26th Infantry Brigade (German Empire)

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26th Infantry Brigade

active 1852 to 1919
Country coat of arms Kingdom of Prussia /
Province of Westphalia
Armed forces Prussian Army
Branch of service infantry
Type brigade
structure see structure
Location see garrison
management
Commanders See commanders

The 26th Infantry Brigade was a large unit of the Prussian Army .

history

The 26th Infantry Brigade was formed on April 29, 1852 and the command was in Münster . In peacetime it was subordinate to the 13th Division of the VII Army Corps . It included the 15th Infantry Regiment (2nd Westphalian) with garrisons in Münster and Wesel and its Landwehr Regiment . Through the AKO on May 5, 1860, the three Landwehr trunk battalions from Minden , Paderborn and Bielefeld became the “15th combined infantry regiment ”, which took the place of the Landwehr regiment in the brigade. This became the 6th Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 55 on July 4, 1860 by AKO . After the Franco-Prussian War , his command was relocated to Minden in 1871. At the beginning of the First World War , the brigade-free Westphalian Jäger Battalion No. 7 was briefly attached to the brigade. In the course of the transformation of all divisions into three infantry regiments each, Infantry Regiment No. 158 was separated from the 25th Infantry Brigade on March 3, 1915 . The infantry regiment "Herwarth von Bittenfeld" (1st Westphalian) No. 13 was incorporated into the 26th Infantry Brigade and the 25th disbanded.

Campaigns

German-Danish War

Transfer to Alsen

Due to the Schleswig-Holstein question , the order to mobilize was issued on December 17, 1863. At the end of January the brigade was near Kiel . When General Christian Julius de Meza refused the request of the commander-in-chief of the Prussian troops, Friedrich von Wrangel , to evacuate Schleswig , Wrangel sent the II Corps against Danewerk near Schleswig. In the battle of Missunde it was possible to conquer "Schanze 59" on February 2, 1864.

On February 17, 1864, the brigade was relocated to the first outpost line in front of Düppel . General von Goeben meanwhile made the officers familiar with their surroundings through small reconnaissance battles . The Battle of Alsen followed .

During the storming of the Düppeler Schanzen General Goeben and his brigade tied up several Danish battalions on the opposite island of Alsen .

With the expiry of the ceasefire, which came into force on May 12th after peace negotiations in London , the Danes resumed hostilities on June 25th.

After Wrangel had resigned the supreme command and the prince took his place, General Eberhard Herwarth von Bittenfeld led the I. Corps. The Danish Minister of War Carl Lundbye feared a coup d'état on Funen and occupied this island more strongly, which weakened Al's occupation. Since Austria could not be persuaded to carry out a coup d'état on Funen, Prince Friedrich Karl first decided to attack the Danes on Alsen and the 1st Corps received the order to carry out the landing there on the night of June 29th.

As predicted in the transitional order, a battle broke out at Kjaer at the confluence of the Augustenburger Förde with the Sound. The brigade attacked Kjaer from the northwest. After the conquest of Kjaer, the “Bülow” brigade attacked from the south. When this attack was unsuccessful, it was pushed back by the “von Goeben” brigade to Sonderburg , where the battle came to a standstill. After Kjaer was conquered, the Danish general Peter Frederik Steinmann already saw Alsen as lost and requested transport ships from Funen in order to be able to withdraw to Kekenis in stages . The troops who took part in the conquest of Als were awarded the Alsenkreuz .

German war

Skirmishes near Dermbach
Battle at Laufach-Fronhöfen
Battle at Werbach

The mobilization order for the VII Army Corps was received on May 8, 1866. The division reached the garrison capital, which had been abandoned by the military the day before, and met with the division of General Edwin von Manteuffel , the division "Manteuffel", which was formed from Elbe duchies . The Hanoverians who supported Austria had already left Göttingen on the 22nd , where the 13th Division was to remain, with the intention of uniting themselves with the Bavarians coming from the south.

After the capitulation of the Kingdom of Hanover , the corps became part of the Main Army . The regiment, whose brigade was assigned to the "Hartmann" division, fought in Wiesenthal (Thuringia) in the battles of Dermbach designated on July 4th .

When the aim of the federal army , the unification of the VIII. Bundeskorps with the VII. (Bavaria), had not been achieved, General Falckenstein turned to the VII. Bundeskorps (Bavaria) and sent the division with the regiment to Kissingen, from there from advancing to Schweinfurt . When it became known that the corps was already in Kissingen, the "Manteuffel" division was sent to them.

While a large part of the brigade conquered the city of Kissingen in the battle , the rest were sent through the Kaskadental to the Friedrichshall salt works near the Saale , which could not be passed due to the lack of bridges. In conjunction with the "Manteuffel" division, it fought victoriously in the battle of several hours near Friedrichshall . The regiment then moved into quarters there . With this victory the battle for the brigade ended and the division moved on to Winkels .

