Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment "Prince Georg" (Royal Saxon) No. 108

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Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment "Prince Georg" (Royal Saxon) No. 108

active 1866 to 1919
Country City arms Kingdom of Saxony
Armed forces Saxon Army
Branch of service infantry
Type regiment
structure see structure
Insinuation XII. (I. Royal Saxon) Army Corps
Location see garrison
management
Commanders See commanders

The Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment "Prince George" no. 108 was an infantry joined the Saxon army .

organization

Insinuation

1867

  • 4th Infantry Brigade No. 48
  • Rifle Fusilier Regiment No. 108

1870

  • 3rd Army Corps
  • XII. (I. Royal Saxon) Army Corps
  • 1st Infantry Brigade No. 45
  • Rifle Fusilier Regiment No. 108

1871 - occupation army

  • 3rd Army Corps
  • XII. (I. Royal Saxon) Army Corps
  • 2nd division No. 24
  • 3rd Infantry Brigade No. 47
  • Rifle Fusilier Regiment "Prince Georg" (Royal Saxon) No. 108

1880

  • XII. (I. Royal Saxon) Army Corps
  • 1st Division No. 23
  • 1st Grenadier Brigade No. 45
  • Rifle Fusilier Regiment "Prince Georg" (Royal Saxon) No. 108

1890

  • XII. (I. Royal Saxon) Army Corps
  • 6th Infantry Brigade No. 64
  • Rifle Fusilier Regiment "Prince Georg" (Royal Saxon) No. 108

Peace formation 1914

  • XII. (I. Royal Saxon) Army Corps
  • 1st Division No. 23
  • 2nd Infantry Brigade No. 46
  • Rifle Fusilier Regiment "Prince Georg" (Royal Saxon) No. 108

June 1, 1915

  • XII. (I. Royal Saxon) Army Corps
  • 1st Division No. 23
  • 1st Infantry Brigade No. 45
  • Rifle Fusilier Regiment "Prince Georg" (Royal Saxon) No. 108

structure

1867

Three rifle battalions, each with four companies, were founded.

1870

A replacement battalion was established for the three battalions, which had the task of recruiting and training new soldiers for the front. This was dissolved again on returning home in October 1871.

October 2, 1893

Two new companies (13th and 14th) were set up from all companies. These formed the IV Battalion and only existed until April 1, 1897 (see departures).

October 1, 1903

Founding of the machine gun company No. 12, which was subordinate to the 1st Battalion.

1914

Formation of two replacement battalions.

Levies

  • April 1, 1881 - The 4th, 6th and 12th companies were surrendered to form the new 10th Infantry Regiment No. 134 .
  • April 1, 1887 - to form the 3rd Jäger Battalion No. 15, the regiment had to surrender the 5th and 9th companies. The battalion was set up in Wurzen and used the old rifle barracks of the 108s in Wurzen
  • April 1, 1897 - the 4th Battalion (13th and 14th companies were transferred to Kamenz as part of the newly formed 13th Infantry Regiment No. 178 )

history

The regiment was founded in 1866 when the Saxon Army was incorporated into the North German Confederation . In the spring of 1867 the Rifle Regiment No. 108, the 1st Jäger Battalion No. 12 and the 2nd Jäger Battalion No. 13 were formed from the Light Infantry Half-Brigade .

King Albert appointed Prince Georg on April 1, 1867 as head of the regiment . From July 11, 1871, the association carried the designation Schützen (Fusilier) Regiment “Prince Georg” (Royal Saxon) No. 108 .

Honor companies

Due to the members of the royal family represented in the regiment, the regiment was often used for formations of honor.

  • July 7, 1874 for the Emperor of Russia
  • July 2, 1875 for the King of Sweden
  • 1891 Honorary company for the Archduchess Luise of Tuscany , wife of Prince Friedrich August , at that time commander of the 1st Battalion, later the last King of Saxony
  • October 22, 1893 Guard of honor for Prince Georg's Prinzenpalais, on the occasion of his 50th anniversary in the military
  • April 14, 1894 Reception of Princess Isabella von Württemberg, wife of Prince Johann Georg, at that time the commanding officer of III. Battalions
  • 1897 Visit of the King of Siam
  • 1898 Reception of the Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria at the main train station as his Majesty's honorary company.
  • 1904 Honorary escort of the coffin of her regiment chief King George of Saxony
  • 1906 Honorary formation for the 2nd wife of Prince Johann Georg, Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Sicily.
  • 1906 Honorary formation for Archduke Franz Ferdinand
  • 1908 Honorary formation for Duke Ernst II of Altenburg

Awards

The regiment was awarded the King's Badge by its excellent shooting performance in 1895, 2nd Company (first prize shooting), 5th Company in 1900 and also 5th Company in 1908 .

