The Hanover Expedition, also known as the Weser Expedition, was a British invasion of the
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...
during the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. Coordinated as part of an attack on France by the nations of the
Third Coalition
The War of the Third Coalition)
* In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...
against
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
by
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...
and
Lord Castlereagh
Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician ...
, 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
Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland.
The occupation of Finland in 1808–09 ...
and
Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy
Count Alexander Ivanovich Count Osterman-Tolstoy (Russian: Александр Иванович Остерман-Толстой; 1770 – 12 February 1857) was a Russian nobleman and soldier in the era of the French Revolutionary Wars. He belonged ...
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.
Sir George Don commanded the British expedition and he arrived with an army of around 14,000 men at
Cuxhaven
Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...
in November. To bolster the expedition and to strengthen the resolve of Prussia, Don's army was reinforced by 12,000, with
Lord Cathcart
Earl Cathcart is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
History
The title was created in 1814 for the soldier and diplomat William Cathcart, 1st Viscount Cathcart. The Cathcart family descends from Sir Alan Cathcart, who sometime be ...
taking over command.
Coordination between the British, Swedes, and Russians in Hanover was so poor that by December very little past the occupation of Hanover had been achieved. Cathcart grouped his force around the
Weser
The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...
, and soon after learned of the Austro-Russian defeat at the
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in ...
, which forced the Austrians to surrender and the Russians to retreat into Poland. With no large armies now protecting Cathcart's force from French attack, the situation was exacerbated when Prussia signed the
Treaty of Schönbrunn
The Treaty of Schönbrunn (french: Traité de Schönbrunn; german: Friede von Schönbrunn), sometimes known as the Peace of Schönbrunn or Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria at Schönbrunn Palace near Vienna on 14 October 1 ...
with France, which created an alliance between the two nations and agreed that Prussia should control Hanover. With French and Prussian forces moving against Hanover, Cathcart's army was recalled in January 1806. The evacuation was completed on 15 February, and Hanover was left to the occupation of a Prussian army. The expedition, while a total failure, had little effect on the British position because of the lack of combat. Its method of quick amphibious transportation and landings of troops on a foreign shore would go on to be imitated in the
Walcheren Expedition
The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham ...
in 1809.
Background
In the first years of the
French Revolutionary
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...
and
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
Britain found increased difficulty in engaging France in land battles. With British control of the seas and with many of the French colonies already taken because of this, France provided little opportunity for Britain to attack her apart from at sea. The small
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
was not equipped to engage in an invasion of the highly defended French mainland, and so continued to rely on the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
's blockade of
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...
as the best way to impact the French at home. This outlook changed in 1803 when Austria and Russia allied themselves to Britain as part of the
Third Coalition
The War of the Third Coalition)
* In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...
. With more militarily impressive allies now available to take the war to France on land, the British Army would be able to do the same, safe in the knowledge that it would not be engaging the French armies alone. This combined with the creation of the
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 th ...
in 1804 produced an opportunity for new British Army operations. In around October 1805
Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom
Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom at the start of the War of the Third Coalition, although never carried out, was a major influence on British naval strategy and the fortification of the coast of southeast England. French attempt ...
was called off and the French army left its encampments at
Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
to march towards the Russians and Austrians.
With the largest portions of the French army gone, an opening was created for a British incursion into North-West Germany, with particular interest in the re-taking of the
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...
, which
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
had controlled until 1803, and which had only 4,000 French troops remaining in it. The British
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
,
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...
, and his
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British cabinet-level position responsible for the army and the British colonies (other than India).
The Secretary was supported by an Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
Hist ...
Lord Castlereagh
Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician ...
, were strong supporters of the enterprise, having championed it from as early as July. They envisaged an amphibious army that could be landed at points across Napoleonic Europe, making "pinprick" attacks against enemy targets while avoiding large battles with the French that could result in "crippling defeat". With news of the French withdrawal having reached Britain before its culmination, Castlereagh began planning in September. By taking Hanover, Britain could restore the country to its rightful rulers while also gaining a useful springboard for further operations in Europe. Not all of the establishment was in favour of the endeavour, with the
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
The Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, later Commander-in-Chief, British Army, or just the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C), was (intermittently) the professional head of the English Army from 1660 to 1707 (the English Army, founded in 1645, was suc ...
, the
Duke of York
Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...
, relying on his experience in the
Flanders campaign
The Flanders Campaign (or Campaign in the Low Countries) was conducted from 20 April 1792 to 7 June 1795 during the first years of the War of the First Coalition. A coalition of states representing the Ancien Régime in Western Europe – Aus ...
, arguing that expeditions that relied too much on the allies' actions would be difficult.