When Falckenstein received the news from headquarters on July 11th that the occupation of the countries north of the Main would be important for the probable armistice negotiations, he ordered the Main Army to march immediately to the right in the direction of Frankfurt .

Shortly after the brigade moved into bivouac in the vicinity of Laufach , the outposts reported the arrival of "considerable" enemy troops. The battle at Frohnhofen began between the 26th Infantry Brigade and the Grand Ducal Hessian Division under the command of General Frey. His superior General Pergler von Perglas had ordered him to attack and had advised that a second brigade should be forwarded to support him. At the beginning of the surprise attack, the fusiliers remaining in Wendelstein (Laufach) replaced those of Infantry Regiment No. 55 on the western edge of Frohnhofen and the attack by the "Frey" brigade was repulsed. Half an hour later the 2nd Hessian Brigade under General Stockhausen advanced against the village. In the meantime, General Wrangel had advanced battalion from their camp behind the wings of the outpost position, and the attack and others that followed were repulsed.

When it was dark, General Wrangel had bivouacs occupied for the night. The next day the division took up the pursuit of the enemy retreating to Aschaffenburg . The "Wrangel" brigade formed its wing column to the right of the Main. The regiment was sent over the mountains as a vanguard, as the village of Hoesbach in the Aschaff Valley in front of them was reported as occupied by the enemy.

At around 1 p.m. on July 25, the “Goeben” division set out from Bischofsheim in the direction of Würzburg. While the "Kummer" brigade marched on the main road, the regiment and brigade secured their path from the right flank. When heavy gunfire was heard near Paimar , Goeben ordered the "Kummer" brigade to Gerchsheim , where the VIII Federal Corps had withdrawn. General Wrangel held back the bulk and thus the regiment in the battle at Gerchsheim at the battery outside Gerchheim.

When the artillery bombardment of the Marienberg fortress above Würzburg, the Main Army was fully assembled again at the foot of the mountain. During the night news was received that a truce that would last until August 2 was concluded. The peace treaty with Bavaria followed on August 22, 1866.

Franco-German War

Plan for the battle of Colombey-Nouilly

On the night of July 15-16, 1870, the command received the order to mobilize:

“The mobilization of the North German Federal Army is ordered by the highest order and is to be carried out immediately as planned; July 16 is the first day of mobilization. The receipt of this command is to be reported stating the day and hour. "

- Mobilization order

When Colonel Delitz, commander of the 15th Infantry Regiment, made an investigation on the morning of August 14, he found the Château Aubigny abandoned. From there he got an overview of the formation of the French army and got the impression that it was retreating to Metz . He reported this to Major General Goltz, commander of the avant-garde of the VII Army Corps, who decided from the sum of the reports received to disrupt the backward movement intended by the French.

General Goltz informed both divisions of the VII Army Corps and the I Army Corps in order to be sure of their support in the event of enemy excess weight. His vanguard, led by Colonel Delitz, captured Colombey Castle at the battle of Colombey. After about an hour of fighting, the situation for the 26th Infantry Brigade became critical when a light battery of the 1st Army Corps arrived and took up position southwest of Montoy . Two batteries sent ahead by the 2nd Division drove up shortly afterwards between Montoy and Noisseville . When the 25th Infantry Brigade arrived on the left wing, the situation turned. When General Zastrow arrived on the battlefield, he immediately dispatched the 28th Infantry Brigade to attack on the left of the 26th Infantry Brigade. When the 25th Infantry Brigade attacked, the bulk of the regiment joined him. On the second attempt, they push the enemy back to Borny and Bellecroix, today both districts of Metz. The regiment itself then withdrew to Marsilly .

When the Moselle was crossed in the direction of Gravelotte on August 17th, the 26th Infantry Brigade, separated from the rest of the corps, was ordered to occupy the wooded heights of the Bois de Vaux.

After the victory of Sedan and the capture of Emperor Napoleon III. and the army of Mac Mahon , in the prince's opinion, could not expect any further attempt to break through northwards. He moved the center of gravity in the west to the south. The 26th Infantry Brigade, and with it the regiment, were moved near Fort Queuleu . After the siege was over, the defeated French left Metz on October 29th and the VII Army Corps stood on the road to Ars-Laquenexy (today: D999 ) to watch them march past. The 26th Infantry Brigade was ready for action on the east side of Grigy (today part of Metz), the regiment on the right of the Chaussee.

There is evidence that on September 20 the 26th Infantry Brigade, accompanied by the Westphalian poet Emil Rittershaus, went to a feast in the park of Mercy-le-Haut . With this the poet came up with a poem with several stanzas about the "Goltz" brigade, which was reflected in the stories of the regiments belonging to it.

With the occupation of Metz, Lieutenant General Ferdinand von Kummer was temporarily appointed in command of the fortress and the 26th Infantry Brigade was appointed to garrison it. Shortly afterwards, Lieutenant General Löwenfeld was appointed governor, Colonel Hans Friedrich von Brandenstein was appointed commandant and Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck was appointed civil governor. During the time in Metz, the regiment regained its war strength.

