Walcheren expedition

Walcheren expedition

Part of: Fifth Coalition War

The British leave Walcheren

date	July 30, 1809 to December 23, 1809
place	Walcheren Island and surroundings
output	British withdrawal

Parties to the conflict
France	United Kingdom
Commander
Jean Bernadotte	John Pitt Richart Strachan
Troop strength
30,000	40,000
losses
	4000 dead, over 10,000 sick

The Walcheren expedition of 1809 was undertaken by the British during the fifth coalition war, among other things to relieve the allied Austria . Although the Dutch island of Walcheren could be captured, all goals beyond that failed. The island itself had to be abandoned after a few months because numerous soldiers died of a fever-like disease (Walcheren fever). It was probably a form of malaria endemic to the area . Ultimately, the largest British landing operation to date was a complete failure.

prehistory

John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham

The British intended to relieve the allied Austrians , who were besieged by Napoleon , by landing operations on the continent. You had different options. This was, for example, an invasion of Spain to reinforce the troops fighting in Portugal or the landing in northern Germany in the hope of triggering a general uprising against Napoleon in Germany. At the urging of the War and Colonial Minister Lord Castlereagh, they decided to land on the Scheldt island of Walcheren in the Netherlands (then the Kingdom of Holland ). In addition to relieving the burden on the Austrians, one of the goals was to destroy Napoleon's naval base in Antwerp . A considerable fleet of ten ships of the line and numerous smaller ships was at anchor there. In addition, Antwerp was a central economic center in the Napoleonic sphere of influence. The loss of the city would have severely weakened France and its allies.

John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, was appointed commander of the project . The command of the fleet was Admiral Richard Strachan, 6th Baronet . The expedition sailed from the English ports on July 27th. It comprised six divisions with a total of around 40,000 landing troops, including some units of the King's German Legion , as well as 4,000 cavalrymen and numerous artillery pieces. Lieutenant General Sir Eyre Coote acted as second in command, General Sir John Hope commanded the reserve, the cavalry of the landing troops was subordinate to Major General von Linsingen of the Royal German Legion.

This army was larger than General Arthur Wellesley's in Portugal at the same time. It was the largest British landing company up to that point. The transport fleet was protected by 39 ships of the line, numerous frigates , gunboats and other units. A total of about 245 warships and 400 transports were involved.

landing

The landing on the island of Walcheren took place on July 30th. On July 31st, Middelburg and other places surrendered . Fort Haake was captured on August 1st. The French fleet off Vlissingen went up the Scheldt towards Antwerp and went under the protection of the cannons of the Lillo fortress. The British landing forces began with the siege of Vlissingen as the most important city on Walcheren. The French defended the city with 5000 men. On August 2nd, the British took the island of Southern Beveland . This could happen because the Dutch general in charge had neither the batteries nor the fort of Batz defended. The attempt to take the island of Cadzand opposite Vlissingen, however, failed. The city of Vlissingen was shelled by ship guns from the sea. The city was badly affected. The English, however, did not advance further on Antwerp. This gave the French the opportunity to take countermeasures.

French countermeasures

Jean-Baptiste-Jules Bernadotte, Prince de Ponte-Corvo

The French were initially completely surprised. On the unauthorized order of the Ministry of the Interior, which at that time was temporarily headed by Joseph Fouché , 30,000 to 40,000 men of the Garde nationale were called up in the northern departments. Regular troops were also brought in to prevent the British from advancing further. In the French public, the drafting of the National Guard by the “regicide” Fouché of all things had triggered fears that the events of 1792 might repeat themselves. Fouché had to hand over the supreme command to Marshal Bernadotte , who at that time had fallen out of favor with Napoleon because of the battle of Wagram . Bernadotte finally assembled an army of 30,000 men near Antwerp. King Louis Bonaparte himself joined with some Dutch units. In addition, Dutch gunboats attacked the British ships.

The city of Vlissingen had to capitulate on August 17th. The garrison was brought to England as prisoners of war. From the conquered city, the English tried to continue up the Scheldt. Their advance was hindered by several forts. The French fleet had long since been brought to safety. The French had put Antwerp, Bergen op Zoom and all banks' batteries in readiness for defense.

Fever epidemic and withdrawal

Fevers broke out among the British as a result of the swampy area. In addition, there was disagreement about how to proceed, especially between the naval and land officers. A British council of war on August 26th revealed that further successes were hardly to be expected. However, the island of Walcheren should continue to be held by 16,000 men. On September 2nd, the British ships pushed up the Scheldt again without fighting. On September 4th, the evacuation of the island of southern Beveland began. Immediately afterwards the French occupied the abandoned positions.

Meanwhile the fever had spread. Every day around 20 to 25 men died of so-called Walcheren fever. Maybe it was some form of malaria. This appears to have been endemic to the region. While the native population was largely immune to it, the unprotected British quickly fell ill.

On September 14th, Chatham left the island. The French had initially planned to take the British positions by force but preferred to wait. The British occupied the island for a few months before the government ordered the return of the troops in order to save at least the remnants of the troops, which had been decimated by the fever. The fortifications of Vlissingen and other military installations were destroyed. On December 23, 1809, the last troops left the island.

consequences

The expedition was a complete failure. None of the goals were achieved. This applied to the removal of the French fleet, the capture of Antwerp and the support of the Austrians. As soon as the company began, peace negotiations between Austria and France had begun as a result of the Battle of Wagram . The failure had cost the lives of numerous soldiers. Of 4,000 dead, only about 200 fell in battle. Another 10,000 men fell ill with the fever and were no longer operational for a long time, sometimes for years.

In the British Parliament , the Portland government was sharply criticized for the events. An investigation was initiated, but found little. Only the disagreement among the commanders became clear. Even within the government, while the expedition was still in progress, a dispute over the matter broke out and this exacerbated the internal crisis of the Portland Cabinet. There was a duel between Secretary of State George Canning and Castlereagh. Canning was wounded on September 21, and both ministers had to resign after the incident became known. Portland died a short time later.

In France, the levying of soldiers for defense had caused displeasure. There was even an uprising in the Saar department , which was put down with draconian measures. After the British withdrew, Napoleon ordered the National Guard to be disbanded. But this was not carried out because in the same year he decided to entrust the protection of the coasts to the National Guard.

literature

• Military conversation lexicon. Vol. 8, Adorf 1841, pp. 596-598 .
• George F. Nafziger: Historical Dictionary of the Napoleonic Era. Folkestone 2002, pp. 293f.
• Anonymous: The Walcheren Expedition . The Experiences of a British Officer of the 81st Regt. During the Campaign in the Low Countries of 1809. Print-on-Demand, Leonaur (US) 2009, ISBN 978-1-84677-635-9 (English).

Web links

• Brief description (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence . New York 2008, p. 120.
2. ↑ Boudin: Medical Police Study on the State of Health of Land and Sea Troops. In: Notes from the field of nature and medicine . Weimar 1847, column 170f.
3. ^ Georges Lefebvre: Napoleon . Stuttgart 2003, p. 323.
4. ^ Roger Dufraisse: Napoleon. Revolutionary and monarch. Munich 1994, p. 117.
5. ↑ À partir de 1809, l'empereur décida d'appuyer, en partie, la protection des côtes et des frontières sur les gardes nationaux. - It was not dissolved until the law of July 27, 1872