Landwehrbataillon Muenden 1815

New Army

1813

After Napoleon was defeated by the Russians, the Prussians saw their chance and began to revolt in spring 1813. Already in March the Russians pushed the French back to the river Elbe and captured Hamburg (by the Russian Colonel v. Trettenborn). The duchy Lauenburg as well as regions of Luneburg, Verden and even Bremen were gradually left by the French. Finally the Hanoverians began to rise and to arm too, stimulated by small Russian detachments in these areas. The welcoming of the Russians were thereby most enthusiastic in the towns Bremen and Luneburg, where also a so-called Landsturm was formed very fast. In the beginning this Landsturm composed only of very badly armed heaps, partly under the command of veterans of the old Hanoverian army.

In contrast to Prussia in the years of French occupation of the electorate of Hannover no secret preparation of formation of a people army took place; therefore an armed revolt could not be initiated in the same speed as in Prussia. Apart from the problem that the French still kept big parts of the electorate occupied, no preparations for the creating new formations took place.This was caused by two different reasons. On the one hand some parts of Hanover were assigned to the French empire. The rest belonged to the Kingdom of Westphalia, in which Napoleons' brother reigned, based on the support of France. Therefore it was difficult or nearly not possible to form a "hidden" army, like in Prussia. Furthermore many of the possible volunteers already fled directly to England, in order to join the KGL. On the other hand the English government planned to use a so called northern army for liberating the north of Germany which should consist mainly of contingents of a Russian-German legion, Swedish troops and a Prussian army corps. Therefore England saw no necessity to establish its own Hanoverian troops; instead the forming of this northern army was financed. Further they had with the Crown Prince of Sweden (Marshal Bernadotte) a commander of this north army, who, by the promise to detach Norway from Denmark and to associate it with Sweden, should have enough motivation for espousing the English interests in the northern part of Germany.

But the French did not give up so easily and after they had regrouped again, they advanced now under leadership of general Vandamme into the surroundings of Bremen, and under general Morand toward Lueneburg as well as on the left bank of river Elbe against the growing uprising.The provisional governmental commission in Stade thereupon was now requested by v. Trettenborn to initiate a general national armament too. The groups which were thereupon formed had unfortunately only a small military usefulness, and were united as well with the first troops of the new formed Bremen-Verden Legion under v. d. Decken.Furthermore new recruited Hussars under v. Estorff came from these Landsturm men which could strengthen now the Cossacks of v. Trettenborn.When the Frenchmen pulled again in eastern direction toward Harburg, these mixed bunches consisting of Cossacks, Hussars and Landsturm could stop the French superior forces. Nevertheless these engagements led to the fact that the Landsturm dissolved again in this area. Also in Luneburg promptly a first rifle corps under v. Langrehr was formed, which could together with the local Landsturm and the everywhere swarming Cossacks expel the advancing Frenchmen.Although the Landsturm could achieve a success here, in the later historiography the behaviour by v. Trettenborn was criticized that he encouraging a participation of the population in the fight, only supported of a third of his insufficient forces; and this in a land that by the Frenchmen since longer years seen as part of their empire; and without being able to give them the necessary weapons to the hand.

Nevertheless under the influence of v. Trettenborn the first new Hanoverian battalions and regiments were formed. In March 1813 the following units existed, which consisted particularly of volunteers:

im Mai/im Juni 1813 wurden hinzugefügt:

Feld-Bataillon Bennigsen
Feld-Bataillon Röhl (später Langrehr)

im August 1813

eine Fuß-Artilleriebatterie

bis Ende 1813

Husaren-Regiment Herzog von Cumberland (Duke of Cumberland’s)
zwei Artilleriebatterien (1 Pferd u. 1 Feld oder beides - Quellen widersprechend)

1814

Anfang 1814 wurden dann die folgenden Einheiten zugefügt:

Leichtes-Bataillon Grubenhagen
Leichtes-Bataillon Osnabrück
Feld-Bataillon Calenburg

im Januar 1814 wurden dann dreißig Milizbataillone (Landwehrbataillon) - jedes mit jeweils 4 Kompanien von 160 Männern ausgehoben:

Alfeld(später Einbeck)

Bentheim

Bremerlehe (später Osterholz)
Bremervörde
Celle

Gifhorn

Goslar (später Salzgitter )
Hameln
Hannover
Harburg
Hildesheim

Hoya

Iburg (später Melle)
Lüchow
Lüneburg
Meppen
Münden
Nienburg
Northeim
Osnabrück
Osterode
Ottendorf
Peine
Quakenbrück
Stade
Uelzen
Verden
Diepholz
Ratzeburg
Springe

1815

Am 4. Februar 1815 wurden alle Feld u. Landwehr-Battalione zu Regimentern kombiniert. Obgleich 1 Feld-Bataillon u. 3 Landwehrbattalionen ein Regiment bildeten, fungierten sie aber separat:

Nr 1 Regiment Bremen

Feld-Bataillon Bremen (früher Leichtes-Bataillon Bremen-Verden)

Landwehrbattalion Ottendorf

Landwehrbattalion Stade

Landwehrbattalion Bremervörde

Nr 2 Regiment Verden  

Feld-Bataillon Verden (früher Feld-Bataillon Bennigsen)

Landwehrbattalion Verden

Landwehrbattalion Bremerlehe

Landwehrbattalion Harburg

Nr 3 Regiment Hoya

Feld-Bataillon Hoya (früher Feld-Bataillon Langrehr)

Landwehrbattalion Hoya

Landwehrbattalion Nienburg

Landwehrbattalion Diepholz

Nr 4 Regiment Osnabrück

Feld-Bataillon Osnabrück (alias Feld-Battaillon Herzog von York)

Landwehrbattalion Osnabrück

Landwehrbattalion Quackenbrück

Landwehrbattalion Melle (früher Landwehrbattalion Iburg)

Nr 5 Regiment Lüneburg

Feld-Bataillon Lüneburg

Landwehrbattalion Lüneburg

Landwehrbattalion Celle

Landwehrbattalion Gifhorn

Nr 6 Regiment Lauenburg

Feld-Bataillon Lauenburg

Landwehrbattalion Ratzeburg

Landwehrbattalion Bentheim

Landwehrbattalion Lüchow

Nr 7 Regiment Calenburg

Calenburg

Landwehrbattalion Hannover

Landwehrbattalion Hamlen

Landwehrbattalion Neustadt

Nr 8 Regiment Hildesheim 

Feld-Bataillon Hildesheim

Landwehrbattalion Hildesheim

Landwehrbattalion Uelzen 

Landwehrbattalion Peine

Nr 9 Regiment Grubenhagen

Feld-Bataillon Grubenhagen

Landwehrbattalion Alfeld

Landwehrbattalion Salzgitter (früher Landwehrbattalion Goslar)

Landwehrbattalion Springe

Nr 10 Regiment Göttingen

Feldjägerkorps (im Jahre 1815 gebildet)

Landwehrbattalion Osterode

Landwehrbattalion Münden

Landwehrbattalion Northeim

Kavallerie
jedes Regiment enthielt 4 Schwadrone von jeweils 150 Mann.

Husaren-Regiment Bremen-Verden

Husaren-Regiment Lüneburg (später Prinz-Regent Husaren-Regiment)

Husaren-Regiment Herzog von Cumberland