THE CREATION OF
THE BATAVIAN ARMY
IN 1795
by Geert van Uythoven
After the Republiek
der Vereenigde Nederlanden had been overrun by the French ‘liberators’
under Pichegru, who was able to cross the rivers over the ice, the Stadtholder
William V and his family fled. On 19 January 1795 the revolution was a fact,
and the patriots formed on the 26th a council of provisional representatives of
the Dutch people. Based on their great example revolutionary France the
Batavian Republic was created 1).
On 4 March, the Raad
van State (‘Council of State’) was replaced by the Committé tot de
zaaken van het Algemeene Bondgenootschap te Lande. One of their main
concerns was abandoning the old army of the Dutch Republic, and to create a
Batavian army.
The old army had
suffered much during the latest campaigns. In addition, many orangists,
supporters of the Stadholder Wiliam V, had already left the country. This
included most of the officers. The Dutch people never were a warring people,
and many soldiers and most officers were foreign. In addition, complete foreign
units were in Dutch pay: Germans, Walloons, Swiss, French émigrés, etc. So
indeed, an army had to be rebuild nearly from scratch. Of course, the core
would be formed by the patriots which had fought in the French revolutionary
armies. These would be augmented by the more trustworthy elements of the army
of the Dutch Republic. In addition, the French liberators and patriots held
between five or six thousand prisoners of war, of which it also was believed
they could be drafted into the new army.
The Foreign units
that had been taken in Dutch pay were a problem of themselves. Many German
monarchs had closed a ‘capitulation’ with the Stadtholder or the Dutch Republic
to take into Dutch service companies, or even whole regiments. These units were
either completely clothed in uniform and armed, or clothed only. To take them
in Batavian pay would not be consistent with the revolutionary ideas, and in
most cases would be a violation of the capitulation that had been closed.
Returning them to their monarchs would give the enemies of the Batavian
Republic, the Allies, an opportunity to take into service seasoned troops ready
to take the field again, this time against the young Republic. So what
happened, is that some units remained in Batavian service, while other were
dismissed! The following units were dismissed during the first years of the
existence of the Batavian Republic:
14
February 1795 - The Corps of Colonel de Béon and that of
Colonel de Damas (capitulation of 25 May 1793), both created from French
émigré’s, are dismissed.
23
May 1795 - The Corps of de Lega (two foot jager
companies, two sharpshooter companies, and one mounted jager company;
capitulation of 26 July 1794), also known as the Korps van de Prins van
Rohan and created from French émigré’s, is dismissed.
- The Corps
van Luninck (two foot jager companies, one grenadier company, and six
fusilier companies; capitulation of 8 August 1794), also know as the Vrijkorps
van de graaf van Luningen, created from French émigré’s, is
dismissed.
3
July 1795 - The Regiment
van Hohenlohe-Bartenstein (two battalions each of one grenadier- and six
fusilier companies; capitulation of 19 May 1794) is dismissed.
- The Bataljon
Jagers van Loewenstein-Wertheim (five companies; capitulation of 19 May
1794. 8 August 1794 augmented with a 6th, 22 November 1794 augmented with a 7th
company) is dismissed.
27
July 1795 - The Regiment
Van Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berlebourg (2 battalions each of one grenadier- and
six fusilier companies; capitulation of 26 July 1794) is dismissed.
6
& 7 January 1796 - The Korps
Mecklenburgse Troepen (a grenadier- and a musketeer battalion, each of four
companies) is dismissed.
18
February 1796 - The Regiment
Guarde Zwitzers (Swiss) is disbanded.
20
February 1796 - The Swiss
Regiment ‘May’ is dismissed.
15
March 1796 - The Swiss
Regiment ‘Lochmann’ is dismissed.
26
March 1796 - The Swiss
Regiment ‘Stockar de Neuforn’ is dismissed.
28
April 1796 - The Swiss
Regiment ‘De Gumoëns’ is dismissed.
21
March 1797 - The Swiss
Regiment ‘Schmid’ (‘Grisons’) is dismissed.
Of
the former Dutch army, except for foreign units, several ‘national’ units were
abolished or dismissed as well:
25
January 1795 - The Regimenten Hollandsche Guardes te Voet,
Guardes te Paard, and Guardes dragonders are abolished.
10
February 1795 - The squadron Gardes du Corps is
dismissed.
1
June 1801 - The Vriesche & Groningsche
Guardes companies are dismissed.
- Both
companies Stadssoldaten van Amsterdam are dismissed, but remain in service
of the city itself.
