#please like it

The precise sequence of events by which, in 1803, a large number of veterans from the Electorate of Hanover came to fight under British pay is quite frankly ridiculous and narrating the full terms of it here would take far too long. [1, 2, 4] In brief, and with little nuance, let it suffice to say that as King George III was also Elector of Hanover, Napoleon believed it was justified to attack Hanover and use it against Britain (Napoleon having no compunction against breaking multiple peace treaties willy-nilly). [3; 40, 4; 2-3] The Hanoverian army was not in a state to resist, negotiations were done in bad faith on the part of the French, and the army, when terms were finally agreed to, was left disaffected. [4] King George authorized all British vessels off the German coast to convey any Hanoverian soldiers to England if asked for aid. [4; 71-72]

Lieutenant-Colonel von der Decken and Major Colin Halkett were each given the power to raise separate corps of foreign troops for the English service. [4; 72, 75-76] Recruitment was slow at first; but they focused on greater publicity by attaching the scheme to HRH the Duke of Cambridge. [4; 76-77] As further incentive, each recruit would receive the same pay and benefits as British line, with a pension if he was disabled during the war, and, once a definitive peace had been signed, money for his journey home. [4; 77]

By the end of November 1803, plans had been changed further still. [4; 79-80] Now there was to be a combined legion raised by the Duke of Cambridge, a corps of cavalry, artillery, and infantry. [4; 80] They had recruited near a thousand men and so separated them into their proper groups. [4; 80] By the end of the year they had two light infantry regiments and one line battalion, four troops of heavy cavalry, four troops of light dragoons, one horse artillery battery and one foot battery. [4;80-81] In less than six months, the dissolved Hanoverian army had reassembled its scattered elements in England to form the King’s German Legion. [4; 81]

The legion continued to grow over the next year. [4;83] The infantry regiments had their depot at Bexhill, on the Sussex Coast, while the cavalry were encamped near Weymouth. [4;83-84] Below is the composition of the King's German Legion in January 1805. [4;84]

Here begins the Legion’s struggles with ships. Meant to support an allied offensive in Hanover in late 1805 and 1806, they found themselves battered by gales. [4; 86-87] Part of the heavy cavalry was blown back to England and never made it. [4; 86-87] The rest arrived too late to be of use against Napoleon, but the now Colonel von der Decken took advantage of the trip to recruit further. [4;89-90] The Legion would eventually grow in size to ten line battalions, two rifle battalions, five cavalry regiments, and artillery—around 14,000 men in total. [5] In its thirteen year existence, approximately 28,000 men passed through its ranks. [5]

The greater part of the legion spent much of 1806 and early 1807 in Ireland, though some were sent to Gibraltar. [4; 94]

In 1807, approximately 8,000 men were ordered to Sweden to support their struggle against the French. [4; 103-04] This meant sailing, and the weather once more punished the soldiers for leaving land, delaying their arrival. [4; 104-05] Yet they were not in Sweden long. [4; 108] After a bit of combat they reunited with the Gibraltar detachment in Copenhagen. [4; 108]

It was here the legion first served under Major General Sir Arthur Wellesley, who added them to his reserve forces for a push into the interior to disperse a leveé en masse in the neighborhood of Kioge. [4; 119] Although the legion contributed to a successful action, they were not rewarded with a safe trip home. [4; 119-124, 130-39] Their expedition had 1,175 casualties; 226 were drowning victims. [4; 139] As a land-based fighting force, the Hanoverians were excellent, but the sea was a combatant they could not defeat.

Unfortunately for the KGL, to fight in Europe meant sailing from England. Some men were sent to Gibraltar and Sicily, while most sailed to Sweden, turned around and sailed home again. [4; 142-44] Most were recollected at Spithead by the end of July 1808. [4; 145] Without landing men or horses, they reprovisioned and were sent to Portugal to fight once more with Sir Arthur. [4; 145-47] Yet they missed the Battle of Vimeiro. [4; 148]

The KGL attempted to land at Maceira Bay on the 25th of August. [4; 148] The weather was, of course, terrible. [4; 148] Several horses died attempting to reach land, most of those disembarked proved to be unfit for service, and forty had already met death on board the transports. [4; 149] The landing took four days. [4;149]

