Rot Würzburg Infantry
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Origin and History
The regiment was raised in 1757 from troopers of the 3 existing Würzburg infantry regiments (Hutten and Drachsdorff regiments became the first and second battalions respectively and were brought up to strength with 400 men from the third regiment, Kolb).
The regiment was organised similar to the Austrian infantry in 2 Feldbataillone and 2 companies of grenadiers. It fought with the Austrian army from late in 1756 until 1759. In 1760 it joined the Reichsarmee.
During the Seven Years' War, the regiment was owned by the prince-bishop of Würzburg and Bamberg Adam Friedrich Graf von Seinsheim.
During the Seven Years' War, the successive commanders of the regiment were:
1756: Carl Heinrich Freiherr von Berlepsch
1757: Wolf Ehrenreich Warnsdorf
1758: Max Wilhelm von Stetten
The regiment was disbanded at the end of the war in 1763.
Service during the War
The regiment joined the Austrian field armies in March 1757. On November 22, one battalion of the regiment took part to the battle of Breslau where it was deployed in Sistovictz's brigade, in the second line of the infantry centre under baron Kheul. On December 5 at the battle of Leuthen, one battalion of the regiment was deployed in Haller's brigade in the second line of the infantry left wing under Colloredo. The regiment lost 24 officers and 755 men killed or captured during its vaunted defence of the churchyard in Leuthen.
In 1758, the Rot Regiment continued to serve with the main Austrian army. By August 2, one battalion of the regiment was part of the reserve of the main Austrian army under the command of Daun near Jaromirs. Daun was following up the Prussian army retiring through Bohemia after the failure of the Prussian invasion of Moravia. On October 10, one battalion of the regiment took part to the battle of Hochkirch where it was deployed in the left column (under duke d'Ursel) of Arenberg's corps on the Austrian right wing to the east of Rodewitz.
In August 1759, still serving with the main Austrian army, the Rot regiment absorbed the second battalion of the Blau regiment after the capture of most of the first battalion.
In 1761, the heavy losses placed an increasing strain on Würzburg's limited resources, and the Bishop of Würzburg pressed the Austrians into amalgamating the two regiments into a single regiment entitled Kaiserliche Würzburg. While one battalion remained in Eger as a depot, the other two battalions served with the Austro-imperial army operating in Saxony in 1761 and 1762. These battalions were present at the battle of Freiberg.
Late in 1762 the field elements were sent to the Austrian Netherlands (modern day Belgium and Luxembourg) as part of a vain effort to seize Prussian territory in Westphalia. However, the Peace of Hubertusburg put an end to all such attempts and the regiment was formally discharged from service on February 24, 1763.
Uniform
Privates
| Headgear |
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| Neckstock | red | ||||||||||||
| Coat | white wool (Austrian style)
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| Waistcoat | white | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | white | ||||||||||||
| Gaiters | black | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
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Troopers were armed with a musket and carried brown haversack and a canteen.
Officers
Officers wore a fancier uniform with silver buttons instead of pewter. They wore straw gloves and had a yellow waist sash.
Musicians
Drummers wore the same uniform as the infantry but had a swallows nest in red on the shoulder.
The drum pattern is speculative but would have been brass rimmed in red, the facing color, with white drum cords. This is a recurring pattern of the period.
Colours
The colors are speculative but based on the pattern common to the Reichsarmee troops of the period.
Colonel Flag: White field, Imperial eagle bearing the Würzburg coat-of-arms with white and red waves as a trim on the flags edge.
Regimental Flag: Red field, Imperial eagle bearing the Würzburg coat-of-arms with white and red waves as a trim on the flags edge.
References
Boehm, E.; Rottgardt, D.: Die Reichsarmee 1757-1763 I. Teil. Zusammensetzung und Organisation, Manuskript, KLIO - Arbeitsgruppe 7jähriger Krieg, 1979
Boehm, E.; Rottgardt, D., Weirich, W.-D.: Die Reichsarmee 1757-1763 II. Teil. Die einzelnen Einheiten, ihre Stärke, Zusammensetzung, Uniform und Feldzeichen, Manuskript, KLIO - Arbeitsgruppe 7jähriger Krieg, o.J.
Brabant, Arthur: Das heilige römische Reich teutscher Nation im Kampf mit Friedrich dem Großen, vol. I, II Berlin 1904, vol. III Dresden 1931
Hagen, Eduard: Die Fürstlich Würzburgische Hausinfanterie von ihren Anfängen bis zum Beginne des Siebenjährigen Krieges (1636-1756), in: Darstellungen aus der Bayrischen Kriegs- und Heeresgeschichte, hrsg. vom K.B. Kriegsarchiv, Heft 19, München 1910
Hagen, Eduard: Die Fürstlich Würzburgische Hausinfanterie vom Jahre 1757 bis zur Einverleibung des Fürstbistums in Bayern 1803, in: Darstellungen aus der Bayrischen Kriegs- und Heeresgeschichte, hrsg. vom K.B. Kriegsarchiv, Heft 20, München 1911
Henke, Julius: Über das Heerwesen des Hochstifts Würzburg im 18. Jahrhundert, in: Darstellungen aus der Bayrischen Kriegs- und Heeresgeschichte, hrsg. vom K.B. Kriegsarchiv, Heft 7, München 1889
Knötel, Herbert: Rot- und Blau-Würzburg (Vor 200 Jahren "Leuthen"), in Zeitschrift für Heeres- und Uniformkunde, No. 156, Jg. 1957/VI, page 102-103
Kronoskaf - Project SYW, Various articles on the campaigns, sieges and battles of the war
Wilson, P., Wurzburg and Bamberg in the Seven Years War, Seven Years War Association Journal Vol. IX No.2
