King's German Legion
The King's German Legion (German: Königlich-Deutsche Legion; K.G.L.) was a large military unit that was formed on 19 December 1803 by order of the British King George III (1738-1820, reigned since 1760), Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg ("Electorate of Hanover"), from Brunswick-Lüneburg troops that had been dissolved by the Convention of Artlenburg of 5 July 1803.
Contents
History
The German Legion, founded by Generalfeldzeugmeister Johann Friedrich Graf von der Decken (1769–1840) three years before the downfall of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, was the only unit to fight against France throughout the entire Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). The legion was organized into:
- eight line infantry battalions (1st to 8th Line Battalion)
- two light infantry battalions (1st and 2nd Light Infantry Battalion)
- two dragoon regiments (1st and 2nd Regiment of [from 1812: Light] Dragoons)
- three hussar regiments (1st to 3rd Regiment of Hussars)
- two mounted artillery batteries (1st and 2nd King's German Artillery Horse Battery)
- four foot artillery batteries (1st to 4th King's German Artillery Foot Battery)
- engineer corps (King's German Engineers)
On 1 September 1807, the Royal German Legion had 13,322 men and 3,773 horses, divided into 5 cavalry regiments, 10 infantry battalions and 6 batteries; the planned strength of 18,000 men was never quite reached, although the strength was later probably between 15,000 and 16,000 men. From 1809, the legion also included the Brunswick Hussar Regiment and the Brunswick-Oels Light Infantry Regiment.
In 1813/14, the Legion fought (together with the Black Brunswickers and the Russian-German Legion, among others) at the Battle of Göhrde and in northern Germany, where the Danes were forced to make peace and defect from Napoleon. At the Battle of Waterloo, subordinated to Wellington's international army, the Germans in British service once again distinguished themselves outstandingly. In 1816, the legion was disbanded and most of the soldiers were incorporated into the armed forces of the Kingdom of Hanover, which had been newly formed at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, where they were considered elite soldiers.
Monuments
- Opposite La Haye Sainte is the memorial for the fallen soldiers of the KGL.
- On the outer wall of La Haye Sainte are two memorial plaques for the officers and soldiers of the KGL.
- The Waterloo Column was erected in Hanover.
- There is a plaque for the KGL on the memorial to the Battle of Vitoria in Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain).
- In Osnabrück, the Waterloo Gate stands at the Heger Gate.
- In Hanover, not far from Waterlooplatz, in front of the Lower Saxony State Archives, there is a memorial to Carl von Alten.
- Also in front of the State Archives, there is a memorial plaque commemorating the KGL officer Georg Baring, who led the troops in La Haye Sainte.
- The Legion Bridge in Hanover leads over the Ihme, a tributary of the Leine. It was originally called the Waterloo Bridge and is now named after the Royal German Legion.
- On the Gehrdener Berg there is a memorial stone for Carl Ludewig von Holle, who fell at Waterloo.
- In front of the hospital in Wittingen, Lower Saxony, there is a boulder with the inscription “The King’s German Legion 1803–1815 – Peninsula, Waterloo, Göhrde”.
See also
Further reading
- North Ludlow Beamish: History of the King's German Legion, 2 Volumes
