Prussian Line Infantry 1792-1815

49 Pages·1984·6.122 MB·English

by  Peter Hofschroer, Bryan Fosten

~ MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES 152
MILITARY
PRUSSIAN LINE
INFANTRY 1792-1815
PETER HOFSCHROER BRYAN FOSTEN
Published in 1984 by
Osprey Publishing Ltd
Michelin HOU5C. 81 Fulharn Road. London
SW36RB
©Copyright 1984 Osprey Publishing ltd
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Horschrbcr, Peter
Prussian Line Inrantry 1792-1815- - (.\len.at.Arms
series; 152)
I. Prussia. Amite Inrant!"y - Equipment History
I. Title II. Series
356'.11'0943 UD375·G4
Filmset in Creat Britain
Printed in Hong Kong
Author's Dote:
Erralum - Prussian Light Infantry t792-18t5, ~lAA
No. 149, colour plate H'2: gold :'\CO TTtSU should
not appear around the top edge or the collar, but
around the front and bottom edges only.
Prussiall LilleIIl/allfIJ' 1792-1815
Historiml Developme/lt change wasmorconeofpractical necessity than the
unwillingadoption ora 'new' system ofwarfare by a
conservative officer corps.
At the beginningofour period, the battalions ofthe
Prussian Line usually fought in a linear formation
three ranks deep, their tactical objective being to
overwhelm theenemywith theirsuperiorrateoffire
before deciding the issue by a well-timed bayonet
•
attack. By the end of !his period, the preferred
formation for the Line baualions was the column,
twO half-companies wide and between ci In and 12
ranks deep. The responsibility for conducting [he
fire-fight to weardown the enemywas nowgiven to
theskirmish elementsand the artillery; the function
oCthe formed battalions was to prO\;cle suppon for
the fire line. and to conduct the decisive bayonet
charge.
A number of historians sec such a change as a
revolution in warfare, but it could be argued that
this is something of an exaggeration. Essentially,
therc was little difference between the battles of
1806 and thosc of ,8'3. In 1806, a fire-fight and
artillery bombardment wcrc used to soften up the
enemy in preparation for the decisive bayonet
charge by the formed troops, and in 1813 battles
consisted of the same phases. The major and most
significant difference was not so much in the face of
battle, but rather in the scale ofwarfare.
Frederiek the Great's system ofwarfare worked
well with armies of25,000 men; but at Auerstaedt
thc Duke of Brunswick had problems controlling
and co-ordinating 50,000 men deployed largely in
linear formations, and the armies of 1813/15 were
often several times that size. Forming them up in
three-deep lines and co-ordinating their tactics
would have produced a staff officer's nightmare.
Fusili~r, Musk~teer, and Gr~nadi~rNCO of Prussian Lin~
Theincreasingsizeofarmiescalled for morc flexible
units, 1806. For con.~mporaryClIlmpaign dr~ss, see Plales C
formations to be adopted by thc Line tToopS, and D. This illustration ;5 from H~n.ch~t'li'Die preussisc:he
Annee "'on der Zeit des Grossen Kurfers.en bis tum Jahre
namely a mixture of lines and columns; and this 1806'(1820).
3
-
Orgo/lisfltio/l
___-JJ'lo.,IJ.
From I June 1787. an infantry regiment was to
consist of onc Grenadier Baualion and two of
.Musketeers, each of four companies. A company
consisted of 1'2 NCOs, 140 men and three
drummers. The ;'viuskclcer Battalions carried twO
colours each. Each rcgimclll consisted of55 officers
(colonel, licutcnalll·coionel, four majors, six full
captains, sixjuniorcaptains, three adjutants and 34
subalterns); 144 NCOs (48 sergeants including 12
sergeant-majors, 36 senior corporals, 60 junior
corporals); three arLillcry NCOsand 5' gunners; 39
drummers (including the regimental and twO
battalion drummers) and six oboists; '4 lance
corporals; 1,320 privates, and 120 reserves. Each
company also had len SchUClzen (sec Prussioll Light
l'!fll1ltry 1792-1815, MAA No. 149).
