Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war , natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting . The proceeds of all these activities can be described as booty , loot , plunder , spoils , or pillage.
128-514: During modern-day armed conflicts , looting is prohibited by international law , and constitutes a war crime . During a disaster, police and military forces are sometimes unable to prevent looting when they are overwhelmed by humanitarian or combat concerns, or they cannot be summoned because of damaged communications infrastructure. Especially during natural disasters, many civilians may find themselves forced to take what does not belong to them in order to survive. How to respond to that and where
256-472: A Général de Division and likewise capable of independent actions. The Imperial Guard ( Garde impériale ) was one of the most elite military forces of its time, and grew out of the Consular Guard ( Garde consulaire ). It formed a single Corps d'Armée with infantry, cavalry and artillery units like other corps, but with unique identities and uniforms. Napoleon also wanted it to be an example for
384-411: A country or during peacetime. Riots in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd protests in numerous American cities led to increased amounts of looting, as looters took advantage of the delicate political situation and civil unrest surrounding the riots themselves. Up to 175 Target stores closed Nationwide during the disturbances. During the ongoing Kashmir conflict , looting of Kashmiris trapped between
512-508: A few years. While conventional wisdom holds that casualties have increased in recent times due to technological improvements in warfare, this is not generally true. For instance, the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) had about the same number of casualties per capita as World War I , although it was higher during World War II (WWII). That said, overall the number of casualties from war has not significantly increased in recent times. Quite to
640-508: A general feature of animal social behavior. Some proponents of the idea argue that war, while innate, has been intensified greatly by developments of technology and social organization such as weaponry and states. Psychologist and linguist Steven Pinker argued that war-related behaviors may have been naturally selected in the ancestral environment due to the benefits of victory. He also argued that in order to have credible deterrence against other groups (as well as on an individual level), it
768-459: A good example being during the 1967 First Invasion of Onitsha , where the victorious Nigerian troops were encircled and annihilated while looting. In other cases, for example, the Wahhabi sack of Karbala in 1801 or 1802, loot has contributed to further victories for an army. Not all looters in wartime are conquerors; the looting of Vistula Land by the retreating Imperial Russian Army in 1915
896-438: A line infantry battalion had four companies of fusiliers, one company of grenadiers, and one company of voltigeurs. According to the 1808 regulation, the staff of each company and the regiment HQ was the following: In total, there were supposed to be 3,970 men in a regiment (840 in each four main battalions, and 560 in the rear battalion), among them 108 officers and 3,862 noncommissioned officers and privates. Grenadiers were
1024-469: A noble cause is a contributing factor towards war, few wars have originated from a desire for war among the general populace. Far more often the general population has been reluctantly drawn into war by its rulers. One psychological theory that looks at the leaders is advanced by Maurice Walsh. He argues the general populace is more neutral towards war and wars occur when leaders with a psychologically abnormal disregard for human life are placed into power. War
1152-513: A professor at the University of Illinois , says approximately 90–95% of known societies throughout history engaged in at least occasional warfare, and many fought constantly. Keeley describes several styles of primitive combat such as small raids , large raids, and massacres . All of these forms of warfare were used by primitive societies, a finding supported by other researchers. Keeley explains that early war raids were not well organized, as
1280-515: A significant increase in the looting of antiquities from archaeological sites in Egypt, as the government lost the ability to protect the sites. Other acts of modern looting, such as the looting and destruction of artifacts from the National Museum of Iraq by Islamic State militants, can be used as an easy way to express contempt for the concept of rules of war altogether. In the case of
1408-609: A source of violent conflict. Pope Urban II in 1095, on the eve of the First Crusade , advocating Crusade as a solution to European overpopulation, said: For this land which you now inhabit, shut in on all sides by the sea and the mountain peaks, is too narrow for your large population; it scarcely furnishes food enough for its cultivators. Hence it is that you murder and devour one another, that you wage wars, and that many among you perish in civil strife. Let hatred, therefore, depart from among you; let your quarrels end. Enter upon
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#17327733921321536-574: A specific task. The first modern use of a General Staff was in the French Revolutionary Wars , when General Louis-Alexandre Berthier (later Marshal) was assigned as Chief of Staff to the Army of Italy in 1795. Berthier was able to establish a well-organised staff support team. Napoleon took over the army the following year and quickly came to appreciate Berthier's system, adopting it for his own headquarters, although Napoleon's usage
1664-467: A sudden change in a country or region's government, it can be difficult to determine what constitutes looting as opposed to a new government taking custody of the property in question. This can be especially difficult if the new government is only partially recognized at the time the property is moved, as was the case during the 2021 Taliban offensive , during which a number of artifacts and a large amount of property of former government officials who had fled
1792-593: A total of 1,136 men, but this was severely reduced during the Russian campaign, and only 350 officers and men remained in its ranks by 1813. With Napoleon's first abdication, an ensign and 21 marines accompanied him to Elba, and returned with him for the Hundred Days campaign when their strength was increased to an equipage of 150 officers and men. The marines were distinct in several ways from other Grande Armée units in that naval rather than army ranks were used,
1920-583: A universal and ancestral aspect of human nature , others argue it is a result of specific socio-cultural, economic, or ecological circumstances. The English word war derives from the 11th-century Old English words wyrre and werre , from Old French werre (also guerre as in modern French), in turn from the Frankish * werra , ultimately deriving from the Proto-Germanic * werzō ' mixture, confusion ' . The word
2048-621: Is France herself we must now defend", were Napoleon's words to the Senate at the end of 1813. The emperor managed to raise new armies, but strategically he was in a virtually hopeless position. Allied armies were invading from the Pyrenees , across the plains of Northern Italy, and via France's eastern borders as well. The campaign began ominously when Napoleon suffered a defeat at the Battle of La Rothière , but he quickly regained his former spirit. In
