Anglo-Russian Landings
in Holland, 1799
Part 1
by Geert van Uythoven, The Netherlands
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The Anglo-Russian landings in Holland, 1799
by Geert van Uythoven, Netherlands
One of the lesser known campaigns that took place during the Napoleonic Wars was the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in the latter half of 1799. Although it is not very known, this campaign renders many useful possibilities for the wargamer for the following reasons:
b. The whole campaign took place on a very small part of Holland, and is on three sides bordered by sea. So even in a wargame campaign there is only one direction to go for the Anglo-Russian player(s): The same way York had to go in 1799. c. The campaign was fought by four nations with very different characteristics: On the offensive were the British and Russians, and the defenders were the Batavians and the French. d. Both sides the troops were commanded by a whole range of commanders, rated from very good to very bad. And all these commanders had to act independently on many occasions because of the terrain on which the actions took place. e. Many lessons can be learned from this campaign by wargamers. Not only how to handle your troops, but also how not to handle your troops. In this article I will try to give enough information to prove what has just been stated, but I also hope to make clear that the Napoleonic Wars can render us much more then just the Peninsular, Waterloo and Leipzig campaigns. I will write the series mostly from the Franco-Batavian point of view, because I think this will give you the information that is most difficult to obtain for most of the readers. BackgroundEven before the Revolutionary wars the situation in this part of Europe was very confused. A series of civil and religious reforms by the Austrian Emperor Joseph II provoked in the Austrian Netherlands a major uprising, the Belgians, inspired by the events taking place in Paris at that time formed a volunteer army of `patriots', and after much confused fighting this army became in 1790 a national army of over 20,000 men. Enthusiastic but undisciplined, the patriots had no chance against the Imperial Austrian forces. One battle (called the Battle of Falmagne by the Austrians) was enough to crush the patriots. Many patriots escaped to France, and there joined the revolutionary armies to continue the fight against Austria. One of them was Jean-Baptiste Dumon ceau, who we will meet later. The population of the Dutch Netherlands was very divided between the Orange party, which supported the cause of the St„dtholder Prince William V of Orange, and the patriots who wanted to go back to the situation of the old republic without a st„dtholder. The worsening economic situation was, in 1787, nearly the cause of a civil war between the patriots, who were counting on support from France, and the Orange-men. The support from France never came, so when on 13th September an army of 20,000 Prussians invaded the Netherlands to reinstall William V, the patriots had no chance of winning. In nearly a month the revolt was crushed, and the patriots had no choice then to take flight to France. These patriots also joined the revolutionary armies, and later formed a Batavian Legion under the command of Herman Willem Daendels, who we also will meet later. What nobody thought was possible, happened. The French general Dumouriez and his ragged untrained soldiers succeeded in stopping the Allied armies at Valmy (1792), and then defeated them at the battle of Jemappes. This victory led to the conquest of most of the Austrian Netherlands. This increased the tension with the Dutch Netherlands and Great Britain. After some diplomatic moves France declared war on the Dutch Netherlands in February 1793, and invaded them before Great Britain could intervene. Luckily at this moment the Austrians invaded the Austrian Netherlands and defeated the French army at Neerwinden. This caused the French to retreat, and gave the Dutch Netherlands some much needed time. After the declaration of war from France on the Dutch Netherlands Great Britain had no choice then to enter the war, and British diplomats lost no time creating the First Coalition, formed by Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, Spain and the Dutch Netherlands. A British expeditionary force landed in Flanders, and Dumouriez defected to the Allies. Once again the situation looked very bad for France, but this time the lack of cooperation between the allies saved them. The French National Convention ordered the `lev‚e en masse' and the French armies became stronger and stronger. Already the First Coalition began to crumble, and in the battle of Fleurus (1794) the French under Jourdan succeeded in defeating the Allies. The Austrians now retreated to Germany behind the River Meuse, while the Anglo-Dutch troops retreated to the Dutch Netherlands, followed by the French under Pichegru. Once again the French had conquered the Austrian Netherlands . A very cold winter helped Pichegru to conquer also the Dutch Netherlands: the main protection of Holland, the rivers and inundations were worthless now, and even the Dutch fleet at the roads of Texel was captured by a regiment of cavalry! The princely family took flight to England, and the Patriots proclaimed the birth of the Batavian Republic. The Batavian government had to meet the following conditions of the French to stay `independent':
2. Renunciation of Dutch Flanders, Dutch Limburg with the cities Venlo and Maastricht. 3. Tax free French shipping on the rivers the Scheldt, Meuse and Rhine. 4. French occupation of Flushing. 5. To place at the disposal of France 12 ships of the line and 18 frigates. 6. To place at the disposal of France half of the Batavian army. 7. To feed, clothe and pay 25,000 French soldiers. The Batavian Republic now was nothing more then a French satellite, and the result was British declaration of war against the Batavian Republic on 15th September 1795. PreliminariesIn December 1798 the British diplomats succeeded in creating the second coalition, formed by Great Britain, Austria and Russia. An attempt to recruit also Prussia and Sweden failed. Once more things looked bad for France:
