Hanover Expedition

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Hanover Expedition
Part of War of the Third Coalition
Date19 November 1805 – 15 February 1806
Location
Result

French victory

  • British evacuate Hanover
Belligerents
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
Flag of Russia.svg Russian Empire
Naval Ensign of Sweden.svg Sweden
Flag of France (1794-1815).svg France
Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg Prussia
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Sir George Don
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lord Cathcart
Flag of Russia.svg Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy
Naval Ensign of Sweden.svg Gustav IV Adolf
Flag of France (1794-1815).svg Napoleon I
Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth
Units involved
Allied armies Local garrisons
Strength
Britain: 25,000
Russia: 20,000
Sweden: 10,000
France: 4,000
Prussia: 50,000
Casualties and losses
1,000+ (British shipwrecks) Unknown, minor

The Hanover Expedition, also known as the Weser Expedition, [1] was a British invasion of the Electorate of Hanover during the Napoleonic Wars. Coordinated as part of an attack on France by the nations of the Third Coalition against Napoleon by William Pitt the Younger and Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, planning began for an invasion of French territories in July 1805. Hanover, previously a British possession, was chosen as the goal of the expedition, with Swedish and Russian forces under Gustav IV Adolf and Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy brought in to support the endeavour. Key to the success of the invasion was the support of Prussia, a nation poised to threaten France but not as yet openly hostile to the country. Sir George Don commanded the British expedition and he arrived with an army of around 14,000 men at Cuxhaven in November. To bolster the expedition and to strengthen the resolve of Prussia, Don's army was reinforced by 12,000, with Lord Cathcart taking over command.

Contents

Coordination between the British, Swedes, and Russians in Hanover was so poor that by December very little past the occupation of Hanover had been achieved. Cathcart grouped his force around the Weser, and soon after learned of the Austro-Russian defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz, which forced the Austrians to surrender and the Russians to retreat into Poland. With no large armies now protecting Cathcart's force from French attack, the situation was exacerbated when Prussia signed the Treaty of Schönbrunn with France, which created an alliance between the two nations and agreed that Prussia should control Hanover. With French and Prussian forces moving against Hanover, Cathcart's army was recalled in January 1806. The evacuation was completed on 15 February, and Hanover was left to the occupation of a Prussian army. The expedition, while a total failure, had little effect on the British position because of the lack of combat. Its method of quick amphibious transportation and landings of troops on a foreign shore would go on to be imitated in the Walcheren Expedition in 1809.

Background

In the first years of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars Britain found increased difficulty in engaging France in land battles. With British control of the seas and with many of the French colonies already taken because of this, France provided little opportunity for Britain to attack her apart from at sea. [2] [3] The small British Army was not equipped to engage in an invasion of the highly defended French mainland, and so continued to rely on the Royal Navy's blockade of Brest as the best way to impact the French at home. [2] This outlook changed in 1803 when Austria and Russia allied themselves to Britain as part of the Third Coalition. With more militarily impressive allies now available to take the war to France on land, the British Army would be able to do the same, safe in the knowledge that it would not be engaging the French armies alone. [4] This combined with the creation of the King's German Legion in 1804 produced an opportunity for new British Army operations. [5] In around October 1805 Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom was called off and the Grande Armée left its encampments at Boulogne to march towards the Russians and Austrians. [6] [4] [5]

With the largest portions of the French army gone, an opening was created for a British incursion into northwest Germany, with particular interest in the re-taking of the Electorate of Hanover, which George III had controlled until 1803, and which had only 4,000 French troops remaining in it. [4] [7] The British Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, and his Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, were strong supporters of the enterprise, having championed it from as early as July. They envisaged an amphibious army that could be landed at points across Napoleonic Europe, making "pinprick" attacks against enemy targets while avoiding large battles with the French that could result in "crippling defeat". With news of the French withdrawal having reached Britain before its culmination, Castlereagh began planning in September. By taking Hanover, Britain could restore the country to its rightful rulers while also gaining a useful springboard for further operations in Europe. [8] [9] Not all of the establishment was in favour of the endeavour, with the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, the Duke of York, relying on his experience in the Flanders campaign, arguing that expeditions that relied too much on the allies' actions would be difficult. [10]

Planning

Friedrich von der Decken, planner of the initial expedition in November 1805 Graf Johann Friedrich von der Decken 1769-1840.jpg
Friedrich von der Decken, planner of the initial expedition in November 1805

