Bavarians of the War of Spanish Succession

Bavarians of the War of Spanish Succession

Wednesday, August 30, 2028

The Bavarian Army of the War of Spanish Succession

The Bavarian Army was the army of the Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom (1806–1919) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereignty (Wehrhoheit) of Bavaria into that of the German State in 1919. The Bavarian army was never comparable to the armies of the Great Powers of the 19th century, but it did provide the Wittelsbach dynasty with sufficient scope of action, in the context of effective alliance politics, to transform Bavaria from a territorially-disjointed small state to the second-largest state of the German Empire after Prussia.

History
1682–1790: From the first standing army to the War of the Spanish Succession
The Reichskriegsverfassung(Imperial War Constitution) of 1681 obliged Bavaria to provide troops for the Imperial army. Moreover, the establishment of a standing army was increasingly seen as a sign of nation-statehood and an important tool of absolutist power-politics. At a field camp in Schwabing on 12 October 1682, the newly recruited troops were officially taken into Bavarian service. Seven regiments of infantry, two regiments of dragoons and two of cuirassiers were set up, along with an artillery corps. The traditional mid-blue colour was already in wide use among the Bavarian infantry and would be used throughout from 1684. The cuirassiers and artillery wore light grey tunics, while the dragoons wore red or blue tunics. The army distinguished itself under Maximilian II during the Great Turkish War, particularly during the Siege of Belgrade.  In 1682 Max Emanuel had doubled its size to 7 infantry regiments, 4 cavalry regiments and 4 dragoon companies. This size of this army was substantially below that of any of the major powers, but even then it could not be maintained by the income and credit of Bavaria. The substantial participation of the Bavarian army in the war against the Turks, where it gained a lot of experience, was therefore only possible on account of subsidies. After the peace of Rijswijk the size of the Bavarian army was reduced.  By 1701, the composition of the army was the same as that during the Turkish wars, only now with three regiments each of cuirassiers and dragoons.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Bavaria fought on the side of France.
In 1701, Bavaria started to deal with France and concluded a first treaty. By this it was obliged to raise the strength of its army to 15,000 men in return for a monthly subsidy of 45,000 livre. The regiments stationed in the Spanish Netherlands were meanwhile returned to Bavaria a movement which was completed in April 1701. In 1701 the regular infantry counted a guard regiment of three battalions, five regiments of two battalions and four independent battalions. The militia counted 12 battalions and so the infantry totaled 29 battalions. The cavalry consisted of 17 cavalry squadrons and 12 dragoon squadrons. According to its numbers the Bavarian army was very comparable to the Prussian.
In August 1702 the first treaty with France was followed by a treaty which obliged Max Emanuel to raise his army to 25,000 men. Apart from adding a Cuirassier regiment in 1702, an additional infantry regiment in 1703 and a third battalion to the infantry regiments the basic organisation of the Bavarian army did however remain unchanged till early 1704.   Max Emanuel also started to strengthen his militia troops. In the early summer of 1704 the Bavarian army reached its zenith: 8 cavalry regiments fielding 47 squadrons and 9 regular infantry regiments fielding 26 battalions. This for a 'soll' strength of 28,250 men which was probably nearer to 19,000 in reality.
By 1704 Marlborough got word that a joint effort of the French and Bavarians of co-operating in an effort of knocking Austria out of the war.  Marlborough marched his army along the Danube while the French marched to Bavaria.  On the 2nd of July 1704, Marlborough made his attack on the Bavarians before the French under Tallyrand could link up.

The major battles of the Bavarian Army.
The battle for the Schellenberg was the culmination of the march to the Danube and it came within an inch of achieving its goals there. The follow-up put so much pressure on Bavaria that the alliance almost succeeded in getting Max Emanuel into their camp. 


The Army deploys
For this, the army at the Schellenberg was commanded by Johann Baptist Graf von Arco and General Alexander von Maffei who commanded 16 Bavarian and 6 French battalions and 4 Cavalry regiments totaling about 13,000 men. In Donauwörth itself were 1,000 French under Du Bordet with other French units in the surrounding villages. The Allies launched a series of hard fought attacks which resulted in the Bavarians fleeing the field, losing most of their baggage, all regimental colours and deprived the Elector of his best troops for the rest of the war. Only the cavalry remained, mostly the cuirassiers, as the only real effective force to continue the fight.



