The Dutch Brigade () was a formation of the army of the Kingdom of Holland. King Louis Bonaparte sent the brigade in September 1808, to take part in the Peninsular War on the French side at the request of his brother Emperor Napoleon of France. The brigade was under the command of Major-General David Hendrik Chassé and was made part of the so-called "German Division" which consisted of units from the Nassau, the Baden and other German allies of the French empire, commanded by the French general Leval. It was, in turn, part of the French Army's IVth Corps commanded by Marshals Lefebvre and Sébastiani, and was later part of the Marshal Victor's Ist Corps.
The brigade distinguished itself initially in several major battles, and was later employed mainly in counter-guerrilla warfare. After the annexation of the Kingdom of Holland by the French empire in 1810, the brigade was formally decommissioned and its members, now French subjects, absorbed into the French 123rd Line Infantry Regiment, and later into the 130th Line Infantry Regiment. The other battalions of the 123rd remained in the Netherlands and were later reassigned to the Russian campaign of 1812.
Formation of the Brigade
On 17 August 1808, Emperor Napoleon of France sent a peremptory demand to his brother, King Louis of Holland, to furnish a brigade for service in the campaign in Spain. The brigade was to include a cavalry regiment of 600 horses, a company of artillery with three guns and three howitzers, three battalions of infantry with a total of 2,200 men, and a detachment of miners and sappers, for a grand total of 3,000 men. The brigade was to consist of veteran soldiers and was to march within ten days of receipt of the demand. Despite being the Emperor's brother, King Louis did his best to defend the interests of his kingdom, often dragging his feet when it came his brother's demands. Nevertheless, with this request he found it politic to comply immediately, despite the fact that the Dutch army (about 22,000 men) had already sent 6,000 men to Germany. The Minister of War, General Janssens, and the Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Dumonceau, recommended Major-General David Hendrik Chassé as commander of the newly created brigade. Chassé's staff consisted of Colonel A. Lycklama à Nijeholt as commander of the infantry; Major F. F. C. Steinmetz as commander of the artillery, and sappers; Colonel O. F. von Goes as commander of the cavalry (later Colonel Van Merlen); Captain H. R. Trip as commander of a company of horse artillery; and a field ambulance under command of surgeon G. Sebel. Lieutenant-Colonel Vermeulen would serve as chief of staff, assisted by captain of horse Van Zuylen van Nijevelt.
Organising the brigade proved difficult. Initially, the first battalion of the 3rd regiment of Jagers, encamped in the province of Zeeland, was selected to form the core of the brigade. But it turned out that the regiment was so stricken by "Zeeland fever" (probably malariaWhich would in 1809 also bring the British invasion of Zeeland, known as the Walcheren Campaign, to an untimely end.) that most of its members were unfit for duty. The army leadership therefore had to replace this battalion with the 2nd battalion of the 4th regiment of the line, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel C. L. von Pfaffenrath. The other infantry battalion designated to the brigade, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel A. W. Storm de Grave, came from the 2nd regiment of the line in Groningen. Problems with equipment and lack of basic supplies, including shoes, also delayed the deployment of the brigade. On the other hand, the cavalry, four squadrons of the 3rd regiment of hussars, was available immediately. These 2,200 troops, short of the requested 3,000, eventually concentrated near Bergen op Zoom to march to France on 2 September 1808. It was promised that the lacking 800 would follow later.An interesting question is what nationalities were represented in the brigade. The fact that conscription had not been introduced at this time, (this would only happen in 1811), makes it likely that an appreciable number of the soldiers would not have been Dutch nationals, because the army of the Kingdom of Holland, like its predecessors, the Dutch States Army and the army of the Batavian Republic, was forced to make extensive use of foreign mercenaries. Unfortunately, the regimental rolls are lacking, both in the Dutch Nationaal Archief and the French archives of the SHAT at Vincennes; cf. Moor and Vogel, p. 205. On 1 September part of the infantry rioted because of arrears in pay. The government hastily arranged an advance, which restored the peace. The brigade was sent off on 2 September by Marshal Dumonceau personally.
History of the Brigade The march to Spain Since transport by sea was impossible due to the blockade by the Royal Navy, the brigade had to march all the way to Spain, a distance of over 2,000 kilometres. The troops first marched to Paris, by way of Antwerp, Ghent, Lille, and Amiens. Although French authorities had promised support, it turned out that none of the local authorities had been made aware that they were to provide food and shelter. The Dutch quartermaster,Romar was actually a civilian from the Ministry of War with the official title of "commissioner of war," but his tasks were comparable to those of a quartermaster; cf. Moor and Vogel, p. 49. O. J. Romar, was often fobbed off by the local French commanders and had to organize victualling himself. This depleted his war chest. Soldiers often had to buy food themselves from their pay (three stuivers a day), a sum which could not provide adequate sustenance. Hunger and fatigue caused a growing stream of stragglers. The younger officers began to criticise Chassé openly.