Castlereagh estimated that the retirement of the French armies from the Channel coast had freed up between 40,000 and 60,000 British soldiers for service abroad. [9] With this in mind, original estimates for an expedition planned for a large "disposable force" commanded by Lieutenant-General Lord Cathcart. This would have included two divisions of cavalry, one of light dragoons and the other of heavy cavalry, consisting of 9,600 men. Alongside the cavalry plans called for seven divisions of infantry, including four battalions of Foot Guards and forty of line infantry. These divisions would have each had around 5,000 men, and would have been supported by a light infantry brigade of four more infantry battalions, six brigades of Royal Horse Artillery, and ten brigades of Royal Artillery. Military historian C. T. Atkinson suggests that this force, if it had come to fruition, would have been "a really formidable effort". [4] [9]

This large army, while viable on paper, would have been very difficult to form up and transport in reality, and so on 10 October a much smaller army was hastily brought together to cross the North Sea under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir George Don, who was expected to also instigate diplomatic connections with the allied nations. [4] [11] [12] While the original plan had expected the creation of multiple divisions, Don's force was instead made up of two cavalry and six infantry regiments of the King's German Legion (KGL) which were controlled by Brigadier-General Friedrich von der Decken, [Note 1] a brigade of Foot Guards under Major-General Edward Finch, and a brigade of line infantry under Major-General Edward Paget. This totalled between 12,000 and 14,000 men, and Don received his final orders on 16 October. [4] [14] [15] [13] Von der Decken planned the operation, ensuring that the force would be transported quickly to avoid the coming of the harsh northern winter that would freeze the ports and rivers necessary in disembarking the troops. [7]

It was initially planned that Don would go ahead of his force to ensure that they would receive a positive welcome upon their landing, but this duty was instead taken by the politician Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby on 25 October. [16] Harrowby's mission was to Berlin and the court of Prussia, with the intention of enticing that nation into joining the Third Coalition. [17] He was authorised to offer a gift of £2,500,000 to ensure this. [18] Castlereagh believed that only the wavering support of Prussia could stop Don's expedition from being successful, and by the end of October it was thought that Prussia's entry into the conflict was imminent. [19] [18] Pitt, in turn, was of the mind that success could bring about "Bonaparte's army either cut off or driven back to France". [20]

Expedition

Initial landing

It was expected that Don's force would sail immediately, but with the wind against them their troopships only succeeded in arriving at Cuxhaven on 19 November. [21] [9] The crossing was difficult, and at least five ships did not complete it, spending seventeen days at sea before returning to Harwich with a portion of the KGL cavalry still on board. [22] The expedition went on despite this loss. A Swedish force of 10,000 men paid for by Britain was poised to attack from Stralsund, and they were joined by 20,000 Russians under Lieutenant-General Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy. [11] The British were not the first part of the Third Coalition to enter Hanover, as a Russian force had earlier arrived to blockade Hamelin, still garrisoned by the French and the only position left to them. [21] [7] Despite this Don's army received a warm welcome, and they quickly secured lines of supplies, while the KGL took advantage of being back in Germany to increase their numbers with local recruits. [21] Four infantry battalions, two of the KGL and two of line infantry, were sent to join the Russians at Hamelin, while other portions of the force were split off to go to the Ems and Weser rivers. [23] The neutral Prussian Army had also entered French-controlled lands, south of Hanover, commanded by the Duke of Brunswick, but quickly looked for their forces to be replaced by those of the coalition. [24]

Don's position on the continent was tenuous but not immediately threatened. Napoleon had beaten an Austrian army, that did not wait for Russian assistance before advancing, at the Battle of Ulm, but in doing so had stretched his lines of communication too far and was unable to advance further, giving time for Britain's allies to reinforce their armies. [21] When fully organised, Don's force stretched in a line between the Weser and Verden, supported with Tolstoy's Russians to the right of him. [25] While still not part of the Third Coalition, Prussia was on increasingly poor terms with France because of incursions made by the French into Ansbach, and Pitt hoped that Prussia would join the Coalition because of this. [Note 2] [21] [27] With Napoleon placed just to the south of Prussian lands, an advance by a Prussian army would put him in a very precarious situation. [21] Realising this, Pitt decided to strengthen the British expeditionary force, hoping this would entice Prussia into more warlike actions. The diplomatic situation was complicated because Prussia also coveted Hanover, and Napoleon had offered it to Prussia in return for aggression towards Austria. [21] [28] Despite this difficulty, Pitt and Castlereagh were encouraged by the absence of the expected harsh winter weather and continued to move forward with their plans. [15]

