Infantry Regiment "Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands" (2nd Westphalian) No. 15

Infantry Regiment "Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands" (2nd Westphalian) No. 15
active	July 1, 1813 to 1919
Country	Kingdom of Prussia, Province of Westphalia
Armed forces	Prussian Army
Branch of service	infantry
Type	regiment
structure	see structure
Insinuation	26th Infantry Brigade
Location	see garrison
march	Grenadier march of the Riedesel regiment ( presentation march ) Friedericus Rex (Parade March)
management
Commanders	see commanders

The Infantry Regiment "Prince Frederick of the Netherlands" (second Westphalian) No. 15 was an infantry joined the Prussian army .

organization

Surname

The name of the regiment has been changed several times in the course of its existence:

• 1813: 3rd Reserve Infantry Regiment
• March 25, 1815: 15th Infantry Regiment

With the Highest Cabinet Order (AKO) issued in Vienna on this day , the reserve infantry regiments that had been newly formed since July 1, 1813 were sorted according to their master numbers . Until their further determination, they should be named after this strain number from now on.

• November 5, 1816: 15th Infantry Regiment (2nd Westphalian)

After an army reform , the Infantry Brigade of the General Command in Westphalia was formed from the 2nd Westphalian and the 1st Westphalian ( 13th Infantry Regiment) . Together with the divided cavalry brigade, they formed the troop brigade in Münster (from 1818 the 13th division). The general command was commanded by Lieutenant General Johann Adolf von Thielmann , the troop brigade by Major General Hans von Luck .

• 1823: 15th Infantry Regiment (Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands)
• 4th July 1860: 2nd Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 15

As a result of Roon's army reform , the line battalions gave up personnel to the previous Landwehr regiments on January 1, 1860. These were initially called "Combined Regiments". By the AKO of July 4, 1860, the combined regiments were named after their provinces. So the daughter regiment became the “6. Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 55 ”. According to the same order, the name of the 15 was changed.

• March 17, 1863: 2nd Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 15 (Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands) .

In the year of the 50th anniversary of the unit, an AKO decided on the anniversary date that the regiment should again bear the name of its chief.

• March 23, 1873: Infantry Regiment Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands (2nd Westphalian) No. 15

On the occasion of the regiment's 60th birthday, the emperor decreed that the regiment would henceforth bear his name.

Allegations

November 16, 1816 to April 28, 1852

• 13th Infantry Brigade in Munster

April 29, 1852 to December 1918

• 26th Infantry Brigade

structure

• 1816
  • I. Battalion
  • II Battalion
  • III. Battalion ( fusiliers )
• October 1, 1893
  • Formation of the IV Battalion
• October 1, 1909
  • 2nd battalion was expanded to include a machine gun company (MGK)
• First World War
  • the regiment's three battalions were divided into rest, standby and combat battalions
• May 1915
  • Creation of an infantry pioneer company (IPK) made up of 100 miners from the regiment
• February 1916
  • based on increased mining work, an additional mountain company was formed
• September 2, 1916
  • The formation of a second IPK was ordered
• October 1, 1916
  • From the MG formations of the MGK, the supplementary train 796 and MG-Zug 90, three MGKs were formed, and each assigned to a battalion,
• October 8, 1916
  • From each regiment for training with the mine thrower company 13 (MWK 13)
    • - an officer
    • - eight non-commissioned officers
    • - 48 men

detached. After their training, three mine throwing departments (MWA) were formed from them in each regiment.

Subordinate troops

• September 13, 1916
  • The division made the 8th Company of Infantry Regiment No. 13 available to the regiment as a reserve. In addition there were companies 5/13, 6/13, 7/13 and 9/13 (MGK). On the morning of September 15, two companies of the Württemberg Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 248 and in the evening the III./13 (3rd Battalion of Infantry Regiment No. 13) were made available.

Assignments

• 1859 a battalion to the 6th Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 55
• 1866 three companies to the Infantry Regiment No. 85
• In 1881 a company was transferred to Infantry Regiment No. 131

8th Company (8./15)

13 NCOs

13 private

108 Common

• In 1887 in the VII Army Corps, the 1st Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 13 received an IV Battalion from March 22nd on April 1st

- 11th Company and two officers were transferred to Infantry Regiment No. 13

- two other officers were to Infantry Regiment 137th displaced

• In 1897, as the IV half battalions had failed, new regiments were formed from these on April 1, 1897. From IV / 15, with those of regiments No. 13, 53 and 55, infantry regiment No. 158 with garrison was set up in Paderborn .
• 1909 on October 1st, the 6th company was transferred to the newly formed III. Released Battalion of the 2nd Upper Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 171 in Colmar .
• 1918 At the beginning of February 13 officers, mostly those who had only recently been assigned to the regiment from the Russian front, were transferred to the 20th Infantry Division .

Foundations and grants to the regiment

• Donation from the National Bank

This fund was a transfer from the former Reich Foundation "National Bank for Veterans" in the amount of 3000 Marks to support well-served needy invalids from the sergeant downwards, who had left the regiment.

• Prince Friedrich Foundation

Gift from the head of the regiment of 1865 in the amount of 9,000 marks (3,000 thalers ), the interest of which was used to support the regiment wounded in the war and relatives living in needy circumstances.

• Anniversary fund

Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands donated its share capital of 10,000 marks to the regiment in his capacity as regiment owner on the occasion of his 60th anniversary. Half of the interest was in the interest of long-serving NCOs who had left with the civil pension certificate, the other half in the interest of the officer corps at the discretion of the regimental commander.

• City of Minden Foundation

On the 25th anniversary of the "Battle of Colombey", the city gave the regiment a capital stock of 1,000 marks. The capital was increased by 500 marks in 1907 through a further gift from the resigned Major Kombst. The interest was to be distributed annually on August 14th to “worthy and needy active NCOs” of the regiment.

• General Konstantin Ernst Thilo von Kawerczynski Foundation

The foundation consisted of:

1. From a capital of 5000 marks that his widow gave to the regiment on April 1, 1898 after his death (March 14, 1898).
2. Its interest

The share capital was in German or Prussian government securities to invest.

The interest could be distributed to unmarried lieutenants and portepee ensigns transferred from the cadet corps if they were in a particular emergency.

The unused interest had to be capitalized at the end of the year .

The regimental commander had to decide how to use the interest.

• Rafalski Foundation

When the former regimental commander died on September 16, 1915, he bequeathed the officer corps 12,000 marks for the scientific training of officers in peacetime. The regiment could no longer use the foundation. Instead, it should be handed over to the traditional unit for the same purpose. The inflation , of 1923 made this but like all other foundations of the regiment, worthless.

Armament and equipment

Main armament

• 1840 - percussion rifle
• 1850 - needle gun
• 1852 - Introduction of the fascine knife
• 1867 - in the spring the fusiliers were also armed with needle guns
• 1874 - from November equipped with the infantry rifle model 71 "System Mauser"
• 1887 - In mid-December of that year, several army corps, including the VII., Were equipped with the 71/84 rifle and the 71/84 side rifle for the infantry.
• 1889 - binoculars and revolvers were introduced for field equipment of officers
• 1890 - in March the regiment received the Gewehr 88 , the infantry side rifle 71/84 was again exchanged for the Model 71
• 1907 - July 1, the regiment was awarded the gun 98 equipped

uniform

Corporal of Infantry Regiment No. 15

The Highest Cabinet Order of March 25, 1815 issued in Vienna ordered the uniforms of the troops.

