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Regiments / [EU] 5th Line Battalion, King's German Legion [W.I.P]
« on: April 12, 2022, 09:07:05 pm »
 Spoiler This scene here interpreted by the fictional South Essex is actually about the 5th KGL who were given a an order by the prince of orange and the to which the Battalion CO questioned but had to obey and they were sadly all cut down by the French cavalry leaving the King's colours unprotected and taken by the French, only 19 men managed to make it back to safety. [close] |  The 5th Line Battalion, King's German Legion [5thKGL] is a enjoyable and relaxed environment for all. Our goal is to bring back the community of old with many members within our ranks being Veterans of the Napoleonic Wars Warband DLC and have had many fond memories taking part or leading successful regiments. We look to progress in all aspects whether that be to help new comers to the game or give direction to our older members looking for a casual but still orderly environment to play the game in. Many of our members have a wide range of knowledge about Napoleonic era which aids in making the events enjoyable and accessible as well as enjoying other games, related or not. Regimental Ranking System
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Major | Maj
Captain | Cpt
Lieutenant | Lt
Ensign | Ens
Serjeant Major | SjtMaj
Colour-Serjeant | CSjt
Serjeant | Sjt
Corporal | Cpl
Chosen Man | ChMn
Private | Pte
Recruit | Rct  [ Hanover / England] In early summer, French troops occupied the German Electorate of Hanover. The Hanoverian army surrendered almost without a fight (battle near Borstel, June 2nd) and was disbanded. The Elbe Convention of July 5 sealed Hanover's fate as Napoleon's prey. It was not recognized in England. Instead, the majors Friedrich von der Decken and Colin Halkett received patents for recruiting exiled Hanoverians. The 1st and 2nd light battalions of the KGL were later combined from these units to form the "King's German Regiment" in green uniform. The initially sluggish inflow exceeded all expectations as early as the autumn. Eventually, the influx of serving soldiers from Hanover became so great that it was decided to set up a corps of all branches of the armed forces. The KING'S GERMAN LEGION was created with a royal patent of December 19th . Artillery, cavalry and infantry of the line were now also enlisted.  [ Spain ] At the beginning of the year, the British expedition to Spain failed miserably. The embarked troops returned to England in stormy weather, suffering further casualties in the process. The sinking of the transport ship Smallbridge claimed the lives of more than 200 officers, men and families of the two light KGL battalions. Certain of their victory in the peninsula, the French generals Soult, Lapisse and Victor set out in three columns to occupy Portugal. On March 28 Marshal Victor defeated a Spanish army under General Cuesta at Medellin and on March 29 Soult occupied Oporto. [ Portugal/Spain ] After initial thoughts of retreat, England changed its mind and sent fresh troops to the Lisbon region, where, among other things, four line battalions of the KGL were still stationed. On April 22, the new Commander-in-Chief, Sir Arthur Wellesley, arrived in Lisbon. First he opposed Soult's advance in northern Portugal and was able to drive the French out of Oporto in May. The line battalions 1, 2, 5 and 7 of the legion took part in these battles on the Douro and suffered minor losses. By the end of June, the British withdrew again near Lisbon. At the end of June, the 1st Hussar Regiment of the KGL (1st/KGH)arrived in Portugal, the remnants of the 3rd Regiment KGH also went back to England, where the 3rd/KGH was reorganized. They ended up staying in England until they took part in the campaign in northern Germany in 1813. Immediately in early July, the Peninsula army, weakened by disease and lack of equipment, made another push eastward, forced by the heated advance of a Spanish army under General Cuesta. Unable to cope with French counterattacks, Cuesta soon reluctantly submitted to Wellesley. After a brief retreat, the Spanish-British allies confronted Talavera on July 27 near Wellesley's desired position for the two-day battle. The bloody slaughter of the approximately equally strong armies (each about 50,000 men) ended with the departure of the French. The line battalions of the KGL had maintained their position in the center of the position in heavy fighting. The 5th line battalion found after bitter nightly scuffles against the 28th French line regiment in the morning their eagles and fanions on the battlefield. Here the KGL artillery established its reputation as one of the best in the British Army. Wellesley was made Duke of Wellington for his victory. Hunger and disease led to numerous outages in the coming months. Wellington was disappointed by the Spanish generals' lack of cooperation. In September they moved into Cantonnements in the Badajos area on the Guadiana River. The Guadiana fever wiped out numerous soldiers and after several defeats by the Spanish troops, Wellington withdrew his forces to northern Portugal in December. [ Netherlands ] Meanwhile, at the end of August, a 40,000-strong expeditionary army from England occupied parts of the Dutch coast. The Legion's two light battalions took part in what became known as the Walcheren campaign. However, the successes were only regionally limited and the original plan to maintain a long-term bridgehead had to be abandoned when more and more soldiers died of "Walcheren fever". At the end of December the expeditionary force was embarked for England and by the end of the year the two light battalions reached their depot at Bexhill with countless sick people. [ Sicily ] The majority of the legionary troops stationed in Sicily took part in a strategically insignificant expedition to Ischia in June, which brought in lavish prize money for those involved.  |    |
While the 1st through 4th line battalions fought as the first KGL brigade in the western battlefield behind Hougomont, the 5th and 8th line battalions, as well as the two light battalions, held a key position as the second KGL brigade in the center of the battlefield. After the fall of the farmstead La Haye Sainte , which the 2nd light battalion had to give up after heavy losses and a lack of ammunition supplies, the two line battalions behind it also fell victim to the French pressure in the centre. They were literally crushed trying to push back the French onslaught. This phase is commonly referred to in the literature as "The Crisis of the Battle".
Napoleon's troops alone could not complete the breakthrough that was now possible. The reserves were already tied up by the attacks on Plancenoit carried out by Bülow's IV Prussian corps. Wellington filled the gap and the battle was decided. Bonaparte's last, desperate attempt to break through the British Allied lines between La Haye Sainte and Hougomont with the half of his guards who had not yet been engaged failed. The British-allied battle-line advanced and the entire French army fled south in a shambles.
[ Paris ] The units of the KGL took part in the pursuit of the defeated French army du Nord and reached Paris with Wellington's army, where they became part of the occupation.
On December 24th, almost 12 years to the day after its formation, the prince regent ordered the dissolution of the legion on behalf of the king. The KGL units stationed in the Paris area left for home in the final days of the year.
[ Hanover ] On February 24, the KGL units that had returned from France were officially disbanded. In late April, the KGL's remaining infantry and artillery arrived from Italy and were also disbanded on 24 May. Some of the men and officers found their place in the Hanoverian army, others returned to civilian life. The traditions and honorary titles of the legion were passed on to Hanoverian units and continued until the First World War.
Battalion CO | Recruitment Liaison | ||
Major Camjovetz  | Private Endeavour  |