At the beginning of the RcvolUlionary \Vars in
[792, the Line infantry was at the following
strength:
Guard and 52 Linc Regiments [12>539 mcn
52 Depot Battalions 34,164 men
In [794 two ncw infantry regiments werc raiscd;
onc more in 1797; onc in 1803) and onc in 1804.
From 1June 1799) each regimcl1l was to consist
oftwO Musketeer Battalionsoff1vecompanieseach;
and two companies of Grenadiers, which were
joined with those ofanother regimel1l to form a full
battalion.
The wartime strength of a :'''1usketecr Battalion Privale and officer of Regimenl NO.12, from Ramm's
'TabellarischeNachweisungvopallenRegimenlerundKorps
was 22 officers; 60 NCOs; an arLiliery :'\CO and 17
der Ic~niglich preussischen Armee' (Berlin, 1800). The
gunners; a battalion or regimental drummer, 14 positiopipg of the toops and officer's lace on Ihese parade
uniforms is fairly clear.
other drummers, and a bugler; 50 Schuetzen: 600
privates. 50reservesand tensappers. Eachofthe ten
platoons was made up of 20 files.
A Grenadier Batlalion had 18officers; 56 KeOs: battalions each of four companies, and two
an artillery NCO, and 17 gunners; a battalion companiesofgrenadiers. Only after the war of1806
drummer) [I other drummers, a bugler and eight could this new organisation be achie\"Cd, and the
fifers; 40 Schuetzen; 600 privates) 40 reserves and third battalion consisted of light infantry.
eight sappers. Each ofthe eight platoons was made On the outbreak of war in 1806) the army
up of 25 files. consisted of:
In addition to the above, each regimcl1l had a 4 battalions Gliards-6 companies each
depot battalion which from sJanuary 1796became 28 battalions Grenadicrs-4 companies each
known as the '3rd. Musketeer Battalion', On I 12 battalions ~111sketeers-5companieseach
mobilisation, thesewcre brought up tofull strength. The regiments were named after their colonels
A Cabinct Order of 5 July [B06 laid down the in-chief, and at the outbreak ofwar) the following
orgalllsauon of an infantry regiment at three existed:
4
Infantry Regiments
:'\0. I Graf Kunheim :'\0.31 Kropff
~o. 2 Rucche1 :\"0.32 Fuerst Hohcnlohe
;";0. 3 Renouard ~0·33 Alvensleben
~o. 4- Kalckreuth X'0.3+ Prinz Ferdinand
~o. 5 Kleist :\"0·35 Prinz Heinrich
;";0. 6 Grenadier- X'0.36 Puttkamer
Gardebatallion
;";0. 7 Owslien :'\0.37 Tschepe
~o. 8 Ruets :\0.38 Pelchrzim
~o, 9 chenck :'\0.39 Zastrow
:'\0.10 Wedell ~O'40 Schimonsky
:'\0.1 I Schoening ~0'41 Lellow
~O,12 Herzog \'on NO.42 Ploetz
Braunschwcig
Ods
:"\0.13 Arnim )\0.43 Strachwitz
~o,14 Besser :'\0.44 Hagkcn
XO,I5 Garde );0.45 Zweiffel
XO.16 Diericke :'\0.46 Thile
:'\0.17 Trcskow ;\0.47 Grawert
~0.18 Regiment des ;";0.48 Kurfucrst von
Koenigs Hcsscn
Xo.19 Prinz \'on ;\0.49 ~lueming
Oranien
~0.20 Prinz Louis .\'0.50 Sanilz
Ferdinand
);0,21 Herzog von NO.51 KaurIberg
Braunschweig
NO.22 Pirch XO.52 Reinhan
NO.23 Winning NO·53 Jung-Larisch Private a.nd offieer in the 1800 parade dress of Regiment
Arnim (No.13)--from Ramm. Note the officer's white
NO.24 Zenge ~0'S4 Natzmcr neekSlock.