• July 1, 1815
  • blue Kolett
  • red lap trim
  • two rows of yellow metal buttons
  • Trousers made of gray cloth, in summer made of white linen
  • Coat made of gray cloth with yellow heads, as well as colored collar and armpit flaps
  • yellow collar
  • red surcharges
  • light blue armpit flaps with red "15"
  • Felt shako with leather cover, decorated with the Prussian eagle, cordons and cockade
  • Black leather gear (saber and cartridge pocket walker)
  • Knapsack from calfskin with two straps
• February 9, 1816
  • red collar
  • red lapels with yellow flaps
  • red armpit tabs
• February 25, 1817
  • red lapels with yellow flaps and armpit panels
• March 30, 1818
  • light blue armpit panels and white flaps on red lapels
• March 17, 1835
  • red flaps with white lugs
  • the white plates on the serves were omitted
• January 1, 1845
  • the shako was replaced by a black leather helmet with brass fittings. The currency ribbon "With God for King and Fatherland" was attached to the helmet.
  • The cartridge pouch was carried on the back, attached to two loops.
  • Instead of the collets, dark blue tunics with a row of metal buttons were introduced. These had stiff blue stand-up collars. Red flaps, called mirrors, were attached to the front
• 1848
  • the satchel straps were hooked and hung between the cartridge pockets on the waist strap.
• 1850
  • Instead of the previous cartridge pouch, two smaller cartridge pouches were now carried on the front of the waist strap.
• after the German war
  • the tunic was given a lower, soft collar made of red cloth.
  • the low coat collar became a turn-up collar.
  • There was no lining for the cloth trousers. Instead, underpants were used.
  • one pair of the two pairs of short boots have been replaced with long boots. The trousers were also allowed to be worn in boots.
  • the helmet and the helmet fittings have been reduced in size
  • The knapsacks got smaller.
  • The previous equipment was supplemented by a canteen, which was carried over the shoulder by a black leather strap.
• March 3, 1887
  • Introduction of lighter helmets without a front rail and scale chains, the latter being replaced by storm straps.
  • flatter cookware to be strapped to the knapsack flap
  • two front cartridge pouches to be pushed onto the waist strap and an additional rear third cartridge pouch
  • Haversack, two-sided, made of waterproof brown fabric with a device to attach to the waist strap, as well as a ring to hang a canteen
  • The previous knapsack was replaced by a smaller one with an attached knapsack bag for the iron portion and carrying frame
  • The short-shafted boots were replaced by lace-up shoes made of waterproof fabric with leather trim.
  • black leather gear (the only exceptions were the guards and grenadier regiments)
• 1893
  • Canteens, drinking cups and aluminum cookware introduced
  • the equipment was expanded to include portable tent equipment.
  • The company with the best shooting results was allowed to wear a special badge on the left sleeve.
  • The blue litewka was introduced.
• January 27, 1894
  • Rifle cords previously worn on the lapels have been replaced by the marksman badge in the form of a braided, silver fishing cord.
  • Coats made of heather gray cloth are replaced by those made of gray cloth.
• January 26, 1895
  • The clothing was to be procured or manufactured according to the samples approved by the emperor
  • the rear cartridge pouch fell away
• March 22, 1897
  • In addition to the state cockade, their troops now also wore the Reich cockade on the 100th birthday of Wilhelm I
• 1909
  • field-gray uniforms (in case of mobilization)
    • Folding collar
    • Removable armpit flaps made of field gray fabric with red regimental number
    • Matt metal buttons adorned with a crown

Teams

• Cloth trousers with buttons on the side

• June 18, 1822
  • Scale chains replaced the storm straps on the shakos

Officers

• Laps are cut longer and tailor-like
• gray overskirt
• Cloth pants with two red stripes, between which there was a passepoil , on the side
• Sword (musketeer)
• Saber (fusilier)

• 1813
  • Armpit tabs with gold "15"
• 1815
  • Epaulets
  • were out of service, the shako, bivalve Dreistutzerhüte with instead plume in use
• June 18, 1822
  • The sergeants also receive swords / sabers with silver portepee
• 1832
  • Tucks replace the stripes on the pants
  • Stars were introduced as degree badges on the epaulets
• 1843
  • the shako was replaced by the black leather helmet with brass fittings. The helmet motto "With God for King and Fatherland", which previously only the Landwehr wore on the headgear, was now also attached to the helmet on the eagle.
• 1847
  • Paletots are introduced.
• 1866
  • Armpit pieces take the place of the epaulettes.
• 1889
  • those on horseback had to wear high boots when serving on horseback.
  • Since epaulettes were only to be worn for parade and social purposes, modified armpits were introduced.
  • Company commanders are to be counted among the mounted officers and therefore have to appear in spurs.
  • the saddlecloths were simplified and no longer had a gold braid.
  • the previous white one was replaced by a reed-colored helmet cover.
  • The new model of the infantry officer's sword was introduced for officers and sergeants .
• May 5, 1894
  • The previous paletots were replaced by gray ones.
• January 26, 1896
  • The sash on the uniform for officers and medical officers was replaced by a field bandage. (The sash was only attached to the parade suit.)
• March 22, 1898
  • Standard bearer
    • a yellow badge embroidered in silk on the right upper arm
    • a ring collar with the number of the troop unit
    • a side gun with the handle of the officer's sword
    • a flag bandolier made of red leather with trimmings, provided the flag was carried

Music corps

• June 18, 1822
  • instead of the flugelhorns of the horn players, horns were introduced for the Tiraillement
• March 22, 1898
  • the uniforms of the music conductors received:
    • Armpit pieces with a lyre
    • Field armbands in the color of the armpit flaps of the unit with braid and lock
• December 10, 1908
  • the staff oboist has since held the title of "music master" and was appointed by the regimental commander. The service title "music conductor" was dropped. The former music conductors were given the title "Obermusikmeister".

Senior music masters and music masters were among the NCOs with portepee and were higher in rank than sergeants .

banner

The flags of the regiment in the Minden local history museum

template

In the peace of the year 1814, on June 3, the king kept his promise to all regiments that would have fought in field battles and sieges by lending flags. The flags and standards previously awarded should have an iron cross in the top of the flag, but all, both old and new, should receive the ribbon. The ribbon corresponded to that of the just donated war commemorative coin .

The flags had already been sent to Wesel on June 15, 1815. From there they were forwarded to the individual troops. On September 24th, they were presented to the regiment in Vendôme by the brigade commander, after the brigade clergyman had consecrated them at the altar of the main church .

The flags were black silk knit . On them there was a white, black-edged St. Andrew's cross with the name "FWR" in all four corners in the wrought gold with a laurel wreath with a crown. In the middle of the cross was in a yellow silk embroidered with gold laurel wreath with Crown adorned field of the black Prussian eagle with sword and lightning in its claws. Above the eagle's head was the inscription: "Pro gloria et patria".

The oath of the flag followed .

By cabinet order of January 12, 1861, the flags for participation in the 1849 campaign received the ribbon of the military badge with swords .

On the day of victory feeder in Berlin the flags of participating in the war troops were, if they still had as the de 15er 1813er no cross, in a laurel wreath standing iron cross on their flags top.

The appearance of the newly awarded flags of the Line Infantry Regiments of the Prussian Army was standardized by the Emperor in 1890 and aligned and regulated accordingly on the armpits of the soldier's uniform according to the respective corps to which the regiment belonged . The old flags were replaced by the new ones the next time the regiment took part in the imperial maneuver.

According to the announcement in the Army Ordinance Gazette of August 3, 1893, the minimum height of soldiers fell from 1.57 m to 1.54 m. In that year, the regiment set up the fourth battalion recommended by the law of October 1, 1893, consisting of the new companies 13th and 14th. On October 17th and 18th, 1894, the consecration and nailing of the new flags of the 4th Battalion took place in Berlin. To swear in the new recruits on the Mindener Bastionshof, the flag was handed over to the regiment on October 22nd by the regiment commander in the presence of the brigade commander.

After the 4th battalion left their flag, they remained with the 15s and from then on were also carried by the 1st battalion during parades.

On January 1, 1900, the four flags received a double black and silver ribbon with a black and silver tassel. On the ribbon there was a golden clasp ( secular clasp ) on one side of which the name “W. II. ”With imperial crown , on the other the inscription“ 1. January 1900 "and below" 1. July 1813 ”.

In 1907 the flag of the 1st Battalion consisted only of a frequently torn piece of black silk, the flag of the 2nd only carried remains of silk, the flag of the 3rd. Only a strip of black silk with multiple holes and tears was knotted below the point. You should receive new flag cloths (see adjacent sample) in the color of the armpits.

On August 18th, before the imperial maneuver, the field provost Max Wölfing consecrated the new standard in Cassel . The emperor, the empress, Princess Viktoria Luise , the princes of Schaumburg-Lippe and Lippe and a delegation of the regiment with the commander, Rasalsky at the head, nailed the flags.

The flags were presented at the imperial parade.

