Robert Rogers

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Robert Rogers (disambiguation) .

Robert Rogers (1731–1795)

Robert Rogers (born November 7, 1731 in Methuen , Province of Massachusetts Bay , † May 18, 1795 in London ) was a British-American officer who became famous for his role during the French and Indian War (1754–1763). He was the founder of the Rogers' Rangers , which specializes in irregular warfare and is colloquially named after him, and which serve as a model for the current rangers and green berets of the US Army .

biography

Rogers was in Methuen ( Massachusetts born). He spent his formative youth on the then border of the British colonies in New Hampshire . There he gained his first combat experience as a scout during the War of the Austrian Succession against the French and the Indians .

He was married to Elizabeth Browne Rogers (1741-1812), who divorced him in 1778.

During the French and Indian War in 1756 he set up the Ranger Company of Blanchard's New Hampshire Regiment , a reconnaissance company of a militia regiment in the modern sense. These associations were part of the colonial militias of the British Thirteen Colonies in North America who fought for the Kingdom of Great Britain during the French and Indian Wars. This ranger company later went on as one of up to seven companies in the His Majesty's Independent Companies of American Rangers . Other company commanders of ranger companies known by name were Captains Hezekiah and Dunn and Major Gorham . These companies were neither part of the regulars, i.e. the British Army in North America, nor the provincials, i.e. the militia regiments, but were paid by the king. The pay was advanced by the company owner with deductions, a practice not unusual at the time. This should later be compensated by the king, the difference was a gain for the company owner. From this circumstance result the not insignificant debts at the end of life, which Rogers brought impoverished into the debt tower in London.

It is true that the militias, like the French armed forces in Canada and their Indian allies , were viewed with a certain condescension by the British officers of the regular regiments of the line . These were professional soldiers and the French were denied their attitude towards warfare. However, the rangers were the only non-Native American force familiar and able to move about the terrain and the harsh winter conditions of the mountainous terrain on the New England border . This conduct of battle contradicted the conception of warfare at the time. The battle on the Monongahela shows the consequences of an inadequate battle with line troops . However, the command of combat by light infantry was not new , since hunter companies were already known from Europe .

With the exception of the independent reconnaissance companies and winter operations, the ranger companies always operated as subordinate troops to the American militia regiments and the British line regiments in order to protect them against the unconventionally leading Indians or the French light infantry.

Equipped the company mainly with Brown Bess - muskets , a then popular muzzle loader with a smooth tube. Only selected snipers were equipped with muzzle-loading rifles with rifled barrels. The equipment was of high quality for the time and consisted of a woolen uniform in a muted, mostly green color, which adapted to the environment, in contrast to the mostly colorful uniform of the line troops. The troops did not carry bivouac equipment to any significant extent - especially no tents. As a result, the ranger did not have to carry a train, but it also took away their long-term stamina on a campaign. If the troops operated with regular units in the battle group, they relied on their entourage for supply.

The 600 soldiers of the green uniformed troop were personally selected by Rogers - who appears to have been a charismatic leader - and trained in the tactics of irregular warfare, i. H. for fighting outside of the linear combat order typical of the time in closed troop bodies. In doing so, he drew on his fighting experience against the Indians and French, but developed a systematic training from it for the first time. In this context, the recruits had to expose themselves to sharp gunfire. The result of these efforts was the emergence of a mobile unit that could operate independently of supply lines and forts and that was up to the fighting style of the Indians.

The Rogers' Ranging Rules , a set of rules for irregular warfare that were subsequently formulated as training and operational guidelines based on the battle reports of His Majesty's Independent Companies of American Rangers , are still used by special forces such as the Green Berets as the basis for hunting combat like this one Combat form is called today, considered.