You can read about the battle here:- Battle of Schellenberg

Aftermath 
The Elector of Bavaria had lost many of his best troops which was to have a profound effect on the ability of the Franco-Bavarian forces to face the Allies in the rest of the campaign. Very few of the men who had defended the Schellenberg rejoined the Elector's and Marsin's army.  Included amongst this number, however, were the Comte d'Arco and his second-in-command, the Marquis de Maffei, both of whom later defended Lutzingen at the Battle of Blenheim.  

In the aftermath the Elector sat behind his defences at Augsburg while Marlborough sent his troops deep into Bavaria on raids of destruction, burning buildings and destroying crops, trying to lure the Bavarian commander into battle or convince him to change his allegiance back to Emperor Leopold I.

The Emperor had offered a full pardon, as well as subsidies and restoration of all his territories, with additional lands of Pfalz-Neuburg and Burgau if he returned to the Imperial fold, but negotiations between the parties were making little headway. Had Max Emanuel not received word of French reinforcements on the very day he was about to sign a treaty, the Danube campaign would have ended after the Schellenberg. After the failure of negotiations a new strategic situation was then created with the alliance cutting off Max Emanuel from Bavaria and preparing to attack it.  Within 6 weeks, both armies would come together in one of the greatest battles of the War of Spanish Succession:- The Battle of Blenheim.

The Battle of Blenheim (German:Zweite Schlacht bei Höchstädt; French Bataille de Höchstädt), fought on 13 August 1704, was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied victory ensured the safety of Vienna from the Franco-Bavarian army, thus preventing the collapse of the Grand Alliance

The Bavarians Deploy
In the village of Lutzingen, Count Maffei positioned five Bavarian battalions with a great battery of 16 guns at the village's edge. In the woods to the left of Lutzingen, seven French battalions under the Marquis de Rozel moved into place. Between Lutzingen and Oberglauheim the Elector placed 27 squadrons of cavalry – Count d'Arco commanded 14 Bavarian squadrons and Count Wolframsdorf had 13 more in support nearby. 

The breakthrough by Marlborough:- 


You can read about the battle here:- Battle of Blenheim 

Aftermath 
After the battle the remnants of the Elector of Bavaria's and Marshal Marsin's wing limped back to Strasbourg, losing another 7,000 men through desertion. Despite being offered the chance to remain as ruler of Bavaria (under strict terms of an alliance with Austria), the Elector left his country and family in order to continue the war against the Allies from the Spanish Netherlands where he still held the post of governor-general. 

Following defeats at the Battles of Schellensberg and Blenheim, the Bavarian army ceased to exist as a coherent fighting force, though small remainders continued to fight until the end of the war.  The loss of the troops which were in Bavaria when the country was subsequently reduced did however lead to only a small force escaping to the Spanish Netherlands.   This small force continued the struggle in the Spanish Netherlands. The Bavarian troops suffered again in the battle for the Brabant lines and the Battle of Ramillies, but did continue the fight till the end of the war.








Saturday, October 6, 2018

Pictures of my Bavarian Army

Maximillan Elector
My Bavarian Army
Arco Cuirassiers
Wolframsdorff Cuirassiers


Guards Brigade, consisting of the Garde Grenadiers, Garde Karbineers and Locatelli Hussars
Torring-Seefeld Dragoons

Monasreol Dragoons
LiebRegiment
IR Kurprinz
IR Tattenbach
IR Schellenberg
IR Maffei
IR Lutzelburg
IR Mercy

IR Bettendorf
IR d'Ocfort
Artillery




Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Cavalry of the Bavarian War of the Spanish Succession

The Bavarian cavalry at the start of the war had three Regiments of Dragoons, three of Cuirassiers and a number of Guard Regiments which only consisted of a few squadrons.  The Elector was told to raise his army to some 25,000 men and so all infantry regiments were brought up to 3 battalions and an extra cuirassier regiment was created(Wolframsdorff) which brought the army, along with militia battalions, up to around some 19,000 men.

After the battles of Schellensberg and Blenheim, only the the heavy and guard cavalry arm remained as a force of Bavarians along with the LeibGarde, Kurfurst and the Boismorel Grenadiers.  The replacements for losses was the disbanding of the Dragoons, which fed in replacements to the Cuirassiers and the Prinz Phillip Karbineers.