The Saxon troops as well as the Württemberg and Bavarians always wore the royal instead of the imperial crown in their badges. The king's badge showed two crossed rifles in an oak wreath with the royal crown. It was attached to the right upper arm of the uniform and was only worn by the men and officers.

The company commander received an engraved silver shield.

The winning company of the shooting competition received a bronze bust (called the Kaiserpreis) with the year of the winner engraved.

Imperial maneuvers

  • 1876 ​​Participation in the Great Imperial Maneuver in Leipzig
  • 1896 Participation in the maneuver near Görlitz

Participation in maneuvers as part of the Saxon Army

  • 1872 - Zwickauer Land
  • 1873 - Zwickauer Mulde
  • 1874 - Mountains near Oederan
  • 1875 - Freiberg Mulde
  • 1876 ​​- Imperial maneuvers
  • 1877 - Chemnitz
  • 1878 - Chemnitz / Zschopau
  • 1879 - Voigtland
  • 1880 - Dresden Elbauen
  • 1881 - Dresden / Riesa
  • 1882 - Dresden / Riesa - Kaiser Wilhelm I and Moltke checked the level of training of the Saxon army during this maneuver.
  • 1883 - Zittau
  • 1884 - Bergstadt Freiberg
  • 1885 - Bautzen
  • 1886 - Dippoldiswalde
  • 1887 - Mittweida
  • 1888 - Voigtland
  • 1889 - Oschatz - Kaiser Wilhelm II attended this maneuver at the invitation of the Saxon King.
  • 1890 - Stollberg
  • 1891 - Dippoldiswalde
  • 1892 - Voigtland
  • 1893 - Annaberg
  • 1894 - Flöha
  • 1895 - Lausitz
  • 1896 - Imperial maneuvers
  • 1897 - Neisse near Hirschfelde
  • 1898 - Leisnig
  • 1899 - With the formation of the XIX. Army corps only minor exercises
  • 1900 - Saxon Switzerland
  • 1901 - Lausitz
  • 1902 - Mountains near Freiberg
  • 1903 - Riesa
  • 1904 - Kamenz
  • 1905 - Mountains near Freiberg
  • 1906 - Lausitz
  • 1907 - Saxon Switzerland

Foam maneuvers for the Dresden residents

  • 1877 - Dresden old town bank of the Elbe
  • 1878 - Dresden old town bank of the Elbe

The residents of Dresden were able to watch these maneuvers and, after the end of the battle, talk to the soldiers and have everything explained to them. This measure was intended to improve the relationship between civilians and soldiers.

Training area of ​​the regiment

From 1893 the Königsbrück military training area was used for target practice.

From 1898 the regiment practiced combat training and drills in the regimental framework on the newly created training area Zeithain .

garrison

Rifle barracks at Alaunplatz

The barracks of the rifle regiment was on Alaunplatz in Dresden.

  • 1867
    • Leipzig (I., II.)
    • Wurzen (III.)
  • 1869
    • Dresden (I., II., III.)
    • 1893–97 IV. Half Battalion

Armament and equipment

uniform

Regimental shooters during an exercise

The riflemen kept the uniforms of the light infantry . Green skirt and black collar. The buttons and sergeant's dinner stayed yellow. From 1917 the shako was exchanged for the steel helmet in the field . The shako was only worn in reserve and when exercising. The regiment wore a brass-colored belt lock with nickel silver plating, on it was a mirrored monogram "GG" for Prince Georg. (RS)

Armament

When it joined the North German Confederation, the Prussian Army introduced the needle-fusilier rifle.

From 1871 the rifle 71 was used in the Prussian and Saxon armies as the standard armament of the infantry and from 1886 to 1890 the model 71/84 from Mauser was the first multi-loader.

From 1890 to 1902 the model Gewehr 88 and then the Gewehr 98 were used. Later also the further development 98a. The soldiers of the hunter and rifle battalions were with a hunting knife as a side weir equipped. The officers wore an officer's saber from the start; from 1862 the Saxon officer saber (it is actually a sword with a straight blade!), which was re-regulated in 1867 as the infantry officer saber (sword) M / 1867. As handguns the M 79 revolver , M79 / 83 Reichsrevolver or M 83 revolver.

