mmDMILITARY MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES 44

NAPOLEON'S GERMANALLIES 1 WESTFALIA

A D KLEVE-BERG

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OTTO YON PI\'KA RICK SCOLLI:\'S

:lYi!/;0ll'oll.i· qmllflll Jfllil'.1 (;): "U1'.lf!iJlifl fllIIl 1(/n'I'-"Bng

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(.fen/If/II ru'1//ies

THE KINGDO~I OF WESTFALl AAND THE GRAND DUCHY OF

KLEVE·BERG

The emergence of revolutionary France as ana,gll:rcssi,'c and capable milit:lI)' power <1\ the endof the eighteenth century. caused the collapse ofthe Holy Roman Empire (:I loose coalition ofGerman states, US1l3 II)' under Ausl ria's leadership)..\u:.tria's dcfc:.tt at the Battle ofl-lohClllindcn. on3 December 1800. created a power vacuuIn in thear~a now known as Germany, and Napoleon lostlillie lime in transforming this neutralized zoneinlo a pro. French 'cordo" sa"ila;rt" bel ween Franceand her traditional eastern enemies Austria,Prussia, and Russia. In 1803 France occupit-dHano\'cr; in 1805 France and Bavaria defeatedAustria and Russia at 1m ('7 OctOber (805) and.\uslcrlitz (2 December 1805). As a rinal step intht creation of the 'cordOIl sDnitnirt', Napoleonformed a Confederalion of the Rhinc (OcrRheinbund) which was cvcntually to include thefollowing sta les: Fra nce: the kingdoms of Ba varia>Saxon)'. Wcstfalia and Wtiruembcrg; the duchiesofKle\·c.Berg, Warsaw, Baden, Hessen-DarmstadtOldenburg: and lhe principalities of Sachscn­"'dmar, Sachsen-Coburg Saalfcld, Sachscn­GOlha-.\Itcnburg. Sachsen-H ildburghauscn,Sachsen·i\ teiningen, Schwan.burg-R udolstadt,Sch\\an.burg-Sondershauscn. the five Houses ofReuss, ~lecklenburg-Schwerin. Mecklcnburg­Strelitz, Waldeck, Anhah-Bcrnburg, Anhalt­Ocssau. Allhalt-KOlhen. Hohellzollern­Hechingen, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringcll, Lippe­DCllllold. Schaumburg-Lippe, Iscnburg, Leycn.

Lichtenstein, Wi.irL.burg: and the city statl-OS ofFrankfurt and Erfurt.

Confusing as lhis list may appear, it greatlysimplified the situation which had existL-d prior to,Boo, when there had been an cven greaternumber of tilly. independent statl'S wililinGermany,

Grand Duchy of Kleve-BergNapoleon decreed the formation of lhe GrandDuchy of Berg on 14 November 1808. This was arearra ngelllent of lcrri tory su bscq llem 10 the dona­lion of Hanover to I'rllssia by France on 15December lBo5. III exchangc. Prussia ga\'c upKlc\'e and the fortrcss of \Vesel. Furthcrmorc,Bavaria released Ansbach and the HerL.oglulllIkrg to Napolcon. who rewarded the BavarianPrincc Elector "'ith Austrian lands and thc lith: ofKing. Napoleon united Klc\'eand Bcrg, nominatedDusseldorf to be the capital, and gave the throne

G......d Ih>chy or 8<."1;' Bas: duip 1807. Thc cotoun! ..... n:dand whjl~, with sold ~....bro;dery

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2 The Dep;utmelll of the SiegII consists of \ \'indeck and part of Blankenberg; ofthe Baronies ofHolllburg. Cimborn~NeustadtandWildenburg; of Ihe Principalities of Siegen andDillenburg, in Iht' laller case with the exception ofBurbach which will go to Nassau: of tile baronyof Ikilstein and the Principality of Hadalllar: ofthOSt· parts of till: Herrschaft('n of Schadcck andRunkel which lie on tht right bank of the Lahn:and of the Hcm:chaft of Wcsterbllrg.

Popu la tion: 133.0;0 soulsC"pital: DillenburgIt will bl' di\·id('d into two districts: Siegcn.

Dillenburg.

Ihe lands vac:.lted by the Duke of~assau Vilich:\\'olkenburg: Delltz; of the BaroniL"S of Broich.St~rllm and H:trelenberg of the Herrlichkeiten:Ehen: Essen: and Werden: and of those parIS ofthe Duchy ofKlc\'e which lie on the right bank ofthe Rhine with the exception of the French-ruledlown of \Vesel and the arc;t belonging to it, andthe Districts of H uisscn, Sevenacr and Malburgcnwhich will go to Holland.

Population: 322.28+ soulsCa pi ta I: DlisscldorfIt will be divided inlO four dist ricts: Dllsseldorf.

Elberfeld. ~llilheim. Essen .

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O.,cr~ concern;nA ,h., "um.ber OfcfI ..scriplS 10 be "';1I~ inIhe Rhineland when the area w ... under Fr"'nc:h con'rol

10 his brothn·in-law,Joachim l\lurat.I:Hl'r Kingof Naples. Alia the Pe:lce of Tilsit the grandduchy received the duchies of ~tark and Don·Inllnd from Prussia.

The decree of 14 November 1808 fe.ads Lhus:

AT TilE IMPERIAL IlEADQ.UARTERS IS nCRGOS,

14 NOVEMBER 1808

Napoleoll, 1:':III/mQr of Ihe Frel/ch, King if IllIb" Pro­(trfQr of tht Rheillbu1Ir1. Grand-Dlike oj Klett alit!IJrf,!!. tic.

0" til, submission ofour miniSI" ofInt Grand Due/I)'oj fltrg and Ill, Slate unat" U't nal'( dtriJtd asJOIJOlL'S .-

First ArtidtThe Gr:lIld Duchy of lkrg will be di"idt.'d mtofour departments.

I The Departmenl of the RhineIt will consist of Ihe old Duchy of Ikrg with th('('xcqJtion of Windeck and part ofBlankenb('rg; of

3 The l)ep;lrIment oflh{' RuhrIt consists of I he Coullties of ~ 1:.1 rL:. Dortm und andLimburg. part of the Principality of ~hinstcr:

the Herrschaft Rheda and of the town ofLippstadtand its area.

Population: '2 I '2,602 soulsCapital: DortmundIt will bcdividcd into threcdistricls: Dortmund.Hagcn, Hamill.

4 The DepartmcllI of the Ems1t consists of the grealer part of the Principality of~Hinstcr: of the Counties of Horstmar andRlwina-Wolbeck: of the Counties ofSteinfurt andIkntheim: and of the COUlllit:s of Lingcll and·recklenburg.

Population: 210,'201 soulsCapital: 1\·1 i.insterIt will bl' divided illlo thl'('(' districlS: ~liil1ster.

Cocsfcld. Li ngen.

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Arlidr :1

The call10ns and parishes of which the districtswill consist, and the bordns of the Departll1ents.are drawn on the attached map.

Ar/ide .1Our 1ll111lSter.i III the Grand Duchy of Berg arecharged with the execution of this decree.

Si.~ned: Napoleon

By this time the grand duchy had a nc\V ruler..\apolcon himself. Murat had left llerg under adecree of 15 Jlily 1808 lO become King of Naples.:\ decree of3 jI, la rch I 80g gave Berg '0 Ihe youngnephew of the Emperor, Louis. the eldest san ofthe King of Holland. Napoleon became Regelltuntil the boy should become of age. Bya Senatedecree of 13 December t81 0, the grand duchy lostthe north-cast part of the Principali t)' of i\ I linster.and all parts of the Department of the Ems. Thl'selost provinces became French Dcpanmt·nts. III1811, however, it was increased again by theaddition of the Duchy of Rccklinghauscll andpart of the Amt of Dli1men. Berg remained sountil its dissolution in t813.

Kingdom of WestfaliaThe process of fonnaliOIl of the kingdom of West­fodia \Vilssoillcwhal simpler. This state \\'as born atIhe Peace ofTilsit, and was a gift by Napoleon to.Jerome, his favourite brolher. An imperi<ll decr('eof 15 )1ovemb('r 1807 from Fontainebkau an­nounced the cOllStitution of the llew stall:. KingJerome decreed the forma tion or the Departmentsof this kingdom in a decree fmm Kassel. itscapital. on 24- December 1807:

IlIlhe III/fau: of Kassel 21 December /80711·1' I-Iieroll)'l/IuS ;\falwl,"oll. elr

ordrr Ilta/llte Kin.e,dolll oj IVestfitli(l J'!wll hI'dil'idl'f! iI/to eigltt DelHlrtlllellls:

1 The Department of the ElbeIt will consist or the greatcst part of the Duchy or)'lagdcburg: of the Duchy or Barby: or the.-\etlltcrn of Gommcrsch, which has comc fromSaxony: of the Ah Mark; of the Brunswick Am!

Cah-orde and the Amt Weserlingen.

Flag of Ihe Sih W""lfalian Line Infanlry br.ing parad«l inHaTnburg in 1809'. pri"l. (C. Suhr)

Population: '153,'110 pcopleCapital: MagdeburgIt will be di\!ided intO lour districts: ~'I'lag:dc­

burg. Nellpaldenslcben, Stendal. Salzwcdtl.

'2 The Depanment of FuldaIt will consist of a part of Nieder-Hessen: theSla Ie Il.al/dl or Padcrborn ; or tbe a reas or Carvey:of the Amt Rcckenburg: of the COullty ofRietberg Kaunilz: and the AI11I of i'vlundcn.

Population: 239.50'2 pcopleCapilal: KasselIt will be divided into three districls: Kassel.

Hoxter, Paderborn.

3 The Dcpanmcill of the HarzIt will consist of the Principality of Eichslcld; ofthe County of Hohenslcin: of part of the Princi­pality orGrubenhagen: of the area ofWalkcnried;or part of the Lalld of Blankcnburg; of p:1rl of

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Trooper or ••, W.,.,J.lilUl Kii.....ieu in the firllf unifo..... orIh1l1 regiment •• concempo... .,. pla,e. (C. Suhr)

Hesse; and of the towns of Muhlhauscn andNorrlhauscn.

Population: 2 lo,gS9 peopleCapital: HciligcnsladtIt will be divided into four districts: Hciligcn.

stadt, Dudcl1aadt, OSlcrodc, Nordhauscn.

'" The Department of the LcincIt will consist of the area ofCottingcll, ofp:!rl orthe Principality or Grubcnhagcn and of parts ofthe Landtr of Hildcshcim, Braunschweig andHesse.

j)opulalioll: 145.537 peopleCapital: GottingcnIt will be divided into two districts. Gottingcn

and Einbcck.

;) Departmelll of the OckerIt comiSIS of almost all of the Principality ofWolfcnblitlcl; almost all of the Principality of

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Hildesheim; the town and area of Goslar; someof thc villages of the Land of Magdeburg; andHalberstadt.

Population: 267.8;8 peopleII will be divided into four districts: Braunsch­

weig. Helmstadt. Hildcsheim, Goslar.

6 The Depanmcnt of the SaalcIt will consisl of the Principality of Blankenburg;of the COlll1l)' of Wcrnigerode; of the town ofQucdlingbllrg with its arca; of the Sanlkreise: ofthose parts of Mansfcld which belonged to Prussiaand to Saxony: and ofsome villages of the Duchyof ~ lagdcburg.

Population: 206,222 peoplcCapital: HalberstadtIt will be divided intO three districts: Halber­

stadt, Blankenburg, Halle.

7 The Depanmelll of the WerraIt will consist of the whole ofOber-Hessen; of theCounty of Zieg<.'nhain: of the Principality ofHcrsfeld; of the greater part of Nieder-Hessen:and of the Herrschaft ofSchmalkalden.

Population: 25.~,ooo

Capital: ~Iarburg

It will be dividc.:d into three districts: ~Iarburg.

J-1crsfdd. Esch\\'cgc.

8 The Department of the WeserII will consist of the Principality of ~Iinden: theCounty ofRavel1sburg: ofthe Bistham Osnabriick:of the Hessian parts of Schaumburg: and of IhtAmt ofThedinghalisen.

Population: 33'h963 peopleCapital: Osnabri.ickIt will be divided into four districts: Osnabriiek.

~Iindell. Bielefeld, Rimeln.

Signed: Hieroll)'mus Napoleon

Ikrg and Westfalia were ruled completely accord·ing to French laws. Each district was divided iOlOcantonmentS which were funher divided inlOmunicipalities. A prefecI ruled the Deparlmenland a sub-prefect each district. Cantons wertheaded by the canton-master and mlillicipaliti~

by community leaders. It must be admitted thatthis reorganization swept ;twa}' many cvils in theold system.

An edict of 31 ~Iarch tBog abolisht-d the olddistinctions betwcen the nobility and the peasantryand pelty bourgeoisie. On 1'1 Novcmber lBog

the Code Napoleon was introduced i1110 theterritories, bringing all citizens to equalit)· beforethe law. The French laws also repealcd llnr:,irpenalties against such religious minorities as theJews. There were also disadvantages, however:free speech was suppressed, newspapers werecellsored. political articles were limited to thosewhich appeared in the Paris Prt:ss and particularlythe .lfollitl!ur. This was nOI all. War contributionsand l:LXes were wrung from the people; billetingand suppl}' of troops followed close on: and aqau: monopoly was declared on the sale ofIObacco and salt.

yorl7lf/fiollojrlte r:/fml)' o/CJ3eIK

Prior to 1806. the Duchy of Berg had belonged toBavaria. and BaWlrian rulers lie burie-'Cl inCologne's famous c'llhedral. When Napoleonamalgamatt"d Berg with Kleve and parts of:\Ii.lllsler and ~assau, certain army units alsocame to the new stale from these vanished tcrri­tories. They included the 12th Bavarian LineInfantry Regimel1l 'Kinkel', a batWlion of thcXassau-Oranien inr:llllr}'. and a delachmCIll of~assau-OranienHussars.

On 24 April 1806 the I Sl Bergisch InlantryReg:iment of four batlalions was raised in Oi.isscl­dart Each battalion had eight companies each of100 men. ~Iany French soldiers were also draftedinto this new regiment in order to ensure a degreeofrcliabilitY. The French conscription system wasinlroduced into Berg in October 1806, and onZ9 August 1808 the single regiment \\'as re·organized into IWO (lhe 1st ,lI1d ~2Ild RegilllelHs),each of three battalions containing six companiesof 120 men. There was also a common depotbaualion of four companies for recruit training.