In June 1915 the regimental flags were sent back home from the field.

history

founding

By royal order of February 5, 1813, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th East Prussian Musketeer Reserve Battalion and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Litthau Fusilier Reserve Battalion were formed. They formed a brigade under Colonel von Below. This served from July 1, 1813 to set up new regiments.

From the 3rd and 4th East Prussian Musketeer Reserve Battalion, the 2nd Litthau Fusilier Reserve Battalion and the 3rd Battalion (Depot Battalion) of the 2nd East Prussian Infantry Regiment , the “3rd Reserve Infantry Regiment "which was converted to a line regiment on March 25, 1815 by the highest order and was given the designation 15th Infantry Regiment .

Major von Creilsheim of the 1st Pomeranian Infantry Regiment became the first regimental commander .

garrison

Old officers' mess on the Kamp

Former new officers' mess

• 1815
  • Münster - 1st Battalion
  • Bielefeld - 2nd Battalion
  • Herford - Fusiliers

• July 20, 1820
  • Bielefeld - 1st Battalion
  • Minden - Staff, 2nd Battalion, fusiliers

• October 6, 1822
  • Minden - 1st Battalion, 2nd Battalion
  • Bielefeld - Fusiliers
• January 12, 1832
  • Minden

• 1849/50 Hamburg ( Danzig was planned)
• 1850
  • Münster - 1st Battalion and Fusiliers
  • Wesel - 2nd Battalion
• 1855
  • Minden - 1st Battalion
  • Bielefeld - 2nd battalion and fusiliers
• 1871
  • Minden
  • Bielefeld - Fusiliers
• 1877
  • Minden

• Minden barracks of the 15th Infantry Regiment
• 

  Barracks of the 1st Battalion ("Marienwallkaserne")

• 

  Barracks of the 2nd battalion

• 

  Barracks of the III. Battalions ("station barracks")

The regiment's peacetime

After the Peace of Paris , the regiment marched via Minden to Lippstadt in Westphalia . On its way there, it stopped in Kassel on July 20, 1814 and paraded in front of the Elector of Hesse .

The regiment owner first visited the regiment in Münster in August 1816. As early as March 18, 1817, he decreed that he would give the regiment an annual amount of 100 ducats as a share of its music costs. At the parade in Münster on September 15, 1817, the chief presented his regiment to the king.

Memorial plaques for the fallen soldiers of the regiment were set up on September 17, 1817 in the Munster garrison church. These memorial plaques were later transferred to the Minden Simeonskirche.

On June 18, 1818, the entire army was represented by a delegation of the 15th regiment to unveil the memorial to the Prussian soldiers who fell at the Belle Alliance .

In the first half of 1839 the regiment was used as a border post on the Rhine. The policy of the French Foreign Minister Louis-Mathieu Molé over the evacuation of Ancona and Belgium had led to unrest in France . Fears of war arose on the German side and this led to countermeasures.

The drill regulations , which had been authoritative since 1812 and drawn up after the Peace of Tilsit , were replaced by new ones on February 25, 1847, in which General Gustav von Griesheim, who taught at the Berlin War School, played a decisive role. What was new was that the battalion column was no longer viewed as the only form of attack, but that the company columns formed a tactical unit .

The February Revolution of 1848 also had an impact from Paris in Germany's major cities . In order to maintain public order , the regiment should be concentrated near Koblenz . As a result of the German Revolution , however, the regiment had to be used in its home province.

When the Sardinian War broke out between Austria and France in 1859 , entanglements were feared in Germany. The corps above the regiment was upgraded from peace to war strength and mobilized on June 14th on the orders of the Prince of Prussia. When it was moved to Cologne, the Peace of Villafranca was signed and the corps returned to the garrisons.

For the coronation of Wilhelm I on October 18, 1861 in the Schlosskirche zu Schlosskirche , all regimental commanders were ordered by AKO with the flag of their 1st battalion.

Old main guard on the place of the later Viktoriahalle of the Viktoriahotel in Minden

When the rinder plague broke out in Holland and the borders had to be militarily cordoned off, companies of the regiment were relocated to the Borken and Rees districts .

Hanoverian reserves from Hildesheim were trained in the use of the needle gun, which brought Prussia an advantage that should not be overestimated in the previous war.

As a result of the entry into force of the obligation to perform military service for the North German Confederation in November 1867, the service of one-year volunteers and the entitlement to the reserve officer , which had been laid down in the Defense Act of 1814 until then, were also amended . After this they could now choose the unit in which they wanted to become reserve officer after the active year. The officer corps of the regiment decreed on January 1, 1869 already over fifteen reserve officers.

In the spring of 1867, the Minden-Lübbecke district elected Colonel von der Goltz as his representative in the North German Reichstag .

At the beginning of June 1869, the King of Prussia spent almost an hour at the Minden train station on a transit . The teams were from the "Cologne Gate" to the station in espalier . The officer corps and the heads of the authorities had gathered in front of the reception pavilion set up on the platform.

A few days later, the regimental commander was appointed commander of the 26th Infantry Brigade.

The participants in the war against France in 1870/71 were awarded the commemorative coin made from the bronze cannons captured . The emperor also decreed that a plaque should be erected in every church of the monarchy, which should contain the names of those who died in the last three campaigns under the inscription "From this church game died for king and fatherland". They hang next to the plaque from 1813/15 in the Simeonskirche .

At the end of 1874, the Minden fortress command was dissolved. It was transferred to the staff of the 26th Infantry Brigade, which was moved from Munster to Minden.

In 1876, the head of the regiment appeared in the regiment's uniform for the celebrations to mark the sixtieth anniversary of his appointment.

In the autumn of 1877, the fusiliers in Bielefeld were replaced by the 2nd Battalion of the Minden Infantry Regiment No. 55.

When the chief of the regiment died on September 8, 1881, the regiment, on the highest orders, mourned for eight days. At his funeral in Delft , a deputation of the regiment consisting of the regimental commander, a staff officer , a captain and a lieutenant attended, also on the highest orders of the emperor .

On the night of May 10th to 11th, 1889, the 2nd Battalion was sent by train to Dortmund . It was supposed to help suppress unrest in the coal mining area . It stayed there for six weeks but was not used.

In 1892 the Senne military training area near Paderborn was acquired by the VII Army Corps for combat-like target practice and drills in larger units. The regiment was part of the first unit practicing there and from then on practiced annually for a period of two weeks. The Friedrichsfeld military training area near Wesel was only used in 1899 and 1904 .

For the troop exercises, the regiment was first transported by train to Paderborn , after the connection to Brackwede to this station . The march from there to the camp was combined with an exercise against Infantry Regiment No. 158.

In the same year the regiment received its first bicycles, six per battalion.

For the inauguration of the imperial monument on the Wittekindsberge , the regiment provided the honorary company for the emperor. It consisted of older years of the regiment.

By 1910 the barracks of the 2nd Battalion, which in 1909 had been expanded to include an MG company.

It was thanks to the efforts of Colonel von Morgen that in 1910 the new officers' mess, located in close proximity to the swan pond and the municipal park, was opened.

During the miners' strike of 1912 , on the morning of March 14, 1912, the 2nd battalion with the machine gun division formed in 1909 was relocated to Dortmund. The troops should only be deployed in the Dortmund area and not in the city itself to suppress any unrest. The strike ended earlier than expected on March 20th.

On July 1, 1913, the regiment celebrated its 100th anniversary. After the tattoo on June 30th, after the “Big Awake”, the celebration with field service and parade was celebrated, which the former regimental commander General of the Infantry took from the Boeck. The afternoon brought together active and former members of the regiment on the Chancellor's pasture.

In the summer of 1914, the assassination attempt in Sarajevo resulted in an earlier than planned departure from the military training area.

Observation Corps

→ Main article : Siege of Antwerp (1832)

The July Revolution in France also had an impact on neighboring countries. The Congress of Vienna united Belgium and Holland into one kingdom. Belgium broke away from Holland in 1831 and constituted its own kingdom. Efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement failed because Holland held the citadel of Antwerp and refused to hand it over to Belgium. The French army then besieged Antwerp in the autumn of 1832.

The French approach prompted the King of Prussia to set up an observation corps on the Meuse on November 3, 1832 . It had a strength of three infantry brigades (including the 13th brigade), two rifle detachments, 16 squadrons , nine batteries and an engineer detachment . The supreme command was General Karl Freiherr von Müffling , until then Commanding General of the VII. Corps.