Compiled training plan from reports by Major Robert Rogers

(Original title: Plan of discipline extracted from journals of Major Robert Rogers - 1759)
I. All rangers are subject to the rules and customs of war; report to the rangers giving orders every evening, each equipped with a flint, powder and lead for sixty rounds and an ax; at that time an officer inspected every company the same, to see that they are ready for combat, so that they are ready to leave on alarm or marching orders in a minute ( Note translation term Minuteman ), and before being ordered into the service concluded the necessary guards and the strips are ordered for the next day.
II. Whenever you are on the way to clear up enemy field fortifications or battle lines, even with low strength, they march in a row ( note translation today rifle row ), keep so much distance from each other that not one shot can kill two men, send a man or several forward and on the flanks, at a distance of twenty meters from the marching column, as the terrain allows ( note translation, visual distance ), in order to be able to report the officer approaching the enemy and his strength, etc.
III. March over swamps or soft ground, change your position and step into the tracks of those running ahead to make reconnaissance more difficult for the enemy until you come to a surface that prevents them, and then to resume your previous marching order until it is completely It is dark before you bivouack, if possible in terrain that allows the troops to see and hear the enemy from a considerable distance ( note translation into the respective direction of observation ). Half of your entire unit takes turns keeping watch through the night.
IV. Some time before you get to the place you want to scout , stop and send one or two experienced men ahead to scout the site for observation.
V. If you are lucky enough to take prisoners, keep them separate until they (can) be interrogated, and take a different route to return than to return, this will give you better protection from the enemy It persecutes and gives the choice, if its strength is greater than its own, to change direction or to disperse, as the circumstances dictate.
VI. If you are marching in a long column of three or four hundred (Note: translation men), which is structured ready for action, divide them into three columns, each led by an experienced officer, and leave these columns in ( Note: Translation Schützen - ) march in line, the right and left marching columns have to keep a distance of twenty meters or more from the one in the middle, if the ground permits, and secure the battle formation by (a) strong fore and rear guards as well as by flank protection in a previously ordered one Distance that still allows a command ( on sight ) to hold the order at all elevations in order to carry out an observation reconnaissance, to avoid getting into an ambush and to investigate the approach or evasion of the enemy as well as appropriate orders for an attack, defense to be able to hit etc. And when the enemy marches in front of one's own line at the same height , create a battle line from your three columns or a body of fuses, put out flank fuses, like when marching under the command of experienced officers, to prevent the enemy from exerting strong pressure on your wings or bypassing you, whichever The savage practice is when their combat strength is large enough and be prepared to support or reinforce your rearguard.
VII. Be prepared for an enemy fire attack, drop or kneel until it's over; then get up and start the fire fight ( note translation - based on muzzle-loading muskets, which could only fire one shot at a time ). When the ( Note translation hostile ) combat strength is equal to yours, you loosen up; but if this is superior, be prepared to support and strengthen your flank defenses in order to make them equally strong with him ( note translation the enemy ), if possible, in order to be able to withstand the ( note translation enemy ) battle group . If this is possible, attack each flank and frontally with the greatest determination and equally strong forces, keeping a sufficient distance from one another, and proceeding from tree to tree ( note skipping translation ) with half of the combat formation at a distance ten or twelve meters apart. If the enemy holds out, take up the fire fight with the point and take cover ( note translation after ), and then let the following part ( note translation - the battle group ) attack them and do what it takes with them in that time those who were previously in front will be ready to fire again and repeat the same procedure ( note translation fire and muzzle-loading movement ) as long as it is necessary (note translation until they are on the enemy) ; this way you maintain a constant fire fight that the enemy will not be able to easily subvert their intent or gain ground against them.
VIII. If you force the enemy to retreat, be careful in their assessment of it, back up your flanks and protect it from unfavorable terrain or hills through which they ( the enemy Note translation ) might be in a position to rally and strike back.
IX. If you are forced to evade, let the front parts of the battlegroup take up the fire fight and retreat under the fire protection of the rear and repeat this until you are free from the enemy; this way you will force the enemy who is chasing you under constant fire.
X. If the enemy is so superior that there is a risk of capture, disperse the force and each should seep by a different route to an evening rallying point in the enemy territory; this must be reordered every morning and known to every ranger so that the whole sub-unit or as many as possible come back. If you are bypassed by the enemy, the troops should form a square or a circle in the woods and hold this combat formation until dark, as the night favors evasion.