The brigade arrived in Saint-Denis near Paris on 19 September. By this time its strength was 2,130 men and 846 horses. Chassé complained to Kingdom of Holland Minister Janssens about the lack of support he had received. The Minister instructed the Dutch ambassador in Paris, Admiral Verhuell, to press the French authorities to fulfil their obligations, and pay the promised advances through the Paris bankers Audenet and Slingeland. On 20 September, the brigade paraded before Queen Hortense de Beauharnais, King Louis' estranged wife. The next day Emperor Napoleon honored the brigade with an inspection with Marshal Lefebvre. Napoleon used the occasion to change the organisation of the infantry battalions reducing their nine companies to six, thereby beefing up the strength of the individual companies. He also decreed that the brigade would become part of the German division, composed of troops from a number of German states that were allied with the French Empire commanded by General Leval. The German division was to become part of IV Corps under the command of Marshal Lefebvre. Finally, Napoleon organised two depots, one for the infantry in Saint-Denis, and another for the cavalry in Versailles, where stragglers and sick personnel (208 men, among whom was Major Steinmetz) were to be collected for eventual transfer to their units in Spain.
The brigade left Paris for Bayonne near the Spanish border on 22 September, marching via Chartres, Le Mans, Saumur, Niort and Bordeaux. On this leg of their march, the reception by the local population was much better and the troops were treated on a par with French troops. The brigade arrived in Bayonne on 24 October. The city had been the staging point for the French invasion of Spain, and was now full of troops. Thanks to the efforts of Quartermaster Romar, the French were persuaded to provide new uniform coats and shoes. At this point the strength of the brigade had shrunk to 1,700 men.This number would be replenished by reinforcements the Dutch government sent in November and December of about 800 men under command of Colonel Alberti and Captain C. van Stapele.; cf. Moor and Vogel, pp. 70–72. The remaining soldiers were the stronger men; the march having eliminated the weaker troops. Common experiences had forged a sense of comradeship among the troops. When the brigade entered Spain the brigade had to fend for itself in competition with French and allied units for food and shelter. The brigade leadership for the first time was confronted by the dangers posed by the Spanish guerrillas (usually called "brigands" by the French), who continually preyed on the French supply lines. Marching to Bilbao by way of Irun, Tolosa, Mondragon and Durango; the brigade arrived at Bilbao around the end of October 1808.
Durango (31 October 1808) Almost immediately after the brigade's arrival on Spanish soil, Marshal Lefebvre took away General Chassé's miners, sappers, cavalry and artillery. Chassé's protests were ineffective, despite the orders by King Louis to keep the brigade together. The combat engineers disappeared without a trace. It later turned out that they had been ordered to improve the defences of the citadel of Burgos. They did this although Captain Lambert was forced to pay them from his own purse. The engineers would later destroy the citadel in a rear-guard action on 10 May 1811, just before the British could enter it. The hussars were integrated into a cavalry brigade attached to the division of General Sébastiani.
The infantry battalions, the Nassau regiments, forming the core of the brigade, were assigned to Leval's division and would be the only ones to carry the honour of the brigade as a fighting unit. Besides the Dutch troops, the division consisted of the Baden regiment, the Hesse-Darmstadt regiment, a Frankfurt battalion, a battalion of Parisian guards, and two batteries of artillery. Together with Sébastiani's division and Villatte's division, Leval's division formed the IVth French Corps under the command of Marshal Lefebvre. The IVth corps was concentrated around Durango and its objective was to march on Bilbao and from there to Madrid.
To achieve the march on Bilbao and ultimately Madrid the Spanish army of General Blake first had to be defeated. The Spanish and French armies met at the Battle of Zornoza, near Durango, on 31 October 1808. The Dutch Brigade had been inspected by Marshal Lefebvre the previous day. The Dutch troops, among other foreign troops under the temporary command of General Villatte, attacked the Spaniards by moving uphill and, despite the difficult terrain, they first succeeded in driving the Spanish from the hillock of Bernagoitia, and then Nevera. There, the Dutch lit a fire to signal the French center (Sébastiani) and right wing (Leval) to start their advance. General Chassé subsequently led the pursuit of the fleeing Spaniards. In passing, Dutch voltigeurs slaughtered a flock of sheep, grazing in a wood; they appreciated the meat after going without for a long time. The Dutch troops received much praise for their actions in battle; Chassé was awarded the Legion of Honour, and five other officers received a medal for bonne conduite et bravoure (good conduct and bravery).
After the battle, the French army pursued the Spanish, looting along the way. On 9 November, a few days after the battle of Valmaseda, the Dutch Brigade reached Valmaseda, while the town was being sacked in reprisal for the murder of three Frenchmen. After marching through the burning town, Dutch troops initially joined the looters, but were quickly brought under control. Captain Van Oudheusden, sabre drawn, rescued a few Spanish women from being raped by French grenadiers.
From Durango to Mesas de Ibor (17 March 1809)