The Hanoverian Army of the Napoleonic Wars

46 Pages·1989·5.842 MB·English

206 OSPREY· MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES
~my
'The %noverian
of
the ilpoleonic m r s
Textby PETER HOFSCHROER
..
Colourplatesby BRY FO E
of
The Hanoverian Army the llpoleonic //Mrs
1I1trotlttctioll arri d it m r qllipm I1l lar 1 imilar to tho
u d in th BriG h I'm. Th King rman
L gion, fI rm d in J8 3, wa ba d m r on
r
LaLe ,Lhat an amalgam f Han v rian and Brili h militar
BriLi h tradition. ot all red oats arm d with Lh Brown
rown f B s auld p ak th King' 'ngLi h'-Ih' king
rum
If wa p rhap n t a pr fi i I1l in lhe
languag as he 'hould ha e be n. meOflh m st
reliabl troop \ ellington had at Wat rl 0 were
r d-coaled G rmans eterans ofth K L.
Contemporarywaterco)ou.r,from the eries by RODDeDberg,
howing aD officer (left) and l'rivauo of the 8th Infantry
Regimentinc.J79J;fbi unithad garrisonsat Cell",Gifhom,
BnrgdorfandHnde heim.Theredc:oat'wasfaced white,and
button and lace were i1Vf>r aDd white. For general
cr.
characteristics. Plates AI, B3.
Han rian arm w r lIni~ rm and
3
rf
TileArJlll)' E~ ctorate tcrritori be arne a pawn in the power
III
n Britain Fran and Pru ia.
oj·HallOv. 1792-/8°3 t J w to m d rni.
J.,
cn ar \1\arwas
Irill r gulaLi n . III infantry ot
lh ir in '784, th a all' in 1787. Th a\'alr}
ereparticular! !Tood. hedi tanc at
whi h tta ks\ eret belaun hed werere.lri led
that th ommandin officer ould maintain lief
ontrolofhi m n. rparticularnoteis th fa l that
h Ii hl dra n had the arne regulations a the
re l f th avalry' th Han v rian h r wa lhu
I 92. b r Ilk th 'all-purp ,cavalryofthe
ofHat I th 'ntu lhan lh '.P iali t avaJr of the
18th.
Omcerandma.nofthe14thlnfantryinc.1791,atabouttheOm.•
ofitsreturn£romthelndie butbeforeit(andthe15th)WOft
disbandedandusedtoformthenew14thLigbtlDfantry.Th.
redcoat arefaced reeD.;'metal'andlaceare i1verandwhit..
Uuusu:ally,theofficer' lapel"bearlaceloops'bothmeAseem
to have lace-edged collars; and note the atypical lace trim
around the top of the cu.£l'_the right-band man fDA
repre entanNCO?Plumesintbi unitwereyeUow/whitefor
officersand red/white/greeDfor rankers. (Ronnenberg)
h Ip
w re
arm
m her
CZ3ataiHon lum &efecbt.
K-O-O-O-UOU-O-K-O-K o
pp - - rOF --- pn
HpJ" H
11--11-11-11 -11-11-11-11 (l"
1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 Iitl
J-rKI
I,-IKa
\ 0 K (\ )
Bt
AAA i\u u- TI'TTT --U lVI.AA All
A A u- '1'1' TT --L1 A A
ZZZZ 5c1)iil!cn TT 1'T II So ZZZZ
'1''1" TT
l\Ko Srbii~cn
her ware temphasisonproperu'ainingin Hano erianinfantrybattalioninbanJeformadon.upfO 180$
rhe key i as follows: Ko = conu:nander, M = major A =
lh Han v rian c airy, In f; ct th ann adjutant,K = captain,0 = lieutenantorensign,040 = artillery
ommand nt a far a pp intin r '01 nr I aorfftiiclleerr,ySo=COsk,iHrm=isbhuegrlse'roffTic=er,dFl'1=1.lDc.oDlloeurro,rUm=usicCiOan,,AZll==
lraill (Regimcnlsbel'cif r) OlraU 0 that a h apper,A = gunner B' = battaliondl"lUllD1er,Ka =cannon,
Pr = limber P = horse; long barsindieaterank ofmen.
rf 'mentva, :rain d t xa tl the am landaI'd.
FurtbenTIor ,a tll orth errnan Plain is w('l1 rman
kn wn rcr the quality of it h r A h Lh
Hallo\' rian ah'yw' parti ul rI w Um unt d,
.pilea lack offunding Han cr', m unt d arm
n flh be t lrain d and m unt din urope.
I al' und t1J am tim !'liller nd Engin I'
. ho rc und d and a hj h I v I
pI' fl ionali m wa n ura d' artill I' 1
attended rc r on ear, om 1 for thr . charn pra tical ll'ainin in Hano r wa'
h t th [am u reformer of th Pru ian rmy u\
tau hIattlUs ho I;hehadjoin d -tor[f cavalry mu h th 'gran I
r' 'menr a orn t (Faelznriclz) in 17 7 aft r omOlon in 18th
r
r(' 'iving iii lrUCli II fr m unl \ illiam
.'chaumbur -Lipp. hims If n f lh r at
mililar think rs of this era. harnhorst on
I . am nr fa gJ' up f ffi er d v 1 d 1 the n
ref< I'm nd m derni ali n rlh Han rianarm .
AninfantryblUulioninparadeformadon.pre-I~3:thekeyifi
ill ludin lh th n- aptain Fri dl'i h \' n del' asin the previousdiagram.
cnataiIfon eporabe.
lUt
K o o K 0 r:OF 0 K o o K}\!'1K.,
-rrrn-rrn
BT
U-i\1\~l\. liTT TTTT JA\r.LIA H
U-U-U-U-U-U-U-U-UUU-U-U-U-U-U-lI-U-lI --11
-11- 1\11 i\ 1\11 ,\ -1-1-
S~)lIf!CII A A 1\ A 5~ltilll'll
U u u u U II U
Hpp tl. !,'omponie 3. ~~oll1ponie 2. Sl:ompanie I. !eOIlIPOllic HPP
Dr (i\rellobi,'rko)lII\'Oilic Pr
Z'l.ZZ ZZZZ
5
Konnenberg' watercolourofaDofficerandmanoftheMilitia
regiJnenlll,c.li91.Theredcoatsarefacedwhite;Doteabsence
oflaceloop on the ranker's uniform. Despite the generally
advancedattitudetonlllitarytraining,theElectoratesuffered
from dwindling manpower, and these ten [.alldreginumur
wereincorporated into the Line in 1794- most unpopula.r
decree.
unifi d mmand 'tru tUl'e like thal f th (hen h
clivi in:. Thi' horl omin b came apparel1l
Y
during lhe \\:al' f lh fren h R voJuLi nand
hamhor.t a' Quart rma. ter- n ral of lh
Han v rian army , mpl in'd Iill rly aboul it.
, ob d w uld v rb Ij ',heremark d. '(bal W
ampaignecl r 18 month in the area around
M uron i-nia Werwikand ourtraivithoul
r
havin a map of th ar a. and ught baltic
or
\ ithou[ prcci knowledg il ven lhough [ 0
ngin r ffi r uld have mapp d il in a fI
da :.'
Fr m 178 , the I' gim l1laJ arLiller \ a. mann d
y . 1 l d m n [I' m a h baltaiion of[heinfantry
r 'gim nt ho rc . ed addiLional pay [or lheir
dUlic·. Furthermore a batt ry fh artill r va'
6
skinnishers. Some Hanoverian olTieers played an
important pari in thisdebate, including Wissel and
Emmerich; howcver, a lack of financcs prevcnted
thl'Ory being put into practice.
In common with othcr German states, Hanovcr
slarted10introduccalight infantryelcmcnt intothe
~neformations. Du Plat, the Inspcctor ofInfantry,
~ued a Rcgulalion in 1800 instructing his
regiments to train onc officer, four NCOs and 60
men per battalion as Sharpshooters (Schmjschllet
.;:m), anned with the light Grenadier musket.
~lort'Over. the third rank ofeach company was to
~usedasa 'Reserve Platoon' for theskirmish fight
infaCtlhe Hanoverian armywasdisbanded before
this Regulation was put into practice).
Organisatiol1
Infantry
In t789the Infantryconsistedofone Guard and 15
LineregirnellLS,thelasttwoofwhich wereservingin
the East Indies. rcturning in 1791/92. Each
regiment consisted of two battalions each having
ollecompanyofGrenadiersand liveorMusketecrs.
The regimcntal staffconsisted ofone colonel, one
lieutenant-colonel, twO majors. one regimental
surgeon,oneregimcnwl drummcr, rouroboists and
the regimental driver.
The 12 companies containcd a total of eight
captains, two acting captains, 12 lieutenants, tcn
ensigns, 24- sergeants, 2+ junior scrgcallls, 36
corporals, 28 musicians, 152 grenadiers and 480
musketeers.
Each infantry rcgimclll had rour 3 pdr. cannon
servedbysixsergeantsand 32 men.The regimental
artillery was commanded by a trained artillery
ofliccr.
