ABSTRACT
On 23 March 1815 Louis XVIII disbanded the French army. In June Napoleon lost Waterloo and abdicated, and the Bourbons returned to Paris to complete the destruction of the army. For the Bourbons the first priority was the Royal Guard. Colonels of the Guard's regiments were appointed in September and the familiar intrigue to gain postings began in earnest. Conscription was re–introduced under a different name as the only means of ensuring sufficient recruits with which to rebuild the army. The attempt to create an army from such diverse elements raised major problems. In essence the law and succeeding ordinances were the compromise solution which enabled the Bourbons to reconstruct the army, by the reconciliation of the some elements. Thus the Spanish campaign marks the emergence of an effective Bourbon army. Possibly it made the Bourbon monarchy over–estimate its own strength, but for the history of the army it was very important.
