1757 - French invasion of Hanover – French OOB June
Hierarchical Path: Seven Years War (Main Page) >> Campaigns >> 1757 - French invasion of Hanover >> Order of Battle of the French Army of the Lower Rhine at Bielefeld from June 20 to July 7
Introduction
This article presents two orders of battle: one describing the deployment of the French Army of the Lower Rhine between June 20 and July 7 and a second listing the effective strength of each of its units on June 30 (for the infantry) and July 1 (for the cavalry).
French Order of Battle from June 20 to July 7
The following comes from Du Bois's account of the order of battle of the French Army while it was encamped at Bielefeld.
Commander in Chief: Maréchal d'Estrées
First Line (from right to left)
- Right Wing Cavalry
- Colonel Général (3 sqns)
- Bourgogne (2 sqns)
- Royal-Carabiniers (6 sqns)
- Infantry
- Austrian de Ligne (1 bn)
- Austrian Sachsen-Gotha (1 bn)
- La Marine (4 bns)
- Du Roi (4 bns)
- Dauphin (2 bns)
- Gardes Lorraines (2 bns)
- Aquitaine (2 bns)
- Vastan (2 bns)
- Lyonnais (2 bns)
- La Roche Aymon (2 bns)
- Mailly (4 bns)
- Chartres (2 bns)
- Picardie (4 bns)
- Left Wing Cavalry
- Royal-Pologne (2 sqns)
- Henrichemont (2 sqns)
- Aquitaine (2 sqns)
- Bellefonds (2 sqns)
- Commissaire général (2 sqns)
Second Line (from right to left)
- Right Wing Cavalry
- Royal (2 sqns)
- de Vienne (2 sqns)
- Berry (2 sqns)
- Bourbon-Busset (2 sqns)
- Bourbon (2 sqns)
- Infantry
- Navarre (4 bns)
- Eu (2 bns)
- Enghien (2 bns)
- La Couronne (2 bns)
- La Marck (2 bns)
- Royal Pologne (1 bn)
- Royal Suédois (2 bns)
- Royal Bavière (2 bns)
- Vaubécourt (2 bns)
- Condé (2 bns)
- Orléans (2 bns)
- Conty (2 bns)
- Champagne (4 bns)
- Left Wing Cavalry
- Talleyrand (2 sqns)
- Moustiers (2 sqns)
- Clermont-Tonnerre (2 sqns)
- Fumel (2 sqns)
- Royal-Roussillon (2 sqns)
Flank guard (from right to left)
- Right Wing
- Colonel Général Dragons (4 sqns)
- Orléans Dragons (4 sqns)
- Left Wing
- Mestre de Camp Général Dragons (4 sqns)
Artillery
- II./Corps Royal de l'Artillerie – La Motte (1 bn)
- IV./Corps Royal de l'Artillerie – Menouville (1 bn)
Reserve
- Grenadiers de France (4 bns)
- Grenadiers Royaux d'Aulans (2 bns)
- Grenadiers Royaux de Modène (2 bns)
Besides the main force at Bielefeld, d'Estrées had made several detachments:
- Detachment on the right wing at Oerlingshausen under M. d’Armentières (12 bns and 12 sqns)
- Detachment on the left wing between Gütersloh and Bielefeld under the Duc de Broglie (8 bns and 12 sqns)
- Detachment at Paderborn to guard the field bakery:
- Grenadiers Royaux de Bergeret (2 bns)
- Grenadiers Royaux de Chantilly (2 bns)
- Detachment as observation corps near Herford and Minden
- Palatinate Auxiliary Corps in Westphalia approaching to join the army
- Baaden (2 bns)
- Osten (2 bns)
- Prinz Karl von Zweibrücken (2 bns)
- Prinz Birkenfeld (2 bns)
- Preysing (2 bns)
- Other detached units (unknown location):
French Order of Battle from June 30 to July 1
This order of battle comes from a different document in the Archives du Génie.
As per the returns of June 30 1757 (infantry) and July 1 (cavalry and dragoons), the French Armée du Bas-Rhin consisted of the following regiments:
N.B.: the numbers listed represent troops who were present and fit for duty. The cavalry figures exclude staff and officers (normally 32 officers per regiment except for Colonel Général with 48 officers and the Carabiniers with 160 officers for the entire corps.
