Infantry Regiment "Hamburg" (2nd Hanseatic) No. 76

Infantry Regiment "Hamburg" (2nd Hanseatic) No. 76
active	September 27, 1866 to September 30, 1919
Country	Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Armed forces	Prussian Army
Branch of service	infantry
Type	regiment
structure	see structure
Insinuation	see submission
Location	see garrisons
Commanders
list of	Commanders

The Infantry Regiment "Hamburg" (2nd Hanseatic) No. 76 was an infantry joined the Prussian army , and from 1867 to 1919 in Hamburg (and Lübeck to 1897) stationed .

organization

Hanseatic peculiarity

In 1867 the military sovereignty of the northern German city-states was transferred to the Kingdom of Prussia in accordance with the Reich Military Law .

According to § 9 of this convention, the conscripts with Lübeck citizenship were called up to the regiment stationed in Hamburg , unless they expressed the wish to be deployed elsewhere. Unfit for infantry service could lead to the drafting into another branch of arms such as cavalry , artillery , train etc. of the Prussian army. Later it was also possible to join the contingents of the other armies of the German army .

Since the Hanseatic cities of Bremen , Hamburg and Lübeck had problems with the provision of enough conscripts , no restrictions were made on one-year-olds and the reserve requirement for overseas conscripts was suspended. The soldiers who were part of the seafaring population served first in the Prussian and later in the Imperial Navy .

structure

1st and 2nd Battalion ( Musketeers )
III. Battalion ( fusiliers )

Assignments

April 1, 1881 8./76 to Infantry Regiment No. 128
April 1, 1887 12./76 to Infantry Regiment No. 137 in Hagenau
April 1st, 1897 the III./76 to II./162 ( Infantry Regiment "Lübeck" (3rd Hanseatic) No. 162 ) was transferred to Lübeck. A new III. The battalion was formed from the half battalions of the Hanseatic Infantry Regiments from Bremen and Hamburg.

Armament and equipment

Main armament

Rifle 88

The regiment was armed with the Gewehr 88 and the Seitengewehr 71 . The Gewehr 98 was used from 1906 .
Around 1909 a company became a machine gun company (MGK)

uniform

The regiment wore the Prussian uniform with the changes allowed for the Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The Hanseatic cockade (red Hanseatic cross on a white background) was worn on the helmet and cap in addition to the black, white and red imperial cockade. The armpit flaps were white with a red number (76), the sleeve flaps were white with yellow piping.

Cockade of the German Reich
Cockade of the Hanseatic League

As early as August 1914, field-gray cloth was handed out on the way west to cover inexpediently glowing uniform parts.

In the summer of 1915 the long swords of the officers and sergeants disappeared from the front, whereby the clothing and equipment were adapted to those of the men in order to prevent further high losses of leaders.

coat of arms

The regiment adorned itself with the coat of arms of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg . The only exception was the flag, as it was not the Hamburg coat of arms but the Prussian eagle.

Flags

Waterloo Column on the square of the same name in Hanover

The AKO on June 24, 1867 gave the regiment in the flag top the name “FWR” bearing flags. They were nailed on July 2nd in the Potsdam City Palace. The king drove in the first nail, the standard-bearer the last. The next day the flags were consecrated in the Lustgarten and on the 7th handed over to the regiment on Waterloo Square in Hanover by the commanding general of the corps, von Voigts-Rhetz .

The flags received on July 27, 1868 flag tips with "WR" and a crown.

After the Franco-German War, the flags were awarded the Iron Cross by the AKO on June 16, 1871 for their flag tips and black and white flag ribbons. The old tips remained with the respective unit. The flags received protective caps with a cross and name on April 13, 1872. The consecration of the musketeer battalion flags took place on May 20, 1872 in the Reformed Church in Hamburg. The flag of the fusilier battalion, which was damaged in the fighting on December 2nd and 4th, 1870, was brought to Berlin on May 23rd and presented to the Kaiser there. He decreed that the flag should have a new tip with the iron cross and under the tip a silver ring with the engraving "Loigny (Orleans) December 2, 1870". The consecration of this flag took place on June 30, 1872 in the Lübeck garrison church.

The IV. (Half) Battalion, newly formed on October 2, 1893 from levies of the three battalions with companies 13 and 14, received a flag on October 18, 1894.

