King's German Legion

The King's German Legion (KGL) was a German military unit, but was an integral part of the British Army. It was in existence from 1803 till 1816. It has the distinction of being the only German force to have fought without interruption against the French during the Napoleonic occupation.

History

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

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

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

Organization

Cavalry
*1st Regiment of Dragoons (1804–1812, red dolman)
**"changed into:" 1st Regiment of Light Dragoons (1812–1816, blue dolman)
*2nd Regiment of Dragoons (1805–1812, red dolman)
**"changed into:" 2nd Regiment of Light Dragoons (1812–1816, blue dolman)
*1st Regiment of Hussars
*2nd Regiment of Hussars
*3rd Regiment of HussarsInfantry
*1st Light Infantry Battalion
*2nd Light Infantry Battalion
*1st Line Battalion
*2nd Line Battalion
*3rd Line Battalion
*4th Line Battalion
*5th Line Battalion
*6th Line Battalion
*7th Line Battalion
*8th Line Battalion

Artillery and engineers
*King's German Artillery
**2 horse batteries
**3 foot batteries
*King's German Engineers

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

Campaigns

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

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

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

The Legion was known for their excellence and their fighting ability. The cavalry was reputed to be among the best in the British army. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, the Legion "had such a high degree of professionalism that it was considered equal in every way to the best British units." [Barbero, p. 33] After the victory at Waterloo, the Electorate of Hanover was re-founded as the Kingdom of Hanover. However, the army of Hanover had been reconstituted even before the final battle, so that there were two Hanoverian armies in existence.

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

Battle honours

The KGL received these battle honours:

* Peninsular
* Waterloo
* Venta del Pozo (1st and 2nd Light Infantry Battalion)
* Garcia Hernandez (1st Regiment of Dragoons )
* El Bodon (1st Regiment of Hussars)
* Barossa (2nd Regiment of Hussars)
* Göhrde (3rd Regiment of Hussars)

Memorials

* Plaque on the outside wall of 'La Haye Sainte'
* Monument opposite 'La Haye Sainte' commemorating the dead of the KGL
* Hanover - the Waterloo-column
* Osnabrück - the 'Heger-Tor' formerly called 'the Waterloo - Tor' commemorating the officers and soldiers of the KGL
* Commemorative stone at Wittingen, Lower Saxony. Inscription: Des Königs Deutsche Legion 1803-1815 - Peninsula, Waterloo, Göhrde

German army

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

See also

*British military history

Sources

* Barbero, Alessandro, "The Battle of Waterloo." Walker and Company, 2005, ISBN 0-8027-1453-6.
* Chappell, Mike. "The King's German Legion (1) 1803–1812." Botley, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1-85532-996-4.
* Chappell, Mike. "The King's German Legion (2) 1812–1815." Botley, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1-85532-997-2.

References

External links

* [http://www.kgl.info King’s German Legion] (in German) 2nd light battalion and 5th line battalion re-enactment society
* [http://www.kingsgermanlegion.org.uk/ Kings German Legion (UK)] 1st light battalion re-enactment society
* [http://www.kgl-linie.de King’s German Legion] (in German) 5th line battalion re-enactment group
* [http://www.kgl.de King’s German Legion] (in German & English)
* [http://www.regiments.org/regiments/europe/de-regts/KGL.htm King's German Legion at Regiments.Org]