~o.25 ~10cllendorff NO.55 ~Ianstcin
NO.26 Alt·Larisch ~0·56 GrafTauentzicn No. 4/5+ Yieregg No.24/35 Gaudi
~o. 5'20 Hanstein No,28/so Borck
:\"0.27 Tschammer ~0.57 Grcvcnitz
i'\o. 7/30 Schlieffcn 1\0.29/32 Hahn
NO.28 ~Ialschitzky ;\0·S8 Courbicre
f\o. 8,42 ~fassow :'\0.31/46 Jung-Braun
~0.29 Trcunfcls :'\0.59 Grar
:\"0. 94-t Hallmalln 1\0.3347 Sack
\\"anensleben
X'0.IO'41 Borstell 1\0.37/57 Schack
:'\0.60 Chlcbowsky
1"\0.12,34 Huclsen :'\0.38,49 Loslhin
1':0.14 16 Fabecky :'\0.39 KolJin
The Grenadier Battalions, named aner their
1':0.'7/51 Schmeling ~0.40!43 Graf Dohna
commandingofficers. were usuallydrawn from 1WO
No.18'27 Rabid NO.45 Herwanh
regiments, hence the double number. At the
outbreak of war in 1806. the following existed: NO.19'25 Knebel 1'0.48/59 Krafft
~0.22136 Osten No.s2/58 Brauchitsch
No.'23/26 Rcinbaben NO.53/55 Crel)'
Grenadier Battalions
No. 1/13 Prinz August No, 2/11 chlieffcn The collapse of lhe army, the dispersal of its
von Preusscn No. 3/21 All-Braun personnel, and lhe dismemberment of lhe stale
leadership, had successfully withstood the French.
These were the Life Jnfantry Regiment and the
Colberg Infantry Rcgiment. Each received two
companies from the Grenadier Battalion "Yalden·
fels. The Life Regimcnt also received the 2nd
Pommeranian and srd Ncumark Reserve Bat·
talions and thc Light Battalion von Schill; and the
Colberg received the srd Musketeer Battalions of
the Regimellls Owstien (No,7) and 'vacalll Borcke'
(No'30), as well as Fusilier Battalion Moeller.
The remnants of the Potsdam garrison formed
the Battalion ofFoot Guards.
At this time, there were:
- 612 officers and 20,I 78 men in Prussia,
-- 222 officers and 8,201 men in Pommerania,
242 officers and 8,31S men in Silesia.
It was planned to organise the army intO six
J J:.,''Y/yH; t~~N
7N-V'"./ . "'"H J., divisions each containing four infantry regimentsj
11/0 therefore, from September 1808, they received
provincial names instead ofthecustOmarysystem of
Crown Prince of Prussia's Regiment (No.r8j, 1797-from names taken from their colonels-in·chief. The
Tbuemen. Theprivateonguarddutyisat the'preselltarms',
following infantry rcgimellls were founded:
whichisacknowledgedbytheofficerraisinghishat.Note'thai
theofficerwearsthePourItm/rilt.hangingmuchlowerthaowas 1st East Prussian from 'vacant Ruechcl'
later common. His batman trails behind him, carrying his
coat.ColourPlateEshowsthelateruniformsofthisregiment. 2nd East Prussian from Prince Henry
Prince Henry
3rd East Prussian from Stuucrheim
following the war of 1806/7 made it necessary to (previously 'vacant
completely fe-organise the army. from January Besser')
I
1808, an infamry regiment was to consist of (wo 4th East Prussian from Diercke
Grenadier companies, two Musketeer Battalions 1st "Yest Prussian from Hamberger
and a Light (Fusilier) Battalion. 2nd \Vest Prussian from Courbiere
The six Prussian regiments-'vacant Ruechel' Life see above
(No.2), Prince Henry (No.1 I), 'vacant Besser" 2nd Brandenburg from Pommeranians
(No.14), Dierieke (No.16), Hamberger (No.52) lSI Pommeranian from 'vacant Ruets'
and Courbierc (No.s8)-received six light bat· Colberg see above
talions of the 1St and 2nd East Prussian Fusilier Silesian Infantry
Brigades, along with men from various srd Battalion
Musketeer Battalions to make up their strengths. Howcver, theConvention ofParisof8Scptember
A Silesian Infantry Baualion was formed from 1808 restricted the size of the army to a total of
various Silesian and South Prussian troops, a Light 42,000 men of which 22,000 were infantry. The
Battalion Schuler and Ruehle and the Fusilier planned six divisions were instead reduced to six
Battalion Danielewicz was re-formed into twO brigades, and the 2nd Brandenburg Regiment was
companies. These troops were sent to Silesia. disbanded.