The regiment left its garrisons in the war budget (war strength). During the absence, the reserve battalion was formed in Minden.

The citadel fell by surrender on December 23 and was handed over to Belgium by the French .

After the return of the French troops to France, the corps became redundant and disbanded at the beginning of 1833. The regiment returned to its locations on January 31, 1833.

Constitutional conflict in the state of Hesse

→ Main article : Olomouc puncture

In July 1850 the regiment was assigned to the I. Army Corps with Danzig as the new garrison and left its previous garrison in Hamburg. On the way to Danzig, the regiment was stopped in Magdeburg and first diverted to Cologne, from where it was assigned to the corps assembled under General Karl Adolf von Strotha near Kreuznach . The reason for this action was the constitutional conflict in the state of Hesse .

On October 23, under the supreme command of General von Groeben, the borders of the electorate were crossed. Bavarian troops crossed the southern border on November 1st. After all attempts at an understanding had failed, the King of Prussia ordered mobilization on November 6th. A war was prevented by the Olomouc Convention of November 29, 1850.

Imperial maneuvers

→ Main article : Imperial maneuvers (German Empire)

• 1877: The regiment took part for the first time in the maneuver that took place near Stockum . The Imperial Parade took place on September 3rd on the Düsseldorf- Kaiserswerth street . The Imperial Headquarters, where an honorary company composed of all infantry regiments of the Army Corps performed watch duty, was in Benrath .
• 1884: The VII and VIII Army Corps took part in the parade that took place on September 19 at Wevelinghoven near Grevenbroich . The imperial headquarters were again in Benrath. Lieutenant Maercker was assigned to the company of honor from the regiment.
• 1889: The parade of the VII Army Corps took place on September 12th on the Mindener Heide. On this day the general of the infantry z. D. Kuno von der Goltz provided by AKO à la suite of the regiment. The maneuver was carried out by the VII and X Army Corps in the area of Coppenbrugge .
• 1898: The parade of the VII Army Corps, which had been reinforced by a cavalry division for the maneuver, took place on September 5th on the Mindener Heide, on the day of the maneuver by the Kaiser in the Weser region near Minden. The flag company, at the head of which the emperor rode, was provided by the regiment.
• 1907: The parade of the VII Army Corps took place on August 30th in Münster. Here the new flags were handed over by the emperor. At the beginning of the parade that followed, Lieutenant General van Erkel Scherer of the Dutch Army brought his boss's greetings to the regiment. The maneuver between the VII. And X. Army Corps took place in the Höxter- Driburg - Warburg triangle .

Price shooting

→ Main article : emperor or king badge

In order to improve the quality of the shooting, an annual prize shooting was held for officers and non-commissioned officers of the corps.

• The best officer received a sword with the signature Se. Your Majesty was provided.
• The best sergeant received a gold watch.

From 1890 onwards:

• the best shooter of the best shooting company in the corps an emperor's badge,
• the company commander a silver shield,
• the officers' mess of the regiment has an imperial bust as a permanent reminder.

With the highest cabinet order it was abolished as out of date and replaced by comparison shooting. In addition, the regiment's combat shooting was held in the group for the first time.

On January 27, 1895, the emperor decided that the company that had the best overall result in shooting within the corps should receive an emperor's badge to be worn by all teams on the right upper arm. The regiment in question also received the Kaiserpreis and the company commander a commemorative sign.

The regiment shot themselves the imperial badge from 1902, 1904 and 1912.

The Kaiserpreis consisted of a bust of Wilhelm II in 1902 and one of Friedrich III in 1904 . The company commander, Captain Ludwig Trettner, received a shield decorated with shooting emblems or a silver cup.

Expeditionary forces

Members of the regiment also did voluntary service in the formations of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps and the protection forces of South West Africa. During the deployment the volunteers left the budget of the main regiment.

Boxer Rebellion

German troops on contemporary postcard

→ Main article : Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Rebellion threatened 1900 German interests in the 1897 acquired through lease Jiaozhou Bay . With the assassination of the German envoy in Beijing , Clemens von Ketteler , AKO ordered the formation of an expeditionary force on July 9th . Five NCOs and 45 men volunteered for service in East Asia . Decorated with the China commemorative coin , almost all of them returned home in autumn 1901.

Herero and Nama uprising

Camel rider company of the German protection force during the Herero uprising , 1904

→ Main article : Genocide of the Herero and Nama

In mid-January 1904, the first news of the Herero uprising reached Germany. The order to mobilize a marine expeditionary force was issued on January 17th.

The situation required a significant reinforcement of the protection forces from the ranks of the army . As with the Boxer Rebellion, there were also a large number of volunteers this time. Two officers, a medical officer and 23 men from the regiment volunteered for service. One fallen was to be lamented.

The participants in the fighting in South West Africa were awarded the South West Africa commemorative coin to be worn on the black-white-red ribbon .

Campaigns

Wars of Liberation

→ Main article : Wars of Liberation

Autumn campaign of 1813

On August 16, 1813, the agreed armistice expired.

Northern Army (Crown Prince Bernadotte )

• IV Army Corps ( Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien )
  • Brigade (von Lindenau)
    • 3rd Reserve Infantry Regiment

At that time the regiment was south of Berlin . It was to receive its baptism of fire on August 23rd. The advance on the right wing of the corps led the regiment, coming as an avant-garde from Jühnsdorf , into the battle near Blankenfelde on the morning of August 23 . General Henri-Gatien Bertrand sent an Italian brigade to advance through the forest in the direction of Jühnsdorf. Here it met the regiment, which forced the brigade to withdraw.

At the Battle of Dennewitz , the regiment was deployed in the first meeting on the right wing on the ridge of the Dennewitz pines . When the advancing right wing caught the grape fire , it had to retreat. As the enemy was getting stronger from Dennewitz, the regiment received the order to retreat. This was carried out echelon by echelon (in stages).

The French generals, who had thus come into their hands on the road to Jüterbog , mistakenly assumed that the way was clear and moved up. Bülows III. Army corps then attacked them from the flank .

During General Blücher's stay in Bautzen , the decision was made to unite the Silesian Army with the Northern Army. This happened with the troops of Tauentziens on September 30th in Elsterwerda . Since General Tautzien received the order to conquer the French Elbe fortresses of Torgau and Wittenberg , the regiment took part in the Battle of Leipzig . General Leopold Wilhelm von Dobschütz was supposed to enclose Wittenberg on the right bank of the Elbe, while the remaining corps moved to the siege of Torgau . When they arrived in Zerbst, the King of Saxony , Friedrich August I. , who had been captured in Leipzig , arrived there . The regiment put an honor guard on him .

In Zerbst the musketeer battalions were posted in front of Fort Zinna. After Torgau's surrender on December 26th, Creilsberg was promoted to lieutenant colonel . Due to the surrender, the situation of the Wittenberg fortress steadily deteriorated and led to its capture on January 13, 1814.

After the corps withdrew on January 10, 1814, it received orders to march to Magdeburg . Here the regiment occupied the villages of Nieder-Dodeleben and Schnarsleben, which were in the line of enclosure . On April 1, 1814, the enemy tried unsuccessfully to strike in three directions. The blockade of Magdeburg was lifted on April 20, 1814.

Summer campaign of 1815

After Napoleon left Elba on March 22nd, the regiment received marching orders first to the Rhine and arrived on May 14th near Liège . There it was until the outbreak of hostilities.

On June 16 the IV Corps was approaching Ligny and on the evening of the battle of Ligny was about two hours away from the battlefield at the Tombeau de l'empereur. The following day the Prussian army assembled in Dion-le-Mont . On the morning of the 18th, General Blucher was with the corps when it set out for Wavre .

Belle Alliance battlefield, June 18, 1815

The 16th Brigade came into heavy artillery fire as they advanced near the heights of Plancenoit . The brigade commander, Colonel von Hiller, described the individual house, later called Belle Alliance , on the hill to the right of the village as the key to the enemy position. In his report after the victorious capture of the village and the end of the Battle of Waterloo , Colonel Hiller mentioned the 15s with praise.

In pursuit of in resolution contained French army the 15er Fusiliers fell under Lieutenant General Gneisenau at Genappe Napoleon's state coach's hands. After the Paris surrender, the IV Corps entered the city on July 9, 1815.

