As indicated in a previous post he Hanseatic Legion was a military unit, first formed of a group of citizens from Hamburg. 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. This association of volunteers was joined immediately by volunteers from Hamburg’s Hanseatic sister cities Bremen and Lübeck.

The performance of the Landwehr in combat varied. They stampeded on several occassions and also had some splendid actions. Digby-Smith writes: “The Prussian Landwehr received their baptism of fire at Lowenberg. The Schweidnitz battaalion braved canister fire and threw the enemy back at the point of the bayonet.

They were only taken out of the line when they ran out of ammunition, and when they marched past Yorck he had his line regiments oresent arms to them. Blucher wrote: ‘At first it was only so-so with the Landwehr battalions, but now that they’ve had a good taste of powder, they’re as good as the line battalions.’

Napoleon, however, had a very different opinnion of them. When he saw some captured Landwehr, he wrote: ‘The enemy infantry is absolutely wretched; this encourages me.” (Digby-Smith, – pp 18-19)

In 1815 in the battle of Ligny, the II Btn. of 1.Westphalian Landwehr formed square on top of a hill near Brye. The Landwehr was charged three times by French cuirassiers and heavy cavalry of Old Guard. Each time the Landwehr fired volley and the French retired with casualties.