Osprey, Men-at-Arms #043 Napoleons German Allies (2) Nassau and Oldenburg (1976) 91Ed OCR

43

OSPREY· MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES

:Afr!poleon's german ufllies (2) :Ni!Jsau and r9ldenburg Text by

OTTO YO. I PIYKA Colour plates by G. A. EMBLETO

~IE:'\-AT-AR~IS

SERIES

EDITOR: t\IARTIN WIXDRO\\"

:J\((1}oleon's german ~llies (2) :Hr!Jsau and eldenburg

T,xl by

OTI"O \'0:\ PIVKA

Colour plaits by

G. A. EMBLETO:\T

OSPREY PUBLISHING LIMITED

Publi~hed ill r~Ji6 h} O~prt·~ I'uhli~hilll,; LId 59 Gros,ellorSlft'l"1. I.oudoll \\'1 X 91).\ I Cflp}ri~11l19i(iO'I)I'I" Puhli_hiu!{l.ld RepriIlH'C jI 9!l1

.\11 ri!{hb n..,enl'Cl .. \p,tn fmm ,11l~ f.tird,·.. lil1~ for lilt' puq>OSt· ofpri, ;tIt' ,Iud}. n ....I·;lnh. crili{"i~1Il ur rnie". i1S penniw'Cj under Jill' Cop' ri1;11I DI.... i~lI~ ;lI1d Pau."Ilt", .\n, IgRfI. 110 p.lrl flflhi, puhlit".tlion 11M' 1)1.' reprodUCNI. slnn'Cl ill .. rei fit" .11 '~'ICIll. or Ir"lI~mill("{1 ill ,Ill} fonn flr h} .1Il~ rne.III~.I'I,·"rOllic. t'!N'lnl.·"1. dll.'lIliGtl. llw,"ll.Inical. oplic;,I. pltolOCOP) ill~, rl"Cortlil;~ or utlwn\ i,.,. \1 ithoul lilt' I'lior IX'frni.).._ion of tilt' rop~ ri~lllll\\ Iwr. Enquiril"\ ,hould Ix' i1ddn·.....l'Cl w Ilw Puhli,I"·I"S.

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:J\&}oleolls qermall ruIll/ies (2) : ~J(llI alltl (9!dellbltrg

11le (9rgfl/lizfltioll 0/ J'..0,SflllS 71YJops 1806-1815

NOSJ(//I US;lIgm lsi (lLib) B%ilton: Based 011 one old company in

WiC'Sbaclen. .jtll

01U' old company ill Bichrich. hal\aliOIlS lx-came the 1st Nassau

lJo/lji!fan: Based on

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Illfanlcric-Rcgimclll in r>.lay ISoH

In 1806 Nassau consisted of twin duchies ~assau-Usingcn and Nassau Wei Iburg. These lands were the rutl1pofthcducal possessions which existed up to thai point; those lands on the west bank of the Rhine and many of those on the cast bank having been taken by France or by the newly founded Grand Duchy of Berg (sec .Vapoleon's German Allies (I) in this series). Among lhe lost provinces were Nassau-Saarbruckcn and ~assau-Oranicn. As compensation for these losses, Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Nassau Wcilbllfg received the districts of Limburg and Ehrcnbrcitslcin (opposite Koblcnz 011 the Rhine Moselle junction). It was traditional under the old Holy Roman Empire of German Nations that the various states of 1\assau banded together 10 provide part of the infantry regiment knowll as th~ 'ObelThcinisehes Kreisregimellt' together ";th the troops of the micro-statcs Hohenzollcrn igmaringen, Hohcnzollcrn-Hechingcn, Isenburg, Lichtenstein and von der Leyen. Prince Carl Wilhelm of Nassau Usingen was compensated for his tcrritoriallosses by part of the lands of the old Electorate of Mainz including the districts of Konigstcin, Croncnbcrg, H6chst, Hochheim, Castel, Eltvillc and Riidesheim, the old Cologne Electoratc districts of Linz and Deutz, and the old Hessen Kassel district of Braubach. These new territories each brought with them smaller or larger bodies of troops of varying states of efficiency and the composition of the four infantry batlations which the united houses or Nassau now (1803) raised was as follows:

Baron Co.. nod Rudolph yon Schi.f!'~r, Olajo... p;~n~nol and cOOlD1andu of !.he Nusa.. bripde in Spai... (Thi. portnoil .how. un.iforn> of a li~ulV)a"l_g~n~nol in Ihe army of the G ......d Duchy of Baden, 10 which ...,rvic~ h~ lra.n.ferred in ,8'3.) Of Swedish e.t....ction, von Schiff"r wall born al Hagen-Ollen, Hanow:r, i.. '770. In '784 he lIerved i.. Ihe .oth Hanoy"ri.n Cavalry (Princ~ of Walu'.. Lighl Dragoon.. ), lran..ferri ..g 10 the .. ~rvic~ of M.iru i.. '799> a. a captain in Ihe .."wly_rai.ed Jag~rkorp•. Thi... nil was lake.. into Ihe ..ervice ofNaH5au-U.;nllen in .lkY.land yon Schaffer relained his Ihe.. rank of major. The ....il bec:an>~ l.h~ 3rd U.iiller) Baltalion of Na.AU'. tiny army. On 28 May .l\o.f he wa.. promOled lieulenanl..,olonel, lakinll com Oland of the N...... u brigad~; rillinll 10 colonel On 17 Seplemlnr .806, h~ di.. tinguished himself in Ihe ca"'F~ allain.1 PruHllia of Ihal y~ar.On sJanuary.ao, he rea.ved Ihe c ......11 oflh~ ~on of Honour, and a y~ar lal~r w.s promOled brigad;er'll~neral. [n '808-9 he foullht in Spain and h"ld .... riO..1I lIlaffappoinl_ Olent. under Marshal 1A.f"by~. H~ wa .. invalided hoRte to N....a .., handing over com.mand oflhe bripde to YOn Kru .. ~ and l.kinll an appoinlRtent in Ihe war dqJartmenl afler his recoyery. He retired in ,833 and died in .8,]8. Th~ Baden uniforRt iII..., .... led is dark blu~ f.ced N:d wilh Ilold bultonll a ..dembroidery.

NflJ)(/1i IV,ilblirg

2/1d !Ja{ailllJn: Carrisoll(,d in Wei Iburg. 3rd (]ii,err) B(//flilhlll: Garrisoll('d in Deulz and Lillz.

Each infantry battalion had two threc.poundcr 'regimelJtal cannon'. In May 1808 these two battalions I)('came the ~md Nassau InfalllcrieRegiment. 'l'here was also a company of garrison troops in the Marxburg fortress. On 17 ~'lay 1803 Fi-irst (Prince) Friedrich August succeeded to the throne of Nassau Usingen and when, 011 16July 1806, the houscsof ~ass.'\u joined ~apolcon's Confederalion of the Rhine, Friedrich August became HerJ;og Duke" of Nass.... u and Fiirsl Friedrich Wilhelm of ~assau Weilburg was confirmed as Prince of i\assau. Friedrich Augusl was thus head of state ofi\assau and he was charged, undcr thc terms of the Ircaty of the Confederalion of the Rhine, with co-ordinalillg .... nd organising the militar) efforts

The Duchy of

of all the tiny states prcviollsly mentioned as well as those of Frankfurt, Arembcrg and Salm. This remained a pious hope. however; Frankfun remaincd independellt until 1866 and Arembcrg and Salm untillBlo, when lhe}'were incorporated into Metropolitan France. One unit was newly raised at the time of the t804 reorganisation of ~assau's lands: this was a regiment of Jiig~r ..:u 11~rd~ (mounted rincs or Chasseurs a Cheval also often referred to as the 'R~iund, Jiig,". Tlil' bas<.·s for this unit were tin)' groups of'Hussars' (really a type of police force) from the old territori<.'S of ;\'ass.Hl Usingen, Wildenburg and Hachenburg, and some men of the Austrian cuirassier regiment '~assau Weilhurg' of which the Furst of .\'assau Wei Iburg was colonel·iIH:hief (Chef), Initial strength was one company and their commander was Riltmeister Johann Heinrich Ludwig \'on Bismark. late of Hano\'erian and ~lainz service. J n 1807 .\'apoJeon

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assau and its neighbours 1806 I

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battalions raised in 1803 had fOUf companies each of four platoons which again divided into two sections. A company was commanded by a captain (Hauptmann) and had three onlcers and [37 men; thc whole battalion had fifteen officers and 563 men. Line of bntlk wns two rnnks deep, the tallest mcn being on the flanks, the smallest in the middlc. Recruiting was by a type of conscription and by the enlistment of \·ollinteers. In ~'Iarch 1808 each battalion was reorganised illlo fjye companies. The second reorganisation of July 1808 produced two inr."lntry regiments each of twO baltalions each of one grenadier. four fusilier and one yoltigeur company. The new 1st Regimellt was commanded by

Major-Gnttral Au~sl von Kruse. So", .III Wi~badnt, Nassau in 177!h he enle~ Ihe "erviu of Hano,·e.. as a fool

f:..:~ ;:N:;s~..:ttil'b..~I!n~a:: ::..:..~ti:.I:::'a:'p~:i::

c:om...aood of the Weilb.. "'ll: infanlry b.ttalio", lale.. Ihe 2nd Ball.lion of N......••• 806 COluins:nlll. By O.,lobe...806 he wa •• ma;o.. ; he fouShl well in Ih.t y",.r'. Pru••ian camp.i!" ...d in Seplembe.. -So, .....e 10 I;e..tenant...,ol""el. For Ihe Sp...i.h .,.mpaiso he 0"S."i.ed ...d comm.nded Ih", 2nd Nun.. Infantry R~ment, which look p.n in no lUll Ihan 42 b.nle••nd .ki..m;.he. i.. th", P,,,,,inllul... W.o'. Promotion tocolon",1 c.me;n Decembe... 808, ."d he led th", brilJ.de.fte.. yon Schiffe..'lI dep.rtu .... d ..e 10 illn",,,... In Novembe.. t813. acti"lJ on secrel ord",u from Ihe Duke ofN.IS..., he took hi. ~ime"l o"",.. to th", Bril;.h .nd w•• rep.lri.led 10Ger....ny.

~I~:~;rs'~~~8i~~~:d~I~:u·:i~:;;~Dm:J~~::~~I:~:a::

f.ntry resimenl" wu fru.I....ted by Ihe "peed of milil.ry event••nd "on Kru.e look. polIllion on Wellinston·.. "Iaff. He relired f..om Nunu'. milit.ry "e.."ice in 1837 .nd died in J.nu.ry ,148. Hi. deCo..allon. Included the Gr.nd CrolS wilh Diamond. of the Imperl.1 Ru."I.n Order of St Anne, th .. Lesion of Honou.., N•••• u·••n"e.. W.le..loo Med.l, .nd the inllllJni. of. KnilJhl of th .. Roy.1 N..th..rlands Milil.ry Willems.Orde...

demanded that a light cavalry regiment be raised as pan of Nassau's contingent for the Con· federation of the Rhine and the Rei/ende Jager were expanded intoa regiment Oflwoscluadrons. Drill, discipline and distinctions of rank of these new forces wefe after the Austrian model which was introduced on 7Julle 1803, but in 1810 these all gan· way to the then curren I French army regulations and rank hadgt·s. Each of the four

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.. .nd th., decoralions include Ihe Roy.1 Netherl.nds Milit.ry WiII.,ms.Order 4th CI.lIII, th .. Walertoo Medal, .nd 111... 25 ye.I"!II' service ...ed.l. A.lefeld w .. 00.... in '18g i.. Ih.. RhineI.nd P.I.tin.I." .nd w•• .,omm;••ion..d .01 olli.,,,,r in Ih..

r5~~r€E:::~:~~;I:~~:;~0:~E~:fe:!::~~:

2nd Battalion. Afl",r fillht;nll in Ihe 1806 c.mp.;!!" he Iran5rerred in spmll .ao, to the ," N.ssau W.nlry R~menl wh......, as a li.,ul"",anl, h.. look part in Ihe c.mpai!" a!!"inSI

~::~~~be:~7..:'::;~~~~orSlt~~~;d:;'~:I'i:ho}8~..':."":::~

lal.,r that y.,.r, promol..d c.pl.IIl, h.. took comm.Dd ofLb.. I.t G ......adier Comp...y. Afte.- hb r..pmeol waS dlsarm..d by the Fren.,h in B.rc.,lon. on 22. Dt:ce... ber .8'3 h.. t:M:'Ilped ...d ....de hi. way home. He foullhl .1 W.terloo, ...d bter commaJIded the 'Zlld N.s...u Inrallfry Res:imeOI. He retired in 18SO aad di..d .t W;ellhad~1l ;11 July 1856·