In Pommerania, the Regiment 'vacalll Ruets' In November 1808 the Silesian infantry were
(No.8) was joined with the Grenadier Baualion organised into regiments as follows:
''\'angenheim and the 1st Neumark Reserve lSt Silesian bifallll)l Regiment from two companies of
Baualion. lhe Grenadier Battalion Losthin (raised during the
Two regiments were formed from the famous previous war): the Silesian Infantry Battalion; the
garrison of Colberg \",hich, under Gneisenau's half·strength Fusilier Battalion Danielewicz; the
6
Xational Battalions Hahn (from June 1808,
"Dreslcr') and Falkenstein from October 1808,
"Count Hertzberg': and the 3rd ~lusketeer
Battalion of Regiment Sanitz XO.iO" The light
battalion was fonned from the Battalion Schuler
and two companies ofthe ':\"ationaIJaeger Corps'.
21Id Silesian Infantry Regiment from the other two
companies of Losthin; the 3rd, 4th and ith
Battalions of Alvcnslcbcn (No.33); the 3rd Bat·
talion of Pelchrzim (No.38); the 3rd and 4th
Battalions of Grawen (No'47); and the National
Battalion Glan. The light battalion was formed
from the ten remaining companiesoflight infantry.
The six peacetime brigades were organised as
follows:
APrussian aLrtrid«e bo..: ofaboul 1800,with a branplaleon
East Pruss;an Bngade the flap bearin& a fairly crudely .Iamped eagle relief.
1st East Prussian Grenadier Battalion
1st East Prussian Infantry Regiment (No.1)
2nd East Prussian Infantry Regiment (No.3) 2nd Brandenburg Hussar Regiment (No.7)
East Prussian Cuirassier Regimelll (No.2)
Lithuanian Dragoon Regiment (No.3) Lower Silesian Brigade
1St Life Hussar Regiment (1'\0.1) West Prussian Grenadier Battalion
1St West Prussian Infantry Regiment (No.6)
IloeSl Prussian Brigade 2nd \\'est Prussian Infantry Regiment (1'o.7)
2nd East Prussian Grenadier Battalion East Prussian Jaeger Battalion
3rd East Prussian Infantry Regiment 1\0.4 1st \rest Prussian Dragoon Regiment (1'\0.2)
4th East Prussian Infantry Regiment ~0.5 ;'\;eumark Dragoon Regiment (No.6)
2nd \Vest Prussian Dragoon Regiment NO.4 2nd hlan Regiment
2nd Life Hussar Regiment (No.2)
1st Uhlan Regiment Upper Silesian Brigade
Silesian Grenadier Battalion
Pommeranian Brigade 1st Silesian Infantry Regiment (No.1
I )
Pommeranian Grenadier Battalion 2nd Silesian Infantry Regiment (No.12)
1st Pommeranian Infantry Regiment No.2 Silesian Schuetzen Baualion
Colberg Infantry Regiment (No.lo Silesian Cuirassier Regiment (No.I)
Queens Dragoon Regiment :"J"o.I 1St Silesian Hussar Regiment (NO.4)
Brandenburg Dragoon Regiment :\0.5 2nd Silesian Hussar Regiment (:"10.6)
Pommeranian Hussar Regiment NO.5) The numbers given in brackets after the regiments
tended not to be used in practice: usc of the
Brandenburg Brigade provincial name alone was preferred. The fact that
Foot Guard Regiment (No.8) a number of regiments appear in brigades other
Guard Jaeger Battalion than those of their province was due to the re~
Life Grenadier Battalion organisalion caused by the Treaty of Paris.