The hussars bivouacked a few miles from the landing ground, utterly exhausted. [4; 149] Their chosen campsite was a small flat, nearly surrounded by high rocks, through which flowed a little rivulet. [4; 149] They had slept only an hour when a violent torrent of rain began. [4; 149] Too tired to deal with this, they simply wrapped up in cloaks and blankets and went back to sleep. [4; 149] However, water was not yet ready to give up its attempt to murder these men. Their enclosed sleeping ground acted as a reservoir for the rain and by midnight they were all literally lying in water, articles of every description floating about. [4; 150] In the darkness of the night, the soldiers scrambled to figure out where their personal effects had wandered off to; it wasn’t until the rain ceased and water drained that they were able to collect their drenched possessions and, with the aid of a large fire, get them mostly dry. [4; 150]

Sir Arthur went home, but the 3rd Hussars and the light infantry marched to Spain to fight under Sir John Moore, while the line brigades and artillery remained in Lisbon. [4; 151, 6] Both units under Moore saw action, and the Hussars acted as the rear-guard for much of the retreat to Corunna. [4; 151-173] Many men shared their scanty bread rations with their horses, only to be forced to kill them to prevent them from falling into French hands—it was too late to embark them.  [4; 180] The men themselves barely made it onto the transports to return to England. [4; 182] Sans horse and sans baggage, the cavalry made it back to Britain with the men in one piece. [4; 184]

Ah, you might be thinking, they've thwarted the bad weather curse! Alas, the flank brigades under General Alten sailed from Vigo in wind so violent they could not clear the narrow entrance of the harbor. [4; 183-84] When they attempted to anchor, the bottom was rocky and the anchors wouldn't hold. [4; 183-84] Four vessels broke away, two were lost, and in the end one of those two had gone down (the other making its way back to England). [4; 183-84] Five officers, two hundred and nine non-commissioned officers and soldiers, seven women, and nine children of the German light brigade (plus the crew of the transport) died. [4; 183]

Moore was dead but the British interventions in the Peninsula were just beginning. Sir Arthur now commanded the army left in Portugal, plus reinforcements. [4; 186] Of the twenty-five thousand sabres and bayonets gathered under Wellesley at Coimbra in May 1809, the King's German Legion accounted for around three-thousand, brigaded as shown below. [4; 189] Each German line battalion had ten riflemen attached as skirmishers, called scharfschützen (sharpshooters). [4; 189]

The KGL assisted in turning the left French flank during combat on the 11th, driving the enemy across the Douro, to Oporto. [4;193-94] They contributed to the victory at Oporto but then continued on to chase the French. [4; 196-98]

In June 1809, the 1st Hussars of the King's German Legion joined Wellesley's army while the 3rd Hussars were returned to England. [4; 200] By July they were off for the Battle of Talavera, where the German Artillery under Major Hartmann contributed admirably to the victory, earning Sir Arthur's personal commendation. [4,216] A sergeant, Bostelmann, of the same battery was also instrumental in preserving wagons of ammunition from the burning heath. [4; 217-18] Members of the 5th Battalion also found three French eagles on the battlefield after the battle. [4; 218-19]

Spanish deficiencies in supply and support made remaining in Spain untenable and so the army retreated. [4; 264-66] KGL Hussars protected the flanks and kept up communications on the retreat to Badajoz. [4; 267] A few months later, disease forced retreat further into Portugal, where the health of the troops was restored. [4; 268]

Meanwhile, several battalions of the KGL posted to Sicily participated in an invasion of Italy and the light infantry brigade and second hussars were sent on the Walcheren expedition. [4; 220] Their conduct in the various attacks was gallant, and somehow the German troops were mostly spared the Walcheren fever which butchered the British troops. [4;232, 236, 245] Like many other Walcheren veterans, they were then sent to Cadiz. [4; 305]

While the bulk of the army was settled around Celorico with Wellington, General Robert Craufurd was commanding on the line of the river Coa. [7; 216-17] Some of the KGL hussars were under him, protecting a series of outposts in the area of Gallegos and Espeja. [4; 273] In July 1810, the Hussars won Craufurd's praise for their conspicuous bravery. [4; 277] Although Wellington hoped that Almeida would hold out against the French until the rainy season began, it blew up and the British began their retreat to the Lines of Torres Vedras. [4; 284, 7; 221-22]