Oherst \'011 Pi;llnilZ :llld eOllsistl'd of: Ihe ~rena­ With th(' coll'lIxe of tilt' COllft."(leration of the din compall) and lhn't· fusilin C'ompani("S of the Rhine in 1813 Iht, old principality of Nassau old lsi B.lualion. and Ill(' li~hl compan} and one Oranil'1l was I"('crt';l\{'d and all Infillltl"Y Rt.'1{irnellt fllsilier company of lht' old 41h Ilallalion, The of Nassau Dr;wit'll of 1\\0 hattalions ;md a rcmailldl'r ()flhc rt'giml'llt was lI101Clr up with 11("\\ J;i~er COmp;lll\ under Obt'rstkutnant von Schalrner was fimued. Tht· ,J.igt'"r compan) wa~ rrHuits. The n('\\ 1nd Rq,;iment "as rommanded b) allacllt'd 10 Obt'NI \"on Winzillger()(!t-'s Jiiger Obcrsllrutn:lnt \-on Kru'ie and romislcd of: lhe Corp'i. tIl(' infantl'} regillll'nt opel"ated \\ith Ihe old 2nd Baualion (I grelladirr and 4 fu~ilicr :\a au bri~de and in 1815 \\as in Dutch 'ien:ice. companit : the old :ird 1l•.'H1alion 1 li~ht and I fusilier companies: Olle fusilier C'ompan) of th(~ old 1st n.tll.llion: and Hilt' fllsilier coml}an~ of the old 4th llatt,lIion. On 20 Augusl 1808 the 1nd Regiment mar('hed ofl'for Sp.lin \\ here its losses \\el"(' 50 hi~h Ihall"O mOl"ecompaniesoflheuld tth n,ltl:tlion had 10 IX' SCIll oil' as rt,inforn'ml'lIts befon' Ihe end of til(' )e'1I". TIlt.' lsi Rt."Rimt'nt now absodxd the con· B~ a fortunate mixture of clt,\ er diplomaq and tin~en1SoflSt:'llbur~ "91 men and the two houSt"S of Hoh('n~ollern 19:~ llIel1 rOI" Sigmaringcn and luck, Herzog Peler F,-jedrich I.udwig of Old("l197 mel1 for I (('ehingt'n . Arembcr1{, Salm. Lich. burg managed 10 kcC!} his dllCh) Out of Ihe "ars tCllslcin and \'on clt'r I.c\{·n paid a subsid\ 10 of 1805 and 1806. ~apolroll pllrsuadcd him 10 ;'I\assau \\ho then l"aiscd the rClluircd manpo"cr join Ill(' C.onfcderalion oflhe Rhine by Ihe Treaty of Erfllrt on Ll OClOher 1808. The military con· for them. This miliwl") consH,lIation of twO infantl")' tingent to b(' maint,tined b) tht'duch) \\.as SCI at n'gimenls and a lighl ca\alry reKimem \\as re· an infantr\ batlalion or800 men in six companies one Krenadier. four fusilier alld one voltigeul" . taint.-d ulltil ='ovemlX'r 1813 \\hell the IWO rulers ofXassau kft Ihe Confederalion oflhe Rhine and On 13 Dccember IRIO Napoli-Oil abolishcd lhe joil1t.-d th(' Allies against ~apokon. The 1St In· Kingdoll1 of Holland. the Dudl)' of Oldenburg. falliry Rq.;inwnt and Ihl' R~ilfndf Jag" were Ihe old imperial d!i('S of Hamhurg, Bn'mcn and disarmed and interllt.'d in Spain b) the French: Lubeck :Ind combin('(llhern ,alld pans of til(' old the 2nd Illfantr) RCKiment \\ent twer to the EIC-CIOr.llt' of I-Iano\er, the Cnll1c1 Duchy ofn<.'rg, the Kingdom of Weslf:dia alld lhe Duchy of nritish and \\as rcp'lIri'lIed to Nass;tu. In till' upsurge of German nalionalism which Ahrcmhl'l"gl inlO l\lelropolilan France, bloomed in IRI3 Na'iS:lll raised a 3rd Infantr) Rl'gimclll, a I.and\\chl" Inf:tntr) Rq,;imcnt Tel'· TIII~ RUSSIAN CAMPAICN JIll:.! rilorial \"OIUlll('('rs) a J!igt'" ('.orps and a twenl)'. Iline batlaliun Slrong J ,HllClslurm or HOll1e Guard. On 28 February IHII (the day that Oldenburg Tht' 3rd Infanlr)' Regiment was COllllll,mded b} becanU' part oL\letropolilan Fmnce) the military Oberst \"on Steuben. the j!igcr ('.or"s by Obersl contingent of the duchy mardll'd orr to Osnabriirk to ('Iller Frcnch St'rvic(' a~ part of the 129th \"011 Winzingcr()(le. Tht.'<;l' (\\'0 reginlt.'nts and the I,andwdlr Inr.'lntry R('1{illwnt forllled a brigade Line In/illllry R('~inll'llt, which drew its con· scripts from the 'f),pnrtnn~n's' of the Weser commandl'fl hy Oberst \'011 Bismarck, In JUlie 1811, after the end of hostilities, the ('Stuar\. Some oAkt'rs rcsi/{Il{'(1 their commis. Luulwehr Regiment and Ihe j;u;er Corps "er(' sions ratht:r than ('nter Frellch st'rvice.) The 1st and 2ucl HattaliOIlS oftht.' 129th w('re hrought up di~b;lIldt.·d, lilt' 3rd RI'Kiml'll! \\as I'(,duccd to a compall) and combin('d illlO the dqxH oflhe old to full str('ngth and then sent to ~Iaastricht. 1St Regiment, The R,"u1fd~ Jag" were nOI wherc the 3rd Battalion was raised. The t\\OCOIllplelf' battalions \\ere lhen ordt,rt.'(l to march for reraised.

ri,e 'D1lr/l)lol(9lllmbllrg illll,e :J\I!!!!0leollir"Wars

Napoleo... O""o..c, Mural and och rs of his scaff in Prussia .fc...r hill cri.. mphanl viaoriH.c J and AU ...rluiidc in .806.

Napoleon's
tIM Prus.i•• army _ji shall
Russia and )wC:lml' pal'! of lhl' loth Inf;U1II'y Division of (;('ncl'al I.l'dl'll ill Mar~llal Ncv's III Corps of l!ll' Dr(ll/{It ,Irml" The olher units'oftllt' III CorpS\\l'IT:

10th Inf(ln/~1' J)/r;J;on 21'h LfHh(' rFrt.:nch li/ollil illf.'lll:llions 129th Frl'mh I,inl' Inr.lllll") Rq{inwllt 2 balt,llions

lSI PonUKlINl.' I~on Inf;lllin RI1tillwlIt 3 1>''illalioll Olle roIllP;Ul\ of Fn'lle!l filOl artilll'l) One COllllJ,lll) of Frrllt II hoNe aniUer)

Itlr Injantry DInJ/on G.'nernl R,IIOUI The RI~imelll IIhril'1l 1111 Frl'lll:h Ijllt' Infallll"Y RI'HinWllI 12111 Frt'lich I.illl' II1r.llltl) RqCillll'lIl 9:ircl Frellch I.int, IlIf;lIIln Rl'KiIllClIl ('.lth of I or 5 h;lIIalions Dill' COlllpall) uf ItMI' and 0111' cornp:llly IIf hoI's!'
.1rl;ff".,HrlrrlY

Fi\\: fiM'1 anillt'l") Ihllll'l"il'S Total.lIlill,r..' 90 Rum indudillK jO Wurllernhc'~ pire ill 1\\0 hu",,' ;lIld IhrC'C" fOOl 1>''iIlI'riN, 1.i~"1 Cnralry IJr;~nd, (;1'11(,,,11 J\lourk:f) Ith l:n'lIeh Ch.IJtS('III't, 11th Fn'I\clt HUS50II't, -Ilh Wurllf'llIhergJ,'':l'n

the- Tsar of organising the 'Russian German Legion'. This formation consisted of infantry, cavalry and artillery and was recruited from InJune 1812 the III Corps crossed the Russian among German prisoners of war in Russian border and advanced lOwards Moscow. Both hands; on 29 March 1815 it was transferred into battalions of the 129th took part in the Baltle of Prussian service, pl'Oviding raw material for the Smolensk on 17 August 1812 but it is nOt recorded 30th and 3tst Infantry Regiments, the 8th Ulans, that they were presented with an eagle for their the t8th ,md 19th Horse Artillery Ballcries and valour in this action, the first large battle of the the 19th Artillery Park Column. campaign. For the next three months, until midOn 27 f\ovember 1813 Petcr, Duke of OldcnNovemher, the 129th remained in the Smolensk burg, re-entered his duchy and set about rearea on garrison duties, maintaining security raising his armed Itlrces. These consisled of 800 along Napoleon's ever-extending and vulnerable lille infantrymen and 800 Landwehr (Home lines ofcommunication, which eventually reached Guard) organised in one regimcnt of two batinto Moscow itselr. talions each of foul' companies. There was a band As the starving mob that was all that was left of of twenty-one musicians, and each company had the Gralld Armer staggered back through Smolensk three drummers. Commander of' the regiment in the bitter winter of rR12, the 1St and 2nd was Oberst (Colonel) Wardcnhurg, who had been Battalions of the 129th took part in the rear-guard a brigadc commander in the Russian German action at KalOwo on 18 Novrmber, an action Legion. The regiment was mobilised for Ihe- Hundred which ended badly lor the Frrnch. Ney's III Corps now formed the rearguard of Napoleon's Days Campaign of 1815 and was att;H:hed to the army and it was ground to pieces by the relentless Nonh German Army of Gelleral Kldst von Russi'lll troops in the bitler weather. Only a Nollendorr. This consisted of three infantry handful of omcns and men of the 1291h survived brigades, the Oldenburg-('rs being pan of the Anhalt Thuringian Brigade of' Major General to reach their homeland again. 'rhe 3rd Battalion of the 129th also contained von Egloflstein of Saxe Weimar. This hrigark Olden burgers, amI its history in this dramatic contained a ballation each fl'Om Lippe Oetmold, year is as follows. In ivlay 1812 it marched to Saxe \Veimal', Saxe Gotha, Saxe Anhalt, vValBerlin and then on through Magdeburg and deck and Schwarzburg; in all eight ba1talions Stettin to the Island of Rligen. In mid·Nuvember with 6,800 men. A squadron of Hessian Dragoons it advanced eastwards to Danzig and remained was later altached to the brigade'. The brigade here until after Christmas. By mid-January r8t3 was used to blockade the small French fortress of the 31"(1 Battalion joined thc remnants of the 1[[ Bouillon and, later, to besiege Sedan and Corps in .Mulhausell, retiring: with them on Mezieres. Kustrin and later to Spalldau, where they became part of the garrison of this fortn·ss. After Spandau capitulated in .May 1813, the remnants of the 3rd Battalion marched back to their depot in Maastricht. As a rcsult ofa reorg-anisation of the French infantry the 129th was disbanded, the men being used to bring the- 127th and 1281h regiments up to THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1806 AND IRO] stre-ngth. The dispossessed Duke of Oldenburg had left Under the terms of the treaty governing the his duchy in 1811 and had taken refuge ill Russia Confederation of the Rhine (Rheinbund), which where his second son was the Tsar Alexander's Nassau joined on 12 July 1806, the military conbrother-in-law. Both his sons lought with distinc- tingellt which had to be- provided for scrvicc with tion on the R Llssian side in the campaigns of 181 2 the French against Prussia, Saxony, Sweden, and IS t3. The duke himself was given the task by England and, later, Russia, was an inlil1ltry fjght Ctmnfry Brigade (General Beurmann) 61h Frcnch Lancers, lsi & 2nd Wurllcmhcrg

Chcv
ri,e 'Battle :Histor)' of ~satts Troops

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Since ,g6., ... OftCO rides u. luau, t~8" ..... B....deotb.... Gale - d ... ~l::""I" waU ... the rorqroMH, buih by lbe Co..unuaia••, p ..... ..,~I • • 1l accesa. bri~adc offi)lIr

battalions lind til(" )lip,1'f ;:11 11ml,

(rnoUlllt'd rifk!'l) rcginwlll.

The infanlr)' mobiliS('d at the ('nd Ors('ptl"lllbn 1806, and, til(" 3rd j;ig('r) B:H1alion was ,hCll ordt:rcd to Frankfurt am Main 10 join Marshal ALigercau'~ III Corps. This corps lOok part in the b.'lltk orJcna on 14 OClober 1806, "hen' the I)russian Saxon arm) \\ as decisi\ d) crusht:d b) Ih(' French. The :\ass.'luJ:ig(·f ball.llion maretit'd thence "ilh lilt: III Corps 10 Ilt.-din and tht'n I;trthcr C"aSI to Dricscn and I)osen. follO\\ in~ up the disorR3nisc.-d rcmnant5 of the once-proud Prussian arm). Th(") \\cre thCll dt'wehed tOt'M'Or! a ("011\'0) ofprisolll'N bilck (0 ~Iagdcburg. \\lll'rl' the) met "I) a~aill \\ ith their comrades of tht' I t and ,;md ~assau Intllun Ballalion \\ho arrived there 011 :16 OClober I~. The 4th Rallalioll n'main('d ill Hanau until 7 January 11107 and Ihl'1l marchl'(l for Hedin wlwre it arriv('d on 15 F('hrual") and wa~ join('(1 1)\ the rest of the briKadr, who \\('re IIOW us('d on convoy dllti(:s to Spal1{lau, MagdchllrK, Stellin and W;trsaw. Th(' Nassau Jiigtr':l1 Pim/r rCKiUll'l1t was nO\\ also mobilisl'd at :. strenKth of twO companirs. the 1St Comp:my Koinl.ttoBeriinin~lay1807. On 150ctobcr 1806 the Nassau troops were ordered to adopt the Vrench system of rank bad~es to "void confusion \\ilh their allil'S. The :\assauers were no\\ attached to the \'111 Corps of ~I:lrshal ~Iortier. who had Ihe task of cov('l"ing the northern flank of Napolron' lines of communication. The main French :trm,' wa 01K'ratin~ far 10 the east atf-linst the allied P;ussian

10

and RU'>$ian armit'S. Monier's t'nemies ill the nonh \\en' the S,\t:des and tlwil' English Alli('s in Swedish Pnlller:lI1ia, which th('n included StrOll. slind .lIld Ihe isl:lIId of Rugen. Aftt'r a S\\ ('(I ish raid had c:wsed heal) I bcfort' lK'ing sent hack to Ik'rlin to rejoin till' rest of tlwir brigadt·. 011 ·.I6June 1807. howc,·er.tht'2nd.3rd :lIld 'Ith ~ass::lll inf."lnt'1 b:utalions \\crc back at Colberg which \\all still holding out. suppli("(1 with \\ .. rlike matcrials b) the Ro).11 Navy. (Unfonunately, til(" British Board of Ordnance St'llt quantitil"S of cannon barrels to Colberg, but no chassis to go with them; ::tnd as there was no suitable \\(xxl in Ihe to\\ II to make thesl' on the spot, tile harrels jllsl lay abollt until lht' siege was raised!) The Nassauers IOl"llH.'d the 2nd nrif.:":lde of thc besiegers. togt,ther \\ith the 3rtl French Light Infantl") Rt-gimcllt. The Treaty ofTilsil (gJuly 1807) put an ('nd to hostilities betWt't'11 France and Russia and !lrussia. S\\eden \\as till in thc ring a~aillsl ~apoleon. ho\\e,'('r, and England sent 8,000 men of th(' King's Cerman Legion sce 7 h, A:ing's G,rmtm /.Jgio" in this serie for details, to Ru~cn to support him. ~apoloon therefore sent ~Iarshal Brune \\ ith 40.000 men to end this insolence. Among Brune's troops was the Nassau brigade

under Oberst von Schiitlcr which formed part of General Pi no's DivisIOn. The Swedes, howcvcr, now found themselvcs alone when the English troops left them to take part in the attack on Copenhagen and the capture of the Danish fleet. The Swedish king, Gust:lV Adolf I V, withdrew into Stralsund and thell across to the island of Rugen. ~Iarshal Brunc I(lllowni as quickly as possible bIll on 7 Scpt(>mber 1807 peace was agreed upon and Ihe French occupied Rugen unopposed. The :"assauers relurned home, accompanied by se\'eral letters from their various commanders, praising their conduct in the pasl campaign,

