King's German Legion

The King's German Legion (KGL; ) was a formation of the British Army during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Consisting primarily of expatriate Germans, it existed from 1803 to 1816 and achieved the distinction of being the only German military force to fight without interruption against the French and their allies during the Napoleonic Wars.

Formed within months of the French dissolution of the Electorate of Hanover in 1803, the KGL was constituted as a combined arms corps by the end of the year. Although it never fought autonomously and remained a part of the British army for the duration of the Napoleonic Wars, the KGL played a vital role in several campaigns, most notably the Peninsular War, Walcheren Campaign and Hundred Days.

The KGL was disbanded in 1816, and many of its units were incorporated into the Hanoverian Army, which later became part of the Imperial German Army after the unification of Germany into the German Empire 1871. The British German Legion, raised during the Crimean War, has sometimes been erroneously referred to as the "King's German Legion".

History

After the occupation of Hanover by Napoleonic troops the Convention of Artlenburg, also called the Convention of the Elbe, was signed on 5 July 1803 and formally dissolved the Electorate of Hanover. Consequently, the Elector's army was disbanded. Many former Hanoverian officers and soldiers fled the French occupation of Hanover to Britain; George III, the deposed Elector of Hanover, was also King of the United Kingdom.

The same year, Major Colin Halkett and Colonel Johann Friedrich von der Decken were issued warrants to raise a corps of light infantry, to be named ''The King's German Regiment''. On 19 December 1803, Halkett's and von der Decken's levies were combined as a basis of a mixed corps (includes all arms: mounted, infantry, artillery) renamed the King's German Legion. The KGL infantry were quartered in Bexhill-on-Sea and the cavalry in Weymouth, Dorset. Some units were involved in a street fight in Tullamore, Ireland with a British Light infantry unit in the so-called ''Battle of Tullamore.''

The number of officers and other ranks grew over time to approximately 14,000, but during the 13 years of its existence, close to 28,000 men served in the legion at one time or another. Initially, most of the officers were appointed with temporary rank, but in 1812 all the officers of the legion were given permanent rank in the British Army for "having so frequently distinguished themselves against the enemy". It saw active service as an integral part of the British Army from 1805 to 1816, after which its units were disbanded. In November 1813 Hanover was liberated from French rule and the Hanoverian Army revived. At the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 two distinct Hanoverian forcesthe KGL and the Hanoverian Armyserved under the Duke of Wellington.

Organisation

Cavalry

* 1st Regiment of Dragoons (1804–1812, red jacket)
** ''changed into:'' 1st Regiment of Light Dragoons (1812–1816, blue jacket)
* 2nd Regiment of Dragoons (1805–1812, red jacket)
** ''changed into:'' 2nd Regiment of Light Dragoons (1812–1816, blue jacket)
* 1st Regiment of Hussars
* 2nd Regiment of Hussars
* 3rd Regiment of Hussars

Infantry

* 1st Light Infantry Battalion
* 2nd Light Infantry Battalion
* 1st Line Battalion
* 2nd Line Battalion
* 3rd Line Battalion
* 4th Line Battalion
* 5th Line Battalion
* 6th Line Battalion
* 7th Line Battalion
* 8th Line Battalion

Artillery and engineers

* King's German Artillery
** 2 horse batteries
** 4 foot batteries
* King's German Engineers

Campaigns

Although the legion never fought autonomously or as a single unit, its units participated in campaigns in Hanover, Pomerania, Copenhagen and Walcheren, the Peninsular War under General Sir John Moore; and the retreat to Corunna; the Peninsular Campaign under the Duke of Wellington, including the battles of Bussaco, Barrosa, Fuentes de Onoro, Albuera, Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca, Garcia Hernandez, Burgos, Venta del Pozo, Vittoria, San Sebastian, Nivelle, Orthez, Sicily, and the eastern parts of Spain, Northern Germany and Göhrde.

In the Peninsular Campaign, the Germans enhanced the veteran core of the British army. At Sabugal, in April 1811, several hundred German hussars augmented the Light Division, and the Hussars found the proper ford of the Coa River.
At the Battle of Garcia Hernandez, the Dragoons performed the unusual feat of smashing two French square formations in a matter of minutes.

At the Battle of Waterloo, the 2nd Light Battalion – with members of the 1st Light Battalion and the 5th Line Battalion – defended the farmhouse and road at La Haye Sainte. As the 5th Line Battalion under Oberst Ompteda
was on its way to reinforce the defenders of Haye Sainte, the French cavalry attached to Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon's Corp I rode them down; only a few of the intended relievers survived. After a six-hour defence, without ammunition, or reinforcements, the Germans were forced to abandon the farm, leaving the buildings in shambles and their dead behind.