Planning
![Graf Johann Friedrich von der Decken 1769-1840](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Graf_Johann_Friedrich_von_der_Decken_1769-1840.jpg)
Castlereagh estimated that the retirement of the French armies from the
Channel coast had freed up between 40,000 and 60,000 British soldiers for service abroad. With this in mind, original estimates for an expedition planned for a large "disposable force" commanded by Lieutenant-General
Lord Cathcart
Earl Cathcart is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
History
The title was created in 1814 for the soldier and diplomat William Cathcart, 1st Viscount Cathcart. The Cathcart family descends from Sir Alan Cathcart, who sometime be ...
. This would have included two divisions of cavalry, one of
light dragoons
The Light Dragoons (LD) is a cavalry regiment in the British Army. The regiment has a light cavalry role and specialises in mounted and dismounted reconnaissance. The Light Dragoons recruit mainly in Northern England, from the counties of Northu ...
and the other of
heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a Military reserve, tactical reserve; they are also often termed ''shock cavalry''. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the re ...
, consisting of 9,600 men. Alongside the cavalry plans called for seven divisions of infantry, including four
battalion
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 ...
s of
Foot Guards and forty of
line infantry
Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Monte ...
. These divisions would have each had around 5,000 men, and would have been supported by a
light infantry
Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...
brigade of four more infantry battalions, six brigades of
Royal Horse Artillery
The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link ...
, and ten brigades of
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
. Military historian
C. T. Atkinson suggests that this force, if it had come to fruition, would have been "a really formidable effort".
This large army, while viable on paper, would have been very difficult to form up and transport in reality, and so on 10 October a much smaller army was hastily brought together to cross the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
under the command of Lieutenant-General
Sir George Don, who was expected to also instigate diplomatic connections with the allied nations. While the original plan had expected the creation of multiple divisions, Don's force was instead made up of two cavalry and six infantry regiments of the King's German Legion (KGL) which were controlled by Brigadier-General
Friedrich von der Decken
Graf Johann Friedrich von der Decken (25 May 1769 – 22 May 1840) was a Hanoverian general and diplomat during the Napoleonic Wars.
Life
The von der Deckens are an old noble family in Lower Saxony which produced several officers for the forc ...
, a brigade of Foot Guards under Major-General
Edward Finch, and a brigade of line infantry under Major-General
Edward Paget
General Sir Edward Paget (3 November 1775 – 13 May 1849) was a British Army officer.
Career
Born the fourth son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, Edward Paget became a cornet in the 1st Regiment of Life Guards in 1792. He was Member o ...
. This totalled between 12,000 and 14,000 men, and Don received his final orders on 16 October. Von der Decken planned the operation, ensuring that the force would be transported quickly to avoid the coming of the harsh northern winter that would freeze the ports and rivers necessary in disembarking the troops.
It was initially planned that Don would go ahead of his force to ensure that they would receive a positive welcome upon their landing, but this duty was instead taken by the politician
Lord Harrowby on 25 October. Harrowby's mission was to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and the court of Prussia, with the intention of enticing that nation into joining the Third Coalition. He was authorised to offer a gift of £2,500,000 to ensure this. Castlereagh believed that only the wavering support of Prussia could stop Don's expedition from being successful, and by the end of October it was thought that Prussia's entry into the conflict was imminent. Pitt, in turn, was of the mind that success could bring about "Bonaparte's army either cut off or driven back to France".
Expedition
Initial landing
It was expected that Don's force would sail immediately, but with the wind against them their
troopship
A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...
s only succeeded in arriving at
Cuxhaven
Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...
on 19 November. The crossing was difficult, and at least five ships did not complete it, spending seventeen days at sea before returning to
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...
with a portion of the KGL cavalry still on board. The expedition went on despite this loss. A Swedish force of 10,000 men paid for by Britain was poised to attack from
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...
, and they were joined by 20,000 Russians under Lieutenant-General
Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy
Count Alexander Ivanovich Count Osterman-Tolstoy (Russian: Александр Иванович Остерман-Толстой; 1770 – 12 February 1857) was a Russian nobleman and soldier in the era of the French Revolutionary Wars. He belonged ...
. The British were not the first part of the Third Coalition to enter Hanover, as a Russian force had earlier arrived to blockade
Hamelin
Hamelin ( ; german: Hameln ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
H ...
, still garrisoned by the French and the only position left to them. Despite this Don's army received a warm welcome, and they quickly secured lines of supplies, while the KGL took advantage of being back in Germany to increase their numbers with local recruits. Four infantry battalions, two of the KGL and two of line infantry, were sent to join the Russians at Hamelin, while other portions of the force were split off to go to the
Ems and
Weser
The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...
rivers. The neutral Prussian army had also entered French-controlled lands, south of Hanover, commanded by the
Duke of Brunswick
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
, but quickly looked for their forces to be replaced by those of the coalition.
