Dutch Brigade ( Peninsular War ) The Dutch Brigade ( ) was a unit of the Royal Army of the Kingdom of Holland that was sent out in September 1808 , by king Louis Bonaparte on the request of his brother emperor Napoleon of France , to take part in the Peninsular War on the French side . The brigade , under the command of major - general David Hendrik Chassé , was made part of the so - called " German division " ( which also consisted of units from Nassau , Baden and other German allies of the French empire ) under command of the French general Leval , in turn part of the IVth French Corps under command of marshals Lefebvre and Sébastiani , and later of the Ist Corps of marshal Victor . The brigade distinguished itself in a number of major battles , but was later mainly employed in counter - guerrilla warfare . After the annexation of the Kingdom of Holland by the French empire in 1810 the brigade was formally decommissioned and its personnel ( now French subjects ) absorbed into the French 123rd regiment of line , which continued to be employed in the Peninsular War and later in the Russian campaign of 1812 . Formation of the Brigade . On 17 August 1808 , Emperor Napoleon of France sent a peremptory demand to his brother , King Louis of Holland , to furnish a brigade for service in the campaign in Spain , consisting of a regiment of cavalry of 600 horse , a company of artillery with three guns and three howitzers , three battalions of infantry of 2200 men total , and a detachment of miners and sapper s , for a total of 3000 men . This brigade , which should consist of veteran soldiers , was to march within ten days of receipt of the demand . King Louis , whose policy it was to generally drag his feet as far as the demands of his brother were concerned , and to try his best to defend the interests of his small kingdom , in this instance found it politic to comply immediately , despite the fact that the small Dutch army ( about 22 , 000 men ) already had sent 6000 men to Germany . The Minister of War , general Janssens and the commander - in - chief , Marshal Dumonceau , recommended major - general David Hendrik Chassé as commander of the new unit . His staff would consist of colonel A . Lycklama à Nijeholt as commander of the infantry ; major F . F . C . Steinmetz as commander of the artillery , and sappers ; colonel O . F . von Goes as commander of the cavalry ( later colonel Van Merlen ) ; captain H . R . Trip as commander of a company of horse artillery ; a field ambulance under command of surgeon G . Sebel ; whereas lieutenant - colonel Vermeulen would serve as chief of staff , assisted by captain of horse Van Zuylen van Nijevelt . Organising the brigade proved more difficult . Initially the first battalion of the 3rd regiment of " Jagers " , encamped in the province of Zeeland , was selected for the brigade , but it turned out that the regiment was so devastated by " Zeeland fever " ( probably malaria ) that most members were unfit for military duty . The army leadership therefore had to replace this battalion with the 2nd battalion of the 4th regiment of the line , commanded by lieutenant - colonel C . L . von Pfaffenrath . The other infantry battalion designated for the brigade , commanded by lieutenant - colonel A . W . Storm de Grave , came from the 2nd regiment of the line in Groningen . Problems with equipment and lack of basic supplies , including shoes , also hindered the speedy deployment of the brigade . On the other hand , the cavalry , four squadrons of the 3rd regiment of hussar s was immediately available . The available troops , 2200 of the planned 3000 , eventually concentrated near Bergen op Zoom on 2 September 1808 for the march to France ( the remaining 800 would follow later ) . However , on 1 September part of the infantry rioted because of arrears in pay . The government hastily arranged an advance , which restored the peace . The brigade was sent off on 2 September by marshal Dumonceau personally . History of the Brigade . The march to Spain . The brigade had to march all the way to Spain , because transport by sea was in practice impossible due to the blockade by the Royal Navy . They first marched to Paris , by way of Antwerp , Ghent , Lille , and Amiens . Though the French authorities had promised support , it turned out that nowhere the local authorities were aware that they had to provide food and shelter . The Dutch quartermaster O . J . Romar was often fobbed off by the local French commanders and had to organize victualling himself , which depleted his war chest prematutrely . Soldiers often had to buy food themselves from their meager pay ( three stuiver s a day ) , which was clearly inadequate . Hunger and fatigue therefore caused a growing stream of stragglers . The younger officers , though they lived in more luxurious circumstances and traveled in carriages , openly started