Book contents
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- A—NAVAL
- B—MILITARY
- THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN COMPILING MILITARY HISTORY
- THE VALUE OF THE STUDY OF MILITARY HISTORY AS TRAINING FOR COMMAND IN WAR
- THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF MILITARY HISTORY
- PRÉCIS OF THE PLANS OF NAPOLEON FOR THE AUTUMN CAMPAIGN OF 1813
- THE INFLUENCE OF TACTICAL IDEAS ON WARFARE
- FIELD-MARSHAL PRINCE SCHWARZENBERG: A CHARACTER SKETCH
- A DEFENCE OF MILITARY HISTORY
- FOREIGN REGIMENTS IN THE BRITISH SERVICE, 1793-1815
- INDEX
FOREIGN REGIMENTS IN THE BRITISH SERVICE, 1793-1815
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2010
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- A—NAVAL
- B—MILITARY
- THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN COMPILING MILITARY HISTORY
- THE VALUE OF THE STUDY OF MILITARY HISTORY AS TRAINING FOR COMMAND IN WAR
- THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF MILITARY HISTORY
- PRÉCIS OF THE PLANS OF NAPOLEON FOR THE AUTUMN CAMPAIGN OF 1813
- THE INFLUENCE OF TACTICAL IDEAS ON WARFARE
- FIELD-MARSHAL PRINCE SCHWARZENBERG: A CHARACTER SKETCH
- A DEFENCE OF MILITARY HISTORY
- FOREIGN REGIMENTS IN THE BRITISH SERVICE, 1793-1815
- INDEX
Summary
Wellington's army in the Peninsula included a non-British element, the King's German Legion and other regiments. In this it was not different from the armies of the day, the enlistment of foreigners being practised by all nations; and Great Britain was actually distinguished from other countries by prohibiting the custom in peace, though utilising foreigners extensively in war to make up for the weakness of the normal establishment.
Three types of foreign troops in British employment may be distinguished: subsidised allies, e.g. the Prussians in 1794, paid by Great Britain but not directly controlled; troops belonging to other countries (e.g. Hesse-Cassel) hired by Britain and under British control but not part of the Army; regiments which were raised for King George III.'s service and which formed part of the Army.
Of these the first were the least satisfactory, and the second were but little used after the Peace of Basle (1795) had neutralised North Germany. Most of the foreigners in our service belonged to the third class. These were obtained from various sources; at first French émigrés were available in large numbers, later on prisoners of war and deserters were enlisted. Some corps were raised directly in Switzerland (e.g. de Watteville's Regiment), and a few in Germany and Holland. The character of these corps varied greatly, some (e.g. the Queen's Germans, later known as the 97th, which did very well in Egypt in 1801) being really excellent corps.
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- Naval and Military EssaysBeing Papers read in the Naval and Military Section at the International Congress of Historical Studies, 1913, pp. 230 - 234Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009First published in: 1914