Post a soldier of your choice and what they did with information

[BSM 'Shut up' Williams]

Post a soldier of your choice and what they did with information

This thread is dedicate to all the soldiers that died in any war so post information about a soldier of your choice and it will be posted in the OP.

  Lieutenant-Colonel Matthew Urbananowicz

Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Urbananowicz

President Jimmy Carter called him "the greatest soldier in American history".  He was a man with immense courage in the face of overwhelming odds and demonstrated to the world what freedom really means.  This man was Lt. Colonel Matt Urban, a Polish American.  He was the most decorated soldier of WW2, but one medal continually eluded him - the highest commendation of the United States - the Congressional Medal of Honour. 

That he finally received the prestigious award was due entirely to the intervention of a close friend.  Urban was too modest a man to meddle in self promotion.  Despite the recommendations, it was decades before the military brass finally bestowed Urban with the recognition and respect owed to him.  In July 1980 Urban finally received the highest of honours. Several years later he stated, "When I came home, I never thought about the war.. that's why the medal was 35 years late...I just never pursued it.'

Though Matt Urban was born in Buffalo, New York, he was of Polish heritage.  The son of Helen and Stanley Urbanowitz, he was baptized Matty Louis Urbanowitz.  As WW2 raged throughout Europe, Urban was studying at Cornell University where he graduated in June 1941 with a degree in history and government. He immediately enrolled in the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and by the following month was already on active duty training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. As part of the 60th Infantry Regiment, he was dispatched overseas and saw combat action in Sicily, France, Belgium and Germany.  Urban is most praised for his heroic actions on D-Day.

During the landing at Omaha Beach Urban broke his leg, but was not deterred. His buddies were trapped on the beach, and despite his injury, Urban climbed atop a tank and led them on a concentrated attack on German position.  The Germans called Urban by the nickname the "Ghost' because he kept returning to the front lines despite his many injuries. He was wounded six times, and returned to fight six times.

But he was injured a seventh time.  A bullet ripped out one of his vocal cords, a wound which the doctors expected to be fatal.  It was a miracle that Urban survived the attack. Despite the threat to his life, Urban adamantly refused to be evacuated, and was determined to carry on and  lead his battalion. (The objective was to secure their position at the crossing-point on the Meuse River).  Against all odds, Urban did survive the injury, though it was a two year battle for recovery.  The damage to his vocal cords affected his speech for the rest of his life - he could only speak with a raspy voice.

Urban was praised for his heroism, evident throughout the D-Day invasion. There were ten acts of bravery documented. He suffered a leg wound from a bazooka attack while fighting in Northern France and shipped to an Army hospital in England.  Remarkably within six weeks he went AWOL and returned to the battlefield.  In another incident when his unit was virtually under siege by German firepower, Urban dashed across an open field in a hail of machine gun bullets, towards an unmanned American tank.  He climbed into the tank and proceeded to return fire, successfully routing the German position.

60th Infantry Regiment Coat of Arms

Omaha Beach on D Day - low tide

Lt. Col. Urban was decorated with a total of  29 medals, which rival that of any military officer in the United States Forces.  Among his many awards were 7 Purple Hearts (one for each wound) with silver and bronze oak leaf clusters;  Silver Star (1 OLC); Bronze Star (2 OLC) with V Device;  NYS Conspicuous Cross with 4 Silver and 1 Gold Clusters; Legion of Merit; French Croix de Guerre; and Belgian Croix de Guerre with palm.

What was the act that earned Urban the Congressional Medal of Honour?  A sergeant who was an eyewitness to the event said that Urban, "one of the craziest officers suddenly appeared before us, yelling like a madman and waving a gun in his hand...He got us on our feet, though, gave us our confidence back and saved our lives."

US Congressional Medal of Honour

Matt Urban passed away on March 20, 1995 from a collapsed lung (due to his numerous war injuries). His remains have been laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

Matt Louis Urbanowitz will be remembered for his outstanding leadership, and amazing courage under heavy fire.  He served the United States Army, the men of his battalion, and most dear to his heart, the cause of freedom and liberty.

President Jimmy Carter congratulates Matt Urban

[close]

James Waddell

James Waddell

James Waddell was one of New Zealand’s most highly decorated soldiers of the First World War. He was also one of the few foreigners to reach senior rank in the French Foreign Legion. Waddell was awarded the French Legion of Honour decoration three times and the French Croix de Guerre eight times during the war.

Waddell entered the British Army in 1895 and was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) West Riding Regiment. He saw service in Natal and India. During this period he faced prejudice from his fellow officers because of his colonial origins.

During the Boer War Wadell met and married a French woman. She helped him earn the unusual honour for a foreigner, of a direct appointment as an officer in the French Foreign Legion. While the majority of the rank and file of the Legion were non-French, only a small number were able to become officers, and then normally after first reaching the rank of sergeant and becoming naturalized Frenchmen. Waddell resigned his British Army commission, obtained French citizenship and was appointed as a sous-lieutenant (second lieutenant) in the French Army on 25 April 1900. He saw early service in the Boxer Rebellion, Algeria and French Indo-China.

Gallipoli

Captain Waddell landed at Gallipoli as a company commander in the Régiment de Marche d'Afrique in 1915. He soon distinguished himself by his courage and tenacity and was awarded the Chevalier of the Legion of Honour and the Croix de guerre on 4 July 1915 for bravery in leading his battalion in a costly attack against Turkish trenches on 21 June.

Western Front

Waddell subsequently served on the Western Front and was promoted to Officier of the Legion of Honour on 10 June 1917 for his actions on the Somme, where his personal example helped carry an attack on the village of Belloy-en-Santerre. It was during this battle that the American poet, Alan Seeger, died. Later, (Major) Waddell was in command of the 2nd Battalion of the Regiment de Marche de la Legion etrangere (R.M.L.E.) during the Champagne attack in April 1917.

By the end of the War, Waddell had been awarded the Croix de guerre seven times and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Described as ‘a courageous leader and one of the most respected of all the Legion's officers’, Waddell was promoted to the Commandeur of the Legion of Honour in 1920.

[close]

Henry Starcher

Henry Starcher



(KillerMongoose) My grandfather's uncle, Henry Starcher, was present at D-Day. He was riding in one of the tanks but when German machine gunners shot the tank floaties, the whole thing went under and sadly this was the fate of many of the tanks that day. But Henry wasn't ready or willing to go down like that. I should mention that the tanks could not land because of the barricades on the shore which turned the water into a kill zone for any tanks that were close enough because they could simply be sunk. Henry Starcher grabbed several explosives from his tank and swam up to the beach and began blowing up the barricades and he swam back and forth from his sunken tank to the beach under heavy machine gun fire, blowing up the barricades, clearing the way for the tanks to land. He was wounded several times but didn't stop until his job was finished. My grandfather has a lot of cool and funny stories from his childhood about Henry, like how he would buy a ton of bananas, use easter egg dye to color them red, then load the back of his truck with them and along with my grandfather, they would drive to town (they lived in a small West Virginia town) and sell the entire truckload because people wanted a red banana Henry isn't alive anymore but his wife still is. Everybody who knew him remembers him for his charm and wit and how when he was younger he had many many girlfriends. He earned a purple heart as well as another medal which I cannot remember the name of but I'll find out and let you guys know.

[close]

Cadet Cornelis "Kees" Micheal Breda

Cadet Cornelis "Kees" Micheal Breda

Cadet Cornelis "Kees" Micheal Breda,, born 6 October 1798, joined the Regiment Huzaren van Boreel, a Dutch hussar regiment, on the 17th of January 1814. Kees Breda was native of Leeuwarden, in the north of the Netherlands. He was at the time of joining 15 years and 3 months old. It is certain he came from a well-off family - Parents could pay a certain sum of money to let their sons aged between 12 and 18 become 'Cadets' in regiments of infantry and cavalry. Cadets would first serve as private soldiers, then promoted to Corporal, then sergeant, and then they would be commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, either in the regiment they had served in or another regiment.

We do not know where Breda served in 1814 - It is possible he served at the siege of Breda (where no cavalry fights occurred, as far as we know), or he might have stayed until the peace in May in the depot. What we do know, are these things:
Cadet Breda was placed in the 2nd company, 1st squadron. He was 172 cms tall, slightly above average for his regiment. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and a round face and chin. It is very likely he looked more then a boy then a man - And being just 15 years old, he really was. Being a cadet, he had the regular uniform of a trooper, possibly made of better fabric then the soldiers.

And then the Waterloo campaign started. The Regiment Huzaren van Boreel, now numbered Nr. 6 was mobilized and placed in the 2nd NL cavarly brigade under Van Merlen. The regiment was under the command of the inexperienced Luitenant-Kolonel Jonkheer Boreel; Kees Breda was promoted to Corporaal (Titulair) on the 11th of May, 1815. He was now 16 years and 7 months old.
The Regiment, and Breda, saw their first action at Quatre-bras, the 16th of June, where the regiment charged ill-prepared and barely formed up. They were then counter charged by French Lancers of the Line, which resulted at least sixty death, missing and wounded - A hard ordeal, considering the regiment had been only in action for minutes. Their charge had only one positive effect - Several men of the Dutch 27th Jagers had been surrounded by the French cavalry and used the confusion to escape. Breda came out of the battle seemingly unharmed. We do not know what he did during the battle, as reports are scare and Breda looked like just another ranker in his uniform. The Regiment itself ran to safety behind the allied lines, a few of the men even routing completely away from the field. Breda stayed, like most of the regiment, and would fight again on the 18th.

Two days later, at Waterloo, the Regiment was this time in full action for the entire day, losing at least 1/3 of their strenght. They rode after the British Heavy cavalry and protected their retreat, counter charged French cavalry during the great charges and finally against the retreating French infantry after the Old Guard had been defeated.
It is very likely Breda was not with the regiment at that last glorious moment, though. Somewhere during the battle, presumably during the counter charges of the Grand French cavarly charges, Corporal Titulair Kees Breda was stabbed with a lance, trough the belly.
We do not know under what circumstances this happened - He is, however, the only one that suffered a lance-wound at Waterloo of his entire regiment.

The next day, on the 19th of June 1815, Breda died. He became 16 years, 8 months and 13 days old.



The line under the name reads:
"Those, who for the Fatherland, died in armour, have by their heroic feat won immortal honour"

[close]

Francois-Chretien Van de Sande

Francois-Chretien Van de Sande

Francois-Chretien Van de Sande. He was born on 17 March 1773 in Brussels. Van de Sande's early life was spent as a Cadet in the Chasseurs Leloup, a Belgian rifle unit within the Austrian army. At 22 he became a second lieutenant in the unit. The Chasseurs Leloup was a famed skirmisher unit with a highly distinguished and excellent service record throughout the unit's entire existence and the commander, Jean Leloup, earned a lot of well deserved praise for his excellent military qualities. The Chasseurs Leloup (also known by many as the Chasseurs Loup "Hunters Wolf" or the Brabant Loups "Brabant Wolves") wore standard Austrian skirmisher uniforms of grey with facings. The Chasseurs Leloup were so famed for their skill that they are credited with the French almost adopting a rifle pattern so that they could compete with the Austrian skirmishers.

But Van de Sande's real military career would begin on 11 September 1803 when he joined as a lieutenant in the French 112th Line Infantry. In this regiment, Van de Sande fought all across Europe but he particularly distinguished himself in the 1809 campaign throughout southern Hungary where he stormed the Malborghetto Blockhaus and fought in the Battle of Tarvis all in the same day. Shortly after the battle, Francois was promoted to the rank of Captain. And roughly a month later, at the Battle of Raab, Francois and his regiment distinguished itself greatly through their daring charge against the Austro-Hungarian center where they charged across the River Raab and into Austrian lines. Many members of the 112th, including Francois, were awarded the Legion d'Honneur for their bravery in the battle and they were titled "The Victors of Raab." Prince Eugene Beauharnais congratulated the 112th and it's commander and gave them the honor of affixing the Legion d'Honneur on their standard. And not long after Raab, Napoleon addressed the regiment before the Battle of Wagram, "My braves of the 112th , today will be a day of glory for you, the Victors of the Raab!" And of course it was, with 21 men of the 112th being mentioned as candidates for the Legion d'Honneur and Captain Charles Goethals (Who would later command the 36th Belgian Chasseur Battalion of the Dutch Army at Waterloo) was decorated on the field when he single-handedly captured 12 prisoners. Francois and the 112th continued to fight in Northern Europe in battles such as Leipzig and many others
(1813 was a busy year for the 112th!) with Francois eventually elevating to the position of Battalion Commander in 1813.