The flags of battalions I., II. And III. received black-white-red flag ribbons with battle clasps on August 18, 1895. Those of battalions I and II bore the 14 names: Paris, Toul, Metz, St. Corneille, Le Chêne-Les Cohernières, Le Chêne, Le Mans, Conneré-Thorigué, Frétéval and Morée, Beaugency-Cravant, Meung, Orléans , Loigny-Poupry, Dreux. The III. Battalion the eleven names: Paris, Toul, Metz, Le Mans, Conneré-Thorigué, Frétéval and Morée, Beaugency-Cravant, Meung, Orléans, Loigny-Poupry, Dreux.

The pattern of flags of the line infantry regiments of the Prussian Army was regulated in 1890.

On October 17, 1897, the new III. Battalion a flag. The previous flag of the 4th Battalion was carried by the 1st Battalion on ceremonial occasions.

The regiment's flags received two clips on December 14, 1899. The first wore the imperial crown with the signature “W. II. "And on the reverse the double date" 1. January 1900 "and" 27. September 1866 ". The second clasps bore the imperial crown without a name on the front and the date January 1, 1900 on the back. The clasps were attached to the black and white ribbons.

For the large number of line infantry regiments, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered by order of December 18, 1890 that the color of the flag should be based on that of the armpit flaps. This achieved uniformity within the corps. The IX. Army corps wore white armpits. The new flags were to be handed over to the troops before the imperial parade preceding the imperial maneuvers. From 1900 the solemn consecration of the new standard took place in the Hall of Fame of the Berlin Armory . Thus, the flags of the battalions were nailed on August 28, 1904 and handed over to the battalions on the occasion of the Altona on September 4, 1904.

The flags were returned to Hamburg from the field around 1915 because their use at the front no longer corresponded to the conduct of the war and resulted in unnecessary sacrifices.

history

founding

The Infantry Regiment No. 76 was founded by AKO on September 27, 1866 (Foundation Day) after the German War on October 30, 1866. It met for the first time on November 4, 1866 in Bromberg and was formed from three companies each of regiments No. 9 , 21 , 49 and 61 . The regiment was under the 40th Infantry Brigade of the 20th Division in Hanover. It belonged to the federation of the X Army Corps and arrived in Hanover on the 9th and in Hameln on the 11th.

When they joined the North German Confederation , the federal contingents of the Free Hanseatic Cities were dissolved. On May 15, 1867, Hamburg lost its own defense sovereignty and had to take on two battalions as a peace garrison. On October 1, 1867, according to a convention of June 27, 1867, men and NCOs of the disbanded regiments of Hamburg (the city military in garrison) and Lübeck were taken over into the new regiment. The staff as well as the 1st and 2nd Battalion came to Hamburg and were initially housed in Alsterdorf , Groß Borstel and Niendorf . The fusiliers from Hameln were relocated to Lübeck, which also gave up its military sovereignty through a military convention. The Lübeck military was dissolved. The soldiers of this standing army were free to continue their service in the Prussian army.

The regiment joined the Association of IX on September 8, 1867 . Army Corps , received new garrisons and on November 7, 1867 the new name 2nd Hanseatic Regiment No. 76 . These new conditions also meant the end of the bourgeois military formations (militia) in the two Hanseatic cities. The Lübeck Citizens Guard was disbanded on November 1, 1867 and the Hamburg Citizens' Army on July 30, 1868. At the same time the subordination changed. The regiment was now subordinate to the 33rd Infantry Brigade of the 17th Division in Kiel .

The fusilier battalion from Lübeck received the new name III by AKO on January 4, 1889. Battalion.

The III. On April 1, 1897, the 2nd Battalion was transferred with its flag as the 2nd Battalion of Infantry Regiment No. 162 and the previous 4th Battalion, together with that of the 1st Hanseatic Infantry Regiment No. 75, formed the new III. Battalion of the Association.

Garrisons

The old barracks of the former III. Battalion in Lübeck

1866 musketeers in Hanover , fusiliers in Hameln
1867 musketeers (later 1st and 2nd battalion) in Hamburg, fusiliers (later 3rd battalion) in Lübeck
from 1897 all three battalions were stationed in Hamburg

Peace time

Imperial maneuvers

Imperial parade to Altona

In 1890 the regiment first took part in the imperial maneuver. After detachment exercises in Salzgitter , division exercises and drills against a marked enemy, the 12th corps maneuver with a subsequent parade in front of the emperor in Flensburg took place.

1904 participation in the imperial maneuver, this time in Altona.

In 1912 the maneuver was considered in Lübeck. Ultimately, however, the seat of the IX. Army Corps, Altona, won again.

Price shooting

In order to increase the quality of the shooting, an annual shooting competition was established for officers and non-commissioned officers of the corps.