111 October 1808 the 3rd Regiment, also ofthrel'battalions, was raised. This infantry organizationwas maintaint"d untilg August 181t when the 4thRegiment was raised from the lhree existingregiments. Now each regiment consisted or twObattalions each containing eighl companies (onegrenadier, one voltigeur and six fiisilier) of 120men. E..ch regiment had in addition its ownDepot. Kompagllie.

The cavall)' of the duchy consisted initially ofone regiment of light horse (dlf!uou·ftgers) but on1 April 1812 a second regiment was raised bytransferring finy troopers frOIll the 1St Regimentand conscripting thc rest.

There was also a battalion ofartillery consistingof one company of horse artillery, one of footartillery, one company of sappers, miners andpontoniers and onc company of train.

Gendarmerie units on the French model wereraised throughout the duchy and each Cily andtown was requin.:d to provide its contingent ofgarfle ,wtio,wl.

Following the disastrous Russian campaign ofr812, Berg's troops were reduced to one weakinlill1try regiment or about 200 men, Ollt' cavalryregimclIt of one squadron, and two artillerymen.Berg fell under Prussian rule in 1813. and in May1815 thc infantry and c,lv"lry were rcconslituted.Of the two infantry regimenls re·raiscd aner 1812,the 1st Infantry Regiment of Berg became the28th Prussian Line Infantry Regiment, and the2nd Regiment became the 29th. The cavall)'regiment became the 2nd Westfalian Hussars,Regiment No. I I. These numbers were retaineduntil aner the First 'Norld War.

(9/~~;IIS

ojflte 'Westjit/if/II r:/frtll)'Of lhe old states which went to make up theinfant kingdom of Westfalia in 1807 (Hanover.Braunschweig and Hessen-Kasscl), onl)· the latterhad allY troops to pass on to the new stale. Thesewere the men recruited by Marshal MonicI' inOctober 1806 from the disbanded Hessian Army.

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to form the 'Franco-Hessian Inr.-lIltry Corps'. In1807 the IWO weak regiments of Ihis lormationwere reorganized to form the 1st and 2nd West­r;.lian Line Inr."llIry RegimcllIs. When Jeromeentered his new kingdom in December 1807 hewas escorted by a detachment of I)olish lancers.These men were transferred to Westfalian serviceand formed the basis of the 1St Squadron of theChevau-Icgers of the Guard and of the Gardedl! Corps.

The I st Light Battalion's cadre was formed ofsome hundreds of non-Prussians who had servedin the Prussian Army and had bcen captured bythe French in 1806. Napoleon had had themcollected togelher at Ki.istrin and sent to Wcstfaliato help the rapid build-up of the Westralian Army.Thls unit, consisting ofa very mixed bag or men,was Illost unpopular in its garrison town orKassel.Its misconduct reached such a level that it W:lStranslerred to Padcrborn as :I punishment atown \\'hich even IOday servcs as a garrison forGerman and British soldicl"S.

w_l.r•.li... senera':. conlemporary pl.le. (e. Suh..)

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The remainder of lite units of the WestfalianArmy with the exception of the Hussars of theGuard. who were of French origin - wcre raisedand reinforced by drafts ofconscripts. The Frenchsystem ofconscription was only one ofa number ofFrench features adopted: Westfalian soldierswore French rank badges, answered to Frenchtitks. and were taught French drill and militarydiscipline by French instructors.

V/IIfOrlllsqjr/lf "Wesrf;/iflll ~./lrlll)'

G~::-':~:I{ALS

As for the French Arm)'; dark blue coats with goldlace and but IOns, gold sash, cpaulettcs and aigui­letle; white breeches. high black bOOIS, bicornswith gold edging. loop and bUllon :tnd whitefeathcr trim, sword with gold hilt on white slings.

Tilt: G U,\ I{ I>

Card, ,'u Cor/Is. G:tla uniform: white tunic. royalblue collar. lapels and cuffs .111 edg<.-d in rcd andbearing gold lace decoration; steel h<:hnet withbrass trim and combe, black cr<-ost and whiteplume on left-hand side, 'IN' on frollt plate:white brc<.ocht:s. high jacked boolS, "'hite gau ntlelS.gold butlons and gold fringcless epauletlcs.

Service dress: same helmet (off dut} a royalblue forage-cap with rcd piping and yellowgrenade and lace could be worn); short-tailed.ro)'al blue Coat, red collar, turnbacks. cuffs andpiping, gold lace to collar, cuffs and button­holes, gold shoulder-strap on the right shoulder:royal blue waistcoat and trousers, jacked boots.Trumpctcrs worc rcversed colours and red plumes.Black bandolier and waist-belt with gold fittingsand cdging.T!l~ CunIllJi,,-Card,. Sec colour plales. Paradedress: black be:lrskins with red cords and plumeand rcd tol> patch bearing a )'ello\\' grenade:whitc coat wilh long. red-lined skirts and redcollar. lapels. cuffs and piping, yello'\' lace tocollar, lapels and cuffs. yellow buttons: \\'hitetrousers and \\'hite gaiters (black for \\'inter andc;lInpaign \\'ear), rcd epaulellcs.

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Ficici dress: shako \\lith dark blue within whitt·Wcslf~"1lian cockade, red pompon, brass chin·scala and lozenge plate; sing!c.brcastcd whitecoat with short red tails, red collar, cuffs andpiping, n:d cpaulctlcs. on' (hlly a plain bicornand cockade were worn. Equipment was whitecrossbdL<;. black pouch \\'ith brass diamond plateand four grenades. French-pallern sabre withbr:w hilt and rt.'d knot. Officers wore a silver~r~c( with gold cagle badge and gold cpaulctlcs.gold corels and white plumes to their bearskins.Drummers had red coats with white collars. ('un!;.lal>C!s and turnbacks, white swallow's nestsedged in yello\\' and yellow lace edging \0 collar,cuffs and lapels; brass drum, whit<' cord~. dark

blue hoops.Tlte Jiiger-Garde. Shako with while cagle plateand cords. white plume, usual cocbde (greenforage.cap wilh yellow cdging and horn hadge);dark green coat with lemon-yellow collar, cufTs.turnbacks alld edging 10 dark gn.'en lapels; whitebuuons. "'hite lace on ('ollar, cun's. lapels andlurnb~tcks. Green epaulcltes. green hrc{'chcs with"hile Hung:lrian thigh knols and while side­snipes, black short gaiters with white top trimand (;Isseis. White belts. black pouch with whitebu~lc badge. sabre with green knot.Tn, Chel'au.l;gers-Garde. See colour plates. Blackkather helmet with black crcst and brass trim.red plullle: short-tailed grcen jacket with re.--dcollar, cufTs, turnbacks and pi pi ng. ycllow hut tons.~cllow lace to collar. Cliffs and acro~ th... chest,yrllow scale epaulettes and aiguilelte. Greenwaistcoat and Irousers, yellow !·Iunbr.ll'ian thighknots and side trilll, hussar boOts with yello'''' trimand tassel. Trumpeters wore red CoatS, greencollars and CliO's, ]'(...d lurnbacks with green piping,yellow lace on collars, cuns and chest, hussarbusbies with red cords, white plume and bag withyellow tassel; other items as for the troopers.The Fusilier-Garde. See colour plates. As for the lineinfantry (while with dark blue facings) but whitebUllon and white lacc decoration to collar, lapels

and cuffs.Tht Husoren-Garde ('The Lobsters'). S(''C colourplates. Red shakos. while plumes, ycllow shieldplates, red dolman ,,'ith yellow lace and buttons.blue some sources say red) pclisses: red breecheswith yellow Irim.

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Tht.7iiger-Corobinier-Batoilion. Sh..ko wi th cockade.green plume with red tip, red cords, yellow eagleplate and chin-scak-s; dark green coat with redpiping and IUrnbacks. dark grecn collar andculfs, yellow bUllons, dark green epaulctlcs with1'(.'(1 half-moons, red lace decoralion to collar andcuffs; dark green breeches with n.-d Hungarianthigh knots and side-slripes, short black gailers\\,ith red trim and tassel. Black crossbelts. reelflask cord, brass-hilteel J-lirsch:fd1/ger in brownsheath, riflcs.Ar/ilfl''J' Qf/he (,'1I(ml. Shako with red cords, POI11­

pon and plume and yellow lozenge plate; royalblue jackct with scven red laces across the chest,red collar, cllffs, turnbacks and epaulettes; bluebreeches with red 1-1 ungarian thigh knots and side­scams: hussar boots with red trim alld tassel, bull'

gautlIlets and bandolier.

TilE LI",E DIFA",TRY

ShakOS with red pompons, cords and plumes forgrenadiers (those of the 1st Regiment wore bear·skins as for Ihe Grenadier·Garde); green cordsand pompons and green plumes with yellow tipsfor vohigeurs; while cords and company colour

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pompons for the fusiliers (1st Company - lightblue, 2nd white, yd yellow, 4th - green),yellow lozengc plate bearing the eaglc over theblack regimcllIal number, Whitc coalS with filc·ings shown on collar, cuns, lapels and turnbilcks,yellow bUllons. Initially the regiments weredinerell1ialed b)' the r.'lcing colours (lSI and 2nd­dark blue, 3rd and 4th light bluc, 5th and 6th­yellow), bUl in 1810 all facings became dark blueand rcgimelllal distinction was limited to thenumber raised on the bUIIOllS.

Grenadiers had red epauleucs, \'oltigcurs greenand fusiliers initially had while shoulder-strapsedged in the facing colour, but in 1812 this

Colon",1 Commandant of tb", Jis",....carabiDi",", • plat""(AI",...nder S.uerw",idj

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changed to dark blue cpaulettcs with white half­moons, Legwear was white breeches in knee-highblack gailcrs with black leather bUllons, Equip­ment was while crossbelts, Frcnch sabre wilh knotaccording to com pany (grenadiers red, \'oltigeufS- green, fusiliers - white) and rank (sergeants ­mixed with gold, sergeant-majors - all gold).Drummers had red swallow's nests and theirfacings were edged in a coloured lace which variedaccording to regiment.

TilE LIGIIT I:,\FA:"'TRY

Their first uniforms werc cornflower blue withgreen facings (soon changed to orange) and whitebuttons. This was soon changed to a dark greencoal and trnusers with light bluc collar. pointedcuffs. turn backs and piping. \\'hite buttons. Blackbelts, green breeches. black gaitcrs: shako withcockadc. white c;lgle pIa Ie and green plume,

TilE 1ST Ki)M.ASS ..:Rs (1806 12)Steel helmet of French Kiirassier pattern withblack crest and brown fur turban; white lunicwith crimson collar lapels. cuffs and turnbacks,whitc piping and buttons. red epaulcttes. whitebreeches; high jacked bools. While belts, heavycavalry swords. no kHrasscs until 18/0 h'henFrench~paltern itcms were illlroduced.

1ST KUR,\SSIEM. M.F..GIM~:NT (1812-13)As above but dark blue coat.

2ND KUIl.ASSIF..R REGIME:""r

Helmel, breeches, bools. equipment and klirassas for the 1st Rcgiment; dark blue coat withorange facings and while butlons.

1ST CHEVAU-L1:.0ERS REGIMENT

Helmet as for thc Chevau~lcgers-Garde, but withwhite fitlings; dark gl'cen coat, orange collar,pointed cuf[~, piping and turn backs, while but­tons; green breeches with orange Hungarian Ihighknots (silver for officers) and side~stripes; blackhussar boots with white trim and steel screw-inspu rs, 0 ffieers wore silver and black bandoliers andsilver edging to collar and cuffs and silver epaul.ettes. Trumpeters wore light blue coats with redfacings and white lace; black for col backs withgreen bag and white plume; and a light cavalrysabre, (A lance with white and blue pennant wasintroduced fora shon time in 181 I and abandonedsoon afterwards.)

2ND CIIEVAU-LEGERS REGIMEN'I'

As for lhe 1St Regiment but with buff facings.

1ST II USS,\ 11.5

Shako \\'ilh cockadc. while cagle platc ami greenplume, white chin-scales; green dolman pelisscand breeches wilh while butlons and lace and redcollar and cuO'S, black fur; red and white sash.black belts and sabretache Wilh silvcr '1'.Trumpeters wore rcversed colours. Urass-hilledlig:ht cavalry sabrc in steel shcath.

'2~O IIUSSARS

,\sforthe 1st Regiment but with light blue dolman.pclissc and brceches with rcd collar and cuffs andwhite shako plume and grc)' fur (0 pelissc; sih'er'2' on black sabretache.

TilE AIl.TILLt:RY REGIMt:",T

Apart from the rcd collar this uniform was exactlyas for thc Fl'cnch artillery: shako with cockade,red pompon and cords and yellow plalc: darkblue coat and trousers, dark blue lapels piped red,red collar, cuffs and turn backs. )'ellow buttons:dark blue breeches with red Hungarian thighknots; black gaiters, whitc belts.

TilE TK,\!:-;

Sh<lko with cocbde and white plate: gr('y coatwith red collar, pointed cuffs and turnbacks.~ey lapels piped red. whitc buttons: red waist­coats with while lace and bUltons. Grey breeches,hussar boots. Oniccrs had silver epaulettes andshako Irim and silver bandoliers Wilh red edgingand silver platc bearing crossed Cl.lllllons. Lightcavalry sabre in steel shcath, hussar boots withsilver trim.

1'11£ GENI),\RMERlt:Once agai n, a Imost as for I he Frcnch organizat ion:bicorn \\'ith silver edging, cockade and red plume:dark blue coat v..ilh red collar, cun'S, lapels andturnbacks. white butlons and aiguilelte; whitebreeches and high boots for mounted gendarmes.dark blue breeches and black gaiters for footgendarmes. white bells.

TilE OEP,\RTMENTAL COMPANIES

Bicorn with cockadc: grey coat and trousers ofinfantry cut. grey collar and cuffs pipc:."CI rt."CI;black gaiters. white buttons and belts.