However, with the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, the 112th was disbanded and Van de Sande was dismissed and returned home after a long military career. But it was not long before Napoleon returned from exile and Van de Sande was forced to make a choice between his Emperor and his homeland. So in February of 1815, Van de Sande joined the 7th Battalion of Line Infantry as it's Lieutenant-Colonel. The regiment was raised and stationed in Ghent and finally in June of 1815, war was about to begin. On 16 June 1815, the 7th Battalion arrived on the fields of Quatre Bras to reinforce the thinly spread forces already engaged in heavy fighting. The 7th quickly distinguished itself when several of it's members rushed to the aid of the Prince of Orange and rescued him from being captured by French chasseurs a cheval. The Prince, grateful to his rescuers, tore a jewelled insignia of a military order from his jacket and tossed it to them, shouting, "Here my brave fellows! You have all earned it!" The men from the 7th cheered and fastened the insignia to their flag (Which was not an official military flag but rather one that they made themselves) and carried on the fight. Two days later the 7th engaged the French yet again at Waterloo. The 7th, along with the rest of the Bijlandt Brigade, was positioned at the center of the Allied lines near La Haye Sainte. The Bijlandt Brigade bore the full brunt of the French artillery barrage and while many spectators expected them to break, they held firm despite the cannon-fire. And when the French infantry advanced in their columns, the Bijlandt Brigade - by far the smallest of the Allied Brigades in the center - was attacked by Donzelot's Division, the largest of the French columns that were attacking. The 7th and the rest of the brigade engaged the French in a furious firefight for quite a while, certainly far longer than such a small unit should have been able to, yet they fought back ferociously. Eventually the brigade was forced to retire and this is where accounts differ. Accounts from those like Siborne (who wasn't even at the battle) say that the brigade broke and ran at the first shots, however more reliable reports from officers actually present on the field say that the Brigade fought back fiercely and was forced to retire only after a protracted and effective firefight from less than 25 meters apart! The brigade did not break and run, instead they withdrew to the rest of the allied lines (remember that they were deployed farther ahead than any of the other allied units) and kept up the fight, throwing back the French with several successful assaults and bayonet charges. Van de Sande was wounded badly in one of these bayonet charges and forced to hand command of the battalion over to another. The 7th and the rest of the Bijlandt Brigade fought hard throughout the day, suffering many casualties but never breaking, in fact, the Bijlandt Brigade actually attacked and pursued the French all the way to the bottom of the slope, chasing after them until they ran completely out of ammunition.

I find Francois' story fascinating because of his overwhelmingly impressive service record and each and every unit he served in was constantly heavily engaged and earned many distinctions because of it. He had to be one hell of a tough man after so many years of fighting, I can only imagine how many friends he must have lost over the years. He must have been a tough son of a bitch physically and mentally.

[close]

[Riddlez]

Post a soldier of your choice and what they did with information.

This thread is dedicate to all the soldiers that died in both world wars so post information about a soldier of your choice and it will be posted in the OP.

Of course mine :)

Lt. ColonelMatthew Urbanowicz

President Jimmy Carter called him "the greatest soldier in American history".  He was a man with immense courage in the face of overwhelming odds and demonstrated to the world what freedom really means.  This man was Lt. Colonel Matt Urban, a Polish American.  He was the most decorated soldier of WW2, but one medal continually eluded him - the highest commendation of the United States - the Congressional Medal of Honour. 

That he finally received the prestigious award was due entirely to the intervention of a close friend.  Urban was too modest a man to meddle in self promotion.  Despite the recommendations, it was decades before the military brass finally bestowed Urban with the recognition and respect owed to him.  In July 1980 Urban finally received the highest of honours. Several years later he stated, "When I came home, I never thought about the war.. that's why the medal was 35 years late...I just never pursued it.'

Though Matt Urban was born in Buffalo, New York, he was of Polish heritage.  The son of Helen and Stanley Urbanowitz, he was baptized Matty Louis Urbanowitz.  As WW2 raged throughout Europe, Urban was studying at Cornell University where he graduated in June 1941 with a degree in history and government. He immediately enrolled in the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and by the following month was already on active duty training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. As part of the 60th Infantry Regiment, he was dispatched overseas and saw combat action in Sicily, France, Belgium and Germany.  Urban is most praised for his heroic actions on D-Day.