Don's position on the continent was tenuous but not immediately threatened. Napoleon had beaten an Austrian army, that did not wait for Russian assistance before advancing, at the
Battle of Ulm
The Battle of Ulm on 16–19 October 1805 was a series of skirmishes, at the end of the Ulm Campaign, which allowed Napoleon I to trap an entire Austrian army under the command of Karl Freiherr Mack von Leiberich with minimal losses and to fo ...
, but in doing so had stretched his lines of communication too far and was unable to advance further, giving time for Britain's allies to reinforce their armies. When fully organised, Don's force stretched in a line between the Weser and
Verden, supported with Tolstoy's Russians to the right of him. While still not part of the Third Coalition, Prussia was on increasingly poor terms with France because of incursions made by the French into
Ansbach
Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, a ...
, and Pitt hoped that Prussia would join the Coalition because of this. With Napoleon placed just to the south of Prussian lands, an advance by a Prussian army would put him in a very precarious situation. Realising this, Pitt decided to strengthen the British expeditionary force, hoping this would entice Prussia into more warlike actions. The diplomatic situation was complicated because Prussia also coveted Hanover, and Napoleon had offered it to Prussia in return for aggression towards Austria. Despite this difficulty, Pitt and Castlereagh were encouraged by the absence of the expected harsh winter weather and continued to move forward with their plans.
Expedition expanded
![1stEarlCathcart](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/1stEarlCathcart.jpg)
While Pitt decided on his next actions, Don began to plan an attack into Holland alongside Tolstoy. Their plan was slowed by the reticence of the Swedish force and the continuing confusion surrounding the intentions of the Prussians. Tolstoy eventually decided that he could not invest enough men into an invasion and ensure the continued blockade of Hamelin, and no attack took place. It was afterwards decided that Don's force, then spread about, would be brought together as one
field army
A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, and with ...
. On 27 November this new command was given to Cathcart, who would bring 12,000 reinforcements with him to bolster his army. Don was superseded, but continued with the army as its second in command. Cathcart, who had been preparing to serve as
ambassador-extraordinary to Russia and Prussia, was titled "Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in Northern Europe", and was given control over Russian, Swedish, or Prussian troops as well. Harrowby began reporting that the Prussians were inclining towards neutrality in the conflict.
Cathcart was issued his orders on 5 December, which expected him to work to the best of his abilities with the armies of the allied nations, but not endanger Hanover. Despite this aggressive step, Cathcart was also warned to take caution in his warlike manoeuvres; even if he put his army under the command of another force, such as that of
Gustav IV Adolf
Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland.
The occupation of Finland in 1808–09 ...
of Sweden at Stralsund, he was allowed to refuse action if he deemed it too dangerous. Castlereagh even suggested that Cathcart attempt to link up with the main Russian army advancing from the east, but this was a logistically difficult proposition. Cathcart arrived at Cuxhaven on 15 December, making his headquarters at
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
. He began to prepare for the upcoming campaign, discussing how to communicate if the rivers of
Heligoland
Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...
should freeze over, considering whether to advance on Holland or the
Lower Rhine
The Lower Rhine (german: Niederrhein; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the river Rhine) flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland, Netherlands (including the Nederrijn or "Nether Rhine" within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta); al ...
, and bringing his army together around the Weser. Before being withdrawn, the units stationed at Hamelin briefly skirmished with the defending French on 22 December, marking the only combat engaged by any of the force. Word of the
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in ...
threw Cathcart's plans into confusion. There on 2 December a Russo-Austrian army had been soundly defeated by Napoleon, and Austria had surrendered in consequence, with both allied armies all but destroyed. The chance of Prussia entering the conflict was heavily diminished, and the remaining Russian forces began to withdraw towards Poland.
Offensive breaks down
Cathcart had come ahead of his reinforcements, and their ships only arrived in the Weser on 27 December, with two divisions under Lieutenant-Generals
Francis Dundas
General Francis Dundas (c. 1759 – 15 January 1824) was a British general and acting governor of the Cape Colony between 1798 and 1803.
Francis Dundas was the second son of Robert Dundas of Arniston and Jean Grant, and the nephew of Henry D ...
and
George Ludlow. In these were four infantry brigades, commanded by Major-Generals
Rowland Hill
Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...
,
Sir Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...
,
Alexander Mackenzie Fraser
Lieutenant General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser (1758 – 13 September 1809) was a British General. He was known as ''Mackenzie'' until he took additional name of ''Fraser'' in 1803.
