La Maraude

La Maraude describes the tactic employed by Napoleonic armies of scavenging for supplies instead of relying on extended lines of supply. It was Napoleon’s belief that armies should be largely self sufficient as this freed them from the constraints of supply lines and allowed them to move far more quickly than their more static enemies. The tactic proved very successful in Western and central Europe but was less successful in the more desolate regions of Spain and Russia where food was less plentiful. The tactic was particularly flawed whenever an army was forced to retreat over land which it had already scavenged as in the retreat from Moscow. One result of this method of provisioning was that French soldiers became accomplished cooks and were able to create very nourishing meals from very basic ingredients. It should also be noted that many of the peasants whose stores were taken, especially in Russia, often ended up starving.