Expedition expanded

Lord Cathcart, commander of the expanded expedition 1stEarlCathcart.jpg
Lord Cathcart, commander of the expanded expedition

While Pitt decided on his next actions, Don began to plan an attack into the Batavian Republic alongside Tolstoy. Their plan was slowed by the reticence of the Swedish force and the continuing confusion surrounding the intentions of the Prussians. Tolstoy eventually decided that he could not invest enough men into an invasion and ensure the continued blockade of Hamelin, and no attack took place. [29] It was afterwards decided that Don's force, then spread about, would be brought together as one field army. [21] On 27 November this new command was given to Cathcart, who would bring 12,000 reinforcements with him to bolster his army. Don was superseded, but continued with the army as its second in command. [21] [14] [25] [30] Cathcart, who had been preparing to serve as ambassador-extraordinary to Russia and Prussia, was titled "Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in Northern Europe", and was given control over Russian, Swedish, or Prussian troops as well. [31] Harrowby began reporting that the Prussians were inclining towards neutrality in the conflict. [32]

Cathcart was issued his orders on 5 December, which expected him to work to the best of his abilities with the armies of the allied nations, but not endanger Hanover. Despite this aggressive step, Cathcart was also warned to take caution in his warlike manoeuvres; even if he put his army under the command of another force, such as that of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden at Stralsund, he was allowed to refuse action if he deemed it too dangerous. Castlereagh even suggested that Cathcart attempt to link up with the main Russian army advancing from the east, but this was a logistically difficult proposition. [23] [15] Cathcart arrived at Cuxhaven on 15 December, making his headquarters at Bremen. [21] [31] He began to prepare for the upcoming campaign, discussing how to communicate if the rivers of Heligoland should freeze over, considering whether to advance on Holland or the Lower Rhine, and bringing his army together around the Weser. Before being withdrawn, the units stationed at Hamelin briefly skirmished with the defending French on 22 December, marking the only combat engaged by any of the force. [Note 3] [23] Word of the Battle of Austerlitz threw Cathcart's plans into confusion. There on 2 December a Russo-Austrian army had been soundly defeated by Napoleon, and Austria had surrendered in consequence, with both allied armies all but destroyed. The chance of Prussia entering the conflict was heavily diminished, and the remaining Russian forces began to withdraw towards Poland. [23] [34]

Offensive breaks down

Cathcart had come ahead of his reinforcements, and their ships only arrived in the Weser on 27 December, with two divisions under Lieutenant-Generals Francis Dundas and George Ludlow, 3rd Earl Ludlow. [Note 4] [23] [13] In these were four infantry brigades, commanded by Major-Generals Rowland Hill, Sir Arthur Wellesley, Alexander Mackenzie Fraser, and John Coape Sherbrooke, with three companies of Royal Artillery and some Royal Engineers attached. [35] [36] [37] The news of Austerlitz reached Britain on 28 December, but it was still hoped that Prussia would not cease fighting against France, and that Russia might hold on in the west. [23] Without the larger Russian and Austrian armies standing as a buffer between the French forces and Cathcart's army, the latter's position in Hanover became untenable. [38] Despite its now increasingly precarious position, Cathcart's force was kept in Hanover in the hope that its presence might still encourage the Prussians, and an uneasy cooperation with the Prussian General Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth continued. [23] [39] The reinforcements in the Weser landed and joined Cathcart's army, despite there being no clear view of what they might be used for. [23]