The regiment left Metz on November 30th under the leadership of General Friedrich von Bothmer and on December 8th reached Chaumont , the division's merging point. On Christmas 1870 the VII Army Corps resigned to the 1st Army, the regiment bivouacked in Châtillon and on January 12, 1871 became part of the newly established Southern Army . On January 23, during the skirmish in Byans , which lasted until the evening, the brigade stopped a platoon that was about to leave Byans, injured and replaced. In the afternoon, the parade in suit without luggage was Dampierre gathered battalions of the 13th Division in 1871 on January 18 decree to Versailles announced the king.

On February 1st at 12 noon General Manteuffel ordered the attack on Pontarlier , since he assumed that a mixture of all enemy corps would have huddled here and so far only weak detachments had withdrawn to St. Laurent . By 11 a.m., the avant-garde had broken the weak French resistance at the station and occupied Pontarlier. General Fransecky ordered the immediate pursuit. At Fort Château de Joux resistance was encountered, which could only be broken after a long battle. The VII Army Corps had remained in Pontarlier as a reserve, the brigade had to be at the disposal of General Zastrow. She was therefore only an inactive spectator of the final act in which the last great army of France crossed over to Switzerland and was interned there.

The VII Army Corps received the order on March 6 to move towards Châtillon-sur-Saône the next day and to occupy the departments of Meuse , Vosges and the parts of Meurthe and Moselle that remained French . The brigade fell to, among other things, the occupation of Bar-le-Duc and Ligny . The order to withdraw was received on May 23rd.

Commanders

Rank Surname date
Major general Theodor von Rommel 0May 4, 1852
Major general Karl Ludwig Gervien December 18, 1856
Major general August von Horn May 13, 1858
Colonel / Major General Franz von Frobel March 15 to October 12, 1859
Major general Karl von Toll October 13, 1859 to October 13, 1862
Major general August Karl von Goeben January 29, 1863
Major general Karl von Wrangel November 21, 1864
Major general Karl von Blumenthal August 10, 1867
Major general Kuno von der Goltz June 18, 1869
Colonel Emil from Conrady 0February 8 to April 8, 1871 (Führer)
Colonel / Major General Adalbert to Dohna 0June 3, 1871 to September 16, 1872
Major general Constantine of Busse October 12, 1872
Major general Rudolf von Bessel 0February 4, 1873
Major general Viktor von Alten 0September 8, 1877 to August 16, 1882
Major general Eduard von Stocken 17th August 1882
Major general Albert von Kessel June 12, 1886
Major general Ferdinand Kraehe November 13, 1888
Major general Leopold von Winning June 20, 1891
Major general Karl von Goeßel April 18, 1895
Major general Ernst von Bernuth August 18, 1896
Major general Lonrad from Werneburg April 18, 1899
Major general Hermann von Blankenburg January 27 to August 13, 1902
Major general Wilhelm von Uslar August 18, 1902
Major general Wilhelm von Dehn-Rotfelser 0May 1, 1904
Major general Richard von Beck April 10, 1906
Major general Cai Theodor lady August 19, 1909
Major general Alfred Riedel von Konsheim April 22, 1912
Major general Johannes Rogalla von Bieberstein 0April 4, 1914
Major general Richard von Brauchitsch 0August 2, 1914
Major general Gustav Hagenberg October 25, 1914
Colonel Carl Groos October 1917
Colonel Viktor Bauernstein 0September 4, 1918
Major general Wigand from Cramer February 27, 1919 to May 25, 1919

Deputy Brigade Command

Rank Surname date
Colonel Karl Quednow 1864
Colonel Karl Quednow 1866
Major general Theodor Karl Schwartz July 18, 1870
Major general Ernst von Gladniß 0August 2, 1914
Major general Hans von Brüsewitz 0September 3, 1914
Major general Carl Neuhauß 1918 to 1919

References

literature

  • Alfred Cramer : Officer list of the infantry regiment Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands (2nd Westphalian) No. 15. Verlag R. Eisenschmidt, Berlin 1913.
  • Gustav Riebensahm: Prince Friedrich Infantry Regiment of the Netherlands (2nd Westphalian) No. 15 in World War I 1914–1918. Minden 1931.

Web links

Commons : 26th Infantry Brigade  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ So it happened that at this point in time Prince Friedrich Karl defined the words “Goeben - boldly ahead!” As the slogan .
  2. ↑ The King of Hanover had already assembled “his” army in Göttingen on the 15th.
  3. ^ The "Manteuffel" division finally met the Hanoverian army at the battle of Langensalza .
  4. ↑ General von Perglas had the task of keeping the transition to Aschaffenburg open.
  5. ^ The Bavarian Army no longer marched after the defeat in Bischofsheim.
  6. ↑ a b Dermot Bradley (ed.), Günter Wegner: Occupation of the German Army 1815-1939. Volume 1: The higher command posts 1815–1939. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1990, ISBN 3-7648-1780-1 , p. 308.