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King's German Legion

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When Napoleon imposed the Convention of Artlenburg (Convention of the Elbe) on July 5, 1803 the Kurfürstentum Hannover (Electorate of Hanover) was disbanded and its army dissolved. Many former Hanoverian officers and soldiers fled the French occupation to Britain, as King George III of the United Kingdom was also Elector of Hanover.

The same year, Major Colin Halkett and Colonel Johann Friedrich von der Decken were issued warrants to raise a corps of light infantry, to be named "The King's German Regiment". On December 19, 1803, Halkett's and von der Decken's levies were combined as a fundament of a corps of all arms to be formed and named the King's German Legion. Because the Legion was considered loyal it was the only foreign regiment stationed on the British mainland at the time.

The number of officers and rankers grew over time to around 14,000, but during the 13 years of its existence, about 28,000 men served in the Legion. The Legion saw active service as part of the British Army from 1805 until 1816, when its units were disbanded.

Organization

Cavalry

Infantry

Artillery and engineers

The Legion was stationed in Bexhill on Sea and Weymouth. Later some of them were sent to Ireland.

Campaigns

The Legion never fought as a unit, so it is difficult to follow the various battalions in their campaigns.

The Legion's units fought in battles in Hanover, Pomerania, Copenhagen and Walcheren, the Peninsula under General Sir John Moore; and the retreat to Corunna; the Peninsula under the Duke of Wellington, including the battles of Busaco, Barrosa, Fuentes de Onoro, Albuera, Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca, Garcia Hernandez, Burgos, Vittoria, San Sebastian, Nivelles, Sicily and the eastern parts of Spain, Northern Germany and Göhrde.

At the Battle of Waterloo, the 2nd Light Battalion—with members of the 1st Light Battalion and the 5th Line Battalion—famously defended "La Haye Sainte" until they ran out of ammunition.

The Legion was known for their excellence and their fighting ability. The cavalry was reputed to be among the best in the British army.

After the victory at Waterloo, the Electorate of Hanover was re-founded as Kingdom of Hanover. However, the army of Hanover had been reconstituted even before the final battle, so that there were two Hanoverian armies in existence.

In 1816 the Legion was dissolved and some officers and men were integrated into the new Hanoverian army—but not all, which led to much hardship, especially for the lower ranks.

German army

On the unification of Germany, some of the old KGL units that had served in the Hanoverian Army were perpetuated in the Imperial German Army, which eventually led to them serving in the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht during the Second World War.

  • Kavallerie-Regiment 13—1st Regiment of Light Dragoons
  • Kavallerie-Regiment 13—2nd Regiment of Light Dragoons
  • Kavallerie-Regiment 14—1st Regiment of Hussars
  • Infanterie-Regiment 17—1st Light Battalion
  • Infanterie-Regiment 16—1st Line Battalion

See also

References

  • Chappell, Mike. The King's German Legion (1) 1803–1812. Botley, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1-85532-996-4.
  • Chappell, Mike. The King's German Legion (2) 1812–1815. Botley, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1-85532-997-2.
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