User:Lord Cornwallis/Hanoverian Legion

For the force raised by Britain in 1803, see King's German Legion.

For the force raised in 1866, see Guelphic Legion.

Depiction of the Hanoverian Legion.

The Hanoverian Legion (French Légion hanovrienne) was a military unit raised in 1803 following France's invasion and occupation of the Electorate of Hanover that year during the Napoleonic Wars. It served as part of Napoleon's Grande Armée until its disbandment in 1811.

Formation

Following the collapse of the Peace of Amiens French forces rapidly overran Hanover, whose ruler George III was also King of Britain. The Convention of Convention of Artlenburg established French control over the Electorate. General Mortier, who had led the invasion, raised the unit to augment French forces. From the beginning recruitment was difficult, much of the defeated Hanoverian Army had gone abroad and joined the newly raised King's German Legion (KGL) in British service while others were reluctant to join the occupying French.

The Legion consisted of xxxx and infantry battalion s. The unit was headquartered at Celle while it was raised. The uniforms were red w (due to existing supplies for the Hanoverian Army) with blue facings.

In 1804 the Legion left for France.

Peninsular War

It took part in in Peninsular War, notably the Invasion of Portugal under General Junot in 1807. Following the Convention of Cintra the following year when Junot's Army surrendered to the British outside Lisbon, the regiment was repatriated to France although a number of native-born Hanoverians took the chance to desert to the KGL.

The Legion was involved in further campaigns in the Peninsular as French armies fought the British under Wellington and Spanish and Portuguese forces. It participated in Marshal Massena's invasion of Portugal in 1810, which was frustrated by the lines of Torres Vedras.

Following a major friendly fire incident at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro in 1811, the Legion was disbanded and it's troops redistributed to other French units. Hanover was liberated by Allied forces in 1813 and the old Hanoverian Army was re-established.

See also

• Irish Legion, a French unit raised to enlist Irish exiles

Bibliography

• Chartrand, René. Fuentes de Oñoro 1811: Wellington’s liberation of Portugal. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013.
• Dempsey, Guy. Napoleon's Mercenaries: Foreign Units in the French Army Under the Consulate and Empire, 1799 to 1814. Pen and Sword, 2016.
• Esposito, Gabriele. Napoleon's Infantry: French Line, Light and Foreign Regiments 1799–1815. Pen and Sword Military, 2022.

External links

• www.example.com