2176-632: Is caused by leaders who seek war such as Napoleon and Hitler . Such leaders most often come to power in times of crisis when the populace opts for a decisive leader, who then leads the nation to war. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine
2304-493: Is commonplace encourage their children to be more aggressive. War can be seen as a growth of economic competition in a competitive international system. In this view wars begin as a pursuit of markets for natural resources and for wealth. War has also been linked to economic development by economic historians and development economists studying state-building and fiscal capacity . While this theory has been applied to many conflicts, such counter arguments become less valid as
2432-497: Is either the result of direct orders, despite to Russia's claims to the contrary, or due to Russian soldiers not being issued with adequate food and other resources by their commanders. The term "looting" is also sometimes used to refer to antiquities being removed from countries by unauthorized people, either domestic people breaking the law seeking monetary gain or foreign nations, which are usually more interested in prestige or previously, "scientific discovery". An example might be
2560-620: Is estimated that between 1985 and 1994, 378,000 people per year died due to war. Most wars have resulted in significant loss of life, along with destruction of infrastructure and resources (which may lead to famine , disease, and death in the civilian population ). During the Thirty Years' War in Europe, the population of the Holy Roman Empire was reduced by 15 to 40 percent. Civilians in war zones may also be subject to war atrocities such as genocide , while survivors may suffer
2688-547: Is fueled by displacement and projection where a person transfers his or her grievances into bias and hatred against other races , religions , nations or ideologies . By this theory, the nation state preserves order in the local society while creating an outlet for aggression through warfare. The Italian psychoanalyst Franco Fornari , a follower of Melanie Klein , thought war was the paranoid or projective "elaboration" of mourning. Fornari thought war and violence develop out of our "love need": our wish to preserve and defend
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#17327733921322816-621: Is related to the Old Saxon werran , Old High German werran , and the modern German verwirren , meaning ' to confuse, to perplex, to bring into confusion ' . The earliest evidence of prehistoric warfare is a Mesolithic cemetery in Jebel Sahaba , which has been determined to be about 13,400 years old. About forty-five percent of the skeletons there displayed signs of violent death, specifically traumatic bone lesions. In War Before Civilization , Lawrence H. Keeley ,
2944-892: The American Civil War , including about 6% in the North and approximately 18% in the South. The war remains the deadliest conflict in American history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 military personnel. United States military casualties of war since 1775 have totaled over two million. Of the 60 million European military personnel who were mobilized in World War I , 8 million were killed, 7 million were permanently disabled, and 15 million were seriously injured. During Napoleon 's retreat from Moscow, more French military personnel died of typhus than were killed by
3072-824: The Army of the Rhine into four corps. These were only temporary groupings, however, and it was not until 1804 that Napoleon made them permanent units. He would sometimes form the cavalry into separate corps, so they would be able to move and mass more quickly without being slowed by the infantry or foot artillery. The main tactical units of the corps were the divisions , usually consisting of 4,000 to 10,000 infantry or 2,000 to 4,000 cavalrymen. These in turn were made up of two or three brigades of two regiments apiece and supported by an artillery brigade of three or four batteries , each with six field cannons and two howitzers , making 24 to 32 guns in all. The divisions were also permanent administrative and operational units, commanded by
3200-515: The Battle of Austerlitz , where the numerically inferior Grande Armée routed a combined Russo-Austrian army led by Russian Emperor Alexander I . The stunning victory led to the Treaty of Pressburg on 26 December 1805, with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire the following year. The alarming increase of French power in Central Europe disturbed Prussia , which had remained neutral
3328-541: The Battle of Laon and the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube dampened moods. At the end of March, Paris fell to the Allies . Napoleon wanted to keep fighting, but his marshals refused, forcing him to abdicate on 6 April 1814. After returning from exile on Elba in February 1815, Napoleon busied himself in making a renewed push to secure his empire. For the first time since 1812, the Army of the North he would be commanding for
3456-844: The Division de Marine at the battles of Lützen, Bautzen, Dresden, and won high praise at the Battle of Leipzig. The Marine Guard units were disbanded in 1815. In 1804, the Cavalry of the Guard consisted of two regiments, the Chasseurs à Cheval and the Grenadiers à Cheval , along with a small unit of elite Gendarmes and a squadron of Mamelukes . A third regiment was added in 1806, the Regiment de Dragons de la Garde Impériale (Later known as
3584-591: The Dragons de l'Imperatice , the Empress Dragoons). Following the campaign in Poland in 1807, a regiment of Polish lancers , the Regiment de Chevau-Légers de la Garde Impériale Polonais was added. The final addition was made in 1810, with another regiment of lancers, this time drawn from French and Dutch recruits, the 2e Regiment de Chevau-Légers Lanciers de la Garde Impériale or Red Lancers. The Cavalry of
3712-539: The French Empire to exercise unprecedented control over most of Europe. Widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest fighting forces ever assembled, it suffered catastophic losses during the disastrous Peninsular War followed by the invasion of Russia in 1812, after which it never recovered its strategic superiority and ended in total defeat for Napoleonic France by the Peace of Paris in 1815. The Grande Armée
3840-547: The Grande Armée 's utter destruction as a fighting force. Only 120,000 men survived to leave Russia (excluding early deserters); of these, 50,000 were Austrians, Prussians, and other Germans, 20,000 were Poles, and just 35,000 were French. As many as 380,000 died in the campaign. Napoleon led a new army during the campaign in Germany in 1813, the defense of France in 1814, and the Waterloo campaign in 1815, but
3968-555: The Grande Armée had been lost during the summer. The French were harassed repeatedly by the converging Russian armies, Marshal Michel Ney even conducting a rearguard separation between his troops and the Russians, and by the time the Berezina was reached Napoleon only had about 49,000 troops and 40,000 stragglers of little military value. The resulting battle and the monumental work of General Jean Baptiste Eblé 's engineers saved
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4096-658: The Grande Armée throughout the entire campaign. Marshal Emmanuel de Grouchy 's delayed advance against the Prussians allowed Blücher to rally his men after Ligny and march on to Wellington's aid at the Battle of Waterloo , which resulted in the final, decisive defeat for Napoleon. Prior to the late 18th century, there was generally no organisational support for staff functions such as military intelligence , logistics , planning or personnel. Unit commanders handled such functions for their units, with informal help from subordinates who were usually not trained for or assigned to
4224-470: The Grande Armée was known in history for its innovative formations, tactics, logistics, and communications. While most contingents were commanded by French generals, except for the Polish and Austrian corps, soldiers could climb the ranks regardless of class, wealth, or national origin, unlike many of the other European armies at the time. Upon its formation, the Grande Armée consisted of six corps under
4352-592: The Grande Armée were divided into the Bataillon des Marins de la Garde Impériale , also known eventually as the Matelots de la Garde , formed on 17 September 1803, and Matelots des Bataillons de la Marine Impériale of which some 32,000 served with the French Navy at its height of expansion by Napoleon. Units of the latter were created for service on land by conscripting naval personnel surplus to requirement of
4480-729: The Grande Armée would never regain its height of June 1812, and France would find itself invaded on multiple fronts from the Spanish border to the German border. In total, from 1805 to 1813, over 2.1 million Frenchmen were conscripted into the French Imperial Army. For a history of the French Army in the period of 1792–1804 during the wars of the First and Second Coalitions see French Revolutionary Army . The Grande Armée
4608-630: The Gulf War , Saddam Hussein 's soldiers caused significant damage to both Kuwaiti and Saudi infrastructure. They also stole from private companies and homes. In April 2003, looters broke into the National Museum of Iraq, and thousands of artefacts remain missing. Syrian conservation sites and museums were looted during the Syrian Civil War , with items being sold on the international black market . Reports from 2012 suggested that
4736-609: The Imperial Guard ; in 1809, while retaining their military status, they were taken under control of the Grand Écuyer in the Emperor's Civil Household. The decrees regulating their service were signed on 15, 19 and 24 September 1806 and finally on 19 September 1809. Alongside the Emperor's Military Household but functioning as a totally independent organisation was the Grand État-Major Général (Army General Headquarters). Since
4864-602: The Indian and Pakistani militarized zones is common and widespread. In 2022, international observers accused Russia of engaging in large scale looting during the Russo-Ukrainian War , reporting the widespread looting of everything from food to industrial equipment. Despite the publication of numerous photos and videos by Ukrainian journalists and civilians, numerous Russian commanders have denied these claims. International observers have theorized that this looting
4992-826: The Korean War , the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 , the Iran–Iraq War , the Gulf War , the Eritrean–Ethiopian War , and the Russo-Ukrainian War . The Human Security Report 2005 documented a significant decline in the number and severity of armed conflicts since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. However, the evidence examined in the 2008 edition of the Center for International Development and Conflict Management's "Peace and Conflict" study indicated
5120-460: The Six Days' Campaign of February 1814, the 30,000-man Grande Armée inflicted 20,000 casualties on Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher 's scattered corps at a cost of just 2,000 for themselves. They then headed south and defeated Field Marshal Karl von Schwarzenberg 's corps at the Battle of Montereau . These victories, however, could not remedy such the situation, and French defeats at
5248-489: The Soviet Union were around 27 million . Since a high proportion of those killed were young men who had not yet fathered any children, population growth in the postwar Soviet Union was much lower than it otherwise would have been. Once a war has ended, losing nations are sometimes required to pay war reparations to the victorious nations. In certain cases, land is ceded to the victorious nations. For example,
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5376-649: The Treaties of Tilsit between France, Russia, and Prussia in July, leaving Napoleon with no enemies on the continent. The Grande Armée was dissolved in October 1808 and its constituents formed into the Army of Spain and the Army of the Rhine , which in 1809 was reorganized into the Army of Germany . With the exception of Spain, a three-year lull ensued. Diplomatic tensions with Russia, however, became so acute that they eventually led to war in 1812. Napoleon assembled
5504-676: The campaigns of 1806/7 , the French invasion of Spain , and in the War of the Fifth Coalition , where the French army slowly lost a large portion of its veteran soldiers, strength and prestige, and in the conflicts of 1812 , 1813–14 , and 1815 . In practice, however, the term Grande Armée is used in English to refer to all the multinational forces gathered by Napoleon in his campaigns. In addition to its size and multinational composition,
5632-770: The early modern period and reaching its peak in the New Imperialism era, European colonial powers frequently looted areas they captured during military campaigns against non-European states. In the 1930s, and even more so during the Second World War , Nazi Germany engaged in large-scale and organized looting of art and property , particularly in Nazi-occupied Poland . Looting, combined with poor military discipline , has occasionally been an army's downfall since troops who have dispersed to ransack an area may become vulnerable to counter-attack,
5760-499: The rebels ' zone of Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War were reported as being plundered and their assets transferred abroad. Agricultural production and electronic power plants were also seized, to be sold elsewhere. Armed conflict War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states , or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have
5888-424: The shield line of its formation. During a campaign, grenadier companies could be detached to form a grenadier battalion or occasionally a regiment or brigade . These formations would then be used as a shock force or the vanguard for a larger formation. Voltigeurs (literally, Vaulters or Leapers ) were elite light infantry of the line regiments. In 1805, Napoleon ordered that the smallest, most agile men of
6016-622: The Allies, his strategic situation grew bleak. The campaign reopened in August with a significant French victory at the two-day Battle of Dresden . However, the adoption of the Trachenberg Plan by the Allies, which called for avoiding direct conflict with Napoleon and focusing on his subordinates, paid dividends as the French suffered defeats at Großbeeren , the Katzbach , Kulm , and Dennewitz . Growing Allied numbers eventually hemmed
6144-607: The Emperor ) was Napoleon's personal military staff and included the department of aides-de-camp (ADCs), orderly officers (until 1809), the Emperor's Cabinet with the Secretariat, a department that collected intelligence about the enemy using spies and the topographical department. Attached was also the Emperor's Civil Cabinet that included the office of the Grand Marshal of the Palace and the Grand Écuyer . The ADCs to
