Herman Willem Daendels
Marshal of Holland
Dutch Generals of the Napoleonic Wars
East Indies to the End 1808-1818
by Geert van Uythoven, The Netherlands
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The East Indies, 1808-1811
He acted in the 'Napoleonic way': his subordinates were dependent on him; only small incomes, augmented with 'gifts' from himself; no corruption - only the ones he allowed; promises of a share in the 'spoils of war'. In this way he made sure that no one could act without him, the same methods employed by Napoleon. In short, he ruled as a dictator, but it worked. The natives thought him inflexible but just, someone who did great things. Daendels also enriched himself [3] he would return to Europe as a wealthy man. In November Daendels encountered the first real trouble, the sultan of Java refused any more natives for coolie-labour. This is not very strange, because hundreds of them had already died in a few months from diseases or hard work in unhealthy places. On 10 November commander Du Puy was sent to the sultan, to demand 1,000 coolies each day. Further, the sultan had to move his 'craton' to put himself under direct supervision from Daendels. The natives were enraged by the demands, and Du Puy and his staff were murdered. Daendels reacted immediately and advanced on the 'craton' of the sultan, demanding on arrival access for a delegation. This was refused, and Daendels reacted in his own way: alone he entered the outer 'craton'. Surprise The natives, surprised as they were, gave way. Now Daendels moved up a cannon and levelled it at the gate of the inner 'craton'. Again, Daendels demanded access. The sultan hesitated; already many of his court had left him. The remainder advised him to concede, and the gate was opened. Daendels entered and walked to the sultan. The sultan rose from his throne to shake hands, but Daendels took his hand and pulled him away. Then, Daendels took his place on the throne and said: 'Now I am the sultan'. The gesture was clear for everyone, and no one dared to resist. Some natives were shot, and a new sultan was appointed by Daendels. Daendels force was allowed to sack the 'craton'. Other risings, as for example in December 1811, were also treated in Daendels own harsh way. On 17 February 1811 Daendels received news that the Kingdom of Holland had ceased to exist and had been incorporated into the French Empire. Being a strong admirer of Napoleon, and because of the bad relations with the Dutch government during his stay in the East Indies 4, he agreed wholeheartedly with the annexation. In the meantime spies had brought word that the British invasion of the East Indies was imminent and would take place on 26 March. Java was made ready for defence: all the bridges were destroyed, and the rivers and canals were blocked to inundate the coast. Defense At Meester Daendels concentrated his army: 11 infantry battalions, 2 Jäger battalions, 4 cavalry squadrons, a foot artillery battalion and 3 horse artillery companies with a total of 150 guns. Total is 17,774 men, supported by some 2,500 native auxiliaries. But before the hostilities began, thunder struck: on 22 April 1811 a French corvette arrived, with on it General J.W. Janssens; the successor of Daendels! Daendels' enemies in Europe were not slow in informing Napoleon of the ostensible atrocities and misbehaviour of Daendels in the East Indies. So in September 1810 Janssens was appointed to succeed Daendels. To ease the blow to his ego on 5 January 1811 Daendels was appointed to the Legion of Honour. On 16 May Janssens took over from Daendels, who left for Europe on 29 June, with the same corvette that brought Janssens. Janssens was not Governor-general for long: a week later the first British landings took place, followed on 4 August by the main force. On 17 September Janssens surrendered... 'La Grande Armée', 1812-1813In November 1811 Daendels arrived in Europe, this time without any trouble. In February he received command of the 29th Division of Napoleon's 'Grande Armée', to take part in Napoleon's Russian campaign. His task was, under the command of Davout, to occupy Eastern Prussia. In May 1812 he arrived at Stettin to defend the crossing of the river Oder. In June he was at Danzig, and in August in Tilsit, now commanding the 26th Division, part of Marshall Victor's IX Corps. The 26th Division consisted of German troops: seven infantry battalions, a foot artillery and a horse artillery battery from the Duchy of Berg; four infantry battalions, a Jäger battalion and a foot artillery battery from Baden; six infantry battalions from Hesse-Darmstädt and two Westphalian infantry battalions. IX Corps had orders to protect the rear areas. On 6 September the Corps advanced into Lithuania to act as a central reserve. Soon they were to see some action. The Russians under Wittgenstein advanced to cut of the French retreat. On 28 October Victor joined forces with II Corps of Marshall St Cyr, and Victor took overall command. He reorganised his troops and Daendels received command of the right wing, consisting of the 6th Division from II Corps and his own 26th Division. On 31 October only Daendels Division actually made contact with II Corps. At daybreak, the French were attacked by Wittgenstein near Czaszniki, in what would become the battle of Smoliantsy. II Corps was formed into line, and the 26th Division placed in echelon behind it. But the Russians did not attack in force. The whole day there was skirmishing between the light infantry and artillery. Both sides lost about 400 dead or wounded. The French also lost some 800 men taken prisoner. In the evening the remainder of IX Corps arrived, and Victor retreated slowly. On 8 November Daendels' Division was again engaged in a skirmish near Stroczeviczi. The same day the two Corps were divided again, II Corps under Oudinot moving to the right. On the 12th part of Daendels' Division was again engaged in a skirmish near Truchanovicz. On the 13th Victor advanced to throw Wittgenstein