The MG 08

The MG battalions were equipped with MG 08 or 08/15.

Campaigns

Franco-German War

On July 26th, the regiment was evacuated to the west, where it crossed the Rhine at Fort Montebello on July 30th. On August 11th, the Franco-German border was crossed at Frauenberg. Here the Crown Prince Albert let the division march past him.

The regiment suffered its first loss of life in mid-August near St. Marie. The adjutant of the Leutnant von Minckwitz regiment was fatally wounded by a sniper while on patrol .

The battle for the town of St. Marie was the regiment's first combat action. Together with the infantry regiments nos. 104 and 105 it was possible to push the enemy out of the place. These two regiments stormed towards Roncourt after the conquest; but when they came into strong infantry fire and the attack stalled, the 108s stormed towards Roncourt.

In this attack the regiment suffered heavy losses; The battalion commander Major Allmer also died. After Roncourt was secured, the 45th and 48th Infantry Brigades advanced towards St. Privat. While regiments No. 100, 101 and 107 advanced to storm St. Privat, the 108th served as a reserve.

After the Germans had won the Battle of St. Privat , the regiment was assigned to care for the wounded. French soldiers captured were taken care of in the same way as their own troops.

On August 23, the XII. Army corps in the direction of the Meuse towards Verdun . On August 24th the storm began against the fortress of Verdun. After the fortress was bombarded with artillery, the Crown Prince Albert realized that a storm would cost too high losses. The fortress was only besieged. The army corps moved towards the Maas on August 25th to bring the Mac-Mahon army to battle.

At Beaumont a strong battle with the 5th French Army Corps developed. After the French lost the Battle of Beaumont , Mac-Mahon was no longer able to bypass the German army.

Losses at Beaumont

  • two dead
  • two officers and 25 men wounded

On August 31, the French army stood at Sedan for the decisive battle. After fierce fighting, the French Emperor Napoleon III surrendered . on September 2nd. At the beginning of the battle, the regiment was used to cover the Bavarian and Saxon artillery. Later the riflemen took part in the assault on the villages of La Moncelle and Givonne.

During the battle, the 6th Company managed to capture six French guns. Two of these guns were later in front of the rifle barracks in Dresden.

The 5th, 8th and 11th companies were assigned with the removal of the prisoners.

Sedan losses

In contrast to other regiments of the Saxon Army, the losses of the regiment were low:

  • eight dead (one officer and seven crew grades)
  • 35 wounded.

After the republic was proclaimed in Paris on September 4th and the slogan “fight to the bitter end” was issued, the regiment marched together with the German army towards Paris.

On September 19, the siege ring around Paris was closed. The Meuse Army took over the cordoning off of the northern and eastern suburbs of Paris. The XII. Army corps was distributed to Lagny, Villevaude, Livry and Neuilly. The rifle regiment was stationed in Montfermeil. Fort Rosny was directly opposite the German position.

Again and again the French tried to break out. On October 1st the 9th Company had to deal with such a sortie and on October 7th the 10th Company.

On October 8th there was a major failure attempt, which was pushed back by the regiment with losses. On October 11th the regiment came in reserve. There were hardly any casualties during the siege, but the sickness rate was extremely high. In September it was 602 and in October 743. The main causes were the rainy weather and the massive consumption of fruit, which caused severe diarrhea.

From November 3rd, the regiment alternated with the 2nd Grenadier Regiment every six days in the front line.

In October an astonishing event occurred in the Saxon front section: residents of the city and the villages, mainly old people, women and children, peacefully collected potatoes next to the Saxon soldiers. A direct order from the army command placed the civilians under protection. According to French sources, up to 20,000 civilians were in the fields.

On October 28, the Germans took the neighboring village of Le Bourget . The French Guard Grenadiers had to withdraw.

The Battle of Villiers (battles on November 30th and December 2nd, 1870, which are summarized under this one term) was the greatest attempt by the French to break out.

On October 30th the Guard retook Le Bourget.

The regiment was commanded towards Celles at the end of November as part of the 24th Division. The places Brie and Champigny had been lost to the French. On December 1, the riflemen received the order to clean up the town of Brie. But this order was withdrawn by Prince George - the French were outnumbered. On December 2, the Württembergians in Champigny and the 107th and 104th regiments in Brie managed to surprise the French and take the villages. The 1st Rifle Battalion supported the attack on Brie. The II. And III. Battalion remained in reserve. The commander of the 1st Battalion, Major Schlick, realized that in the course of the battle the hills near Villiers had to be taken. If the French had positioned their artillery here, the outcome of the battle would have been uncertain. The losses increased so much that the regimental commander sent the 2nd battalion into action. The 4th Company of the 2nd Jäger Battalion No. 13 joined in the process. Despite the support, the left flank of the riflemen was attacked by new masses. Villiers was doggedly defended together with the Württemberg team.

