Old Prussian Garrison Regiment No. XII
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Garrison Battalion XII |
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 Officer and musketeer of Garrison Battalion XII, 1770 |
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| active | 1744 to 1788 (dissolved) |
| Country | Prussia |
| Branch of service | infantry |
| Former locations | Emden (1744–1757 and 1763–1788); Aurich (1763-1765) |
| owner | 1744–1757: Ernst Georg von Kalckreuth ; 1763–1787: Wilhelm René de l'Homme de Courbière ; 1787–1788: Philipp Lambert de Beauvrye |
| Tribe list | Old Prussian infantry regiments |
| Trunk number | without |
| Wars and major battles | Seven Years War - Surrender of Emden (1757) |
The garrison regiment XII , often wrongly called garrison battalion XII (since a regiment is the higher organizational unit, a battalion is only the tactical formation) , was an infantry unit of the old Prussian army .
history
Since 1684 the Electors of Brandenburg (or from 1701 the kings in Prussia ) maintained a small garrison in the county of East Friesland to protect their interests . The two companies comprehensive Marinier Corps was in Emden and Greetsiel stationed.
In 1744 the county of East Frisia fell to Prussia. Since at this point in time there was no longer a Prussian fleet that had justified the existence of a special unit of marines , a new unit was set up from the existing mariners and soldiers of the last Count of East Friesland: the garrison battalion XII. The numbering (which was already official at the time) is misleading because there were no twelve garrison battalions in the Prussian army. Rather, the standing garrison units were numbered consecutively, regardless of whether they were regimental strength (i.e. consisted of two battalions) or comprised only a single battalion . This continuous numbering is also the reason why the garrison battalion XII is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a regiment. Ernst Georg von Kalckreuth , who was previously the last commander of the Marinier Corps in East Friesland, became the head of the newly formed battalion .
After the outbreak of the Seven Years' War , French troops marched into East Frisia at the end of June 1757 and advanced on Emden. Kalckreuth intended to defend the city despite its unsuitable bastions; but the news of the approaching of the numerically superior opponents caused a mass desertion of the soldiers of the garrison battalion. When the French stood before Emden on July 3, Kalckreuth only had 180 men. Nevertheless, he wanted to let it come down to a fight, but then agreed to surrender at the urging of the Emden magistrate, who had the consequences of a violent storming of the city in mind. The remaining soldiers were taken prisoner of war, whereby the garrison battalion XII ceased to exist. East Frisia remained without a Prussian garrison until spring 1763.
After the end of the war, Lieutenant Colonel Wilhelm René de l'Homme de Courbière and his free battalion moved into Emden on March 27, 1763 to restore the Prussian military presence in East Friesland. Courbière and his unit had distinguished themselves so much during the war that this free battalion was the only one of its kind that was not disbanded at the end of the war, but was given the name and location of the previous garrison battalion XII. On April 3, the Freicorps Volontaires de Prusse of Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Adolf Rudolf von Trümbach arrived in Emden and was disbanded there the following day. While the officers received their farewell , some of the soldiers were escorted to Wesel for distribution to other regiments , but most of them were used to reinforce Courbieres battalion.
The dissolution of the garrison units in 1788 also meant the end of the XII garrison battalion. It was canceled, its five companies were assigned to the newly formed depot battalions of the infantry regiments; three went to Regiment No. 45 , one each to No. 10 and No. 48 .
Strength and organization
When it was first established in 1744, the XII garrison battalion consisted of three companies of musketeers of 200 men each, while a regular Prussian infantry battalion of that time had five musketeers and one grenadier company of 120 men each. The garrison battalion was initially irregular in structure.
When the Seven Years' War broke out, the battalion had reached a regular composition: five musketeer and one grenadier company of the usual strength.
When Courbière's free battalion arrived in Emden in 1763, it was barely 350 men strong. After reinforcement by the soldiers of the disbanded Freicorps von Trümbach it came to 600 men and could be divided into five companies. With further additions, the garrison battalion received its regular strength of five musketeer and one grenadier company, which it retained until the end.
Since Ostfriesland was not integrated into the Prussian canton system in 1744 out of consideration for the sensitivities of the local residents, who very resolutely defended their traditional freedoms, Garrison Battalion XII, unlike most other garrison units, did not have a canton from the it would have received regular recruits. It was dependent on the recruitment of volunteers, and because East Frisians were only very rarely advertised for the service, the battalion's teams were mainly composed of foreigners.
In contrast to the other Prussian garrison towns, where the local citizens were obliged to permanently accommodate soldiers in their houses as part of a precisely regulated billeting , this procedure was not used because of possible unrest among the population. Instead, the battalion, when it was under Kalckreuth's command, received an annual amount of 874 thalers from the Emden city treasury as a replacement for billeting and procured the quarters for the soldiers themselves by renting them. In 1763 the citizens of Emden hoped to make a similar arrangement with Courbière, but the free battalion commander and his semi-regular troops were used to the harsher customs of the war years: Courbière arbitrarily had his soldiers confiscate quarters in every house they liked. If they encountered locked doors, they would forcibly gain entry. The angry citizens of Emden complained to King Friedrich II because of the breach of the express agreement of 1744, which guaranteed the city freedom from billeting. After review, the complaint was recognized as justified and the establishment of a barracks , a novelty in Prussia, was proposed. Since the question of financing was controversial - the East Frisian estates demanded that the Prussian state assume the construction costs in full, while conversely that the East Frisians were required to participate - construction could only begin on the site of the former Emden Castle in October 1764 , after the East Frisian representatives had agreed to assume a significant part of the costs. On November 16, 1765, the soldiers moved into the newly built barracks, and a company that had been garrisoned in Aurich since 1763 to ease the burden of billeting on Emden returned.
use
Like all standing garrison units, the garrison battalion XII was primarily intended for the defense of its stationing place, although it corresponded to the field units in terms of equipment and training. Because of this secondary importance, less strict criteria were applied in the selection of soldiers.
Since the unimpressive Emden fortifications hardly allowed a successful defense against a serious attacker, the real task of the battalion was to underline the affiliation of East Frisia to Prussia and to act as a representative of state power through its presence.
Uniformity
From 1744 to 1757 the battalion wore the simple uniform of the garrison troops: Prussian blue trousers, vests and skirts with red lining and black cuffs, plus black gaiters and three-pointed tips .
When Coubière's free battalion became garrison battalion XII, it was allowed to keep its previous uniform as a special honor and did not have to wear the usual garrison outfits. It therefore wore blue skirts with red lining, cuffs and collars, plus white trousers and vests. Leggings and tricorn stayed black.
literature
- Tileman Dothias Wiarda: Ostfriesische Geschichte, Vol. 9. From 1758 to 1786 . Publishing house August Friedrich Winter, Aurich 1792
- A brief list of members and rankings of all regiments of the Royal Prussian Army from its foundation until the end of 1785 . Christian Friedrich Himburg, Berlin 1786
- Onno Klopp: History of East Frisia under the Prussian government up to the cession to Hanover, from 1744-1815 . C. Rümpler, 1858
- Julius Mebes : Contributions to the history of the Brandenburg-Prussian state and army , volume 1. Lüderitz, 1861
- Johann David Erdmann Preuss: The life story of the great King Friedrich von Prussen: A book for everyone , Volume 1. Nauck, 1834
- Eduard Lange : The soldiers of Frederick the Great . H. Mendelssohn, 1853
- Günther Gieraths : The fighting of the Brandenburg-Prussian army . Walter de Gruyter, 1964