The regiment was visited on October 14, 1815 by General Blücher in Vendôme . It paraded in front of this the next day. On October 18, the regiment paraded as part of the Prussian troops present, as well as the English troops on the Marsfeld in Paris .

The regiment left the brigade unit in Saarbrücken on December 4 and arrived in Münster on January 9, 1816 . The 2nd and the fusilier battalion left the city on January 11th for Bielefeld and Herford .

Schleswig-Holstein War

→ Main article : Schleswig-Holstein survey

After the Malmö Armistice had expired, a division was ordered to be mobilized on the Jutland border on March 10, 1849 . The regiment was subordinated to the 2nd Infantry Brigade (Colonel von Chamier), which belonged to the Prussian division " von Hirschfeld " of the federal army .

The Danes were pushed back on May 6 in a battle near Alminde and Viuf . The fighting in Dons and Vejle followed . After the battle near Aarhus at the end of May, news of the armistice that had been concluded in Berlin on July 10th reached the regiment on July 20 and began to retreat.

The II./15 was the first Prussian battalion to reach the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. As a result of unrest in Hamburg, the city was occupied with ten battalions, a hussar regiment and a battery. The occupation lasted until late autumn 1850. The 15 battalions left Hamburg in July 1850.

German-Danish War

Transfer to Alsen

→ Main article : German-Danish War

Again due to the Schleswig-Holstein question , the order to mobilize was issued on December 17, 1863. At the end of January the regiment 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.

During the battle of Missunde on February 2, 1864, the 11th and 12th companies of the regiment's fusilier battalion belonged to the vanguard of the 1st Corps and unsuccessfully attacked the entrenchments south of Missunde. Before Missunde the regiment recorded 11 dead, 1 missing and 47 wounded, the highest losses of a Prussian regiment in the battle. After the attack was broken off, the fusilier battalion retreated and rallied in front of Cosel .

On February 12, 1864, gentlemen from Minden and Bielefeld arrived at the regiment in Flensburg to inquire about its faring and to deliver gifts of love.

Five days later the brigade was transferred to the first line of outposts in front of Düppel , the section from the sea to Ulderup being assigned to the regiment . General von Goeben meanwhile made the officers familiar with their surroundings through small reconnaissance battles . The regiment was also used in the Battle of Alsen .

In order to push back the Prussian right wing, the Danish Colonel Otto von Bülow and two regiments from the Potthouses attacked the Rackebüller woods on March 17th. After the eight-hour battle there at Rackebüll, the 1st company of the regiment, in whose ranks General Goeben was at that time, succeeded in capturing Captain Bauditz of the 5th Zealand Regiment. For his brave behavior in this battle, the captain and chief of the 7th company Emil Krieg (1826–1877) was raised to the nobility . In order to maintain Düppel (Brigade "Roeder"), it was essential that Rackebüll be held.

During the storm on the Düppeler Schanzen , in which only the 1st Battalion participated, 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.

Painting: Transition to Als

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 regiment attacked with their brigade Kjaer from the north-west. 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 the capture of Sønderborg the regiment stayed there.

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 . Lieutenant Colonel Kuno von der Goltz was awarded the order Pour le Mérite for this.

German war

→ Main article : German war

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 .

Skirmishes near Dermbach

The regiment, whose brigade was assigned to the "Hartmann" division, fought in Wiesenthal in the battles of Dermbach , which were 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 battalion in the "Goeben" division conquered the city of Kissingen in the battle , the two other battalions of the regiment 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 regiment ended. The division moved on to Winkels and the regiment moved to Friedrichshall.

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 . Since the two other divisions had continued their advance on Schweinfurt in the morning, the 15 division formed the avant-garde .

Battle at Laufach-Fronhöfen

When the regiment arrived in Laufach , the general had a bivouac there . However, the brigade outposts soon 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. General Wrangel had meanwhile pushed the two other battalions of the regiment from their camp behind the wings of the outpost position and the attack, as well as others that followed, was repulsed.

When it was getting dark, General Wrangel had his bivouac occupied for the time being. 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. When the Bavarians noticed the regiment, they tried to retreat to Aschaffenburg. The regiment, in turn, cut them off. In the battle for Hoesbach , however , the regiment was able to stop the project.

After a bypass along the railway embankment , the regiment reached their brigade again at the Aschaffenburg train station, which had just been captured by the 55th Infantry Regiment . The regiment therefore left Aschaffenburg immediately to take over guarding the railway bridge at Stockstadt . In Amorbach , the regiment received the order, as in 1864, to put a white armband around the left upper arm for the purpose of recognition by the others.

Battle of Bischofsheim and Werbach

Colonel Goltz led a detachment consisting of his 1st Battalion and fusiliers, as well as three squadrons of Hussar Regiment No. 8 , as an avant-garde on Königheim . After the capture of Königheim , the detachment returned to the brigade in the Bischofsheim, which had been captured in the meantime. 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. After the end of the bombardment, the 2nd Battalion posted outposts on Nikolausberg. 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

→ Main article : Franco-German War

On the night of July 15-16, 1870, the regimental command received the order to mobilize. Within seven days, the regiment grew from its peacetime strength (1554 men) to its war strength (3100 men), replacement battalion (1003 men). When the regiment arrived at Geislautern on the evening of August 6th on the way towards Saarbrücken and wanted to bivouac there, it was ordered to the 14th Division, which needed support in the battle of Spichern . However , the march was broken off behind the village of Schöneck .

In Forbach the company pack horses, which had not proven themselves as such, were harnessed to the French carts left there. These carts were to be used throughout the war.

When Colonel Delitz was making inquiries on the morning of August 14, he found the Chateau 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.

Plan for the battle of Colombey-Nouilly

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.

On August 26, the regiment received its first replacement in the form of two officers, 21 non-commissioned officers, eight minstrels, 472 men and a hospital assistant. The fusiliers received gifts of love from their garrison.

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.

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 . The regiment was part of the vanguard to Byans on January 23rd . During the battle of Byans, which lasted until evening, they stopped a train that was about to leave Byans with injuries and replacements. 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 remained in Pontarlier as a reserve, the regiment had to be at the disposal of General Zastrow. The regiment 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 regiment was moved to the Côte-d'Or department near the Auxonne fortress . The number of sick people at the end of the Jura campaign was about 900. With the arrival of the replacement and convalescence transports on February 27, the day on which the conclusion of the preliminary peace became known, the regiment regained its war strength.

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 regiment fell to the occupation of Bar-le-Duc and Ligny . The order to withdraw was received on May 23rd.

First World War

→ Main article : First World War

The regiment fought on the Western Front during the war .

1914

On the first day of mobilization, the regiment received a greeting from its boss. In addition, the leader of the 10th Company, Captain Schülke, who died of appendicitis , was the first to be lost. During the 8th day of mobilization, the regiment left its garrison in battalions by train. The 13th Division was assembled in Eupen , near the border, and on the 12th the 26th Infantry Brigade, designated as a corps reserve, crossed the Belgian border.

The largest and the smallest member of the regiment

The regiment marched via Liège through neutral Belgium. On August 21, it crossed the former battlefield of Belle Alliance, known from its history. This time the regiment received its baptism of fire against parts of the 5th French Army on August 23 in the battle near Lobbes as part of the Battle of Namur . Thereafter the brigade was assigned to the siege of Maubeuge .

During the Battle of the Aisne , the regiment fought at Berméricourt and Loivre . While trying to storm Loivre station, the regimental commander, Colonel Haldenwang, was wounded by the MG company and had to retire. In the attack on the village of La Neuville, the regiment suffered a loss of 1200 men. Of 74 officers who had left Minden on September 19, 27 were still present. The flag of the 1st Battalion remained in the field. During the night it was able to be recovered, and with it the “honor” of the battalion.

From October the corps was used in the battle of Arras . In the subsequent battles for the Loretto heights, the regimental commander was on October 17th at the Ablain church , where the III. Battalion, wounded in the head by shrapnel. In November the regiment moved to Flanders . Opposite their division were the British 7th Division and the Guard . On December 18, an English attack took place here to relieve the eastern front . On December 24th, after dark, all combat activity was suspended. The Christmas Peace, which lasted until January 2nd of the following year, began. A common burial of the dead in a mass grave took place during that peace. The ceremony was held by an English clergyman and a regimental war volunteer seminarist .