TII~: N,\TIONAL-GAKOE

The 1st Ba(lalions of every !OWI1. niCOl'1I withcockade: long-skined, dark blue coat with darkblue collar, cuffs and lapels all edged in reel. rcdturnbacks. Blue trousers. whi te gaiters. C rellndiershad red cpaulcltcs; black lealherwork. Voltigeurs\\'ore green epaulcttcs \\'ith red half-11loons:buttons were white. The ~2Ild Uanalions had theS,lme uniform Inn with white facinJ.,'S. mountedcompanies had red waistcoats wilh yello\\' buttons

and lace.

q/a,r:;s fll/r/eStfll/r/al/lsoft/Ie 'Westfi/ifll/ ~'IIl)'

The infantry na~s were of twO paLLerns whichdiflcn;d onl)' in that the inscriplions 011 lhe firstwere in French and on the second ill Cerman. Tlwfirst nab'S were issued in 1808 alld arc knowll as'~II808' pattern. The)' werc square. dal'k bluewith an upright white diamond ill the centre. Ineach corner was a golden laurel wrealh. Thecentral diamond was cc1gL'(( in gold laurel leav~

and bore on the face side lhe inscription 'LEROil DE WI'.STl'lIALlt: I AU 8,\'1'.' On the rcversewas 'VALt:UR I ET I I>ISCIPLI:'lE'. Two years laterthe •~ 118 10' flags wcrc issued; the design was I heS:ll1le but the inscriptions were now in Germanand in Gothic script. On the face side was 'Of-R

KONIC I VON WESTI'IlALIEN I AM Il.EGIMt::':-I"; Oil

the reverse was "'APn:RKt:n'! UNO! r:UT~:S!

nETIl.AGt:N ! 11/\'1"'.

Slandmds came in fOLLr versions, M 18oH,r.,'1181 2, ~V11812 (Guards) nnd l'!1181 :J. These wcreall square and 60ccnlimctrcs along each side. The~111808 slandard was dark blue wilh a whitediagonal cross, 011 lhe face side was the royalmonogram ;HN' and the Westfalian cagle. andon thc reverse the \\lcst faliall crest :lnd mono­grams. The inscriptions were in French. The~11812 slandard \\'as lhe S<1.me as the ~11808 butwith German inscriptions. The M 1812 (Guards)was only issued to the Garde du Corps, \\'as in thesame colours as the M 1808 model, and wasembroider<.-c:1 .md edged with gold fringes. On the

I I

1;ICC side wtcrc IOlll' c:lgles and the central inscrip­tion 'I)ER KO:-iIG I vo:-: Wf:STI'Il,\LI~::-i I A:-i SEI:-iE Iu:mG,\RDE Zll pn:ROI(. On the rcverse W<lS theWestfalian crcst with the monogr:lI11 'HN' ill thecorntcrs. The ~11813 Slalldards were ofa diflcrcntdesign, vertically halved, dnrk blue (next to thepike) <l!ld "'hite with Cl'rmn!l inscriptions.

wlifonmoltlteufi'lllJ' ql'Berg

Initiall), Ihe infantry continued 10 \\'ear theirBavarian uniforms, merd) changing the lightblue-within-white Bavarian eockadtc for the ft.-d­within-white one of Berg. This uniform consistedof the \'('1)' 1:111, black Icalllcr caS<l"c "'ilh blackwoollen crest, round brnss from plale bearing'.J~IK' {~lax Josef Kiinig {von Uayern ; corn­nower-bluc CO:lI with bl:lck lapels and cuffs, rl'dcollar and tllrnbacks and pipinf{ to lapels andculls; white bUllons. white Irousers and IX'lts,black gaiters, shoes and pouches. The brass-hiltedsabre had a black sheath with brass lip.

Laler in 1806 the uniform chang(~ to a moreFrench-style p;lItcrn. Thl' shako rl'placcd thecaSCllie and th(' Ibvarian coat "'as disc;lI'dct! forthe French spenc('r, closed to the waist \\'ith lapdsbUllOl1ed back, in white, l.iglll blue was thl'l';u:ingcolour lor all the four regiments nnd the dis­tinguishing feature was the style of eun: BUllonswere yellow, belts white, packs brown c;d[~kill.

pouches black. The cockade remaincd rcd withinwhite but shako plates seem (Q ha,'e varied.Three types appear to have been used: two wereoval, one bearing the lion of Berg, the other theinitial 'J', and ,he third wns the stand,lrd lozengccagle platc of the French Arm)'.

Internal regimental organization !I('ems to h;lvebee.:n on the French pattern, Fusiliers wore tridl'll1­cnded shoulder-straps in white, edged \\'ith lightblue: grenadiers had bearskins with red cords andplumes and a white cross on a n:d background onlOp. They wore.: red cpauletu:s and had red sabreknots, whereas the fusilicr sabre knot was lightblue. Chasscurs had green pompons, ",hile shakocords, green epaulcttts \vith a rl'd moon. and a

12

green sabre strap with a red tassel. Rank badgeswere also on the French model and worn on thelower arm and round the top of the shako. Officerswore white French spencers I:'lced in light bluewith gold epauletlcs according to rank, silvergorgelS bearing the golden arms of the grandduchy, gold porte-ipie and gold trim on the shakoaccording 10 rank for junior oflicers; majors andabove wore bicorns with gold trim and tassels. ToprOlecl the expensive white uniforms officers woregrey·beige surtouts and breeches while oncampaign.

Drummers wore the distinguishing marks oftheir respeclive companies togelher wilh blackcoats with light blue collars, cuffs and turn backsand a white lace with a red worm decoration tocollar, cuffs and sleeves. Drums were yellow metal.Pioneers wore grenadier ~arskins with redplumes and cords, red-fringed cpauleltes and longwhile leather aprons edged in black fringes anddecorated by a blllc·within-white·wilhin-red

Colonel CofDrna.ndant or the Chevau-lio&en La.nden or theCua.rd: a pta Ie, (Ale'l1Ulde.. S.uerweid)

edging. They wore full beards and carried heavyaxes, brass·hillcd sabres wilh rcd knots, andcarbines slung ovcr thcir right shoulders. Grena­dicrs and vohigeurs wore moustaches, fusilierswere dean-shaven.

ARTILLERY

French inr.'\ntryshako with red pompon and cords,brass shield·shapcd plate bearing an 'N'. While"-note! shows thc jackct to be almost of Frenchartillery style (dark blue with rcd collar, shoulder­straps, cuffs and turnbacks, dark blue lapds andsquare cuff·naps edged in red and with yellowbUllons), a collcction of pictures in the Von derHcydt Muscum in Wuppertal painted by a PeterSchultcn (who livcd in that town and saw thetroops passing through) shows a vcry Prussian·st}'le coat (dark blue with black collar, cuffs,lapels, shoulder-straps and turnbacks all edgcd inred and with yellow bultons).

For parades, the horse artillcry wore red plumes,dark blue breeches with a n..-d side-stripe and shorthussar boots with straight-neckcd, screw·in stcel~purs. On campaign they wore grey buHonedoveralls with red side-stripes. They had whitepouch bandoliers and .carried brass·hilted 5.'\bresin steel sheaths on white belLS worn under the coat.The foot artillery wore red plumes, white cross·b<:lts, and brass-hilled 5.'\bres with red knots;dark blue breeches within knee-high black gaitcrs\\'ith t\\'ch'c brass buttons for parades, on cam·paign dark blue trousers with a red side·stripeover thc gaitcrs.

THE TRAIN

Frcnch infantry shako with light blue pompon,red-within·white cockade, oval brass platc bear·ing a lion, brass chin·scalcs, no cords; grey coatwith light blue collar, pointed cum, lapels andturn backs, grey shouldcr-straps piped light blue;bla<;k sabre bandolier, brass·hilted sabre in steelsheath, red knot. For parades grey breeches inshort hussar-type boots with straight-necked,screw-in stccl spurs; for campaign grcy, bUllonedoveralls with light blue side-stripe \vom over theboots.

THE CHEVAU-LECERS

This regiment's uniform and designation under­\\'ent se\'eral changes during its short lifc.

Initially it was termcd the 'Chcvall-Iegcrs duGrand Due de nerg' (1807-8); then 'ChasscuTS;\Chcval du Grand Duche de nerg' (1808 9);'Lnncicrs du Grand Duche de Berg' (180g--12);'ISt and 2nd Regiments Chevnu-Iegers du CrnndDuche de Berg' (1812-13).

In the first role, although not armed withInnces, they \\'orc traditional lancer costume inwhite with pink facings edged in white, whitebuttons; pink-topped czapka with white cords andplume, rcd-within-white cockade, white frontplatc with yellow rays; pink brecches with double

J.,rom., Napol.,on, King or WUIJ".Ii"

whitc side-stripcs, white belts and gauntlets,brass-hil tcd S;:lbre in steel sheath, white sabre knot.Trumpcters wore reversed colours and had brasstrumpets 011 silver cords and there was also akettle-drummer, a Moor, in Arabian cOStume.Officers wore silver waist-sashes and silver car­touche bells and had silver sabre knots. Oncampaign in Spain they wore grey singlc·breastedcoats with pink collar, cuffs and tumbacks andgrey buttoned overalls with a pink side-stripe. Theczapka was covered in black oilcloth.

13

Trooper's b,dm..t o(lI..e Wesl(alian Cardedu Corp.. (Museumfiir o.,utsd>e Guchicble)

Coal o(a Fusilier privale, 5th Weslralian Line Inrantry, 18.'1;racings and cpauleues are dark blue. (Muliewn fUr Deulll,cheGe.,;:bicble)

In the Chasseurs a Cheval rolc (t808-g) lheuniform bccame dark green and thc cut was nolonger lancer-style. The collar, cuffs and lurn­backs werc pink, as was the piping to the darkgrccn lapels and shoulder-straps. The elite com­pany worc black sealskin col backs with red plume,pompon, bag and tassel, and red epauleltcs. Othcrcompanies wore black shakos with rcd-within­white cockade, company coloured pompon (lSI

Company -light blue, 2nd - white, 3rd - yellow,4th grccn) and diamond-shaped brass plalc

14

bearing an cagle. Breeches were dark green andworn within hussar boots with red top trim andtassel. GaunlleLS were white.

On 17 December 1809 the regiment wasequipped with lances and retitled 'Lanciers duGrand Duche de Berg'. They wore the same darkgrcen uniforms but adopted pink shakos with tilt5."lme cockadc and plate as before, and a whittplume. For thcir action in o\·crthrowing tiltHeavy Cavalry Brigade of the King's GermanLcgion at Villadrigo on 23 October 181 2 lh~·

"·ere awarded the privilege of wearing pink-over·white pennons on thcir lanccs.

By 1812, as the 'Chcvau-Icgers Lanciers', theywere back in complctc lancer costumc in darkgreen with pink facings and whitc buttons andpink-topped czapkas. The elite compan)' worcblack fur col backs and red epauleltcs as before.

g/«.t;S f/llrlcJtfl/lrlfm/Softhe

9ml/(/ Vlldl)' o(c.BelgThere is very little evidence of the appearancc offlags and stanclards or dctails of their issue. Muratdesigned the first flags and standards according tothe follo\\ling scheme: a red ground, round \\·hitecentral field edged in gold oak leaves and bearingthe arms of the grand duchy, in each corner of theflag or standard a gold laurel wreath containingthe regimental number; in the centre ofeach sidea golden thunderbolt. The pike tip was a giltspear·poinl. The mouo on the scroll over theducal crest was: 'Dieu, la Gloire, et Ics Dames'.It seems fairl)' certain that one standard of thisdesign was presented to the regiment of Chcvau­lfgcrs and onc flag to the 1St Inr.'lntry Regiment'Prince Joachim' in Dusseldorf in 1807. Thestandard seems to have gone to Naplcs with somcofthe men of the cavalry who accompanied M lIrat10 his new throne in 1808. The 1st Chc\'au-lcgersdid nOt receive another standard. The flag of the1st Infantry Regiment was taken with the regi­melH to Spain in 1808, deposited in Figuercs forsafe keeping whcn the regimental strength bccametOO low, and fell into Spanish hands when thattown was captured. When the grand duchypassed into apoleon's personal (effective) control,according to verbal tradition new flags wereissued to the infantry in Dusseldorf, but the exactdate is unknown. These flags were white and borein the centre the Napoleonic caglc holding athundcrbolt in its claws. In two opposite cornerswere crowned 'N's, in a third corner the number

of the regiment, and ill the fourth lhe number ofthe batlalion. Below the cagle was the inscription:'ORIGADE D'INf'ANTERIE OU GRAND OUClIF. DE IIERG'and above thc cagle \\las: 'ET NOUS AUSSI, C'::SAR,CO:,\,DUIS-NOUS A LA VICTOIRE'. None of these flagshas survived and it is most likcly that they wercdcslro)'ed or lost at the battle at the Bercsinacrossing in 1812.

The 2nd Rcgimcnt of Chcvau-Icgcrs Lanciersapparently rcceived a grecn standard, 60 centi­mctrcs high by 48 centimetres wide, bearing onthe face side a silver grenade with gold flamcsbetween thc gold initials 'B' and 'C', and on therevcrse a number (2?) within gold laurel wrc<tths.This rathcr skctchy dcscription is givcn by theRussian General Gckkel in his book describingthc many trophies caplured by the Russians in1812 and laid up in thc cathedral ofNOlrc Damedc Kazan in PClragrad. The standard was lost althe Bcrcsina crossing.

No flags or standards were issued to the ncwunits raised by Berg in 1813.

GflIllPfl~t;//J

oj/he "Westjft/ifl// ufm/)'SPAIN 1808-13Napolcon demandcd Westfalian troops to sUPl>orthis campaign in Spain, initially rcquiring adivision. By slimmer 1808 only one infantryregimcnt and the 1St Chcvau-Icgcrs wcre ready.The cavalry regiment marched off in September1808 with a strcngth of500 mcn, but the dcsertionratc was high and only 390 mcn were stilt prcselltwhcn it reached the Spanish fromier. By spring1809, howcver,thc 2nd Division of the '<\'estfalianAnll)' was ready, and was SCIll southwards. Theyreached Perpignan on thc Spanish border on'2 May IBog. Divisional organization was asfollows:

Commander Divisiollsgencral Graf ~IorioChiefof Staff ~Iajor \"on Hcssberg1St B,igadt (Commandcr Brigadcgencral Boerner)2nd In£"\I1I1) Regimenl (Obersl Lcgras later Oberst

\"on Bosse): twO batlalions.

15

..ph Inr."Tltry Regiment (Oberst \'on Bonneville later\'on L'lssberg): two ballalions.