The regimental garrisons werc as follows:
Guard Regimmt: Hanover. lsi "!fRegl.: Mllcnden,
Dransfeld, I-Iedemllcndcn, Uslar, HardC!.rscn. 2nd
InjRtgL Einbcck, Moringen, Osnabrucck. 3rd
InfRegl.: Hamlin (I-Iameln).4th "!fRegt.: Stade.jth
bif,Rtgl.: Vcrdcn, Hoya, Walsrodc, Bucckcl1,
Rethcm. 6th II/j.Regt.: Nicllbu"g, Neustadt, Stol Theaecondandfourthcolounofthe lOthInfantryRe~meDt;
though DOt very clea..l), iIIuaU·.ted in thue ....productions
lcnau, WunstOI"r.7th"!fRegl.: Hamlin.81hb!fRegt.:
f..om Schi..m...., the)' ~ve an impre>lllion of the elabo...te
Celie, Gilhorn, Burgdorr, Hildcshcilll. 91h bifRegt.: deliignsusedit!th..pre-ISo]un,)'.80thweredarkgreen,with
a whiteceot...1dilCandblu..scroUa,themotifsbeingpainted
Nonheim, Ostcrode, Gocllingcll. IOlh b!f.Rl'gt.: inaah.ral colou....
7
m j r (cu\'alr) and infantry}. t\ bri adr
adjutanls ( avaJr ' and infanu ), n quarlerm.
lcr g ncral veil cngine roll cr s.i glide, on['
taff rIal' wlth on I rk on auditor g n ral
with on I rk n lafT haplain with on
n d t r n ur on n waggon
g ner I, n staffqu rt I'm, t r. Finally, til I'
fi Id po I and m di al p r ann I.
It-!:lalLlry: Th I' gim nl U d ~ r lhi. orp w I' lh
uard, 4-th 5Lh tb, I III nd 1ILh..a Il regimen!
on-i I d of lwo ballaJion and \ as organi ed .
r
II ws:
nior lafJ. I n I, Ii ut nant- 01on I. t a majors.
IntermedialeandJunioT 'Iaff n r 'gim'ntal quarter
m tel'. lW adjutant n fi Id eh, plain. one
audit r. on r. im tHaI ur n r im Iltal
drummer ci ht bit lw driv' ,on urer.
ffi cr 1wa er cant, four
The econdcolo....ofthe 12thInfantryRegiment;inthis unit
the colou.rli, following the facings, were yellow. The Royal
cyphersinthecomer ofthe ecoloursCO • tedofacrowned of the 'LX re .menu
GR' over'Ill'. (Sc:bir:mer)
rcnadier Battalion.
or
r nadi r ompani
Hano r. lllh Inj:Regl.: uen burlY. 12th hifRegt.:
lz n, Lu n bur Harl urg. '3th J,!/Regl.: Rat
z bur. I f lin, Lau nbur BI k d , Hitz ker,
Dannenb rg u h w, ul tro . 14th irifRegt.:
Ea t rndi . (U1 til 17 JI ). 15th lrifReot.: Ea.I
Indi . (Ulllil 171:)1/2).
he Hano eriau arm omribut d a conlin em
10 Ih Ui d army oppo ing lh
into Hiland. Thi uxiliar
12-13 000 men and \" rani
mera! loJf. n general
Ii u nanl-g n raj f avalry, on
g n raj finfalllr ,tw major-g n ral f avalry
r
f Ul' m jor- n ral infan r, n maj r- n r I
f artillery. h n ral omm ndin . p ronal
slaff on.i I d f nc ni r cavalr adjutanl n
ni r infantr adjul nl ne adjutant g n ral and
on aide-d - amp. .a h oflh 1J Ulenam- cneral
had tv.' 'eniar adjulant ach of th major-
g n ral' had one. Th r w r al I.. 0 bri ad
tll"O adjutant, on hapJain. n udit I' n Four or Lhe Hallow/ian 'r nadi r battalion
rl'llimental urg on, on r gim ntal drumm r, tw Il i led £'fourcompanic , a h with one aptain,
drin' . one armourcr and one waggon rna t r. n Ii ut nant, IW n, ign, ne rgeant-maj I'
Each compan had on aptain two fir t Iw ergeam' one njor orporal ne farri r hV
lieul nant t.. ani n , on nt-major four orporal on ompany urg on. Lhr drumm rs
)l' ant .ixc rp ra1 11(' c mpan I ur eon I a t\ fill r 14juni r orp ral. nd 1'24 gr nadi 1',
firers,lhr edrummer, I junior rporals and / 8 The afl' on'i I d of n omrnand r, n
pril-at'" EachoftheJaeger ompanie ansi ted of adjutant on battalion ur n n staff farri r
one aptain ne fu' I Ii ut'nant tl n igns, two n ma'L I' n arm urer and on dri cr.