Major Battles of the Bavarian Cavalry

At Schellenburg, Monasterol's Dragoons 2 sqns & Santini's dragoons 1 sqn in Monasreol's Dragoon Bde ( along with 6 French Dragoon Sqn's deployed in support of the foot). Lt Gen Torring-Seefeld commanded 26 sqn's of Bavarian cavalry in support behind the Schellenburg - 6 sqn each of the 4 cuirassier regiments - Arco & Weickel in Weickel's Bde and Costa & Wolframsdorff along with 2 sqn of Locatelli Hussars in De Costa's Bde.

At Blenheim, Von Wolframsdorff commanded 23 sqn's of Bavarian Horse deployed between Oberglauheim & Lutzingen as part of the Cavalry under Compte d'Arco. In the 1st line Weickel's Bde consisted of 4 sqn each of Arco & Weickel Cuirassiers, and 3 sqn of Household Guard Horse - certainly the Garde Carabiniers (? 1 or 2 sqn) and Garde Grenadiers & probably also the Hartschiere Garde though Grant says these were palace ceremonial troops. In the 2nd line was de Costa's Bde with 5sqn Wolframsdorff Cuir., 4 sqn Costa Cuir. & 2 sqn Locatelli Hussars. The 3 Dragoon regiments appear to have been in Munich & Augsberg at the time.

At Ramilles, The Bavarians had Cavalry as part of 2 Bde's - 1st Line Santini's Bde 3 sqn each of Arco, Weickel & Garde brigaded with cavalry from Cologne & in 2nd line in Costa's Bde 3 sqn each of Wolframsdorff, Costa & Pr. Philip Carabiniers also with a unit from Cologne. reference = "Ramilles - Marlborough's Masterpiece" by Neil Litten by Partizan Press.

At Malplaquet there are 12 squadrons of unnamed Bavarian Horse present in the cavalry of the Left - 7 sqn in the 1st line & 5 in the 2nd. Reference = "Malplaquet 1709" by Christopher Scott also by Partizan Press.

The Dragoons
Guard Cavalry

The above Regiments are my interpretation based on the information found on the Internet.  Most are based on Anton Hoffmans excellent drawings and the colours are subject to various artist's interpretations of historical records.  So far as I am aware, there are no museum articles of clothing to verify the exact colours. My artwork is no means historically accurate.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Cuirassiers of the Bavarian Army at the start of the War of Spanish Succession

At the outbreak of the War of Spanish Succession Bavaria had 3 cuirassier regiments: General de Cavalerie Johan Baptist Graf von Arco, GFML Graf von Thurn & Taxis (La Tour) & GWM Karl Johan Lothar von Wieckel von Wackerstein. Each regiment was of 12 companies in 6 squadrons. A company was of 75 men: 1 Rittmeister, 1 Oberleutnant, 1 Unterleutnant, 1 Kornett, 1 Wachtmeister, 1 Fourier, 3 Korporal, 1 Trompeter (Leibcompagnie +1), 1 Feldscherer, 1 Fahnensattler, 1 Fahnenschmied, 62 Gemeine. In April of 1701 cuirassier regiments were below authorized strength: Arco – 276, Wieckel – 275 & La Tour - 268. But by the opening of the hostilities in 1702 they reached the full staff. La Tour Cuirassier twice changed inhabers in 1702-03. First in 1702 it became obrist Gabriel Ferdinand Graf von Verita, then on 15 September 1703 – obrist Bartholomaus Graf von Costa.
The fourth cuirassier regiment was raised on 15 May 1702. Its inhaber became obrist Beit Heinrich Morits Graf von Wolframsdorff. Existing cuirassier & dragoon companies were reduced on 8 & 12 men respectively to create the new regiment, so now Bavarian cuirassier regiments became of 780 men.

Bavarian cuirassiers during the WSS were dressed in grey coats with cuffs & lining in regimental colours:

regiment
Regimental colour
Kamisol
Arco
blue
blue
Wieckel
red
red
La Tour(Costa)
red
grey
Wolframsdorff
green
green

Bavarian cuirassiers didn’t suffer a lot during the campaign of 1704. In October of 1704 Arco & Wolframsdorff Cuirassiers were of 12 coys, Costa – 10, Wieckel – 8. By the 1 November of 1704 Arco & Costa were reduced to 5 squadrons (10 coys), Wieckel & Wolframsdorff – 4 (8).




