VIII Corps (Grande Armée)
The VIII Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. Emperor Napoleon I formed it in 1805 by borrowing divisions from other corps and assigned it to Marshal Édouard Mortier. Marshal André Masséna's Army of Italy was also reorganized as the VIII Corps at the end of the 1805 campaign. The corps was reformed for the 1806 campaign under Mortier and spent the rest of the year mopping up Prussian garrisons in western Germany. A new VIII Corps was formed from Westphalians for the French invasion of Russia in 1812 and placed under Junot's command once more. The corps was effectively destroyed during the retreat. The following year, the corps was rebuilt with Polish units and assigned to Józef Poniatowski. The VIII Corps fought in the 1813 German campaign and ceased to exist after the Battle of Leipzig. History 1805 The corps was first called into existence during the War of the Third Coalition in 1805. After destroying much of the Austrian Empire's military strength in the Ulm campaign, Napoleon ordered his generals to advance toward the Austrian capital of Vienna. The emperor formed a new VIII Corps under Mortier and assigned