Towards evening the regimental adjutant was sent to Prince Georg to also attend the III. To request battalion. The losses were devastating. Three quarters of all officers were dead or incapacitated. A third of the teams were unable to fight. The shooters had to give way. The prince gave the order, two companies of the III. to send north of the I. in the flank. These two companies moved into position under strong shell fire and held out for barely an hour. Then the retreat to the outskirts of Villiers began.

Despite the victory, the French did not press on. In the evening the 1st and 2nd Battalion moved to Celles, the III. The battalion moved into outposts and advanced during the night. The French attempt to break out had failed. Even if the riflemen, together with the Württemberg soldiers and the Jäger of the 13th Battalion, did not end their battle victoriously, the losses suffered by the French were so devastating that the attack collapsed.

Loss at Villiers

The losses were the heaviest since the regiment came into existence and in the entire war of 1870/71.

rank death Wounded Captured
Officers 13 23 0
Uffz./Manns. 182 428 23

The lists are only divided into officers and men. NCOs were not counted separately. The 23 captured riflemen returned home unharmed after the peace treaty on February 1st.

On December 6th, the XII. Army Corps to its usual place in the enclosure army. The regiment did not have any further armed conflicts with the French. Only on January 11th, 17 riflemen were captured during an attack during a carriage transport to St. Quentin. These arrived safely back at their companies on February 18 after the peace agreement.

On March 7th, a great victory parade in front of the German Kaiser Wilhelm I took place on the battlefield of Villiers .

Period of occupation in France

After the dissolution of the Meuse Army, the XII. Army Corps returned to the Aisne department and was supposed to remain there as security to ensure the implementation of the peace treaty. The riflemen were now almost in the same place as their main unit, the light infantry, in 1815-1818. On June 3, the regiment was ordered to go to the Ardennes department to do security duty there. The first parts of the 23rd Division were sent home.

On September 13th the king visited the regiment, the prefect of the département expressed his gratitude to the king for the protection and the always exemplary behavior of his shooters.

On October 19 the hour had come to return home. The regiment was driven by rail to Wilsdruff. There they gathered again and the regiment marched into Dresden via Wölfnitz. In Friedrichstadt the riflemen were greeted by a sea of ​​flowers and many residents of the city; then they lined up for the parade on Weisseritzstrasse. The parade was led by the king himself and his brother, the head of the regiment, followed by the Saxon war minister Alfred von Fabrice and the rest of the 108 officers. The mayor welcomed his “Dresdener Schützen” to the Altmarkt and thanked them for their heroic efforts in France. The onward march led the riflemen over the Albertbrücke towards Dresden-Neustadt and on to Königsbrückerstraße. Here they marched into the new rifle barracks on Alaunplatz.

The regiment was demobilized after the festivities and the replacement battalion disbanded. The campaign was thus over for the riflemen, as the last unit of the Saxon army.

Boxer Rebellion

The rifle regiment provided men from two companies, these were used for the 3rd and 4th company of the 2nd field regiment. From the many voluntary reports the following were determined: First Lieutenant von Heynitz as well as a sergeant and three NCOs, as well as 61 men. The head of the regiment, Prince Georg, said goodbye to the volunteers on July 20th in Zeithain .

In August the 3rd and 4th Companies of the 6th East Asian Infantry Regiment were put together. Most of these were recruited from the 7th and 8th companies of the regiment. A lieutenant, two sergeants and a non-commissioned officer and 21 men had reported.

There was only one skirmish with the participation of riflemen of the regiment, it was an ambush near the eastern imperial tombs. There were few casualties, no members of the regiment. However, there were also deaths in China. First Lieutenant von Heynitz died trying to save a soldier from drowning. It got caught in creepers. His body was recovered and buried in Saxony with full military honors. In addition, three members of the regiment died of typhus and dysentery .

Protection force German South West Africa

The first members of the regiment, five men, joined the protection force in April 1904 . A little later, 16 more riflemen went to Africa and were for the most part assigned to the 6th company of Baron von Humbracht in the 2nd field regiment. This regiment assembled at Karibib and immediately marched against the Hereros . From August 11th to 13th these were almost completely wiped out in the Battle of Waterberg .