THE NASSAUERS IN THE PE;\ISINSULAR WAR 1808-13 While the 1St ~assall Regiment was in Austria. the 2nd Regiment and onc squadron of Ihe Nassau 'Chasseurs:) Cheval' wcre mobilised and sent to Spain to take part in what still stands as oneofthe most vicious and mcrciless campaigns in mililary history. Therc were refreshing occasions in these dark years when glimpses of chivalry lit up the bllXldy gloom bllt gcnerally this war was conducted bolh by Ihe Spanish and Portuguese on the one side and the French, Italians and Poles on the other mOSI German cOlllingellls retained their code of conduCI and Iheir discipline under Ihe eXlremely adverse conditions in these cam·

THE IBog CA:\IPAIGN AGAINST ACSTRIA By this time Ihe four infantry baltaliolls had been

reorganised into two regiments, The 2nd Regiment had marched ofrfor Spain logether wilh Ihe 2nd Squadron of the Jiig~r,;:u Pf~rd~ regimelll in Seplember 1808. and the tst Infantr), Regimenl was mobilised for tll(' Austrian campaign and became pan of General Dupas's Reservc Division of ~Iarshal Da\"oust's Corps at Donauworth on the river Danuhe. Tht> division had the following units: 1St Regimelll of N"assau (or 3rd Rllt.'inbund-Rt.:gimCIll) Oberst Pollnitz 4th Rheinbulld-R(,gillll'lIl (Saxon DuclliL'S) sth Rheinbund-Rcginlt"lIl (Anhalt and I,ippc) 6th Rheinbulld-R('gilllt'nl (Schwar7.bufg, Reuss and Waldeck) The Nassauers did nOt come into action during this campaign but wcre part of the garrison of Vienna from 22 Junc until 21 October r809. During this time, Napoleon gave the regiment two cannon (taken from Vienna's arsenal) and ordered that a regimental artillery company should be formed. This step had already been taken by the French infantry or the Army of Germany before the bnttle of \\lagram - arcmarkablc tactical 'gimmick' which had been ~enerally abandoned ill nil European armies al the turn of the century. The Nass;1lI regimelll's artillerymen received their own uniform, with red plumes, epauletles. collars and cuffs.

t...i~Bal.iUon YOO Tod~nwarth, ,806 - • Knol,,1 pl.I" illu... Iratin!': th" uniform wOrn in Ih" war of ,h.1 y~.r. Th" hi!,:h bta"k I~.lh~r h~lm"t wilh y"Uow m"I.1 fu ....ilur" ....d Sluffed bla"k wool e~t;s _imilar, bUI nol id"olie.1 with th.t w .... byth~ Da..... ria .. ca....lryoflheday. Th~u..iform i. inlh~u" 1 Nanau dark II:~ bUI wilh red r..d ..S_ ....d yellow bultons ....d pip"'S; Ih.. f..cinS_ "h....«ed 10 bl.d<. io .8og, ..ad Ih.. hdmet_ w ........ t_ ~1l"h""Sed for brown fur eolp.ek_ of hussar patlern .1 I.hal I.irn~. The while trou,","" ...d 1I;&i1""" wer~ _u",mer w~.r; i.. wi.. ler Srey breec.h~_ w~r" wOrn .....id.. black Sail"'" .....c:h.iaS to below Ib.. bee.

II

f ..ederiek Willia.... t.he 'BI.ek Dv.ke' o( B...... swtek. Hi. r.the.., . P ....... iaa marshal, ...... I,;lIed in 1106.1 Jnu.,_d frederido; William .won 10 ••·.,..,e him. Hili hOlililily 10

~h~~~e~i':'~:~Ho~ll:efi~:~:~Ccr~

ca." dietato... Whe.. A...tria eollap-.l he rouShl hi......yto Ihe North Se. eo-JOI and look hi. corps miD 8rililib servlee _Iii "'5; be ..... killed.1 QuaI"'"B......

AD 11.11 ......1e...typo"" it o(Geae...1Michel N."., '7'9-r815. . oil paindna: by 8 e now m the N.lioooaJ M ..SC1I... at Ve.... mn. II lihow. Ney in h..na......i(o....., with hi. hal.. powdered and q ..e..ed. He enLi..led ia '''7 m the CA,..Jry which beca.me the s.e It .......d•. Hili impehoOlJhy .t JnL1I imperilled hi. corps., b .. t Ioe dil'lm'.... hed him_If in the p...,...11 whielo roUo~ '''aory, I.ltln, :J'.- priJlOllers_d 7f» ' ....... 1 Err.."" _d Ma,deb.. rw. A.. rivi_,mle on tloe field o( E)"I&.., . feb.....ry IlIry,hi.. command liC'Aled the R....ian dere.l; a..d all' eommaade.. o(lhe frflOeh ri,hl.1 friedla..d on ." J.. ne .107 he made eODI";b..lloa to Ihe vietary.

.,...,..,1

pai~lls

\\ilh mutual sadism and hrutalil)" It must 1)(' mcntiOllcd Ihat ~apol('on's sySlem of forcing his armies to li\"c ofr thc countries ill which thc) were fi~htil1g was a major factor ill generating, and maintaining, a high Icvd of hmtitit)' among the Spanish
B} Xowmocr 1808 the 2nd Rcgimelll of X:tss.'H1 "ilh two batlaliolls and commanded b) Li('utenant ("..olond \-on Kru~c and Ihe Jnd Squadron of the Xass.:w Chasseurs a Che\·al reaclwd Burgos in nOrlhnn Spain and Ol~.. rslkutllallt

12

became pan of the 1\' Corp'> of Gell('ral Sebastiani. The infalllry r('gim('nt was in C('l\cntl Lc\'al's '.md Didsion: IJril!lUlf Oberst VOll Porbn"k (B:ukll) (killed at thc haltll' ofTata\Tra Oil 28July IHI'!») :.11111 ~.I·.sau luranlry Rt'gimclIl

1\/

2IMtl •• lions ph Rldt'n Inf:lI1try Rt.'gilllelll :l h.lllaliOlis Ont.· h•• lltT\ oflladt'll fOOl arlilkn 6 KUIl<; 2n4 Hru:atff General Chasse Holland Infinltr. RCKimt'llt 'HoI];md" fmm 1810 Iht· 1:.I3rd ·Frt.'l1eh· I.ill(· Inrantry Regiment J IMllalions Ont' t.'tullpan) ofDuteh sappcn and mill('n 011(" DUlch horse artillen b.-men 6 KI"l~ .

Th.. Baul.. of Talav.. ra, 28 July .80g - III.. confusioa of a Napoleonic baltl., i" w ..11 coav.. yed by Ih.. aO'1;SI ofthi. se......, which from Ih.. prolif..ratio.. ofSp....i.h u ..it• ..,.,01. 10 .how Ih.. soulb..rn ....d ofW.. llinfl:I01I'.Ii.n.., near Tal.v..", 10Wl! oa

geur company' and wore Frcneh badges of rank. L'lter in the campaign French drill regulations were alw introduced. The 21ld Squadron of lhe :=1~7.:.;·i:~I,:'~:':':'j';;;:II~:o f:"~I;::r::':St;'::~ Xassall Chasseurs:i Cheval were commanded by Fr.... c1.; coalills..n1Ji fron> Na."au, Badea, Ikr«, WKlf.lia ...d HHSCIl-Darm"tadl suff..red beavily. A lilll.,.o th....ort.h, a major and had also a Rittmeistcr captain of :"'lli:..I~;~t~on~.~:~~~::," K..:;~;"'c':~~:IIS ~:~~ eavalf\ . OIlC first lieutenant .Ind two sccond (N."on.t Arm-, "'.......m) Iicut('~ants, one surgeon, iI quanermaster, a sl'rgl'ant-major, a vctcrinary slIrgl"Oll, a quanermaster's assislant, a rough-rider. t'ight sergeants, two trumpeters, eight corporals, and I;inety-six .1rd Ilr;Knd, Gelleral Grandjean Francl') I-ll'<.st'n Darmstadt Inr,lIltry Rl'gimelll ·Gros.~ und troopers (Jiig('rs) including a smith, a saddler and Erllprinz' a waggon dri\'t'r. '1 hallaliollS The Nassau units had an eventful time in Spain In!;llllry Rq~i1l1cnl or Frcnkfun (Obersllcutnant and casualties werc vcry heavy, more men dying von Welsch) from disease than by cllellly actioll. From 180g I ballalion until til(' end of 18t [ the squadron ofChasseurs;\ Parisian Guards Cheval r('ct'ived rcinforcrmcnlS from tlwir depot I ballalion totalling five officers, Sl'VCI1 ~.C.O.s and fifly-follr Gnl'lllryriflllr II' Corps 3rd DUICh Hussars lroopers. In July 1813 the 1St Squadron joined 4 S
..

.?r'"-::....

13

Westfalians, Saxons nnd Wi.irtlembergers had gone o\"cr to the Prussian Russian AUSlrian armies which were tightening their grasp around ~apolcon's h'lrd-pressed forces. The lSI Squadron was disarmed in Gerona, the 2nd in Fornells ncar Figueras. The strength of the regimellt was thell tweke officers and 231 mell. The commander. ~Iajor Baron Obcrkampf. wrOIC in a report to ~lnrshal Suchct: 'During the last five years I have been in French service and I havc recei\·{·d many flattering cOmJllendations of my conduct and of Ihat of my regiment. I have ohtained, and will retain, cternal proof of this in my receipt of til{' officers' cr055oftl1(' Legion of Honour'. The men were interned in Perpignan and rcturned home in Aprilt814. Those still fit for military service were transferred 10 the reformed Nassau infantry regiments. The2nd RegimelllofNassaul nl~Ultry remained in theso-calkd Cerman Division ofGcneral Leval and in October 1808 were part of Xapolcon's force which marched \·ia Viltoria, cros.'Icd the upper Ebro and reached ~Iadrid via Burgos. Valladolid, the DuCl'o, Segovia and L'Escoria1. In January t80g the German Division Idi ~1adrid 10 block the bridges over the river Tajo south of the cily'l to prevent the advance of a N•••• u ;,.r... lry ....uor 808-,S-. K..no.~1 pl.t~ rrom ..... rqimlMl •• 1 hi.tory or Rlrf!:im t, s"ow;n!': d ..""lop- Spnnish army. For this task the Division was augHI.,n' OV"r t .... Hveu_y r riod.. On I..fl is offic.. r wi." mented by the following French foreign units: bico ~, J;0'"!..t, ~paul~tI~., haldric: .nd , ~lIed H~ ....ian 'Regiment Prusse', 'Regiment Westphalie' and hoo Hi" I.'..r c:ount..rparl of ,10.. Fr..nch p..riod (b..ck,rro,,"dj w ... n a F",nc:h-s,,,I.. "hako bu. r~tain. all .h~ o.h..r the 'Legion Irlandais·. A number of minor dashes i'~D1". S"cONd from I..ft and tloird from I"ft ar" ~.die...., both w;lh 110.. usual Fr c...'ll"l ccou,"'.......... took place along the Tajo from Talavera to or .la'u. red plu..........p.ul.... t~ d ..br lrAo.. Iou. boLh Almarez. Latcr Ihe German division a(h-anced witJr .pecial .....d«r.o.r. The fin.. i. a lip r .808, witJr , .... Ba... n.-tyle boiled-I..ath..r 10..1 ' wiLh. black crest; , .. south of the ri"er and took part in the b."1ttlcs of 54!c:0nd is of 18'0, .rtLh ,10.. hu YJH!' bro_ colpack .rtth red bas: and cord•. Th.. fUJIi.Li~r (ri.flol) h. . . .hako pl.'e ~Icsa de Ibor (17 Mnrch IBog) and Medellin on beams th~ r~im.,....1 numbe.. iI. See colour plalew .nd the river Guardian
.,..u.

14

regulars. Cut"Sta was hcavily defealed. Cuesla's forcc consistcd of; 'nfnnt'7:

Ith·Ra.ualion. Spanish Guards 2nd and .ph U'lltalion. Walloon Cuards 2nd Rl-giment of :\lajorca 2 h.1.ttalions ~nd Ihllalion. C:ualonian Light Infalltf) I~rovincial Ballalion of Badajoz I'rovincial Grenadier I~lttalioll Regiment Badajoz 2 battalions Rt'giment Merida I hallalioll Rq,J"imclll La Serena I Ilallalioll Rq('imellt ofJael1 '2 battalions Rq;:;-imelll Irlanda '2 hallalions Provincials of'I'okdo I 1:J
Cm:fI!ry

lsI Hussars of Estremadufa {late 'Marfa I.uisa') '!th Hus...ars (Volunlarios d'Espagne) Rq } Regiments which had heen sent 10 Denmark in Marquis de L1. Romana's Inf:llIte Division and had subse
Anillery 30 guns and 650 TIll'n Sappers two comp'lIlies 200 men

THE BAn'LE OF TALAVERA 27 28 JULY IBog In his first aHcmptlooperate against lhe French in Spain, the Marquis Wellesley (Ialcr Duke of Wellington) moved out from his base in Portugal and advanced against Madrid in conjullction

Offic~ of lhe NilJIlIiI.. R~lende Ji~~. Illo6-8j a plale by Wt:ilatld fro... his worlt D"rstdttlt/l8 tier K"'ser"cll Fr"• .2O$isciuN A""",,, ,1,2, Ut. whid. tb.. F ...mcll .Dd th..ir por1.rayed. W~laDd II.. b-titl.... llUs p).ce , .Dd llle 6S:"lre obviou.dy ....rvt:cl.lI on", ofKnol"')'. so"re..-. for IIi. pl• .., offo..rohh.. rn",n ohhill r~im",nl. Knol"') m.illlOOIt I.he lI.b....cud.e cypher - clearly FA ...d .Iso ornint:cllbe b.ndolier picker equipmenl. The h""mel IIhown here ill de6Dilel)' of Bavarian c.valry panen> bUClhe ~I"ft.. plume rilliD! from lhe fronl ofche Cre81 remains a m),lIlery. (S..e colour pl• ..,•. )

.1Ii"' ....

