Organization of armies

The Infantry

Administrative organization and battlefield organization

At the time of the Spanish Succession war there was still a big difference between the administrative organization and the battlefield organization of armies. The smallest administrative organizational unit was the company numbering from 40 (France) to 200 (Swiss) men. The regiment was an administrative unit made up out of companies. Originally the battalion was a battlefield unit made up out of companies or sometimes even regiments. Around 1700 in most countries the battalion already was or was becoming also an administrative organizational unit, with the battalion staying together when the battle was over. The tendency was that a regiment could form 1 (Dutch) - 4 (Austrian) battalions on the battlefield. On the battlefield these battalions would then be grouped in and commanded as brigades numbering 2-6 battalions. To sum it up:

• Administrative organization: regiments divided into companies
• Battlefield organization: brigades made up out of battalions

Battalion strength in some European armies

With regiments varying in size and in the number of companies and the number of men that were in these companies it might be nice to sum some up the theoretical strength of the units of some nations: (effective strength might be half these)

Country	Btns./Rgt.	Co's in Btn.	Co. size	Btn.size	Rgt.size
France	mostly 2	13	50	650	1300
Austria	4	4 (+1 Gr./ Rgt).	150(100)	600+	2500
Prussia	2	5	145	725	1450
Bavaria	3	5	140	700	2100
Bavarian militia	2	3	200	600	12001
England	1	12+1	71	923	923
United Provinces	1	12	71	852	852
UP Switsers	2	4	200	800	1600
Spain up to 1704	Tercio	12	78	550-936	-
Spanish Netherlands from 1703	1-2		?	650	?

The company was commanded by a captain, a lieutenant, a 2nd lieutenant, an ensign and a number of sergeants. The regiment was commanded by a colonel (or colonel-commandant if the colonel also had a higher command), a lieutenant-colonel, a major, and under them the companies' commanders. I could go on explaining about how a battalion was in the field divided into divisions and platoons, but never having read much about platoons in battle this would only complicate matters

The French Infantry battalion

Here is a good description of the French infantry battalion²: In 1702 the French infantry battalion was composed of 13 companies of 50 men each. 12 Of these were normal companies containing 37 riflemen, 10 Pikemen, 2 sergeants with halberds and 1 drummer. The thirteenth company was the grenadier company all armed with muskets. For each company one also has to add: A captain; a lieutenant³ and a sub lieutenant. On the regimental level there were: The colonel (or Colonel Commandant), the Lieutenant-Colonel, the Major, 2-3 Aide Majors, the doctor, the priest and the prévôt (Military police).

The Cavalry

Like the infantry the cavalry was made up of the administrative and battlefield units. The administrative unit was likewise called regiment and divided into companies. The battlefield unit was called squadron, and was made up out of companies. Some examples:

The Artillery

The artillery was at this time still (or only just) organized into companies. Administered by some nations in two regiments or battalions with one being the field gun regiment/battalion and the other siege-gun regiment, but this is not relevant to our story. What is relevant is that a lot of battalions had their battalion or regimental guns, mostly 2 light guns per and resorting under a battalion in battle.

The Senior Officers

Above I have explained that on the battlefield a number of battalions would form a brigade. This also explains that a brigadier-general or brigadier is the lowest ranking of the generals. To explain the higher ranks top down:

Notes