Family and early life
Th ...
, and
John Coape Sherbrooke
General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, (29 April 1764 – 14 February 1830) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, the Netherlands, India, the Mediterranean (including Sicily), and Spa ...
, with three companies of Royal Artillery and some
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
attached. The news of Austerlitz reached Britain on 28 December, but it was still hoped that Prussia would not cease fighting against France, and that Russia might hold on in the west. Without the larger Russian and Austrian armies standing as a buffer between the French forces and Cathcart's army, the latter's position in Hanover became untenable. Despite its now increasingly precarious position, Cathcart's force was kept in Hanover in the hope that its presence might still encourage the Prussians, and an uneasy cooperation with the Prussian General
Count von Kalckreuth continued. The reinforcements in the Weser landed and joined Cathcart's army, despite there being no clear view of what they might be used for.
This injection of new troops was not the boon it might have been for Cathcart, because on top of the decaying strategic situation, the troopships had sailed through rough weather in the North Sea. Hardly any of the battalions embarked succeeded in reaching Cathcart whole; the troopship ''Ariadne'', carrying the headquarters party and 300 men of the
9th Regiment of Foot
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
, was
wrecked near
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...
and all on board were taken as
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
. The same happened to half of the
5th Regiment of Foot, while losses were also encountered in the
3rd
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
,
30th, and
89th Regiments of Foot, the latter of which lost 150 men killed and a further 150 captured. The
26th Regiment of Foot
The 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the Scots Army and subsequently a Scottish infantry regiment of the British Army, active from 1689 to 1881. Although the regiment took the name of its first colonel as James Dougla ...
was the hardest hit in the crossing, with one troopship being wrecked on the
Goodwin Sands
Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Upper Chalk platform belonging to the same geologi ...
with the loss of all on board, and another wrecked off the coast of Holland, totalling between them 500 deaths. Other units were also depleted, but not by shipwrecks, with over 1,000 men returning to Britain when ships were unable to reach their destination. Only the
28th and
36th Regiments of Foot succeeded in arriving substantially intact, but large portions of Cathcart's reinforcements were so badly depleted that they were incapable of further operations, with over 1,000 people having been killed.
Cathcart could do little with his new troops, and had further problems with the local intelligence. On 28 December Castlereagh complained that the situation in Hanover was almost unknown to him, being reliant on French and Dutch newspapers more than anything. In some ways, Cathcart's army knew less than him; Wellesley reported around the same time that "they appear to have very little intelligence in this place, except what they receive from England".
Evacuation
![Rheinbund 1806, political map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Rheinbund_1806%2C_political_map.png)
Prussian troops were still present in Hanover, dating from the period before Austerlitz when Prussia was considering more offensive actions against France. Despite Prussia being the reason for Cathcart's continued presence on the continent, he was unimpressed with them, writing that they were "strong numerically, but not in quality". Cathcart kept his army in Hanover in the hope that Russia would continue to fight and that Prussia would finally officially enter the conflict, but he also began to plan routes of retreat, expecting that if the rivers froze and they were not able to sail home, that the army could march towards
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held ...
. The army continued in its positions, awaiting official instructions from Britain. By 29 December the state of Cathcart's allies was so poor that Castlereagh admitted to him that the possibility of supporting them with the British force was now completely gone.
Castlereagh was aware of Cathcart's difficulties, writing to him that he should continue to support the Russians and Prussians where possible, but that the Prussians were untrustworthy and he should not go on the offensive unless Prussian assistance was guaranteed. Prussia was also suspected of plotting to force Cathcart to leave the German soldiers of the KGL in Hanover under Prussian command. Castlereagh and Cathcart were both heavily resistant to this, and the latter ensured that in the case of an evacuation the KGL would leave first. Pitt's health was severely declining and he had retired to
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
; with the prime minister unavailable, the
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
began to send troopships to Cathcart in preparation for an evacuation. The remaining troopships at
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...
waiting to make the voyage to Hanover had their men disembarked on 30 December, and were instead sent as part of this force. On 5 January 1806 it was decided that no more troops would be sent to Hanover. Two days later it was discovered that on 14 December Prussia had ratified the
Treaty of Schönbrunn
The Treaty of Schönbrunn (french: Traité de Schönbrunn; german: Friede von Schönbrunn), sometimes known as the Peace of Schönbrunn or Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria at Schönbrunn Palace near Vienna on 14 October 1 ...
, a defensive and offensive alliance with France in which Prussia was given leave to occupy Hanover. Prussia also began to withdraw Tolstoy's force, which had been left under its auspices by the retreating
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
The son of ...