After the Battle of Busaco, the KGL's hussars and light division picked up rear guard duties as the army continued falling back on the line of the Mondego. [4;289-291] The rear guard preserved the lives of some wounded Frenchmen, who had been abandoned by the enemy, and whose lives were threatened by Portuguese peasants; the Germans conveyed them to a convent where the monks took charge of them. [4; 292-93] Fighting continued on the way back to the lines of Torres Vedras; the British cavalry were drawn within them in October. [4; 294-301]

The French settled in at Santarem. [4; 319] Although the winter kept the infantry settled in, the cavalry manning the outposts continued skirmishing frequently. [4; 316] Eventually the surroundings no longer provided the French with sufficient forage and they retreated in February 1811. [4; 319] A few small actions followed as the British pursued. [4; 320-21] During one, Captain Aly's squadron of German hussars (that day's advanced guard) made an extensive capture under the auspices of a helpful fog: one captain, three subalterns, five hundred and twenty infantry, twelve hundred sheep, twelve bullocks, and ten horses. [4; 322-23] Aly lost two men and one horse, with three other horses wounded. [4; 323] A month later, Aly attained further seizing four officers, ninety men and horses, twenty-five mules, and the entire baggage of Marshal Soult (losses similarly low). [4; 324] The French were nearly entirely driven out of Portugal. [7;247-48]

Attention turned to capturing the border fortresses held by the French. [7; 248-50] Part of the army went to the northern ones, Almeida and Ciudad Rodrigo. Here, the Hussars and Light Division retook their spots in Gallegos and Espeja and the surrounding outposts. [4; 325] KGL skirmishers under Major Aly of the 3rd Line had an active combat role in the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro. [4; 327-28]

Major General Charles von Alten led light battalions of the KGL, which had previously been involved in the Walchren expedition, to join the southern detachment commanded by Beresford which had been handed the task of taking Badajoz and its surroundings. [4;331] They had protected Wellington on a flying visit in late April as he reconnoitered the French. [4; 331-332] While Wellington was having success to the north, Beresford was attacked in the south, fighting the battle of Albuera. [4; 335-36, 7; 257-58] During this, General Alten and the KGL light infantry were set to holding a bridge and village. [4; 340-41]

Wellington came south once more to command the second siege of Badajoz in person. [4;342] Although it was impossible with the equipment at hand to breach the garrison, Captain Cleves of the Hanoverian artillery was mentioned in one of Wellington's despatches for conducting his department "with great success." [8; 1-3] Wellington was forced to lift the siege, and ere long the bulk of the army marched north to Ciudad Rodrigo (the French being unwilling to give Wellington a battle to his liking). [7; 258-259, 8; 8] Around this time some of the KGL shuffled around. [8; 3-4]

The British et. al. assembled along the Coa in early August and prepared for a siege while instituting a blockade. [8; 9-10] A picquet of first hussars and eleventh dragoons was surprised on the 15th, but a hussar named Nebel was able to save most of the hussars from the capture that afflicted the rest. [8; 10] Marmont attempted to relieve the fortress and a few days of fighting followed around El Bodon in September. [7; 262] In a general order Wellington praised the conduct of Major General Alten's troops in this action and recommended their steadiness, discipline, and confidence as an example to be followed in all circumstances. [8; 17] The image above is of the 1st Hussars at the Battle of El Bodon. [9]

Meanwhile in the south, under General Hill, hussars contributed to a night action against the French in tempestuous weather near Aroya. [8; 20-23] They took the French rearguard by surprise and both the infantry and cavalry took prisoners, horses, and baggage. [8; 23-24] These included some rather important officers: the Prince d'Aremberg of the 27th Chasseurs, Colonel Hutry, the chief of staff, Colonel Vechet of the 34th ligne, and the General of Brigade Brun, who was ridden over by the hussars and picked up by the ninth. [8; 23] Further fighting followed, in which the hussars were often involved. [8; 24-27] During this a soldier of the second hussars, Olverman, saved his officer Captain Cleve, by forcing his way to the spot where Cleve had been surrounded by French horsemen, cutting two dragoons down, and bringing his captain off in safety. [8; 27-28] For such gallantry he was immediately promoted. [8; 28]