6272-527: The French in at Leipzig, where the three-day Battle of the Nations witnessed a heavy loss for Napoleon when a bridge was prematurely destroyed, abandoning 30,000 French soldiers on the other side of the Elster River . The campaign, however, did end on a victorious note when the French destroyed an isolated Bavarian corps which was trying to block their retreat at Hanau . "The Grand Empire is no more. It
6400-652: The Great Depression, though some consider that it did not play a very large role in the recovery, though it did help in reducing unemployment. In most cases, such as the wars of Louis XIV, the Franco-Prussian War , and World War I , warfare primarily results in damage to the economy of the countries involved. For example, Russia's involvement in World War I took such a toll on the Russian economy that it almost collapsed and greatly contributed to
6528-477: The Guard , but more accurately Marines of the Guard) were organised into five equipages (ship's company), each with five escouades , with a total strength of 737 men, the unit having been created ostensibly for preparation of the invasion of Britain. The unit was almost entirely destroyed in the Spanish campaign of 1808 at Bailén , but was rebuilt, and in 1810 the battalion was expanded to eight equipages with
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#17327733921326656-524: The Guard was involved in combat numerous times, and with few exceptions proved its worth in action. The scouts had only the time to distinguish themselves during the defence of France in 1814 and were dissolved by King Louis XVIII upon the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. While the infantry was perhaps not the most glamorous arm of service in the Grande Armée, they bore the brunt of most of
6784-492: The Infantry of the Line was the battalion . A line infantry battalion was numbered at about 840 men; however, this was the battalion's 'full strength' and few units ever reached this. A more typical strength for a battalion would be 400–600 men. From 1800 to 1803, a line infantry battalion had eight fusilier companies and one grenadier company. From 1804 to 1807, a line infantry battalion had seven fusilier companies, one grenadier company, and one voltigeur company. From 1808 to 1815,
6912-451: The Neanderthals and ancestors of apes and primates. For the period 3000 BCE until 1991, estimates range from 151 million to 2 billion. The deadliest war in history, in terms of the cumulative number of deaths since its start, is World War II , from 1939 to 1945, with 70–85 million deaths, followed by the Mongol conquests at up to 60 million. As concerns a belligerent's losses in proportion to its prewar population,
7040-466: The Prussians at Jena and Auerstedt , both fought on 14 October 1806. After a legendary pursuit, the French took 140,000 prisoners and killed and wounded roughly 25,000. Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout 's III Corps , the victors at Auerstedt, received the honours of marching into Berlin first. Once more, the French had defeated an enemy before its allies could arrive, and once more, this did not bring peace. Napoleon now turned his attentions to Poland, where
7168-481: The Russians. Of the 450,000 soldiers who crossed the Neman on 25 June 1812, less than 40,000 returned. More military personnel were killed from 1500 to 1914 by typhus than from military action. In addition, if it were not for modern medical advances there would be thousands more dead from disease and infection. For instance, during the Seven Years' War , the Royal Navy reported it conscripted 184,899 sailors, of whom 133,708 (72%) died of disease or were 'missing'. It
7296-438: The United States and U.S. Generals , expressed support for an economic view of war. The Marxist theory of war is quasi-economic in that it states all modern wars are caused by competition for resources and markets between great ( imperialist ) powers, claiming these wars are a natural result of capitalism . Marxist economists Karl Kautsky , Rosa Luxemburg , Rudolf Hilferding and Vladimir Lenin theorized that imperialism
7424-407: The antiquities were being traded for weapons by the various combatants. Both customary international law and international treaties prohibit pillage in armed conflict . The Lieber Code , the Brussels Declaration (1874), and the Oxford Manual have recognized the prohibition against pillage. The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 ( modified in 1954 ) obliges military forces not only to avoid
7552-432: The campaign with a series of victories at Lützen and Bautzen . But due to the poor quality of French troops and cavalry following the Russian campaign, along with miscalculations by certain subordinate marshals, these triumphs were not decisive enough to win the war and only secured an armistice. Napoleon hoped to use this respite to increase the quantity and improve the quality of the Grande Armée , but when Austria joined
7680-539: The capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organized groups. It is generally characterized by extreme violence , destruction, and mortality, using regular or irregular military forces . Warfare refers to the common activities and characteristics of types of war, or of wars in general. Total war is warfare that is not restricted to purely legitimate military targets , and can result in massive civilian or other non-combatant suffering and casualties . While some war studies scholars consider war
7808-470: The capture of Smolensk and victory at Borodino , the French reached Moscow on 14 September 1812. However, the army was already drastically reduced by skirmishes with the Russians, disease (principally typhus ), desertion , heat, exhaustion, and long communication lines. The army spent a month in Moscow but was ultimately forced to march back westward. Cold, starvation, and disease, as well as constant harassment by Cossacks and Russian partisans, resulted in
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#17327733921327936-447: The celebration of victory. In the wake of the Napoleonic Wars and particularly after World War II , norms against wartime plunder became widely accepted. In the upper ranks, the proud exhibition of the loot plundered formed an integral part of the typical Roman triumph , and Genghis Khan was not unusual in proclaiming that the greatest happiness was "to vanquish your enemies... to rob them of their wealth". In ancient times, looting
8064-988: The chances of becoming a psychiatric casualty – of being debilitated for some period of time as a consequence of the stresses of military life – were greater than the chances of being killed by enemy fire. Swank and Marchand's World War II study found that after sixty days of continuous combat, 98% of all surviving military personnel will become psychiatric casualties. Psychiatric casualties manifest themselves in fatigue cases, confusional states, conversion hysteria, anxiety, obsessional and compulsive states, and character disorders. One-tenth of mobilised American men were hospitalised for mental disturbances between 1942 and 1945, and after thirty-five days of uninterrupted combat, 98% of them manifested psychiatric disturbances in varying degrees. Additionally, it has been estimated anywhere from 18% to 54% of Vietnam war veterans suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder . Based on 1860 census figures, 8% of all white American males aged 13 to 43 died in
