II. German Grenadiers

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Origin and History

In July 1761, a second German Grenadier Battalion was formed with grenadiers of the 4 German Varvade regiments garrisoning Stralsund. It consisted of 4 companies of grenadiers for a total of 400 men. It was designated as the “II. German Grenadiers” to distinguish it from the existing “I. German Grenadiers”.

During the Seven Years' War, the battalion was commanded by:

• since August 1761: R. Wetterhoff
• from November 1761: K. Antarström

Service during the War

To do: campaigns from 1761 to 1762

Uniform

The grenadiers wore the uniform of their own regiments.

Mitre Caps

The Swedish grenadiers wore mitre caps very similar to those of the Prussian grenadiers. These mitre caps had a brass frontplate and an Austrian style blue bag at the back. To avoid confusion with Prussian grenadiers, the Swedish grenadiers covered their mitre cap with a black oilskin cover.

Colours

These converged companies of grenadiers probably did not carry any colour.

References

Großer Generalstab, Die Kriege Friedrichs des Großen - Dritter Teil: Der Siebenjährige Krieg 1756–1763. Vol. 6 Leuthen, Kriegsgeschichtliche Abteilung II (Publisher), Berlin 1904, pp.92-107, Annex pp. 11-16

Purky, Jim, Swedish Army Organization, Seven Years War Association Journal Vol. X No. 1

Schorr, Dan, Uniforms of the Swedish Army, 1757-1762, The Courrier, June-July 1979

N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.