The Hanseatic Legion was a military unit, first formed of a group of citizens from

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. They had met in 1813 on the instigation of General Friedrich Karl von Tettenborn, in order to fight in the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition () (December 1812 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation (), a coalition of Austrian Empire, Austria, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, Russian Empire, Russia, History of Spain (1808– ...

. This association of volunteers was joined immediately by volunteers from Hamburg's Hanseatic sister cities

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

and

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

. The Legion should not be confused with the '' Hamburger Bürgermilitär'' (Hamburg Citizen Militia). During their time of coexistence, the militia restricted itself to ejecting the French garrisons stationed in Hamburg and the other two

Hanseatic cities The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

, whereas the ''Legion'' also participated in the rest of the campaign under Russian overall command.

History

The Legion defended the Hanseatic cities against Davout's and Vandamme's troops until Tettenborn completed the raising of their sieges in the night of 29/30 May 1813. The Legion and the Hanseatischen Bürgergarden went with Count Tettenborn and in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

joined the Allied northern army under Wallmoden's command, later taking part in the fighting in the area around Mecklenburg and in parts of the

Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been div ...

. The members of the Legion returned to Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck on 30 June 1814, and all received the "Kriegsdenkmedaille der drei Hansestädte" (War-Medal of the three Hanseatic-League cities) in 1815.

Sources

*Perthes: W. Perthes Leben. Bd. 1 Gotha (1892) *Heilwig Prosch: Die Hanseatische Legion 1815 nach Senatsakten und Familienbriefen. In: Der Wagen 1960, S. 66–77.
Uniforms of the Legion
Hanseatic Cities German military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars 19th century in Bremen 19th century in Hamburg Military history of Lübeck Military of Hamburg Military units and formations established in 1813 1813 establishments in the Confederation of the Rhine Military history of Bremen (city) {{Germany-hist-stub

History

See also

Sources