Wilh a Spanish army under Ihc same General Cuesla. Strengths were: English, Portuguesc and Germans 20.000; Spanish 32,000. Most orthe Spanish forces had been il1volved in thc dcb:kle of Medellin and thus their morale was, at the 1x'S1. briltle. Wilh this in mind. Wellesley put lhe Spanish troops in, and to the north or. lhe lown of Talavera on the rivcr Tajo; the English. Portuguese and German troops (King's German Legion) werc extended north of the Spaniards 10 the hills aboul two milcsaway, and wcrc arranged bchind Ihe Arl'ojo MOI"ap~jo stream. IS

w.

21lld N....u laraDtry R ~..al ia Spaia, ,tho. By ti .. hoIh ~i"'''''I.......r .. o~ised 0" l.b.. F ch mod..l, ch b.u.li. . co...i..mS or .... S........di ..r. 0 IiSh' or ,·oltiS r, aDd rour r".m..r compa.n.i"'5. KaOt ..1 .ho_ Idi..r or clI typt! or company. n... "olu,..ur (k/t) a .ha"o wil.b a buSIe-ho.... hadS" '!IurroUJtd.iD.S t.h.. r"'(l:im....t..1 "u...!xr, s~a pom,... 8 rpIlul.. t1K wil.b y..llow cr..sc..al•• sr_a ..b ..........OI. aad y..Uo cord.aad y..Uo....-upped sreeu plu . Th.. 5"'a.di..r (c.... t ) .......n red rpIlul..ll... aad ..b ot. aad red baS, cordll. pompon, aDd plum auacht:d 10 a browa rur colpack. The rU5i1ier (ri&'ltt) turt.t:d company_ colour pompou OR hi.. shako .Dd .. y..llo pl.te ...ith rc~ meat.1 number. His .bouJd......"trap. are Srfl!n piped y.. Uo..... Fl"Vlcb ce..lr.....,omp...y men, ...bo had Nat... Ibal uDIi .bandoned th ide-arm, bc ......ar" a "abre - t.h.. "DOl ....ould h.".. b«n pl.in yello...-bufl'lelltb.. r.

Killg:.Joseph, wilh his46,oooStrollg" ArmyoftlH' Cenlre, tllowd against Wt'Jkslt:y from Madrid and attacked the Allies on the night of27.July; the bauk was violent but the Allies hdd ('ven though the Spanish ilrmy was paralysed and ineflcctivc from tll(' start of the aclion. Th(' ass
16

captun.'d; as their tOlal strength in the battle was 4.267 m('n this meant 25 per cent los5(·s. The 1St Regimellt of Nassau waSS('1\l tojoin the VII Corps undt:r ~Iarshal Aug('rellu in Catalonia (north ('aSI Spain and attached to Ceneral Rouycr's Division at Barcelona. which in .:\Iarch 1810 consisted of: Ht IJn:e.adr Gt"IIt"ml Sc!w,an; Frt"lIch lSI R~inwlll orXassau J hallaliolls 1.-19-4 men Ilh Rlwinhund Kcgimt"llI Saxon Duchit-s :i haltalions 929 men 2nd Brigadr (Colonel Chamb.:lUd Saxony Anhalt) 51h Rheinbulld Regimelll J battalions 1.258 1lJ('1l 61h Rheinhund Regiment 2 battalions 8]6 lllell The Spanish forces in Catalonia under Gcncral O'Donnell were conducting: gUl'rrill;l operations with the aim of breaking lhe communications !wtW{"C'1l the French III ,Ind VII Corps and then of destroying their hated ellt'mics in detail. As usual, the Spanish forces of this era were no m;uch for the French and Iheir allies in the open ficici, but COllet'lllrated on cutting ofr isolated dct:lchments and destroying them in ambushes. Augen'au gave them 0111' such opportunity when on t9.:\larch t810heselll Gencral Schwarz's brigade to Ihe remote Spanish-held town of J\lanresa then a Aourishing gunpowder manufacturing celllre for the Spaniards) with orders to occup~ Ihe town and 10 destroy the powder-mills but with no instructions as to whcn to return to their base at Barcelona. (This is probably the first military application of the 'usc and throwaway' principle!) Leaving Barcelona on 19 March, Schwarz's hrigade stormed the pass of Mont Scn'at and on 21st rcached the larg-et J\Jlanl"esa. TIl(' town was deserted excepl lor lhe old and sick. and the brigade entered and put it into a state of dcfenc('. for alrcady the surrounding hills were filling up with thousands of Spanish armed Ix:asants who finally outnumben:d the brigade by six toone. i\tanresa was now in a strtlcofsiegeand only panics of o\'er company strength could venture out of the town. On the 25 March an ammunition com'O)' escorted by a ballalion of the French 67th Line Int'l.ntry Regiment arrived in Manrcsa, ha\'ing IOSllwoofits waggons m rOlli, from Barcelona and

having been saved from massacrc only by the timely arrival of the 2nd Battalion and both elite flank) companies of tbe 1St Battalion of the ~assau Rcgimtlll, who bad comc out of Manresa to meet them. The French hattalion left again on 27 )"Iareh to fight its way back to Barcelona, and 011 2 April was given the unenviable task of escorting a second convoy of ammunition to the beleaguered force in ~Ianresa. General O'Donnell and his Spaniards captured this cOl1voy and the few survivors of the escort who staggered back 10 Barcelona convinced ).larshal Augen'au that Ceneral Schwarz's brigade W:lS lost. In fact. the simation in ~Ianresa was so desperate that ; lI!..tf'~"" Schwan!: :It last decid<.'d to ah.mdon the town during the night of the 4(5 April: his food was exhausted. ammunition and powder ,"cry low, and onl) by stripping the church roof and melting down pewter plate could he provide his sun"i"ing men with even 30 rounds each. The wounded had to lx' abandoned in the care of some Spanish monks even though this usually meanl a slow death for the poor wretches at the hands of the Spanish women. ~Iiraetllously, ~Ianresa pro"ed r" . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...lla.a;;:.,,; an exception to the rule; the Spanish monks defended their charges from the peasants with force of arms when they str('amed back into the abandol1ed (0'\'11, nnd the wounded were handed over to the Spanish army. Schwarz's attempt to slip through the enemy linrs unnoticed failed whell at about midnight the Spanish sentries heard them and gave the alarm. At once the church 1)('lIs in all ncar-by villages began ringing a signal for the militia to turn out and the chase to Barcelona was on. In the darkness the column ofSchwnrz's brigade became separated and the 2nd Ba1talion of the I st Regimcnt of Nassau struck o(ron the wrong path, only picking up the correct one again after finding fresh horse dung on olle of the roads leading from ajunction, which indicaled that mounted officers had shortly before ridden that way. Under continuous (ire from all sides the column joined up again at daybreak and puslled on as fast as possible towards Uarcdona and safcty.l\·lany men dropped out from exhaustion on the way and once the brigade had to stop and fight a rcar·guard action to ease the pursuit and to allow the men a little rest in the blazing sun. All dny the chase con-

~:~J~"'t:.~:::=:i~b=::.:;~ar:I~d~:~;:;:li~':I~!:=:: OtdftJbu~ l'1lilio:d an infanlry ~;me." wlLich w.a dreslied

;-~~:;:~~~::;J-::'o~:~::~::':~ed~:':d~t"" c;:.1 f~Ci.~i.

The hal WOrD by Ihefu..itien aad liSl1.l company is, however,

:;~;;~e;:n::n;~~:ne;~;~;ee::';;I~rSl1::.~e1:Jc~::'

::::t~~:Ii,bb:;dn:::-:·p:::"j:,:I;:'.:'le~:::c~';:;~a:: II::: were r"uved for parade and &:al. dre... The sre..adien wore French_Iype bearskins. ' tinued. but by evcning the pursuit slackened and the brigade bivouacked at SI Andres, having been marching and fighting for over twenty hours. Next day, 6 April, to the great astonishment of the garrison of Barcelona who had given them up for dead, Schwarz's brigade marched into the city with bands playing. Auge!'(.'au had already ordered the quanermastcrofthc Nassau Regiment to take stock of all his stores and hand them in as his regiment had been captured! The Nassallcrs' losses were high: DC;ld

Wounded C'..lpturl-cl

Missing TOTALS

Officers N.C.O.s 6 3 '0 '5

,8

,8 6,

17

C""ral Schwart< rrspoml,d p"f~ct!)' to tht i,,Imtions oj th, mission with It'!tich His Exu{{",'J (hargrd him. That gmrral offiur is to commmd to His Exu{{rncy thou tif his o.!ficrrs and soldirrs who hat't particularly distin.s:uish~d l!tmlSdvrs. JI/lgf!Ttau

When one considers that the Manresa expedition was a very representative example of the sort of life that French units in Spain endured from 180g 13 it is easy to sec how the 'running sore' of this campaign drained the resources of trained manpower and warlike materials of the French Empire. So life for the 1st Regiment of Nassau went ongrinding, boring garrison duty being relieved by periods of intense and exhausting activity as task forces were selll out into the hostile hills loanempt to bring the elusive foc 10 batlle. On 10 July 181 I Oberst von Pollnitz, commanderofthe 1St Nassau Regiment was kilk-d by a cannon shot from a British ship at Mataro ne;u Tarragona, and his place was taken by Oberstleutnam \'on Steuben umil 28 Februarv 1812 when Oberst ),,'leder was transferred from ;hc 2nd Nassau Regiment and promoted to fill the post. Th.. gilt.... of Spllndllu fortr..n; 10 Ih .. north-w"111 of S .. rlin, In August 18r2 the garrison of Barcelona (1st ;1 hlld been on.. oflh.. cily's strong...1 d ..f..ncu for c..nturi..... Ahhough ;., good r ..p.ir ;., .806 it willi .. harndully Ilur...,ndRegiment of Nassau, 18th French Light, 5th and ere
18

~lUl·ray had by lhen already re·shipped his army losing most of his heavy equipment in his haste), and Mathieu returned to Barcelona. Murray was sacked for his timidity; General Lord Bentinck took his place and re-invested Tarragona, so the Barcelona garrison once again came to its aid. ~Iarshal Suchel (now commanding in Catalonia) decided to destroy the fortress of Tarragona and 10 abandon it, which hedidoll 18 August 1813. As already mentioned, Napoleon's German allies began abandoning him at about this lime and ~assau officially joined his enemies on the 16 November 1813. In accord with secret orders. the 2nd Regimenl of Nassau weill over to the English on 10 December. No such secrct orders reached the unlucky 1st Regimenl (vast amounts of French despatches were captured by Ihe panish guerrillas in this war) and ahhough Lord Clinton, commander of the English forces in Catalonia, sent Obcrst !\!t:der a lettcr from Oberst Kruse urging him, ~1eder. to follow his example and to bring his troops over to the English, ~Ieder proudly refused (as he thought) to sully his military honour, On 22 December 1813 the 1st Regiment of Nassau was disarmed in Bilfcclona and escorted to French prisons by the 1171h French Line Infantry Regiment. The authorities did not trust the 5th, 115th French Line or the 18th French Light Illfantry Regiments to do this job as these regiments had shared the fortunes of their Nassau comrades and it was feared that they would have allowed their prisoners to escape. Oberst Medersecrns to havcdolle well for himself; after the disarming of his regiment he entered French service, Fate caught lip with him a few weeks latcr, however, when he was killed just outside Barcelona fighting the Spanish.

The 1st Regiment was part of the Hanoverian Rcscrvc Corps undcr Lieutcnant General von del' Decken which was organised as follows: Brigadt (Lieutenant-Colonel vall del' Dccken) Fdd-Itltaillon Hova Landwt:hr.Halaill~n MolIn Landwchr-Bataillon Hrcmcr!chc :md Brigadr (Licutenant·Colonel \'on Beaulieu) LlIldwehr-H.'\laillon :\Iordheirn Landwehr-lblailJon Ah!cfcldl L'lnd\\chr-lbtaiJIoll Springe yo Brigadt (Liculcnalll·Coloncl Hodccker) L'lnd\\ehr-Balaillon Ollt:rndorr Land\\chr-Batailloll Celie Lmd\\ehr-Il:uaillon Ratzeburg lSI

THE WATERLOO CAMPAIGN On 9 May 1815 Nassau concentrated her forces two infantry regiments eaeh of tWO line and one Landwehr battalions, each of one Grenadier. four Jiiger (three in the Landwehr battalion) and one Flanquer company. Commander of the I st Regiment was Oberst von Sicuben; Oberst \'on Kruse was promoted General and commanded the ~assau contingenl.

,

, // // .... ! ,/1.,,1 " ..,I'~IIII,,'·//f.,',r,/",.u'·I' ':/""./1/,1/'1:/"/>1<'/1,1" 1'';;.1.1 I_ / . 1"///,

"

1./.,/.,

, /.,. '/' 'Th" Happy Hunter' _ a cartoonist·'s view of Napol_n after

~::s~:ttl=.t0(~~p~~n~~13~1~:.~et.. ta~(~~~:~:\=~~: catm and unruffled; He's nOt the ......t or WOMit beeau_ he haA shot (?); If his _pression is not too happy, II's becaUH he smell.. the soat's tail.'

al_ys Slays

19

.JIh nriplldf (Licutf'llant.Coloncl Wissf'l) Landwi'hr-Batailloll Hannover Landwehr-Batailloll Uelzcn l.anclwehr·Bataillon Neustadt l.andwehr·Bataillon DiepllOlz

THE NASSAUERS AT QUATRE-BRAS

The left wing of Wellington's army on the cve of Quatre-Bras was the 2nd Division of General Perponcher. in lhe arca ofGenappe. Frasnes and 1I11n1I01
~:~~U(~o":':;~N"':';'~:f)~:i:::~:'~:5~::n:oN";:c:

...me.' (I) G..m;o.."ourt F...m, (:0) La..... II.. F....... (3) G ......d

Pi sne.Ie. ..,..pOlIl F ....... h') P.dt Pi""""fOnl F......, (s) M.....i5 (6) ROU5.

