Marshal of Holland


Marshal of Holland was an honorary title bestowed on military leaders of the Kingdom of Holland, a client state of Napoleon Bonaparte's French Empire which encompassed most of the modern-day state of the Netherlands. The title was based on Marshal of the Empire, installed by Napoleon in 1804 to replace the previous title Marshal of France.
After Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte was crowned King of Holland in 1806, Louis created the title Marshal of Holland by decree on 21 December of that year. On Napoleon's orders, Louis rescinded the title four years later, on 4 February 1810, some months before Napoleon removed Louis from the throne and incorporated Holland into his French empire. The marshals were compensated with new imperial titles, such as Comte de l'Empire.
The title Marshal of Holland was not equal to the rank of field marshal. This rank had been dropped when the Batavian Republic was installed in 1795, and was restored at the end of the Napoleon era. The first to be given the title, on 7 May 1815, was Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. In 1914, the rank of field marshal was again rescinded, and is no longer in use in the Dutch military today.

Recipients

The title Marshal of Holland was bestowed on the following military leaders of the Kingdom of Holland: