"German Wars of Liberation Novel Idea" Topic

At the moment, I've been knocking around ideas for some kind of novel set in the Befreiungskriege, with the main character being a Prussian junior officer. Does anyone have any recommendations for units? I'm leaning toward the Colberg Infantry Regiment, as they were one of the few infantry units that were at Lutzen and Bautzen, as well as Grossbeeren and Dennewitz.

Using Colberg as your platform would also give you a good link to the 1806 debacles. Good luck!

Sounds like a good idea. Apart from enthusiasts such as ourselves, I will be interested to see who else will take to a non-English speaking hero. It would certainly make a nice change from the Peninsula and, to a lesser extent, the French army.

Would not one of the freikorps units raiding in the French rear offer more scope for a novel – aftere all regimental life is a bit, well… regimented?

Consider Lutzows Frei Korps. Although missing the major battles they embodied the spirit og pan-German liberation and included poets, writers and students (as well as labour's and artisans).

link

You can't just translate Wieder Napoleon and copyright the translation? Anyway, the anonymous author got it right: you want to start about 1805 and finish in 1815, keeping your man on staff for at least 1813-14.

I think I might have my man start as an officer cadet or ADC at the Siege of Kolberg, and eventually become an officer by 1813.

You could have him as one of the Prussians in command of the firing squad about to shoot their fellow 'liberated' Saxons who did not want to be under Prussian command or be any part of Prussia. He would, of course be angry that the Congress of Vienna did not allow Prussia to take over, sorry, liberate, all of Saxony. Or he could be at the Siege of Danzig wondering why liberated Germans were fighting alongside the French. LOL

Ride with the Black Horde in 1809 and do a few years with the KGL in the Peninsula. In 1812 you have choices. I'm remembering C. S. Forester writing that he sent Hornblower to the Baltic to keep him out of the War of 1812.

>.you want to start about 1805 and finish in 1815,

No no no, feed the plebes- first novel must be almost last in series, then throw back to the early years- hooks them every time….
tralaalaaaaaa

No, Gazzola. When you write the one with the FRENCH hero, you throw in the loyal Poles and Alsatians. With the PRUSSIAN hero, you're novelizing that old Knoetel plate of everyone rallying to the call of the King of Prussia. (I actually saw a print in Hohenzollern Castle, decades ago.)

This is an adventure novel, or a series of adventure novels. If you want nuance or multiple viewpoints, you write something more like The Year of the French with no single central character.

If the author goes with 'The Black Band' it will be a case of Germans fighting Germans until they fight their way to escaping their 'fellow' Germans (the unliberated ones) and joining up with the Brits, then it might just become another Peninsular war tale. Even so, it might be an interesting angle, in which the author could consider having a fictional Brunswicker capturing a French eagle instead of the fictional British Sharpe doing so. LOL

But whatever the author chooses, I would welcome a Napoleonic themed novel. Not many around since the end of Cornwall's Sharpe series. Bring it on, I say! It's all fiction anyway.

I'd like to include the Siege of Kolberg as a sort of prologue to the action in 1813. I have two main choices for the War of Liberation: the 12th Regiment in Yorck's corps, or the 9th (Colberg) Regiment in Bülow's.

Both would allow me to include Lützen and Bautzen, but Yorck would allow me to include Katzbach and Wartenberg, while Bülow allows for Großbeeren and Dennewitz. Both corps then join up for Leipzig.

Maybe base him on a Volunteer Jager attached to Colberg Reg't. He can then learn his new trade and maybe be promoted to officer in a regular Regiment and fight through latter part of 1813 and 1814 in France the then 1815. The cavalry also had mounted Volunteer Jagers attached