Back north, Wellington had spent the winter securing Almeida and preparing for the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo. [8; 29] It was now January of 1812 and time to attack. [8; 29-30] The 1st, 2nd, and 5th Line Battalions and Captain Sympher's Batter of Artillery were the KGL troops involved in the siege. [8; 30] The legion formed the bulk of the men sent to take the convent of Santa Cruz. [8; 31] Of those involved in the successful siege, only thirteen were killed, and two officers and seventy-five men were wounded. [8; 34] With that over, it was time to deal with Badajoz again. [8;34] The 1st Hussars were left under Victor Alten to help Castanos hold the fortress and the rest of the army headed south. [8; 35]

A number of officers of the German artillery and engineers were attached to the besieging force. [8; 35] They had less than a month to attempt to break the French defenses; the night of 6 April, 1812 the British were sent in to take the town. [7; 268-69] The light battalions of the legion, meanwhile, were playing with the French at in the area of Llerena. [8; 40-41] The Hussars left behind under Victor Alten also saw action. [8; 45-49] Another Alten, Major General Charles von Alten was given the appointment of the command of the light division after Craufurd's death. [8; 49] There are too many Altens.

June 1812. Victor Alten's cavalry brigade formed the advanced guard and drive the French horsemen back to the forts around Salamanca. [8; 86-57] Some of the Legion's light brigade were used to keep up fire throughout the day and night as an attempt was made to besiege these forts. [8;57] The siege degenerated into a blockade as the army lacked siege materials, but they did eventually get the Salamanca forts to surrender. [7; 281] From there began several weeks of maneuvering, punctuated with the occasional skirmish. [7; 280-81, 8; 62-68]

The Battle of Salamanca finally came in July. [7; 283] German riflemen supported the hussars as they checked on the French columns in the woods near Calvarasso de ariba. [8; 70] Captain Sympher's battery attempted to seize an Arapiles before the French could, but had to settle for taking the heights above the village of Arapiles to command the passage between the heights. [8; 71] When the French finally overextended themselves and Wellington launched his attack, the German heavy cavalry and light division formed the reserve on the left. [8; 74] The hussars attended the third division and helped deal with the opposing cavalry while the infantry rolled up the extended left wing of the French infantry. [8;75] The skirmishers of the 1st, 2nd, and 5th line battalions countered enemy tirailleurs; although a fourth of their men were casualties, they distinguished themselves. [8;77] The hussars assisted in the pursuit until ten o'clock at night. [8;78] In the end ten men and three officers of the legion were killed and thirteen officers, seven serjeants and ninety-eight rank and file were wounded, and of the horses, sixteen were dead and twenty wounded. [8;79]

They would take far greater injuries later that month at Garcia Hernandez. [8;85] The conduct of the heavy dragoons of the legion earned Wellington's satisfaction: he appointed a guard of honor from the brigade to attend his person (that sounds incredibly unlike him, but that's what the book says), he granted them two days rest, and in his official account of the combat, wrote: [8,86]

Soon after this, the officers of the legion were granted permanent rank in the British army from the date of their respective commissions. [8; 86]

Further gallant action was rewarded by Lord Wellington by directing that the German brigade should form the advanced guard of the army on its entrance into Madrid on August 12th. [8; 95] When the army quitted that place, two division were left behind under Charles Alten. [8; 97]

It was time for the siege of Burgos. [8; 97] Artillery was in short supply, and so attempts were made to carry the multiple lines of defense with escalades and breaches using mines. [8; 100-104] The KGL assisted in both of these forms of attack, but their endeavors though valiant were unsuccessful and many officers and men lost their lives. [8; 100-09] Lacking in all the requirements of a siege (engineers, artillery, ammunitions, and time) and unwilling to substitute for them with overwhelming losses of life, Wellington ordered the army into retreat. [7; 295-96] As they often were, the KGL formed part of the rearguard and the light infantry did serious damage to some of the pursuing cavalry. [8; 112-116] Others of the KGL were entrusted to destroy the Allies' stores in Madrid and several bridges. [8; 118-123] The army wintered in Portugal. [7; 298-305]

A separate detachment of the KGL-- approximately for hundred infantry, some hussars and some artillery-- went to fight in northern Germany in April 1813. [8; 143] They fought well, though the affair was generally a muddle. [8; 143-54] More troops joined them in mid-May. [8; 171] Other troops were still in Sicily while a detachment from these on the eastern coast of Spain took part in fighting against the French in Valentia. [8; 158]

