Jan Willem Janssens

Jan Willem Janssens

Jan Willem Janssens (born October 12, 1762 in Nijmegen , † May 23, 1838 in The Hague ) was a Dutch nobleman, soldier and statesman who served as Governor of the Cape Colony and Governor General of the Dutch East Indies during his career .

Life

Early career

Jan Willems military career began at the age of nine, in 1771 he joined the Dutch infantry regiment "Van Aylva" as a cadet. On December 24, 1772, this regiment was renamed "Van Burmania" and on September 12, 1775, "Crown Prince Frederik van Oranje-Nassau". On February 5, 1777 he became an ensign and on April 5, 1785 adjutant of the quartermaster in the 2nd battalion of Regiment No. 1 "De Schepper". On December 31, 1787 he was promoted to lieutenant and left the regiment on December 12, 1788 to take over a battalion of the Infantry Regiment No. 18 "Van Pabst" and on February 25, 1790 to rise to captain . Two years later in April 1793 he became a colonel in the newly unnamed "Von Wartens" regiment.

Between 1793 and 1794 he served with his regiment in the corps of the Prince of Orange-Nassau against the French in Flanders . On September 13, 1793, while taking Menin, he was wounded in the right shoulder by a shotgun pellet. From April 20-30, 1794 he took part in the siege of Landrecies and on June 26th in the Battle of Fleurus . After the defeat of the Dutch and British troops, the surrender took place in 1795, which led to the peaceful establishment of the Batavian Republic . A structure that became the satellite state of the growing empire of the young French republic . The army was reorganized according to the French model, Janssen's dismembered regiment, downgraded to the 3rd battalion of the new 1st Brigade because of its low strength. Still suffering because of his earlier wound, Janssens was withdrawn from active military service and acted as the administrative administrator of the new Batavian army from June 16, 1796 . As early as March 11, 1797 Janssens was the first administrative agent and in 1797, 1798 and 1800 he was entrusted with several missions to France. From March 29, 1800 he acted as secretary and from October 10 as advisor to the General Staff.

Governor of the Cape Colony

On January 29, 1801, he took over the position of chief administrative officer of the French troops in the Batavian Republic. British troops under General Sir James Henry Craig landed in Cape Town in 1795 to secure the Dutch settlement against the French. After an initial refusal, the governor of Cape Town handed the colony over to the British on September 16, 1795. A Dutch attempt at reconquest failed in August 1796 with the surrender in Saldanhabucht . In February 1803, as a result of the Peace of Amiens , the Cape Colony reverted to the Batavian Republic. Even before the peace was signed, Janssens was appointed Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of the colony at the Cape of Good Hope on February 18, 1802 . Upon his arrival, he immediately tried to strengthen the colony's military defense, but did not find the necessary resources. He had only a few well-trained troops at his disposal and the political situation there was not very secure. During this time Janssens was promoted to lieutenant general.

The beginning of the Third Coalition War quickly led to another British invasion of the Cape Colony. Janssens saw no sufficient opportunity to repel the British forces that had landed under Lieutenant General Sir David Baird, he mobilized his forces near Cape Town and faced the British on January 8, 1806 at the Battle of Blaauwberg . His troops were defeated and on January 18th, according to the terms of the surrender, were transported to the Netherlands. Even before arriving in The Hague (June 8, 1806), the war in Europe had ended with the Peace of Pressburg .

Governor General of the Dutch East Indies

When Jenssens returned to the Netherlands, Napoleon had already installed his brother Louis Bonaparte as king of the newly established Kingdom of the Netherlands. Louis Bonaparte appointed Janssens General Secretary of the War Department. On November 11, 1810 he was appointed Governor General of the Dutch East Indies . The colonial administration feared that the war against Great Britain could lead to the occupation of their properties in Southeast Asia and appointed Herman Willem Daendels as governor general, who ruled the colony "with an iron hand". He built fortifications on Java and obliged young men to do military service. Forced laborers had to build a 1000 kilometer long road - Dutch Grote Postweg - along the north coast. Rumors that Daendels wanted to split the colony from the Netherlands led to his removal. His successor Jenssen arrived in Batavia on May 15, 1811 and tried to strengthen the defense of the colony. The British, who had occupied the Moluccas with the islands of Ambon and Ternate the year before , feared that enemy France would take over the remaining Dutch properties and attacked Java at the end of August under the command of General Sir Auchmuty and accompanied by the Indian Governor General Gilbert Elliot . On August 28, 1811, British troops stormed the strongly fortified position of Meester Cornelis (in Jakarta), and after conquering the city of Semarang in September, Janssens surrendered, who was forced to retreat to Buitenzorg. Together with French soldiers, he was captured by the British on September 18, 1811 during the retreat and subsequent persecution. On October 18, 1811, he was brought from Batavia to England as a prisoner of war. During his imprisonment in Great Britain he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor on February 22, 1812 . After the word of honor that he would no longer fight against the British and their allies, it was exchanged and returned to Holland, on November 11, 1812, it went ashore at Morlaix .

Remaining career

On January 15, 1813 he was appointed commander of the 31st military division in Groningen . As early as March 5, 1813, he was ordered to go to Coevorden with his associations to prepare this fortress for defense. On March 24th he was appointed commander of the 2nd Military Division in Mézières . On March 5, 1814 he received the order with all available troops to organize the fortresses in the Ardennes . The Prussians under Blücher were already attacking Laon and tried to unite with Schwarzenberg's army in Champagne . On March 14, Jenssen reached 3,000 Reims , two days later was put under the troops of Marshal Ney. During the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube he was wounded on March 20th and was taken to Paris, on April 9th ​​he was released from the French army.

Many officers of the French and the former Batavian army tried to get to the command posts after the change of front in 1813 in the liberation war of the Netherlands. On May 9, 1814 Janssens joined the new Dutch army with the rank of lieutenant general. Generals like Daendels and Dumonceau also joined the ranks of the ranks, it comes as no surprise that Janssen kept his distance from his former rivals. As a result, however, the officer corps remained deeply divided for a long time. On July 8, 1814 Janssens was appointed President of the Commission for the Organization of Colonial Troops. On the 24th of the same month he became President of the Commission for the Reorganization of the Netherlands Army and four days later, on the 28th, he was provisionally appointed Chief War Commissioner. For the third time in his career he had to do with the formation of an army.

When a new governor general was needed for the Dutch East Indies, Janssens was quite ready to take on this profitable post again, but van der Capellen was elected for this important position instead of himself. Annoyed by this, he submitted his farewell on September 19, which, however, was not accepted by William of Orange . Another request from his side on December 8th was again denied. His experience was now needed for the country, on December 11th he was appointed Secretary General of the United Netherlands as War Commissioner.

On January 1, 1815, Janssen's resignation was granted, and on May 22, 1815 he ended his active service at the age of only 52. Two days later, on May 24, 1815, Janssens was honored with the award of the Military Order for Administration and Discipline, the Militaire Willemsorde . On July 8th he was knighted by the Military Wilhelms Order and appointed Chancellor of the Order. On November 7, 1816 he was entitled to wear the decoration of an officer of the Legion of Honor , which was awarded to him on October 6, 1817 by the King of France. Eventually Janssens became a member of the Dutch nobility by royal decree of November 24, 1816. On November 10, 1828 he was promoted to general of the infantry, the highest rank in the Dutch army. On January 9, 1834, he was awarded the Order of the Dutch Lion . He died in The Hague in 1838 at the age of 75.

Web links

• Geert van Uythoven: Jan Willem Janssens on Napoleon Series