8192-445: The command of Napoleon's marshals and senior generals. When the Austrian and Russian armies began their preparations to invade France in late 1805, the Grande Armée was quickly ordered across the Rhine into southern Germany, leading to Napoleon's victories at Ulm and Austerlitz . The French Army grew as Napoleon seized power across Europe, recruiting troops from occupied and allied nations; it reached its peak of one million men at
8320-702: The conflict, and increased revenues by weapons manufacturers . Three of the ten most costly wars, in terms of loss of life, have been waged in the last century. These are the two World Wars, followed by the Second Sino-Japanese War (which is sometimes considered part of World War II , or as overlapping). Most of the others involved China or neighboring peoples. The death toll of World War II, being over 60 million, surpasses all other war-death-tolls. Military personnel subject to combat in war often suffer mental and physical injuries, including depression, posttraumatic stress disorder , disease, injury, and death. In every war in which American soldiers have fought in,
8448-414: The contrary, on a global scale the time since WWII has been unusually peaceful. Estimates for total deaths due to war vary widely. In one estimate, primitive warfare from 50,000 to 3000 BCE has been thought to have claimed 400 million±133,000 victims based on the assumption that it accounted for the 15.1% of all deaths. Other scholars find the prehistoric percentage much lower, around 2%, similar to
8576-403: The country fell into the hands of the Taliban before they were recognized as the legitimate government of Afghanistan by other countries. Further looting and burning of civilian homes and villages has been defended by the Taliban as within their right as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Looting can also be common in cases where civil unrest is contained largely within the borders of
8704-446: The course of conflict and may eventually morph into "peace conditions" – the minimal conditions under which a state may cease to wage a particular war. Throughout the course of human history, the average number of people dying from war has fluctuated relatively little, being about 1 to 10 people dying per 100,000. However, major wars over shorter periods have resulted in much higher casualty rates, with 100–200 casualties per 100,000 over
8832-472: The defeated populations, which were often enslaved . Women and children might become absorbed into the victorious country's population, as concubines , eunuchs and slaves. In other pre-modern societies, objects made of precious metals were the preferred target of war looting, largely because of their ease of portability. In many cases, looting offered an opportunity to obtain treasures and works of art that otherwise would not have been obtainable. Beginning in
8960-522: The destruction of enemy property but also to provide for its protection. Article 8 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court provides that in international warfare, "pillaging a town or place, even when taken by assault", is a war crime . In the aftermath of World War II , a number of war criminals were prosecuted for pillage. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (1993–2017) brought several prosecutions for pillage. The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 explicitly prohibits
9088-509: The earliest collaboration of Napoleon and Berthier, its organisation was more or less fixed and it would see only slight changes during the later campaigns of the empire. The Army General Headquarters included the office of the Major-Général ' s (Chief of Staff's) Cabinet with their four departments: Movements, Secretariat, Accounting and Intelligence (orders of battle). The Major-Général also had his own private Military Staff which included duty Generals and Staff aides-de-camp. Finally there
9216-449: The elite of the line infantry and the veteran shock troops of the Grande Armée . Newly formed battalions did not have a grenadier company; rather, Napoleon ordered that after two campaigns, several of the strongest, bravest, and tallest fusiliers were to be promoted to a grenadier company, so each line battalion which had seen more than two campaigns had one company of grenadiers. Regulations required that grenadier recruits were to be
9344-411: The emperor were mainly loyal, experienced generals or, at times, other senior officers whom he knew from his Italian or Egyptian campaigns. All were known for their bravery and were experts in their own branches of service. Working directly under the supervision of the emperor, these officers were sometimes assigned to temporary command of units or formations or entrusted with diplomatic missions. Most of
9472-520: The entire army to follow, and a force that, since it had fought with him over several campaigns, was completely loyal. Although the infantry was rarely committed en masse, the Guard's cavalry was often thrown into battle as the killing blow and its artillery used to pound enemies prior to assaults. There were three sections: The four regiments of marines of the Ancien Régime disappeared on 28 January 1794. The Marins (French spelling) of
9600-600: The fighting, and their performance resulted in victory or defeat. The infantry was divided up into two major types, the Infantry of the Line ( Infanterie de Ligne ) and the Light Infantry ( Infanterie Légère ). The line infantry made up the majority of the Grande Armée . In 1803, Napoleon had reinstated the term "regiment", the revolutionary term " demi-brigade " (due to the fact there were two per brigade and it lacked
9728-480: The fires while hunting down arsonists and guarding the city's historic districts. Napoleon and his army spent over a month in Moscow, vainly hoping that the Russian emperor would respond to the French peace offers. After these efforts failed, the French set out on October 19, now only a shadow of their former selves. The epic retreat over the Russian winter dominates popular conceptions of the war, even though over half of
9856-415: The forces and support services discussed below. While capable of fully independent operations and of defending themselves until reinforced, the corps usually worked in close concert together and kept within a day's marching distance of one another. The corps would often follow separate routes on a wide front and were small enough to live by foraging, allowing fewer supplies to be carried. Through dispersion and
9984-401: The fortress of Ulm . The Ulm campaign , as it came to be known, resulted in 60,000 Austrian prisoners at the cost of just 2,000 French soldiers. By November, Vienna was taken but Austria refused to capitulate, maintaining an army in the field. In addition, its ally Russia had yet to commit to action. The war would continue for a while longer. Affairs were decisively settled on 2 December 1805 at
10112-418: The globe. The invention of gunpowder , and its eventual use in warfare, together with the acceleration of technological advances have fomented major changes to war itself. In Western Europe, since the late 18th century, more than 150 conflicts and about 600 battles have taken place. During the 20th century, war resulted in a dramatic intensification of the pace of social changes, and was a crucial catalyst for
10240-489: The growth of left-wing politics . Mao Zedong urged the socialist camp not to fear nuclear war with the United States since, even if "half of mankind died, the other half would remain while imperialism would be razed to the ground and the whole world would become socialist." A distinctive feature of war since 1945 is that combat has largely been a matter of civil wars and insurgencies. The major exceptions were
