Elbarmee

The Elbe Army was a short-educated Army Association of the Prussian army in the German war of 1866. The army consisted of associations of the VIII. Corps and the 14th Division.

According to the strategy of Moltke , the Prussian Army in three independently previous associations should in Bohemia invaded and there the northern army of Austria fight. The division into three armies was heavily criticized by contemporaries, but remained victorious.

composition

Commander-in-chief of the Elbarmee was General of the Infantry Eberhard Herwarth von Bittenfeld , and Colonel Ludwig von Schlotheim acted as Chief of the General Staff .

14th division

• 14th Division , Hugo Eberhard zu Munster-Meinhövel
  • Brigade "Schwarzkoppen" (27th Infantry Brigade), Emil von Schwartzkoppen
    • 3rd Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 16 , Colonel von Schwartz
    • 7th Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 56 , Colonel Adolf von Dorpowski
  • Brigade "Hiller" (28th Infantry Brigade), Wilhelm August Bernhard von Hiller
    • 4th Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 17 , Colonel von Kottwitz
    • 8th Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 57 , Colonel Albert von der Osten
  • Division cavalry Westphalian Dragoon Regiment No. 7 , Colonel von Ribbeck

VIII Army Corps

15th division

• 15th Division , Philipp Carl von Canstein
  • Brigade "Stückradt" (29th Infantry Brigade), Major General Alexander von Stuckrad
    • Lower Rhine Fusilier Regiment No. 39 , Lieutenant Colonel von Zimmermann
    • 5th Rhenish Infantry Regiment No. 65 , Oberst du Trossel
  • Brigade "Glasenapp" (30th Infantry Brigade), Otto von Glasenapp
    • 2nd Rhenish Infantry Regiment No. 28 , Colonel von Gerstein-Hohenstein
    • 6. Rhenish Infantry Regiment No. 68 , Colonel Wilhelm von Gayl
  • Divisions Cavalry King Hussar Regiment (1st Rhenish) No. 7 , Colonel von Lindern

16th division

• 16th Division , Friedrich August von Etzel
  • Brigade "Schöler" (31st Infantry Brigade), Alexander von Schoeler
    • 3rd Rhenish Infantry Regiment No. 29 , Colonel Ernst Wilhelm Schuler von Senden
    • 7th Rhenish Infantry Regiment No. 69 , Colonel von Beyer
  • Fusilier Brigade
    • East Prussian Fusilier Regiment No. 33 , Colonel August Ferdinand von Wegerer
    • Pomeranian Fusilier Regiment No. 34 , Colonel Wilhelm von Schmeling

cavalry

• • Rhenish Cuirassier Regiment No. 8
  • Westphalian Uhlan Regiment No. 5
  • Rhenish Uhlan Regiment No. 7
  • 2nd Westphalian Hussar Regiment No. 11

artillery

The army had a total of 120 artillery pieces from the VII and VIII Corps.

reserve

The Army was followed as a reserve by the Guard Landwehr Division, which, however, was not used in any battle and after Königgrätz also no longer operated together with the Elbarmee.

Course of war

At the beginning of the war, the Elbar Army and the First Army under Prince Friedrich Karl occupied Saxony with the capture of Dresden without a fight . The Elbarmee entered Bohemia on June 22, 1866. The advance went via Schluckenau , Rumburg , Groß-Mergental and the Gabelpaß to Dorfrum, which was reached on June 25, 1866 without any fighting. After a few light encounters with Austrian cavalry, the battle at Hühnerwasser broke out on June 26, 1866 , in which the Prussian vanguard won. Together with the First Army, the Saxon and Austrian troops were defeated again on June 28, 1866 in the Battle of Münchengrätz .

Up until the Battle of Königgrätz on July 3, 1866, there were no major battles. In this battle the Elbarmee succeeded in crossing over the Bistritz and successfully breaking into the left wing of the opposing Northern Army.

After Königgrätz, the Elbarmee again formed the right (western) wing of the Prussians. However, there were no more major fights.

literature

• Theodor Fontane : The German War of 1866. (Complete edition in 2 volumes) Volume 1: The campaign in Bohemia and Moravia. (Reprint from 1871/2009), ISBN 3-936030-65-0 .
• Geoffrey Wawro: The Austro-Prussian War. Austria's was with Prussia and Italy in 1866. Cambridge Univ. Press 1996, ISBN 978-0-521-62951-5 .
• Chevalier: The Elbe Army in the campaign of 1866. Max Mälzer, Breslau 1869, digitized

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Engels: Reflections on the War in Germany. , Section 4. Engels only speaks of two armies here
2. ^ Theodor Fontane: The German War of 1866. (Complete edition in 2 volumes) Volume 1: The campaign in Bohemia and Moravia. (Reprint from 1871/2009), ISBN 3-936030-65-0 , pp. 105ff.