criticising Chassé . The brigade arrived in Saint - Denis near Paris on 19 September . At this time its strength was 2130 men and 846 horses . Chassé immediately complained to Minister Janssens about the lack of support he had received , and the Minister instructed the Dutch ambassador in Paris , admiral Verhuell , to press the French authorities to fulfil their obligations , and pay the promised advances ( using the Paris bankers Audenet and Slingeland ) . On 20 September the brigade paraded before Queen Hortense de Beauharnais , king Louis ' estranged wife . The next day emperor Napoleon , together with Marshal Lefebvre , personally inspected the brigade , which impressed the soldiers . Napoleon used the occasion to change the organisation of the infantry battalions : their complement of nine companies was reduced to six , thereby beefing up the strength of the companies . He also decreed that the brigade would become part of the so - called German division , composed of troops of a number of German states that were allied with the French Empire , which was commanded by general Leval . This division was to become part of IV corps under command of marshal Lefebvre . Finally , Napoleon organised two depots , one for the infantry in Saint - Denis , and one for the cavalry in Versailles , where stragglers and sick personnel ( 208 men , among whom major Steinmetz ) were to be collected for eventual transport to their units in Spain . The brigade left Paris for Bayonne near the Spanish border on 22 September . They marched by way of Chartres , Le Mans , Saumur , Niort and Bordeaux . This time their reception by the local population was much better and the troops were treated on a par with French troops . The brigade arrived in Bayonne on 24 October . The city had been the jump off point for the French invasion of Spain , and was a main staging point ; it therefore was full of troops at this time . The brigade managed well in the ensuing chaos , thanks to the efforts of quartermaster Romar , who even persuaded the French to provide new uniform coats and shoes . By this time the strength of the brigade had shrunk to 1700 men . But these survivors were the strong men ; the march had inadvertently eliminated the weak . The common experiences had forged a sense of comradeship among the troops . When the brigade entered Spain the relative " pampering " ended : the brigade had to fend for itself in competition with French and allied units for food and shelter . Another unpleasant surprise was that only now the brigade leadership became aware of the dangers posed by the Spanish guerillas ( usually called " brigands " by the French ) who continually preyed on the French supply lines . The brigade marched to Bilbao by way of Irun , Tolosa , Mondragon and Durango ; they arrived in Bilbao around the end of October 1808 . Durango ( 31 October 1808 ) . Almost immediately after arrival on Spanish soil marshal Lefebvre deprived general Chassé of his miners and sappers , cavalry and artillery . Chassé ' s protests were ineffective , despite the fact that king Louis had ordered him to keep the brigade together . The combat engineers disappeared without trace ; it later turned out that they had been ordered to improve the defenses of the citadel of Burgos , which they did conscientiously , despite the fact that their commander , captain Lambert , was forced to pay his men from his own purse . They would later destroy the citadel in a courageous rear - guard action on 10 May 1811 , just before the British could enter it . The hussars were integrated in a cavalry brigade attached to the division of general Sébastiani . The infantry battalions , forming the rump of the brigade , which would represent the brigade as a fighting unit in future , were assigned to the division - Leval . This division consisted , besides the Dutch troops of the regiment Nassau , the regiment Baden , the regiment Hesse - Darmstadt , a battalion Frankfurt , a battalion Parisian guards , and two batteries of artillery . Together with the division - Sébastiani and the division - Villatte the division - Leval formed the IVth French Corps under command of marshal Lefebvre ; this corps was concentrated around Durango with the objective to march on Bilbao and from there on Madrid . However , to do this , first the Spanish army of general Blake had to be defeated . The Spanish and French armies met at Durango in what became known as the battle of Pancorbo on 31 October 1808 . The Dutch brigade had been inspected by marshal Lefebvre on 30 October , at which occasion the marshal had given a strong pep talk . Thus motivated , the Dutch troops faced the Spaniards among the other foreign troops under the temporary command of general Villatte . Villatte let them attack the Spaniards uphill and they succeeded in driving them from first the hillock of Bernagoitia , and next