Osprey Men-at-Arms 167 : Brunswick Troops 1809-1815

When the Duchy of Brunswick was dissolved in 1807 the son of the dead duke, the now-dispossessed Friedrich Wilhelm, fled to Austrian territory to nurture in exile his hatred of the French dictator. Until 1808 peace again reigned on the European mainland; but in that year war broke out in the Spanish peninsula when the proud Spaniards rejected the new king, Joseph Bonaparte - Napoleon's brother - whom the Corsican had attempted to force down their throats. Since the bitter defeats and loss of territory of 1805, Austria had been hard at work overhauling and expanding her military machine. Although much had been accomplished in this field, Archduke Charles, brother of Emperor Franz I and the man in overall charge of these army reforms, was not convinced that the Austrian forces were yet in a state to be matched against the French army. His protests were overridden, however, as the Austrian government felt that with the outbreak of the Spanish war Napoleon would have too much to do to be able to devote large forces to deal with them. On 25 February 1809 Friedrich Wilhelm of Brunswick entered into an agreement with the Austrians to raise a corps of infantry and cavalry to fight alongside them as they invaded his old domains, raising the population against their French rulers. Otto Von Pivka explores the history, organisation and equipment of these Brunswick troops, including eight full page colour plates by Bryan Fosten.

Contents

• Introduction
• 1809 'The Black Band'
• The Peninsular War 1810-14
• The 1815 Campaign
• Uniforms 1809
• Uniforms in English Service 1810-15
• Uniforms at Waterloo 1815
• The Plates