On August 4, 1888, for the first time one with the name Se. Majesty-equipped saber shot for officer and a gold watch for non-commissioned officer.

Nevertheless, the enthusiasm subsided and so the "individual shooting" in 1898 was canceled. By AKO it was completely abolished as it was no longer up-to-date and replaced by "comparison shooting". In addition, the regiment's “combat shooting” was held in the group for the first time.

Boxer Rebellion

Volunteers of the regiment fought in the expeditionary force to China in 1900. One man was killed.

At the Imperial Parade on September 5, 1904 in Altona, the three Hanseatic infantry regiments No. 75, 76 and 162 were given the names "Bremen", "Hamburg" and "Lübeck" by the Kaiser.

German South West Africa

Volunteers from the regiment served in the expeditionary corps from 1904 to 1906. Five soldiers were wounded and one killed.

Campaigns

Franco-German War

Fusilier battalion in the battle of Loigny

Entry of the fusilier battalion on June 18, 1871 in Lübeck

At the end of August 1870, the 2nd Hanseatic Infantry Regiment No. 76 went to war against France . With the mobilization of the regiment, it was used as coastal protection for the North and Baltic Seas, as a massive blow from the French navy and invasion was feared in the area of the East Frisian Islands. When this did not materialize, the regiment was moved to the west.

It fought, among other things, in the siege of Metz , the battle of Loigny , in which the flag of III. Battalion was damaged by a hit, as well as at Orléans , Le Mans and Paris . Hermann de Boor captured the regiment in a painting at the Battle of Loigny. This battle should be in the later for the III. Bataillon developing Lübeck 3rd Hanseatic Regiment will create identity.

After the end of the war, the Hamburg battalions were received on June 17, 1871 with a ceremony on the Rathausmarkt . On July 15, 1871, the two battalions were able to move into the new barracks on the Bundesstrasse ( Rotherbaum between Louisenstrasse and Papendamm). The construction of the barracks, which began in 1869, had meanwhile served as a prisoner-of-war camp.

In 1897 the III. Battalion in Lübeck to the 2nd battalion of the newly established 3rd Hanseatic Infantry Regiment .

Wilfried Niemann described the regiment's war activities in his book published in 1876.

First World War

The regiment belonged to the 1st Army at the beginning of the First World War . In October 1915 it was the Army Reserve of the 6th Army under Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria before it returned to the 1st Army for the Battle of the Somme .

The regiment made at the outbreak of the First World War on August 2, 1914 mobile , and came to the Western Front . At first it was involved in the conquest of the Liège fortress in Belgium and fought in the Battle of the Marne near Esternay in September . After heavy losses, the remnants of the regiment were combined into three companies on September 21, 1914. Seven days later the regiment was replenished and formed into six companies and one machine gun company. From this, two battalions with three companies each were formed at the end of the month. In mid-October 1914 the regiment again consisted of three battalions. Until shortly before Christmas Eve, the regiment was in front of Thiescourt .

From March 25, 1915, the regiment of the 221st Infantry Brigade of the 111th Division .

After advancing through Belgium and France, the regiment only fought in the west throughout the war.
1914: Mons, St. Quentin, Battle of the Marne,
1915: Les Eparges, Artoin, Arras, in the trench warfare around Les Eparges, 13 officers and 423 men were killed when the II / 76 captured the French trenches. That was the regiment's first battle with enormous losses. In addition, about 700-800 prisoners were made by the II / 76.
1916: on the Somme in Guillemont is the II. Batt. except for a few dozen men. Mano highs,
1917: on the Somme, Siegfriedstellung, Arras, Flanders (here almost the whole regiment was destroyed so that after the battle the regiment only had a head strength of 138 men) on the Meuse and Moselle, Cambrai,
1918: Imperial battle, Bapaume, Arras, Albert, Monchy, Lens, Hermannstellung, Antwerp-Maas position.

A total of 19,899 men served in the regiment during the war. Of the more than 3,000 men in the regiment who took to the field in August 1914, only 647 survived the war.

Whereabouts

After the war ended, the regiment returned to Hamburg, where it was demobilized on December 16, 1918 and then disbanded. After the war, many of the regimental members formed in the Hamburg Freikorps Bahrenfeld .

After the dissolution, the tradition in the Reichswehr was initially taken over by the 9th Company of the 6th Infantry Regiment in Flensburg. In 1937 it was transferred to the newly established 76th Infantry Regiment of the Wehrmacht .

Regiment chief

The sole head of the regiment since January 20, 1903, was General of the Infantry Richard von Klitzing , who held this post until his death on September 1, 1907.