In this campaign, too, the riflemen were always used as the vanguard, and the precise shooting of the riflemen also delighted their commanders.

In 1907 new soldiers were sent from the German Reich to suppress the Herero and Nama uprising. A lieutenant, a senior physician, a non-commissioned officer and 25 men went from the riflemen. Three members of the regiment were killed in action, five soldiers died of typhus.

First World War

The regiment was part of the XII. Army Corps only used on the Western Front.

1914

losses

During the First World War, the battalion suffered the following losses:

rank death Wounded Missing Captured
Officers 67 148 6th 14th
NCOs 270 763 70 112
Teams 2020 5632 465 796

Whereabouts

After the end of the war, the regiment marched back to the garrison and was demobilized in Dresden on December 18, 1918 and finally disbanded. The Grenzjäger Battalion XI of the Voluntary Grenzjäger Regiment 4 was formed from parts in February 1919. In June 1919, it was merged as the II Battalion in Grenzjäger Regiment 38 of the Provisional Reichswehr.

The tradition took over in the Reichswehr by decree of the Chief of the Army Command, General of the Infantry Hans von Seeckt , of August 24th 1921 by the 2nd Company of the 10th (Saxon) Infantry Regiment . In the Wehrmacht , the 1st Battalion of the 10th Infantry Regiment continued the tradition.

Regiment chief

Rank Surname date
General of the Infantry George of Saxony 0April 1, 1867 to October 15, 1904
Field Marshal General Emperor Karl I. August 17, 1916 until dissolution

Commanders

Regimental commanders (postcard from 1903)
Rank Surname date
Colonel Julius von Schulz 0April 1, 1867 to June 30, 1869
Colonel Ludwig von Hausen 0July 1, 1869 to January 3, 1874
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Adolf von Tschirschky and Bögendorff 0January 4, 1874 to April 4, 1881
Colonel Wilhelm von Minckwitz 0April 5, 1881 to March 31, 1887
Colonel Heinrich Leo von Treitschke 0April 1, 1887 to January 31, 1889
Colonel Karl Georg Müller von Berneck 0February 1, 1889 to September 21, 1892
Colonel Friedrich August of Saxony September 22, 1892 to September 19, 1894
Colonel Julius Blohm September 20, 1894 to April 18, 1896
Colonel Heinrich Kirchhoff April 19, 1896 to March 25, 1899
Colonel Hugo von Altrock March 26, 1899 to March 15, 1902
Colonel Johann Georg of Saxony March 16, 1902 to September 19, 1904
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Alban of Kospoth September 20, 1904 to January 16, 1906
Colonel Paul von der Planitz January 22, 1906 to March 22, 1910
Colonel Max von Seydewitz March 23, 1910 to March 19, 1912
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Woldemar Vitzthum von Eckstädt March 20, 1912 to January 26, 1915
Colonel Bernhard von Kielmannsegg January 27 to October 31, 1915
Lieutenant colonel Horst von Tümpling 0November 1, 1915 to January 1919

monument

Monument to the Fallen Riflemen in Villiers

On October 9, 1907, a memorial to the dead riflemen and hunters was inaugurated on the battlefield of Villiers. 90 participants of the battle and members of the Leipzig association "Jäger und Schützen" were present.

literature

  • Erich Blohm, Ernst Vogel, Gottfried Saupe: The Kgl. Saxon. Rifle Regiment "Prince Georg" No. 108. (Dresden 1926. Volume 31 of the Saxon part of the memorial sheets).
  • Arndt von Kirchbach, Carl Jacobsen: History of the royal. Saxon Rifle Regiment Prince Georg No. 108. Leipzig around 1909.
  • Artur Baumgarten-Crusius, Johann Edmund Hottenroth: Saxony in great times. History of the Saxons in the World War. Academic bookstore R. Max Lippold, Leipzig 1919–1921, Volume 3, p. 237, The losses of the Saxon army in the world wars.

Web links

Commons : Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment “Prince Georg” (Royal Saxon) No. 108  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Artur Baumgarten-Crusius, Johann Edmund Hottenroth: Saxony in great time. History of the Saxons in the World War. Academic bookstore R. Max Lippold, Leipzig 1919–1921. 3rd volume. P. 237.
  2. ^ 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. 184.
  3. ^ 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 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. 277
  4. ^ 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 commands and training managers from the foundation or list until 1939. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1992, ISBN 3-7648-1782-8 , pp. 277-278 .