The Corps of Belgian Riflemen (French: Corps de Tirailleurs Belges, Portuguese: Corpo de atiradores belgas) or Corps of Portuguese Riflemen (Corps de Tirailleurs Portugaises, Corpo de atiradores portugueses) was a military unit of volunteers from newly independent Belgium raised to fight for the Portuguese Liberals in the Liberal Wars between 1832 and 1834.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/3_pounder_light_gun_J1.jpg/220px-3_pounder_light_gun_J1.jpg)
The unit, often known as the Belgian Legion, was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Pierre-Joseph Lecharlier (1797-1847) and consisted of between 1,000 and 1,500 volunteers.[1] It notably fought in the Siege of Porto.
References edit
- ^ Willequet 1950, p. 100.
Citations edit
- Willequet, Jacques (1950). "Léopold I et le Portugal. Une mission de Van de Weyer en 1836". Revue belge de Philologie et d'Histoire. 28 (1): 97–130. doi:10.3406/rbph.1950.1860.
Further reading edit
- Laethem, Jean Alexandre van (1834). Campagne de six mois dans le royaume des Algarves en Portugal. Brussels: de Mat.
- Timmermans, J. J. Th. (1900). Les tirailleurs belges au service du Portugal en 1832 et 1834. Ghent: -.
- Ferreira Lima, Henrique de Campos (1935). Corpo de atiradores portugueses ou corpo de atiradores belgas (1833-1834). Lisbon: Boletim do Arquivo Histórico Militar.
- Maziers, Michel (June 1975). "De la Hulpe à Rhode-Saint-Genèse en passant par la France, l'Angleterre et le Portugal, ou l'Odyssée du General Lecharlier" (PDF). Le Folklore brabançon (206): 157–175.