F

20

\

TO CHAIl,UROI

21

during the day). The position was beginning to look grim for Perponcher's division when at lasl reinforcements came up. The)' were General von Merlen's ~etherlallds Urigade and Genernl Pictou"s English division (altogether 7,000 infantry, ',100 cavalry and 1'2 guns). Shonl)" after this the Duke of Brunswick ("The Black Duke') also arrived with part of his division (3,000 infantry and 800 cavalry) and Ihe balance of power lipped slightly in favour of the Allies. Encouraged by these new forces, the rash and impulsive Prince of Orange launched a hurried attack to win back mOSI of the plateau which he InIUUUn! ensraviDs by J. Voh2: 5howinS French pri50"Crs had lost but was repulsed with losses. Wellington bein! u,•.nsportN (brou!!h a Bavarillft cown in .8 .... The modey r:OU~riOD appears co inch.de W ••"ry, ca...bini".... then returned from his meeting with Blucher and c.urassi"",, bus".rs and c.....se..rs. The rno....ued .....,.,rt villible .ncb d .... wa . .bre MhUod the cart lIftmI' to be " assumed command . Ncy launched an assault 10 trooper of the 71h National Cbe_.. _I~"... R~m"nl of follow up his withdrawing enemy and Wellington SaVllria, calki.a5 10" e....ri... hussar InH>JH'l". countered the struggle raged back and forth for some time - the young and untried Brunswick rallying"point where the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd hussars being overthrown by the french Chasscurs Division was also in position. ~igillrall ended the ;i Cheval of Pire's command and the frenzied fighting. encrgies of the Prince of Orange contributing as (The dispositions of the Nassaucrs at Quatrc- much to the enemy's success as to lhat of his own Bras on 16 June may be seen on the Illap Oil troops. By the early evening, wilh reinforcemenlS page '21). At 6 am on 16 JUlle the Prince of all bOlh sides, the Allies had 37,000 men against Orange (who had arrived there during the night Ney's 21,000 on the battlefield. At 7 pm Ncy and assumed command) ordered von Normanll's broke on" his assaults and withdrew south 10 b.ltlalion 10 push south 10 Frasncs and recoil· f ....
~~-~~~'-=:~~;;~LI

22

23

laliom, and finally Ihe Kin~'s G('I'lllan Legion Brig:ade ofColoncl Omptcrla w'ith four batlalions. The left flank of Om ptedOl's bri~adl' reached to the Cellapp(' road and t!lr farm of I.a H:l)eSaintl' in front of this brigade \\as occupied b) the 2nd tilthl Baualionofthe f'.ing'sGennan Legion. The 1st Rrgiml'l1t of XaSS:lu was in til(' second line lX'hind the brigades of Halketl alld Kiclmann· se1{gl·. The brigadNi weTe arrnngcrl in 1\\0 lines; the batl,lliOlis in column, In the 1St Xassau Regiment the first line consisted of the 1St Battalion in didsional columns; Ihe second line \\;IS formed b) Nas..u's Rallis, Lilr.ethOHOrmOtle Eu.ropea. armiesoreh" day, th(' 2nd and the Landwehr llattalion~, both in w"re ..ailed 10 th" scali's. Th" prese...eali.., or c:olours 10 a assault columlls, The 2nd Rc'gimellt of i\assall ;:r~:~o;~~:a::"~rp":~:~~:~~:~:::lIloo;:i:: ~..:=:~ was on the western and e:lslel't1 ends or WellingiIIulOlraled here - would be 00 hand 10 .e.rike;n II." nne or 1.1." 1Il0Id.h".ded nail. with a suilably dec:oral.ive hamme... lon's line. Ilonh of Hougoumont (wlll're thc 1st ~:~I~~rlt;f;:it:::~": ;1:::::~~WI ;;'~:;:hC:o~ o:~~e..:~~:: Battalion oflhis regiment look part ill Ihl' defence po... ihle embarra."me.ne! oflhis vital farm, the strug1{l{' for which absorbed so l1luch of Napoleon's gr!lerals' int('resl and Nassau arrived al Quatre-Bras only ill the l'lwrg)' (in vain) throughout lIlt' whole battle) and evening and did nOI lake pari in Lilt, day's north of Papeloltc sce bl·low. In spite of being figlHillg. Thai samc day, 16Junc, Blildwr's arm~ in Ihe second of "'cllingtoll's battll' lincs and had becn beaten b) .\'apoleon at Lign) and \\as being situated on thc re\'erse slope oflhe position, no\\ \\ilhdrawing nOrlh-easl on \\'avre. bUI thr 1st Regiment ofXaSS
b:::t

1 PriVllI"'. ,sl 8alla.lioo, "umm",r drn"•• llo:J " D.... mm"'r. "nd Balt.lion. Summ.... dr..u ••806

C2mp"i~n

3 Fusili"'r!>.
A

• FusiJjer, lind Battalioo, parade dress, .806 II

Grenadier sergeant, 4th Battalion, winter parade dress, 1806

3 RiflelDan,3rd Bal1a!;on, sUlIIlDerparade dress, .806

B

N... IIll .. , Offiee.... Reilende J_!U, p .....de dretia. ,&0,

c

11

D

Officn-.Reil~"J.8

..r.I',.(I.. Spal"l

• Officu (Pr~m;~rl~utnant)ofVoltigeorli, parad~dre55, .8'0

II Volrigeor Corporal, campaign

dr~8lI,

:J Drummer of FU5ili~"" lind IDfantry Regiment, 180g-13

180g-1:J

,

Old~nburg:

Corporal, Vohigeur Company,

,808-11 ,. Naliliau, Serg",anlomajor ofGn:nadj",r", 'iiI R~g;menl, ,8'5

J

Old~nburg:

drill order

Drummer, Grenadier Con'pany,

• fllsili.,r 8.,rlleanl, 12gll, 'f",nch' Lin., Inran.ry R.,!;m.,n., ,8'2 2 Offic.,r. R-=!;mrn. Old""bll~. win •.,.. pa....d., drus. ,8,..

3 Prh'll'''. f .. .,;"';lI;lIrJi.~",r Dr.a"hm.,n. or.h", R-=!;m.,nl Old.,nbll.'1!:, fi.,ld dru§., ,8 ...

G

[ {:lg~~I[:;I~:)anlry Regiment, .8'5 :lI

3~e"r ofth" General Staff, parade dress,

3 ?s~eer ..fGrenadiers, lSI Infantry Regiment,

H - - - - - -

and, if they wan~rt'd, it could have caused WellinglOn's n'ntre to break. Buoyed up b} the excellent example of their British j\llies in Halkett's brigade. who had held their firc until the cavalry was at a r.ang"(· of 60 paces and had then mown down dozens of horses and riders, the 'oung Nassauers stood firm and repulsed the French cuirassiers' attach. English dragoons then ('ount('ratlacked tIll" dismayed Frt'IU,'h c:l\'alr~ and pushed them dowlI the slope towards their OWIl lint'S. This brought no relief to the longsufl'(:ring infantry, however: as soon as tIle cavalry had gone, the great banery of French artillery op('ned up on the English lines ag'lin and casuahit:s began 10 mount. A second massivc ea,-alry attack folJowro at ahout 5 pm and the much weakened Allied ~quar('S in WellinglOn's centre almost "anished heneath the flood ofsabn.'S and helmets. BUI ('\'en now, in this moment of crisis when "'e1lington's ~Jim f('sen'es "'('re commitled, Biilow's Prussian corps Iwgan to appear from the cast through the villages ofConturc imd Hanotelcl, and gradually a flanking pressure was hrought to he;)r 011 Napokoll'S line. III spite of this, it was well over an hour before the French ea,-alry fdl back from tilt' Allied centre in this second attack. and O\'er tell separate chargt.'S \\t're made; but no squares broke. At 6 pm the silllation of the small garrison in the farm of La Hayc Saintc became Ulltenable \\hen tlwir ammunition supplies ran out. ~Iajor Biiring ,of the King's German Legion) who commanded this Outpost had repeatedly sent mcssages to the f('ar asking for ammunition rt.'supply but for some reason Ilone arrived. Now the French allackers could shoot down the defenders with impunity and Major Itiring was forced to withdraw up the hill to the main British lim', The French swarmed after him and a baiter} of gUlls was set up aoout 300 pan'S in front of the lsi Battalion of the 1st Nassau Regiment and began to tear this and other units to shreds wilh discharges of canister. In a few minutes all officers of the Nassau grenadier company were dead or wounded, In an cnon to put an end to thc siaugiller, the tst Balla lion's commander, ~Iajor VOn \Veyhcrs. ordered a bayonet charge to take the ballery but a ft·w seconds Iatrr he was badly

wounded by callister and the chargt· call1(' to a halt. WellinglOn Ihen sent an order that the battalion should return to its place in th(' line hut for some reason the grenadier and the 1st .Ja~(·r company remained halted in a fire-fi~ht with the French batter}. Suddt'nl) some French n:imssi('r squadrons. who had regathered b~ the 11;uns, swarmed over the isolated :\'ass."luers and cut them dow n, Between 7 and 8 pm :"Japoleon, seeing th(' growing pown of tIl(' Prussians in his rig-ht real' and heing as y<,t ullable to break the Allied army on his front, decided to chance c"('I'ything on one last desperate throw, The Imperial Guard, invincible in battle (large!) because it had so rardy been used! was launched at \\'ellin~tnn's arm~ with the aim of bUNting through his tired and weakent:"(!line ,lIld thu, openin~ the way to Brussels. The incredible hapl)Cned: til(' Imperial Guard was met b~ tlw ,tead\ British lint' and thrown back with h(·,.,') loss! The entire French arlllY groaned in despair; the day was 10M. and the Fn'nch began 10 stn',lIn away 10 tIl(' south. fleeing in increasing confusion from Ihe Prllssians who had t:lkell over the pursuit. On \Vellington's left flank the ;)ssault columns of the j\liddle Guard were met by Iialkell's brigad(' and the 1st Regiment of:'\assau now commanded b} the Cro\\ n Prince of till' X{'llwrlands : Ceneral von Kruse and Obersl \'on Steul)C1l \\ere al<;o tlwre. The prince ,\ as wounded hut the Cuard was also pushed back. Xapoleon's last effop had bnn mad(' and had failed: the Ibttle of Waterloo had bt.·en won b) the AIl~lo Dutch German AlIit'S and th(' feared and h:lIt.'(! dictator of Europe had his claws drawn for the last time, Tilr :.md Rr,~illlfl/l oj NaWIII (1/ jjI(llrrioo

At 10 am the 1st Ballalioll. 2nd Regilll{'nt of ;\'assau. had l)Cen SCllt illto the farm of HOlig-Ollmont on \\'dlingtoll's right flank IO!-{ether \\ith some Brunswiekers, two Ilannm'erian companies. four companies of British Guards and Gcneral Cooke's British di,·ision. The 2nd and 3rd 8attalions of the 2nd Regimellt of;\'ass.."lu and the Regim{'nlofOrange AaSS.."lll wcrcon the extrcme left flank of \\'ellington's line, and the ,-illag<' of Papelottc was occupil"(l by the Flanquercompan) (under Hauptmann von Rettherg) of the 3H! Battalion, 2nd Regimellt of Nassau. The map Oil

25

Gf,.~ 1 KI~ist "Oot Nollftldorf, comma.oder of the North Army Corps ioo the H ••dred Days eampaip. The OldftlblU'S R~ftIl w . . pan ofthi.corps. Kld.e. wUCanu is dark blue with red r.ei.«_ and «aid b,ut_.. embroidery and _baulder cords. Amo.« his d~a ....tioll.. __ be ~ W lrou Cros"'(O::"-led ioo 1'13 by Kiool! Frederick WillialD Dt of P.......i.l, Ille P.......ia.a Order of the Blade Es.;!e, the Austri.a.D. M.ri•• The~ia Order, ••d Ibe Ru...ia.a SIa!' of Ihe Order of SI Ceo"l!e.