or am on armour 1',on fani r (i ur orp ral', Th b uaJi n artill ry c n i ted ron 'er ant.
onl ompan urg on two bugl rs and 8 ja g r, two c rp ra1 and I gunners, The artillcr
I'h regil1lmlolortillelJ' n i'l d f ix un rv d b w mmand d a orporal who had ev n
B m II, driver lind I' him. r h battalion lrain on'i led of
Fr lh n dri er~ rthe merucal \ aggon fourdri er iLh
i d n lh bread wa 'n. and / I ilh th pa k hoI' e ,
he th renadier Bn. had th am 'laff
aruIJery and train lh olh r ompanie bUI had
ix ompani ea h on i,ling f n aplain, n
lieul nant on n ign, one haplain on s I' anI,
OfficerandUlanoftheCavaJryLifeGuardRegirneut,c.1791:
red coatsfaced with blue,lined white, with gold'lDetal and
laceand whitesm.allclothes; cf.PlateBI. (Ronnenberg)
9
one cl1Jor r: rrier, t\ 0 orporal on f4 Ilowin th: taJJ: four talf offi er two
mpan drummer t 0 lfcl' I adjutant r 'm ntal quart I'ma t r on
lUI I I' orp rals and 7 gr nadi '1", 11 f1v regimental ur n, n b ttali 11 ur n, on
batt lion hared t\ 0 arrilJ ry omc r , regim mal drumm I' n armour I' on wa on
Ea h fu k t r ballalion had four ompanje, ma ler, on dri er. ach compau),= n captain n
Th loff nit d f lva staff offi er, on lieu nant, two n ign one erg ant-major t\ 0
re imcmal quartermast r on adjulant, n crgeant onc -cnior corporal 01 e farrier our
regim ntal .urge n, n I' gimcntaJ drummer on orporal one ompany urg on twodrumme ,I
armourer,onewaggon ma t rand nedri er. E ch junior orporal 74 prival . a h Jaeger compan),:
ompan con i t d ofon' ptain, ne Ii uten nl n ap in on Ii ut nam, twO n ign on
two n ign ne cr ant-maj r. two ergeant, onc cr ant-maj I' tw I' ants nior orpor I,
ni r orporal, n [arri r fi 'orporal one on farri I' four orporal, n ompan urgeon,
mpan urg on thre drummers 14 juni I' t\ 0 bugler onearmourerand84Ja ger,Regimmtal
orp ra\. and 124 privat ,Th ba talion artill r artil/elJ': tw 3 pdr, two amu ette on n ign
nit d of c:!ln rg ant two orporal and ] (from the ,rillcr R gL) two ergcant our
unn r, "h tr in n·i t d fan 'orp ral and orporal and 28 gunn r. Art£LieIJ' traill: tw
,e n dri rs, h re weI' al 20 driv I with th orporal , 15dri er, Baggagetrain: twodrive with
baggaO'c and br 'ad waggons, th pa k waggon ight drivers with th br ad
r
Thc Light Infantr R gim l1t \ a th a gon, 0 driv I' with lh pa k hoI'
In 1798 a an nom}' m a'ur lh th and
Officer and man of the 5th Cavalry (Dragoon) Regiment, 12Lh Infamr R gt, W I' di band d and their
c,I791, in blue uniforms faced white. Despite the dragoon
om ers and m n tran ferr d Lo th lh rr gim nl .
designation, theuniform is hardlydistinguishablefrom that
oftheheavy'Reiter'regiment,ase,g.PlateA3.(Ronnenberg) Furth rmor, v ry b ttalion was reduced in
lr n th b iu krt I' ompan and th I+th
Light 10 Lboth it. Ja gel'compani , in 18 I. From
1799t 1801 the9thancll~rhR t .didnolcxil;
the thcrregim nt weI' I tI' numb r d until 18 2.
Th uard Regim nl wa I' or ani cd a follow:
'/(iff. on olon I on Ii ut nant- 1 n I, l\ 0
major lw adjutants on regim mal quart I'm '
I
leI' on artill I' ofTi r on regim nLal ur eon.
f4 ur mpan ur on' n I''gimental drumm r.
i ht oboi. t' driv r. Reg£menlal artillel]': one
'ergcant lhr rp ral 24 unn r, renaditr
compa7lJ'= on captain on mr ti utenant on
ond lieutenant, one en i n on er ant-m Jor
one sergeant one senior c rporal one farrier four
orporal two drummer two fUel'S ix junior
orporal 86 gr nadier ,Thre Mu keieercOlllpal/itJ
W I' 0 the ame u'ength a he Grcnadi r C pI
tha h· had no fif4 I''.