Life Infantry Regiment (Ko.g)
Regiment Garde du Corps (~0.3) Russia 18]2-13
Life Uhlan Squadron Some 14,000 infantry went wilh the Auxiliary
Brandenburg Cuirassier Regiment (:"10.4 Corpsofthe Grande Armee to Russia in 1812. This
1st Brandenburg Hussar Regiment (NO.3 consisted of ad hoc regimentS, assembled out of
7
•
•
J
I
,
II
•
-
. .?~ /~~"/"/I/I/
/NYI
(.f"//,, /h'7'
I',oN /
/.\1/.;
8
The gala uniform of Regiment No.t8-now the King's
2 foot Guard RegimentS}. 1 f 8
Regimenl-in 180,;. in another plate by Thuemen. Note the . . In a lota 0 1
different 'prese.nt arms' positions adopted by the officer, the 2 GrenadIer RegIments b' d
NCO(leftbackground,with,ponloon)andtheprivates,andcf. · R' ngaes
32 LlIle eglments
Plate E.
This was accomplished as follows:
On 14 October 1814, the six Grenadier Ballalions
banalions combined from the Line regtments as were organised into two regiments named after the
follows: King of Prussia's allies, Czar Alexander of Russia
~o. I-IIIISI Easl Prussian. Ih2lld East Prussian. and Emperor Francis of Austria. The 'Kaiser
Fus/lst East Prussian Alexander' Grenadier Regiment was formed from
:\'0.2-I'3rd East Prussian. I & Fus 4th East Ihe Life and ISl and 2nd East Prussian battalions;
Prussian the 'Kaiser franz' from the Pommeranian. \Vest
~0.3 II 1st Pommeranian, I Colberg, Fus,. lSI Prussian and Silesian.
Pommeranian The new infantry regiments were formed as
XO.4-Life Regiment follows:
.\"0.5-1 1St \rest Prussian. 1 & Fus/2nd \\'est :'\os.13 to 24-Rcser\"e Infantry Regiments to
I
Prussian
12.
~o.6-II 1St Silesian, II & Fus/2nd Silesian ~0.2S Luctzow's Infantry
NB: I:z: 1St Batallion. II = 2nd Battalion, :'\0.26 -Elbc Infantry Regiment
Fus= Fusilier Light Battalion ~0.27 Reiche's Jaeger, Hcllwig's In
Each ~Iusketeer Battalion consisted of jS8 officers fantry, Reserve Battalion of the
and men; each Fusilier Battalion, 762. Elbe Regiment, jth Replacement
Battalion
1813-14 r\0.28 }
Berg Infantry Regiments
On mobilisalion in spring 1813. the Line battalions ~0.29
wcre brought up to a strength of 801 officers and 0 German Legion, formerly the
NO·3 }
men, the grenadiers to 805. A number of reserve NO·31 Russo·German Legion
battalions were formed based around the cadres of NO·32 -from men ofthe Elbe, Westphalian
trained men builL up using the 'Kruemper' system. and Saxon militia. Thc Saxons in
The restrictions of the 'Canton' system of recruit· this regimenl mutinied and so il
ment were lifted on 9 February 1813 and, in errect, was broken up and reformed in
universal conscription was introduced. A militia November 1815.
was founded on 17 March. The Prussian Army had
thus become a 'mass conscript army'.
During the Armisticc ofPlaeswitz in the summer
of 18 3 the Foot Guard Rcgiment was removed
I Tile Commoll Soldier
from the Line, causing thc regimcJ1ls below it to be
re-numbered, and allowing a new Brandenburg
Infantry Regiment (NO.12 to be formed from the One feature ofcvcry bailie fought by the Prussian
first two reservc battalionsofthe Life Regiment and Army in the Rc\"olutionary and Napoleonic \\'ars
the3rd Battalionofthe 1St \Vest Prussians. Asecond was the determined and bloody naLUre of the
regimelll of Foot Guards was raised from the fighting. The fighting spirit and ability of the
'Normal' Infantry Battalion a drill demonstralion infantryremained consistcl1lly high throughout this
unit raised in 1811 ,the 1St Battalionofthe Colberg period. Yet a numberofhislOrians divide the army
and the Fusilier Battalionofthc Life Regiment.The into two periods: that of 1806 and earlier they
latter t\\'o battalions were replaced from various describeasa 'mercenaryarmy', while thatof1813is
reserve Units. seen as a 'national army". Although there were
After the downfall of :\apolcon Bonaparte in indeed somcdirrerences between the twO, they were
1814, thearmy underwent a major re-organisation. not as great or as radical as some would have us
The planned strcngth of the infantry was to be: belicve.
