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5th Line Battalion, King's German Legion
Raising, Service & Disbandment The 5th Line Battalion of the King's German Legion (abbreviated: KGL) was raised in late 1805 as the fifth out of eight line battalions that the Legion levied in total. The British Hanover Expedition at the end of 1805, which had been vacated by French troops on their way to the Battle of Austerlitz, resulted in a massive recruitment success for the KGL. After Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz, the British expedition's position became untenable. The whole force including all participating and newly recruited KGL units re-embarked for England in February 1806. The 5th line battalion KGL was initially brigaded with the 6th Line Battalion of the Legion. It served from 1805 until 1816 in Ireland, Copenhagen, Portugal, Spain and southern France and Belgium. The unit was part of the British occupation force in France in 1815. In December 1815 the disbandment was ordered and the troops marched back to Hannover, where they were disbanded in early 1816. ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King's German Legion
The King's German Legion (KGL; german: Des Königs Deutsche Legion, semantically erroneous obsolete German variations are , , ) was a British Army unit of mostly expatriated German personnel during the period 1803–16. The legion achieved the distinction of being the only German force to fight without interruption against the French during the Napoleonic Wars. The legion was formed within months of the dissolution of the Electorate of Hanover in 1803 and constituted as a mixed corps by the end of 1803. Although the legion never fought autonomously and remained a part of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars (1804–15), it played a vital role in several campaigns, most notably the Walcheren Campaign, the Peninsular War, and the Hundred Days (1815). The legion was disbanded in 1816. Several of the units were incorporated into the army of the Kingdom of Hanover, and became later a part of the Imperial German Army after unification in 1871. The British German Legion, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Von Ompteda
Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Ompteda (26 November 1765, in Ahlden an der Aller – 18 June 1815, in La Haye Sainte) was a Hanoverian officer of the Napoleonic Wars. Life In 1771, aged six, he was sent to be educated by his uncle Dietrich Heinrich Ludwig von Ompteda (1746–1803) and in 1777 he joined the Royal Corps of Pages at Hannover. In 1781 he became a lieutenant in the foot guards. In 1793 he rose to command a grenadier company in the French Revolutionary Wars, being badly wounded at Mont Cassel. Then in 1794, he went to England with Field Marshal Wilhelm von Freytag. In 1803 he was a major in the Hanoverian guards regiment and, when the Convention of Artlenburg dissolved the Hanoverian army on 5 July that year, he was one of the first to join what became the King's German Legion. In 1805 he led an unsuccessful expedition to northern Germany during the War of the Third Coalition and a year later he and his battalion moved to Gibraltar. In 1807 they moved aga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battalions Of The British Army
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are exclusively infantry, while in others battalions are unit-level organizations. The word battalion came into the English language in the 16th century from the French language ( French: ''bataillon'' meaning "battle squadron"; Italian: ''battaglione'' meaning the same thing; derived from the Vulgar Latin word ''battalia'' meaning "battle" and from the Latin word ''bauttere'' meaning "to beat" or "to strike"). The first use of the word in English was in the 1580s. Description A battalion comprises two or more primary mission companies which are often of a common type (e.g., infantry, tank, or maintenance), although there are exceptions such as combined arms battalions in the U.S. Army. In addition to the primary mission companies, a battalio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warband
Warband may refer to: * A local warrior society * The ancient and medieval Germanic comitatus * '' Mount & Blade: Warband'', an standalone expansion for the video game ''Mount & Blade'' {{disambig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baker Rifle
The Baker rifle (officially known as the Pattern 1800 Infantry Rifle) was a flintlock rifle used by the rifle regiments of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first standard-issue, British-made rifle accepted by the British armed forces. The Baker rifle was first produced in 1800 by Ezekiel Baker, a master gunsmith from Whitechapel. The British Army was still issuing the infantry rifle in the 1830s. History and design The British Army had learnt the value of rifles from their experience in the American Revolutionary War. However, existing rifle designs were considered too cumbersome, slow-firing, fragile or expensive to be put to use on any scale beyond irregular companies. Rifles had been issued on a limited basis and consisted of parts made to no precise pattern, often brought in from Prussia. The war against Revolutionary France resulted in the employment of new tactics, and the British Army responded, albeit with some delay. Prior to the formation of an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shako
A shako (, , or ) is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a visor, and sometimes tapered at the top. It is usually adorned with an ornamental plate or badge on the front, metallic or otherwise; and often has a feather, plume (see hackle) or pompom attached at the top. Origins The word ''shako'' originated from the Hungarian name for the ''peak'', which Hungarian border soldiers ( ''Grenz-Infanterie'') added around 1790 to their previously visorless stovepipe-style hats. Originally these hats were part of the clothing commonly worn by shepherds, before being added to the uniform of the Hungarian hussar in the early 18th century. Other spellings include ''chako'', ''czako'', ''sjako'', ''schako'', ''schakot'' and ''tschako''. From 1800 on, the shako became a common military headdress worn by the majority of regiments in the armies of Europe and the Americas. Replacing in most instances the light bicorne, the shako was initially considered an improvement. Made of heavy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brown Bess Musket