XI. If the rearguard is attacked, the battle formation and the flank fuse must independently pivot to the right or left or turn around in order to defend themselves. The same behavior is to be used if one of the flank safeguards is attacked, and one of the flank safeguards becomes the rearguard.
XII. After evading, you should take up position on a hill to catch the enemy pushing after, as this offers the advantage of being able to hold the terrain against a superior enemy.
XIII. Basically, if you are close to the enemy, fill your fire ( note: translation fire reserve, fire opening on command ) until he is a short distance away, in order to then surprise him, this gives you the opportunity to put him down with your own axes and swords ( Note translation to go over to hand-to-hand combat) and to bring this to bear better. (Note translation - related to the armament with muskets and rifles, the loading process takes about 20 seconds per shot)
XIV. If you bivouack for the night, order the ( Note translation .. positions of .. ) sub-units in the manner that no one is separated from the battle group until morning; Secrecy and silence are often of great importance in these cases. Each sub-unit should consist of six men, two of whom have to be ready for action at all times, and if they are relieved by their comrades, this happens without noise; and in the event that those on alert see or hear something that alarms them, they are calm, but one of them quietly withdraws and reports to the commanding officer that appropriate orders can be given and any ordered sub-units should be set up in the same way.
XV. At the first break of dawn, get your whole division ready for action; it is the time when the savages attack their enemies, you should be ready to fight by all means to be able to receive him.
XVI. If the enemy should be discovered by your detachments in the morning and their strength is superior to theirs and a victory is in doubt, you should not attack until evening, for then you will not know your strength and should you be repulsed, your evasion by the darkness of the night is favored.
XVII. Before leaving your hideout, send scouting parties to scout and scout the area to see if there are any signs or traces of an enemy approaching during the night.
XVIII. If you stop for a bivouac, use a water source or stream and bivouac so that your unit will not be surprised, put strong fuses around your unit and leave a small sub-unit back on the way you came to surprise the enemy.
XIX. On the way back from the battle area, avoid river crossings at the usual fords so that the enemy does not discover you and wait there.
XX. When navigating bodies of water, keep your distance from the waterfront so that you are not cut off from retreating in the event of an ambush or attack by the enemy.
XXI. If the enemy pursues your rearguard, walk them around a circle until you get back to your own marching route and set an ambush to catch them with a fire attack.
XXII. If you come back from a scouting party and are in the vicinity of our field fortifications, avoid the roads and paths leading there so that the enemy, if they have pursued you, will not wait for you in an ambush when you are exhausted from the hardships.
XXIII. If you have a ( Note translation hostile monitor) battle group near our field fortifications or bivouacs, do not immediately follow their march route, as they are secured by their rear, would give the alarm when they should be discovered; but you should they try on another Marschweg ( Note the enemy translation ) to overtake and (they note translation enemies ) ambush in a narrow pass or to lay an ambush, when and where they ( Note translation enemies ) least expect .
XXIV. If you are in canoes, boats or otherwise on the water, use the evening for embarkation, then you have the whole night in front of you in order to pass undetected every sub-unit of the enemy on hills or other places that have the command To observe the lake or river you are traveling on.
XXV. When paddling or rowing, give the order that the first boat or canoe should wait for the next, the second for the third, and the third for the fourth, and so on, to prevent an agreement and to be ready to help each other in an emergency.
XXVI. A soldier in each boat has to look out for fire pits on the banks so that you can judge the number and size of the enemies to decide whether or not you will be able to attack them.
XXVII. If you have been able to detect an enemy camped near the bank of a river or lake and they are able to cross the water in an attack in order to escape, send a sub-unit some distance away on the opposite side of the river to reach them expect; with the other part surprise the enemy and encircle him between your own troops and the lake or river.
XXVIII. If you cannot convince yourself of the enemy's number and strength, of their fire, etc., hide your boats at some distance and let a reconnaissance team determine their strength when they disembark or march in the morning; mark their course, control them etc if you can track them, ambush and attack or allow them to pass as the situation requires. In general, however, it is important that you are not spotted by enemy on the lakes and rivers over long distances; it is safest to moor and stay camouflaged with your boats and the battleship during the day, without making any noise and (without) showing yourself, and continue your way at night; Whether you are traveling by land or water, give out a watchword and markings to recognize each other in the dark, and also appoint one for each to help and stay with him if he is injured.