10368-459: The increasing mobility of capital and information level the distributions of wealth worldwide, or when considering that it is relative, not absolute, wealth differences that may fuel wars. There are those on the extreme right of the political spectrum who provide support, fascists in particular, by asserting a natural right of a strong nation to whatever the weak cannot hold by force. Some centrist, capitalist, world leaders, including Presidents of
10496-727: The largest field army he had ever commanded to deal with this menace. On 24 June 1812, shortly before the invasion, the assembled troops with a total strength of 685,000 men were made up of: • 410,000 from the French Empire (present-day France, Italy, the Low Countries, and several German states) • 95,000 Poles • 35,000 Austrians • 30,000 Italians • 24,000 Bavarians • 20,000 Saxons • 20,000 Prussians • 17,000 Westphalians • 15,000 Swiss • 10,000 Danes and Norwegians • 4,000 Spaniards • 4,000 Portuguese • 3,500 Croats • 2,000 Irish The new Grande Armée
10624-541: The line battalions be chosen to form a voltigeur company. These troops were to be second only to the grenadiers in the battalion hierarchy. Their name comes from their original mission; Voltigeurs were to vault upon horses of friendly cavalry for faster movement, an idea which proved impractical if not outright impossible. Despite this, the voltigeurs did perform a valuable task, skirmishing and providing scouts for each battalion, as well as providing an organic light infantry component for each line regiment. In training, emphasis
10752-472: The line between unnecessary "looting" and necessary " scavenging " lies are often dilemmas for governments. In other cases, looting may be tolerated or even encouraged by governments for political or other reasons, including religious, social or economic ones. Looting by a victorious army during war has been a common practice throughout recorded history. Foot soldiers viewed plunder as a way to supplement an often-meagre income and transferred wealth became part of
10880-562: The looting of civilian property during wartime. Theoretically, to prevent such looting, unclaimed property is moved to the custody of the Custodian of Enemy Property , to be handled until returned to its owners. Despite international prohibitions against the practice of looting, the ease with which it can be done means that it remains relatively common, particularly during outbreaks of civil unrest during which rules of war may not yet apply. The 2011 Egyptian Revolution , for example, caused
11008-505: The most destructive war in modern history may have been the Paraguayan War (see Paraguayan War casualties ). In 2013 war resulted in 31,000 deaths, down from 72,000 deaths in 1990. War usually results in significant deterioration of infrastructure and the ecosystem, a decrease in social spending, famine , large-scale emigration from the war zone, and often the mistreatment of prisoners of war or civilians. For instance, of
11136-503: The most important ones and transmit them to the emperor; nothing was to be concealed from Napoleon. Lest one think this was as safe a job as modern staff officers, a contemporary subordinate staff officer, Brossier, reports that at the Battle of Marengo : "The General-in-Chief Berthier gave his orders with the precision of a consummate warrior, and at Marengo maintained the reputation that he so rightly acquired in Italy and in Egypt under
11264-542: The motivations for war, but no consensus about which are most common. Military theorist Carl von Clausewitz said, "Every age has its own kind of war, its own limiting conditions, and its own peculiar preconceptions." Dutch psychoanalyst Joost Meerloo held that, "War is often...a mass discharge of accumulated internal rage (where)...the inner fears of mankind are discharged in mass destruction." Other psychoanalysts such as E.F.M. Durban and John Bowlby have argued human beings are inherently violent. This aggressiveness
11392-599: The nature and presence of warfare. Thus, he argues, warfare is not a universal human occurrence and appears to have been a historical invention, associated with certain types of human societies. Montagu's argument is supported by ethnographic research conducted in societies where the concept of aggression seems to be entirely absent, e.g. the Chewong and Semai of the Malay peninsula. Bobbi S. Low has observed correlation between warfare and education, noting societies where warfare
11520-613: The navy. There was also the marine artillery, which were mostly naval gunners used for coastal batteries and fortresses called bataillons de la Matelot du Haut-Bord (or Les Equipages de Haut-Bord – marines of the High Shore) created by decree of Napoleon on 1 April 1808. The flag of the 1er Régiment d'Artillerie de Marine survives today, and lists Lützen 1813 as one of its battle honours. Some 63 artillery batteries were manned (some numbers remaining vacant). Some examples include: The Marins de la Garde (transliterated as Sailors of
11648-529: The nine million people who were on the territory of the Byelorussian SSR in 1941, some 1.6 million were killed by the Germans in actions away from battlefields, including about 700,000 prisoners of war, 500,000 Jews, and 320,000 people counted as partisans (the vast majority of whom were unarmed civilians). Another byproduct of some wars is the prevalence of propaganda by some or all parties in
11776-470: The number of orderly officers, half the number of the petits aides de camp (two or three personal ADCs to the general ADCs, who might also be commanded directly by the emperor) and half the number of pages. Their number differed from time to time, but only 37 officers were ever commissioned ADC to the emperor and at normal times their number was restricted to 12. Each of these officers wore the normal general's uniform of his rank, but with gold aiguillettes as
11904-558: The orders of Bonaparte. He himself was hit by a bullet in the arm. Two of his aides-de-camp, Dutaillis and La Borde, had their horses killed." One of the most important factors in the Grande Armée ' s success was its superior and highly flexible organisation. It was subdivided into several corps (usually from five to seven), each numbering anywhere between 10,000 and 50,000, with the average size being around 20,000 to 30,000 troops. These Corps d'Armée were self-contained, smaller armies of combined arms , consisting of elements from all
12032-532: The orders that he had just given. Since the emperor was his own " operations officer ", it can be said that Berthier's job consisted of absorbing Napoleon's strategic intentions, translating them into written orders and transmitting them with the utmost speed and clarity. He also received in the emperor's name the reports of the marshals and commanding generals and when necessary signed them on Napoleon's behalf. Detailed reports on everything that occurred for good or ill were to be sent to Berthier, who would in turn select
12160-500: The overall decline in conflicts had stalled. Entities contemplating going to war and entities considering whether to end a war may formulate war aims as an evaluation/propaganda tool. War aims may stand as a proxy for national-military resolve. Fried defines war aims as "the desired territorial, economic, military or other benefits expected following successful conclusion of a war". Tangible/intangible aims: Explicit/implicit aims: Positive/negative aims: War aims can change in
