Osprey Men-at-Arms 43 : Napoleon's German Allies (2) : Nassau and Oldenburg

By a fortunate mixture of clever diplomacy and luck, Herzog Peter Friedrich Ludwig of Oldenburg managed to keep his duchy out of the wars of 1805 and 1806. Napoleon persuaded him to join the Confederation of the Rhine by the Treaty of Erfurt on 14 October 1808. The military contingent to be maintained by the duchy was set at an infantry battalion of 800 men in six companies [one grenadier, four fusilier and one voltigeur]. On 13 December 1810 Napoleon abolished the Kingdom of Holland, the Duchy of Oldenburg, the old imperial cities of Hamburg, Bremen and Lubeck and combined them [and parts of the old Electorate of Hanover, the Grand Duchy of Berg, the Kingdom of Westfalia and the Duchy of Ahremberg] into Metropolitan France. On 28 February 1811 [the day that Oldenburg became part of Metropolitan France] the military contingent of the duchy marched off to Osnabruck to enter French service as part of the 129th Line Infantry Regiment. On 17 May 1803 Furst [Prince] Friedrich August succeeded to the throne of Nassau-Usingen and when, on 16 July 1806, the houses of Nassau joined Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine, Friedrich August became Herzog [Duke] of Nassau. As head of state, he was charged, under the terms of the treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine, with coordinating and organising the military efforts of all the tiny states of its neighbours. Otto Von Pivka details the campaign history and uniforms of Napoleon's Nassau and Oldenburg allied troops accompanied by numerous illustrations including eight full page colour plates by Gerry Embleton.

Contents

• The Organization of Nassau's Troops 1806-1815
• The Duchy of Oldenburg in the Napoleonic Wars
• The Battle History of Nassau's Troops
• The Uniforms of Nassau's Troops 1803-1815
• The Plates