During the landing at Omaha Beach Urban broke his leg, but was not deterred. His buddies were trapped on the beach, and despite his injury, Urban climbed atop a tank and led them on a concentrated attack on German position.  The Germans called Urban by the nickname the "Ghost' because he kept returning to the front lines despite his many injuries. He was wounded six times, and returned to fight six times.

But he was injured a seventh time.  A bullet ripped out one of his vocal cords, a wound which the doctors expected to be fatal.  It was a miracle that Urban survived the attack. Despite the threat to his life, Urban adamantly refused to be evacuated, and was determined to carry on and  lead his battalion. (The objective was to secure their position at the crossing-point on the Meuse River).  Against all odds, Urban did survive the injury, though it was a two year battle for recovery.  The damage to his vocal cords affected his speech for the rest of his life - he could only speak with a raspy voice.

Urban was praised for his heroism, evident throughout the D-Day invasion. There were ten acts of bravery documented. He suffered a leg wound from a bazooka attack while fighting in Northern France and shipped to an Army hospital in England.  Remarkably within six weeks he went AWOL and returned to the battlefield.  In another incident when his unit was virtually under siege by German firepower, Urban dashed across an open field in a hail of machine gun bullets, towards an unmanned American tank.  He climbed into the tank and proceeded to return fire, successfully routing the German position.

60th Infantry Regiment Coat of Arms

Omaha Beach on D Day - low tide

Lt. Col. Urban was decorated with a total of  29 medals, which rival that of any military officer in the United States Forces.  Among his many awards were 7 Purple Hearts (one for each wound) with silver and bronze oak leaf clusters;  Silver Star (1 OLC); Bronze Star (2 OLC) with V Device;  NYS Conspicuous Cross with 4 Silver and 1 Gold Clusters; Legion of Merit; French Croix de Guerre; and Belgian Croix de Guerre with palm.

What was the act that earned Urban the Congressional Medal of Honour?  A sergeant who was an eyewitness to the event said that Urban, "one of the craziest officers suddenly appeared before us, yelling like a madman and waving a gun in his hand...He got us on our feet, though, gave us our confidence back and saved our lives."

US Congressional Medal of Honour

Matt Urban passed away on March 20, 1995 from a collapsed lung (due to his numerous war injuries). His remains have been laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

Matt Louis Urbanowitz will be remembered for his outstanding leadership, and amazing courage under heavy fire.  He served the United States Army, the men of his battalion, and most dear to his heart, the cause of freedom and liberty.

President Jimmy Carter congratulates Matt Urban

[close]

The man looks a tad bit like Montgomery =P

[Duuring]

Only the world wars? Damn you.

[Riddlez]

I believe it is not nessecary to describe what Lieutenant through Major Winters did =D

[BSM 'Shut up' Williams]

Only the world wars? Damn you.

It can now be any war

I added another one!

[KillerMongoose]

My grandfather's uncle, Henry Starcher, was present at D-Day. He was riding in one of the tanks but when German machine gunners shot the tank floaties, the whole thing went under and sadly this was the fate of many of the tanks that day. But Henry wasn't ready or willing to go down like that. I should mention that the tanks could not land because of the barricades on the shore which turned the water into a kill zone for any tanks that were close enough because they could simply be sunk. Henry Starcher grabbed several explosives from his tank and swam up to the beach and began blowing up the barricades and he swam back and forth from his sunken tank to the beach under heavy machine gun fire, blowing up the barricades, clearing the way for the tanks to land. He was wounded several times but didn't stop until his job was finished. My grandfather has a lot of cool and funny stories from his childhood about Henry, like how he would buy a ton of bananas, use easter egg dye to color them red, then load the back of his truck with them and along with my grandfather, they would drive to town (they lived in a small West Virginia town) and sell the entire truckload because people wanted a red banana Henry isn't alive anymore but his wife still is. Everybody who knew him remembers him for his charm and wit and how when he was younger he had many many girlfriends. He earned a purple heart as well as another medal which I cannot remember the name of but I'll find out and let you guys know.

Here's a picture of him when he was young and in the military

Spoiler

[close]

[BSM 'Shut up' Williams]

Added to the OP, interesting man

[Duuring]

Okay, here it goes.