This injection of new troops was not the boon it might have been for Cathcart, because on top of the decaying strategic situation, the troopships had sailed through rough weather in the North Sea. Hardly any of the battalions embarked succeeded in reaching Cathcart whole; the troopship Ariadne, carrying the headquarters party and 300 men of the 9th Regiment of Foot, was wrecked near Calais and all on board were taken as prisoners of war. The same happened to half of the 5th Regiment of Foot, while losses were also encountered in the 3rd, 30th, and 89th Regiments of Foot, the latter of which lost 150 men killed and a further 150 captured. [23] The 26th Regiment of Foot was the hardest hit in the crossing, with one troopship being wrecked on the Goodwin Sands with the loss of all on board, and another wrecked off the coast of Holland, totalling between them 500 deaths. [40] Other units were also depleted, but not by shipwrecks, with over 1,000 men returning to Britain when ships were unable to reach their destination. [41] Only the 28th and 36th Regiments of Foot succeeded in arriving substantially intact, but large portions of Cathcart's reinforcements were so badly depleted that they were incapable of further operations, with over 1,000 people having been killed. [Note 5] [40] [43]

Cathcart could do little with his new troops, and had further problems with the local intelligence. On 28 December Castlereagh complained that the situation in Hanover was almost unknown to him, being reliant on French and Dutch newspapers more than anything. [Note 6] In some ways, Cathcart's army knew less than him; Wellesley reported around the same time that "they appear to have very little intelligence in this place, except what they receive from England". [38]

Evacuation

Map showing Prussia (blue) after her annexation of Hanover in January 1806 Rheinbund 1806, political map.png
Map showing Prussia (blue) after her annexation of Hanover in January 1806

Prussian troops were still present in Hanover, dating from the period before Austerlitz when Prussia was considering more offensive actions against France. Despite Prussia being the reason for Cathcart's continued presence on the continent, he was unimpressed with them, writing that they were "strong numerically, but not in quality". Cathcart kept his army in Hanover in the hope that Russia would continue to fight and that Prussia would finally officially enter the conflict, but he also began to plan routes of retreat, expecting that if the rivers froze and they were not able to sail home, that the army could march towards Swedish Pomerania. The army continued in its positions, awaiting official instructions from Britain. [40] By 29 December the state of Cathcart's allies was so poor that Castlereagh admitted to him that the possibility of supporting them with the British force was now completely gone. [45]

Castlereagh was aware of Cathcart's difficulties, writing to him that he should continue to support the Russians and Prussians where possible, but that the Prussians were untrustworthy and he should not go on the offensive unless Prussian assistance was guaranteed. Prussia was also suspected of plotting to force Cathcart to leave the German soldiers of the KGL in Hanover under Prussian command. Castlereagh and Cathcart were both heavily resistant to this, and the latter ensured that in the case of an evacuation the KGL would leave first. [40] Pitt's health was severely declining and he had retired to Bath; with the prime minister unavailable, the Cabinet began to send troopships to Cathcart in preparation for an evacuation. [37] The remaining troopships at Ramsgate waiting to make the voyage to Hanover had their men disembarked on 30 December, and were instead sent as part of this force. [43] On 5 January 1806 it was decided that no more troops would be sent to Hanover. [45] Two days later it was discovered that on 14 December Prussia had ratified the Treaty of Schönbrunn, a defensive and offensive alliance with France in which Prussia was given leave to occupy Hanover. [46] [47] Prussia also began to withdraw Tolstoy's force, which had been left under its auspices by the retreating Alexander I of Russia. [46] [48] [49] With Prussia now advancing to occupy Hanover with 50,000 men and with rumours growing that a French force of three divisions was preparing to attack from Holland, orders were sent for Cathcart to evacuate on 19 January. [42] [50] [48] [45]

Cathcart received his instructions at the end of the month, and quickly put them into effect. His army by this time had grown to 26,643 men because of recruitment by the KGL which resulted in it returning to Britain with more battalions and depots than it had left with; [Note 7] only around 14,000 were British infantry. [Note 8] [6] [42] [48] The first to leave were the KGL and the four British battalions that had been most weakened in the crossings of the North Sea. By 12 February the last of the army had been embarked, and Cathcart left Hanover on 15 February. [Note 9] [42] [48] Von der Decken, who had served the expedition as quartermaster general to both the British and Russian forces, stayed behind to ensure that all British debts were paid. He finally returned in May. [53]

Aftermath

Scene from the evacuation of the Walcheren Expedition, initiated in similar form to the Hanover Expedition Evacuation de Walcheren par les Anglais - 30 aout 1809 - Composition de PHILIPPOTEAUX.jpg
Scene from the evacuation of the Walcheren Expedition, initiated in similar form to the Hanover Expedition

