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
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.
