Nagy-L István szerk.: Pápai Múzeumi Értesítő 11. (Pápa, 2006)

Történelmi személyiségek 1809-ben - VLADIMIR BRNARDIC: A híresebb fiú híres apja

Although worn out and decimated the Grenz regiments had to go again to the new war. After execution of the French king Louis XVI European powers, and Austria together with them, joined into coalition against young French republic. The beginning of the war Franjo Jellachich waited as lieutenant colonel in Ogulin Grenz infantry regiment. French army was composed of two segments: regular line regiments and revolutionary popular battalions composed of volunteers. This volunteers were inspired by revolution and French nationalism, but they were not trained and in the battle with regular line regiments they were according to military standards of those times inferior to them. But something happened. Due to chance and because of lack of proper training French revolutionary army had started to practise fighting in skirmish line against firm line tactic of other European armies. Here the infantrymen fired at will. He does not go in firm formation but he is trying to use terrain, to hide behind the bushes or high ground. In this way such an army had gained a victory over regular line formation. After that all war parties started to adjust to this new type of war. Austrian army answered to these new circumstances by forming different Freycorps and among them one of the most elitist was Croatian-Slavonian Sniper Corps (Croatische-slavonische Scharf schutzer Corps). This formation was composed of Scharfschutzer companies taken from regular Border (Grenz) infantry regiments. Scharfschutzers were elite infantrymen introduced into Border regiments in 1769. In every regiment the two companies of Scharfschutzers (Snipers) were formed. They were not trained to fight in regular line tactic formation but as sharpshooters. Because of that they were armed with rifle Schtuz M 1768, actually a version of in those times usual hunting rifles. These rifles had two barrels, one above other. Upper one was rifled and lowers one not. They had two flint mechanism, one on one and the other on other side of the stock and they were relatively short, just a little over one meter (3 foots). But they barrels were thick, so they could use more powder and because of that they were accurate and outranged other muskets. Beside rifle the Scharfschutzers had carried special bag for rifle, rod and what is especially interesting a spear called pike that had three bearings for a hook that served as a support for firing the rifle. The pike also served instead of bayonets because these rifles did not had them. The Scharfschutzer corps was composed from one company from each of 11 Border (Grenz) regiments. It became an elite formation composed of the best that Military Border could give in those times. As an experienced Border officer Lieutenant-colonel Franz Jelachich was appointed commander of this Corps. Jellacich's Scharfschutzer corps gathered in Bjelovar in January 1793 and went from there to war theatre in Austrian Netherlands. After three-month march it came on French-Netherlands border and already in May it had started to take part in fighting. Because of their way of fighting the Scharfschutzers were usually in front rows with advance or as covering party but always with Jellachich on their head. Commanding the corps and waging war with it for four years Jellachich distinguished himself in the battles of Valenciennes, next year by Templeuve and Fleurs, than in 1795.