The French soldiers in the XIII corps were anything but satisfactory. Most of the soldiers were conscripts from 1813 (making them about 19 years old) while the rest were conscripts from 1814 making them a full year younger, a mere 18 years old. Although these soldiers did seem to have the natural flair for warfare that most French boys were born with at that time apparently, their training and stamina were below average. Law and order were totally unfamiliar concepts for the French troops in the early phases of the campaign. They moved like a locust swarm across the land and pillaged and plundered anything and everything that might happen to cross their way. The cavalry were in an even worse shape than the infantry. They suffered from a catastrophic shortage on suitable mounts. Demnark had to supply the French cavalry with horses, but this was a slow process and good war trained horses were hard to come by. The Chasseurs á Cheval were made up mostly of very young men. The Polish Lancers on the other hand were veterans from Russia and absolutely the best French cavalry in XIII corps. The corps artillery were contrary to most of corps made up of veterans from several campaigns.
Another factor that deteriorated the French quality was the number of non-French troops in the ranks. Almost 50% of XIII corps was made up of non-French soldiers. Primarely from Prussia, various places in Italy, and Poland, but also from Lithuania, Portugal, Holland and Switzerland. One of the best units in the corps, the 111. Line infantry regiment, was made up almost of troops from Piedmont, commanded by veteran French officers.
The French worked hard to overcome the problems in XIII corps. Veteran commanders from Spain were given command of the battalions and the companies were strengthened by veteran cadres. Despite these attempts to help morale it turned out that the French troops were very far from battle ready when the campaign began.