And then finally the organisation of the new army. Given are the new units, with the old units they were formed from. As these were only remains, much depleted by the rigours of war and desertion, and for example at least one, sometimes even more regiments were used to create one new battalion:
LINE INFANTRY (raised 8 July 1795):
|
halve brigade |
battalion |
old units |
|
1e Halve Brigade |
1e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.10 ‘Van Brakell’ |
|
|
|
1e bat / Rgt No.5 ‘Des Villates’ |
|
|
2e Bataljon |
Rgt. Oranje-Nassau No.1 |
|
|
|
2e bat / Rgt. No.5 ‘Des Villates’ |
|
|
|
2e bat / Rgt. No.17 ‘Van
Plettenberg’ |
|
|
3e Bataljon |
Rgt. No. 18 ‘Van Wartensleben’ |
|
2e Halve Brigade |
1e Bataljon |
Rgt. Oranje-Nassau No.2 |
|
|
|
Rgt. No.8 ‘Bosc de la Calmette’ |
|
|
2e Bataljon |
Rgt. Markgraaf van Baden |
|
|
3e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.9 ‘Van Randwijck’ |
|
|
|
1e bat / Rgt. No.17 ‘Van
Plettenberg’ |
|
3e Halve Brigade |
1e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.14 ‘Hessen-Darmstadt’ |
|
|
|
Rgt. No.4 ‘Von Wilcke’ |
|
|
2e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.3 ‘Von Dopff’ |
|
|
|
1e bat / Rgt. No.21 ‘Westerloo’ |
|
|
3e Bataljon |
Rgt. Erfprins van Oranje |
|
|
|
2e bat / Rgt. No.21 ‘Westerloo’ |
|
4e Halve Brigade |
1e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.19 ‘Douglas’ |
|
|
|
Rgt. No.1 ‘De Schepper’ |
|
|
2e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.13 ‘De Thouars’ |
|
|
|
Rgt. Oranje-Gelderland |
|
|
3e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.15 ‘De Petit’ |
|
|
|
Rgt. Oranje-Vriesland |
|
5e Halve Brigade |
1e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.20 ‘Von Geusau’ |
|
|
2e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.7 ‘De Bons’ |
|
|
|
Rgt. No.2 ‘Van Maneil’ |
|
|
3e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.6 ‘Van Welderen’ |
|
6e Halve Brigade |
1e Bataljon |
Rgt. Nassau-Usingen |
|
|
|
Rgt. No.12 ‘Bedaulx’ |
|
|
2e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.24 ‘Bentinck’ |
|
|
|
1e bat / Rgt. Oranje Stad
en lande en Drenthe |
|
|
3e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.23 ‘Stuart’ |
|
|
|
2e bat / Rgt. Oranje Stad
en lande en Drenthe |
On 22 September
1795 the 7e Halve Brigade was raised, paid by the provinces Holland and
Utrecht. On 1 March 1796, this halve-brigade was taken over in service of the Generaliteit;
the Batavian Republic itself. It was composed of the following old regiments:
|
halve brigade |
battalion |
old units |
|
7e Halve Brigade |
1e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.16 ‘Von Mönster’ |
|
|
2e Bataljon |
Rgt. No.22 ‘Van Nijvenheim’ |
|
|
3e Bataljon |
‘Bataljon Gardewalen van
Perez’ |
Total strength of all seven halve
brigades was 14,651 men.
5e Halve brigade & 1e Bataljon Jagers
during the Anglo-Russian invasion in Holland, 1799
Finally, there were the following units:
1. Stadssoldaten van Amsterdam, two
companies with a total strength of 400 men.
2. Vriesche Guardes, a company of
202 men.
3. Groningsche Guardes, a company of 75
men.
JAGERS
(raised 8 July 1795):
Four
jager battalions were formed of:
1.
Jagers van Bylandt
2.
Jagers van Heijdte (former Jagers van Matthieu; capitulation of
16 January 1794)
Total
strength of the jagers was 2,436 men.
FOREIGN
INFANTRY UNITS WHICH FOR THE TIME BEING REMAIN IN BATAVIAN SERVICE:
1. Regiment Saxen-Gotha (2 battalions, each of one leib-company, one grenadier company, and six musketeer companies).
2. 1e and 2e Regiment Waldeck (each of two battalions with the same composition as the above regiment).
3. 5e Bataljon Waldeck (one grenadier company, one jager company, and six musketeer companies).
Total strength of these German units was 3,606 men. For brigading purposes, the German troops were regarded as a halve brigade.