1915

Position at Neuve-Chapelle

At the beginning of the Battle of Neuve-Chapelle , the corps reserve, to which companies of the regiment belonged, was subordinated to the 79th Infantry Brigade of the 14th Infantry Division. Major Strippelmann, who was in charge of the regiment last year, was injured by a shrapnel and died a few days later. Parts of the regiment took part in the Loretto Battle near Richebourg l'Avoué . There they received their first, and only later so called, barrage . The companies in the corps reserve were assigned as reinforcements to Infantry Regiment No. 55.

In the summer, the sculptor Otto Richter from Berlin, who was on duty in a medical company in La Fontaine, received the order from the regiment to design a shield that was to be erected and nailed up in the garrison town of Minden.

With the beginning of the autumn battle , the regiment made its first acquaintance with a gas attack .

In Annœullin a parade took place in front of Crown Prince Rupprecht on November 5th, in which delegations of the troops involved in the last fighting took part.

1916

Gas war in Flanders

Officer corps of the regiment in Gaurain-Ramecroix (Belgium)

On March 28th, the regiment left Flanders after about 1 ½ years to be transferred to the Battle of Verdun on June 3rd after a two-month training on the "Dead Man" with a view of "Höhe 304".

In early September, the regiment was used in the Battle of the Somme near the recently lost village of Cléry . Due to the disproportionately high losses of reporters and troubleshooters, flashing lamps were used here to transmit messages instead of telephones . When the regiment left this theater of war, the association still consisted of three companies of 150 men.

After a few days of convalescence , the regiment was transferred to "Höhe 304". Due to the lack of new guns, these were now often replaced by mortars . A mortar division (MWA) was created in each battalion.

A parade of delegations of the troops of the VII Army Corps, one company from the regiment, took place on October 20, 1916 in front of the Commander-in-Chief of the 5th Army, the Crown Prince, in the park of Charmois near Mouzay . With the parade and the awards that followed, he paid tribute to their achievements in the Battle of the Somme and before Verdun.

The no man's land between the trenches was only around 50 m wide and was only 25 m at the so-called “back tooth”, a strongly protruding point on the French front. The molar offered the opposite side a strategic advantage that had to be eliminated. With the so-called “Company Backzahn”, its official name was “Company Grosse”, seven companies of the 15s, who used Rohr's tactics for the first time, eliminated it on December 6th. Since the company was more successful than planned, it was mentioned in the army report of December 7th.

The Crown Prince received two of these companies on December 12 at Charmois. On the same day the peace offer of the Central Powers was submitted.

1917

On January 25th, the division led a company that was divided into three sub-companies, corresponding to the three participating regiments, in order to get a better view behind the French line at "Höhe 304". The "Operation Minden", which carried out the regiment, took its foremost line from the right wing point of the "molar". Delegations from all the troops involved paraded in front of the Crown Prince on February 16 in the park of Charmois. On February 1st, Major Bila received the Knight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords as recognition for the undertakings “Backzahn” and “Minden” carried out by his regiment .

Barrage in preparation for the Blücher attack

For the shelling, which opened another company on March 18, the artillery used Grünkreuz for the first time . After the "Blucher Operation" was successfully carried out at the end of July, the division had regained the positions from which the army was driven back in April 1916.

Colonel Riebensahm visited his former regiment on April 16. The Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg visited her on June 2nd in her Vesluder quarters before the regiment moved into its new position in the valley of the Ailette . On the enemy side, the edge of the so-called Cerny basin was above the steeply rising ridge . The aftermath of the mutinies in the French army was felt at the time. In August, the division of the Siegfried Line in the "Group Crépy" the forest of Saint-Gobain , before heading back to the October Chemin des Dames to the Laffaux corner was postponed.

After six days of barrage, which had decimated the regiment , the enemy, superior in weapons and soldiers, began the shaft of La Malmaison on October 23 and rolled over the battalions of the regiment that were in battle. After a short time the regimental staff including the commander, about thirty men, evacuated their place of battle in order to avoid captivity and with the division left the unit of the 7th Army in the area of ​​the 3rd Army.

With a replacement from the Eastern Front , she paraded across the Place d'Alsace-Lorraine in Sedan in front of the Crown Prince and on December 21 at Dun in front of the Emperor .

The regiment was back at the front in Malancourt forest on November 16. The “Dead Man” and “Höhe 304” were in sight, but both were now in French hands. Since the introduction of the training regulations for foot troops (AVF), the division has not yet had the opportunity to use the new tactics for defensive battles in their positions. Here, however, the new structure was already found in advance, resistance lines and machine-gun nests .

1918

The division was relocated on February 5 for training for the planned offensive. It was to be carried out before the existing balance of power was adversely shifted by the Americans who were to join.

Advance of the regiment through the 1916 troubled battle area on the Somme

In the Great Battle of France , " Operation Michael ", the division followed almost exclusively in the second line. Only on the evening of the 22nd, the regiment captured Longavesnes , and on March 23rd, when the division briefly dispatched a divisional order to fill a gap west of Templeux-la-Fosse - in the former area of ​​the Somme battle - the regiment got there briefly in the front line. In recognition of the conquest of March 22nd, Major Bila was telegraphed by the Army Commander and General Command of the Corps for the order Pour le Mérites, which was awarded to him on March 28, 1918.

Assigned to General Command 51 , the division was relocated south to Castel an der Avre on April 19 . The result of the French attack on May 2 was the loss of the 5th Company, the 2nd MG Company behind it and the 2nd MW Division posted behind it.

In the battle of Hamel , the attacking Australians who used tanks and who also used tanks formed a superior force to which the regiment was subject. Their combat battalion was lost.

On the so-called Black Day of the German Army , the Battle of Amiens began at 5.20 a.m. in the Australian sector . The regiment's combat battalion was overwhelmed. The regimental command post at the east exit of Lamotte was destroyed by a direct hit and put the regimental staff inside out of action. Since he could not be rescued , he fell into British captivity, if still alive. Regimental commander Bila died a week later on August 15, 1918 from his serious wounds in a British field hospital. He was the only member of the regiment who was awarded the highest Prussian order in this war.

With the arrival of replacements, the companies were replenished on August 15, 1918, with companies 4th, 8th and 12th being disbanded. An artillery ammunition column was formed from the 29 vehicles of the three regiments. After further losses, the regiment consisted only of a combat battalion with three companies and an MG company on August 22. After parts of the dissolved Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 217 had been incorporated into the association on September 10, 1918, the regiment received its own MW company three days later.

The regiment was deployed at Liry from the end of September during the retreat fighting . During the Meuse-Argonne offensive , the regiment was relocated to the "Meuse Group West", in the section of their winter quarters from 1917, on the edge of the forest at Barricourt . Opposite them stood the new enemy, the Americans . For his behavior in the defensive battle there, the regimental commander, Major Severin, was proposed to be awarded the order Pour le Mérite on October 22nd. In November the remains of the regiment were loaded onto trucks and taken away. After fighting at Tailly , the regiment carried out their last stand on November 4th near Cesse . It was now intended to occupy and secure both sides of the Meuse crossing at Martincourt . Since the coming into force of the armistice was foreseeable, the enemy no longer attacked.

In the First World War, 89 officers and 3,092 men fell from the 15th regiment.

Demobilization and dissolution

After the armistice came into effect on November 11th , the 13th Division began its march back through the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg via Arlon , where part of its training for the Great Battle of France was completed . The German border was crossed at Echternach on November 21, the Rhine was crossed at Bingen and the regiment was driven home from Rüdesheim on December 5 .

The city and the government, Lord Mayor Becker and District President Rudolf von Campe welcomed the first transport train to arrive in Minden on the same day.

With the arrival of the regiment on December 5, 1918, its demobilization began . Almost all of the participants in the campaign had been released before Christmas 1918. For the most part, only the teams from the 1899 class remained. Since their training was not yet complete, this should now be done. A body of troops was formed from them, which should be suitable for creating peace and order.

With the Treaty of Versailles and the associated restriction to a 200,000- then 100,000-man army , the regiment was dissolved in 1919 with the formal end of the First World War. The tradition took over in the Reichswehr by decree of the Chief of the Army Command General of the Infantry Hans von Seeckt from August 24th, 1921 the 16th Company of the (Lippisches) Training Battalion of the 18th Infantry Regiment in Detmold.