Nevera , despite the difficult terrain . There the Dutch lighted a fire to signal the French center ( Sébastiani ) and right wing ( Leval ) to start their advance . General Chassé subsequently led the pursuit of the fleeing Spaniards . Dutch voltigeur s in passing defeated a flock of enemy sheep , grazing in a hostile fashion in a wood ; they appreciated the meat after going without for a long time . The Dutch troops received much praise ; Chassé was knighted with the Legion of Honour and five other officers received a medal for " bonne conduite et bravoure " ( good conduct and bravery ) . After the battle , the French army pursued the Spanish in a leisurely fashion , looting on the way . On 9 November , a few days after the battle of Valmaseda , at which it did not take part , the Dutch brigade reached Valmaseda , which was in the process of being sacked in reprisal for the murder of three Frenchmen . After marching through the burning town , Dutch troops initially joined the looters , but were quickly brought under control . Captain Van Oudheusden , sabre drawn , rescued a few Spanish women from rape by French grenadiers . From Durango to Mesas de Ibor ( 17 March 1809 ) . Over the following months , the brigade was mainly used to perform guard and escort duties . Chassé was appointed military governor of Bilbao on 9 November and the brigade was tasked with occupation duties . Chassé himself led a reconnaissance force of 500 men in the coastal area west of Bilbao that had been relatively free of looting , though most of the inhabitants had fled . On 14 December , he was recalled to lead the brigade to Madrid in the train of the 4th Corps . The march across high country was hard , because winter had set in with extreme cold . Foraging was difficult , because the troops that had gone before had effectively looted everything of value and the population had fled . Madrid was reached on New Year ' s Eve 1808 . The logistical problems that plagued the entire invasion army , were felt even more keenly by the Dutch , as they were supplied only after the French needs were fulfilled . The Dutch cavalry , in particular , had insufficient fodder of quality for the horses , and the horses often lost shoes due to the difficult terrain . In Bilbao , only 91 horses of 231 were fit for duty . The horse artillery lost so many horses that their caissons had to be drawn by three horses , instead of the usual six . Because the Dutch infantry used a different type of rifle , they could not use French ammunition , which soon caused a lack of ammunition . The younger officers blamed Chassé for being insufficiently forceful in his representations to the French corps command and they openly showed their displeasure , which made personal relations with the general difficult . Chassé therefore removed a number of " difficult " officers , among them the chief - of - staff Vermeulen , who was replaced by captain Van Zuylen van Nijevelt . In Madrid , the entire German division was transferred to I Corps under command of marshal Victor ( who was married to a Dutch woman ) in January 1809 . The brigade received orders to guard one of the three bridges across the Tagus river , at El Puente del Arzobispo , where they arrived at the end of January . The Dutch hussars remained with IV Corps , now commanded by general Sébastiani , and took part in among others the battle of Ciudad - Real of 27 March 1809 , in which colonel Roest van Alkemade was mentioned in despatches . Meanwhile the Dutch infantry fortified the bridge at Arzobispo under the direction of engineer officers Van Schelle and De Boer , making it impassable . But the Corps command directed them to make the bridge passable again at the end of February . Chassé , aware that Spanish troops were nearby , formed a bridgehead on the " Spanish " side of the Tagus and had his troops patrol intensively from 19 to 23 February in the Sierra de Altamira to guard against guerillas . The local guerillas , about 10 , 000 in number , were mostly escaped prisoners of war , former soldiers of the army of general Venegas , who had been defeated by marshal Victor at the Battle of Uclés ( 1809 ) . The German division was tasked to suppress their activity in the area beyond the Tiétar river . This counter - guerilla operation , the first of its kind in the Peninsular War , soon led to excesses . The Dutch brigade became involved in a reprisal against the town of Arenas de San Pedro , where the inhabitants had " treacherously " murdered a number of Westphalian dragoons , and mutilated their bodies . The blood of the Germans was up and under the direction of major Von Holzing they mounted a sack of the town in which even infants were not spared on 25 February 1809 . Dutch soldiers became involved in the carnage to the horror of their own officers , who swore that they would never allow things to get out of hand