!!I/(I Brigad, (Commander Oberst \'011 Oehs)3rd Iuranu), Regimcnt (Oberst Zinda~): two bat lalions.1St Light Battalion (Bataillonschcf\'on ~Icycrn)_

Arlill"y (Bataillollschef Heinemann)Two companies.

In Perpignan a depot under command orMajor von Lassberg was set up. The Spanish Warsoon developed into a guerrilla campaign whichsucked the lifc·blood out ofNapolcon's occupyingtroops, and can be compared in effect to America'sinvolvement in South Vietnam ..

The Westfalians emered Spain on 5 ~·Iay IBogand were sent to join the besieging forces atGerona under General Gouvion St Cyr. Arrivingat Gerona next day, the 2nd Brigade was Im­mediately involved in combat with the Spanishdclendcrs of the lown. As a result of1heir successfulconduct in thcir baptism of lire, many men andoffice.rs were decorated and promoted, amongthem von Oehs (the brigade commander) whowas promoted Brigadegencralon 15Julle IBog.

On 8July IBog Gerona was stormed with 3,000men of the fourteen elite companies of the 'Vcst·falian infantry regiments, the grenadier companyof thc 1st Neapolitan Infantry Regiment, twelvecompanies of the infantry of Berg (3rd Regiment)

Mankat Aus.......u

16

and Wurzburg, and ten French elite companies) .But the Spaniards beat off the attack and caused1,770 casualties dead and wounded. Due to sick­ness among the \Vcstfalian officers, von Ochs tookcommand of the 2nd Division on 24 November1Bog. On 31 August IBog the Spanish GeneralBlake altacked General St eyr about seven milessouth orGerona. St Cyr ordered General Verdier(commander of the besiegers of Gerona) to joinhim with the bulk ofhis men. Verdier left only the'\'eSlfalian division, an Italian division and theregiments of Berg and Wur.t:burg 10 cover thefortress and marched off south with the rest of theforce. Blake promptly slipped round St CrT..attacked the weakened besiegers, burned theircamp, killed their wounded, and entered Geronawith a supply train of 1,500 mules. At Verdier'sreturn, Blake pulled offinto the mountains again.

Sickness and lack of food decimatcd the foreigntroops attempting to subjugate Spain even morethan the aCli011 of the enemy, and it was quiteusual for entire companies to die in that countryIcaving none to report lhe state of affairs back totheir homelands ..

Gerona was stOrmed again (and in vain) on19 September 1809 and COSt the Westfalians andthe Bcrg Infantry Rcgiment 9 officers and 124 menkilled and \...ounded. These losses included thecommander of the 3rd Berg Infantry Regiment.Oberst Muff. Gerona finally surrendered on10 December IBog having been starved intosubmission.

The Westfalian division then numbered 1.500of all ranks; but on 12 ~Iarch 1810 they 'werejoined by 650 reinforcements from Westfalia.General St eyr was replaced in command of theFrench Army of Catalonia by Augercau inOctober 180g; by the spring of 1810 Augereau hadsubdued the province and marched to BarcelonaThe Westfalians, who remained to garrisonGerona, were subjected to ceaseless guerrillaattacks which reduced their strength so much thaIin ~Iay lBog the 1st Battalions were made up tostrength by men of the 2nd Battalions, andremained in Spain, while the cadres of the 2ndBattalions of the regiments were sent back 10

Westfalia to recruit up to strength again.Augerc3u was replaced by Marshal Macdonald

in May 1810, but the position in Spain continun!

/I. co.uempono'"Y u!lislo car1_ poke'll Cwo .1 N.pol...... 'lO..~wly bakfll' eoarede... tioa or the Rhine

to deteriorate, On I April 1811 Ihe lSI Battalionsor the Westralian units were wilhdrawn home torecruit, and there remained in Spain only onebattalion or 500 men (composed or those men orall unilS who were still fit fordllty) and an artillerydttachmem, These units did nOt return homeuntil spring 1813.

The Westralian Chevau-Icger Regimelll hadnever operated with the Westf:"llian division inSpain; initially it was attached LO Victor's I Corpsand later was transferred to Sebastiani's IV Corps.It was involved in many skirmishes and battlesand won great fame. The first commander of thertgiment, Oberst von Hammerstein, returned toWOilfalia on 16July 1810 LO be replaced by Oberstvon Stein.

In February 1813 the main part of the regimentreturned to Westralia, but one squadron remainedin Spain under command of Eskadronschef vonPICSS(:n. This unit was (like all other Germansattllite units) declared unreliable by the French,disarmed, and interned as prisoners of war on23 December 1813.

TilE 1809 CAMI'AIGN IN

NOItTll£ItN G~:ItMANY

Austria declared war on France on 9 April 1809

and placed the weight of her forces in sOlllhernGermany and Italy. Only secondary forces weredeplo)'ed in the north, against WeSIr:"llia and, tocombat this threat, King Jerome was givencommand of X Corps of the First German Armyon 18 April. In addition to the Austrian threat tothe cast, .Jerome had also 10 keep an eye on thenorthern coast 10 guard against possible Britishlandings.

The composition of X Corps was as follows:

Commander, KingJeromeChiefofSlaff, the \\'estr.,liall General Rewbell'St Il'rstfalian J)i/';s;on of the Guard (Divisionsgcncral

Graf Bernlcrode)One scluadron Garde du Corps of 140 men commanded

b)' Brigadegellcral \'on Bong;JrsOne battalion Grenadier-Carde of 8.\0 men com­

manded by Oberst LangellschwarL.One ballalionJ:iger-Gardc of6oo men commanded by

:\l:Ijor Ffillgrdf

17

Eugene Be...b......I., Viceroy or It.ly _ the man who G"ally1.... I.he r",m".nl orlhe Grand Arme.. b• .,k 10 Gern,,~.. y

Thn."C squadrons Chev;IlI.lcgers·Gardc of 550 n1('11commanded b) Oberst wom'

OntO ballatiOIl J;igcr·Carabinicrs of 360 men com-mandL't! by Prinz \'011 Hcsscn-Philippsthal

TOlal :.1.49(') lllcn

2mlWtJljaliml DiI'iJioll (Divisionsgcncral d'Albignacl1St Inf:lIltry Regimen! of 1.680 men commanded by

Oberst Vauthier (killed at Dodendorf)5th Inf:ll\lry Regimen! of 1.800 men commanded b)

Oberst Craf\\'dlingcrode6th Infantr), Rcgiment of I .7OCJ men COIllInandt:d b~

l\ Iajar von Hasse1st Kiirassicr Regimelll of 260 mCll commandL't1 by

Oberst \'on Wiirthen-1'01;11 5,-l<iO Illerl

3,d Du/ch Dit'iJ;on (Di\'isiollsgencra! Cralien)6th Dutch Inr.,nlry Regimellt7th Dutch Infalllry RegimentBth Dutch lnlalllry Regiment91h Dutch Inr.,nlry Regimenl',!IId Dutch Kiirassicr RegimentThrce companil'S of artiller)TOlal 5.300 mcn

Thus the grand total of X Corps was 10,263men.

18

Also coming to join Jerome from the Wesl wert".under command of Oberst Chabcrt;3rd Regiment of Berg Infantry (1,000 men)Detachments of the 22nd. 271h, 30th, 33rd and

65th French Line Infantry and 28th LightInr.'lnll)' regiments and of the 61h, 7th and 8thArtillery RegimenlS - 3,000 men in all

The Prussian fortresses ofStenin. Stralsund andKiistrin were garrisoned with Rheinbund troops- 2,300 Mecklenburgers and 800 Oldenburgers.But these troops could not be removed from Ih('fortresses to suPPOrt Jerome in his field operalions.

A detailed account of this campaign in NorthGermany appears in The Blo£k Brunswicke,s (5«Sources) so only details concerning the armies orWestr.'llia and Berg will be given here.

On 4 May 180g the Wcstfalian Gelleral vonUslar, with a force of 1,000 men (four companiesof Ihc lSI Westfalian Infantl)' Regiment, twOcompanies oflhe 22nd French Infantry Regimen!under Oberst Legat, and IWO guns} moved 10

Dodendorf to block von Schill's advance. Due 10

lhe bad statc or readincss of the 5th and 6thWestfalian Inr.'llltl)' Regimel1ts at this time (the}were still in training) General von Uslar wasremoved from command Ihal day and replaced b}Oberst Vaulhicr. Von Schill's Frcikorps wilh400 hussars, 60 Reitmde .lager (mounted rifles) and50 infantry advanced on Dodendorffrom Sulldorf.Vauthier left his defensive position behind theRiver Sulze, advanced to meet \'011 Schill, andformed his men into three squares (two in front.one in reservc) with his two guns in front of tht"front twO squares.

Von Schill's cavalry charged, broke the squaresat the first impact, and captured 200 lllen andboth guns. Obersl Vaulhier was badly wounded.captured, released by Schill, and died laler in~Iagdeburg. The Wcslfalian Gendannerie hadgreat lrouble rounding up their scattered soldiersafler Ihe battle, many of whom lOok Ihe oppor­tunity to return to Iheir homes. Legat's grenadiercompany, which was in reserve behind Dodendorf.was also captured by \'on Schill's men. The DutchDivision after Ihe Austrians next day. BUIJeromrmen, while the Westfalians remained at Domilzon the Elbe to regroup.

On 18 JUlle 180g .Jerome left Kassel with Ihe

-

Guards Division to march eastwards. His missionwas to help King Friedrich August of Saxonywhose city of Dresden had been occupied byGeneral Am Ende's Austrian forces on I I JunetBog. By 21 J uneJerolllc \\las al Eisenach, and hadthe divisions ofd'Albignac and Gratien join him;thus his total force was 12,900 men, increased therotlowing day by 2,000 Saxons.

On 24 June Jerome advanced from Sonders­hauscn lowards Querfun, crossed the River Saale,and entered Merseburg. Meanwhile the Austrianshad occupied Leipzig;Jerome sent the 2nd West·falian Division against them and the Austrianswithdrew again_ He then entered Leipzig on26 June with three: divisions, and sent the DutchDi\ision after the Austrians next day. ButJeromewas outwilled by the rapid movements of theAUSlfians and their Black Brunswick allics, and"I'as alwa)'s at least one mo\-e behind in hisdispositions. From I to 4 July he sta)'ed inDresden, celebrating his strategic successes whilethe enem)' rampaged in the Nilrnberg al·ca.Finally he moved Out oftlte city comforts he lovedso much (his nickname was 'Konig Lustig' (I he~lerry Monarch) and marched south to Chemnitz.His aim was tOjoin up in HofwithJunot's corps,

Jow:pbine Beauhar...is, Napoleon's firt" ",ire

coming norlh·east out of Franconia with over10,000 men and pushing the Austrian CeneralKienmayer before him.

Kienmayer broke contact, turned on Jerome,and overthrew him at Berncck and Gefracs.s all8.July. On II July X Corps was checked again bythe Austrians ncar HoE Jerome fell back onSchleitz, where Kienmayer again pushed himaside on 13 July. By 17 July X Corps had with·drawn to Erfun when news of the armisticebetween Austria and France (duc to the AUSlriandefeat at Wagram.) and 6 July 18og) reached.Jerome. Full of relief, Jerome hurried back to hiscapital. Kassel. with his guard. The DutchDivision remained in Erfurl. The remainingWestfalian troops under General Rewbell wentto Hanover in pursuit of thc Black Brullswickers,who were fighting their way up IOwards Bremell10 be shipped 10 England on British ships.

Ceneral Rewbell. with the 1st Kilrassiers, 1stand 6th infantry rcgiments, the 3rd Bergischinfant')' regimcnt, and ten guns. was to have beenjoin<.-d by the 5th Westfalian Infantry Regimcntfrom Magdeburg, but this unil was deslroyed alHalber5tadt on 29.J uly by Ihe Black Bru nswickers:1,500 men of the 5th werc killed, wounded orcaptured (300 of thcse crossc..-d ovcr 10 lhe BlackBrunswickcrs) and only about 100 escaped. TheirA:lgs were also ca ptured, but what bec:lllle of thcmis not known. Rewbell moved to Celie on 31 JulyIBog to cut the Brunswickers 00" from the coast,and on I August a skirmish took place with themat Oelpcr (nowadays absorbed in the towncomplex of Brunswick). After initial success,Rewbcll's men were repulsed. The Kilrassierssuffel'cd heavily from artillery fire, fell back underpursuit by the Brunswick hussars, rode over theirown infantry, and nearly caust.-d a disaster. Onlythe brave conduct of the Westfalian gunnersprcvented the enemy exploiting this advantage.

The chase up to Bremen was then resumed, withRewbell making haSle slowly in order to keep asafe distance between himsclfand his quarry. Inthis he succeeded so well lhat the BrunS\\lickerswere even able to sclltheir horses before: embark­ing for England, at Brake on the \Veser, 011

B August I Bog. Suspecting that he might sufferJerome's rage for his failure in this campaign,Rewbell took ship for America.

19

1<t.!JsifI, /8/2

Much has been wriuen about this ill-fated vCOlure.one of the most dramatic and tragic militaryevents of modern times. The Grande Armcc of1812 contained, as well as French troops, Rhcin­bund Germans, Poles, Prussians, Austrians,Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Neapolitans,Swiss and Croats. Over half the men involvedWCI'C non.French.

The Westralian Army formed its own corps(VIII). The troops of Berg became part of IXCorps.