. With Prussia now advancing to occupy Hanover with 50,000 men and with rumours growing that a French force of three divisions was preparing to attack from Holland, orders were sent for Cathcart to evacuate on 19 January.
Cathcart received his instructions at the end of the month, and quickly put them into effect. His army by this time had grown to 26,643 men because of recruitment by the KGL which resulted in it returning to Britain with more battalions and depots than it had left with; only around 14,000 were British infantry. The first to leave were the KGL and the four British battalions that had been most weakened in the crossings of the North Sea. By 12 February the last of the army had been embarked, and Cathcart left Hanover on 15 February. Von der Decken, who had served the expedition as
quartermaster general to both the British and Russian forces, stayed behind to ensure that all British debts were paid. He finally returned in May.
Aftermath
![Evacuation de Walcheren par les Anglais - 30 août 1809 - Composition de PHILIPPOTEAUX](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Evacuation_de_Walcheren_par_les_Anglais_-_30_ao%C3%BBt_1809_-_Composition_de_PHILIPPOTEAUX.jpg)
With the British force gone and the Russians under Prussian control, Hanover was occupied by Prussia. In Britain, the remains of Cathcart's force were split up along the south coast of England to serve as a deterrent to invasion. Prussia was forced by France to close all its north German ports to British traffic, and this caused Britain to declare war on Prussia on 21 April. The expedition was the last military endeavour planned and orchestrated by Pitt. It had achieved nothing, but had not been a great loss of men or material, and Castlereagh would later write that he was well satisfied with Cathcart's actions, war-related losses having been minor. Some senior generals in the army were angered by the failure of the expedition, feeling that its control by civilian politicians trying to be military experts had caused its failure. Critics suggested that if the expedition had been sent to join Lieutenant-General
Sir James Craig's Anglo-Russian occupation of Naples
The Anglo-Russian occupation of Naples was the stationing of British and Russian forces in the Kingdom of Naples from the summer of 1805 until January 1806 during the War of the Third Coalition.
Background
A previous cooperation in July 1799 be ...
then Britain might have had one successful expedition instead of two failures. Positively, however, Hanover had shown that the navy could transport large groups of soldiers across seas at short notice, and in relatively good order barring bad weather.
Lessons were, however, not fully learned. Pitt died on 23 January, having been further weakened by the knowledge that Britain was alone in war against France, her allies defeated and the British once more pushed from the continent. His government was replaced, and future expeditions with equally poor results, such as the
Walcheren Expedition
The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham ...
, would be launched in imitation of the Hanover Expedition. Castlereagh's disposable force of 30,000 men remained in existence, but by March 1807 it had dwindled to 12,000 men, with the fleet of troopships created to assist in transporting it dispersed for other uses.
Opinions on the expedition have been varied. Atkinson argues that the failure of the expedition was the fault of Britain's allies on the continent, rather than the politicians who had ordered the endeavour. Pitt and Castlereagh had reacted quickly to the opportunity to attack Germany, and Atkinson says that the Austrians and Russians made enough mistakes that Napoleon was able to take advantage and defeat them; without them Cathcart's army could do, and did, nothing. On the other hand, military historian
Sir John Fortescue John Fortescue may refer to:
* Sir John Fortescue (judge) (c. 1394–1479), English lawyer and judge, MP for Tavistock, Totnes, Plympton Erle and Wiltshire
* Sir John Fortescue of Salden (1531/1533–1607), third Chancellor of the Exchequer of Engl ...
is more critical of the expedition, describing it as an "egregious farce". However, he agrees that the plan behind the expedition was sound in theory, its execution being let down by the rulers of the allied nations; while complimentary to Pitt's attempts to strike a blow against France, he is derisory of the other leaders, calling those of Russia and Sweden "insane", that of Prussia "contemptible", and Austria "weak". This need to rely on the actions of Britain's allies in order to succeed has been echoed by historian
Alexander Mikaberidze
Alexander Mikaberidze ( ka, ალექსანდრე მიქაბერიძე; born 27 January 1978) is a Georgian lawyer, author and historian who specializes in Napoleonic studies. He is a full professor of history and social scien ...
. Glover writes succinctly that "
he British
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
had enlisted a few hundred recruits for the King's German Legion, they had offended the King of Prussia, but they had not caused Napoleon a moment's worry". The Third Coalition completed its final collapse in July 1806.
British Expeditionary Force
Notes and citations
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Conflicts in 1805
Campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars
Battles of the War of the Third Coalition
Amphibious operations involving the United Kingdom
Electorate of Hanover
Military campaigns involving France