Regiment chief

Rank	Surname	date
General of the Infantry	Friedrich Wilhelm Bülow von Dennewitz	July 14, 1815 to February 25, 1816
Colonel / Colonel General	Frederick of the Netherlands	July 21, 1816 to September 8, 1881
	Emma of the Netherlands	May 31, 1892 until dissolution

Commanders

Rank	Surname	date
Major / Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel	Johann of Creilsheim	0July 1, 1813 to May 22, 1815
Major / Lieutenant Colonel	Karl August von Wittich	May 23, 1815 to March 8, 1816 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel	Karl August von Wittich	0March 9, 1816 to May 28, 1821
Colonel	Ludwig von Schmalensee	May 29, 1821 to December 8, 1830
Lieutenant colonel	Karl von Lilljeström	0December 9, 1830 to March 29, 1831 (in charge of the tour)
Colonel	Karl von Lilljeström	March 30, 1831 to March 29, 1839
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel	Friedrich Wilhelm Menckhoff	March 30, 1839 to March 29, 1846
Colonel	Eduard von Schlegel	March 31 to October 4, 1846 (in charge of the tour)
Colonel	Eduard von Schlegel	0October 5, 1846 to July 20, 1849
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel	Wilhelm Freydanck	July 21, 1849 to May 22, 1854
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel	Johann Heinrich Schirmer	May 23, 1854 to July 5, 1857
Colonel	Friedrich August von Etzel	0July 6, 1857 to May 18, 1859
Lieutenant colonel	Maximilian von Kracht	May 19-30, 1859 (entrusted with the tour)
Colonel	Maximilian von Kracht	May 31, 1859 to March 29, 1862
Colonel	Karl Johann von Alvensleben	0April 3, 1862 to October 10, 1864
Lieutenant colonel	Kuno von der Goltz	November 21, 1864 to April 17, 1865 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel	Kuno von der Goltz	April 18, 1865 to June 17, 1869
Colonel	Eugen von Delitz	June 18, 1869 to November 1, 1871
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel	Peter of Mutius	0November 2, 1871 to December 11, 1876
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel	Eugen von Dresky	December 12, 1876 to January 12, 1880
Colonel	Friedrich Wilhelm Stockmarr	January 13, 1880 to August 17, 1885
Colonel	Otto Rayle	August 18, 1885 to February 13, 1888
Lieutenant colonel	Otto von Schell	February 14 to April 16, 1888 (in charge of the tour)
Colonel	Otto von Schell	April 17, 1888 to November 3, 1890
Lieutenant colonel	Hermann von Brauchitsch	0November 4 to 17, 1890 (in charge of the tour)
Colonel	Hermann von Brauchitsch	November 18, 1890 to May 4, 1894
Colonel	Friedrich von der Boeck	0May 5, 1894 to June 15, 1896
Lieutenant colonel	Max Kremnitz	April 29 to June 15, 1896 (substitute)
Colonel	Max Kremnitz	June 16, 1896 to July 2, 1899
Colonel	Alexander von Grutschreiber	0July 3, 1899 to July 21, 1900
Colonel	Viktor Dallmer	July 22, 1900 to April 23, 1904
Colonel	Paul Rafalski	April 24, 1904 to March 20, 1908
Colonel	Curt of tomorrow	March 21, 1908 to January 26, 1912
Colonel	August to the Nedden	January 27, 1912 to March 21, 1913
Württ. Colonel	Hermann von Haldenwang	April 1913 to September 1914
major	Otto Bodo Leo Siegmund Strippelmann	September 14 to September 27, 1914 (entrusted with the tour)
Lieutenant colonel	Gustav Riebensahm	September 28, 1914 to October 1916
major	Hans von Sydow	October 17 to October 31, 1914 (in charge of the tour)
major	Ernst von Bila	0October 9, 1916 to August 8, 1918
Captain	Neumann	0August 9, 1918 (in charge of the tour)
Captain	of class	August 10 to 20, 1918 (entrusted with the tour)
major	Johannes Severin	August 21, 1918 to March 1919
Colonel	Hans von Brandenstein	March 19 to June 25, 1919

Freikorps Severin

→ Main article : Freikorps

In March 1919, the VII Army Corps issued a suggestion to all regiments to set up volunteer units.

At that point in time, as early as March 18, 1919, preparatory work had already begun in Minden for the formation of a force under the orders of the last campaign commander. Parts of this "Freikorps Severin" were ready to march in April. An oak branch embossed with 15 was chosen as his badge. Both the badge and the designation of the Freikorps were approved by the General Command on April 26, 1919. The “Battery Bender”, volunteers of Minden Field Artillery Regiment No. 58 , who were temporarily assigned to the Freikorps , also wore this badge.

The commanding general of the corps, Oskar von Watter , took over command of all Westphalian free corps at the end of March 1919. They all had a green, white and black band around the lower part of the epaulette as a common sign. Anyone who excelled with “particularly excellent” performance after three months of service was also decorated with a green rifle cord to be worn around the left armpit.

The security guards in the industrial area were disbanded in May and replaced by free corps. This free corps was in Oberhausen and Sterkrade . Here it was the watch and security service , especially on the works of the Good Hope Hut.

In the last days of June the corps was withdrawn to Soest . The volunteer company of the 55th regiment was attached to him. In this composition it was determined to set up the 2nd battalion of the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 14, whose regimental commander was to become the last commander of the 15s.

At the end of August, the Freikorps designations fell away. The regiments were under the command of the Reichswehr Brigade 7 in Cappenberg Castle near Lünen .

Others

societies

The following associations of former regimental members had already formed before the First World War:

• Bielefeld Association on February 11, 1901
• Dortmund club on September 13, 1907
• Bochum Association on December 15, 1907
• Minden Association on March 15, 1909
• Gelsenkirchen Association on October 17, 1909
• Osnabrück Association on November 10, 1910
• Essen-Ruhr association on July 1, 1912
• Herford Club on July 14, 1912
• Wanne-Eickel Association on July 14, 1912
• Gütersloh Association on September 3, 1912
• Brackwede Association on June 24, 1913

These 11 clubs were merged into one association. Outside this association still existed:

• Association (Club) Düsseldorf on April 1, 1913
• Association of Officers (founded after the war)

The plan to erect a memorial in the garrison town involved first of all uniting all the clubs. As a result, a "federation" of members of the regiment was formed, which all clubs joined. For reasons related to the death benefit fund, the association continued to exist within the federal government for the time being.

As the first act of the new covenant, the memorial was inaugurated on August 14, 1921, the day of the "Battle of Colombey".

The following clubs were also formed:

• Bad Oeynhausen Association on March 10, 1922
• Club Lübbecke on July 15, 1923
• Association of Bünde on February 28, 1925
• Schnathorst Association on March 24, 1925
• Association of Münster on May 2, 1925
• Rahden Association on June 6, 1925
• Krefeld Association on August 16, 1926
• Halle / Westphalia Association - 1928

From May 15, 1922, the newspaper Der Fifteen appeared .

Monuments

• July 3, 1868 (restored 1997)

On the second anniversary of the Battle of Königgrätz the unveiling of the "Victory Column 1864–1866", a high sandstone column crowned by a Prussian eagle on a double-articulated four-sided pillar with decorations, reliefs and name plaques made of bronze, again on a blunted one, took place in the cathedral courtyard of the Minden garrison Base stands for the officers and men of regiments 15 and 55 who fell in the campaigns of 1864 and 1866, as well as those from the administrative district who were born in other units. The Berlin Hermann Emde designed the monument. The cost of this, estimated at 9,000 marks, was covered by the two regiments, the officer corps of the Landwehr, as well as voluntary grants from the city and most districts of the administrative district.

• August 1872

While in France the officers and soldiers of the regiment had raised funds for the erection of a monument by canceling the field allowance for twelve days. According to the drafts of a commission, it was unveiled on the former main battlefield at Colombey in the presence of a deputation of the officers' corps on the right-hand side of the road leading from Colombey to Borny.

• August 24, 1879

Paul Tornow created one of four blocks, one surrounded by an obelisk for each battle. The 124 names of those killed in the war were emblazoned on four tablets.