Commanders

Fusilier battalion 1871, after the end of the war the battalion is appointed regimental commander

Rank	Surname	date
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel	Bernhard from Conta	October 30, 1866 to August 21, 1870
Colonel	Rudolf von Neumann-Cosel	August 22, 1870 to August 19, 1871
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel	Julius von Boehn	August 20, 1871 to November 18, 1876
Lieutenant colonel	Johannes Streccius	November 19 to December 11, 1876 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel	Johannes Streccius	December 12, 1876 to May 14, 1883
Lieutenant colonel	Peter of Gayl	May 15 to October 17, 1883 (in charge of the tour)
Colonel	Peter of Gayl	October 18, 1883 to April 16, 1888
Lieutenant colonel	Richard von Klitzing	April 17 to October 27, 1888 (in charge of the tour)
Colonel	Richard von Klitzing	October 28, 1888 to November 3, 1890
Lieutenant colonel	Hans von Prittwitz and Gaffron	0November 4 to 17, 1890 (in charge of the tour)
Colonel	Hans von Prittwitz and Gaffron	November 18, 1890 to May 13, 1894
Colonel	Friedrich de la Motte-Fouqué	May 14, 1894 to July 19, 1897
Lieutenant colonel	Max von Boehn	July 20 to November 17, 1897 (in charge of the tour)
Colonel	Max von Boehn	November 18, 1897 to May 17, 1901
Lieutenant colonel	Hanno von Dassel	May 18 to July 6, 1901 (in charge of the tour)
Colonel	Hanno von Dassel	0July 7, 1901 to April 21, 1905
Colonel	Otto von Ramdohr	April 22, 1905 to February 24, 1909
Colonel	Alexander von Frankenberg and Ludwigsdorf	February 25, 1909 to September 30, 1912
Colonel	Arthur von Lüttwitz	0October 1, 1912 to April 21, 1914
Colonel	Rüdiger von der Goltz	April 22nd to September 25th, 1914
Lieutenant colonel	Alexis von Stein-Liebenstein zu Barchfeld	September 26 to November 17, 1914
Lieutenant colonel	Traugott von Burstein	November 18, 1914 to October 10, 1917
Colonel	Konrad Dürr	October 11, 1917 to April 14, 1918
Lieutenant colonel	Hermann von Zeska	April 15 to June 14, 1918
Colonel	Armin Koenemann	June 15, 1918 to January 9, 1919
Colonel	Konrad Dürr	January 10 to April 27, 1919
Colonel	Armin Koenemann	April 28 to September 30, 1919

Others

Monuments

Memorial of the war 1870/71

War memorial of the Hamburg regiments erected in 1936

The war memorial created by Johannes Schilling was inaugurated in 1877 in the esplanade on Stephansplatz . It is intended to commemorate the soldiers who fell in the regiment in the Franco-German War of 1870/71. In 1926 the sculpture was moved to the “Fontenay” not far from the Fontenay memorial in Rotherbaum .

Lübeck itself does not have a large public memorial to its fallen soldiers, mostly fusiliers from the local battalion from that war. These are listed on handsome panels behind the altar of the Lübeck Marienkirche .

The so-called war memorial based on a design by Richard Kuöhl was erected on Dammtordamm in 1936 .

With its inscription “Dem Infanterie Regiment Hamburg 2. Hanseat. No 76
and his Reserve Infantry Regiment No 76 "

the people of Hamburg remember the fallen of their two regiments of the First World War.

It bears the much criticized inscription “Germany must live and if we must die” from the poem “Soldiers' Farewell” from 1914 by Heinrich Lersch . This quote and how it is dealt with has been the subject of heated and controversial arguments in Hamburg for many years. The Hamburg Senate decided in the early 1980s, in addition to the listed Memorial one conceived as a "war memorial" counter-proposal by Alfred Hrdlicka to ask. This was partially implemented from 1983 onwards. The result is the “Hamburg Firestorm” (1985) and the “Escape Group Cap Arcona” (1986).