The KGL in Portugal were reorganized the winter of 1812-13; regiments which were depleted were sent home to recover, some moved around, and a veteran battalion was formed from the worn-out men of different regiments of the legion. [8; 156-57] The artillery had also been considerably increased. [8; 156] Campainging season for these men began around the end of April. [8; 162]

Returning to Salamanca, Generals Fane and Victor Alten took two hundred prisoners and a sizable amount of ammunition and other provisions by charging the French lingering in the high ground during the night as they evacuated. [8;163] The French were chased across Spain back towards Burgos, and after the French had blown that up, back past the Ebro. [8; 165] Charles Alten's troops drove the French from St. Millan and took three hundred prisoners from the division's rear brigade. [8; 166] From there, Charles Alten's light division continued assisting in hounding the French back toward Vittoria. [8; 166]

At the Battle of Vittoria the light brigade of the legion under colonel Halkett advanced against Abechuco while a company of the light battalion crossed the Zadorra, intercepting the French line of retreat, obliging them to turn toward Pamplona rather than the high road to France. [8; 168] During the fight one of the 1st Hussars, a man named Blanke, was assisting a lost English staff officer to find his brigade, when the hussar, riding in front, came upon four French chasseurs. [8; 169] Blanke shouted to the officer to escape and fought all four chasseurs himself, keeping them in check until the officer was out of sight, at which point (having wounded two opponents and received a wound himself) he suddenly turned his horse and escaped. [8; 169-70]

From there, both Victor and Charles Alten continued their habit of snatching prisoners from the enemy's rear-guard. [8; 219-20] Other legion battalions also had their chance to deal with the French, including Hackett's men near Villafranca and Ompteda's men at Tolosa. [8; 221-23]

Lieutenant-colonel Hartmann of the German artillery was appointed to command the artillery of the left wing at the siege of San Sebastian (above. [8;234, 12] The light and line brigades helped cover the road from Irun to Oyazun as well as assisted in the trenches. [8;235] After a failed attempt at storming the breaches led to a decision to blockade it until further ordnance and ammunition could arrive. [8; 238]

There wasn't time to get bored however, as Soult came to entertain them at the Battle of the Pyrenees. [8;238-40] The fourth foot battery under the command of Major Sympher took an active part in several attacks, but the cavalry had little to do, as the terrain did not advantage them. [8; 240-43]

Once siege materials arrived, San Sebastian was attacked once more with the German artillery again playing a prominent role. [8; 243-44] Breaches were made and a final assault was attempted which included a large number of volunteers from the German legion. [8; 244-45] The light battalions protected the left flank of the assault column and the artillery was engaged to protect the assaulting soldiers from the garrison's defenses. [8; 245-49] It was a deadly affair and took many days to complete, but in the end the garrison surrendered. [8; 249-50]

San Sebastian was down, but Pamplona needed to be taken for a safe commencement of operations across the frontier. [8; 253] The left wing of the army crossed the Bidassoa while Charles Alten's light division attacked French post in the mountains of Commissari and did so well that they were mentioned in Wellington's dispatch. [8; 254-55] The French retreated to St. Jean de Luz and the allies parked themselves in front of them, until Pamplona fell. [8; 256] This it obligingly did on Halloween, and so in early November Wellington ordered an assault on the French line of redoubts and intrenchments. [8; 256-57] Both German infantry and cavalry were engaged at the Battle of Nivelle and again in December at the Battles of the Nive and Saint Pierre. [8; 258-66] The army settled in at St. Jean de Luz. [8; 270]

It was winter; time for the army to be reinforced and reorganized. [8; 270-72] The German legion was once more shuffled around a bit. [8; 270] The 1st and 2nd dragoons switched from a heavy to light cavalry role. [8; 270] The curse of sailing once more struck: Major General von Bock, Captain Hodenberg and Captain Bock boarded a ship to visit Germany only for the vessel to be overtaken by a storm, founder, and sink. [8; 270] Colonel con Arentschilt turned his command over to Major von Gruben, Bock's Brigade devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel von Bulow, and General Victor Alten went to visit England leaving command to Colonel Vivian. [8; 270-71] Colonel Hartmass of the German artillery was given command of the artillery of the left wing, and entrusted with all the artillery arrangements connected with the forthcoming siege of Bayonne. [8; 273]