Th trength of an Infantr regim nt a the
am xc pl lh l it nl had on adjutant. The
me ppli d L lh Li hL I' m III x pI that
each a th four 'ompani , had thr
R ruit w I' n rmall v lunL I'
occ ionall ,unil w r br u ht up 1 tr n th b)
forms ofconscription such as in 1793, ub tilUl
were not allowed, HO\i v I' rai ing men in u ha
I ay pro\t:d loa time- on liming and ..-alLlnLeel h Lill uard rc imcnl had fivecapLain, hI'
'f lak'n rr m LIl jail -whi h, I' Ut' I d toa a ling a tain, (Jv fir. t Ii uL naill' ighl ond
dl lin in di ciplinal-y standard. Ii ut n nL., i hL . I' ant. i ht quart rma t I ,
Th ommander. orLh InlallLryr LIn n .\ ere ei hl trainer'. J corp ral'. 8 trumpeLer and 304
il.-ftll \II: tro p I' .'a h H vy regim nL wa or imila1'
',lIord Re ;mell/: 178 Prin' Ad Iph fri drich constilution e~,,(' pt hal il had onl) two a tin
Duk ( mbridg . captain .ix Jr lieut nan and eight con L.
nl R'gim III: 1781-V0I1 LOckhau'en, 17 -v n Th" Drago n I' gim nL \V l'(' al similar, but
,fh 'th r. had fi captain' tw aptain, ix r1r t
:!lId Rrg;ml'7l/: 1792-von 1 endorlr 18 2-V n lieuLenam and ight en ign. Tit slan' or a
Oill'k1a , Drago n rc:gim 'nL e n.i.-led I' thr stalfoffi r,
(>
rd Regiment: [792-\on cheilh r, 1794- on oneregimenL<Itrainer,on I' rim mal lIr,!?; on,on
•t('dJin , I''gim n I \' L'rinar 'ur 11 k tLle
/f/l & illle1ll: 1788-von 1\11ulio .1 7 3-\,on B th drumm r, II ur 10i . nd n r gim>nlal d1'i\' 1'.
ml'f. The LighlDraT on 1" •m'Ill' had the me.Lalfa
jl" Regimen/: 178B-v n d l' B ck 17 L1 Drag nand 1\1(' pL in" two a lin
Hohorst. I7 7-v n Hug, I800-v n cal lain'. ix fir. L Ii ut nant· and ighl send
180:'! n Ha II. lieul nant .
fi"t Re imellt: 17 -v n B', I 17 2-\' n Ham The headquarter r the I' giments were a.
m tein. follow: Lift Guard: Hano\' r IJI Call. Regl.:
711/ RfuimNl/: 1781-von de1' Bu che, 179 u
The officer and trooper of the 9th Cavalry (Queen's Light
PiaL.
Dragoons)inc.1791displayconsiderableuniformdifferences
81lt R lmelll: [76'2-P1'in Ernst or}\lI ckJ nI llf , forrohmattihsehbaeradvtyormeg.aikJeneonutt;.cTr.hoeuraatctetmdepstiegdnroefctohnesjtaruckcteidoncainp
18o:'!-P1'in or' hwa1'zbur,g- onder hallS 'n. Plate82. (Ronnenberg)
,/111 Regiment: 17 n u rnhcim 17 3-v n
Wan coh im 1794-v n Duering 17 von
Hu 0 17 . band d.
ro/ItRegimenl: 17 2-V nDiep nbroi k, 17
°
lTe 180L-V n del' W n'e, 1 -r~numb I' d
nb.
/I/It RegimenI: 178 - ount Taube, 17 5-v0I1
Di'pnbrik 18 -1'numb1'·dlolh.
/2/1/ Regimellt: 1783- n Lin ingen, 17 5-v n
\\'ahhau 11, 17 8-ill·banded.
/.1lh I?egimenl: I792-\' n Be I 1795-vol1 h i
Lher, 1802-1' numb l' d IILh.
IIf"Regiment: 1793-\1 n Wan nhim, 17(4-V 1'1
i P I1broick, 18o_-1'enuml e.1' d 12Lh.
rcgim nL
t IllpanJ
h re im mal LafT on i ted I'on· Ion I n
Iieut nam- olon I ne maj r, on r gim mal
trainer on urgeon, on I' gim nLal \ l I~inary
ur e n, one keuIc-clrumm r on laff Lrump 'L r
(IlIeI n regimental dri,'{'r.
II