Legacy

The legion was known for its excellent discipline and fighting ability. The cavalry was reputed to be among the best in the British army. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, the King's German Legion "had such a high degree of professionalism that it was considered equal in every way to the best British units." After the victory at Waterloo, the Electorate of Hanover was re-founded as the Kingdom of Hanover. However, the Army of Hanover had been reconstituted even before the final battle, so that there were two Hanoverian armies in existence including at the Battle of Waterloo. In 1816 the legion was dissolved and some officers and men were integrated into the new Hanoverian army.

Battle honours

* Peninsular War
* Waterloo
* Battle of Venta del Pozo (1st and 2nd Light Infantry Battalion)
* García Hernández (near Salamanca) (1st Regiment of Dragoons )
* El Bodón (1st Regiment of Hussars)
* Barrosa, near Cádiz, Spain (2nd Regiment of Hussars)
* Göhrde (3rd Regiment of Hussars)

Regimental colonels

The following officers served as colonels of the regiment or colonels commandant to KGL units:
;The King's German Legion
* 1803–1816: Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge

;1st Light Dragoons
* 1804–1813: Eberhardt Otto George von Bock
* 1813–1815: John, Count Walmoden Gimborn
* 1815–1816: Wilhelm von Dörnberg

;2nd Light Dragoons
* 1806–1810: Otto, Baron Schutte
* 1810–1814: Claus, Baron Decken
* 1814–1816: Adolphus, Baron Veltheim

;1st Hussars
* 1804–1816: Charles, Baron Linsingen

;2nd Hussars
* 1804–1816: Victor, Baron Alten

;3rd Hussars
* 1804–1810: John, Baron Reden
* 1810–1814: Adolphus, Baron Veltheim
* 1814–1816: Frederick de Arentsschildt

;1st Light Battalion
* 1804–1816: Charles, Count Alten

;2nd Light Battalion
* 1803–1816: Colin Halkett

;1st Line Battalion
* 1803–1816: Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge

;2nd Line Battalion
* 1804–1816: Adolphus, Baron Barsse

;3rd Line Battalion
* 1805–1816: Henry de Hinuber

;4th Line Battalion
* 1804–1809: Ernest, Baron Langwerth
* 1809–1816: Sigismund von Löw

;5th Line Battalion
* 1804–1810: George de Drieberg
* 1810–1813: George Klingsohr
* 1813–1815: Christian Friedrich Wilhelm von Ompteda
* 1815–1816: Louis, Baron Bussche

;6th Line Battalion
* 1804–1816: Augustus Honstedt

;7th Line Battalion
* 1806–1816: Frederick, Baron Dreschel

;8th Line Battalion
* 1804–1816: Peter du Plat

;Foreign Veteran Battalion
* 1814–1816: Claus, Baron Decken

;King's German Artillery
* 1803–1816: Friedrich von der Decken

Memorials

* Plaques on the outside wall of
* Monument opposite commemorating the dead of the KGL
* Hanover – the Waterloo Column
* Hanover – a statue of Carl von Alten stands in front of the archives near the Waterloo Plaza that surrounds the Waterloo Column
* Hanover – also near the archives is a plaque commemorating Major Georg Baring
* Hanover – the () crossing the river Ihme was originally named (), but was renamed for the KGL in 1945
* Osnabrück – the , formally called () commemorating the officers and soldiers of the KGL
* Commemorative stone at Wittingen, Lower Saxony with inscription
* On the Gehrdener mountain is a stone commemorating Carl Ludewig von Holle, fallen in Waterloo
* On the monument for the Battle of Vittoria is a plaque for the KGL

German army

After the unification of Germany, some of the old KGL units that had served in the Hanoverian Army were perpetuated in the Imperial German Army, which eventually led to their serving in the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht. These were:
* Kavallerie-Regiment 13–1st Regiment of Light Dragoons
* Kavallerie-Regiment 13–2nd Regiment of Light Dragoons
* Kavallerie-Regiment 14–1st Regiment of Hussars
* Infanterie-Regiment 16–1st Line Battalion
* Infanterie-Regiment 17–1st Light Battalion

See also

* British military history
* Russian–German Legion
* Portuguese Legion (Napoleonic Wars)

References

Sources

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Further reading

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External links

King's German Legion
(in German) 2nd light battalion and 5th line battalion re-enactment society

King's German Legion
(in German) 5th line battalion re-enactment group

King´s German Legion
(in German) 5th line battalion (grenadier company) re-enactment group

King's German Legion
(in German & English)

King's German Legion
(English) Memoirs of Baron von Ompteda (download)

King's German Legion
(English)"Journal of an officer in the King's German Legion"

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Military units and formations disestablished in 1816
19th-century military history of the United Kingdom
German military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars
British military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars
Military units and formations established in 1803
German regiments in British Service
Foreign regiments in British Service