Royal Bavarian 19th Infantry Regiment “King Viktor Emanuel III. from Italy"

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19th Bavarian. Erlangen Infantry Regiment , postcard

The 19th Infantry Regiment “King Viktor Emanuel III. of Italy " was an infantry joined the Bavarian army .

history

Positioning and development

The association was set up on October 1, 1890 as the 19th Infantry Regiment. The 1st Battalion was formed in Erlangen from the

The II. Battalion was in Aschaffenburg from the 2nd Jäger Battalion , the III. Battalion in Landshut from the 4th Jäger Battalion . Together with the 7th Infantry Regiment, the association formed the 10th Infantry Brigade .

The first commander was Ludwig Edler von Grauvogl. In 1891 the regiment took part in a parade near Munich in front of Prince Regent Luitpold and Kaiser Wilhelm II . In the same year the II. Battalion to Erlangen, the III. Battalion relocated to Eichstätt . In 1893 the III. Battalion also stationed in Erlangen, with the exception of a detachment in Lichtenau . On October 1, 1893, the IV (half) battalion with the 13th and 14th companies was set up. From 1897 the regiment was stationed in Erlangen as a unit. On April 1, 1897, the regiment handed over the 13th and 14th companies to the 21st Infantry Regiment , into which they were incorporated as the 3rd and 4th companies.

On May 13, 1898, King Humbert I was appointed owner of the regiment, which was also named the 19th Infantry Regiment "King Humbert I of Italy" . After the death of the Italian king on July 29, 1900, his heir to the throne, Viktor Emanuel III , became heir to the throne on August 30, 1900 . , appointed as the new owner, resulting in the renaming of the unit in the 19th Infantry Regiment "King Viktor Emanuel III. of Italy ”.

In 1900 parts of the regiment took part in the expedition to China (First Lieutenant Franz Epp with three officers, seven NCOs and 63 men). On October 1, 1913, an MG - Company set up.

First World War

1914

During the First World War , the regiment entered Lorraine on August 7, 1914 with a supply of 86 officers , 3,307 NCOs and men and 235 horses . It was the 10th Infantry Brigade, subsequently the 5th Infantry Division and the III. Army Corps subordinated to the 6th Army . During the Battle of Lorraine from August 20-22, 1914, the regiment had its baptism of fire, attacked parts of the 68th French Reserve Division from the Han - Armsdorf line to the south, behind them parts of the 70th French Reserve Division and pushed off until August 21st in the morning about 15 km to Fresnes. Until August 22nd, the regiment continued to advance to the Seille, by then 41 dead and 76 wounded.

The fighting off Nancy - Épinal from August 23 to September 14, 1914 was marked by extreme severity and claimed the victims of almost 500 men by mid-September 1914. From September 15, 1914, the regiment was deployed between the Meuse and the Moselle . The regiment received five officers, 61 non-commissioned officers and 516 men to replace them. From Woinville it fought its way to the Ailly Forest in extensive forest areas until September 25, 1914. On September 30, 1914, it captured 400 rifles and took several hundred French prisoners. However, the regiment had to be withdrawn a few days later and dug itself into the forest of Apremont behind the "Kuhkopf" height. In November 1914, the combat strength of the regiment was given as 21 officers and 1,786 NCOs and men. The loss of officers gradually made itself felt, especially since six officers joined the regiment as replacements in February 1915.

1915

By March 1915 it had a total loss of 83 officers and 2,552 dead and wounded. With repeated replacements, the regiment had a strength of 79 officers, 3,255 NCOs / men and 228 horses. From May 1915, the regiment was only called the 19th Infantry Regiment because of Italy's entry into the war against the Central Powers . It remained in the Apremont forest until October 5, 1915, where it was largely able to hold its positions. In the autumn battle in Champagne (October 8 to November 10, 1915) the regiment was initially held in reserve as part of the 5th Infantry Division. In mid-October 1915 it was now ordered to the positions west of the Butte du Mesnil . After the heaviest enemy artillery fire, French troops overran the front lines on October 24th. Coming out of the half-buried trenches and shelters, the regiment threw the enemy out of the trenches again in a counter-attack, cleared the lines by the next day and took five French officers and several hundred men prisoner. The regiment had relatively few losses of less than 300 men in these fierce fighting.

1916

From December 10, 1915 to July 16, 1916, it was used again in the Apremont forest. In January 1916 a pioneer company of 263 men was set up. Colonel Drausnick, the regimental commander (February 28, 1916), was among the 73 men killed during the period. On March 17, 1916, Lieutenant Colonel Anton Ritter von Staubwasser was appointed regimental commander. Before the battles in Artois from July 17 to August 30, 1916, it had a combat strength of 74 officers and 2971 men and 17 machine guns in stock. From September 6 to 20, 1916, the regiment was used to defend Ginchy on the left wing of the 5th Infantry Division. British troops attacked on September 9th and were able to enter the place, but were repulsed the same day. On September 15, 1916, the British stormed, supported for the first time by tanks , west of Ginchy through the positions of the right neighbor (14th Infantry Regiment), so that the regiment had to be detached from the front. The total losses after three weeks amounted to 1234 men dead, wounded, missing, sick and buried. On October 6, 1916, Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Schuster took command of the regiment. On October 9, 1916, the 2nd and 3rd machine gun companies were set up, each consisting of two officers, about 80 men and 16 horses. In addition to the 16 German machine guns, two Russian and three French captured machine guns were also used.