With the British force gone and the Russians under Prussian control, Hanover was occupied by Prussia. In Britain, the remains of Cathcart's force were split up along the south coast of England to serve as a deterrent to invasion. [48] [54] [55] Prussia was forced by France to close all its north German ports to British traffic, and this caused Britain to declare war on Prussia on 21 April. [56] The expedition was the last military endeavour planned and orchestrated by Pitt. [6] It had achieved nothing, but had not been a great loss of men or material, and Castlereagh would later write that he was well satisfied with Cathcart's actions, war-related losses having been minor. [42] [45] Some senior generals in the army were angered by the failure of the expedition, feeling that its control by civilian politicians trying to be military experts had caused its failure. [45] Critics suggested that if the expedition had been sent to join Lieutenant-General Sir James Craig's Anglo-Russian occupation of Naples then Britain might have had one successful expedition instead of two failures. [57] Positively, however, Hanover had shown that the navy could transport large groups of soldiers across seas at short notice, and in relatively good order barring bad weather. [58]

Lessons were, however, not fully learned. Pitt died on 23 January, having been further weakened by the knowledge that Britain was alone in war against France, her allies defeated and the British once more pushed from the continent. [49] His government was replaced, and future expeditions with equally poor results, such as the Walcheren Expedition, would be launched in imitation of the Hanover Expedition. [42] [59] [49] Castlereagh's disposable force of 30,000 men remained in existence, but by March 1807 it had dwindled to 12,000 men, with the fleet of troopships created to assist in transporting it dispersed for other uses. [20]

Opinions on the expedition have been varied. Atkinson argues that the failure of the expedition was the fault of Britain's allies on the continent, rather than the politicians who had ordered the endeavour. [1] Pitt and Castlereagh had reacted quickly to the opportunity to attack Germany, and Atkinson says that the Austrians and Russians made enough mistakes that Napoleon was able to take advantage and defeat them; without them Cathcart's army could do, and did, nothing. [Note 10] [42] On the other hand, military historian Sir John Fortescue is more critical of the expedition, describing it as an "egregious farce". However, he agrees that the plan behind the expedition was sound in theory, its execution being let down by the rulers of the allied nations; while complimentary to Pitt's attempts to strike a blow against France, he is derisory of the other leaders, calling those of Russia and Sweden "insane", that of Prussia "contemptible", and Austria "weak". This need to rely on the actions of Britain's allies in order to succeed has been echoed by historian Alexander Mikaberidze. [60] [61] Glover writes succinctly that "[The British] had enlisted a few hundred recruits for the King's German Legion, they had offended the King of Prussia, but they had not caused Napoleon a moment's worry". [12] The Third Coalition completed its final collapse in July 1806. [62]

British Expeditionary Force

Hanover Expedition Order of Battle
ForceBrigadeUnitSize at end of campaignRef.
Arrived with Lieutenant-General Sir George Don Major-General Edward Paget First Battalion, 4th Regiment of Foot 1,000+ [42]
First Battalion, 14th Regiment of Foot 1,000+
First Battalion, 23rd Regiment of Foot 794
Major-General Edward Finch First Battalion, Coldstream Guards 1,200+
First Battalion, Third Guards 1,200+
Major-General Baron Linsingen 1st Heavy Dragoons (KGL)12,075 (total) [48] [63]
2nd Heavy Dragoons (KGL)
1st Light Dragoons (KGL)
3rd Light Dragoons (KGL)
Colonel Baron Alten 1st Light Battalion (KGL)
2nd Light Battalion (KGL)
Colonel Baron Barsse 1st Line Battalion (KGL)
2nd Line Battalion (KGL)
Colonel Baron Langwerth 3rd Line Battalion (KGL)
4th Line Battalion (KGL)
Units formed on expedition 5th Line Battalion (KGL)
6th Line Battalion (KGL)
7th Line Battalion (KGL)
Arrived with Lieutenant-General Lord Cathcart Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley First Battalion, 3rd Regiment of Foot 590 [23] [37]
First Battalion, 8th Regiment of Foot 447
First Battalion, 36th Regiment of Foot 750
Major-General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser First Battalion, 26th Regiment of Foot 315
First Battalion, 28th Regiment of Foot 968
First Battalion, 91st Regiment of Foot 508
Major-General John Coape Sherbrooke First Battalion, 5th Regiment of Foot 523
Second Battalion, 27th Regiment of Foot 362
Second Battalion, 34th Regiment of Foot 429
Major-General Rowland Hill First Battalion, 9th Regiment of Foot Un­known
First Battalion, 30th Regiment of Foot
First Battalion, 89th Regiment of Foot