Cadet Cornelis "Kees" Micheal Breda,, born 6 October 1798, joined the Regiment Huzaren van Boreel, a Dutch hussar regiment, on the 17th of January 1814. Kees Breda was native of Leeuwarden, in the north of the Netherlands. He was at the time of joining 15 years and 3 months old. It is certain he came from a well-off family - Parents could pay a certain sum of money to let their sons aged between 12 and 18 become 'Cadets' in regiments of infantry and cavalry. Cadets would first serve as private soldiers, then promoted to Corporal, then sergeant, and then they would be commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, either in the regiment they had served in or another regiment.

We do not know where Breda served in 1814 - It is possible he served at the siege of Breda (where no cavalry fights occurred, as far as we know), or he might have stayed until the peace in May in the depot. What we do know, are these things:
Cadet Breda was placed in the 2nd company, 1st squadron. He was 172 cms tall, slightly above average for his regiment. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and a round face and chin. It is very likely he looked more then a boy then a man - And being just 15 years old, he really was. Being a cadet, he had the regular uniform of a trooper, possibly made of better fabric then the soldiers.

And then the Waterloo campaign started. The Regiment Huzaren van Boreel, now numbered Nr. 6 was mobilized and placed in the 2nd NL cavarly brigade under Van Merlen. The regiment was under the command of the inexperienced Luitenant-Kolonel Jonkheer Boreel; Kees Breda was promoted to Corporaal (Titulair) on the 11th of May, 1815. He was now 16 years and 7 months old.
The Regiment, and Breda, saw their first action at Quatre-bras, the 16th of June, where the regiment charged ill-prepared and barely formed up. They were then counter charged by French Lancers of the Line, which resulted at least sixty death, missing and wounded - A hard ordeal, considering the regiment had been only in action for minutes. Their charge had only one positive effect - Several men of the Dutch 27th Jagers had been surrounded by the French cavalry and used the confusion to escape. Breda came out of the battle seemingly unharmed. We do not know what he did during the battle, as reports are scare and Breda looked like just another ranker in his uniform. The Regiment itself ran to safety behind the allied lines, a few of the men even routing completely away from the field. Breda stayed, like most of the regiment, and would fight again on the 18th.

Two days later, at Waterloo, the Regiment was this time in full action for the entire day, losing at least 1/3 of their strenght. They rode after the British Heavy cavalry and protected their retreat, counter charged French cavalry during the great charges and finally against the retreating French infantry after the Old Guard had been defeated.
It is very likely Breda was not with the regiment at that last glorious moment, though. Somewhere during the battle, presumably during the counter charges of the Grand French cavarly charges, Corporal Titulair Kees Breda was stabbed with a lance, trough the belly.
We do not know under what circumstances this happened - He is, however, the only one that suffered a lance-wound at Waterloo of his entire regiment.

The next day, on the 19th of June 1815, Breda died. He became 16 years, 8 months and 13 days old.

A monument erected by the officers of Boreel, for those officers of the regiment who gave their lives at the Battle of Waterloo

[close]

The line under the name reads:
"Those, who for the Fatherland, died in armour, have by their heroic feat won immortal honour"

[BSM 'Shut up' Williams]

Added!

[KillerMongoose]

Well since we're touching on the Napoleonic, I'll share one of my favorites.

Francois-Chretien Van de Sande. He was born on 17 March 1773 in Brussels. Van de Sande's early life was spent as a Cadet in the Chasseurs Leloup, a Belgian rifle unit within the Austrian army. At 22 he became a second lieutenant in the unit. The Chasseurs Leloup was a famed skirmisher unit with a highly distinguished and excellent service record throughout the unit's entire existence and the commander, Jean Leloup, earned a lot of well deserved praise for his excellent military qualities. The Chasseurs Leloup (also known by many as the Chasseurs Loup "Hunters Wolf" or the Brabant Loups "Brabant Wolves") wore standard Austrian skirmisher uniforms of grey with facings. The Chasseurs Leloup were so famed for their skill that they are credited with the French almost adopting a rifle pattern so that they could compete with the Austrian skirmishers.