The path and history of the Rogers ′ Rangers

Led by Robert Rogers, his company operated mainly in the regions of Lake George and Lake Champlain , in the northern parts of what is now New York State and the five New England states - for example in the Adirondack Mountains , north of the Mohawk River and the White Mountains (New Hampshire) with what is now the White Mountain National Forest .

The ranger company was formed during the winter of 1755 from forces from the Fort William Henry area. Rogers and his company developed some of the earliest forms of guerrilla warfare ever used by European armies, which were used against French cities and settlements during the winter campaigns . During these winter campaigns, the rangers were made mobile with snowshoes so that they could move across frozen rivers. This type of winter warfare was unusual for both the regular troops of the French and British armies and the Indians. After the British forces had to give up Fort William Henry, the rangers were stationed on Rogers' Island near Fort Edward . This allowed the rangers to operate more independently of the regular forces.

In the battle on snowshoes on March 13, 1758 near Lake George with superior French-Indian forces, Rogers unit suffered heavy losses, but proved to be so fighting that Rogers became major and commander of all British ranger units that year was appointed in North America.

One of the major skirmishes of the French and Indian War was the Battle of Lake George in September 1755 against French troops under the command of German General Ludwig August von Dieskau. From a military point of view, Fort Duquesne was of operational importance for the greater area .

The best-known company of the rangers took place in 1759 and was directed against the Indian tribe of the Abenaki , who lived on the St. Francis River in the Indian village of Odanak the Arosaguntacook (in the southwest of today's Canadian provinces of Québec and New Brunswick ). Allied with the French, the Abenaki had carried out a series of devastating raids on British settlements, allegedly killing up to 600 British people. In addition, they had participated in an attack in 1757 on the British garrison at Fort William Henry , which had surrendered to free withdrawal, in which it is said to have come to the Fort William Henry massacre .

Rogers assembled a force of 200 rangers, marched with them unrecognized into French territory, raided the main Abenaki settlement , burned it and massacred the residents, according to Rogers' report, over 200 Indians were killed. After the successful destruction of the village, the rangers ran out of supplies during their retreat. After reaching a safe camp, she left Rogers and returned a few days later with food and relief troops. Fort Crown Point is mentioned in this context . At the end of the war, the rangers were given the task of taking Detroit from the French on behalf of the British Crown .

In the same year, Rogers served under General James Wolfe during the Siege of Québec and the Battle of the Plains of Abraham , then under Jeffrey Amherst in the Siege of Montréal . After the French surrendered, Amherst sent Rogers and his rangers to the Great Lakes area to take over the French forts that were still there. The occupation of Fort Detroit on September 29th finally made Rogers a hero in England and America. During the Pontiac Uprising , Rogers stayed in the Detroit area and helped defend Fort Ponchartrain .

In 1765 Rogers traveled to England, where he was celebrated as a hero, and published his war diaries and a literarily insignificant play. King George III declined, although from a large-scale expedition to the Mississippi Valley to support Rogers appointed but the commander of the fort Michilimackinac ( Michigan ). From there he undertook a search expedition to the Northwest Passage . As an alternative to the as yet undeveloped northern sea route, he was looking for a route to the Pacific via the river systems of the Missouri and the Columbia and Snake Rivers, or the "great Oregon River" he suspected. The true character of this expedition remained controversial. There are claims that Rogers wanted to build an independent republic. He was finally arrested for high treason in 1767, but acquitted in the subsequent trial.