Although 1814 dawned with active operations (Clausel attacked on the 3rd of January and was repulsed on the 5th), inclement weather prevented further operations until mid February. [8;274] Then it was time to invest Bayonne and further push back the French. [8; 275-76] The light brigade of the legion drove the picquets back while the line brigade helped with the pontoons and horse artillery at the mouth of the Adour. [8; 276] An eighteen pound shot carried off the flag-staff at the stern of a French corvette, causing the flag to call into the water; a private of the first light battalion of the legion jumped into the river and triumphantly retrieved the flag despite heavy musket fire from the ship. [8; 278] Around Bayonne, the KGL fought and died, taking heavy losses from action near St. Etienne. [8; 283-285]

While the left wing invested Bayonne, the rest continued dealing with Soult's forces out side the city, driving him back from Aire. [8; 287] Wellington pursued Soult but also took advantage of his maneuvers to take Bourdeaux when it was left exposed. [8; 288] The last step was to take Toulouse. [8; 291] The first German hussars helped drive the French from Croix d'Orade and gained possession of both a useful bridge and several prisoners. [8; 293] The light division under Charles Alten protected some English divisions from being cut off from the Ers bridge. [8; 294-95] A squadron of 1st hussars took on an entire French hussar regiment and successfully chased them back toward Toulouse. [8; 297-98] Some further successes followed, and the war was over, or nearly so, for there were a few last attempts by the French to do something before they were finally informed of the change in government. [8; 301-05]

The Peninsular War was over, but Napoleon wasn't quite done. [8; 314-318] When he escaped and it became necessary to finish him off, the King's German Legion volunteered for a new sixth month period of service (their former contract being over) and headed for Flanders. [8; 319] The regiments and batteries assembled in the Netherlands were as follows: [8; 320]

They were scattered amongst the rest of the army rather than being brigaded entirely together. [8; 321] The artillery was spread out across the divisions. [8; 321] The 1st and 2nd dragoons were brigaded with the 23rd English dragoons under Dornberg while the 1st Hussars were brigaded with the tenth and eighteenth hussars under Major General Sir Hussey Vivian. [8; 321] The 2nd Hussars joined the 7th and 15th under Major General Sir Colquhoun Grant, and the 3rd Hussars were brigaded with the 13th Dragoons under Colonel Sir Frederick von Arentschild. [8; 321] The two light battalions were brigaded with the 5th and 8th line battalions under Ompteda and placed in the third division under Sir Charles Alten, while the remaining line battalions formed the first German brigade under Colonel du Plat in Clinton's second division. [8; 321-22] Some KGL veterans commanded the Hanoverian landwehr which had been raised. [8; 322-23]

Two brigades of the third division under Sir Charles Alten arrived on the field of the Battle of Quatre Bras not long after the Duke of Brunswick died. [8; 332-33] Halkett and one of the Hanoverian divisions were sent into the fight, Halkett to reinforce the farm and Bossu wood, while the Hanoverians extended the left. [8; 334] Gunner Meyer and Bombardier Nolte of the legion artillery distinguished themselves for manning their guns with coolness and bravery while under attack. [8; 335] Halkett, Alten, and the Hanoverians were all praised by Wellington for their actions on the 16th of June. [8; 338]

The Battle of Waterloo, June 18th, 1815. La Haye Sainte, the bastion of the allied center, was entrusted to the second light battalion of the KGL under the command of Major Baring (above). [8; 346, 11] The third division under Alten was assisting in holding the heights between la Haye Sainte and Hougoumont. [8; 346] Vandeleur and Vivian's cavalry was to the left of the line, near Papellotte/La Haye/Smohain. [8; 346]