Cavalry Regiment | Cavalrymen | Horses |
---|---|---|
Colonel Général | 412 | 419 |
Mestre de camp Général | 276 | 274 |
Commissaire général | 280 | 279 |
Royal | 274 | 280 |
du Roy | 275 | 279 |
Cuirassiers du Roy | 277 | 278 |
Royal-Cravate | 271 | 276 |
Royal-Roussillon | 269 | 280 |
Royal-Allemand | 280 | 280 |
Royal-Carabiniers - Brigade Maisne | 267 | 279 |
Royal-Carabiniers - Brigade Saint-George | 269 | 272 |
Royal-Carabiniers - Brigade Rosen | 260 | 273 |
Royal-Pologne | 277 | 278 |
Dauphin | 275 | 280 |
Bourgogne | 278 | 277 |
Aquitaine | 242 | 242 |
Berry | 274 | 274 |
Orléans | 200 | 210 |
Condé | 277 | 278 |
Bourbon | 274 | 279 |
Marcieux | 272 | 277 |
Talleyrand | 269 | 280 |
Clermont-Tonnerre | 245 | 245 |
Charost | 244 | 244 |
Beauvilliers | 279 | 279 |
Bourbon-Busset | 270 | 274 |
Maugiron | 237 | 245 |
Fumel | 275 | 277 |
Rochefoucauld-Langeac | 272 | 280 |
de Vienne | 240 | 245 |
Bussy-Lameth | 278 | 279 |
Lénoncourt | 241 | 244 |
Bellefonds | 274 | 280 |
Dampierre | 275 | 274 |
Henrichemont | 274 | 280 |
Moustiers | 278 | 279 |
Saluces | 274 | 278 |
Noailles | 262 | 272 |
Wurtemberg | 277 | 279 |
Harcourt | 271 | 276 |
Nassau-Sarrebruck | 280 | 280 |
Dragoon Regiment | Cavalrymen | Horses |
---|---|---|
Colonel Général | 590 | 602 |
Mestre de Camp Général | 583 | 627 |
Orléans | 573 | 679 |
Infantry Regiment | Captains | Lieutenants | Lieutenants en second |
Sous-Lieutenants | Soldiers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
de Ligne (Austrian) | 7 | 5 | 7 | none | 461 |
Sachsen-Gotha (Austrian) | 6 | 5 | 8 | none | 540 |
Picardie | 65 | 61 | 11 | none | 2231 |
Navarre | 67 | 66 | 8 | none | 2476 |
Champagne | 68 | 68 | 6 | none | 2447 |
La Marine | 65 | 57 | 10 | none | 2305 |
Mailly | 65 | 67 | 12 | none | 2416 |
Du Roi | 65 | 68 | 74 | 23 | 2642 |
Lyonnais | 30 | 28 | 6 | none | 1101 |
Dauphin | 33 | 32 | 6 | none | 1256 |
Vaubécourt | 33 | 33 | 4 | none | 1139 |
Aquitaine | 32 | 32 | 3 | none | 1257 |
Eu | 33 | 33 | 3 | none | 1223 |
Orléans | 34 | 34 | 6 | none | 1201 |
La Couronne | 33 | 30 | 5 | none | 1193 |
Gardes Lorraines | 31 | 32 | 5 | none | 1234 |
La Roche Aymon | 34 | 32 | 2 | none | 1235 |
Condé | 32 | 36 | none | none | 1199 |
Grenadiers de France | 47 | 47 | 46 | none | 2077 |
Vastan | 32 | 29 | 6 | none | 1241 |
La Marck | 29 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 1128 |
Chartres | 34 | 32 | 5 | none | 1246 |
Conty | 31 | 30 | 5 | none | 1090 |
Enghien | 33 | 32 | 3 | none | 1023 |
Royal Pologne | 15 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 599 |
Grenadiers Royaux de Modène | 18 | 18 | 12 | none | 1060 |
Grenadiers Royaux d'Aulans | 19 | 21 | 10 | none | 940 |
II./Corps Royal de l'Artillerie – La Motte | 26 | 16 | none | 23 | 550 |
IV./Corps Royal de l'Artillerie – Menouville | 17 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 454 |
Infantry Regiment | Captains | Lieutenants | Lieutenants en second |
Sous-Lieutenants | Soldiers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belzunce | 68 | 61 | 7 | 2 | 2188 |
Reding | 10 | 12 | 24 | 9 | 1223 |
Alsace | 43 | 24 | 22 | 2 | 1676 |
Saint-Germain | 11 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 512 |
Salis de Mayenfeld | 21 | 12 | 21 | none | 1150 |
Infantry Regiment | Captains | Lieutenants | Lieutenants en second |
Sous-Lieutenants | Soldiers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Poitou | 34 | 31 | 4 | 2 | 1112 |
Provence | 33 | 32 | 4 | 2 | 1142 |
Royal Suédois | 33 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 1063 |
Royal Bavière | 32 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 1266 |
References
Du Bois, Camp de Bilefeld, Commandé par Mr. le Mal. d’Estrées, depuis le 20 du mois de juin jusqu’au 7 de juillet
Du Bois, Camps topographiques de la Campagne de 1757 en Westphalie etc., Le Hague, 1760