German States 1814-1815

With the retreat of the French forces - except for the garrisons of several communications centers, some of which held out to the end of the fighting - after Leipzig the states of the former Confederation of the Rhine were summoned to join the Allies. Their responses varied. In the north, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the Saxon duchies, Lippe, and portions of Westphalia made real sacrifices to raise troops and money. (Westphalia, of course, at once fell apart). By contrast Oldenburg contributed nothing; Hanover showed little zeal; its former ruler, returning from his English refuge, had quickly proven reactionary, incompetent, and unpopular. Brunswick expressed much good will, but was slow to muster troops. The Elector of Hesse-Cassel, back in his former capital, did find a few soldiers, but devoted more energy to restoring everything to its 1805 status, including large pigtails - real or artificial - on his officers and officials. Hesse-Darmstadt and Nassau (which the Prussians were busy plundering) dragged their feet, as did Baden. Bavaria stood stiffly on its Napoleon-bestowed status as a Kingdom; it finally provided 30,000 men, but kept part of the territorial gains it had acquired, 1805-1809. Wrttemberg - having had a hand in whipping an over-ambitious Austrian force after Leipzig - was flooded with Austrians and looted in the slovenly Austrian style. Uncowed, its fat king sent only a few regulars (commanded by his Napoleon-hating son) to the Allies, and prevented the mustering of volunteer or landwehr units. Saxony, Frankfurt, and Berg were put under direct Allied rule and stripped of men, money, and supplies. In addition, the German states had to "support" the Allied armies, which had large appetites and brought little with them except typhus and "malignant dysentery". Only Wurzburg, whose ruling house was related to the Austrian Hapsburgs, escaped this exploitation. In 1815 all these states furnished at least small contingents during the Hundred Days. The Saxons, thrust under domineering Prussian command, mutinied, ran Blcher out of the back door of his headquarters, and had to be "sent to the rear".

German States 1814-1815

Index Plate 1. Plate 2. Plate 3. Plate 4. Plate 5. Plate 6. Plate 7. Plate 8. Plate 9. Plate 10. Plate 11. Plate 12. Plate 13. Plate 14. Plate 15. Plate 16. Plate 17. Plate 18. Bavaria: Volunteer Hussar Corps, Private, 1813 Bavaria: 1st Cuirassier Regiment, Private, 1815 Bremen: Volunteer jgers, Private, 1815 Bremen: Volunteer Cavalry, Officer, 1814 Brunswick: Advance Guard Jger Battalion, Private, 1815 Brunswick: Leib Battalion, Sergeant major, 1815 Brunswick: 3rd Light Battalion, Staff officer, 1815 Brunswick: 1st Line Infantry Battalion, Private, 1815 Brunswick: 3rd Line Infantry Battalion, Drummer, 1815 Brunswick: Uhlan Squadron, Private, 1815 Brunswick: Horse Artillery, Private, 1815 Hanover: Lneberg Light Battalion, Private, 1815 Hanover: Field Battalion "Verden", Sergeant, 1815 Hanover: Field Battalion "von Bennigsen", Sharpshooter, 1813-1814 Hanover: Landwehr Battalion "Salzgitter", Private, 1815 Hanover: Duke of Cumberland's Volunteer Hussar Regiment, Private, 1815 Hanseatic Legion: Infantry Private, 1814-1815 Mecklenburg-Strelitz: Volunteer Hussar Regiment, Private, 1813

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