b. Early in 1799 the Austrian army recovered most of Germany and Italy. The French were heavily engaged in Switzerland by an Austro-Russian army. c. The French Republic was again divided. The Vendee was once again restless. d. Uprisings took place in Italy. Switzerland and the Batavian Republic were very restless. e. France had big financial problems, mainly because of the huge armies she had to maintain. f. Great Britain was master of the seas. The French fleet was no threat, the Spanish fleet (Allies of France at this time) was locked up in Cadiz, and the Batavian fleet was blockaded at the roads of Texel. To defeat the French decisively Great Britain and Russia came to an agreement to send an expedition to Holland (15th July 1799). Russia would deliver 17,000 soldiers who would be paid by Great Britain. Great Britain would deliver 20,000-25,000 men (part militia) and 6,000 cavalry, and deliver part of the horses needed by the Russians. Most of the Russians would be transported by British ships. As shown above Great Britain would take care of the largest part of the invasion, so that the influence of the Russians wouldn't be to great. The chances for a successful invasion of Holland looked good. The people were divided. The presence of the French troops was a great financial burden. The French had developed a special system for the 25,000 troops the Batavian Republic had to feed, clothe and pay. Ragged troops from the front line armies were sent to the Batavian Republic. Here they were fed, paid and clothed again. After some time the troops left to the front, fully equipped and rested, and a new ragged and hungry contingent arrived. This situation was stimulating the hatred against the French increasing the likelyhood that a national rising would occur to aid the Allied invasion. Once the Netherlands were conquered, the House of Orange could be reinstated. The Dutch and Austrian Netherlands would be transformed into a strong bastion, that could stop French expansion forever. Military resistance was expected to be minimal. The Batavian army was weak and badly trained. The same could be said of the French troops, numbering at that moment about 18,000. These troops were spread all over the Netherlands. Coastal defence was nonexistent. At the beginning of June preparations were made for the invasion. Commander in Chief was to be the Duke of York. In 1794 he was Commander in Chief of the British forces in the Netherlands, where he didn't show very much talent. This time he had to perform the difficult task of leading an Anglo-Russian army. To keep the French guessing about the destiny of the invasion troops the concentration took place at Southampton. At the end of July they moved to Deal, Ramsgate and Margate, where the assembly of the transport ships was taking place. These were insufficient to move the army all at once, so the army was divided into three parts (echelons). The British considered themselves to be strong enough to start the invasion without the Russians. Also it was feared that the Prussians, who now were negotiating with the French, would occupy the Netherlands by way of treaty. So time was running out for the Coalition. These were the reasons that the British took the chance to send the first echelon of troops about two or three weeks ahead of the others. The danger was even greater because, with the use of sailing ships, no certainty could be given when the supporting echelons would arrive.
Large Map 1 (slow: 87K) These troops had the task of invading the Netherlands from the east and starting the uprising. In this way a great part of the Franco-Batavian army could be pinned down in the eastern and northern parts of the Netherlands. The Opening of the CampaignThe first echelon would consist of the following troops:
600 men artillery 2 squadrons dragoons Totalling about 12,000 men, commanded by General Ralph Abercromby. These troops embarked between 8-12th August, and the fleet set sail on 13th August. The troops were transported by 100 transport vessels, and protected by 26 ships of the line, 13 frigates, 16 brigs and 22 smaller vessels, under the command of Admiral Mitchell. Abercromby received two different orders. The first one, dating from 3rd August, directed him to the mouth of the Meuse, to occupy Goeree, Overflakkee, Rozenburg and Voorne (see map 1). After the arrival of the next echelons the provinces north of the Waal would be occupied. To achieve this, a bridgehead on the mainland was needed. The choice was Abercromby's, but exceptionally useful for his purpose would have been the capture of Maaslandssluis, Schiedam, Rotterdam and Dordrecht, in the event of the need to maintain communications with the Prussians if they could be persuaded to enter the Coalition. When news of the negotiations of the Prussians with the French (7th August) had been confirmed, Abercromby received new orders on 10th August. These orders told Abercromby to act quickly. They still gave Goeree as the primary object, but it was for Abercromby to see if he could try an attack on Voorne. If not, he had to try to take Den Helder or Texel `with the probability of obtaining the disposal of the Dutch navy'. If he found it impossible to achieve this he had to take Delfzijl, in order to capture the provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. Finally the orders gave him free hand to change all these plans and to make another one in consultation with Admiral Mitchell (Isn't this the order every wargamer would want to receive!?). The day after setting sail a council of war was being held. Although the council preferred an invasion at the mouth of the Meuse, Abercromby and Mitchell made the decision to attack Den Helder, to capture or destroy the Batavian fleet. This decision was made `in relation to the situation in Holland' (Whatever they would mean by this!) and the fact that the Prussians were not participating removed the need to capture Voorne. To deceive the enemy, demonstrations would be made against Walcheren and Schiermonnikoog. Warships of the fleet received orders to capture every vessel that could warn the enemy of the movements of the fleet. The Batavian DefenceThe defensive forces of the Netherlands were part Batavian, part French.