The composition of VIII Corps was as follows:

Commander. KingJcromcExecutive Commander. Oivisionsgcncl.ll Vandamme

(a French ofiiccr appoilHcd by Napoleon).23KO OIVISIO:-- (Commander, Divisiollsgcllcral \'on

Oehs)/sllJr((fnde (Commander. initially Brigadcgcncral Craf

Wcllillgcrodc: from May 1812 Hrigadcgcflcr31l.cgras)

Grcnadier-Garde, I b3ltalion (Oberst Lcgras)Jager-Garde, I ballaliOll (~Iajor Picot)Jager-Carabiniers, I b:lltalion (~lajor ~Hildncr)

1St Light Inf."lntt")' Hanahon (Bataillollschcf "Oil

Rauschenplatt)5th Line: Infantry Rcgimeill. 2 battalions (01x:rst

Gissot):md Brigadt (Commander. Hrigadegeneral Danloup­

Verdun)1St Line Inf."llltl)' Regiment, 2 ballaliollS (Oberst

PlcSlimanll)8th Line [nr,"llllr)' Rcgimcllt, '2 battalions (Oberst

Bergcron),ph Linc Inf."llllry Regiment, '2 ballaliollS (Oberst

Rossi)2.1'1'11 D1VISIOS (Commander. Divisionsgellcral

ThareaulsI Brigaat (Commander. Brigadegelleral Damas)6th Line Infant!)' Regiment. '2 battalions (Oberst

Ruelle)~.!IId Line Inf:mtl)' Regiment, 3 battalions (Oberst ,'on

Fiillgrafl)3rtl Light Infantry Hatlalion (Oberst ,'on Hesshcrg):!1/d I1rigadt (Commandcr, Hrigadegcllcral ,'on Zur­

westen (from 2July 1812 \'on Borstcll»3rd Linc Inlhnlry Regiment, 2 battalions (ObeTSt

Bernard)

20

Dav.d'. porll'1l't of the Emperor in ,810. He •• wurinJ; ufavourile uniform of a Colonel of tbe Guard

-

TOlals ~7.B52 6,061· 48

This organization soon changed, however.In Warsaw in June 1812 Ihe Schwere­

Kavallerie-Brigade was detached and becamepart or IV Cavalry Corps. The 1St and 8th LineInfamry Regiments were detached and trans­frrrcd to X Corps and went into Danzig as~arrison troops. The 4th Line Inramry Regimentwas detached to become pan or X I Corps of the'Duna Army'. These detachments reduced VIIICorps 10 22,392 men, 'h284 horses and 44 guns.

jlh Line Inr....nu·Y Regimcllt. 3 battalions (OberstLagcon)

2nd Lig:ht Infalllry Uallalion B:uaillonschef "011

BodickcrGa.rdt-h-m nUtri,-Brie.nd, Commander. Urig:adegelleral

Wain)Garde dll Corps. squadron Esk:ulrollschef

LlllemandChc\'au-!cger-Garde. 4 squadrons (Obersl ~luller)

When the Garde du Corps returned 10 Kassel withKing Jerome in AUgUSI ,BI2. the Che\'au-Icger­Garde was allaclH:d 10 the Lciclllc-Ka\'allcric­Hrigadc.)

ulthtt-Knmllrrit-Brigndt (Commander. Brigadcgclleral\'on Hammcrstcin)

1st Hussars. 4- squadrons (Obersl \'on Zandt)2nd Huss..... rs. 4 squadrons (01x:rst \'on Hessberg)

IIIJ:m-h-o,ollni,-Brigndt (Commander. Brigade-general ,'on Lepd)

lSI Kfirassiers. -I squadrons (01x:rst \'on Gila):md Kiirassien. -I squadrons 01x:rst \'on Bastineller)Jrlill",t Commander, Di"isionsgcneral Allix)lSI Reitendc Batterie der GardeIII Reilcllde BattcricTwo fOOL ballcricsFour Train companiesTwel\'e l'cgimemal piccl.-"S (six-pounders)Six rcscr,'e guns.\ lOla I of forty-eight call lions

On 4 March 1812 VIII Corps marched On'rrOIllKassel; by G April they were at Glogau, and on13 April at Rawitsch. There jerome assumedcommand or Ihe righl wing orlhe Grande Armce,consistingorV Corps (Poniatowski and the Poles),VII Corps (the Saxons under General Reynier),VIII Corps and IV Cavalry Corps (Latour­Mauborg). In all this force totalled 80,000 men.

Napoleon's slrategy for 1812 was to make it

rapid advance into Russia, calch the twO Russianarmies separated, and destroy them in detailberore Ihey could unite. This meant rorcedmarches ror Ihe troops through very poor areaswith rew (and bad) roads. The logistics vehiclesorthe Grande Armce railed to keep up with the ror­\\'ard troops, hundreds died or exhaustion, lhirsl.starvation and suicide and the organization or therorward clements became complelely weak andconruscd. As one \VGrncmberg officer wTOte inhis diary: 'Whal will happen irwe catch up withthe enemy?'

There was little danger or this, hO\vevcr. TheIWO Russian armies withdrew eastwards inexcellent order, leaving no stragglers or bootybehind them, and they devastated the al'cas whichthey had to sacrifice to the invaders.

Relationships belwecnjerome and Vandammewere vcry bad. Vandamme had the men'swclrare at heart and constantly inlcrren..'d withjerome's plans in order to ensure thaI all units hadsufficienl rood. Finally, in Grodno, jerome'spatience came to an end, and he dismissedVandamme. Both lhen appealed to the Empcrorwho, more out or ramily loyalty than good judge­ment, sent Vandamme back to France. GencralThareau took over command of VIII Corps 011

G.June ror about four weeks until Marshal Junotarrived to replace him.

On 13July VIII Corps reached Nieswitz in amost exhausted condition and Jerome allowed histroops a rew days' well-earned rest. To date onlycavalry skirmishes had taken place with theRussians and these had all ended in dereats ror thcinvaders.

The two Russian armies were now able 10 uniteand Napoleon's hope or an early viclOry wasdashed. Even though Ihat wing or the GrandeArmce undcr Marshal Davollt had also failed 10catch lhcir allotted Russians, Napoleon poured

Gunsoz

•

The entire contingelll nllmbcn..'d as rollows:

Mm Iforsu22.3 15 •

3·374 3.659991 •588 1,IgG324 1,206

[nfantl)Ca\alryArtillcl)Tr.linBaggageGeneral staff. gendarmerie.

etc.

21

out his ragc on jerome. This unhappy monarchwas sent packing back to Kassel with his Garde duCorps 011 16july, andjullot was left in commandof VIII Corps with Davollt replacing jerome.That same day the advance continued towardsMinsk and reached Orscha on '17 july, where afourteen·day hah was called. By this time VIIICorps had lost over 2,000 mcn due 10 sickness andexhaustion, and on II Augusl a reinforcementdraft of 1.200 infantry and 300 cavalry joinedIhem frOIll \Vestfalia. The advance on Smolenskbegan again on 12 August and on thc 15th ilappeared that the Russians under Uarelay deTolly and Bagralion were prepared to giveNapoleon the battle which he so urgentlyrequired.

The lnsk of enveloping the Russian left wingwas given to VI II Corps, but Junot got lost,granted his men six hours' rest, and thus missedthe battle, reaching Ihe battlefield only at 101'.111.on 17 August.

Joachim, P ......ce M ..... t, Napoleon'. da~hin8: b"l ..nreliablebrolher.in.law, Grand Duke orBerp; and later KinS orNaples

22

The Emperor quivered with rage at this laxconduct but gave junot, his old comrade, afurther chance: VIII Corps was to cut off theRussian rearguard (they had evacuated andburned Smolensk) and destroy il on 19 Augusl.junotcrossed the Dniepr River but then decided 10

allow his corps to rest in the village ofSzenkowo.Meanwhile, Ney was locked in fierce combat

with the enemy rearguard at Valutina·Gora.Evelllually Ihe Westfalians appeared on theRussian left Aank (which was not prepared for anassault from this direction) but instead of attack·ing and utilizing his surprise, junot set aboutdeploying his troops into columns. The Russiansrealized their peril, changed front and thusavoidtd destruction. Murat, King of Naples, sawjunot's delay and galloped across the balliefieldin a fUl)' to onler him to assault at once. This hedid, but the attack was ill·timed and the voltigeursof the 2nd Westr.'1lian Light Baualion were CUIdown by a Cossack charge.

Total Westfalian casualties at Valutina·Gorawcre 450 rtJl ranks killed, \\'ounded and captured.

junOl's second failure exhausted the Emperor'spaticnce with him rtnd as a punishmcnt VIIICorps was dctailed to form thc rearguard of thearmy and to clear the battlefield of Smolensk,which took them rrom 20 to 2'1 August. Frcnch andAllied dead and wounded \\'ere reckoned to ha\'ebeen 20,000 in Ihis baltic and the Russiancasualties 'surcly more'.

On 24 August VI II Corps movcd off towardsMoscow and suffcrcd much hunger due to the factthat the preceding troops had stripped andplundered everything of use from the area overwhich they no\\, had to travel. They marched viaDorogobllsch, Vyazma and Gschalz to iVlozhaiskwhich Ihe)' reached on 6 September 18,2.

After having detached three battalions and twosquadrons to form outposts along the lines orcommunication, Ihe strength of VIII Corps wasnO\\' fineen battalions. ten squadron and sixbatteries of artillery - 10.000 men in all.

TilE BATTLE Ot' BORODI:"O,

7 SEI'TEMBER 1812The Russian Army had taken up a preparedposition just west of i\loscow with the aim ordenying the invaders access to their capital city.

A1~d~r I, Tsar ofRunla

23

I

,

~.•-The Bald" of Hoh"aliDd"... 3 ~mbr.r 1800; Ihill Freach"'ietory CIIU!led the COllapH orcl,,: roileD Holy Rom... Empireor Germ......t;o...

_. ---

•,\" ~--

- -.

This gave Napoleon the battlc he had so longdesired, and he set about achieving the destruc­tion of the opposing army.

The position of VIII Corps ,,,as on the right ofthe Grande Arm(-c behind III Corps of MarshalNcy. Al about 7.30 3.m. VIII Corps advanced tostorm the Semcnowskoje Redoubt, and wereattacked by ktirassicrs as they len the cover ofsome woods. The WCSlfalians formed square andrepulsed the kG rassiers, causi ng I hem considcra blelosses. Meanwhile, V Corps was rorced back bythe Russians, and VIII Corps now suffered heavilyfrom artillery fire. General Damas was killed,General Tharcau was badly wounded, andGeneral von Ochs took over command of the23rd Division. Now, III Corps allacked lheSemenowskoje Redoubt, was repulsed, and by9 a.m. the battle was deadlocked.

The assault was renewed by Ill, VIII andV (Polish) Corps, and by II a.m. the Semcnow­skoje Redoubt had been captured. Shortly after­wards the Rajewski Redoubt on the left nank wasalso captured.

24

A slow advance followed, and at Olle pointGeneral von Ochs led a charge with himsclfat Ihehead oflhe6th Westralian Line Infanlry Regiment.The Russians, fighting stubbornly, withdrew ingood order eastwards into the woods. By 5 p.m.the firing slackened and the battle ended inNapoleon's favour.

It had been a bloody day. The losses of VIIICorps were 18 oAlcers and 488 men dead, and164 officers and 2,340 men wounded, ofwhich atleast onc·third subsequently died of their wounds.Heaviest losses had been suffered by the threelight cavalry regiments in their charges on theredoubl. Generals Thareau and von Lepel died oftheir wounds. French losses were 30,000 dead andwounded, including 49 generals; Russian lossesarc given by lhe French as being about 5°,000dead, wounded and captured.

At midday on 8 September, Napoleon movedofr towards :\loscow, firmly believing that oncethis prize was in his hands, Russia would fall at hisfecI. How great his disappointment was to be.

Once again the unlucky VIII Corps was given

I

I

Grand Duch)' ur RcrgI: Gunner, Gr:lnd Duchy or ncrg. 18122: Grenadier Corporal. Infantry Regiment. 18123: Inr:llltf)' Captain. 4th Regimellt. 1812

. ----''';:: . .-.•

A

B

,,I

2

Gr;lIul Ouch)' of BergI; Pioneer. 2nd Infanlr)' RcgimclII. 18122: Trooper. [I ile Compall)'. 151 Regiment

Ch(!\,;Ju-LCgcr LlIlcicrli. 18123: Corporal. 1101 ChC\,:lu.LCgers Regiment.

Spain

3

1; Grcn:ldicr Drummer. 2nd Infa11lry Regiment. Grand Ouch}' of Ilcrg. 18072: I'rh·atc. 1st Westfalian Infamr)' Regimcnt, 18073: Officer. 2nd Westfali'lI\ Kiir.lssicrs. 1808

c

I: Scrgcant.r-.lajor of Grenadiers. Westfalian Line Infalllry. 1810-152: Corporal of \'ulligeurs. Wcstf:.li:ln Line Infantry. 1810-133: Private of FusiJiers. Westf;llian Line Infantr}'. 1810·13

D

1: Grenadier of the Guard, Wcslfalia2: C,lr:lbinicr, ElilC Comp:1I1,',Jiigcr-G:lrde, WCSlfalian GlI:.rd. 18083: Coloncl . .Iiigcr-C.. r:lbinicr Batlalion. Wcslfalia. 1810

-E

F

Kingdom of WestfaliaThe band of the 9th Line Infantry Regiment. 1810I: Drum Major2: Fusilier Fifer3: Musician

Wcslf•• li •• 11 line Inf'lIllr,' ~1 usicians. 4lh and 51h J{cJ,;imcIII. pl'C- lind posl.18101: Musici:1II2: Drullllller3: "·ifcr

G

H

2

I Kingdom of WestfaliaI: Westfalla Rillmcislcr (Captain),

Chc\'aulcgcoCardc. 18112: ScrgcaTlI.lightlnfantr),. 18123: Sergeanl. Artillery Traill. 1812·1: Officer. 1st Hussars. 1812

3

the task of clearing the grisly battlefield. Theplight of the unfortunate wounded \"as so bad, andmedical facilities .so limited, that the Westfalianswere ordered to carry out mercy killings on theobviously hopeless cases. On 12 September VIIICorps moved off and J unO! set up his head­quarters in the town of Mozhaisk. The ani)'Westfalian troops to enter Moscow were theKiirassier Brigade, and an infantry brigade con·sisting of the 3rd Line Infantry Regiment and the2nd and 3rd Light Battalions.

Due to the lack of food in Mozhaisk,Junot wasforced to disperse VIII Corps all along the lines ofcommunication from Dorogobusch to Moscow.This dispersal laid the isolated units open toattaek by Cossack and peasant militia bands. On10 October, 450 men of the 1st Battalion of the6th Line Infantry Regiment under Bataillonschefvon Conrad)' were surpriSed in the town ofVereja b)' a Russian force under General Doro­chow, and eaplUrcd together with their battalionRag.

Just before the notOrious retreat from Moscow

began, the 8th Line Inf:'lntr)' Regiment rejoinedVIII Corps from Danzig with 1,000 men, and areinforcement draft from Westfalia also arrived.This brought the corps' strength up to 5,600infantry and 600 cavalry, with all guns stillpresent.

