22 pages of text with 21 Color Illustrations by Knötel, Leinhert & Humbert
When hostilities between France and most of Europe began anew in 1803, Napoleon moved quickly to secure a buffer zone between France and his German speaking enemies. He occupied Hanover first and allied himself with various border states including Bavaria. Following the victories of Austerlitz in 1805 and Jena the following year he dominated most of Germany and abolished the Holy Roman Empire. The Kingdom of Westphalia was created following the peace of Tilsit in 1807 and consisted principally of the previous states of Hanover, Brunswick and Hessen-Kassel. The throne was occupied by Napoleon’s brother Jerome who made his capital at Kassel. The formation of an army was one of the first acts and most of the available troops originated in Kassel as fighting men from Hanover and Brunswick had escaped to join the King’s German Legion in England and The Duke of Brunswick’s troops. The army of Westphalia although gorgeously dressed and accoutered was a force of dubious quality. However it served and suffered in most of Napoleon’s campaigns in Spain, North Germany and, of course, Russia in 1812.
Book No. 40
The Army of Westphalia in the Napoleonic Wars
By Philip Cranz