The French troops totalled 17,800 men, from which the 1st Division (General Gouvion), 3700 men, was stationed in Hertogenbosch and Utrecht, the 2nd Division (General Reubell), 5300 men, was stationed in South-Holland, and the 3rd Division (General Desjardins), 8800 men, was stationed in Zeeland. Commander in Chief was General Guillaume Marie Anne Brune. The Batavian fleet consisted of 8 ships of the line, 3 frigates an 1 corvette (626 guns and 4380 men). By this time the invasion was already anticipated. However, the time where the advantages to be gained by commanders that concentrating their troops was still to come (This was a lesson that Napoleon was still to teach Europe!). So in order to defend all conspicuous landing places (Zeeland, Goeree, North-Holland and Groningen) Brune spread his troops over the whole of the Netherlands. This was also done to prevent any Orange uprisings. The reason for the strong occupation of Zeeland is the fact that an invasion in this place was the most threatening for France. Attempts to strengthen the army with National Guards totally failed. Only a thousand volunteers came forward, and these were used for auxiliary duties. SchiermonnikoogThe British demonstration near Walcheren and at the mouth of the Meuse consisted of the appearance of some British warships. The British really landed (15th August) at the Isle of Schiermonnikoog. The defence of the island was formed by 26 men with 2 3pdr guns, commanded by Lieutenant Pieter Rutger Broers. The landing was carried out with armed boats under cover of fire from a Batavian brig which had been captured four days earlier. Broers was on the beach with his force to expect the enemy, but after the first shot the civilians drivers of the ammunition caissons took flight. Broers now had to retreat and choose to make a stand in front of the village. There the villagers tried to force Broers to end all resistance. Under the threat of setting fire to the village, they allowed him to defend his position. This position proved to be so strong that the British left the island after taking some vessels from the harbour. The citizens of Schiermonnikoog were punished later for their behaviour this day. On 21st August the British fleet reached the Texel estuary. On the same day Abercromby invited Colonel Gilquin, who with 1,800 men was at Den Helder, and Rear Admiral Story, commander of the Batavian fleet, to surrender to the British. They were told that the British had already landed 20,000 men, which of course was not true. They refused to surrender, however, the British succeeded in making contact with the crews and gave them assurances that the only aim of the British was the reinstatement of the Stadtholder William V of Orange. The consequences of this we shall see later. The landing was planned for the 22nd, but a sudden storm prevented this. Weather remained bad for the following days, and only on the 27th could the landing really take place. The appearance of the fleet on the 22nd made it very clear to the Franco-Batavians were the landing would take place, and gave them 5 days to reinforce the troops already in North-Holland. The Invasion Plan
Large Map 2 (slow: 129K) The east of the dunes ended at the Sand dike, were the road to Den Helder is situated. East of this road was the marshland called Koegras, separated from the road by a ditch. The Koegras was intersected by ditches and creeks, and was flooded at high tide. The hamlets, Groote Keeten and Kleine Keeten, were of no tactical value. These were nothing more then two groups of shacks to give shelter and for the storage of tools for the workmen of the dike-reeve. Den Helder was at that time nothing more then a village, with some batteries along the coast. There was no protection against an attack from land. The reason why Abercromby chose this place for the landing is not very clear. The peninsular is very narrow on this section, and it would be very easy for the Franco-Batavian troops to seal it off. The only advantage is that it is very easy to prevent support reaching Den Helder, so it seems that Abercromby only planned to take Den Helder and the Batavian fleet. During the night before the landing a boat from the ship of the line `Romney`(4th rate 50 guns) with a raiding party of a lieutenant and 12 men was sent to the coast to take a prisoner for some useful information, but they failed because of the numerous patrols. In the morning of 27th August the 1st echelon would land. This echelon would consist of 2 divisions: The southern division, commanded by Lt-General James Pulteney:
27th Rgt Foot 680 29th Rgt Foot 680 85th Rgt Foot 680 69th Rgt Foot 680 5th Brigade (Colonel MacDonald) (reserve)
55th Rgt Foot 680 Total: 4760 The northern division, commanded by Abercromby:
1st Rgt Guards 1000 2nd Guards Brigade (Major General Burrard
3rd Rgt Guards 1000 2nd Brigade (Major General Moore)