On 28 October the retreat began, and the head­quarters of VIII Corps left ~vlozhaisk. The corpswas now the Advanced Guard of the GrandeArmce.

They marched over the balllcfieid of Borodinoin mild weather, picking their way carefullybetween the heaps of unburied dead and therotting carcasses of horses.

B)' 4 November the troops had eaten up the lastof the food they had managed to bring with them,and the weather became much colder with snow­falls. Because the Russians forced Napoleon towithdraw through the same devastated area ovcrwhieh he had advanced, almost no food could bescavenged by the troops as they marchcd, andcasualties due to men collapsing from starvationand f:'l.tigue rose alarmingly day by day. To add to

25

the misery of the retreating troops, bands ofCossacks and armed peas."nts were ever lurking to

faU upon small bands of men searching for foodaway from the protection of the main body or thearmy.

The men were often plodding along in deepmud, umil2 December when the weather becamevcry cold and frozen.

On 5 November the Westr:"lians passed throughDorogobusch and, on the 8th, Smolensk. Shortlybefore this town, at Valutina·Gora, on an icy hill,all their cannon and most of the baggage had to beabandoned because the horses were too weak (andunsuitably shod) to pull their loads up the glassyslope. On 9 Novcmber VIII Corps had shrunk to1,700 men, and in Smolensk it was reorganizcdinto three battalions. 011 13 November theymarched Ollt of Smolensk and had to fight theirway through a Russian force which blocked theirpath. That night, VIII Corps was down to 500combatanu under Divisionsgeneral von Ochs.

By 22 November the weather had become much

Fri~ricb Witb~tm, 'Black Du"'~' orBrua.§wick, pictur~ La abiYou"c duri0l! hi••ao, campai!!" in W_lralia

26

milder and heavy rain made the march even moredifficult than before. Now only 120 infantry menremained under arms, and 'V III Corps' becameone weak battalion and a cavalry squadron alsoof about 120 men.

The \Vestfalians reached Borissow on theBeresina River on 26 November, and the riverwas crossed on the 28th, General von Oehs withfifty infantry and General von Hammcrstcin withsixty mounted cavalrymen. Some days later,Hammerstein with his cavalry was able to rescuethe wounded Marshal Oudinot from a Russianraiding forcc of Cossacks.

In Wilna VI Corps (Bavarians) rcjoined themain body or the Grande Armec and with themwas the relatively intact 4th Westralian LineInralllry Regiment. This unit was thrust into thefight and rapidly destroyed at Rukoni on 9December 1812.

On 1'2 December Kowno was reached, and nextday the Prussian border. After thc crossing ortheRivcr Niemen the Russian pursuit slackened.

,

TUE REORGANIZATION AND

TilE 1813 GAMPAIGN

The lown ofThom was designated as rendezvousfor the surviving Westfalians, and duringJanuary1813 184 officers and 683 men straggled in fromRussia. They were reinforced by 1,294 men fromthe depots in Westfalia.

Soon the 1st and 2nd Marschregimenter(temporary tactical units) were organized and thenew VIII Corps was commanded by General vonFullgrar. General von Hammerstein had returned10 Westfalia to organize the rebuilding of thecavalry. On 16 January the Marschregimenterbecame the new 4th and 5th Line Infantry Regi.men Is, and on 12 February were sent 10 Kustrinonly to be besieged in that place which capitulatedon 20 March 1814.

In r....ct the Westfalians did not eventually forma corps for the 1813 campaign. They lOok thefield in small combat groups, each of whichoperated independently, and the number 'VIII'passed 10 the Poles.

The 1St Line Infantry Regiment had beendetached from Vlll Corps in 1812, had taken partin the Siege of Riga, and withdrew into I)russiaon 27 December 1812 having suffered only slightlosses. On 5January 1813 it entered Danzig andwas besieged there until that place surrendered on29 November 1813. It was then taken intoPrussian service as the Reserve Bataillon desElbregiments, which subsequently combined withtheJager-Bataillon 'von Reiche' and the infantryof von Hellwig's Stveirkorps on 31 March 1815 toform the 27th Prussian Infamry Regiment. Thisnumber was retained until 1918. The 1st InfantryRegiment was the only Westfalian unit 10 survivethe extinguishing of the kingdom in 1813.

The 2nd and 3rd Infantry Regiments and the2nd Light Battalion went into Dresden asgarrison troops and were eaptured and disbandedwhen that town fell. The 4th and 5lh InfantryRegiments were, as already related, captured atthe fall of Kustrin. The 6th Infantry Regimentwas not re·raised after 1812. The 7th InfantryRegiment was disbanded at the dissolulion of thekingdom. The 8lh Infantry Regiment, the 1st and4th Light Battalions and the newly raisedFusilier·Garde (also called the 'RegimemKonigin') were disbanded after the Battle of

Leipzig (I ij October 1813); and the newly raised9th Line Infantry Regiment suncred a similarfate. The 1st and 2nd Hussar Regiments went overto the Austrians on the nighl Of22/23 August 1813near Zittau, and became the 1st and 2nd Hussarsof the Austro-German Legion. They were sub­sequently disbanded.

The Garde du Corps, Grenadier·Garde, Jager­Garde, Jager Carabiniers, Chevau.lcgers.Garde,Garde-Husaren-Regiment 'Jerome Napoleon' (acollection of French recruits presented to Jeromeby the Emperor), the artillery, the 3rd LightBattalion, 1st and 2nd Kurassier Regiments andthe 1st Chevau-Icgers Regiment were all in Wesl­falia when the end of Jerome's regime carne inSeptember 1813, and they melted away into theanonymity of the civilian populace.

So ended the kingdom of Westfalia. On 21November 1813 the Kurftirst (Prince t:leclor) ofHessen-Kassc1 re-entered his old capital cit)',Kassel, from which he had been banned in 1806,and his realm was re-created for him by the greatpowers. The rest of Westfalia reverted to itsoriginal owners - the Duke of Brunswick (Braun·schweig), the King of England (the Elector orHanover) and the King of Prussia. Fcw mournedthe passing of the state which Napoleon hadcreated for his brother, but its army had won therespeci of many of its friends and foes during itsshort life.

Gampo~~IIS

q/i/le C]rYJOpS olCJ3erg1806-7As carly as 1806 a regllllent of infantry left thegrand-duchy and took the field against thePrussian fortresses which still held out after mostof the Prussian field army had been destroyed.They operated with the Regiment 'Wiil7..burg' atthe Siege of Graudenz in June 1807.

180g (GERMANY)

The 3rd Infantry Regiment formed part ofVaufrcland's brigade in Legrange's 3rd Division

27

•

'&.&_".',

, ..\....---~_ ..- "

" '-.,. " ....

f­,

..

.._.

,

,--

/-'-- (•

- ...-.--

,

PI... of I.he bauldi,·Jd or Borodino

of General Junot's Reserve Corps, and theircmplo)'mcnt has already been mentioned in thecorresponding section of the battle history of theWestralian Army. The other infantry unilS of thisbrigade were the 651' Lignc and the 461' Lignc.

SP,\IN

In February 1808 twO squadrons of the lSI

Chcvau.lcgcrs went to Spain, and on '7 Novemberof that year they were attached to the ImperialGuard in Madrid. They remained with the Guardthroughout their stay in Spain.

On '29 December 1808lhcy fought al Benaventeand were active in northern Spain. In 1810 theydistinguished themselves at Yanguas all 6 Septem­ber and at Villafranca on 26 December. On.') May1811 Ihey were part of Montbrun's force whichcharged the British at Fuentcs de Onom and laterthat year they fought at Burgos and CuidadRodrigo.

On 23 October 1812 they charged with theFrench 1St! Chasscuna Cheval and the Gendarmcsor Burgos to overthrow General Anson's HeavyCavalry Brigade of the King's German Legion at

Villadrigo. As a reward for this victory, Napoleonpermitted them to wear red and white silk lancepennants.

The 1St Infantry Regiment also went to Spainin I Bog, asdid the 2nd Infantry. They served at theSiege ofGerona, and suffered casualties ofGoS outof 1.3 10 and 709 OUt or 1.3 13 respect ivel) betweenI June and 15 September I Bog. In 1810 the 3rdI nfantry also weI\{ to Spain, but at the end or thefollowing ye<lr the cadres of the 1st and 2ndRegiments and of the 1St Battalion of the 3rdRegiment returned to Germany. All serviceablesoldiers were gathered in the 2nd Battalion of the3rd Regiment, which remained in Spain until18 I 3.

1812For the Russian invasion in 1812 Berg providedthe following troops:

Infanu)' Comm:lIlder, General Geither1St Line Infantry Regiment, 2 battalion2nd Line Inf."llltl)' Regiment, 2 ballaliOIlS3m Line Inf."lntry Regiment. I ballaliOIl the 2nd

Ballalion was still in pain)4th Line Inf."lllu)' Regimen!. 2 ballaliOIl$

28

II...,..•

I !t "I.~

n., P........... :\h"haJ Bliic:hu a..d lbe Allied monarchs atw;pzi5••8 October ,a.,. .fter the r.ldul balll..

C.-,\·all) Commander. Obent Craf \'on Ncssc::lrodc2nd Chevau.I('gers 1.....lTlciers Regiment. " squadroll~

Artillery HatlalionOne horM:' :lrtillcr) !JaneT)One foot artillery h:lIter)'One com pan) of sappcrs. miners and POlllolliers011(' Ir;lin company

TOI;ll 5.000 men

The company of sappcrs and miners wasattached to the Imperial Gllard, and all membersof the company died in Russia.

The main body of the Berg troops were attachedto IX Corps of Marshal Victor, which wasinitially part of the Grande Armcc's reserve inPrussia and \<Varsaw. General Damas wasappointed commandcr-i n-chicfof the Berg Brigadewhich with some Badell regiments formed the26th Infanlry Division under DivisionsgeneralDandels. The 2nd Berg Chevau-Icgers Lanc.ierswere brigaded with the Garde-Chevau·lcgers ofHessen-Darmstadt and became the 30th LightCa,ralry Brigade under General Delaitre.

In September 1812 IX Corps lay round Kowno.but Napoleon now ordered Ihem (Q advance into

Russia to lake up Ihe shattered survivors currenllywithdrawing from i\loscow. Moving to Smolensk,IX Corps stayc.:d there until mid-OclOber, andthen marched cast again towards the Dunn River.By the time they reach(:d their junclion-point withthe Grande Armce al Losnitza, 1X Corps had lostonc-Ihird ofits men but was slill in relativcly goodcondition. The Berg Brigade had now lost all ill'artillery, and one eomplele ballalion had beencaptured in Vitcbsk. Now IX Corps became real'­guard of the Grand Armcc, marched to theBel"esina at Borissow, and Ihen moved nOrlh La

Studienka. In order to secure Ihe withdrawal ofthe main body of Napoleon's remaining Iroopswestwards over Ihis obslacle, 1X Corps crossedIhe notOrious bridgt"S which Napoleon had hadbuilt at this point over the Beresina, and on28 November look up position on the hills aboveStudicnka.

The Russian General Wiltgenslcin advancedagainst them, captured l)arlOnneaux's 12th Divi.sion in a night clash and also captured mOSI oflhe2nd Chevau·lcgers Lanciers of Berg who werewith him. Their standard was also captun."d.

29

•

_...........

,\

\

•

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Two troops of the regiment escaped this disaster.as they were on duty in Victor's hcadquancrs.Meanwhile, at Sludicnka, Victor was holding offWitlgcnstein and the Berg infantry was destroyedin this bitler, five-hour baltle. Generals Damasand Gauthier were wounded, and that night thebrigade consisted of Oberst Gcnty and sixtyarmed men. Marshal Victor and Generals Gerardand Fournier were also wounded, and the com·manel of IX Corps passed to Markgraf Wilhelm ofBaden. The Berg troops attached themselves tothe Baden Brigade, and that night withdrewwestwards over the Bcresina.

On 2 December IX Corps (as rearguard)clashed again with the Russians at Plcszenitzi andthe liny remnants orthe Berg brigade disappearedduring the fighting. Only individual stragglersnow staggered westwards towards Prussia andsarety.

The town orMarienwerder was allocated as ren­dezvous ror IX Corps and 200 inrantrymen and130 dismounted cavalry were concentrated there

inJanuary 1813.0n I March 1813lhecontingent,rurther reduced by sickness, re·entered Diisseldorr.

The inrantry was reorganjzed into a single regi­ment and selll to Cherbourg. Later a secondregiment \\'as raised. The cavalry rormed a singleregIment.

The Chevau-Icgers Lanciers took the fieldagain in 1813, and on 15 August Oberst von Tollwas in command or the regiment when it wasambushed at Possendorrand nearly destroyed. Thesurvivors were at Leipzig (16-18 October 1813)with Poniatowski's Corps, and this was the end ortheir career in the scrvice orlhe French Emperor.In April 1814 Berg became a Prussian province,and the two inrantry regiments became the 28thand 29th Prussian Inrantry Regiments. Thecavalry became the I I th Prussian Hussars and the2nd Squadron was sent to Prussia to rorm part ofthe new 5th lanen.Rcgiment.

30

II was apoleon's policy to leave no enemyarmed forces behind his lines in lands which hehad conquered. Not only did he disband thearmies he defeated, he sought to raise new troopsfrom them which were then incorporated into hisown armies. One such formation is the litLle­known Regiment 'Westfalen'.

Napoleon decreed the formation of this regi­ment at his headquarters in Posen on II December1806 with an order which began ~ 'In considera­tion of the fact that the areas on the other side ofthe Elbe should no longer return 10 Prussiancontrol and that numerous soldiers are availablewho wish to pursue the honourable profession ofarms. we have decided to assist them in theirdesire. '

The recruits for the Regiment 'Westlhlen'were 10 be drawn from the discharged Pnlssiansoldiers resident in the areas of Munster, r-,'Iindenand Erfurt (no mention is made of the men ofEichsfcld who were also brought into the regi­ment) and also former Brunswick and Oranien­Fulda soldiers. The regiment was to havc fourbanalions, each based on onc of thc areas men­tioned aOO\'e: General Laison was responsible forrecruitment in Munster; General Gobert in~Iinden; General Bisson in Brunswick; andGeneral Thiebauh in Fulda and Erfurl.