Until the start of the American Revolutionary War , Rogers lived in England. Many of his former comrades in arms from the French and Indian wars fought on the side of the insurgents and sometimes played an important role as officers. After the outbreak he returned to America and offered his services to George Washington , who did not trust him and had him imprisoned. Rogers escaped from custody, was made a lieutenant colonel by the British , and raised the Queen's Rangers to fight the Americans, but could no longer distinguish himself in the earlier fashion. When his unit was trapped by the Americans in Mamoranec (Long Island Sound) and forced to surrender, Rogers escaped but was released from his command. In 1780 Rogers returned to England, where he died impoverished and in debt in London in 1795 .

Rogers ′ Ranger in World Literature

In literature, the Rangers found expression in the leather socks of James Fenimore Cooper and the novel Northwest Passage by Kenneth Roberts . The latter was filmed in 1940 in the American adventure film Northwest Passage , which was produced in an elaborate color .

Military successor associations

The US Army Rangers , who were assigned to British commandos as light infantry in the United States Army during World War II for operations behind enemy lines and for attacks on key targets , see Rogers as their founding father.

literature

swell

• The annotated and illustrated journals of Major Robert Rogers , annotated and with an introduction by Timothy J. Todish, illustrated and with captions by Gary S. Zaboly, Fleischmanns, NY 2002, ISBN 1-930098-20-0 .

Representations

• John F. Ross: War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America's First Frontier , New York 2009, ISBN 0-553-80496-0 .
• Robert Rogers: Warfare On The Colonial American Frontier: The Journals of Major Robert Rogers . Penobscot Press, Bargersville 1997, ISBN 0-89725-287-X .
• Martin Windrow : Wolfe's Army . Men-At-Arms Series Volume 48, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, England.

Film adaptations

In the US historical series Turn: Washington's Spies , which deals with the espionage connection Culper Ring , which is under George Washington's command, Robert Rogers is portrayed as an unscrupulous officer and adventurer.

Web links

Commons : Robert Rogers  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• us-history.com: Robert Rogers (English)
• "Revenge 1759" The campaign against the Abenaki ( Memento from July 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
• Visitor center at Rogers' Iceland (English)
• Interest group Rogers´ Rangers (German)
• Historical summary of the history of the rangers (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ The following translation is a summary from the literary book Nordwest Passage Roberts Kenneth List Verlag, Munich, 1975.
   • Don't forget about equipment.
   • Keep your rifle clean, the hatchet cleaned, always have 60 rounds of ammunition and be ready to go one minute after the alarm.
   • When you march, act like you are hunting deer. Be the first to see the enemy.
   • Tell the truth about what you see and do. The army relies on our correct information. You can lie any way you want, but never to another ranger or officer.
   • Don't risk anything that you don't have to.
   • If we march one behind the other, then so far apart that a bullet cannot go through two men.
   • When we come through swamps or mud, we walk next to each other, so it is more difficult to track us.
   • When we march, we march into the dark so that the enemy does not have the slightest chance.
   • When we bivouack half of us will keep watch while the other sleeps.
   • When we take prisoners, we keep them separate until we can examine them. So they cannot coordinate with one another.
   • Never march back the same distance. Take a different route so you can't be ambushed.
   • Regardless of whether we are on the road with many or a few, we always have to have a scout run 20 yards ahead, 20 yards behind and 20 yards on the flanks so that the majority are not surprised and wiped out.
   • A meeting point is arranged every night in case one is overrun.
   • Never sit down to eat without a guard on duty.
   • Don't sleep after sunrise. Sunrise is the time when the French and Indians attack.
   • Never cross a river at a normal ford.
   • If anyone is chasing you, make a circle, get back on your own trail and ambush those who tried to ambush you.
   • Do not stop when the enemy comes. Kneel down. Hide behind a tree.
   • Let the enemy come as close as possible. Then show him, jump out, and kill him with the ax.