Gf,

page 23 shows the dispositions of the Nassauers this frussian corps began deploying into combat formation on lhe eastern edge of lhe batllefield and advanced towards the French right rear at La Belle Alliance. They were opposed by Lobau's French corps and a fierce fight developed in the burning village of Plancenoit from which the French were ulti· mately dri\·en. Hauptmann von Rettberg, with the fOllrcompanies of the 2nd Regiment of Nassau under his command,joined in the Prussian assault on Plancenoit. ~'Iost accounts of the Battle of Watcrloo arc remarkably vague as to the correct state of affairs in I>apclotte and as to the actual participation in the battle of the 2nd Regiment of l'\assall. As its part of the booty taken after Waterloo, Nassau received fOllr 6-pounder cannon, two 7-

26

pounder howitzers and 12 train vehicles. As part of the reorganisation of the German mini-states which took place in 1815. Nassau had lost some land to Prussia and all inhabitants of this lost territOry became Prussians. Thus, on 28 November 1815,832 men of the 2nd Regiment were transferred to Prussian service and were replaced by 832 men of the Regiment of Orange-Nassau. The Regiment of Orange-:'\assau was disbanded on 3 January 1816, thc men going into the 1st Nassau Infantry Regiment or 10 Prussia according to their place of birth. The Landwehr Battalion of the 1st Regiment of Nassau was also disbanded, those N.C.O.s and officers who were transferred 10 it to help in the training returned to their parent unit. Ulltil 1820 the 2nd Regiment of Nassau (at a strength of three battalions) served with the Netherlands army and was then reduced to two baualions on returning home. The two N"assau infantry regiments were absorbed into the Prussian army in 1860 and assumed the titles: Das 11~ Herzogliche Nassauische Infi:\IlterieRegiment Nr 87 and Das 'lie Hcrzogliche Nassauische InfanterieRegiment Nr 88 The 2nd Regiment wore on its helmets the battle honours 'La Bellc Alliance', 'Medellin' and '!\'Iesa de lboI" until after the First World War. The 1st Regiment wore 'La Belle Alliance'. NASSAU ORDER OF BArrLE 1815 lsi "ifmllry Rfgimm( - Oberst von Stcllbt:n (7 r officers and 2,974 men)

Major von Weyhers Major VOIl Nallclldorf I\-bjor \'on Prcen :md Infanlry Rtgimffll Oberst Prinz Ikrnhard von Sachsen-Wcim;lr (Ialcr Major Sattler) (ag ofliccrs, 2,738 men) lSI /Jattalion Hauptmann Blisgen HI IJallalioll 2nd /Jallalion Lnndu·tkr /Jat/olion

2nd Battalion Major Ph. \'on Normanll l...alldwrhr Battalion Major Hegmallll This regimenl, logelher with the Regiment ofOrangeNassau, l'i)f1llcd Ihe 2nd Brigade of Lieu len ant Cenefill Peqxmcher's 2nd Division of the Netherlands Army. TIle Rrgilllrlli of Omnge NaSSfW (Nassal/-Omllil'lI) Tilis

was in Dutch Ikl~an c;eryicc and witi part the Netherlands Arm}. lSI Bal/a/ion } 39 officers, 1,4'27 men _"Bal/alion Fuiu:illigt Jag" Company 3 officers, 166 men To/alXossalilToops '93 offiUTS ond 6,832 mtn

~mcnt

From a letter by General von Kruse to the H.a.no\·crian Captain Bcmel Wicsbaden 7 January 1836 . The Ducal Nass.., u Brigade, consisting of two bIllry regiments was dispersed from 15~18 1815. The2nd Regiment had been in Dutch y since 1814; the 1st Regiment (which formed real :\"ass.'l.U contingent had only arrived a few ys pre\,iously and had not yel been alloned to a Corps. ntilthe 16th it lay dispersed in canlone1Dnll'i between Brussels and Lowen. <'fhe 1st Regiment consisted of three battalions until August 1814 both regimcnl'i had only had '2 Italions, and at this time wcrc reinforced by men m the thell disbanded 3rd Nassau Infantry R.~ment).

'Each battalion had six companies, namely, I nadier, 4Jagcr and I 1:lanquer company. The nadiers formed on the right wing (of the ttalion). The Flanqucrs on the left wing. 'Each company had 3 officers and [60 N.C.O.s .utd men. The battalion thus had 18 company fficers and 960 N.C.O.s and men, the baualioll adquarters had 13 officers and 40 N.C.O.s ~nd men. 'This regiment, which until tben formed my tntire brigade, marched out of its camps carlyon the 16th and wellt to Quatl'e-Bras which they «,ached on the evelling of the fight. 'On the 18th the Brigade, without being anached to any division, was ordered to join the First Army Corps commanded by H.R.H. the Prince of Oranien. 'The 2nd Regiment had 3 battalions each of6 companies as for the 1st Regiment but each company had 4 officers and 150 N.C.O.sand men. Thus the Regiment had 24 officers and goo ~.C.O.s ilnd men in the companies and 12 )fficers and 33 N.C.O.s and men in the regimental hradquaners.

The Oldtabu'1l l....r ~ry R~rne.1 i • • 8.,So Af~er ~!!: liberal~ from ~he Fr dl yok.. ia .8.J, Old....b.. rs raisOl'd .... o~h..r lia.. iaf.... ~ry r~m...t ....d • LaAdw.. hr force for lIernc.. with the Allie. ap;aiast N.poleon. AlIlDili~.ryaecfl.iti... w ia .bort .upply, 50 it caaa.. be .......eet tkat th.. ~ ta which fousbt ia tbe 18.] ca... paip appe.red ia perl'ec:1 r~atioa d ...... l it was. caM of'coDl...s you are', ....d .......y Pru...... La.ndw..h .. r~m""la fouSlu for DlOAths with a IUSb p"?",:ni. . of m .... barefoot. Pru...... inJI......ce can be.-.. ap.o ill th.. c." of~h" uniforDis here, b.. r.,

.ho_

~tri=?f:':~:::k~AB=B:~~' :::s~~~b.rse ...

;This regiment, together with the Regiment ~assall~Oranicn, formed the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Royal Dutch Division. 'The former wascolllmanded by Prinz Ikrnhard \'on Sachsen-\Veimar, the latter was commanded by Gcneral!eutnant von Perponchcr. (The Regiment Oranicn Nassau, like the 2nd Nassau Regiment, had been taken into Dutch' service for six ycars from 8 November t814. Even so, thc Regiment Oranicn Nassau also wore Dutch uniform. 011 3January 18t6 the latter regimen! \\"a~(·()tl1hirH'd lIitll11)(' t~1 :'\;I~~;'ll Rq,6nH'nl and with thl' Prus,iall :~:>th Fmilicr Rl·~inH'I11. 'On t5.JUtW IH[S till' ~l1d Ibtlaliul1 of tIl(' Dutch regimenl Ol'anicn Nassau still carried french pattern muskets and each man had only len cartridges. The FreiwilligcJiiger had rifles of four diflercnt calibres and no morc ammunition than the men of tile 2nd Batlalion.' Uniform

'The grenadier companies had round bearskins (colpacks), all other companies wore shakos. The uniform of both regilllenl'i was dark green with black collar and currs and short skins. The coat

27

had a single row of yellow hunons on the frolll summer white linen trousers were worn. and the uniform, ,md the side pockets, were piped 'The regimcntal and battalion commander-; \ellow, The breechcs were dark gr('en trimmed and the six mOllllled Adjutalll-majors. wore colwith yellow cOrti and ,he Railers were black, Belts, packs: only the general starr, 4 officers, wore handoliers and pack straps were ofbuA'lcather. bicorns with whitc, drooping reathcr plumes, All 'The uniform and headRear of the officers was mounted officers carried sabres, as for that of the men, except thai offi(('rs' coat· 'The Aags, of which each baltalion carried on(". skins were longer and they wore light grey and were or pale yellow silk with Ihe ducal badK(" in hlack striped pantaloons instead of grecn, All thl' centre !:Illhroidel"ed in hill!: silk. The slafr tip officers wore epau!cltt·s \\ hich indicated their was gilt and from it hung two golden tassels. ranks and orange silk sashes, [In I'oltmu ,\"1'/, 'It is correct that on the day of the battle of Pl"tr 8 of ttl/ours ·'Cniforml.:undt" thrrr is a up- \\'aterloo the men of the 1st Rt'giment were wearusmlation oj Iht .\'o$Sou inJantr:.r, Tht tnt 10 Ihis platt ing \\ hile covers on their shakos and pouches but Italts Ihal tht uniform u'as u'o", from 18 J I 33 bul in I had thcsc removcd al about 3 pm as they ga\"{' 181-/ thr rpaulrurs oj oJlir"s ill Iht jlo1/k rom/Jm/in the ('ncmy artillery a good aiming point. The men IN" rrpfared ~J' rrd or yllou' ".Irhsrlzhiilli·-It'illgs.} or tlw 2nd Regiment had the same COWl'S but in The Jager companies wore on their shakos a ball- black waxed cloth, shaped woollen pompon with a small turt ahove 'No moullted ofliccr rode a distinctive horse it. The colours varied h} company as follows: during the battle: only I rode a Falhc 101 light colou rcd horst' I.' 1St Compan} yellow 2nd Com pan} white Slrtnglh oftht lsI .\"assaulnfant')' Rtgimtnt on 3rd Com pan} light bluc 18 JUllt bifor~ tht battlt 4th Compan} black Iltatlquartrn 'L'nder th(' pompon at the front. top (('ntr(' of I Colonel 3 Ibn.dion surgeons Ihe shako was a small leather cockadt·, In I Oberstlcutnalll I Di\·isionaJ surgeon Hou!OUmOnl, ,8JuneI8's-a Fr"'nch a.nult i. tak..n in fl..... by • British batt.tioll, Althou.!lh fi .. rc..ty conluted 'hrough_ out ,h.. battt.., the rarm n..v..r r..11 ;1110 Fr....ch h.lld., II w •• d ..r....ded by.n AII~lo-Germang.rri....n indudins numMrs orN••s.uers. (N""o""l Army ~'....t'.. m)

28

N,C.O.s

:'1 l\lajors :'1 I\djulanl majors

l~

I Rq~ilTIcntaJ

33 Soldiers

surgeon

I

Corporal

lSI Ballalio"

6 ('..'plains 60berkutnanls 6 L:nlerleuln,lI1ts 17:\·C.0.s

67 Corporals 18 ~ I usiciam &)1 Soldiers

HOU!o.. mODt today, laktn from the _ d . _ II... direction t .... na by the aua.. lli,,! F",Deh I.rOOp... Th.. hoY)' nat..", of the 5rou.nd c:aft dearly be _ , and mu~t have tnad.. Ib.. ad\..... c.. pby_icaJly tim5 a. w,"-II as militarily perilo.... Ulle Wid'",.. plooto.J".pIo, to .. rl"'~ N.ti__' Ann.7 M ..."'.. ,..j

The 2nd Battalion and Ihe Land\\'ehr Ballalion had almost exaell)' the same slf('ngth and Ih(" wholt· regiment had 61 offieersancl appl'Oximalt'ly 2,8.1-0 men.

SlrrnK,1t oj IIII' :md Nassau Rt'gimml on 16 JU1If 1815 bifore Ihe bal/lt' rtf O!lfIlrr-Bras /Iradqllorlrrs 12

Officers

33 N.C.O.s and nwn lsi BallaliOIl

130flkcrs

8.0 X.C.O.s ;mel Illen 2nd /Jalla/ion

1 I OITin'rs

8.rl mell

11 Officcrs

3rd Ballalion 853 men

TOT.I/. 830ifiurs and 2.575 111m

The Bnt"HI~pperoad, witb tb.. farm on.. Hay.. Sau"" -loo1UB! lJO.. Lb, toward. tb.. 1iII.'"- bdd by th.. fn-oeh.. N...... troop. look pan u. Ihe heroit deftnce of thi• ..,.Stlltial bastion of Welli..!to..'. lill.e al Wal'"-rloo, wbich ..",tnt... lly feU throu!b laclt of unm...,.;tiOD. It.. 1__ precipilaled th.. eri.. i,. of tbe baltle. Vile W",I1..,.. ploo'0.J".PIt, .7 N.· ti,n... 1 A,.,..)' M ....",.. ,..j

tow,.,....

29

l..osSlS of the 1St Regifllmt al Il'aterloo on /8 )llIIe 18/5 ['nit

Drad Offrs

Mr"

,

Headquarters 1St Batlalioll 2nd H:utalioll L:mdwehr Uattalion TOTALS

"3

96 39

250

lVoundl'd .lIm Offrs 3 1.... 7 1 '3' 8, '0 3i O

Missing Offrs Men

,

,,6 8,

,

65 ,63

Tot,,1 Offrs Men 3 3 386 7 308 'I ,86 25 883

The 2nd Regimcnt also fought at QUOIlrc.lkas and ilS lossn there "ere:

L·n;t

Drad

1St Banalion 2nd 1l.1t1alioll 3rd lJallalion

Il'oundid 40 '0

3'

At Waterloo Lhey then lost:

Ullil

Du/(I

O./frs Heac!{IU,arters lsI Battalion 2nd Battalion 3rd HaHalion TOTALS

Mell

,

'7 '3 '7 6g

Wounded Offrs IHell

6 7 7 '0

Missing

qlr"

46 45 6, '53

Total

Mill

0.11",1

'7

8 8 8

'4

50 9'

''I

/\1'1'11

7' '39 3'3

Source: S/(lQlsarrhil1 Wiesbadrn, VI/I v\'assau, KrirgsdrpartrmrnlXr 532,26 27.