Notes and citations

Notes

  1. While von der Decken was recorded as the commander of the KGL forces, they were split into brigades with their own commanders as well. Major-General Karl von Linsingen had the cavalry brigade, with Colonel Charles, Count Alten commanding the light brigade, and two infantry brigades commanded respectively by Colonels Ernst Eberhard Kuno, Baron Langwerth von Simmern and Adolphus, Baron Barsse. [13]
  2. The Prussian minister Karl August von Hardenberg had been advocating a British occupation of Hanover since August, but the Prussian court was divided and led by the indecisive Frederick William III. [26]
  3. Between 500 and 600 French soldiers had left Hamelin for another town, and the Anglo-Russian blockading force met them mid-way in a battle that saw 200 Frenchmen captured, and the rest forced to return to Hamelin to avoid being completely cut off from that strongpoint. [33]
  4. Cathcart was given the local rank of general while he was with the expedition. [30]
  5. Around 1,000 men in total were taken prisoner from the wrecks, but they were soon exchanged in prisoner exchanges. [42]
  6. For example, Pitt only learned of the Battle of Ulm when he was given a Dutch newspaper reporting it. [44]
  7. The KGL returned with the new 5th, 6th, and 7th Line Battalions, having left Britain with only four. Three hundred men were also recruited as the basis of the 8th Line Battalion. New heavy dragoon and light dragoon units were also formed. [51] [52]
  8. This number decreased slightly before the final embarkation, because some of the KGL were unwilling to leave their native lands. [42]
  9. The army had several thousand horses with them, but were only able to take 2,300 back with them. [42]
  10. There is debate as to whether Cathcart actually fought a small battle at a place called Munkaiser; while his Oxford Dictionary of Biography entry records this, Atkinson could find no evidence of such a battle taking place. [31] [23]

Citations

  1. 1 2 Atkinson (1952), p. 23.
  2. 1 2 Atkinson (1952), pp. 23–24.
  3. Hague (2004), pp. 561–562.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Atkinson (1952), p. 24.
  5. 1 2 Fortescue (1910), p. 280.
  6. 1 2 3 Atkinson (1952), p. 22.
  7. 1 2 3 Fortescue (1910), p. 286.
  8. Bew (2014), p. 210.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Bartlett (1966), p. 59.
  10. Bartlett (1966), pp. 61–62.
  11. 1 2 Fortescue (1910), p. 285.
  12. 1 2 Glover (2001), p. 48.
  13. 1 2 3 Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 23.
  14. 1 2 Benady (2020).
  15. 1 2 3 Bew (2014), p. 212.
  16. Fortescue (1910), p. 287.
  17. Fortescue (1910), pp. 286–289.
  18. 1 2 Hague (2004), p. 562.
  19. Bew (2014), p. 211.
  20. 1 2 Bartlett (1966), p. 62.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Atkinson (1952), p. 25.
  22. Grocott (2002), p. 205.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Atkinson (1952), p. 26.
  24. Fortescue (1910), pp. 288–289.
  25. 1 2 Fortescue (1910), p. 289.
  26. Fortescue (1910), pp. 282–283.
  27. Fortescue (1910), p. 282.
  28. Fortescue (1910), p. 281.
  29. Fortescue (1910), pp. 289–291.
  30. 1 2 Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 22.
  31. 1 2 3 Eddy (2016).
  32. Fortescue (1910), p. 290.
  33. Duckers, Peter. "The Origins of the King's German Legion 1803-04 and the Expedition to Hanover, 1805". DCM Medals. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  34. Hague (2004), p. 568.
  35. Axelrod & Phillips (1998), p. 163.
  36. Axelrod & Phillips (1998), p. 439.
  37. 1 2 3 Fortescue (1910), p. 294.
  38. 1 2 Bew (2014), p. 213.
  39. Fortescue (1910), p. 295.
  40. 1 2 3 4 Atkinson (1952), p. 27.
  41. Grocott (2002), pp. 205–207.
  42. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Atkinson (1952), p. 28.
  43. 1 2 Grocott (2002), p. 207.
  44. Hague (2004), p. 564.
  45. 1 2 3 4 5 Bew (2014), p. 214.
  46. 1 2 Fortescue (1910), p. 292.
  47. Mikaberidze (2020), p. 215.
  48. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fortescue (1910), p. 296.
  49. 1 2 3 Bew (2014), p. 215.
  50. Fortescue (1910), p. 293.
  51. Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 68.
  52. Ludlow Beamish (1832), p. 90.
  53. Philippart (1820), p. 358.
  54. Hill (2012), p. 35.
  55. Roberts (1895), p. 49.
  56. Mikaberidze (2020), p. 216.
  57. Bartlett (1966), p. 60.
  58. Bew (2014), pp. 214–215.
  59. Fortescue (1910), p. 298.
  60. Fortescue (1910), pp. 297–299.
  61. Mikaberidze (2020), p. 198.
  62. Bew (2014), p. 249.
  63. Ludlow Beamish (1832), p. 84.

