Wellington's Mongrel Regiment: A History of the Chasseurs Britanniques Regiment of the British Army 1801-1814

The Chasseurs Britanniques Regiment was formed as the Revolutionary Wars that had racked Europe for many years slowly drew to a close. The reasons the men, and especially the officers, came to form a new regiment in the British Army were rooted in those wars and the upheaval in France that had ignited them.After extensive service in the Mediterranean, the Regiment joined Wellington's army in the Iberian Peninsula in 1811. It formed the nucleus of a new division, the 7th, nicknamed the 'Mongrels'. The soldiers of the Chasseurs Britanniques, from practically every European nation, served in Wellington's major battles such as Fuentes de Onoro, Salamanca and Vittoria as well as less famous operations, for instance the attempted storm of Fort San Cristobal (1811), at Llerena (1812) and in fighting above the Bidassoa (1813).This book sets out to tell the story of their formation and role in some detail. This is explained in the wider strategic context with the contribution of the other units the Chasseurs served alongside, especially those in the same brigade of the 7th Division, being described fully. Officers and men of the Regiment appear throughout and illustrate the diversity of the unit.