4. Five Swiss infantry regiments.
5. The Regiment Guardes Zwitzers.
Total strength of the Swiss was about 6,800 men. According to their capitulation, the Swiss would only be used for garrison duties, although it may be clear that a situation could arise that they too were forced to take the field. During the Batavian Republic, this did not happen.
In times of war, the seven halve brigades and the German troops would be paired to form four brigades. Two brigades would be paired to form a Division. Cavalry, artillery, and the other services would be divided according to the situation. Therefore, the Batavian field army had a strength of two Divisions.
CAVALRY
raised 8 July 1795:
|
cavalry regiment |
old units |
|
1e Regiment Cavalerie |
Rgt. ‘Van Hessen-Philipstall’ |
|
|
Rgt. ‘Van Bentinck’ |
|
|
Rgt. ‘Van der Duijn van ‘s
Gravemoer |
|
2e Regiment Cavalerie |
Oranje-Karabiniers |
|
|
Oranje-Vriesland |
|
|
Rgt. ‘Van Tuijl van Serooskerken’ |
|
|
Rgt. ‘Hoeufft van Oijen’ |
|
Regiment Dragonders |
Dragonder Rgt. ‘Van Hessen-Cassel’ |
|
|
Dragonder Rgt. ‘Van Bylandt’ |
|
Regiment Huzaren |
Rgt. ‘Van Heeckeren’ (Zwarte
Huzaren) |
|
|
Rgt. ‘Van Timmerman’ (Roode
Huzaren) |
Total strength of the
cavalry was 2,520 men.
Batavian cavalry during the Anglo-Russian
invasion in Holland, 1799
ARTILLERY (raised 8 July
1795):
Contrary to the original plan, which foresaw the creation of five foot artillery battalions of five companies each, four battalions of six companies each were raised, based on the old artillery battalions as follows:
|
foot artillery
battalion |
old units |
|
|
Artillery Staff |
- |
|
|
1e Bataljon te Voet |
1 company of the 1e Bataljon |
|
|
|
2 companies of the 2e Bataljon |
|
|
|
2 companies of the 3e Bataljon |
|
|
|
1 company of the 4e Bataljon |
|
|
2e Bataljon te Voet |
2 companies of the 2e Bataljon |
|
|
|
1 company of the 3e Bataljon |
|
|
|
1 company of the 4e Bataljon |
|
|
|
2 companies of the 5e Bataljon |
|
|
3e Bataljon te Voet |
1 company of the 1e Bataljon |
|
|
|
1 company of the 3e Bataljon |
|
|
|
2 companies of the 4e Bataljon |
|
|
|
2 companies of the 5e Bataljon |
|
|
4e Bataljon te Voet |
2 companies of the 1e Bataljon |
|
|
|
1 company of the 2e Bataljon |
|
|
|
1 company of the 3e Bataljon |
|
|
|
1 company of the 4e Bataljon |
|
|
|
1 company of the 5e Bataljon |
|
Total strength of the foot artillery
was 2,419 men.
The horse
artillery, two companies strong, was created of the old four companies of horse
artillery. Initially attached to the 1e Bataljon Artillerie te Voet, on
12 November 1795 it became a separate corps. Total strength was 181 men.
PONTONEERS (raised 8 July 1795):
The Korps Pontonniers
had a strength of one company of sixty men only. It was attached to the foot
artillery.
GENIE (‘engineers’, raised 8
July 1795):
The Genie consisted
of the following:
1. Korps Directeurs en Ingenieurs (‘directors and engineers’) with a strength of 72 men.
2. Korps Mineurs en Sappeurs (‘miners and
sappers’; with a strength of two companies) with a strength of 162 men.
Footnotes:
1) Although at this moment,
the name of Republicq der Vereenigde Nederlanden was retained.
Sources:
- “Rapport van het Committé
tot de zaaken van het Algemeene Bondgenootschap te Lande”, Exhibitum 26 Maart
1795
- “Gedetailleerd Plan van
Organisatie der Armée van de Republicq der Vereenigde Nederlanden”, Exhibitum
26 Maart 1795.
- Hardenberg, H., “Overzigt
der voornaamste bepalingen betreffende de sterkte, zamenstelling, betaling,
verzorging en verpleging van het Nederlandsche Leger” Part 1 (‘s Gravenhage
1858).
- Kesman, J.H.,
“Beantwoording der vraag, wat is er van de oude armee geworden?” in ‘De
Militaire Spectator’, 6.D. No.1 (1837)
- Raa, F.J.G. ten, “De
uniformen van de Nederlandsche Zee- en Landmacht hier te Lande en in de
Kolonien (‘s Gravenhage 1900)
© Geert van Uythoven