Ompteda of the King's German Legion: A Hanoverian Officer on Campaign Against Napoleon

At the time of the Revolutionary Wars the position of Hanover was a precarious one. It was a small German state which shared-as head of state-the King of England. This made for a close connection with the British Empire but also for a vulnerable one with the major European powers. Exposed to France and never completely confident of the support of Russia or Prussia in time of need, it's fighting men nevertheless actively joined the cause to oppose French aggression wherever it arose. The leading Hanoverian families naturally provided the officer corps and men such as Alten and the subject of this book-Christian Ompteda-became renowned military figures in the battles of the Napoleonic Wars. We join Ompteda fighting with Hanoverian forces in the campaigns in the Low Countries before the occupation of his Fatherland in 1805 forced him and many of his countrymen into exile in England, where they formed one of the most respected elements of the British Army-The Kings German Legion. This highly respected unit served at Copenhagen, Walcheren, Sicily, in Spain and finally during the Waterloo campaign. This is the story of a talented, troubled and highly courageous officer driven by duty, loyalty and revenge to defeat the French invaders even at the expense of his own life.