21st Rgt Foot 680 49th Rgt Foot 680 79th Rgt Foot 680 92nd Rgt Foot 680 Total: 7400 The southern division would be the first to land. Their mission was to drive the enemy from the dunes, to penetrate into the marshland of Koegras and then to advance south. The northern division, commanded by Abercromby would embark in the designated corvettes, luggers and boats immediately after the southern division set off. These vessels would approach the beach as near as possible, the troops would then embark in the landing boats that had returned from landing the southern division, so that they didn't have to go the whole way back to the transport vessels. Every soldier was supplied with 60 cartridges, and food for two days. The smaller warships took up positions on both flanks of the landing zone, and then approach the coast as near as possible, to support the landing with their guns. Plan of DefenceDaendels received on the 23rd August, orders from Brune to place his troops in such a way that they could move quickly to any threatened point of the coast. Brune didn't send any reinforcements. Daendels conferred with Rear Admiral Story about the defence but he couldn't or didn't want to cooperate, stating that he could no longer trust the crews of his ships! Plans to sink ships in the entrances to the Zuiderzee didn't succeed either, because the Batavian government thought it was bad for the `country's navigation'! So Daendels was on his own. He commanded the following troops: Brigade Guricke (5000 men) commanded by Gen-Maj van Guricke, was placed in the northern part of North-Holland and consisted of the following troops: 5th Halve Brigade (H.B.) of 3 battalions (1801 men) commanded by Col Crass, located at the Wieringerwaard. 7th H.B. of 3 battalions (1815 men) commanded by Col Gilquin, located at Den Helder. 2nd Bat Jagers (674 men) commanded by Lt-Col David Hendrik Chass‚, located in the dunes between Kleine Keeten en Groote Keeten. 4 squadrons of the 1st Rgt Heavy Cavalry (411 men), located at Den Helder (2 sq) and Schagen (2 sq). 2nd Company Horse Artillery (101 men, 4 6pdr guns, 2 24pdr howitzers) commanded by Captain Nicolaas Francois d'Anguerand at Schagerbrug. Brigade van Zuylen (5,000 men) commanded by Gen-Maj van Zuylen van Nyevelt, was distributed around Haarlem, Alkmaar, Camp-Petten, Schoorl, Groet. On 26th August the British fleet was sighted off the coast between Huisduinen and Groote Keeten. Daendels immediately reported to Brune and pointed out that, because the British could protect the landing with their naval guns, a landing could not be prevented. He choose to attack the 1st echelon after the landing and drive them into the sea. Even this plan would be a problem, because if the British could advance some hundreds of metres, the defender would have to fight in a bad position with the Koegras at his back. For this reason Daendels decided to defend in front with weak forces, and to defend both flanks strongly to prevent a British advance in these directions. He then wanted to counterattack when the time was right. In these attacks the beach and forward dunes had to be avoided because of the British warships. The centre would be formed by the 1st and 2nd Bat Jagers (see map 2) (The 1st Bat Jagers (741 men) came from Brigade van Zuylen and was commanded by Lt-Col Georg Willem Luck). Their task was to engage the British and lure them inland. The commanders were urged to keep their battalions together and to retreat if the pressure became to great. To support their retreat the 2nd bat/5th H.B., commanded by Lt-Col Johan Georg Herbig, was placed on their left flank near Groote Keten. The right wing was commanded by Gen-Maj van Gu‚ricke and consisted of 7th H.B.(3 bats), 2 squadrons from the 1st Rgt Heavy Cavalry and 4 guns Foot Artillery. His orders were to take a position south of Huisduinen, with his cavalry and artillery at Buitenveld, and to wait for further orders. To get these orders he was to keep in contact with the left wing. Gu‚ricke was not informed about Daendels plans. His relationship with Daendels was not very good. The left wing was commanded by Colonel Christiaan Louis Crass and consisted of the 2 remaining battalions from the 5th H.B. with 2 guns of 2nd Company Horse Artillery. He would be reinforced with the troops of Gen-Maj van Zuylen van Nyevelt, who was marching from Alkmaar and Haarlem. More Anglo-Russian Landings in Holland
Landings: Part 2 Landings: Part 3 Landings: Part 4 Landings: Part 5 Landings: Part 6 Landings: Part 7 Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #8 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |
To ensure an uprising in the Netherlands, a group of Orange officers and soldiers, commanded by Prince William Frederick of Orange assembled at Lingen in Germany (see map 1).
The chosen site of the landing was the coastline of c. 7km between Grote Keeten en Huisduinen (see map 2), this was a strip of dunes about 650m wide and 15-20m high (and in the middle of it the Franco-Batavian telegraph was situated).