King William needed soldiers. So in 1813, he promised that any nobleman that would raise a unit completely from their own money would be given command of that unit. All these nobleman were people who had remained more or less loyal to the Oranges since 1795.
A few months later they would, with a few exceptions, all be replaced by officers who came from the French army, people who had often been revolutionaries against the Oranges and fought for the enemy for twenty years. The noblemen were all sent to retirement