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General William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart was a British soldier and diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War of the Fourth Coalition</span> 1806–1807 conflict of the Napoleonic Wars

The War of the Fourth Coalition was a war spanning 1806-1807 that saw a multinational coalition fight against Napoleon's French Empire, subsequently being defeated. The main coalition partners were Prussia and Russia with Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain also contributing. Excluding Prussia, some members of the coalition had previously been fighting France as part of the Third Coalition, and there was no intervening period of general peace. On 9 October 1806, Prussia declared war on France and joined a renewed coalition, fearing the rise in French power after the defeat of Austria and establishment of the French-sponsored Confederation of the Rhine in addition to having learned of French plans to cede Prussian-desired Hanover to Britain in exchange for peace. Prussia and Russia mobilized for a fresh campaign with France, massing troops in Saxony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Halkett</span>

General Baron Hugh Halkett, GCH, CB, was a British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars and later a general of infantry in the Hanoverian service.

The 1st Royal Bavarian Division was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army that served alongside the Prussian Army as part of the Imperial German Army. The division was formed on November 27, 1815, as the Infantry Division of the Munich General Command. It was called the 1st Army Division between 1822 and 1848, again between 1851 and 1859, and again from 1869 to 1872. It was called the 1st Infantry Division from 1848 to 1851 and was named the Munich General Command from 1859 to 1869. From April 1, 1872, until mobilization for World War I, it was the 1st Division. Within Bavaria, it was not generally referred to as a "Royal Bavarian" division, but outside Bavaria, this designation was used for it, and other Bavarian units, to distinguish them from similarly numbered Prussian units. The division was headquartered in Munich from 1815 to 1919. The division was part of the 1st Royal Bavarian Army Corps.

The Treaties of Reichenbach were a series of agreements signed in Reichenbach between Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, and Austria. These accords served to establish and strengthen a united coalition force against Napoleon I of France.

The Battle of the Göhrde took place during the War of the Sixth Coalition on 16 September 1813 between French and Coalition troops at Göhrde, Germany. The French troops were defeated and withdrew to Hamburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seven Years' War</span> Global war among European powers (1756–1763)

The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict involving most of the European great powers, fought primarily in Europe and the Americas. The opposing alliances were led by Great Britain, primarily supported by Prussia, and France, backed by Spain, Saxony, Sweden, and Russia. Related conflicts include the 1754 to 1763 French and Indian War, and 1762 to 1763 Anglo-Spanish War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition</span> 1792–95 campaign of the War of the First Coalition

The Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition, in British historiography better known as the Flanders campaign, was a series of campaigns in the Low Countries conducted from 20 April 1792 to 7 June 1795 during the first years of the War of the First Coalition. As the French Revolution radicalised, the revolutionary National Convention and its predecessors broke the Catholic Church's power (1790), abolished the monarchy (1792) and even executed the deposed king Louis XVI of France (1793), vying to spread the Revolution beyond the new French Republic's borders, by violent means if necessary. The First Coalition, an alliance of reactionary states representing the Ancien Régime in Central and Western Europe – Habsburg Austria, Prussia, Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, Hanover and Hesse-Kassel – mobilised military forces along all the French frontiers, threatening to invade Revolutionary France and violently restore the monarchy. The subsequent combat operations along the French borders with the Low Countries and Germany became the primary theatre of the War of the First Coalition until March 1796, when Napoleon took over French command on the Italian front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Silesian War</span> 1756–63 conflict between Prussia and Austria; theatre of the Seven Years War