Each battalion was 10 have six companies(probably one grenadier, four fusiliers and onevoltigeur) each with 3 officers and 140 mcn; theregimenlal 10lal (without officers) was thus3,360 men. Uniform, headgear, etc., was to beof Prussian paltern SO as to make best usc of thestocks in the captured magazines and of thematerial captured alJeon.

Very little material has survived 10 confinn theformation and career of this regiment. There is,however, a diary of a former N.C.O. of the 4thBattalion who later became a Premierleutnamin Kurhcssian (Hesse-Cassel) service. This was aman called Vogler. Fieffe, in his History of theGenna"s in Ihe Seruiu oj Frat/u, and Thiebaull in his

Mellloirs, give us also slight hints as to their battlehistory, uniform and formation.

Thiebault's 4th Battalion was formed of thrcecompanies of Oranien-Fulda soldiers and threecompanies of soldiers from Erfurt. The soldiersfrom Oranien-Fulda came partially from theFurstbischoflich-Fulda Upper Rhine Kreisregi.ment, from the Prussian regiment 'Graf\'Vartens­leben' No. 59 which had been garrisoncd inErfurt, and also from the Kurmainz Inf.·uHryRegiment 'Knorr'. Thiebau1L hurried to his taskancl soon laid samples of his chosen unifOl'mbefore the commanders of the other baualions sothat they were forced to clothe their men as hiswere. The 4th Battalion thus received the nick·name 'Ie bataillon modele'. Thiebault, however,perverted apoleon's order concerning the uni·form in that instead of blue (Prussian) coats hedressed his men in white (Saxon?) coats withred collars and cuffs.

The flags of the regiment were of the usualNapoleonic pattern for foreign regiments nnd ofthe 1805 pallern. In the centre was n whilelozenge and each corner of thc square c101h was

l.ie.. len"'l.General W;l1gen"Iein, one of Napoleon'II RUIIlIianadverllar;ell in ,8'2

31

-red or blue as follows: top staff corner, blue; LOpfly corner, red; bottom stafT corner. red; bottomfly corner, blue. In each of the corners was agolden laurel wreath. In gold on the cenlral whitcfield wcre the words 'L'EMPER£UR DES FRAN<:AIS

AU R£C1MENl' DE WES'l'PIlALlE', and on thcreverse was 'vA LEUR E1' DISCIPLINE 4mc BATAILLOS'.

In April 1807 the 4th Battalion concentrated inFulda, and on the 15th of the mOnlh the)' marchedout under command of Batail IonschefSchenk andreached Blirtschcid (now part of Aachen) aftcr amarch of three and a half weeks via Stcinan,Cclnhausen, Hanan, Frankfurt am Main, Mainz,Bingen, Bacharach, Boppard, Koblenz, Ander­nach, Remagen and Julich. Here it joined therest ofthe regiment, which now was commanded byOberst Erbprinz von HOhenzollern-Sigmaringen.

On 20 May 1807 the regimcnt marchcd Olll viaMaastricht, Tongern, Louvain, Brussels, Ath.

Tournai, Lille, Bailleul and Montcassclto St Ornerwhich they reached on 3 June. After a short restthey continued to Calais which they reached on10 June. By this time so man)' men had desertedthat the fOllr battalions of the regimcnt had to bereduced to two.

Here the regiment was issued with new musketsand then marched via Cre\'elingen, Dunkirk,

ieuport, Bruges, Chent, St Nicolas and Antwerpto Mechcln, which it reached on 25 June andwhere it remained as garrison. During this periodofstatic duty the time wa.~ spenl concentrating thccapable mcn into thc iSt Ballalion and thc lesscapable mcn into the znd Ballalion. On I Novem­ber 1807 the 1st Ballalion marched off to Spainunder Schenk's command, where on 4 JanuaryIBog it was completely absorbed into the FrenchArmy. During 180g its strength was so reducedlhat it was combined with the Hanoverian

•

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32

wnlr....... bUilD" d ...iS.... I..rt 10 riSbl' C ......di..r-G.rd .Fii.ilier-Garde,Jiiser-G.rde.ad C.rd.. du Corp., K ii"ulIie...•1108-.2 a.od lio.. iafa.olry .ao,....3' Kii.....ie....8'2-'3

Legion, which in its turn was disbanded on9 August 1811.

The 2nd Battalion orthe regiment len Mcchclnon 4January 1808 under comm.lI1d or lhe Erb­prinz von Hohenzollern-Hechingen, and marchedto Kassel which it reached on '29 January. Herethe officers and men were used 10 re-establish the2nd Westralian Linc Inf."lllry Regimcnt whiehwas destroyed at Leipzig in 1813,

SOURCES

Gerdes. A., Die Gmhirhle du Tm/J/!m Bl'rg alld IIItstJalm1812 in Rau/alld

Knold, Handhllrh du U"ijormkl/1/deLossbcrg, Britft in die flt;mol

Lunsmann, r,. Die IVtl/ftlilthe AnnuDimes. J" flUft tilT Ifergangrnheil. TafelnOman. C., History of the I'tninlu/af IVaf<tillthriftftr fluWlundeO\'crkon, F.• III RUllllwd Vtnlli.Jllt UIU Rhein/oliff lind

IVtstJaltnThomas, Un Rtgimtnl Rhtllfln lOW Napolton Premia

SEE ALSO: VOIl Pivka, Ki',g's Guman Ltgion and The BlackBrallswitktfl. both published ill 1973 by OspreyPublishing

EXlltllITS: BrauJlsehweigisehe Landcsmuseum;ivluscum fUr deutsehe Cesehiehtt'S - East Berlin

Docur.n:sTS: Arehiv del' Staclt Kl'crcld; Lancleshauptar.chiv Dusseldorf; The Lipperheiclc Costume Collec­tion Wesl Berlin; The Hcwig Colleelion (now inpossession or Dr Kleitmann, West Berlin)

33

Tile Plates. J: (,'f(Il1d Duell] ojBerg.11: CUnT/if. Graml Dud~I' ofBfTg. /812The cnli,'c uniform is ob\'ioush' based dosdv on, .the French modd \\ilh the rro-\\ilhiIH\hilc cock­"de orBcrg making the diffcr('IlCC. Like mOSI Olher

contingclllS ill\"okcd in the irwasiOIl or Russia in1812 all the gUlls \\crc 10SI and o\'er go percent or

Ihe troops involved ne\'er returned. !'I'Olc Ihe short­barreled musket used by the an iller. Based 011 aKnotd pl:llC.

11:!: (;"!'//fuJiI'/' Corporal. b!!flf/I ~,r Regi 11/1'1/I. 1812

Alliouf illlillllry rcgill1CnL~ \\'ore Jig-lit blue lhcings:llId wen: dillen::ntialcd by the l'cgimcIllal numberraised un tlie brass bUIIOIlS (the :~rd Regimel1t\VOfl' lI'b i I(' bLlIIOll.~) and by the st )'11: 01' Ihe culf As

inllw F"nwh army, the rcd plume, cpault.'III'S andsabre knot ar(' used 10 indicate gn'llt.:dier Sial us. Iti:- u.'iual thai bearskins wert bt.:ing: used as laiC as1812; 1Il0St Frcnch grenediers by this limc' were\\t,~aring shnkos with rcd cords, pompon' andplulllc. On the origillal Knene! plate Ihe bearskincords arc \\ hill' and no cockade is shO\\ n-a mostunusu;11 combillalion. The lOp of the bearskin i<,red \\ ilh an uprighl white cross; his pouch lid bearsa brass grellade.

. 13: II/fillll/}' CuPtt/ill, -I11l Rr.~imtllt. 181:!

The li!{hl blue pompon identifies this onicer asbelonging to the 1st Fusilier Company; Ihe 2ndwon: white, tht 3rd yellow and the 4th grcen. II isunusual for him Hot 10 be weal"ing a gorgt" OJ' aplaIt 011 hi.~sword belt. Tbesword knot in gold andthc l'paulettes togcthcr indicate his status andrank.

Unlike other minor German swtes, there ap­peal's to bc \'Cry lillie piclorial matt.:rial on \\ hith10 basc uniform reconstructions, Artcr Knold.

B: (;r(llld J)ud!), ojBug111: Pionft'r. 211d I"Jallt~J' Rrgi11/f1Il. 1812The characteristic grenadier appointlllellts bear­skin, red plume. cords, epauleltes and sabre knot\\'Cl't~ \\ idcl} used 10 design ale these m{'n. To thiscia}. piollecr :;erl?;eallls ill British inr.'1ntr} re~i-

34

mcnts are pl'l"llliucd 10 \\"e:lr a full set ofwhiskcrs,Thi~ Cll~tOm ret.:ognises thc fact that the pioncersweI'(' often \\ a ~ a head of their rel{i ments lor days inrough cOtlt1lr~ and without the facilitil'S 10 keepIhemst'!vcs dean sha\T1l and in spotlcss cOlldition.On the ori~inal Knotcl platc no cockade is sho\\ 11:thill llIU-St haH been missin~on thl' source he us<.'CIbut is 'CMCl'!} cr('diblc in the real life circum­stances of thc dn}. I t is :llso unusu,d that thi... man\\ cars no cr(hS(-d axes badg:e on his upper arm.

TIll" 1st Regiment initiall} \\orc plain roundcuns bllt later addt:d a \\hilc. :i-blltloll tridel1lsh:tpl-d flap edged light blue, the 3rd Regimellthad the sam(' flaps but in re\'Cl'lltOd colours .md the,ph Reginll'tlt had plain round cufls,

Ih: Truu/lrr, ,~"ifr (;O/ll/)(JI~I'. lsI Rt'g;11/'111 CItI!t'(I/I.I.i,~l'r

l.rwrirrJo/II/2This lllall is shcl\\ II ill campaign dr('ss, withoul IheS{Oatll't shahraquc with \dtite ('dging and white.crowncd caJ{Ic.~ ill the long n:ar comers, Thc ~abre

and e:llobillc \\CI'<: both Frcllch light ca\alr~ pal·tcrn. CCIltrc compalliL'S of tIle rcgiml'nt \\ore thesquarc-toppt'd. Polish czapka having n brass­I'a) l'd frull t pia tl' \\ ith ~il\'l'rcentral picce bcaril1~a('"1"0\\ nl'd 'X' °

In IBI~ a "Crond regimcnt or Chf'\au.Ll'~ers

\\ as rni'l'd. ha~'d un a cadrc or :1° !1len of the 1stRegimcnt. It \\:IS dcstO}l-d in til(: Russian c,un­paign \\hilst Ihe 1St Regiment \\as de~lro}l'd inSpain. III 1813 a l'egilllent ofhussan. \\ as r.li...ed h)the Prussia liS \\ hen Berg rcll under their influence.

After a Belligni platc in the book' L" n Reg-imetHRhcnan SOltS I\'apoleon I'.

JJ3: Cor/Jural. lsI Cllel'tlll-Ugers Regill/fIIl ill S/)(/illAs was the case in alt campaigns, dress regulationswcre leli bnek ill the depol, fe-su ppl}' ofclothing inthe field wns prat,ticallly Ilon-cxistalll nnd within :t

fcw weeks of" marching out of their peace-timegarrisons, the troops in the field \\ould hn\'epresented an appearance anYlhing but unifOnllparticularl} irthey had been invoked ill combat.

In the bit tel' Guerilla \\:1 r \\ hich ra\-a1l'ed Spainrrom 1808· I 8 I3 conditions or re·sltppl~.commun­ications and evcn SUI"\'i\',11 for the French \r(>OI>Sand their allies werc panicularl} b:ld, :\fan} units'requisitioncd' the relatively plentiful stock arlocalbro\\ n cloth intended for the tllall\ monasteries III

Standard, UI and 'nld WUlfaliaD H"....n, .807-13' lbeeolo"... of tbe central o;:re.1 .re •• foUow.: Top lerll whiteborN Oft red. Top "lIlbl: 6 ...., two 1Il0ld leop.rd. On wbite;aecond d fourth., t_ .i1ver .1.... Oft bl"", over black; third,sold Ii DII ~; «DtraJ shield blue with red_d.whhe-.niped He.. i.a.a lioa. <:eat"" sold ea.Slt. ... bl"",. Bottoon left:bhlck li__ soLd with lIlold aad reel ...y.. Bono... riSht: 1i...1.1_lIlold Ii.... DII reel; aecolld, blue Ii_ 00 white; third, soldIi__ reel; fourth., bh.e Ii__ loLd aa1ttered with redhearts

the country and used il 10 make trouser.; andjackelS to replan' Ihe ollce-gaudy rabTS which theirpeace-time unirorlll~ had bccomc. P1UIlICS, cordsand other embellishmctlls were packed away andthe headgear was covered ill black oilcloth 10prolect it. This regimellt was very actin: in Spainand was eventually dcystfoyed Ihere.

(;1: Grmadi,r D"l1n",,,. :md "!fanl')' R'gimml. CrandDud,),tifBerg, 1&7

InSlead or wearing reversed colours as in mostolher armies or Ihe da). the drummers or Berg'srour inrantry regimcnts \,'orc black coat:. withnormallighl blue racings and Ihe additional whitclace" illl a red worm on Ihe collar and in chevronsup the slL'C"es.

~ lusirians won' l)icOfllS wi III Iigh I hllll' pOl'l1 pOll.

regimental bUHon. loop ;md nalion;ll red'\\'ithin­white cockade. light blue. singie-bl'c;lsied tUllicswith light bluc coltar' and cum edgcd white.

It is likely that the drum major \\'ore anelaburation or the dnlll11ller'S black tunic \\'ithsergeants' rallk <:hevl"ons on the lower arm and abicOl'n with red and while pllllllt's but this is pureconjeclUre ;IS no definile inrormation has beenround,

(,'2: Prim/t. lSI ll',sifaliall "!fall/ry R,gimml flkJ7In the init ial Sla~cs or the raising or the arm) or thcnc\\ Slate, lhe toops-man} or whom had beenlaken over direcLly from the disbanded regimentsor J-1 essell- Kassel (sec :\ I1\1\ 122 'Napoleon's Ger­lllall }\lIies (5) Hcsse ill tbis serics)-colltinued 10\\'(',11' their old uiliforms merely replacing llle

35

.- ,

• •

,.'

1808 - 181:3.