7Ite 7.1Nijorl7ls Ol:Ni!!,StlllS crroops 1803-1815 The rOllr inl~ll1try battalions wore dark green, long-skirted coal'; with red racings, piping and turn backs. In the tails werc vcrtical pocket-flaps with rour bullons and yellow laces. Initially there was one grenadier company per battalion (a Carabinier company in the grd Jager Ila.ltalion) and three rusilier companies: the grenadiers wore rcd plumes and epaulettes. the others black plumes and dark green shoulder straps. The shade or the racing colour and the colour or the buttons varied rrom batlalion to battalion as shown here:

30

tst 2nd grd 4th

Battalion Battalion Battalion Battalion

1st Battalion 2nd Ballalion 3rd Battalion 4th Battalion

Facings Bright red Brick rcd Light red Dark red Parade br('('ches Grey Dark grcen Grey Gre)'

But/onJ Yellow Yellow White White

Btlts Bun· Bun· Black Buff

Waistcoats White Grey Dark green White

Other distinctions were the headgear; the 1st Battalion wore Bavarian style black.leather helmets with black crest, black plume (r(:d ror grenadicrs) a brass grenade badge and brass fittings; the 2nd Battalion wore what seem to have been PrussialHtyle, black4rclt shakos with a black leather top band (N.C.O.s and drummers had

1806 the)' also wore gilt sword knots. Lcgwear was, for parades, close filling breeches with side-stripes and thigh-knots in short black gaiters with black leather buttons: in summer. =;~:S(:al~;k.;~ollh:,:,~~~oo~.::~::.a(":t~:~r~:.; white trousers over short white gaiters. Officers MOll"'",,") wore black Hessian boots with gold trim and gold top bands according to rank}, black cockade, tassel. The Rti/tndt Jagtr were dressed all in dark white cords, black plume; thc 3rd Battalion worc bicorns with black cockade, yellow pompon, green with silver lace and buttons, black leatherwhite loop, button and cords and the 4th Bat- work, black-leather helmets, high-crowned, Balalion worc shakos as for the 2nd but light green in varian style for officers, low·crowned for other colour with yellow (gold for N.C.O.s) top band, ranks. The helmets had black crests and green black cockade, boltom band and peak, and plumcs with white metal fronl pia Ie, chin-scales, ycllow cords. The grenadiers of the 4th Battalion peak edging and side struts. Wcapons wcre a wore thc black shako wilh copper grcnadc badgc carbinc, pistols and a curved, light cavalry sabrc and rcd plumc and cords as shown in thc colour in a steel sheath. Sabrelasches were of black plates. lcather with the crowned cypher 'FA' and thosc Until 180g all officers wore bicoms with black of the officers had a broad silver edging. cockade, and loop and button in the regimental In 1808, when the inf:llltr)' W:lS reorganised, the colour. uniforms were also altered. The helmets of the Collar and cuffs of the jackcts were edged in old 1st Battalion (von Todenwarlh) were givcn to yellow piping and badges of rank were shown by thc first grenadier companies of the two new gold orsilvcr lace tocuffsorcollaror both. N.C.O.s regiments, the second grenadier companies wore and officcrs carried sticks as signs of office and it French style grenadier shakos. By 1810 all may be assumed that at this time officers wore grenadiers should h:l\'c been issued with the ilk waist s.'lshes (in orange?). From 28 October brown fur colp:lck with red bag. pompon. plumc La Haye Saiale i_bu,d duri.aS Ofte o( the "",ach cavalry allacQ; Bntish fin (rom the prrisoa ...d the !tSlh Riftes in "'ppon aom o( Ihe (arm Ndly mauled the nshl 8aaks o( F"""ch cavalry c...""!.... 110. view Ht!m~ to I_I. ....uth (rom a poinl dose 10 the cross-road. m.rlo.iD.s the centre o( the

31

trous{'rs had yellow side·slripcs and thigh-knols. On 15 Octoher 1807 French muskcts and sabres wcr(' issued to replace the old-fashionN:1 and worn-Out \\eapons which the ~assauers previously h'ld and French b'ldg("S of rank and senice were introduced. For 0111('1' r;lI1ks these consiSI('d of dia~onal stripes across both 10\\('1' ..leeycs: Corporal Ser~ealll

