Kurhannoversche troops in the East Indies 1782–1792

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In the years 1782-1792 kurhannoversche troops fought in the East Indies in the service of the British East India Company .

Historical background

Since 1775 the 13 North American colonies had been in open revolt against the British motherland . From 1778 France intervened on the side of the American colonists in the war, followed by Spain in 1779 and the Netherlands in 1780 . The war took place not only in the North American colonies but also in other British colonial possessions. In the East Indies, the British East India Company came under pressure as the French of French India, together with the Marathas and the Sultan of Mysore Hyder Ali, took action against the company ( Second Mysore War ). With no more English regiments available, the English Crown had already recruited troops in the Holy Roman Empire . Hessian and Brunswick troops fought in North America and five battalions of Hanoverians reinforced the troops on Menorca and Gibraltar . The situation of the Electorate of Hanover was a special one among the German states because it had been linked with Great Britain in personal union since 1714 : The King of Great Britain was also Elector of Hanover. From a constitutional point of view, Kurhannover was independent. Resolutions of the British Parliament did not apply to Kurhannover. The East India Company therefore turned to the British King George III. in order to get permission to take two regiments of German infantry in pay.

On June 1, 1781 the permit was granted with conditions. One of the conditions was that the officers and non-commissioned officers should only consist of a small group of volunteers from the Electorate of Hanover . The rest should be filled with (German) foreigners. Two battalions were planned, which, including staff, should be 1037 strong. Each battalion should consist of ten companies , including one company of grenadiers , one company of light infantry and eight companies of fusiliers .

After the service in the East Indies, the regiments were to be transferred to the Kurhannoversche Army .

Positioning and sailing to East India

The advertisement was very successful. More officers applied than were needed; it was not unimportant that everyone was hired one step higher.

Colonel Carl Ludwig Reinbold (* 1726 - † November 11, 1787) - previously a lieutenant colonel and a veteran of the Seven Years' War - was in command and chief of regiment No. 15, while lieutenant colonel Wangenheim (previously a major in the light dragoon) became chief of the 16th regiment - Regiment No. 9).

The condition of the teams was not as good, there was a motley mix of deserters and artists. But after three months - in September 1781 - the 15th regiment was formed, clothed and armed. It made its way to Stade for embarkation in three divisions . In the middle of October the regiment was brought on 4 too small transport ships to be brought from there to England under cover by a frigate . However, an emerging storm drove a ship away. After a few days it had to anchor at Ritzebüttel with 11 officers and 234 men . It stayed there until December when the mixture of tightness, bad food, and inappropriate clothing caught fire. On December 11th, numerous soldiers wanted to leave the ship. The officers tried to calm the situation down, but ultimately could not prevent a number of soldiers billeting in Ritzebüttel and 37 deserting completely. The deserters were quickly caught again and taken to the prison in Stade. The rest of the team was quartered first to Otterndorf and then to Stade. A court martial was held over 30 men.

In the meantime, the ice had blocked the Elbe and it was decided to wait for the 16th regiment to arrive in Stade and then embark the crews. In March 1782 the troops were embarked for England, where they remained until September. On September 11th, they left with Lord Howe's fleet , which went to Gibraltar for reinforcement. Those of the 15th regiment who had arrived the year before had already sailed for the East Indies in February. But already in England two officers and 95 men had died, another 240 men remained in the hospital in Portsmouth .

The Journey of the Brilliant

On June 5, 1782, 7 officers and 176 men under the command of Captain Plato had left for the East Indies with the Brilliant . But her ship failed on October 28, 1782 on the cliffs of the Comoros island Johanna . Almost all of them were rescued and welcomed in a friendly manner by the locals, but many died of tropical diseases. The ship that was supposed to bring the stranded to Bombay was blown as far as Socotra by a storm . However, it eventually reached Goyo in Cambay Bay . At the end of 1783 the survivors came to Tellicherry , where a detachment under Major von Krause was stationed. 3 officers and 44 NCOs and men reported there.

Arrival of the regiments

Despite a small naval battle with the French, the first Hanoverians had already arrived in Madras on September 11, 1782 . The troops were greeted by Governor Macartney and billeted at Fort St. George . In April 1783, the 16th Regiment and the remaining troops of the 15th Regiment reached Madras without further incident. In the fire of the Duke of Anthol in front of Madras, however, 1 NCO and 5 men died. Only the Brilliant was missing and two companies under Major Berenius had already been assigned to the army of General Stuart († 1793).

Location in India

The situation in India had changed somewhat since the troops were recruited. The Marathas had made peace and Hyder Ali had died. The capital of French-Indian Pordichery was taken and the fortress razed. But Tipu Sultan , the son of Hyder Ali, continued the fight and the French under the Marquis de Bussy had holed up in the fortress of Cuddalore , where the English army was also located. The French Admiral Suffren was balanced with the English Admiral Sir Edward Hughes. Despite four sea battles, neither side has been able to gain an advantage.

Cuddalore

The army of Cuddalore was too weak to take action against the French and had to wait for reinforcements from the Hanoverians. On June 8th 6 companies under Wangenheim reached the army under Stuart. There were now 8 companies (43 officers and 800 men and non-commissioned officers). The English army consisted of around 10,000 men, including 2,500 Europeans, the rest of local warriors ( sepoy ), whose combat strength was estimated to be low.

The French army consisted of 5,000 to 6,000 European soldiers and stood in front of the city. The city itself was protected by a wall and a moat. The left wing of the army stood by the sea and under the protection of the city's cannons, it was also protected by deep ravins. In the middle stood the main battery, in front of it a light palm grove, interspersed with ditches and teats. The right wing consisted of earth walls, laid out in a zigzag shape and equipped with cannons. The right wing leaned against the Banda-Pollam mountain, which was overgrown with thorny brush. Behind the center and the right wing there was a kind of Landwehr called Bonds-Hedje.