"Brown Bess" is a nickname of uncertain origin for the British Army's muzzle-loading smoothbore flintlock Land Pattern Musket and its derivatives. The musket design remained in use for over a hundred years with many incremental changes in its design. These versions include the Long Land Pattern, the Short Land Pattern, the India Pattern, the New Land Pattern Musket and the Sea Service Musket. The Long Land Pattern musket and its derivatives, all 0.75 inch calibre flintlock muskets, were the standard long guns of the British Empire's land forces from 1722 until 1838, when they were superseded by a percussion cap smoothbore musket. The British Ordnance System converted many flintlocks into the new percussion system known as the Pattern 1839 Musket. A fire in 1841 at the Tower of London destroyed many muskets before they could be converted. Still, the Brown Bess saw service until the middle of the nineteenth century. Most male citizens of the thirteen colonies of British Amer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coatee
A coatee was a type of tight fitting uniform coat or jacket, which was waist length at the front and had short tails behind. The coatee began to replace the long tail coat in western armies at the end of the eighteenth century, but was itself superseded by the tunic in the mid nineteenth century. A coatee, worn with a waistcoat or vest, remains part of formal Highland dress Highland dress is the traditional, regional dress of the Highlands and Isles of Scotland. It is often characterised by tartan (''plaid'' in North America). Specific designs of shirt, jacket, bodice and headwear may also be worn along with clan .... References {{Clothing Coats (clothing) Jackets Military uniforms History of clothing (Western fashion) History of fashion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georg Hartog Gerson
Georg Hartog Gerson (25 August 1788 – 3 December 1844) was a medical doctor and surgeon in the King's German Legion during the Napoleonic Wars. Dr. Gerson was born in Hamburg. He came from a family of doctors who had been living and working in Hamburg and Altona since the 17th century. His grandfather was the principal of the Jewish hospital in Altona, his father and elder brothers were also medical doctors. After his education at home, he visited the secondary grammar school (''Gymnasium'') and specialised in the classical languages and natural sciences (especially in botany). He studied from 1805 at the university of Berlin and from 1809 at the university of Göttingen. Here he got his medical doctorate on 7 April 1810. He habilitated in Hamburg in 1811 and then joined the King's German Legion as ''hospital mate''. Military career As soon as 12 August 1811 he was proposed for the position of ''Assistant Surgeon'' and received this commission on 6 September 1811 for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cuirassiers
Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adopting the use of pistols as their primary weapon. In the later part of the 17th century the cuirassier lost his limb armour and subsequently wore only the cuirass (breastplate and backplate), and sometimes a helmet. By this time, the sword or sabre had become his primary weapon, with pistols relegated to a secondary function. Cuirassiers achieved increased prominence during the Napoleonic Wars and were last fielded in the opening stages of World War I (1914-1918). A number of countries continue to use cuirassiers as ceremonial troops. The French term ''cuirassier'' means "one with a cuirass" ( fr , cuirasse), the breastplate armour which they wore. 16th and 17th centuries The first cuirassiers were similar in appearance to the fully a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Haye Sainte
La Haye Sainte (named either after Jesus Christ's crown of thorns or a bramble hedge round a field nearby) is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment on the Charleroi-Brussels road in Belgium. It has changed very little since it played a crucial part in the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815. La Haye Sainte was defended by about 400 German troops during the Battle of Waterloo. They were hopelessly outnumbered by attacking French troops but held out until the late afternoon when they retired because their ammunition had run out. If Napoleon Bonaparte's army had captured La Haye Sainte earlier in the day, almost certainly he would have broken through the allied centre and defeated the Duke of Wellington's army. The capture of La Haye Sainte in the early evening then gave the French the advantage of a defensible position from which to launch a potentially decisive attack on the Allied centre. However, Napoleon was too late—by this time, Blücher and the Prussia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanover Expedition
The Hanover Expedition, also known as the Weser Expedition, was a British invasion of the Electorate of Hanover during the Napoleonic Wars. Coordinated as part of an attack on France by the nations of the War of the Third Coalition, Third Coalition against Napoleon by William Pitt the Younger and Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, Lord Castlereagh, planning began for an invasion of French territories in July 1805. Hanover, previously a British possession, was chosen as the goal of the expedition, with Swedish and Russian forces under Gustav IV Adolf and Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy brought in to support the endeavour. Key to the success of the invasion was the support of Prussia, a nation poised to threaten France but not as yet openly hostile to the country. George Don (British Army officer), Sir George Don commanded the British expedition and he arrived with an army of around 14,000 men at Cuxhaven in November. To bolster the expedition and to strengthen the resol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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