Baring had six companies, about three hundred and seventy six men, with which to defend the buildings, orchard, and rear garden. [8; 352] It was a difficult to defend position, but the KGL did its best. [8; 353-54] They survived most of the day, fighting off the early attacks, and even receiving reinforcements from the first light battalion. [8; 355-58] Yet the evening brought a renewed attack. [8; 362] Baring's soldiers were surrounded, they leveled their rifles and met the enemy, but they were outnumbered and their ammunition was low. [8; 362] Bayonets were deployed but the French did not stop coming. [8; 362] Baring requested more ammunition, not knowing the rifle ammunition was unavailable, its cart having upset in the confusion of the Brussel's road. [8; 363] More KGL men were sent, these the skirmishers of the 5th line battalion under Wurmb, but they could not make up for the steadily lowering supply of ammunition. [8; 363] Nor could the Nassauers added later. [8; 363] They received a break, took stock, and found the men had only a handful of cartridges left. [8; 366] More ammunition was wanted, but it could not be had. [8; 366] Still, the men faced the next onslaught with courage, retiring to the back garden through the house only when there was no more to be had, giving them up only when it became impossible to retain them. [8; 366-68] They fell back to the first line battalion in the road behind the farm and continued the fight. [8; 368] Baring miraculously survived, though he had six narrow escapes. [8; 369]

Halkett and Ompteda's men survived the repeated cavalry charges. [8; 358] Unfortunately, after the fall of La Haye Sainte, Ompteda was given orders by the Prince of Orange to deploy into line and attack a French column; this was successful, but there was French cavalry lying in wait and no sooner were the infantry sent fleeing than the cavalry rode down the battalion. [8; 370-71] Ompteda was one of many killed before the German riflemen in the hollow road checked them with a volley and the 3rd hussars attacked. [8; 371-72] This was an equal fight until some lancers got involved, obliging the hussars to withdraw. [8; 372]

The final attack from the Imperial Guard repelled, the cavalry brigades of Sir Hussey Vivian and Sir Ormsby Vandeleur (moved from the left to the right center before the final French attack) were sent to charge the retiring masses. [8; 377] Then it was the infantry's turn to advance, including Colonel du Plat's KGL brigade and Halkett's Hanoverians. [8; 377-78] Halkett led his Osnabruck battalion to break a square of the enemy's imperial guard under General Cambronne, who Halkett personally captured. [8; 380-81]

Losses at Waterloo were enormous, on both sides. [8; 385] On Wellington's the brunt of the action fell upon the British and KGL troops, with the legion alone seeing casualties of one hundred and twenty-nine officers and one thousand three hundred and forty-three non-commissioned officers and men. [8; 385]

A short march to Paris followed which ended with the allies in possession of the capital and Louis XVIII restored to his throne. [8; 387] By the end of the year, the KGL's contract ran out and they marched back to Hanover. [8; 388] All of those who had been involved in the Waterloo campaign, plus the veteran battalion, were disbanded from British service on the 24th of February, 1816. [8; 388]

However, the regiment was not quite gone yet. The sixth and seventh line battalions and the third foot battery had been in Italy. [8; 388-89] They had to sail from Genoa and so did not return to Hanover until the end of April, being disbanded on the 24th of May. [8; 389]

So ended the King's German Legion. [8; 396-99]

As far as the uniform itself, I actually found some additional drawings on the Bexhill Museum's Website. [10] The light brigades were intended for a rifle corps, so they were clothed in green, as shown in the center of this week's print (I usually don't recopy it but given there's 5600 words between it and here, I think it's warranted). [4;81] The line battalion was furnished with a uniform very like that worn by British royal regiments of infantry. [4; 81] The heavy cavalry were clothed like the British royal regiments of heavy dragoons, the light regiments as English hussars, while artillery and engineers were identical to their British counterparts. [4;81]

Sources: [1] https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1950-11-33-43 [2] https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1970-09-23-2 [3] Plumb, J. H. The First Four Georges. Fontana/Collins, 1974. [4] Beamish, N. Ludlow. History of the King's German Legion. Vol. 1. London, Thomas and William Boone, New Bond Street, 1832. [5] https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1982-04-203-54 [6] https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1971-02-33-532-11 [7] Longford, Elizabeth. Wellington: The Years of the Sword. Vol. 1. Harper and Row, 1969. 2 vols. [8] Beamish, N. Ludlow. History of the King's German Legion. Vol. 2. London, Thomas and William Boone, New Bond Street, 1837. [9] https://www.britishbattles.com/peninsular-war/battle-of-el-bodon/ [10] https://www.bexhillmuseum.org.uk/access-centre/kings-german-legion/kings-german-legion-uniforms/ [11] https://www.waterlooassociation.org.uk/2018/06/03/struggle-for-la-haye-sainte/ [12] https://www.britishbattles.com/peninsular-war/storming-of-san-sebastian/