Old Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 59 (1806)

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Wartensleben Infantry Regiment

WP Inf-Reg No 59 - 1806.jpg

Musketeer and officer of Infantry Regiment No. 59 (1806)
active 1803 to 1806
Country Prussia
Branch of service infantry
Former locations Erfurt (musketeer companies); Mühlhausen (grenadier companies); Heiligenstadt (Invalid Company)
owner 1803–1806: Leopold Alexander von Wartensleben
Tribe list Old Prussian infantry regiments
Trunk number 59
Wars & major battles Fourth Coalition War - Auerstedt (October 14, 1806)

The Infantry Regiment No. 59 was an infantry unit of the Old Prussian Army .

history

Regiment No. 59 was the last infantry regiment that was set up as part of the old Prussian army organization. Although the Chlebowsky regiment established in Warsaw with the number 60 was assigned a higher trunk number in October 1806, it had already been established in November 1802, while No. 59 did not follow until January / March 1803.

According to the terms of a contract between the Republic of France and the Kingdom of Prussia dated May 23, 1802, which regulated the cession of Prussian territories on the left bank of the Rhine to France, for which Prussia was to be compensated by the empire with territories of secularized clerical principalities , Lieutenant General Leopold Alexander von Wartensleben moved on August 21, 1802 with a Prussian corps in Erfurt with the order to take possession of the city ​​and the surrounding area - until then Kurmainzer territory . The Prussian approach was an unauthorized anticipation of the regulations of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss, which was still emerging .

At that time Erfurt was home to the 400-strong Kurmainzer infantry battalion von Knorr and ten companies of the citizen's military. The Kurmainzer soldiers were taken over into the Prussian army, the civil military dissolved.

On January 24, 1803, King Friedrich Wilhelm III. the order to set up a new infantry regiment with garrison Erfurt on March 1, 1803. Wartensleben was appointed head of the regiment , who was also governor of the city and fortress from February 10th.

The regiment was mainly composed of already existing units: It received the 2nd battalion of regiment no. 43 , reinforced by the Kurmainzer soldiers and city soldiers from Mühlhausen and Nordhausen as well as some men from the Wedell fusilier battalion and probably also from the recently disbanded military of the Principality of Münster . The remaining recruits to bring the regiment to the required strength could be raised in the Erfurt area, which was incorporated into the canton system. In addition, volunteers came through advertising . On March 1, the fully assembled regiment took oath of flag on the Krmpfer field in front of Erfurt .

On October 6, 1806, the 1st and 2nd battalions of the regiment marched out of Erfurt to join the main Prussian army for a campaign against the French troops . The 3rd Battalion remained in the city as a garrison. The first two battalions were part of the armed forces that were deployed in the battle of Auerstedt and disintegrated after the defeat: The grenadier companies largely disbanded during the retreat to the Elbe , parts of the 1st battalion fled during October 15th back to Erfurt, remnants of the 2nd battalion fled to Magdeburg fortress .

On the evening of October 15, Prince Wilhelm Friedrich of Orange signed the surrender of Erfurt to the French who had meanwhile moved in and occupied the city without a fight the following day. The parts of Regiment No. 59 were taken prisoner of war.

On November 8th, Magdeburg also surrendered , and the last remnants of the regiment that were there were also taken prisoner. With that, the von Wartensleben infantry regiment ceased to exist.

Strength and organization

The regiment had regular strength in accordance with the regulations of 1799: two musketeer battalions , each with five companies of 120 men; a musketeer battalion with four companies and a disabled company of 120 men; two grenadier companies of 150 men each. The cantons from which the regiment drew its recruits were formed from the former Kurmainzer Erfurter Land: Erfurt, Mühlhausen, Nordhausen and the Eichsfeld .

Uniformity

The regiment wore the uniform of the model 1798 with a blue jacket cut like a tailcoat , red lap lining, white trousers and black gaiters . The borders , cuffs and collars were white, the collar was red. The musketeers wore a black three-point hat from the 1798 model, the grenadiers wore the 1799 grenadier hat.

literature

  • Günther Gieraths : The fighting of the Brandenburg-Prussian army . Walter de Gruyter, 1964
  • C. Reuter: Thuringia - Its history: The battle of Auerstedt 1806. Eyewitnesses report . German-Canadian Museum of Applied History, ISBN 9781894643108
  • Kurt von Lützow: Erected in Erfurt in 1803, destroyed near Auerstedt in 1806 - a regimental story . Mittler, 1887

Web links