Cuirassier Regimental Standards

Though the originals standards were kept as trophies, no records exist of what they actually looked like.  The above standards are my interpretation based on the facing colours of the Regiment and the family crest being placed in the center of the standard.  They are no means historically accurate.

Source: Staudinger K. Geschichte des kurbayerischen Heeres unter Kurfürst Max II Emanuel. B. 2. S. 774, 783-784, 792, 797.


Monday, August 27, 2018

Individual Regimental Colours Bavarians of the War of Spanish Succession

Greetings,

Here is my research based on all available information from various sources on the Internet.   Now I am not claiming to be 100% accurate, but the is the best I have come up with so far.













Monday, August 6, 2018

Bavarian Army Regiments up to and including the War of Spanish Succession


Bavarian Army Regiments up to and including the War of Spanish Succession
Year
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
1682
Berlo
Puech
Degenfeld
Montfort
Perouse
Steinau
Preysing



1683
Berlo/Mercy
Puech
Degenfeld/La Rosa
Montfort
Perouse/Rummel
Steinau
Preysing



1684
Mercy/Leibregiment
Puech
La Rosa/Gallenfels
Montfort
Rummel
Steinau
Preysing



1685
Leibregiment
Puech/Schwanenfeldt
La Rosa/Gallenfels
Montfort
Rummel
Steinau
Preysing/Seyboltsdorff



1686
Leibregiment
Schwanenfeldt
Gallenfels
Montfort
Rummel/Prinz Veldenz
Steinau
Seyboltsdorff



1687
Leibregiment
Schwanenfeldt
Gallenfels
Montfort
Prinz Veldenz
Steinau
Seyboltsdorff



1688
Leibregiment
Schwanenfeldt disbanded
Gallenfels
Montfort disbanded
Prinz Veldenz
Steinau
Seyboltsdorff



1689
Leibregiment
x
Gallenfels/Schwanenfeldt
x
Prinz Veldenz/Zacco
Steinau
Seyboltsdorff



1690
Leibregiment
x
Schwanenfeldt
x
Zacco
Steinau
Seyboltsdorff



1691
Leibregiment
x
Schwanenfeldt
x
Zacco
Steinau
Seyboltsdorff



1692
Leibregiment
x
Schwanenfeldt
x
Zacco
Steinau
Seyboltsdorff



1693
Leibregiment
x
Schwanenfeldt
Wollendorf-Kompagnien
Zacco
Steinau
Seyboltsdorff/Rivera



1694
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Harthausen
Zacco
Steinau/Desprez
Rivera



1695
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Harthausen/Rivera /Harthausen
Zacco
Desprez
Rivera/Tattenbach



1696
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Harthausen
Zacco/Maffei
Desprez/Lützelburg
Tattenbach



1697
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Harthausen
Maffei
Lützelburg
Tattenbach



1698
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Harthausen
Maffei
Lützelburg
Tattenbach
Spilberg (formed out of troops of the Bavarian Circle)
1699
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Harthausen
Maffei
Lützelburg
Tattenbach
Freikorps Spilberg und Batt. Bettendorff.

1700
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Harthausen
Maffei
Lützelburg
Tattenbach
Freikorps Spilberg


1701
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Harthausen
Maffei
Lützelburg
Tattenbach
Battaillon Spilberg
Battailon d’Ocfort

1702
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Harthausen
Maffei
Lützelburg
Tattenbach
Spilberg
d’Ocfort
Bettendorf
1703
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Mercy
Maffei
Lützelburg
Tattenbach
Spilberg
d’Ocfort
Bettendorf
1704
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Mercy disbanded
Maffei
Lützelburg
Tattenbach disbanded
Schellenberg
d’Ocfort disbanded
Bettendorf disbanded
1705
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
x
disbanded
disbanded
x
disbanded


1706
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Chevalier de Baviere
x
x
x
x


1707
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Chevalier de Baviere
x
x
x
x


1708
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
Chevalier de Baviere
x
x
x
x


1709
Leibregiment
x
Kurprinz
1709 - 1716: In French Service as Royal Baviere, Commander Max II. Emanuel
x
x
x
x


1710

x

till 1718: Lerchenfeld
since 1722: Cano
since 1722: Seyboltsdorff
x
x



The Bavarian Army of the War of Spanish Succession

The Bavarian Army was the army of the Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom (1806–1919) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing a...