5th Line Battalion
Encyclopedia
Raising, Service & Disbandment
The 5th Line Battalion of the King's German LegionKing's German Legion
The King's German Legion was a British Army unit of expatriate German personnel, 1803–16. The Legion achieved the distinction of being the only German force to fight without interruption against the French during the Napoleonic Wars....
(abbreviated: KGL) was raised in late 1805 as the fifth out of eight line battalions that the Legion levied in total. A British expedition to Hanover, at the end of 1805 vacated by French troops on their way to the Battle of Austerlitz
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
, resulted in a massive recruitment success for the KGL.
After Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz, the British expedition's position became untenable. The whole force including all participating and newly recruited KGL units re-embarked for England in February 1806.
The 5th line battalion KGL was initially brigaded with the 6th Line Battalion of the Legion.
It served from 1805 until 1816 in Ireland, Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1807)
The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...
, Portugal, Spain and southern France
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
and Belgium
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
.
The unit was part of the British occupation force in France in 1815. In December 1815 the disbandment was ordered and the troops marched back to Hannover, were they were disbanded in early 1816. (SeeKing's German Legion
King's German Legion
The King's German Legion was a British Army unit of expatriate German personnel, 1803–16. The Legion achieved the distinction of being the only German force to fight without interruption against the French during the Napoleonic Wars....
)
Waterloo
On 18th June 1815, during the Battle of WaterlooBattle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, the battalion was nearly wiped out during the fighting in the center of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
's battle line, in the wake of the so called `crisis´. Around 6 o'clock the Prince of Orange
William II of the Netherlands
William II was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg from 7 October 1840 until his death in 1849.- Early life and education :...
told Sir Charles Alten
Charles Alten
Sir Charles Alten , Hanoverian and British soldier, son of Baron Alten, a member of an old Hanoverian family, entered the service of the elector as a page at the age of twelve. He led a famous Anglo-Portuguese division during the Peninsular War. At the Battle of Waterloo, he commanded a division...
, the KGL's divisional commander, to send forward the 5th line battalion to attack the French infantry, who were pursuing the men from the 2nd light battalion KGL retreating from La Haye Sainte
La Haye Sainte
La Haye Sainte is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment on the Charleroi-Brussels road. It has changed very little since it played a very important part in the battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815...
. Col. von Ompteda
Christian Friedrich Wilhelm von Ompteda
Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Ompteda was a Hanoverian officer of the Napoleonic Wars.- Life :...
, the 5th battalions commander had noticed French cavalry nearby and protested the order to Alten, but he was told to obey his general by the Prince of Orange, who had overheard the exchange. Von Ompteda mounted his horse, ordered the 5th into line (they had been formed in square to fight cavalry) and, at their head, advanced on the French infantry. The enemy infantry ran, but riding out of the mists of smoke came a regiment of cuirassiers . They charged into the flank and rear of the 5th line who, with their muskets unloaded, were cut to pieces. Von Ompteda was among those killed, a colour of the battalion was lost and only 19 men escaped back to the allied line.
Notable for his actions during the battle was the battalion's surgeon Georg Hartog Gerson
Georg Hartog Gerson
Georg Hartog Gerson was a medical doctor and surgeon in the King's German Legion during the Napoleonic Wars....
. His coatee survived and is on display in Hamburg, Germany, in the "Museum für Hamburger Geschichte".
Uniforms and equipment
Uniform and Equipment of the Legion's Line battalions was of standard British pattern of the time. In accord it was repeatedly revised during the years from 1803 until 1815. In general it comprised:- red uniform with dark blue cuffs and collar, laced with regimental lace
- grey legwear
- white leather equipment
- Brown Bess musket
- stovepipe shako, later Belgic shako
The principal distinction from British units was that the standard pack was painted dark blue rather than black.
The 5th's light Company was partially armed with Baker rifle
Baker rifle
The Baker rifle was a flintlock rifle used by the Rifle regiments of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first standard-issue, British-made rifle accepted by the British armed forces....
s and was separated from the battalion at Waterloo in the midst of the battle to assist in the defence of La Haye Sainte.
Literature
- Chappell, Mike The King's German Legion (2) 1812-1816 Osprey 2000 ISBN 1-85532-997-2
- Beamish, North Ludlow History of the King's German Legion 2 Volumes, London, Thomas & William Boone, 1832(Vol.1) & 1837(Vol.2))
External links
- King’s German Legion 2nd light battalion and 5th line battalion re-enactment society
- King´s German Legion 5th line battalion re-enactment group