"Westphalia Period. 1806-1813. " Topic

"As a consequence of the French occupation of 1806, the organization of the Kurhessian Army had been resolved; Soon afterwards the Kurstaat was incorporated into the newly established Kingdom of Westphalia, the reign of which Emperor Napoleon entrusted to his brother Jerome. Since, however, the Elector William I never recognized this annexation of his country, and on his return in 1813 regarded the Westphalian period as not, we should have the right to continue the history of the regiment without interruption. In the Order of November 1, 1806, it is said literally:

"The soldiers and cavalrymen with horses are temporarily on house leave, until after the return of their Electorate. Your Excellency Headquarters Sr. Kaiserl. Majesty of France other facilities are taken. "

The regiment was not incorporated into Jerome's cavalry, but remained for seven years, and was restored in the original manner upon the return of its expelled landlord. The officers had, in part, taken farewell, partly in other armies, and some had also entered the newly formed Westphalian army, following the urge of relations…"
Main page
link

Amicalement
Armand

PDF link

And, upcoming:

link

That price! My goodness…

And for a nice collection of Westphalian uniforms – see Alfons Canovas website: link

Dave, that link is devastating. And I say that as a man who has the entire Westphalian Army at 1:20 in 30mm. And at that, I think Sam misses a couple.

Rapp in his memoirs claims that Napoleon offered to relieve Junot and give Rapp the VIII Corps, but Rapp turned down the offer, not liking the look of the troops. On such a matter, I would trust Rapp.

And while I can't prove it, I'm reasonably sure that just as the hussars of the Austro-German Legion were the Westphalian hussars--they didn't even change the uniforms--the infantry of the AGL were the Westphalians of the Dresden garrison The numbers match, and the timing of the surrender of Dresden and the raising of the AGL infantry are suspicious.

That said, I think the Westphalian Army showed Napoleon as much loyalty as a regime which begins by horse-thievery and robbing poor boxes deserves. Lots of higher-ups demand loyalty without showing any you'd notice.

Difficult to believe that a career aide de camp like Rapp wouldn't jump at the chance to command his own corps.

Sounds like VIII Corps never had much of a chance, commanded first by Jerome and then by Junot.

You could also look at my book on the Westphalian Guard in the growing Military Colours Series.
link

It is 48 pages packed with over 300 colour illustrations. I will return to the Westphalian Army but too many other projects have got in the way.

If Sam kept the direction he seemed to be going with his first articles, it is a great study of 'Nation Building' by The French, with very similar problems, attitudes and results being experienced today with efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dave Jackson

Possibly an interesting title, but it must be noted that the author Sam Mustafa admitted himself on this website that he is not a military historian and that his 'expertise' is in economic history and his main interest is in administration. So that suggests it might be good on the economy and admin side, but possibly weaker on the military areas, which I think is the area most members here may be more interested in.

Stephen's Westphalian Guard book is on my list to get, eventually, but also worth seeing is The Army of the Kingdom of Westphalia 1807-1813 by George Street. I think the price has gone up from when I bought a copy, so it does look a bit pricy for 152 pages, but it is full of great info, unit details etc and all uniform and flag prints are in colour.

Second on The Army of the Kingdom of Westphalia-excellent volume and one worth having.