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    Some order of battle/state of origin questions


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    Some order of battle/state of origin-type questions, to try to better clarify which regiment were or considered themselves to be affiliated with particular states of the German Empire:

    I.

    First questions revolve around Infanterie-Regiment L?beck (3. Hanseatisches) Nr. 162. In this thread - http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=15514 - Tom Y mentions that Hessenthal states that only II./IR 162 was from L?beck. I don't have the source and I can't remember, but for some reason that sounds right. I./IR 162 was also garrisoned in L?beck, though. III./IR 162 was garrisoned in Eutin.

    So question #1 is, was I./IR 162 indeed a Prussian regiment garrisoned in L?beck but raised elsewhere (and if so, where)?

    And question #2: Eutin is a town north of Hansastadt L?beck in the F?rstentum L?beck. The F?rstentum L?beck belonged to the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. Was there any connection between III./IR 162 and Oldenburg? It is not identified as an "Oldenburgisches" battalion, but not all battalions are so identified. Oldenburg House and Merit Orders aren't that common in the regiment, and the only holders in the 1914 rank list weren't in the III. Bataillon.

    II.

    Next question relates to 4. Hannoversches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 164. The regiment was headquartered and mostly garrisoned in Hameln, but the III. Bataillon was in Holzminden. Holzminden was in the Duchy of Braunschweig (Brunswick). Was this a Hannoverian (Prussian) battalion that just happened to be garrisoned in Braunschweig? There doesn't appear to otherwise be a Braunschweig connection. Of all the ruling princes, the Duke of Braunschweig seems to have been the most liberal with awards of his house order (the House Order of Henry the Lion) to members of "his" regiments. But only one captain, one Oberzahlmeister and one Zahlmeister have the order in the 1914 rank list, which is significantly less than one sees in IR 92, HR 17 and FAR 46.

    III.

    Next 7. Th?ringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 96. Just to confirm, although both I. and II./IR 96 were based in Gera, only II./IR 96 was a Reu? unit, while the other was Prussian?

    IV.

    8. Th?ringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 153: Two of IR 153's battalions were based in Altenburg while the third was a Prussian battalion in Merseburg. But were both I. and II./IR 153 made up of Altenburgers, or was this another case of a Prussian battalion garrisoned with a local one?

    Thanks!

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    Dave,

    1. Both I./ & II./I.R. 162 wore the cockade of the Free and Hanseatic City of L?beck. The 81st Infanterie-Brigade of which I.R. 162 was a component recruited both in L?beck and the Duchy of Lauenburg, which although a part of Schleswig-Holstein was a part of Prussia and this is presumably where III. drew its recruits.

    2. Apart from its III. Bataillon being stationed in Holzminden, I.R. 164 did not have any Brunswick connection. It was a Prussian regiment.

    3. 7. Th?ringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 96:

    I./96 = Prussian

    II./96 = Reu?

    III./96 = Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

    The I. Bataillon guys were probably recruited from the Erfurt area of the corps district.

    4. Th?ringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 153: Both the I. & II. were Altenburg and the III. was Prussian. The III. Bataillon guys would have been recruited generally from Landwehrbezirk Wei?enfels which was part of Prussia.

    Regards

    Glenn

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    Thanks Glenn!

    One other I forgot: III./IR 75 was garrisoned in Stade in the Prussian province of Hannover. Was it Prussian? Same goes for III./RIR 75, also in Stade.

    So for mixed prewar regiments and those formed on mobilization (wartime mixing is a mess to follow), I think I have these so far:

    IR 55 - Prussia and Lippe-Detmold

    IR 71 - Prussia and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

    [iR 75 - Bremen and Prussia][?]

    IR 83 - Prussia and Waldeck

    GR 89 - Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz

    IR 95 - Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha and Sachsen-Meiningen

    IR 96 - Prussia, Reu?, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

    IR 153 - Sachsen-Altenburg and Prussia

    IR 162 - L?beck and Prussia

    RIR 15 - Prussia and Lippe-Detmold

    RIR 31 - Hamburg and Bremen

    RIR 32 - Reu?, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Prussia

    RIR 36 - Prussia and Anhalt

    RIR 66 - Prussia and Sachsen-Altenburg

    RIR 71 - Prussia and Sachsen-Meiningen

    RIR 73 - Prussia and Braunschweig

    RIR 74 - Prussia and Oldenburg

    [RIR 75 - Bremen and Prussia][?]

    RIR 78 - Braunschweig and Prussia

    RIR 79 - Oldenburg and Prussia

    RIR 82 - Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Prussia and Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha

    RIR 83 ? Prussia and Waldeck

    RIR 84 - Prussia and Mecklenburg-Strelitz

    RIR 88 ? Prussia and Hessen-Darmstadt

    LIR 32 - Sachsen-Meiningen and Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach

    LIR 36 - Sachsen-Altenburg and Prussia

    LIR 71 ? Prussia and Reu?

    LIR 74 ? Prussia and Braunschweig

    LIR 75 ? Hamburg and Bremen

    LIR 76 - Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Prussia

    LIR 78 ? Prussia and Braunschweig

    FAR 24 - Prussia and Mecklenburg-Strelitz

    FAR 46 - Prussia and Braunschweig

    FAR 62 - Prussia and Oldenburg

    The other odd-man out is the family of "40"s - FR 40, RIR 40 and LIR 40. F?silier-Regiment Nr. 40 was at least notionally "Hohenzollernsch" but was garrisoned in Baden. But RIR 40 and LIR 40 seem more like Tochterformationen of GR 110 rather than FR 40, and more likely to have been mainly Baden in 1914. Any ideas here? I suppose from a limited military collector's perspective it doesn't matter, since if the regiments were considered "Hohenzollernsch", soldiers serving in them might have received the various grades of the Princely House Order and its medals whether they were from Sigmaringen, Mannheim, Cologne or Berlin.

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    Dave,

    III./I.R. 75 was Prussian. It's two sister battalions being affiliated to the Free and Hanseatic City of Bremen. According to the Wehrordnung, Stade belonged to the Prussian Regierungsbezirk of Stade.

    Regards

    Glenn

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