--.- . ­'-

Soldi..rs of the Klnjl;dom or WHlr.li,.. From 1.. (1 10 riShl:G",rde-G~n.dier, Garde-JiSf!r, LiDieo_lnr.nleri ... Offixi",rde" I..icbl", tnfa..nlrit:', Garde du Corp_, C.rde·Cb"vau.1isers,Kurau,er, Hu...r, ArtiJI .. rie.Offiilier

Ill'ssiallco<:kade II ith ,llC FI'('neh Oil!' ,110\111 11('re,

The ("oal is based Oil .1 ~u 1'\ i\ ing c"a III pit- i II Srhlo!!o~

Frkdrirlmt'in; lilt' IOIlt{ l'l'(l IUI'nhad., art' plain,The ~abre i!!o tilt' old Prm~ian pall(:fIl II ilh \1 hilt'lealher fi<;1 slrap,

{'3.0 Offiur, 2/ld Jrt'jljolifl1l "'iirossim 11108This man wears campaign dress, the gre~ overall"and short bools replacing tht, \\'hite bl'('('chcs andon·r·the-knee Kliras,~i('r boots or the parade

!1:ruund, The helmel is the lil'St v('rsioll bearing thecrowned cypher IN'' wilhin laurd (rightl and oak(leli) branches, French-pattern, ht'a\'~ ("avalrySII onls were carried, K i.i rasses were IHII i~sll('d untilaboul 1810, Othcr ranks \Iore nxl \IoollenepalllcHcs. The kura~<; consisled onl~ or Ihe rrontplate and. 1'01' offinT<;. bore a gold "lIllburn \dlhtilt' CI'O\1 ned c~ pher :J;';' in Ihe cent I'C,

/)1: S''.I!,t'f1ll1 .\I(/jor of (;rt//(lditr5, II"tJII(//ifl I.iff'IlIfi/llf'..I', 1810 IBtj

\\'illt lite illtroduction orlh(' comnHJtI l!llirOl'llll()rIhl' lill!' ill!;lI1tl') in t810 ;t11 rl'~inl('llIS \\(/1'(' dark

36

hlu(' I;.\("irl~~ and hra" hllll(ln~ \\ ilh tlw l'cl\"il11cll1:t1till III her fill ,he but 1011.

TIlt" rhombic lohako platt' bear<; lilt" iTlJ\\ m'd(:a~k .lho\l~ th(' r('~im{'ntal numher sl.lrupcdIhrolH.:h it. Sl'n,:cillll major ..IaIUS i~ ~hO\\1l h~ lilt"011(' \\ iel(' O\-el" one narm\\ ~old lOp hand 10 theshaku. ,ht, .~old ami n ..d ~hako cords, ('pauktll'li'illg"(:s \lith Kold hall' 11100n<;,. and ~abr(' knOitog-c,ther \lith the I\\() ~old bars 011 the lowerSIeI:W~ ami the gold service c1H'\TollS 011 the upper

rig'ht ann. lie carries a shon-barreled llluskc!.Fu,ilin ~1'1'l:{('anh \\ore ~old ov('r dark blue('pauklt<: rrilH;e~, IIUl~l' or \'oltif;Clll"'i ~old (1\(:1'

1;"n:('II. ,\lIer I\.nolel.

f):/: Cor/lOml oj 1'0flll~l'/lrl. /I'nljalioll /,111' II/falll'..r.IBw 18q

,\rIa thl' Frt'lI("h m(KIt'\. the \'ohi~l'lIr comp;lIlit~

lIon' liu' grt:t'll. ~eJlO\'-tippl-d plume. gn.'l'll pom·pon, e(Jrd~ and ,abrc kllot and ~Tecll cpaulcucs

Ilith ~dIO\\ halrlllooll~, Corporal<; rank haN IIt'fl.·110m abon' each cutf in til(' f:\('ill~ {'olow',Ep:lult-Ut' frin.l(t'<; \len' ~il\lT O\'cr tilt' eompall~

Kias:dom of West!""" 1810, Lieut~I-Colollel ofthe Garde du Corps ill full duss

37

colour lor corporals, Turnback badgcs \\'('re whilCon the dark blue cloth ilnd sho"'ed the regimcntalnumber (011 the outside flaps) wilh 8-pointed starson the inside flaps for fusiliers, grenades forgrenadiers and hUllling horns for Volligcurs,

D.1: Primle 0/ Fllsiliers, II'tst/aliall Lillt IIl/allll11810 1813

The }dlo\\ pompon identifies the 3n:1 compan}:the dark blue epaulet tes wi lh \\ hite C'rl.-'SCents were\\ Orll from :I1>OUI I Bog,

EI: (,'rtlloditr o/fllt Guard, II'tst/alill011 lhe n'd lapels of this coal \\cre SC\'Cll goldbUltonholc laces with poimed outer ends, on cachside of the collar two similar lan's (with goldenlassd.~ lor onicers ill full dress) and to the rear ofeach \\'hitc, 3 bUllon, lid('nl-shapcd cuO' flap twomore such 1;lccs on the red curl' al the lev!:1 of lhebUlton ,Ind ('Cllt rc bUltonS Oflhc f1;lp.

Kia!dOnl of Weufalia 1810, Caplaio~eno.lo(tbe Guard Lalevee drt..

38

As in the French army the guard was an eliteforce with lllany pri\'ileges over their colleagues inthe line. Aller Sauerwcid.

E:!: Carab;"ia, Elilt Compml)' 0/ tilt lilga-Gardt,Il'tIljalioll Guard. /808

Elite company status is shown by the peakedbearskin and the yellow half moons to thc greencpaulcltl-s; after Hahlo. The line companies \\'oreshaklli with lenticular poml>ons in the companycolour hilving thc company numbcr in black onlhe white Cl'ntral ficld. Shako cords \\crc" hite aswcre tllC chi nscalcs and the almost crcscen t·sha pedfrOIl platt:' Ix'aring the crowned :JjX'. According toR. Fonholfer and H. Knotel, drummcrs of thecenlre companies wore a yello\\ shako \\ ith whitetop b;l Il(l , sealcs, tords and cagle platt: and coats inreversed colours with the green collar, cuns anc!swallo\\'s nests !:dgcd white, The yellow lapels werecdged \\'hitt arid piped green, thcl'(' wcre whitehunting homs on the grecll tLl1'l1backs and thecpalllctlcs had gr('cn straps with whitc crcsccntsand fringes, The brass drum had lig:ht blue andwhite hoops.

£3: Colmltl, liig~r-Carabini" !JaUalion,Il'uljalia 1810

This figure is based on Sallef\\eid's Contemporar:plate and is highl} detailed. The no\\ ned c~ pher',jX' can clearly be seen on the original 011 thegorget and the belt plate, This unit recruited fromthe sons offol'csters or the kingdom and a two-yearSlilll in the battalion was a pre·reqllisite for a poslin the Slate foresll'}' service,

Prim'to the 1812 campaign lhis unil consisted ofsix field companies and a depot company; it wasdestroycd in Russia and subsequently n:-raiscd bUIwith only four companies. These were nOI anintegral part of the guard but pennancmly atta·ched to them. The commanders (Obersl Prinz vonHcssen·Philippsthal in 1810; ~Iajor ~Iuldner in1812 and Ualaillonschef \'on Hcssbcrg in 18t3were all officers pre\'iously ill the sen'ice of theElectorate of Hessen-Kasscl sec ~IAA 122'~apoloon's German Allies; s) Hesse in this series ,

Among their other duties. lhis battalion wascharged with the pursuit and arrt."St ofd<."Serters,

The} wcrc armed" ith a rifle "'ilh Hirschf:inger(s\\'ol'd·b;lyonet); officers earned the sabre -

KingdolU of WUlfalia .8.0, Ch.lIlI.,ur.Ca.... b;.. il:T ..

emphasising their role as light troops. Thecrowned 'Jl\'" cyphcl" was IV01'll all the blackleather pouch ba ndol iel's orIbc.J agcrs; gua rds' lacewas \\"orn Oil t:'ollars and nlns.

F: Kingdom of 11'(s!fiIl;(l1lFJ. 2. 3: The BOl/d of {he 9/h Lilli' '!!frllll'J' Regiment.

/810

This plate is based all lilt.' series or colour platespainted ill c. 1830 and published in the ZcilschriftfUr Hccrcskundc in 1963.

The drum major (Tamhour ~Iajor) is a realpeacock \\,jth the plumage all the bicom :lI1d thegold-embroidered red brel'ches. He wears normalregimen wI colours wiler-ens I he rusil itr fifet' and themusician wear reversed colours. The drummcn'and fifcrsorthc 61h, 7th and 8lh line regimellts alsowore 7 chevrons in regimental lace on lheil' sleeves'whilst those of the 3rd and 51h regimcnls wore ihorizon wI bars, \\'hal lhe druillmers and filers of

G'/, 2,3: JIIrs!!alill/l I.illtl hUlIlllr)' M IIsiri(lll, 4th lind5thRegimelll, /m~- (lnd /lOsI-181O

Fritz LUlIsmann in his book 'Die \\"estIZilisehcArmee 1807-181g' (published in 1935) gives onlybrier details of the uniforms worn bv drummer, ,filers .. nd musicians staling merely thai, aner lheintroduclion of the cOlllmon while and dark blueuniliJl'tn lor lhe line inl:1lllry in 1810, 'Drumme!'shad red swallows nests and all lheir f:lcings \\'(Teedged ill yellow bce',In the pOSl war period riHlch more inlormation all

Ibis su hjl'ci heta me a vai la ble and was publ ishl'd i11

1963 in Ihe 'ZellSchrift flir Hccreskundc', Thefigures shown here arc laken from this source, thebasis for which was a series or 30 coloured plalespaimcd ahout 1830 and gcnerously made avail­able bv Rcnce Fonhollct",,

From thcse plates-which experts havt: verifiedas being reliable sources-it seems that as ill lllallYother armies, regimental commanders \I'ere :"11­lowed grcal lc.:eway in deciding how their bandswerc dressed. This CUSlom still prevails ill Britaintoday,

According [0 the service material. each regi­mental band h~ld its own lace ed,l{ing to Jilcings,some d ru III Illers had ehevl'OlIS on the slcevcs, otllerplain horizontal bars of rcgimental lace. Drulllhoops varied in colour and design betwecn regi­mcnts and often renectcd the regimental lael'colouring, Some regimcntal bands wore rC\'crscdcolollrs (this was Ihe ctlse with the 61h Regilllcllt)olhers had colOllr schcmes l10t really relating 10their comrades at all.

The various regimcntallaces arc reproduced onthe other colour plales,

olber regirnellls wore is not quite clear; theVolligcur hornists orthe 1Sl and 2nd regiments arcshown wilh neither swallows nests, bars Ilor chev­rons all theil' sleeves, These hornists wore nOrmalgreen epaulcllcs with yellow crcscents, A drumillcrof the grd regimcnt is shown with lighl blueepaulelteS, while crescents and a lWO-lhirds yellowover one-th ird Iigh I blue plumc. I-Ie wea 1'5 a yellowcoal with lighl blue collar, lapels, round culls andlurnbacks; the drulll hoops were in while and lighlblue diagonal stripes,

Suhr!\hows the 5tll Line Regimei'll in Hamburgin IHOI) wilh a drulllmer.

--

39

Lancer, Cleve·Bt:rw Re.-iment

II: " "W/om rif II ~sifa/;a/,,: Wl!slj"li(/ H;UII/I!;slrr ((.'''/I{(/;1/), Chn'(I11/tgu-

(,'tmlt, dillTllis figure is b:l.~ed all an original by Pinhas buttile' helmC't ha~ been slightly alttered to comply withtilt' dC'tail" ora su rviving cxam pIc ofan 18 I0 modelonkers' helmet. The diflercnccs arc restricted tothe sidc strutS; thosc all Ihe Pinhas plate beingindistinct and not seeming' VCl'y functional. Sallcr­\Vcit! shows brass helmet embdlishmcnls practi­cally iell:mical to thOse shown by Pinhas but moredelai led; one COl n oilly conjectll rc as to whether onecopied lbteotllcr. Both the helmet <ll\d the cartOllchba lldolict' bear tIIe crowned cypher J N' as docs thelid of Ihe canollche. Horse f1l1'llitllre was black,light c;walry pattern with lmlss fittings; the darkgTcen "habraque had a wide yellow edging with a

40

rcd outer piping' and a yellow, crowned 'ji\"' in thercar cornCI'. The round dark green portmanteauhnd a wide yellow ring and red ouler pipingon theends.

1'12: Str.t:tol/I rif /.;ghl "ifol/f':.)', 1812The first unilorms of the light infantry werecornflo\\er blue \\ ith green facings and \\ hitebu(\ons, Lat<:r in 1807 08 facings became orangebut by 1809 dal'k green cua t and trousers with lightblue E,cing:-.. \\hile buttons and black belts hadbeen adopted, The coat \\as always single·breasted: the bullons hem: the batlalion number.

OOieers carri(:c1 hUS;,;lrs sabres in black sheaths\\ilh silver fittin!-.TS on black bandoliers,

1/3: Strgttml rifIht ,lrJillt'.." Trtr;1/, 1812Rank is indicated b) the silver tOP b.and to theshako, the ~ilver and I"(.'d cords, the sih'er stripe onred backing all the forearms and the silver and n.'dflststrap.

OAleers' COSt ume \\ as similar but \\ ith silver sidechevrons to the shako according to rank, silverbOllom bane!. silver bandolier edged red andbearing' an oblollg sih er pia te \\ ith the ero\\ nedcypher j~'. black sabre slings \\ ith sikcr fillings,light e;l\'alr~ sabre in silver she;llh, silver fistslrap,silver trim to thighs of the grc) breeches and to thelOpS oftht, hus"a .. bIX)(S, Clovcs were \\ hite.

I/.J.' Ojfirtr, Isil/llssa,s, JlII2Both hussar regiments \\cre clothed and C(luippedeomplctely according 10 French regulations. Theblack leather sabrel<tschcs bore the regimentalnumber in silver.

Trumpcters rode greys and wore dolman andpclissc in reversed colours, those or the lSI Regi­ment wore brown fur busbies having a rcd bag\"ilh white trim and l:uscl to the ldi hand side,Theil' trumpet cords and tassels \\'cre blue andwhitc. On campaign gre) o\'cralls with a sidestripe in the facing' coloUl' ;llld white bliltonS andblack leathcr booting: \\'ere \\01'11,

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