12288-416: The participants did not have any formal training. Scarcity of resources meant defensive works were not a cost-effective way to protect the society against enemy raids. William Rubinstein wrote "Pre-literate societies, even those organized in a relatively advanced way, were renowned for their studied cruelty.'" Since the rise of the state some 5,000 years ago, military activity has continued over much of
12416-399: The policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship. ... the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works
12544-497: The previous year. After much diplomatic wrangling, Prussia secured promises of Russian military aid and the Fourth Coalition against France came into being in 1806. The Grande Armée advanced into Prussian territory with the famed bataillon-carré (battalion square) system, whereby corps marched in close supporting distances and became vanguards, rearguards, or flank forces as the situation demanded, and decisively defeated
12672-525: The psychological aftereffects of witnessing the destruction of war. War also results in lower quality of life and worse health outcomes. A medium-sized conflict with about 2,500 battle deaths reduces civilian life expectancy by one year and increases infant mortality by 10% and malnutrition by 3.3%. Additionally, about 1.8% of the population loses access to drinking water . Most estimates of World War II casualties indicate around 60 million people died, 40 million of whom were civilians. Deaths in
12800-447: The remaining Prussian armies were linking up with their Russian allies. A difficult winter campaign produced nothing but a stalemate, made worse by the Battle of Eylau on 7–8 February 1807, where Russian and French casualties soared for little gain. The campaign resumed in the spring and this time General Levin August von Bennigsen 's Russian army was soundly defeated at the Battle of Friedland on 14 June 1807. This victory brought about
12928-457: The remnants of the Grande Armée . Napoleon left his men in order to reach Paris and address new military and political matters. Of the 685,000 men that constituted the initial invasion force, only 93,000 survived. The catastrophe in Russia now emboldened anti-French sentiments throughout Europe. The Sixth Coalition was formed and Germany became the centrepiece of the upcoming campaign. With customary genius, Napoleon raised new armies and opened up
13056-651: The removal of the contents of Egyptian tombs that were transported to museums across the West . As part of World War II reparations , Soviet forces systematically plundered the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, including the Recovered Territories , which later transferred to Poland. The Soviets sent valuable industrial equipment, infrastructure and whole factories to the Soviet Union. Many factories in
13184-400: The respect due to their function. On 29 April 1809, a decree organised their service. Every morning at 0700, the duty ADC and his staff were relieved and the new ADC for the next 24 hours had to present the emperor with a list of names of the staff under his command. This would consist of two supplementary daytime general ADCs and one night ADC, one equerry and (through a rotation system) half
13312-636: The road to the Holy Sepulchre; wrest that land from a wicked race, and subject it to yourselves. Grande Arm%C3%A9e The Grande Armée ( pronounced [ɡʁɑ̃d aʁme] ; French for ' Great Army ') was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars . From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed
13440-535: The royal connotations) was now only used for provisional troops and depot units. At the time of the formation of the Grande Armée , the French Army had 133 Régiments de Ligne , a number which roughly corresponded with the number of départements in France. There would eventually be 156 Ligne regiments. The Régiments de Ligne varied in size throughout the Napoleonic Wars, but the basic building block of
13568-407: The sacred object to which we are attached, namely our early mother and our fusion with her. For the adult, nations are the sacred objects that generate warfare. Fornari focused upon sacrifice as the essence of war: the astonishing willingness of human beings to die for their country, to give over their bodies to their nation. Despite Fornari's theory that man's altruistic desire for self-sacrifice for
13696-674: The same way in any country. Several theories concern the evolutionary origins of warfare. There are two main schools: One sees organized warfare as emerging in or after the Mesolithic as a result of complex social organization and greater population density and competition over resources; the other sees human warfare as a more ancient practice derived from common animal tendencies, such as territoriality and sexual competition. The latter school argues that since warlike behavior patterns are found in many primate species such as chimpanzees , as well as in many ant species, group conflict may be
13824-427: The standard Charleville model 1777 and bayonet, grenadiers were also equipped with a short sabre . This was to be used for close combat , but most often ended up serving as a tool to cut wood for campfires. A grenadier company would usually be situated on the right side of a formation , traditionally the place of greatest honour since the days of hoplite warfare in which a corps' right flank had less protection from
13952-469: The start of the Russian Revolution of 1917 . World War II was the most financially costly conflict in history; its belligerents cumulatively spent about a trillion U.S. dollars on the war effort (as adjusted to 1940 prices). The Great Depression of the 1930s ended as nations increased their production of war materials. By the end of the war, 70% of European industrial infrastructure
14080-526: The start of the Russian campaign in 1812, with the Grande Armée reaching its height of 413,000 French soldiers and over 600,000 men overall when including foreign recruits. In summer of 1812, as large of an amount as 300,000 French troops fought in the Peninsular War . Napoleon opened a second war front as the Grande Armée marched slowly east, and the Russians fell back with its approach. After
14208-599: The symbol of his function. The appointment of ADC to the emperor did not always last as long as the emperor's reign; an ADC might be given another position such as a field command, a governorship, etc. and would be removed from his ADC status until recalled to that post. The officiers d'ordonnance (orderly officers) may be considered as junior ADCs, with the rank of chef d'escadron , captain or lieutenant . They, too, were used for special missions such as reconnaissance and inspections, but also to carry written orders. In 1806, when these posts were created, they were members of
14336-405: The tallest, most fearsome men in the regiments, and all were to have moustaches . To add to this, grenadiers were initially equipped with a bonnet à poil or bearskin, as well as red epaulettes on their coat. After 1807, regulations stipulated that line grenadiers were to replace their bearskin with a shako lined red with a red plume; however, many chose to retain their bearskins. In addition to
14464-514: The territory of Alsace-Lorraine has been traded between France and Germany on three different occasions. Typically, war becomes intertwined with the economy and many wars are partially or entirely based on economic reasons. The common view among economic historians is that the Great Depression ended with the advent of World War II . Many economists believe that government spending on the war caused or at least accelerated recovery from
