In 1806 Napoléon I, Emperor of France, dissolved the Pro-French Batavian Republic and created the Kingdom of Holland as it's succesor. He choose his brother, Louis Napoléon, to be it's king, hoping that the Netherlands would become a client-state of France this way. King Louis, or "Koning Lodewijk" as he styled himself in the Netherlands, was tireless worker and reformer. He took great interest in the ordinary lives of his subjects, even helping in the relief effort after a flood in 1809, which earned him the nickname: Louis the Good (Lodewijk de Goede). Louis was so ireless that it has been said he never stayed longer than three months in the same place, which angered foreign diplomats who couldn't keep track of his constant travels.
To support his brother, the Army and Navy were modernised to French military standards. Because most of the Dutch fleet had been either destroyed or captured by the British in 1799, the recreated Royal Marines were repurposed as a land based Line Infantry unit. Their uniforms consisted of a dark blue
Habite Veste with red Facings, Cuffs and Collar and red epaulettes at the shoulders. Their trousers were made of dark blue wool and on top of them were black woolen gaitors. The Bicorne was replaced by a French style shako with yellow gallon, a red and black plume at the side and a brass anchor plate at the front. Beneath their Habite-Veste, soldiers usually wore a white or dark blue sleeveless waistcoat and a linnen shirt. In garrisons and during off-duty, the Marines wore blue
Bonnets-de-Polices with red lines and a red tassel.
However, despite all the effort a lot of soldiers never recieved new gear. Due to a lack of tailors, some continued to wear their old
1795 open tailcoats or even their bicornes! Despite the problems, the Marines were dispatched to Germany in 1808 and continued to serve in there with other Dutch units untill 1810. In that year, Louis refused to install conscription in the Netherlands and was even negotiating with the Allies to turn against his brother. Napoleon was so enraged, that he sent his army to depose Louis and annex the Netherlands. His will would be done, Louis went into exile and the Netherlands became a province of the French Empire and it's military encorporated into the French Army. Louis lived the rest of his life in Austria, where he was denied entry to the Netherlands untill 1840 when he was greeted by king William II and the Dutch people as a national hero.
