The Guelphic Legion (german: Welfenlegion) was an irregular, volunteer military unit founded and maintained at the expense of the deposed

Welf Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to: *Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious *Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau *Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...

king George V of Hanover, after the annexation of the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Ha ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

in 1866.

History

After the Austro-Prussian War, in the autumn of 1866, victorious Prussia annexed four former allies of the defeated

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

forces north of the Main line: Hanover as well as

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

, and the Free City of Frankfurt. While the former kingdom was incorporated as the

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position ...

without any referendum or consultation; protests by the affected population led to the foundation of the anti-Prussian

German-Hanoverian Party The German-Hanoverian Party (german: Deutsch-Hannoversche Partei, DHP), also known as the Guelph Party (german: Welfenpartei), was a conservative, federalist political party in the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. History The party was fou ...

. Upon the Hanoverian surrender after the Battle of Langensalza on 29 June 1866, the kingdom was occupied by Prussian troops and formally annexed on September 20. During the

Luxembourg Crisis The Luxembourg Crisis (german: Luxemburgkrise, french: Crise luxembourgeoise) was a diplomatic dispute and confrontation in 1867 between France and Prussia over the political status of Luxembourg. The confrontation almost led to war between the ...

between Prussia and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in spring 1867, a rising number of Hanoverian soldiers gathered at

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

at the behest of exiled King George V and his newly established court at the ''Villa Hügel'' in

Hietzing Hietzing () is the 13th municipal District of Vienna (german: 13. Bezirk, Hietzing). It is located west of the central districts, west of Meidling. Hietzing is a heavily populated urban area with many residential buildings, but also contains lar ...

near

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. However, when a war was once again averted by the Treaty of London signed on May 11, the Dutch government ordered all foreign troops to leave the country. After being raised as a sizeable force, the Legion migrated to Switzerland, where its numbers swelled to 700. King George V, who never abandoned his claim to the Hanoverian throne, continued to maintain the Legion at his own expense while in exile in France. In February 1868 the unit moved from Switzerland to France at the same time as George V and

Marie of Saxe-Altenburg Marie of Saxe-Altenburg (Alexandrina Mary Wilhelmina Catherine Charlotte Theresa Henrietta Louise Pauline Elizabeth Frederica Georgina; german: Alexandrine Marie Wilhelmine Katharine Charlotte Theresia Henriette Luise Pauline Elisabeth Frieder ...

celebrated their silver wedding anniversary in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. In 1869 the

Prussian House of Representatives The Prussian House of Representatives (german: Preußisches Abgeordnetenhaus) was the lower chamber of the Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the upper house, the House of ...

passed a law sequestering the funds of the former King of Hanover (''Welfenfonds'') in retaliation for his enmity and deployment of the Guelphic Legion. The Guelphic Legion was formally dissolved on 15 April 1870. Each of the 1,400 legionnaires received 400 francs upon discharge and additional traveling expenses as needed. Many returned to Hanover, but some migrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

or to other parts of Europe. George V, unreconciled and embittered, died in Paris on 12 June 1878.

References

{{reflist House of Hanover Military units and formations of Germany Military units and formations established in 1866 Military units and formations disestablished in 1870 1866 establishments in the Netherlands