1917

The regiment was transferred to French Flanders near Fromelles , where it remained until July 12, 1917. Only 79 men died during this period, so that the regiment was able to recover well (combat strength: 80 officers and 2,180 men, 29 machine guns). During the assault on Fresnoy, shortly before captured by the British, on May 8, 1917, the 1st Battalion was deployed as a storm battalion on the town. The counterattack brought fifteen Lewis machine guns , two MG 08 machines , four mine throwers , 80 rifles, 1,000 rounds of ammunition and fourteen carrier pigeons , as well as five British officers and 300 NCOs and crews. With a terrain gain of 500 m, the battalion had to record 93 dead, 351 wounded and 57 missing. After less heavy fighting at Biache in Artois, at Fresnes and Oppy in the early summer of 1917, the regiment was transferred to Flanders and with a strength of 87 officers, 2717 men, 255 horses and 28 machine guns took up position southeast of Fortuin on August 7, 1917 . The British attack launched on August 16, 1917, failed in every respect before the regiment: not a foot's breadth of ground was abandoned. However, this was a bloody success, the 1st Battalion was only four officers, 42 NCOs and 225 men strong, the personnel situation of the other battalions was not much better. The regiment remained in Flanders until December 3, 1917, when the combat strength (as of October 6, 1917) was given as 68 officers and 1901 men. In addition, the regiment had 32 MG.

1918

The regiment took part in the Michaelschlacht from March 20-29, 1918. It came from Baralle - Marquion to Bucquoy , which cost the regiment 15 officers and 650 men, and the commander Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Schuster was killed (March 27, 1918). On April 8, 1918, Major Julius Melchor was appointed regimental commander. In August 1918 the regiment fought between Arras and Albert , then on Römerstrasse , with the 2nd battalion in particular being badly hit (five officers and 155 men), so that the 6th, 7th and 8th companies were combined into one company had to become. On August 9, 1918, the regiment attacked Rosières , but was repulsed by superior British troops. On August 20, 1918, it had to move to a position east of Lihons . By September 1, 1918, the 2nd Battalion melted down to two officers, 14 NCOs and 65 men. At the beginning of September 1918, the regiment was deployed in the course of the Siegfried position in front of Hargicourt . On September 18, 1918, the British attacked the southern section of the regiment, broke in and forced it to abandon Hargicourt and retreat to a position 3 km further back. From September 29 to October 14, 1918, the regiment fought near Cambrai and was further decimated here in successful counter-attacks (89 killed, number of wounded not known). It then moved to the Hermann position north of Tournai , where it only lost four men to the dead. During the retreat from the Antwerp-Maas position from November 5th to 11th, 1918, the regiment came to the Grammont area.

Total losses

During the First World War, the regiment suffered

  • Dead: 64 officers, a medical officer, 317 NCOs and 2,353 men
  • Missing persons: one officer, nine NCOs and 134 men
  • Those who died due to illness / accidents: one officer, twelve non-commissioned officers and 99 men

At the end of the war there were 22 officers, two medical officers, 117 NCOs and 998 men in captivity .

Whereabouts

After the armistice of Compiègne , the remnants of the regiment reached Erlangen, where demobilization and eventual dissolution took place from December 14, 1918 . Various free formations formed from parts of the regiment . So on April 19, 1919 the security battalion "Erlangen", which was disbanded on May 22, 1919. In addition, on April 28, 1919 the volunteer hunter corps "Erlangen" that was in the border guard in Bohemia and in June 1919 in the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 47 was absorbed. Furthermore, in May 1919, a Volkswehr company "Erlangen" and a NCO company to reinforce the Erlangen police force were set up.

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 training battalion of the 21st (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment in Erlangen. In the Wehrmacht , the III. Battalion of the 21st Infantry Regiment continues the tradition.

Commanders

Rank Surname date
Colonel Ludwig von Grauvogl 0October 1 to November 30, 1890
Colonel Joseph Bauernschubert 0December 1, 1890 to April 30, 1894
Colonel Joseph von Brückner 0May 1, 1894 to December 31, 1896
Colonel Karl von Feilitzsch 0January 1 to March 31, 1897
Colonel Oskar Graser 0April 1, 1897 to July 31, 1901
Colonel Heinrich Reisner von Lichtenstern 0August 1, 1901 to September 30, 1903
Colonel Ludwig Moser 0October 1, 1903 to September 30, 1906
Colonel Johann Eichhorn 0October 1, 1906 to March 31, 1909
Colonel Gustav von Heydenaber 0April 1, 1909 to September 30, 1912
Colonel Franz Samhuber 0October 1, 1912 to April 30, 1914
Colonel Maximilian Drausnick 0May 1, 1914 to February 28, 1916
Lieutenant colonel Anton von Staubwasser March 17 to October 5, 1916
Major / Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Schuster 0October 6, 1916 to March 27, 1918
Lieutenant colonel Julius Melchior 0April 8, 1918 until demobilization

literature

  • Hans Jäger: The KB 19th Infantry Regiment King Viktor Emanuel III. von Italy (=  memorial sheets of German regiments. Bavarian Army . Volume 68 ). Schick, Munich 1930 ( digitized version of the Württemberg State Library ).
  • Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen , Friedrichfranz Feeser : The Bavaria book of the world wars 1914-1918. Volume I. Chr. Belser AG. Publishing bookstore. Stuttgart 1930.
  • Günter Wegner: Germany's armies until 1918. Volume 10: Bavaria. Biblio Publishing House. Osnabrück 1984.
  • Marc Zirlewagen (Ed.): The war is something hideous. The war letters of the student Hermann Reinhold (1893–1940) from the Western Front 1914–1918. Pressburg 2009 (German Academic Writings, NF, No. 13), ISBN 978-3-929953-10-7 . (Note: Reinhold served in 1914-1918 in the 19th IR)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jürgen Kraus : Handbook of the units and troops of the German army 1914-1918. Part 6: Infantry. Volume 1: Infantry Regiments. Publishing house Militaria. Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-902526-14-4 . P. 456.
  2. ^ 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 . P. 480.