor de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg joined Davout. Only 150 arrived at the Berezina
With French forces moving through different routes in the direction of Vitebsk, a first major engagement took place on 25 July at the Battle of Ostrowno.
Southern flank VII Corps (17,000) commanded by General Jean Reynier. He stayed in the Grodno region to protect the Duchy of Warsaw against Tormasow; on 26 December between 5 and 11,000 arrived in Poland.The Saxon Army 1810 - 13 XII Corps (with the Austrian Corps) (34,000) commanded by Field Marshal Karl von Schwarzenberg crossed the Bug on 2 July on a pontoon bridge to go after Bagration and Tormasow.A.F.F. Seydlitz (1823) Tagebuch des königlich Preussischen Armeekorps, p. 120 He was prevented from joining up with Davout. The VII corps came under his command when Reynier fell back. When Tormassov occupied Brest (Belarus) at the end of July, he was cut off from supplies.Coloman Rupprecht von Virtsolog (1871) Geschichte des k.k. 60. Linien-Infanterie-Regimentes, p. 118 On 18 September he withdrew when Pavel Chichagov arrived from the south. Schwarzenberg won the Battle of Wolkowisk. He crossed the Polish border on 14 December 1812.Coloman Rupprecht von Virtsolog (1871) Geschichte des k.k. 60. Linien-Infanterie-Regimentes, p. 126 Many survived.
Reserve units in Poland and Prussia
Several units marched to Russia in the late stage of the campaign. In November, the division of Durutte assisted Reynier. In December Loison was sent to help extricate the remnants of the Grand Army in its retreat.History of Europe: From the Commencement of the French Revolution, Volume 10 by Archibald Alison, p. 628 Within a few days many of Loison's unexperienced soldiers died of the extreme cold. Zamoyski (2004), 504-505 Napoleon arrested him for not marching with his division to the front. XI Corps (50,000) commanded by Marshal Pierre Augereau. This corps did not participate in military operations in Russia, and Augereau never left Berlin. Augereau also had at his disposal a division of 10,000 Danes under General Johann Ewald, which remained in Holstein for the duration of the campaign. IX Corps (30,000 French) commanded by Marshal Claude Victor-Perrin. Early August his corps was in Tilsit, at the end of September the majority arrived at Smolensk; At the end of October he took over the command from St. Cyr, but lost the Battle of Chashniki and the Battle of Smoliani and unable to retake Polotsk. He had orders to follow Oudinot; 3,500 arrived at the Berezina and fired the bridges behind them.
In addition, National Guard units had been conscripted for full military service defending the frontier of the Duchy of Warsaw. With these included total forces on the Russian border and in Russia came to around 685,000 men. This vast commitment of manpower severely strained the French Empire — especially considering that there were a further 220,000 French troops fighting in Iberia and over 100,000 more in Germany and Italy.
Nationalities According to Richard K. Riehn, the army is estimated to consist of: 300,000 troops from the First French EmpireRiehn, Richard K, p. 81. 255,000 French 15,000 Dutch from the annexed Kingdom of Holland 10,000 Flemish and Walloon from the annexed Belgium territories 10,000 Germans from annexed Northern Germany and the left bank of the Rhine 10,000 Italians from annexed Piedmont, Liguria, Tuscany, Parma and Rome 108,000 Poles and Lithuanians