The Third Silesian War was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1756 to 1763 and confirmed Prussia's control of the region of Silesia. The war was fought mainly in Silesia, Bohemia and Upper Saxony and formed one theatre of the Seven Years' War. It was the last of three Silesian Wars fought between Frederick the Great's Prussia and Maria Theresa's Austria in the mid-18th century, all three of which ended in Prussian control of Silesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Britain in the Seven Years' War</span> Role Great Britain played in the Seven Years War

Great Britain was one of the major participants in the Seven Years' War, which in fact lasted nine years, between 1754 and 1763. British involvement in the conflict began in 1754 in what became known as the French and Indian War. However the warfare in the European theater involving countries other than Britain and France commenced in 1756. Britain emerged from the war as the world's leading colonial power, having gained all of New France in North America, ending France's role as a colonial power there. Following Spain's entry in the war in alliance with France in the third Family Compact, Britain captured the major Spanish ports of Havana, Cuba and Manila, in the Philippines in 1762, and agreed to return them in exchange for Spanish Florida. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 formally ended the conflict and Britain established itself as the world's pre-eminent naval power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Invasion of Hanover (1757)</span> French invasion of Hanover

The Invasion of Hanover took place in 1757 during the Seven Years' War when a French army under Louis Charles César Le Tellier, duc d'Estrées advanced into the Electorate of Hanover and neighbouring German states, following the Battle of Hastenbeck. French forces overran most of Hanover. This action forced the Hanoverian Army of Observation, intended to defend the Electorate, to Stade on the North Sea coast. At the Convention of Klosterzeven the Duke of Cumberland agreed to disband his army and acknowledge the French occupation of the Electorate.

The Anglo-Prussian Convention was agreed on 11 April 1758 between Great Britain and the Kingdom of Prussia formalising the alliance between them that had effectively existed since the Convention of Westminster in 1756.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secret Treaty of Vienna</span> Defensive alliance between Britain, France, and Austria

The Secret Treaty of Vienna was a defensive alliance signed on 3 January 1815 by France, the Austrian Empire and Great Britain. It took place during the Congress of Vienna, negotiations on the future of Europe following Napoleon's defeat in the War of the Sixth Coalition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congress of Châtillon</span>

The Congress of Châtillon was a peace conference held at Châtillon-sur-Seine, north-eastern France, from 5 February to 5 March 1814, in the latter stages of the War of the Sixth Coalition. Peace had previously been offered by the Coalition allies to Napoleon I's France in the November 1813 Frankfurt proposals. These proposals required that France revert to her "natural borders" of the Rhine, Pyrenees and the Alps. Napoleon was reluctant to lose his territories in Germany and Italy and refused the proposals. By December the French had been pushed back in Germany and Napoleon indicated that he would accept peace on the Frankfurt terms. The Coalition however now sought to reduce France to her 1791 borders, which would not include Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Lüneburg</span> 1813 battle during the War of the Sixth Coalition

In the Battle of Lüneburg on 2 April 1813, Allied Russians and Prussians were victorious over a French and Saxon division. The battle was the first major combat action after the retreat of the defeated French in Russia behind the Elbe. Its importance lay in the moral effect on the German public as the first success of the Allies in the wars of liberation that were now beginning.

Lieutenant-General Henry de Hinuber, known in Hanover as Eduard Christoph Heinrich von Hinüber, was a Hanoverian infantry officer who commanded units of the King's German Legion (KGL) while serving in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Hinuber joined the army of the Electorate of Hanover in 1781, and in 1782 travelled to fight in the Second Anglo-Mysore War in India. He was present at the Siege of Cuddalore and continued on in India until 1792. Promoted to major in 1798, Hinuber served until France invaded Hanover and disbanded the army in 1803.

The Invasion of Hanover in 1803 during the Napoleonic Wars saw a French army under Édouard Mortier invade and occupy the Electorate of Hanover in Northern Germany following the breakdown of the Peace of Amiens. Hanover was under the rule of George III in a personal union with Britain, the principal enemy of Napoleon's French Empire. One consequence was the formation of the exiled King's German Legion in British service. Hanover remained under French control until its liberation in 1813.

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