Company Quartermaster

Sergeant i\lajor

N.... u Infan,ry flail;, ,806-15- Of pale rello_ doth, il bore a liS"" blue sloield, a lI;old aod red cro_n, and a lau...,1 _rea,h in S'--" "";,h a !old

~~~:ca~=;"~:I:d:;:;~.'!t"..;:~':o~:~~:;

bars. ne browa slaff had a sold spearhead,

nails aad ICOrtU.

and corcb ..ho\\ n in Ihe colour plalC"i. The elitc companies ~renadier and the Ile\\ Iy raised \'oltiReur \\ore French st) Ie distinctions: ~r('nadiers red haHrim, red epaulellcs and red sabre-strap, red gr('nadc·badge in the turnbacks: voltigeurs. grecn plume with yellow tip, brass horn shakohadgt', green cords, green epaule\tes and sabre strap, yellow-horn badges in the lurnbacks. Fll~iliers won.' shakos with white cords, black cockade, company colour pompon (1St Company yello\\,2nd white,3rd light blue, 4th black and a badge in the shape of a brass oval bearil1~ the regimelllal number. surrounded by a troph) oLums and nags. The jacket remained dark green but facill~ became black. butlons )'('110\\. turnbacks ~f(·en. edged ) ello\\ , waistcoats iniliall) \\hite, later dark ~Teen \\ith )ello\\ pipin~, Ie~\\ear either ~f('y breeches in black gailer'S as before or. lalcr, dark gr('('n trousers over shon black gaitt,rs. The

32

t\\O red stripes one gold stripe

ed~('(1

r('(1

t\\oredstripes andtwogold chevrons on the uppcr slen'(' two gold stripes edged red.

Service badges were also after the French pall ern and lOok the form or yellow chevrons, point up, on the upper len sleeve. Oflict'r5 wore gilt gorgets and gold sword knots and thcir rank was indicated by gold epatlktles on the should('rs: I.ieutenant fringl'd epaulette right: contre-epalilette len Premier Lieult'nant fringed epaulelte len: contft'-epalilelll' ri~ht Hauptmann 1\\0 fringed epaulet1es ~Iajor two epalllcttes \\ith silwr straps and gold bullion fringes Oberslleutnant two golden epauk-tl('s, only the len with bullion fringes Obcrst two golden {'paulett{'s with gold bullion fringes OfTiC{'rs wort' gold shako cords on paradt', The cavalry uniform changed liltle at this time except lhat the helmets gave way [0 black rur col packs with dark grecn bag (oflicers with silver tassel, the nll'n with white), Dark green pelisses with black fur and white lace and buttons werc addl·d. and the eXJl('nsi\"e. close fittingdark-grecn breeches in huss.'lr boots ga,·c way to dark-green overalls wilh black leather fillings, Badges of rank \\ ere a serics of \\ hite silver for officers I chevrons situated over the Cliff.

7heP/ates NASSAU A I Privatt, lsI !Jalla/io1l, summer dress, /803 This battalion was also known as the 'LcibBataillon' (Life Baltalion), a commonly used title all the Continent for the most senior regiment, battalion, company or squadron. II was also the custom to namr units after their commanders and thus the 1St Battalion was also knowll as the

'Batailton VOIl Toclcnwarth', The boiled-leather helmet is vcry similar to thaI worn at this time by the Ravarian army. The front badge was a flaming grenade in brass; the grenadiers wort a red plume at the side of their helmets, the musketeers the black one shown here. For winter wear the men wore grey trousers with black thigh-kiwIs and side-stripes and black gailers to below the knee, the gaiters over the trousers. The coat was ingle-breasted and cUt away in an oval shape at lhe bottom so that the white waistcoat showed The coat was edged in red piping. The pouch plate bears the lion or Nassau. A2

Drummer, 2nd Bflltalion, j/immfr ((Ipaigll dress,

/806 Here the Ilew yellow shako trim is shown ~ the Nassau drummers did not Weill' reversed colours but were distinguished by the yellow lacc on their chests and the yellow chevrons on their arms. The 1St and 2nd Baualions wore bun' leatherwork, the srd (RiOt) Battalion wore black. The brass drum was the modern dcsign and much lighter to carry than the older, bigger wooden models; this was important as the drummers were usually boys or about thirteen 10 sixteen years orage.

A3 Fusiliers, 4th Raila/ion, summer cflmpfl(ftll dress, /806 This battalion was recruited mainly rrom the Weilburg area or the duchy and was also known by the nameofitseommander- Major von Kruse. In Novcmber 1806 the black shako shown here was brightened up with a yellow top band, pompon and cords. The black plume was added ror parades. Note the rathcr unusual soldiers' coats

Li~utenant.G~n~ralFriedrich Christian Di~trich von P..-n, wbo commanded th~ 3rd (Landw~hr) Battalion of th~ .st Nanau Infantry R~gim~nt at Wat~r1 and was badly wounded in th~ n"ck during an atl~mpt to r~li~v~ La Hay~ Saint~. Born in Waldeck in t787, h" fought lllI an offic~r in th"

~i::~~c:a:~it:~~!;':tcif:::~I::fa~;:;hR~;rm,:~i~nt~i:,s

h: u ......nsf"rred in Marcb of that y~a.. to th~ Nassau s~rvic", .."taining bis rank in th~ 2nd Nassau Infantry Regim"nt. H~ s~..ved as A.D.C. to G~n~..al voo Scuff"r, r"tunting with bitn toNassau and lat~r r~joining his trps witha r~inforc~m"nt d .....ft.ln .8.] h~ was named a knigbt ofth~ L~on ofHonou... On 25 Octob"r .8'3 h" was promoted major. It was von Precm who carri"d his Duk,,'s s~c.. ~t v~rbal ord~rs to von Kru"",, instructing him to tak~ his "~gim~nt ov"r to th~ British. In .8'4 von Preen was given th" task of o ..ganising Nassau's Landw~br. His b ..... v~ry at Wat~..t bl"Ought him th~ WiU~ms.Ord"rand a p"l!5~ntation sabr~. H~ r~tired in .848 and died in .856. His uniform h~r~ -that of his final rank - is dark green raced with black v"lv"t, and has gold "mbroid~ry and "pauJdt~s.

with long skirts to the knee; this custom was normally reserved ror officcrs. The green breeches shown here were parade wear; llOrmal legwear was grey breeches in the short gaiters. It was in this unironn that the Nassaucrs took lhe field in 1806 to help Napoleon Cl'ush Prussia.

IJ / Fu.rilier, 2nd !Jalla/ioll, l)fIrade dress, /806 The origin or the green shako shown here is not known. The green coat was as ror the olher battalions bUI the racings were dark red compared with the medium rcd orlhe lsi and 2nd Battalions. The dark green plume was put on lor parades and when laking part in a prepared battlc. For wintcr

33

no.. Prian: otOra.slt" _.dM d..-ias; doe laua'

n of lhe Lute ofWala'Ioo, n - I " a,..... of CO\I"lIIlt _d dll~1a. I.Jte p~ was aoc a 1..-1 a~-e I. llae

-..d._budl,.

"ear ,,;-rc} br('('('hn with black thi~h-knolS and sidC"-stripcs wert' "om inside short black 1{3iters. The hack of thl' jacket had red turnhack and veni('al pocket flaps each with four bUllons and }c!lo" button holt' laces; two large bUllOllS were in the mall orthe back. Hair \\a worn !>o"dered and qUl'ucd ulltil 1806 7, Commander of this battalion was Major von Holb:lCh, and lhe unit was I"('cruitcd from the area or Usingell, 82 (;rmadi" S~rg~a,,/, 4th Battalion, lI'int" parad~ tlrrss, t80G This company of the battalion wore black shakos which appear to have been of the then-
:r~=:::-=~~:':~::!:I~I~c~..s.~~~:';;~:hel}~ ~e:.~:~:: :t:':I·r7tai:;'..h:ef~-:'~~h~;

~~..~~~~i::=i:"'.f:r=:;::'Z.;-:-~~

a1e: .-:o~~:!~:::vc: ~.!a;:;

CO'''lH' of acdon which _u.1 ha" e.cIeared IliID I. Manha'

~::~~::i:::ul:~e~~~i:

lhe

~t!,j".1

.. lime 10 ...... Ibe 1.1 N laI..lry from fatt!. (N.,i_.1 A.....)' M m) u

••Wm.S lhe .. me

fist-strap, Additionally, the)' wore gailers with rcd Ir'im and tasscllO the tops. As in most Continental armies, ,he packs were made or calfskin whereas in the British arm)' the)' were of call vas painted in Ih(' facing colour of the regiment. 1J3

Riflmwn, 3rd Baltation, summt'r part/de duss,

,800 During ~O\ember 1806 the battalion began to receive the new pattern shakos as worn b) the 2nd B.'lltaliOI1 but i, is likel)' thai onl), a fmction of the men had them during the campaign period. Th(" rcd facin~ of the 3m 8
W.,Jlinglon signals the general advance at the dose of the Batde of Waterloo. (Natio..al A.-my M ..s....m)

Being riflemen they were armed (at least in part) with rifles carried in the traditional huntsman's manner. Their equipment was also diAcrent from that oftheil' comrades; instead oran ammunition pouch and pack, they wore small canridge pouches on the front of their belts and carried their other kit in a black leather satchel or 'RanzeTltasche'. Another variation of the uniform was the orange thigh-knots on the grey breeches. Instead ora sabre, the riflemen carried a straiglllbladed sworc!·bayonet with a green fist strap.

C Nassau: OjfiCfrS, Reilmde Jager, parade dress, ! 807 Until 180gthe ReitendeJdger (Chasseurs a Cheval) wore the helmets shown in this plate; thereafter the black fur busby seems to have been adopted. Officers' helmets were of the same pattern as then worn by officers of Bavarian Chevau-lcgers with the following: differences: the dark green plume was worn on the right-hand side of the helmet

whereas the Bavarians wore a white plume on the left and the oval from plate bore the cypher 'FA' (Friedrich August, Duke of Nassau) instead of the Bavarian 'MJK' (Maximilian Jo~eph, Konig). Other ranks' helmets were very similar in appear· ance to those of the officers but ' ....ere considerably lower ill the crown; their crests were of black sheepskin over a stuffed 'sausage' instcad of the bearskin of the officers. K note!, in his Plate 34. of Volume V of his Uniformenkunde - Lose Blaller, shows both officers and other ranks as having five rows of white metal buttons on the chests of their dolmans. This is most ullusual and it was more conventional for other ranks to have only three such rows. Some authorities state that each dol· man had fifteen rows of whitc (silvcr lor officcrs) lace across thc chest but the actual number worn may well have depended upon the wearer's size! As in the French light cavalry, an officer's rank was indicated by the number and width of the bands of silvcr (or gold) embroidery to be seen

3S

abow the cufr and around the thigh knots. The cyphn 'FA' on the sabrctaschc is orten wrongly reproduced as 'F~l' by anists who copy the old paintings without sufficient knowledge of who S<~t 011 the ducal throne al which time. Saddles were of the w<:MX!t:n 'Bock' Sly Ie. as produced in

Tllrkc~

and Hungary hundrcdsofycars ago, and harness was of the lighl c;I\"alry pattern and, for officers. was dccoratlX! with liny whitt: co\\ ric shells.

-

:::; ~~~:,::~~;;ic~I~;"t""';' ~:a~:::h:~ ~~~~::r.~~ L~fa'k urlhe day. Museum officers of.llthe arntiu It ill now in the for German Hi ..lory on the Unl.,r den Linden ;n East 8"rUn,

D I Pion"r. HI "ifalliry Rl'gimml, 1809 13 SapPl'rs one per company) wore grenadier appoilllml'nlS (red epaulclte!l. busby wilh ft.xl baR. cords. pompon and plume), full hl·ards. :Ind th(' aprons, gauntlets and arm badg'l's sl1O\\ tl here. 'rhcir armamelll consisted of a sabre with red (ist·slrap, carbine (usually carried slung over the shoulder) and a heavy axe for dearing obSlacies.

The M1th& sadly droopin!plume obscurelllh" bl"d, r.,ath"r!I al jUba""

A. S"TJ>ftII, an odd but .pdy .... med mUlIical ;n.l..... ntt:nl carried by many nUlitary band" in Napoleon'. day. This ":umpl,, baDS" ... the Bavarian fortress of Coburs.

36

/)2 0.9;((r, Rtilmdt Jagtr. 1810 (in Spain) Evkknce tends to show thai only oflicers wore thl' bright red and rather baggy brecches shown here; other ranks worc thc previously Illentioned grey ovemlls wilh a dark green side-piping and while buttons. The old helmets have now given way to bro\\ 11 busbies wilh dark green bags and while; silver tassels. Other changes in the uniform arc Ihal hussar pattern. dark green pelisses with brown fur and sih-er lace and buttons have been adopll'(l and the silver pouch belt has givcll way 10 a hlack aile, edged in silver ami with silver picker equipment. Supplies of clothing scarcely ('wr rt'ached any of til(" men serving in Na]Xlkon"s armies in Spain (or in any other of his campaigns come to that!) so the troops were forced to make do "s best they could. Thisoften meant that each battalion would buy (or steal) cloth in the area in which they were quartercd and would han: their tailors make it llP into clothing on the spot. II seems that Spain was richly endowed wilh Franciscan abbeys al this period as man)' contempomry diaries and painlingsshow French and allied soldiers in brown trousers and gre.alcoats during these campaigns. It is an intercsling Ell'l Ihat Wellington's troops scarcely ('vcr suOcred logistical disasters or shortages on the scale lhal :\"apolcon inflicted on his men.

/)3 Trooprr, Nrilflu!e]iiger,/)(mu/rdrl'ss, 1806 This is the uniform worn by the 'Gn.'('n Hunters' (as the)' were nicknamed) in the campaign of 1806 against Prussia when the unit W<:1lI to Berlin. It is likely that on campaign the decorated green breeches would have been covered (or replaced I by mueh cheaper and marc comfortable grey overalls bultoning up the outsides oflhe legs.

EI

Ojfim (Prrmierlmlnant) oj l'o/tigmrs, parodI' dress, 1810 The old·fashioned bicorn was replaced by the shako for officers of fusilier and voltigeur companies in about 1810. Grenadier officers then adopted the busby worn by their men. Officers' shakos Iwd gold cords, front plate and chin-scales and vari-colout'ed tufted pompons according 10 company (fusiliers yellow, white, lighl blue or black; voltigcurs dark green). Sign oroffiec (from 18060n) was thc gilt gorget with a circular ccntral silver platc, bearing lhc crowned cypher 'FA'(?) and the gold sword knot. Rank was indicated by ~old epaulettesexactly as in the French ~apolconic army. The burr baldric had a gold oval plate with til(" lion of :\"assau on it.

£2 Voltigellr Corporal, campaign dms. 1809 '3 The \'ohigeur distinctions are almost identical with those used in the French Napoleonic army, i.e. grcen plume with a yellow tip, grcen cords and pompon, green woollen epauleltcs and sabre fiststrap. Turnback badgcs in the shape of ycllow hunting horns W(TC worn and the ammunition pouch badge was also a distinction. Fusiliers had neither turnback badges nor pouch badges. Grenadiers had r('d grenades on Iheir ILlrllbacks and a brass grcnade on their pouches. Both ;\'assau infantry rcgiments had blad fllcings since 1808; in 1809 the orange decoratiOl1to collar and culTs was replnccd by a plain yellow (:dging as shown here.

F I Oldmhllrg: Cor/Joml, Vol/igl'lIr Company, 1808 I I After joining the Rheinbund on 14 October 1808. the Ouch) of Oldenburg exist<:d until 13 D('Cembel' 18w whcll it was dissolved by :\'apolcon and incorporated into ),letroJXllitan France. The uniform sho\\ n here is a mixtuTe of Prussian. Austrian and French styles: the four fusilier and Ihe voltigeur companies of the battalion wore Austrian 'Jiiger' pattern hats (the fusilicrs with a \\ hite plume, the voltigeurs dark green, while the grenadiers wore black bearskins with a red lOp patch certainly a little French influence. The coat, with its twin rows of buttons, is very Prussian. The regimental historyshowsnn N.C.O. with th(' silver stripe on his upper arm; this is not confirmed in any othn source. omn'rs wore the hats of their companies but wilh a 1011~ plume following the top of the upturned brim with the bushy end to the rear. These plumes w('l'e white with a red tip. Thc sign of office was a silver gorgct with gold badge and a silver aiguilctte on the right shoulder. Officers carried curved sabres in black and gold sheaths on sih"Cr slings from a silver waistbeh worn o\'er the coat. The)' wore white breech('S in straight-topped black lx,x)ts: their coat-skirts reached to knee level. F2 Xassall: S"geanl-major of Grenadiers, 1st N,gimenl, 1815 This plate shows the uniform \\orn by the )\assauers at Quatre-Bras and \Vaterloo. The Frcnch·styk epaulettes in red and green for the elite compani(:s (grenadiers and voltigeurs) have now bcell replaced by 'Achsdwlilstt" or shoulder rolls (ksign('d originally to prevent a hunter's slung rifle from slipping on' his shoulder. The grenadiers' Achsdwi.ilstc were red, the voltigeurs' yellow. Voltigellrs now wore a brass hunting horn on their shakos and had green cords, pompon, plume and sabre-strap.

F3 Oldmhllrg: Drummu, Grmadi" Compan..", Drill order As in many otheT armies of thc day. Oldenburg I 80fr '3 The shakos now worn by the llisiliers and volti· cmplo)'('d N('gTOCS for its regim('ntal band 'at ~eurs of the Nassau infantry would seem to be of least for the grenadier company). Drummers' French issue pattern. The old drummer's distinc- badges werc the red and white 'swallows' nests' at tions have beel1 re(;lined. the tops of th(' sleeves and til(: four n·d and white

I-.j

Dmmmu tif Fusiliers, 2"d Infantry

R~gimml,

37

ch('vrons on each arm. Th.. ~mallo\\_' ncst \\crc rolotl-d \\ith red alld \\hite frinl;M alonlot thc botcoms, Offic('n' bearskillJl had ~iher cord~,

ne Old_boof'J W_lry Rewi_t" rewi_a. I...ad ~ Uae.le clirectl,. r

-r

; Ger_ m 1M N............,

u. 10 lhe Fin' World War, aad llooM wlUc.ll look o. Ih.

lradili. . . oflheKl..... e-.n..IAttI. . bore Brid.h Peal",.,,tar lNoltJe,......O"... l. The Old_b,,_f'J"" of '1411 .liII d.rk bl"e (a~ red wilh whir" .houkl" I p.; Ih"

_r"

1".,

:~,:"~::r"~.~':i:;:::;:.c==-~:

meekl,

OLDE:-iBl'RG (,"1

Fusili" srrl!.",nl, 12gllt 'Fr",rJl' /./l/r "ifrlllf':.~ Rrgimrnl, /8Ul

Tht' men of lhe old R<"Riment OldC"nbur~ \\ r senl 10 o..nabrud. in 1811 to form part of thC" nt'\\ I) -raised' I!/!I dr Lignr", The uniform sho\\ n 11('1'(: is cOlllpl('u'l) French. Crt:nadiers had red shako-cords and plumes. r('t"1 ('paulettes and red sabre-knots: \'olliXeurs. )dlow o\er Kr("("11 plumes, ~r('t'll rorrls. grN"1l epaul.. t1C"S and ~recn sabrcst"ll Drill and disciplirll' \\ere also French, \\hich meant Ihal corpor.11 punishm(,111 \\a not usnt. Officers had gold sha~o
38

wai~lbdlS wOl'n 0\'('1' th .. waislcoat and tinder til.. :'\apoleon commanded that th ne\\ rt'Jotimenu hould not r('C('iH lheir ea~1 uncil the\ h.ul proHd lhemseln's in battle th(" Russiall f.llllp"ign ~;I\e liberal opporltlnitiN for the i'iSUl' of man) l"aKI . unfortunatel) lh~ ca5ualtin \\t'r(" ~) hea\-) lhat h) the elld of 1812 then" \\ere ofl.. 11 too f("\\ men IC'fI in a n"Killlcnt to carr) thccolourll! ("0<11.

(;;/

0.ffirrr. R,t1mnd Oldtttbllrg. lonl« fNlrodf tirw.

181 1 rhe Prussian influence in this uniform has no\\ cmnplctd) ulIsled the Austrian alld French

touches which were seen prior to 181 I. The shako plate bears a 'p', the initial of the then.reigning Duke ofOldenhurg, Peter Friedrich Ludwig. As was fashionable in Prussia in those da)'s, the uniforms wcre vcry c1osel)' cut and thc slecvcs were so long that the bottom button of the cuff Aap was often worn open to gi\'e the hand a little more freedom and to stop the slecve from creasing tOO much. The plumes of the men were slightly shoneI' and thicker than those of the officers and the mens' shako plates and crowns were of brass. Drummers had red swallows nests as before, edged in white, but no chevrons on the sleeves. It seems that all companies were composed of musketeers and that there were no grenadier or light companies. The shako shown in the regi. mental history would seem to have been of the thcn·current Pl'llssian model. G3

Priunte, Freiwillige Jiiger Detachmel/t oj the Regil1lml Oldtllblifg,jicld dress, /8/4

On 27 November 1813 Oldenburg finally shook off the French )'oke and formed one battalion of linc infantry (1st Battalion) and one battalion of Landwehr infantry (2nd B.'l.ualion) which together constituted the 'Regiment Oldenburg'. Attached 10 the 2nd Baualion was a detachment of 'Frtiwilligt Jagtr' (,Volunteer hunters') or Gentlemen Rankers. These volunteers had to be rich enough to clothe and equip themselvcs and were addressed by officers and N.C.O.s as 'Sic the polite form) instead of the usual 'Du' familiar form) which was used to the common soldiers. The Frriwillige Jagers were armed with rifles and s\\'ord-bayonets and their facings were dark green instead of Ihe red of the rest of the battalion. They were used for skirmishing duties, and WOI'e the Landwehr cross in silver on their caps, as did the Prussian Landwehr. Their belts werc black whereas the rcst of the 2nd Battalion worc white.

NASSAU HI

Jiigtr, 1st "!lantry RtgimLnI, 1815 (allVlIltrloo)

This figure is shown wearing Ihe white shako ("o\"er and while pouch covcr which their commander. Obersl VOI1 Kruse, ordered them to re-

Helmet of a .. (hher R.ar.k, Old_hurs W ...uy R~ ...e..1 Nr. 9'. "''I...ow ia the ...ililary m .._ ..... ia the caatIe ofRaatau ia Bad_. Local f~li.a~ a.. rvi",ed ia onuoy paru of Gu......y 10ft!; aFter Pnania weldfld thl! p .... vi...... ly iadepnodeal atalK iato a aiaSl1! •• li.... ia Ihl! 187M; I!VftI today thl!re ia atl'Oll~ ...cj...Pnuaiaa f~li.a~ ia H....."l!r ...d Sa.,.ria. Thia r~ml!..t e...".i.a.. ed 10 recnail ia Old_hurs, d i.. hel'l"l!l btan thl! ..Id bad~1! ..rthl! eroWlled ducal e ......I l!;lJht-poi.. ted al"r.

move at about 3 pm on the day of Watcrloo as they were too conspicuous a larget for the French artillery. Badges of rank were still French but tbe epaulettes of the Hite companies had given way to shoulder rolls. Belts were ofbllITleather and packs were of calfskin as they had previously been. The shako plate was brass and as for the figure of Ihe drummcr in Plale E I. H2

OffictrojlhtCtntraISlaff,paradtdrtSs, 1815

This small corps of four officers kept alive thc newly founded Iraditions of the general slan- a body of officers designed to help a commander

39

An interesting link with the Nas..auers of Spain and Waterloo; note the similarity between lhi.. badge and the central device of the Nassau ·olours. It i.. the patch worn on the up~r left arm by present....ay members of the Gerrnan Bundeswehr'.. 5th Panzer Divi..ion, garrisoned in the area of the old Duchy ofNa..sau. The blue .. hield with its yellow lion and bars is wOrn with different coloured edge.. to indicate sub-unit. Divillional troops have black and white striped edges; '3th Panzer-GN!tladier Brigade has while edges; '1th Panzer Brigade has red edges, and 15th Pan..er Brigade yellow edges. This colour code by seniority (white, red, yellow, and where applicable blue) is the sarne as that U!led in the Prus..i. . arrny of .8'3'

manage his forces and win his baltles. On field service the expensive white breeches would he covered by grey overalls with a row of bUllons dowll the outside of each kg. These four officers (and the commander) were the only ;'\Iassau officers 10 wear bicorns, the rest of the regimental officers wore brown fur colpacks like the grenadiers. H3 OJficerqfGref/tlrlierJ. Hlltiftl/llryRegimml, 18/5 The regimental history states thal olliccrs wore gold cpaulettes to indicate their rank in 1813 and this is confirmed by General von Kruse's letter on that campaign. Knotel, in the text to his Plate 8 of Volume XVI of his UlIiforml'Tlkullde, states that in 1814 the cpaulelles of the officers in lhe grcnadier and 'f1anquer' companies were replaced by red or yellow Arhsdwiilsle or wings in the style of those worn by Ill(' officers of British light companies. Page I II of the Regimelltal

40

History states lhat 'the epaulettes for the men were discarded', but does not clarify the position of these items for officers. Being a company officer, this man carries a straight bladed Degell on a buff' baldric; mounted ofTicers carried curved sabres all black and silver slings.

SOURCES

Ikrnays, Schicksale tlrs Gro:;sherzogllllllllJ Ff(IIi~fllrl Knotcl, Unijormenkllllde I.ose Bliilla, Vol. V KIIOlc!, £!nijormklwde. Vol. XVI \"'riland, D(lrJlelbmg da KtliSfrfid, Frlll/Ziisisdlfli Armre /8/2

Nalional Army !'vlusculn, London Slaats;lrclliv Wicsbadcn. VI II Nassau, Kricgsdcpancmcn1 Nr 512, 2627

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