The battle of Cuddalore

On June 9th and 10th the English and French fleets crossed in front of the city. Neither could gain an advantage until a strong easterly wind came up. The English withdrew as far as Madras and Admiral Suffren was able to bring supplies and reinforcements into the city.

On June 13th at 4 a.m., the English army formed the following battle order:

  • Right wing under Colonel Stuart :
  • 78th Regiment (English), 4 regiments of sepoys and a battery of 4 18 pounders
  • Center under Colonel Elphinston
  • 101st Regiment (English), 2 regiments of Sepoys and the Hanoverians under Wangenheim
  • Left wing under Gordon
  • 73rd regiment (English), Madras regiment, 3 Sepoy regiments, a combined grenadier corps of 500 men, a battery of 6 18 pounders, including General Stuart, was on the left wing

The battle began at 5 a.m. with an artillery duel , the left wing advanced and drove the French from their positions. At 8 o'clock the Hanoverians received orders to attack the center. The 101st Regiment and a Battalion Sepoy were to secure the right flank. The Hanoverians crossed the palm grove with losses, regrouped and attacked, neither the 101st Regiment nor the Sepoy could keep up, so the right flank was exposed. The focus was on the regiments la Marc and Austrasie . After a losing battle, the French succeeded in embracing the Hanoverians from the right and thus forcing them to retreat quickly. However, Lieutenant Colonel Wangenheim managed to regroup the troops quickly and inflict considerable losses on the French who were advancing, who withdrew into the hill. General Stuart now let the left wing advance and ordered Wangenheim to attack again. The French fled back, leaving 7 cannons behind. Then the French position collapsed and everyone fled to the city. General Stuart immediately ordered the siege of the city. The two Hanoverian regiments lost 5 officers and 43 men and had 12 officers and 137 men wounded. a total of 17 officers and 201 men died.

siege

Admiral Hughes was supposed to enclose the city from the seaside, but when the siege equipment was unloaded, the French Admiral Suffren appeared and was able to drive out the English fleet, more still he could bring reinforcements and supplies into the city. Despite the numerical inferiority and increasing problems from illness and lack of supplies, the siege continued.

On June 25, the French made a sortie that was bloodily repulsed: 50 French fell and 80 were captured. Among the prisoners were Colonel Chevalier d'Amas and Sergeant Jean Baptiste Bernadotte , who later made it up to Marshal . On June 30th, news of peace between France and England also reached the East Indies and ended the siege.

Even if the war against the French was over, the fight against Tipu Sultan was not over yet. The Hanoverians took the opportunity to replenish their supplies in Cuddalore.

After Cuddalore

Hanoverians also fought in the campaign south under Colonel Fullerton. The campaign began on September 24, 1783 and ended with the capture of the Fort of Polygantchery. Subsequently there was still fighting in the conquest of Cannanore . The queen there was an ally of Tipu Sultan and had some English officers captured who were on the hunt. After negotiations remained unsuccessful, 5,000 English and Hanoverians storm the city and take the queen prisoner. Major Kruse received 2000 thalers as special recognition for his bravery.

In 1785 there was a mutiny at Fort Pandomale (15 miles from Madras). Wangenheim was sent there with 1,200 men - British and Hanoverians. He managed to calm the situation down without using guns, which earned him special thanks from the governor. In the same year there was a reorganization as a result of which the regiments were now given the numbers 14 and 15 instead of the previous 15 and 16. In August 1785 both regiments were garrisoned at Arcot . But the climate was very unhealthy, many of the soldiers died and so the regiments had shrunk to half their number until they were withdrawn in the spring of 1787. On May 27, 1787, a reinforcement of 400 men reached Madras. Including 2 regiments of cavalry under the command of Christian Ludwig von Wangenheim . He replaced Colonel Reinbold who was supposed to return to Europe via China but died in Canton on November 11, 1787 . Lieutenant Colonel Christian August von Wangenheim was also called back. In August and September 1787 another 200 recruits and 12 NCOs were recruited in Hanover and sent to India.

End of mission

The service period had actually expired at the end of 1789, but the Hanoverians did not waive their services since the Third Mysore War broke out and with the approval of King George III a contract was signed between Wangenheim and the East India Company, which allowed the troops to stay in the country for another year. The 14th regiment was made up of 850 men from the 15th regiment.

From mid-February to the end of April 1791, the 15th regiment (37 officers, 82 NCOs and 140 men plus 46 NCOs and 131 disabled men and 20 women) was embarked for Europe. The troops returned to Stade at the end of the year .

The 14th regiment was embarked in Madras in early 1792 and arrived in Stade without incident. Colonel Wangenheim and Captains Weyhe and Hinüber were the last to sail in March and reached Stade in mid-November.

Some of the men were released, the rest formed the trunk of the new 14th regiment. In 1793, the regiment was used against the French in the ongoing First Coalition War in Flanders.

epilogue

A total of about 2800 men were used in the East Indies. Of these, less than 1,000 returned. As we have seen, many fell victim to illnesses and accidents and not a few died in the fighting in India.

Significant family members

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ernst von dem Knesebeck , History of the Churhannovese troops in Gibraltar, Minorca and the East Indies , p.160
  2. ^ William Milburn, Oriental Commerce p. 62
  3. ^ Viktor von Diebitsch: The Electorate Hanoverian troops in the East Indies. @rbeitskreis Hannoversche Militärgeschichte, accessed on January 28, 2017 (Chapter V. Siege of Cuddalore; Peace of Versailles; Expedition against Tippo Saib).