But Van de Sande's real military career would begin on 11 September 1803 when he joined as a lieutenant in the French 112th Line Infantry. In this regiment, Van de Sande fought all across Europe but he particularly distinguished himself in the 1809 campaign throughout southern Hungary where he stormed the Malborghetto Blockhaus and fought in the Battle of Tarvis all in the same day. Shortly after the battle, Francois was promoted to the rank of Captain. And roughly a month later, at the Battle of Raab, Francois and his regiment distinguished itself greatly through their daring charge against the Austro-Hungarian center where they charged across the River Raab and into Austrian lines. Many members of the 112th, including Francois, were awarded the Legion d'Honneur for their bravery in the battle and they were titled "The Victors of Raab." Prince Eugene Beauharnais congratulated the 112th and it's commander and gave them the honor of affixing the Legion d'Honneur on their standard. And not long after Raab, Napoleon addressed the regiment before the Battle of Wagram, "My braves of the 112th , today will be a day of glory for you, the Victors of the Raab!" And of course it was, with 21 men of the 112th being mentioned as candidates for the Legion d'Honneur and Captain Charles Goethals (Who would later command the 36th Belgian Chasseur Battalion of the Dutch Army at Waterloo) was decorated on the field when he single-handedly captured 12 prisoners. Francois and the 112th continued to fight in Northern Europe in battles such as Leipzig and many others
(1813 was a busy year for the 112th!) with Francois eventually elevating to the position of Battalion Commander in 1813.

However, with the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, the 112th was disbanded and Van de Sande was dismissed and returned home after a long military career. But it was not long before Napoleon returned from exile and Van de Sande was forced to make a choice between his Emperor and his homeland. So in February of 1815, Van de Sande joined the 7th Battalion of Line Infantry as it's Lieutenant-Colonel. The regiment was raised and stationed in Ghent and finally in June of 1815, war was about to begin. On 16 June 1815, the 7th Battalion arrived on the fields of Quatre Bras to reinforce the thinly spread forces already engaged in heavy fighting. The 7th quickly distinguished itself when several of it's members rushed to the aid of the Prince of Orange and rescued him from being captured by French chasseurs a cheval. The Prince, grateful to his rescuers, tore a jewelled insignia of a military order from his jacket and tossed it to them, shouting, "Here my brave fellows! You have all earned it!" The men from the 7th cheered and fastened the insignia to their flag (Which was not an official military flag but rather one that they made themselves) and carried on the fight. Two days later the 7th engaged the French yet again at Waterloo. The 7th, along with the rest of the Bijlandt Brigade, was positioned at the center of the Allied lines near La Haye Sainte. The Bijlandt Brigade bore the full brunt of the French artillery barrage and while many spectators expected them to break, they held firm despite the cannon-fire. And when the French infantry advanced in their columns, the Bijlandt Brigade - by far the smallest of the Allied Brigades in the center - was attacked by Donzelot's Division, the largest of the French columns that were attacking. The 7th and the rest of the brigade engaged the French in a furious firefight for quite a while, certainly far longer than such a small unit should have been able to, yet they fought back ferociously. Eventually the brigade was forced to retire and this is where accounts differ. Accounts from those like Siborne (who wasn't even at the battle) say that the brigade broke and ran at the first shots, however more reliable reports from officers actually present on the field say that the Brigade fought back fiercely and was forced to retire only after a protracted and effective firefight from less than 25 meters apart! The brigade did not break and run, instead they withdrew to the rest of the allied lines (remember that they were deployed farther ahead than any of the other allied units) and kept up the fight, throwing back the French with several successful assaults and bayonet charges. Van de Sande was wounded badly in one of these bayonet charges and forced to hand command of the battalion over to another. The 7th and the rest of the Bijlandt Brigade fought hard throughout the day, suffering many casualties but never breaking, in fact, the Bijlandt Brigade actually attacked and pursued the French all the way to the bottom of the slope, chasing after them until they ran completely out of ammunition.

I find Francois' story fascinating because of his overwhelmingly impressive service record and each and every unit he served in was constantly heavily engaged and earned many distinctions because of it. He had to be one hell of a tough man after so many years of fighting, I can only imagine how many friends he must have lost over the years. He must have been a tough son of a bitch physically and mentally.

[BSM 'Shut up' Williams]

Added Francois-Chretien Van de Sande.

[BSM 'Shut up' Williams]

BUMP