back from Napoleon's line of retreat, Daendels' Division advanced to Zeulaski, and the next day fought an action there. On the 15th the fighting started again, until Daendels received the unexpected order to retreat, result of new orders from Napoleon. IX Corps had to cover the retreat of the 'Grande Armée'. On the 22nd the retreat of IX Corps began. Part of Daendels Division formed the rear guard, On 3 February 1813 Daendels took over command of the fortress Modlin. On the 5th the Russians under General Kleinmichel arrived to besiege him. Fortress is a big word: Modlin was small, with the fortifications in a very bad state and little artillery. There was only room to lodge 1,000 men, but Daendels had 5,000 men with him (The remains of many Regiments: 3,000 Polish from 7 Polish Regiments; 1,000 Germans from 2 Regiments; 1,000 French and the remains of 3 foot artillery companies). Not surprisingly, after a week already 900 were sick, and in the end the amounted to 3,000! Every day about 30-40 of them died. Enough has been said about the cold that winter: Daendels even had to order the taking down of some fortifications to provide for firewood! The desertion rate was high. Surprisingly, Kleinmichel, 9,000 strong did not attack and Daendels held on. Only on 2 November 1813, after receiving news about the battle of Leipzig, he promised to capitulate on 1 December, if the garrison was not relieved by a French army before that date! How much trust could you put in Napoleon? Daendels was transported to Warsaw as a prisoner of war. Here he heard what was going on in the rest of Europe, especially in Holland. On 4 December he wrote a letter to King Willem I, to offer his services. Not surprisingly Daendels was not welcome: it was he who was instrumental in bringing down the House of Orange in 1795. The Final Years 1814-1818In January 1814 Daendels arrived in the Netherlands. First he dreamed about the East Indies, and a new role for him. He also had big plans for a trading firm in Indian goods. Distrusted by nearly everyone there was nothing left for him than to return to farming. During the Hundred Days of Napoleon, Daendels chose not to side with him. This fact did not remain unnoticed by King Willem I, and in May 1815 he was appointed as Governor to the smallest colony the Netherlands had: the Goldcoast. On 9 October Daendels left the Netherlands for the last time. He now dreamed of rehabilitation, and had plans to make the colony great. He arrived in January 1816 and took over from the temporary-Governor De Veer on 11 March. He reorganised the government of the colony, and made plans to transform the Goldcoast to a European colony according to the example of South-Africa. To give an example he sent for his two sons to come to the Goldcoast too. In February 1818 they arrived only to find their father prey to yellow fever. The fever became stronger , and on 2 May 1818 Herman Willem Daendels died. AssessmentIn spite of his rashness, and contrary to Oudinot, Daendels never was wounded in battle. He was as brave as Ney, but a little bit smarter. He handled his troops in battle very well, but - like Napoleon - did not count the lives of his soldiers! Although an able soldier, he was not wise enough to distance himself from politics. Due to his influence among the patriots, it is due to him that the United Provinces were taken so easily by Pichegru in 1794. He was also the informal leader of both coups in 1798. Because of this, he made many enemies, a fact that caused him much trouble in the Holland campaign 1799 and during his time as Governor-general in the Dutch East Indies. However, it was probably as well that his enemies arranged for his recall by Napoleon, just before the British invasion. If not, his career could just as well have been ended in Asia, because he wouldn't have been so cautious with his life as his successor! Daendels had a very difficult psyche. He was egocentric, and had a strong self-respect. He had the capacities of a great leader, quickly recognised during his time as a French officer under Dumouriez and Pichegru. Although not always loved by his commanders and colleagues, there were also many who admired his capacities, and made good use of them. The combination of his abilities and his bravery meant that he nearly always operated as advance guard (1792-95) or rear-guard (1812). He was also the right man to give command of a fortress that had to be self-supporting for a long time. So the assessment of Napoleon, to choose him for this mission was justified. Daendels was much respected by his subordinates and soldiers, although he was hard, sometimes even cruel, and advocated a strong discipline, he was also very brave and because he was a good administrator, took good care of his men. That he was capable to hold Modlin for nearly a whole year, without a mutiny of his troops, says enough. In short, Daendels was a very colourful person with fantasy, who took every opportunity he could get. Footnotes1 The island Bommelerwaard was formed by the rivers Meuse and Waal.
An., Geschiedenis van de landing der Engelschen en Russen in Holland in t najaar van 1799: benevens anecdotes omtrent de bevelhebbers; opgesteld door een officier van den generaal Brune; met eene voorrede en aamerkingen van den Hoogduitschen en eene korte voorafspraak van den Hollandschen uitgever (Gouda 1801)
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On Java and in the capital Batavia the news of Daendels' appointment had already arrived, and everyone was afraid of what the notorious patriot would do and he did enough to make more enemies. The first action of him was the reorganisation of the officialdom. He took care that he had most of the power himself. Then he created a whole new military organisation. Within a year he had enlarged his army to about 20,000 men. To defend Java, he ordered the construction of the 'Grote Postweg', a road from the East to the West of the island. He forbade cruelty against slaves, repaired the roads, etc.