literature

O. Ahrends: With the “Hamburg” regiment in France. (IR No. 76), Reinhardt Verlag, Munich 1929.
Hans von Albert: Hamburg Infantry Regiment (2nd Hanseatic) No. 76.Wauke, Hamburg 1903.
Ad. Birkholz: The 2nd Hanseatic Infantry Regiment No. 76 in the war against France 1870 a. 71 .; 1871 Hamburg: Hoffmann & Campe, 60 pages.
Otto Dziobek : History of the Infantry Regiment "Lübeck" (3rd Hanseatic) No. 162. First edition. Verlag Gerhard Stalling , Oldenburg i. D. 1922. (Officers' Association formerly 162)
Wilhelm von Livonius : Chronicle of the Fusilier Battalion, 2nd Hanseatic Inf.-Reg. No. 76 from the establishment to the return from the campaign of 1870/71. Bernhard Nöhring, Lübeck 1891.
Harry von Rège : Officer master list of the infantry regiment No. 76. Verlag W. Mauke, Hamburg 1902, OCLC 252978009
Holger Ritter: History of the Schleswig-Holstein Infantry Regiment No. 163. Leuchtfeuer Verlag, Hamburg 1926. (Volume 184 of the Prussian part of the memorial sheets)
Herbert von Sydow: The Infantry Regiment Hamburg <2. Hanseatic> No. 76 in the World War 1914/18. (= Issue 52, memorial sheets of German regiments , former Prussian troop units), Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg-Berlin 1922. Available online: Württembergische Landesbibliothek
W. Nau: Contributions to the history of the Hamburg regiment. Alster-Verlag Hamburg 1925, 5 volumes.
Wilfried Niemann: History of the 2nd Hanseatic Infantry Regiment No. 76. Verlag W. Mauke Söhne, Hamburg 1876.

Web links

Commons : Infantry Regiment "Hamburg" (2nd Hanseatic) No. 76 - Collection of images, videos and audio files

wiki-de.genealogy.net

Individual evidence

^ Lübeckisches Adressbuch, first section, city administration, authorities, public affairs , according to the Lübeck infantry brigade, the Lübeck regiment, edition 1910–1918. From 1910 onwards, explanations were added and what is written here was taken over literally. Since Lübeck was the garrison of a battalion of this regiment until 1897 and the agreement was made beforehand, it was ultimately also valid in Hamburg.
↑ Herrmann de Boor
^ Schütt: The Chronicle of Hamburg. Chronicle Verlag, 1991.
^ Hugo Gropp: Hanseatic people in battle. The Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 76. Experiences with the Res.-Inf.-Rgt. 76 in World War 1914/18, compiled on behalf of the association former. Associated reserve 76 e. V., printed by Klindworth & Neuenhaus, Hamburg 1932
^ Günter Wegmann (Ed.), Günter Wegner: Formation history and staffing of the German armed forces 1815-1990. Part 1: Occupation of the German armies 1815–1939. Volume 2: The staffing of the active infantry regiments as well as the hunter and machine gun battalions, military district commands and training managers from the foundation or list until 1939. Biblio Verlag. Osnabrück 1992. ISBN 3-7648-1782-8 . Pp. 200-201.
↑ The war graves in the general church field. In: Father-city sheets . Year 1903, No. 37, edition of September 13, 1903, pp. 289–291.
↑ From Richard Kuöhl the war memorials came the Schleswig regiment no. 84 , of Rendsburg no. 85 or the the third Hanseatic Infantry Regiment. 162 in Lübeck .

[1] Lübeckisches Adressbuch, first section, city administration, authorities, public affairs , according to the Lübeck infantry brigade, the Lübeck regiment, edition 1910–1918. From 1910 onwards, explanations were added and what is written here was taken over literally. Since Lübeck was the garrison of a battalion of this regiment until 1897 and the agreement was made beforehand, it was ultimately also valid in Hamburg.

[2] Herrmann de Boor

[3] Schütt: The Chronicle of Hamburg. Chronicle Verlag, 1991.

[4] Hugo Gropp: Hanseatic people in battle. The Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 76. Experiences with the Res.-Inf.-Rgt. 76 in World War 1914/18, compiled on behalf of the association former. Associated reserve 76 e. V., printed by Klindworth & Neuenhaus, Hamburg 1932

[5] Günter Wegmann (Ed.), Günter Wegner: Formation history and staffing of the German armed forces 1815-1990. Part 1: Occupation of the German armies 1815–1939. Volume 2: The staffing of the active infantry regiments as well as the hunter and machine gun battalions, military district commands and training managers from the foundation or list until 1939. Biblio Verlag. Osnabrück 1992. ISBN 3-7648-1782-8 . Pp. 200-201.

[6] The war graves in the general church field. In: Father-city sheets . Year 1903, No. 37, edition of September 13, 1903, pp. 289–291.

[7] From Richard Kuöhl the war memorials came the Schleswig regiment no. 84 , of Rendsburg no. 85 or the the third Hanseatic Infantry Regiment. 162 in Lübeck .