Lets talk about the promotions during the Napoleonic wars. I

The Republic had far greater rank mobility than the Empire. It was crazy, i mean Napoleon literally jumped from captain to brigade general in a single promotion.

Napoleon somewhat normalized the promotion possibilities when he came to power. You could still become a NCO from a common soldier and an officer from NCO if you had proven yourself, but nothing drastic like during Republic. And of course you could still buy commission if you had the money, Napoleon never abolished that. Napoleon's famous quote about each of his soldiers carrying a marshal batton in their rucksack is a meme.

>>2880062
All true, but the Marshals were largely from lower to middle class backgrounds.

>>2880078
This is true, but all of them already distinguished themselves during Republic, they were all Napoleon's generation. Correct me if i'm wrong but I can't think of any Grand Army NCO or field officer that became a Marshal.

>>2880042
>simply bought
After officer school
With the blessing of his trainer

>>2880100
>After officer school
Do you actually have a source for this? Because everything I've ever read on the subject kinda implies that the vast majority of commission were straight out bought, with the likes of Wellington (who was formed at some french military college) being an exception rather than the rule.
Engineers and artillery notwithstanding of course.

>>2880042
>How was the situation in the other countries?
Well, it took them twenty years to catch up. So pretty bad.

>>2880042
During the Napoleonic Wars about 10% of officers in the British Army had risen through the ranks. To get a commission you'd also need a recommendation from an officer of at least 'major' rank and be able to read and write. So it was possible to earn a commission based on merit

>>2880193
Pssh, the British Army was thoroughly class-indoctrinated. It took the fuck-ups of the Crimean War to finally expel the commissions system.

The only place in the army that you MIGHT be able to advance through brains and skill was the artillery because you needed math and decisive action. Any posh moron could be a cavalry officer which is what most of them did. The infantry was the real test of a man and being an officer there meant you can withstand hails of shot and shell while inspiring your rabble of drunkards and thieves.

>>2880090
>I can't think of any Grand Army NCO or field officer that became a Marshal.
That's pretty unfair, the grand armee existed for a mere 10 years. You can barely make it from junior to field or from field to flag in that timeframe nowadays, it's an issue of efficiency: you don't just skip ranks unless you're really hurting for personnel, like after the republican purges. It wasn't an issue of Napoopan stifling social mobility.

>>2880090

Well there's simply not enough time.

The Grande Armee was formed in 1805, and disbanded in 1815. 10 years is not nearly enough time for any NCO or private to distinguish themselves in an army that is already well staffed.

When Napoleon was serving, the Royalist officer corps had been purged, and there were lots of vacancies, and thus, opportunities for promotion.

>>2880274
>When Napoleon was serving, the Royalist officer corps had been purged, and there were lots of vacancies, and thus, opportunities for promotion.
This, many officers had been cleared out during the sucessive changes of government.

Napoleon himself spent two weeks under house arrest in July 1794 during the Thermidorian Reaction which ended the Reign of Terror.

>>2880224
> the British Army was thoroughly class-indoctrinated.
I don't deny it, yet it was still possible (if unlikely) to be promoted based on gallantry/ability. In peace time the likelihood of that happening was far lower, but with the rapid expansion of the army during the Napoleonic wars and the vacancies created by death and disease, the opportunities for merit-based promotion increased. Especially since during war time vacant commissions passed to the crown and were given generally on seniority as opposed to being purchased outright as they were during peace.

File: 1806 Austrian Hungarian Infantry.jpg (717KB, 1091x1600px) Image search: [Google]

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>>2880042
The Habsburg armies barely used any, especially after Joseph II's uniform reforms. They had a lot of those nice spelling plants, though.

File: 1484620629066.png (37KB, 658x662px) Image search: [Google]

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>>2881248
*smelling

>>2880042
>>2881248
i just realised i completely misread promotions for pompons and made the link in my head because of the hats.

The Habsburgs probably had something in between French and British where there were obvious distinctions between the aristocracy and the lower class in the army but i believe this was nothing like the English had it and there was probably nothing stopping a private to become an officer,

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>>2880177
The Duke of York imposed rules after the failed Flanders campaign stating that any officer had to serve a certain amount of time in their current rank, usually several years, before they were allowed to buy a higher ranking commission. He also helped found the military college at Sandhurst. Helped to stop rich idiots from making up 90% of the British army's officers. Instead they became rich sort-of idiots.

Didn't stop the ultra-rich from going straight to Colonel by raising their own regiment, though.

>>2880985

True, but it was still heavily prejudiced against those promoted from the ranks. During the peninsular campaign so many officers were dying there wasn't enough for the infantry, so it became a bit more common. Though they were still subject to the discrimination from the surviving officers of their battalions so ended up, most likely, as storekeepers and clerks. Very few ended up commanding troops in battle.

Most of the officers raised from the ranks in the British army were stripped of their commissions as soon as peacetime came around. Plenty of the veteran ranker officers of the peninsular campaign served as privates during the hundred days.

The painting attached is of the Battle of Barrosa, where a Sergeant Masterson captured a French Eagle, and was commissioned. He was one of the very few who was actually put in command of troops. Most rankers commissioned were done so because of insane feats of bravery, the storming of breaches, and the like.

>>2881280
was it autism?