The monument at the west end of the Weser Bridge was dismantled in 1947 after it was badly damaged in the war.

• February 1916

Regimental cemetery at Le Willy

After the regimental cemetery at Halpegarde had been shelled, the decision was made to transfer the dead, including those from the cemeteries in Le Maisnil , Formalelles, Fournes and Marquillies . A place at “Le Willy” ( Wicres ) on the Route nationale Lille-La Bassèe was chosen for this. The enclosure and the originally-intended Halpegarbe monument came from the sculptor judges, see also "sign" in Minden. The Minden company "Drabert Söhne" donated the iron gate and key and the Minden company " Ronicke " donated the chest to store it. There are about 330 fallen 15s on it. The stone cross bears the inscription: "The Infantry Regiment Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands (2nd Westphalian) No. 15 its fallen heroes."

After the war, the traditional company took over the sponsorship of the military cemetery.

• 1919

The brother of the leader of the platoon of the 1st Company, Lt. d. R. Meyer zum Gottesberge, erected a memorial to the procession in 1919 with a memorial stone. When he returned the following year, it had been removed and its whereabouts unknown.

• August 14, 1921

The round, about 6 meter high war memorial in the Weserglacis stands under tall trees near Johannesstraße and the regiment's former officers' mess. Stones from the former Minden fortifications were used to build it. His inscription reads:

Inf Regiment / Prince Friedrich / the Netherlands / Westf. Nr 15 / founded in 1813

(and was supplemented by after the Second World War )

II. Infantry Regiment No. 58 / 1935–1945

• Monuments of the 15th Infantry Regiment
• 

  Memorial to the fallen of the Danish and German wars

• 

  Memorial to the regiment at Colombey

• 

  Monument from 1870/71 on the Weser Bridge

• 

  Memorial in the cemetery at "Le Willy"

• 

  Memorial for the train buried there in the Battle of the Somme

• 

  The memorial from the First World War

References

literature

• EM Dörk: The Royal Prussian 15th Infantry Regiment Prinz Fried. of the Netherlands (formerly Count Bülow von Dennewitz) in the war years 1813., 14th and 15th publishing house by Georg Reichhardt, Eisleben 1844. Digitized
• Hoffmann: War diary of the 2nd Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 15 (Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands) from the campaign against Denmark in 1864. Minden 1866.
• Georg H. von Krieg: War diary of the 2nd Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 15 (Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands) from the Main Army campaign in 1866. Edited according to the company reports and daily books. Minden 1867 digitized
• v. Dambrowski: Modern history of the infantry regiment Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands together with an outline of the prehistory of the regiment. Hanover 1878, Helwingsche Verlagbuchhandlung.
• Alfred Cramer : Officer history of the infantry regiment "Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands" (2nd Westphalian) No. 15. With officer master list and naming of awards etc. 1897 Minden i. W .: JCC Bruns Verlag.
• Alfred Cramer: History of the infantry regiment "Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands" (2. Westphalian) No. 15. Berlin 1910, Verlag R. Eisenschmid, publishing house for military science.
• Minden-Ravensberg under the rule of the Hohenzollern. (1909) H. Tümpel; Velhagen and Klasing, Bielefeld.
• Alfred Cramer: Officer master list of the infantry regiment "Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands" (2nd Westphalian) No. 15. Verlag R. Eisenschmidt 1913 Berlin.
• Gustav Riebensahm: Prince Friedrich Infantry Regiment of the Netherlands (2nd Westphalian) No. 15 in World War I 1914–1918. Minden 1931.

Web links

Commons : Infantry Regiment "Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands" (2nd Westphalian) No. 15  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• wiki-de.genealogy.net

Individual evidence

1. ↑ By AKO of November 7, 1895, infantry regiment No. 15 was awarded the grenadier march of the " Riedesel " regiment as a presentation march .
2. ↑ was given back in 1897 when the army increased
3. ↑ On March 30, 1890, the newly formed IV./13 was placed as the 1st Battalion in Hohensalza to re-establish the 140th Infantry Regiment .
4. ↑ Konstantin Ernst Thilo v. Kawerczynski (1821–1898)
5. ^ Congress of Vienna
6. ↑ Only the odd army corps kept an advance to mark them on the red flap.
7. ↑ The helmet was reduced in size on December 25, 1857 and November 3, 1860
8. ^ Martin Lezius : flags and standards of the old Prussian army. Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1935.
9. ^ Garrison from July 7th to December 15th, 1816 was Wesel
10. ↑ Garrison from February 16, 1816 was Paderborn , from February 25, 1817 Wesel and from July 16, 1817 Minden
11. ↑ The law concerning the obligation to do military service for the North German Confederation should later become relevant for the entire German Empire .
12. ↑ On May 20, 1895, the Minister of War decreed how the army bicycles were to be maintained and used. The same regulation also contained provisions on clothing, equipment and armament of the cyclist.
13. ↑ Kaiser Prize
14. ↑ Captain Ludwig Trettner was the father of Heinz Trettner . see reference
15. ↑ Haude-Spennersche Zeitung of 2 September 1813 No. 105th
16. ↑ For the capture of Napoleon's state car, the commander of the fusilier battalion, Major Keller, was awarded the order Pour le Mérite with oak leaves.
17. ^ Michael Embree: Bismarck's First War: The Campaign of Schleswig and Jutland 1864 . Helion, Solihull 2006, ISBN 978-1-87462-277-2 . (Subchapter The Action at Missunde, Feb 2nd , pp. 47-58.)
18. ↑ So it happened that at this point in time Prince Friedrich Karl defined the words “Goeben - boldly ahead!” As the slogan .
19. ↑ This Otto von Bülow is most likely
20. ^ Alfred Cramer: Officer list of the infantry regiment Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands (2nd Westphalian) No. 15. Verlag R. Eisenschmidt, Berlin 1913, p. 161.
21. ↑ The King of Hanover had already assembled “his” army in Göttingen on the 15th.
22. ^ The "Manteuffel" division finally met the Hanoverian army at the battle of Langensalza .
23. ↑ General von Perglas had the task of keeping the transition to Aschaffenburg open.
24. ^ The Bavarian Army no longer marched after the defeat in Bischofsheim.
25. ↑

    “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
26. ↑ In 1918 this seminarian was transferred to another division as a chaplain.
27. ↑ The French called the "back tooth" the "saillant jaw".
28. ↑ Grosse was the leader of MWK 13. He played an essential role in the preparation of this enterprise.
29. ↑ The part of the German position was designated as the Laffaux corner where the German line from La Fere in a north-south direction east of Vauxaillon, crossed the Laon-Soissons road and made a sharp turn to the east, to then essentially the Chemin des Dames to follow.
30. ↑ General Swiss military magazine: ASMZ, Volume 129 (1963), doi: 10.5169 / seals-40652
31. ↑ The shaft of La Malmaison is also known as the October Battle of the Aisne.
32. ↑ The AVF replaced the excier rules in 1917 .
33. ^ Jürgen Kraus : Handbook of the units and troops of the German army 1914-1918. Part VI: Infantry. Volume 1: Infantry Regiments. Publishing house Militaria. Vienna 2007. ISBN 978-3-902526-14-4 . P.56.
34. ↑ Barricourt has been part of Tailly since January 1, 1973.
35. ^ 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 active infantry regiments as well as Jäger and MG battalions, military district commands and training managers from the foundation or list until 1939. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1992, ISBN 3-7648-1782-8 , p. 80 f.
36. ^ 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 occupation of active infantry regiments as well as Jäger and MG battalions, military district commandos and training managers from the foundation or list until 1939. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1992, ISBN 3-7648-1782-8 , p. 81f.
37. ↑ Major Sydow belonged to the “7. Lorraine Infantry Regiment No. 158 ”.
38. ^ Jürgen Kraus: Handbook of the units and troops of the German army 1914-1918. Part VI: Infantry. Volume 1: Infantry Regiments. Verlag Militaria, Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-902526-14-4 , p. 56.
39. ^ Uni-Bielefeld: War memorial in the city
40. ↑ During the Franco-Prussian War, the major, put up for disposal in 1868, was drafted and appointed commander of the replacement battalion.

Coordinates: 52 ° 17 ′ 0.4 ″  N , 8 ° 54 ′ 31.9 ″  E