like this again . And apparently kept word , because the atrocities at Arenas are the only ones in which the Dutch troops became involved during the war , as far as is known . After the Second Siege of Zaragoza had ended in a French victory on 24 February 1809 , marshal Victor decided to attack the Spanish forces on the south bank of the Tagus . He gave the German division a lead role in this attack . On 17 March 1809 the division encountered a strong Spanish force at Mesas de Ibor . General Leval first sent in the Nassau regiment against the ensconced Spaniards , but they were repulsed by heavy Spanish fire . Then Leval decided on a general attack on a broader front . The Dutch brigade was in the center , flanked by the Baden regiment on the left , and the regiment Hessen - Darmstadt on the right . Chassé ordered a bayonet attack and the Dutchmen stormed the Spanish field works without firing a shot . Though the troops suffered from grapeshot and musket fire they did not waver . Miraculously only ten Dutch soldiers were killed and 49 wounded in the hail of fire . The Spanish troops fled for the Dutch bayonets . The rest of the Spanish front at Almaraz collapsed and the French were able to advance across the Tagus . Medellin , Talavera and Almonacid . The French now aimed to force the Spanish army to accept battle , which they did on 28 March near Medellin . In this battle the only Dutch unit involved were the Dutch hussars , who were part of the cavalry attack that broke the Spanish line . After the very bloody battle , major Steinmetz , tasked with collecting the weapons that had been thrown away , found more than 8 , 000 muskets . After the battle the Dutch infantry was kept in reserve . Chassé was appointed military governor of the province of Trujillo in the Extremadura region , the capital of which is Trujillo . Though the Dutch were able to recuperate in this more tranquil episode , the supply for the troops became a problem , as the local population refused to cooperate . Quartermaster Romar therefore organized a military bakery and butchery with Dutch bakers and butchers , recruited from the ranks , to take care of the brigade ' s needs . Also the paymaster received enough funds to pay the arrears in pay of the troops . The relative calm led to the troops to feel the pangs of homesickness . Contact with home was only sporadic , due to the deficient field post service . The soldiers did not receive many Dutch newspapers , which may have been as well from the standpoint of morale as this precluded them from knowing that apparently nobody in the Fatherland was aware of , or cared , what was happening to them . Many soldiers and officers were pining for their homes and hoped that the brigade would soon be recalled , or failing that , they themselves would be able to return home . Influential family members of certain officers applied pressure to have their loved - ones recalled . The French offensive soon stalled and the French position in Extramadura became untenable in June 1809 due to the difficult supply situation and disease among the troops . I Corps released its position and withdrew between 14 and 19 June behind the Tagus ; the Dutch were again encamped near Talavera . The Spanish troops hastened to fill the lacuna . Generals Cuesta and Venegas threatened the French from two sides , while the British expeditionary force under general Wellesley threatened to close the ring . At the end of July 1809 the Spanish and British armies met the French at the Battle of Talavera . The Dutch Brigade , as part of the division - Leval , bivouacked in an olive grove on the night of 27 July , the eve of the battle . They got hardly any sleep because of fusillades during the night . The next day the first attacks of the French on the British positions were repelled with heavy losses . Around noon there was a pause in the hostilities , during which the French held a council of war . On the advise of marshal Victor they decided not to wait for reinforcements from the corps of marshal Soult , but to attack again in the afternoon . The division - Leval attacked the British 4th division under general Alexander Campbell . The Nassau troops , in the van , were repelled and pursued by the British guards , who in their turn were repelled with heavy losses . Later that afternoon the German division twice counterattacked from their base in the olive grove , but without result . The battle ended in a tactical draw , but the British retreated to Badajoz to the chagrin of the Spanish generals . The losses of the Dutch Brigade at Talavera were 31 killed and 146 wounded . Most wounds became septic . The surgeons did not improve the prospects of their patients by the enthusiastic use of bloodletting . Most wounds to limbs were treated by amputation , without anesthesia , often proactively , because so many wounds became gangrenous . Major Steinmetz ( by now commander of the artillery of the division - Leval ) , who had been ill for a very long time , died on the battlefield from complications of . After the battle of Talavera the depleted infantry battalions ( now re - organised as the 2nd regiment of infantry ) were reunited with the cavalry and artillery of the brigade and again made part of IV Corps , now commanded by the newly promoted marshal Sébastiani . They marched to Toledo for rest and recuperation . On 11 August 1809 IV Corps left Toledo to cut off the advance of the Spanish army of general Venegas to Madrid . The armies met at the village of Almonacid . The Spanish army ( 23 , 000 men and about 8 , 000 horse ) was drawn up in line in front of the village . Venegas had positioned artillery on two steep hills , one of which was called " Los Cerrojones " , which covered the entire battlefield . To the left of the Spanish main force an unknown number of soldiers hid in an olive grove . Sébastiani directed the division - Leval ( on the French right ) to encircle " Los Cerrojones " . Meanwhile the French artillery fought a duel with the Spanish one , while Polish and Dutch horse artillery attacked the Spanish detachment in the olive grove ; the latter retreated from their position . Next Sébastiani attacked the Jaén and Bailén battalions on top of the hill . First Polish infantry was repelled with heavy losses by the Spaniards . Sébastiani then ordered Chassé to make an enveloping movement , which was countered by Spanish cavalry . The division - Leval quickly formed squares and repelled the Spanish cavalry with heavy losses . After this set - back the Spanish troops left their positions on the hill without further resistance , leaving the main force without its wings . At this moment , king Joseph Bonaparte arrived on the scene with reinforcements for the French . Sébastiani then launched a general attack on the Spanish center with cavalry , supported by Trip ' s horse artillery , attacking on the Spanish right , while Chassé led the infantry against the Spanish left . Under this pressure the Spanish troops retreated up - hill where they formed a defensive line around their artillery . Despite the murderous fire of the Spanish guns , which cut big lanes in the advancing French and allied infantry , that infantry kept coming on , and finally charged the Spanish line with the bayonet . There was a short man - to - man fight , before the Spaniards fled in disarray . They lost ten standards and 26 guns . Thousands of Spanish soldiers became prisoners of war . The Dutch hussars under Van Merlen ( by now in charge of the Dutch cavalry ) took part in the pursuit and captured a great number of carts and mules of the Spanish train . King Louis was so proud of the Dutch part in the victory that he authorized that every year of service in the campaign in Spain would count double . Though the number of losses on the French side was large ( 2400 killed and wounded ) , the Dutch brigade only lost seven killed and 37 wounded . Ocaña and counter - guerrilla warfare . After the battle of Almonacid there was a pause in the hostilities which the Dutch Brigade sorely needed . The brigade had lost nine officers and 815 men , as Chassé reported to the army command in The Hague in October 1809 , but after the reinforcements of early 1809 there was no prospect of further reinforcements . On the contrary , the homeland itself was in danger , due to the British landing in Zeeland and king Louis demanded the recall of the brigade to help defend the Fatherland . The French supreme command refused , however ; the Dutch brigade could not be missed and the Kingdom of Holland would have to take care of its own defense . The Dutch army command back home , informed by private letters from critical officers in the brigade , had become rather dissatisfied with Chassé ' s policies and his " lack of firmness " in the face of French attempts to disperse the several units of the brigade . According to Minister of War Krayenhoff this lack of resolve was to a large extent responsible for the low state of fitness of the brigade , as many sick and wounded were lost to the brigade for all practical purposes ( in February 1809 Krayenhoff had already warned that about 400 men had " disappeared " in this way ) . Chassé defended himself against the reproaches by pointing out that the king himself had ordered him to obey the French orders . In addition he asked understanding for the difficult circumstances under which he had to work : supply was lacking ; clothing , shoes and medications were not available ; weakened soldiers were unable to keep up with the marching tempo . Chassé asked rhetorically : which barbarian would lash these exhausted men forward ? He also pointed out that the German units of the division - Leval were even more depleted . The pause in hostilities lasted only