9
There were indeed a number of so-called is generally misunderstood. The advanced age of
'foreigners' in the army, especially prior to 1806; the Prussiangeneralsis usuallyseen asa majorcause
but what should be bornein mind is thatevery non ofdefeat in 1806,and their agesareoften contrasted
Prussian German was a 'foreigner', whereas every with a more youthful French marshalate. It is true
conscript from the newly-acquired Polish provinces that :"Japoleon's 37 )'ears made him a stripling in
was a 'native'. Moreover, the recruitment of comparison with the septagenarian Duke of
'foreigners' was often a great boon to the Prussian Brunswick: but that is far from the entire picture.
army, and a number ofthem wcre amongst its most The youngest senior commanderon eitherside was
famous leaders-e.g. Bluecher, Scharnhorst and a Prussian, Prince Louis Ferdinand. Of the
I I
Gneisenau. Another point to consider is that senior commanders in 1806, three died during the
throughout this entire period the Prussian army, campaign,just oncwas pensioned off, and four held
consisting mainly ofGermans and Poles, was much commands at a later date. The scnior commanders
more of a 'national' army than Francc's Grande of18 3were not much younger than in 1806and in
I
Armee with its Frenchmen, Hollanders, Germans, some cases, such as Bluecher and Tauentzien, they
Poles, Italians, Illyrians, and so on. Even in 1806 were older. The main problem with aged officers
the Prussian soldiers had more ofa 'national cause' was not faced by the field army, but rather by the
to fight for than Napoleon's troops. fortress garrisons. A number of their commanders
Although there certainly was a spirit ofnational were bordering on senility, and surrendered to
uprising in Prussia in 1813, this did not result in a small French forces without offering resistance.
radical alteration in the outlook of the common Itshould also be pointed out that other than the
soldier. As Yorcksaid: 'Whatissaid about the "old" youthful marshalate unique in Europe, the French
army of 1806 is not well thought out, but rather a officers were themselves no striplings. In 1805 the
miserable rehash of an old song which places the average age of French colonels was 39, captains
misfortune ofthe state in the formation ofthearmy. likewise 39, lieutenants 37 and sOlls-lieu/manls 32.
The evil was at quite another level. The foreigners Thecontrast between theofficercorpsofthe French
were nOt as bad as the learned gentlemen believe, Army and that ofthe Prussians was not as great as
and Iverymuch doubt that the Rhineland or Posen some would appear to think, and was hardly
militia would evcr be better.' enough to show up tactically.
Tile Officer Corps Drillalit! Tactics
Somewriters tend todraw asharplineofdistinction The basic documents which governed infalllry drill
between the officer corps of 1806 and that of 1813, and tactics in the period 179'2 to 1815were the Drill
lamenting the old age and conservatism of the Regulationsof 788 and 1812. Between these dates a
I
former and praising the reforming spirit of the number ofadditional instructions were issued. The
latter. There was in fact very little difference essemial difference between the earlier and later
between the officer corps of 1806 and that of 1813. regulations was that the former emphasised the
All thc officers holding the rank of captain and deployment of a battalion in a linear formation
abovein 1813 had served in 1806,as had mostofthe whereas the lauer favoured the column, although
lieutenants. not exclusively.
Some reforms had been made in the wakeofJena The elementary evolutions-wheeling, turning,
and Auerstaedt, notably improved access to the arms drill, etc.-remained virtually unchanged
officer corps for the middle classes by means of throughout this period. The rateofmarchgenerally
examination. It took several decades to make any used was 108 paces per minute, although 75 was
noticeable changes to the fabric ofthe officer corps. used on certain occasions.
which remained dominated by the nobility. Until 1806, emphasis was placed on lhe rale of
The age ofthe officer corps is also an issue which fire, and the Prussian infantrywasreputed to have a
10