Editing War of the Third Coalition (section)

==={{lang|fr|La Grande Armée}} at Boulogne===
{{See also|Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom}}
[[File:Inspecting the Troops at Boulogne, 15 August 1804.png|thumb|Inspecting the troops at Boulogne, 15 August 1804]]

Prior to the formation of the Third Coalition, Napoleon had assembled the ''Army of England'', an invasion force meant to strike at England, from around six camps at [[Boulogne-sur-Mer|Boulogne]] in Northern France. Although they never set foot on British soil, Napoleon's troops received careful and invaluable training for any possible military operation. Boredom among the troops occasionally set in, but Napoleon paid many visits and conducted lavish parades in order to boost the morale of the soldiers.{{sfn|Chandler|1966|p=323}}

The men at Boulogne formed the core for what Napoleon would later call {{lang|fr|[[La Grande Armée]]}} ("The Great Army"). At the start, this French army had about 200,000 men organized into seven [[corps]], each capable of independent action or in concert with other corps. Corps were large combined arms field units typically containing 2–4 infantry divisions, a cavalry division, and about 36 to 40 [[cannon]].

On top of these forces, Napoleon created a [[cavalry]] reserve of 22,000 organized into two [[cuirassier]] [[Division (military)|divisions]], four mounted [[dragoon]] divisions, and two divisions of dismounted dragoons and light cavalry, all supported by 24 [[artillery]] pieces. By 1805, the {{lang|fr|Grande Armée}} had grown to a force of 350,000, was well equipped, adequately trained, and possessed a skilled officer class.{{sfn|Chandler|1966|pp=332–333}}