a few weeks . General the Duke del Parque managed to defeat general Marchand at Tamames on 18 October 1809 , and this made the Spanish Central Junta overconfident . They directed general Areizaga to march on Madrid from La Mancha with his army of 50 , 000 . This the French could not allow , and on 9 November marshal Soult ordered Polish hussars , reinforced by the horse artillery of captain Trip , to occupy the town of Ocaña . On the way , at Dosbarrios , they met Spanish cavalry and a fierce firefight ensued . The Poles and Dutchmen won , but the event was worrisome enough to the French command that they ordered all available units across the Tagus to stem the Spanish advance . On 18 November , Chassé , with the Dutch brigade at Aranjuez , was ordered to march overnight with his brigade and Polish cavalry to Ocaña , where they arrived at daybreak . There , Areizaga ' s army was already deployed across the plain . The Spanish army had 50 , 000 men ( though they were very fatigued after their forced marches of the previous days ) ; the French and allies about 30 , 000 . Marshal Soult was in command of the French , king Joseph observing . Soult ' s opening move was an assault of the French left wing , consisting of Polish , German and Dutch troops , on the Spanish right . The Spaniards , however , anticipated them with a frontal assault which drove the French allies back on the French division - Girard which stood in back of them . The Spanish artillery fired over the heads of its own troops and made many casualties among the division - Leval . Many horses were killed , including Trip ' s , hampering his batteries of horse - artillery . However , the division - Leval managed to reform and advance against the hail of Spanish fire . Colonel Von Pfaffenrath , commander of the two Dutch battalions , led the advance in the first line of the troops . He was accompanied by the Dutch surgeons who helped the wounded as best they could ; one surgeon , Jacobsen , was killed ; another , Dieudonné , severely wounded , though he continued to serve . General Leval was wounded and general Chassé assumed command of the division . The allied soldiers managed to infiltrate the ranks of the Spanish infantry and man - to - man fights ensued , putting the Spaniards on the defensive . French artillery prevented the Spanish infantry from rallying , and they broke after Polish lancers took them in flank . A general Spanish rout ensued . Many Spanish soldiers were killed by French and allied cavalry , while many others were made prisoner after their flight was cut short by the French 1st Corps that had not taken part in the battle , but had just crossed the Tagus . More than 14 , 000 Spanish soldiers surrendered . The German division was praised extensively by the French command . Marshal Sébastiani , in a speech to Chassé , was highly complimentary , especially of the Dutch artillerists ( Trip was knighted with the Legion of Honour ) , and a number of Dutch officers were mentioned in dispatches . The Dutch brigade suffered relatively heavy casualties , with 82 killed and 89 wounded . The large number of prisoners of war posed insurmountable problems for the French command : there was simply no way to feed them . Besides , there was a good chance that they would be liberated by Spanish guerrillas . It was therefore decided to march them to France and the German division ( now under Chassé ' s command ) was given the unenviable task to escort the transports . The Dutch brigade departed on 26 November with 4 , 000 prisoners , after the Nassau and Baden regiments had already left the previous days with other transports ( in total 10 , 000 prisoners ) . To escort the transports with entire regiments would seem exaggerated , but the number of guerrillas on the route , which went by way of Burgos and Vitoria to Bayonne , was so large that this was certainly necessary . The prisoners were in a very sorry state . They had been robbed of all their possessions and had hardly eaten during the week they had spent in Madrid . The transport became a true " death march " during which 2 , 000 out of 10 , 000 prisoners died . The task was very distasteful to Chassé and his men , who pitied the poor wretches , but lacked the means to soften their fate . Accompanying the transport were several Dutch officers who had been recalled to the Netherlands , among whom captain Van Zuylen van Nijevelt ( he was replaced by the French colonel Brenot as chief - of - staff ) . They arrived in Bayonne on 28 December 1809 . In the first half of 1810 the Dutch brigade was tasked with counter - guerrilla warfare in La Mancha . The guerrillas were very numerous and very successful in their task of harassing the French supply lines . They operated in large bands , led by legendary leaders like El Empecinado and " Chaleco " ( the Vest ) . The French counter - measures were