Page 239 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo I

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aCta
logistical reachable range to the store houses. This necessity became a tactical hindrance to
the operative capability of the Swedish Army.
The Russian Army was less dependent on store houses and more flexible. When supply
stopped coming the Russians were far better at coping with the lack of external supply than
were the Swedes, despite the fact that both sides were equally dependent on road transport.
The Russian had two advantages: the Russian baggage train carried a greater amount of sup-
plies and the Russian soldiers within the artel-system possessed a better developed capacity
for fending for himself. 8

ciVilian sOciety and the Military suPPly systeMs
A study of the supply systems during the Napoleonic Wars demonstrates the great signifi-
cance of the civilian society for supply in war. The civilian society could support the armies
with food, fodder, transportation and accommodation. The farmers were the ones who ef-
fectuated transportation of supplies and other services such as grinding and baking bread. In
remote areas as Russia, Poland and Finland the farmers became very important. The entire
system of transportation rested on the capability of the farmers carry out road transport by
means of their own horses and carts, alternatively sledges. In more developed countries the
burghers played a more important role. Sometimes the merchants of the town constituted an
important group acting as middle between the hinterland and the army looking for food. In
some cases burghers and merchants enriched themselves. In coastal towns had large fleets of
merchant vessels that were use by the armies. The French Army in Spain used vessel for sea
transportation and more than half of the shipping during the Swedish-Russian War of 1808-
09 took place from the coastal towns in the north of Sweden and Finland.
9
It was of great importance to have good relations to the civilian communities. The French
army alienated the population in Spain by their indiscriminate looting. In many parts of the
Peninsula guerilla warfare became a serious problem for the French army. In other parts of
10
europe civilians experienced exploitation and looting when the French armies moved across
11
the continent.
I Finland 1808 the Russians use a completely different way of treating the Finns. The
Russian Army observed a strict discipline in the occupied areas. Looting did not occur with
few exceptions, like the looting of Vaasa in June 1808. This restraint on the part of the Rus-
sian Army was largely due to a realization that looting per se was counterproductive to the
Russian war aims. The Russian were also keen on gaining the confidence of the local popula-
tion. Supply of provisions would be endangered by any kind of uprising amidst the locals.
This strict discipline was also part of a heart-and-mind winning policy the ultimate aim of
12
which was to incorporate Finland with the Russian empire.
cOnclusiOns

8 Ibid
9 Morgan, John Leckey, The Army of Catalonia, Chicago 1994, p.319f.
10 Rothenburg, s. 130;
11 esdaile, Charles J., The Wars of Napoleon, London 1995, p. 109-116.
12 Hårdstedt 2002.