Convention of Artlenburg ends the French invasion of Hanover

Background. After Britain declared war on France on 18 May 1803, French troops invaded Hanover on 26 May. Napoleonic forces under lieutenant-general Édouard Mortier occupied the capital at Hanover on 4 June 1803, and the remaining Hanoverian troops withdrew to the north bank of the Elbe, into the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, where they were soon forced to surrender. Hanover had earlier been surprised by a 1801 invasion of 24,000 Prussian soldiers, surrendering without a fight.

The Convention. Signed on 5 July 1803, the Convention of Artlenburg confirmed the military defeat of Hanover. It stipulated that the Hanoverian Army was to be disarmed, with its horses and ammunition handed over to the French. The agreement formally dissolved the Electorate of Hanover, ending its status as a sovereign entity under British rule.

Exile and Legion. The dissolution of the Hanoverian Army led to the exile of many former soldiers. These expatriate Germans formed the basis of the King's German Legion, a combined arms corps constituted by the end of 1803 and existing from 1803 to 1816. It achieved the distinction of being the only German military force to fight without interruption against the French and their allies during the Napoleonic Wars.