largely ineffective , also because French troops alienated the population by their harsh counter - measures : every action by " brigands " was repaid with reprisals against the civilian population of nearby settlements . This caused a spiral of atrocities and reprisals , in which the civilians , blinded by hatred , in their turn murdered isolated patrols , gallopers , and wounded soldiers if they had a chance . The Dutch brigade was generally unsuccessful , too , though captain J . P . Sprenger , with a detachment of 100 men defeated a troop of 900 Spanish irregular cavalry near Lerma on 24 January . However , a month later a Dutch squad was ambushed in Segovia and disappeared without trace ; only a few bandoliers were recovered . Mid - April 1810 Chassé established his headquarters in Almagro and managed to capture a flock of 15 , 000 merino sheep , being driven to Portugal by guerrillas on orders of the Junta Central . In mid - June he arrived with the severely depleted brigade ( only 600 men , 260 horses and two guns were left ) in Manzanares to fight the local guerrillas , but his troops were too exhausted to do anything noteworthy . However , a detachment under lieutenant - colonel Aberson occupied Villanueva de los Infantes and improvised a patrol base . When Aberson left with most of his men on one of those patrols , the local population attacked the remaining Dutchmen , who retreated to the local church . They were besieged for a few days until Chassé and Aberson relieved them . The Dutchmen plundered the church and citizenry in reprisal ; they left with two cart - loads of silver . On 9 July 1810 , the Kingdom of Holland was " reunited with " ( i . e . annexed to ) the French Empire by decree of emperor Napoleon . This was followed on 16 July 1810 by the abolition of the royal army and its units , like the Dutch brigade . The infantry of the Dutch brigade were absorbed in the 123rd French regiment of line ( the hussars had already returned for the most part to the Netherlands in February 1810 ) . Their first task was to learn French , as their new officers could not speak Dutch . The miners and sappers became the sixth company of the French First Battalion of Miners . Some Dutch soldiers deserted . Chassé had a number of those deserters executed by firing squad in front of the troops in September 1810 , at which occasion he reminded the troops that despite the dissolution of the kingdom and the army they were still bound ( as was he ) by their oaths . Aftermath . With the dissolution of the brigade as a Dutch unit the war , and the role of the Dutch soldiers in it , was not finished . The 123rd regiment remained a preponderantly Dutch unit , be it under command of French officers ( Chassé was put in charge of a French brigade ) . From December 1810 on , they were involved in the hunt for the guerrilla - leader El Chaleco , without much success , though there was some severe fighting with the guerrillas . After 1811 , the adventures of the Dutch members of the 123rd regiment in Spain are difficult to reconstruct , because the archives show large lacunae . In January 1812 , only 800 Dutch infantrymen were left . But the regiment , augmented with new Dutch conscripts , became part of the army with which Napoleon invaded Russia in June 1812 . It became part of the brigade - Coutard in the division - Merle of II Corps , commanded by marshal Oudinot . On 19 October 1812 it was part of the rear - guard that covered the retreat of the Corps across the Dvina river at the Second Battle of Polotsk and distinguished itself , so that " Polotsk " is one of the battle honors on the standard of the regiment . At the Battle of Berezina it again formed part of the rear - guard that was sacrificed to cover the French retreat . At the beginning of the battle the regiment still had 100 men fit for duty ; after the battle it did not exist anymore . " Berezina " is another of the modern French regiment ' s battle honors . Only a few of the Dutch veterans of the Peninsular War returned to the Netherlands in this fashion . Among the returnees was general Chassé , who had remained in French service in Spain , despite his personal misgivings about the Annexation . At first he was promoted sideways to " général de brigade " . He made rapid career steps because of his abilities , however , and ended up as a lieutenant - general . After Napoleon ' s abdication he asked to be allowed to resign from the French service , after which he offered his services to the new government of the Netherlands , which was only too happy to accept . As a Dutch lieutenant - general , commander of the Third Belgo - Dutch division , he played an important part in the Battle of Waterloo , not surprisingly by ordering a bayonet charge of the brigade - Detmers on the French " Moyenne Garde " , and leading it on horseback , in the decisive phase of the battle .