14592-406: The time, however, their tasks consisted of making detailed inspection tours and long-distance reconnaissances. When they had to carry orders from the emperor to an army commander, these would be verbal rather than written. The appointment of ADC to the emperor was so influential that they were considered to be "Napoleon's eyes and ears" and even marshals were wise to follow their advice and render them
14720-565: The uniform was based on that of those of the hussars , and it was the only unit of the Grande Armée in which the musicians used both the drums and the trumpets . The battalions of marine artillery were conscripted for the 1813 German Campaign, and included four regiments with the 1st regiment intended to have 8 battalions, 2nd regiment with 10 battalions, and the 3rd and 4th regiments with four battalions each, totalling 9,640 men in all serving with Marshal Auguste de Marmont 's VI Corps . Combined with sailor battalions, these fought as part of
14848-578: The upcoming campaign was professional and competent. Napoleon hoped to catch and defeat the Allied armies under the Duke of Wellington and Blücher in Belgium before the Russians and Austrians could arrive. The campaign, beginning on 15 June 1815, was initially successful, leading to victory over the Prussians at the Battle of Ligny on 16 June; however, poor staff work, and bad commanders led to many problems for
14976-705: The use of forced marches the Grande Armée was often able to surprise opposing armies by its speed of manoeuver. A corps, depending on its size and the importance of its mission, was commanded by a marshal or Général de Division (major general). Napoleon placed great trust in his corps commanders and usually allowed them a wide freedom of action, provided they acted within the outlines of his strategic objectives and worked together to accomplish them. When they failed to do this to his satisfaction, however, he would not hesitate to reprimand or relieve them and in many cases took personal command of their corps himself. Corps were first formed in 1800, when General Jean Moreau divided
15104-590: Was among the factors sapping the loyalty of Poles to Russia . Local civilians can also take advantage of a breakdown of order to loot public and private property, as took place at the Iraq Museum in the course of the Iraq War in 2003. Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy 's novel War and Peace describes widespread looting by Moscow 's citizens before Napoleon 's troops entered the city in 1812, along with looting by French troops elsewhere. In 1990 and 1991, during
15232-462: Was characterized by many frustrations, as the Russians succeeded no less than three times in evading Napoleon's pincers. A final stand for the defence of Moscow led to the massive Battle of Borodino on 7 September 1812. There the Grande Armée won a bloody but indecisive and arguably pyrrhic victory . A week after the battle, the Grande Armée finally entered Moscow only to find the city largely empty and ablaze. Its soldiers were now forced to deal with
15360-527: Was destroyed. Property damage in the Soviet Union inflicted by the Axis invasion was estimated at a value of 679 billion rubles. The combined damage consisted of complete or partial destruction of 1,710 cities and towns, 70,000 villages/hamlets, 2,508 church buildings, 31,850 industrial establishments, 40,000 mi (64,374 km) of railroad, 4100 railroad stations, 40,000 hospitals, 84,000 schools, and 43,000 public libraries. There are many theories about
15488-561: Was formed in 1804 from L'Armée des côtes de l'Océan (The Army of the Ocean Coasts), a force of over 100,000 men that Napoleon had assembled for the proposed invasion of Britain . Napoleon later deployed the army in Central Europe to eliminate the combined threat of Austria and Russia , which were part of the Third Coalition formed against France. Thereafter, the Grande Armée was the principal military force deployed in
15616-667: Was important to have a reputation for retaliation, causing humans to develop instincts for revenge as well as for protecting a group's (or an individual's) reputation (" honor "). Crofoot and Wrangham have argued that warfare, if defined as group interactions in which "coalitions attempt to aggressively dominate or kill members of other groups", is a characteristic of most human societies. Those in which it has been lacking "tend to be societies that were politically dominated by their neighbors". Ashley Montagu strongly denied universalistic instinctual arguments, arguing that social factors and childhood socialization are important in determining
15744-670: Was limited to his own command group. The Staff of the Grande Armée was known as the Imperial Headquarters and was divided into two major sections: Napoleon's Military Household and the Army General Headquarters. A third department dependent on the Imperial Headquarters was the office of the Intendant Général (Quartermaster General), providing the administrative staff of the army. The Maison Militaire de l'Empereur ( Military Household of
15872-457: Was originally formed as L'Armée des côtes de l'Océan (Army of the Ocean Coasts) intended for the invasion of Britain, at the port of Boulogne in 1804. Following Napoleon's coronation as Emperor of the French in 1804, the Third Coalition was formed against France and the Grande Armée turned its sights eastwards in 1805. The army left Boulogne in late August and through rapid marches, surrounded General Karl von Mack 's isolated Austrian Army at
16000-565: Was sometimes prohibited due to religious concerns. For example, King Clovis I of the Franks, forbade his soldiers to loot when they campaigned near St Martin 's shrine in Tours, for fear of offending the saint. Moses, Joshua and Samuel at various points ordered the Israelites not to take loot from their enemies due to God's commandment. In warfare in ancient times, the spoils of war included
16128-469: Was somewhat different from before; over one-third of its ranks were now filled by non-French conscripts coming from satellite states or countries allied to France. The behemoth force crossed the Niemen River on 24 June 1812, and Napoleon hoped that quick marching could place his men between the two main Russian armies, commanded by Generals Barclay de Tolly and Pyotr Bagration . However, the campaign
16256-693: Was the Army General Staff with the offices of the three Assistant Major-Generals to the Major-Général . The role of Chief of Staff in the Grande Armée became almost synonymous with Berthier, who occupied this position in almost all the major campaigns of Napoleon. The General Headquarters was Berthier's unique domain and the emperor respected this demarcation. Its personnel received orders only from Berthier and even Napoleon did not interfere in its immense tasks; he would never walk in on Berthier's private staff while they were writing and copying
16384-533: Was the result of capitalist countries needing new markets . Expansion of the means of production is only possible if there is a corresponding growth in consumer demand . Since the workers in a capitalist economy would be unable to fill the demand, producers must expand into non-capitalist markets to find consumers for their goods, hence driving imperialism. Demographic theories can be grouped into two classes, Malthusian and youth bulge theories: Malthusian theories see expanding population and scarce resources as
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