Werneck Infantry

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Origin and History

In 1758, the Garde zu Fuß was twice reorganised. In the first reorganisation (January 1), the two musketeer battalions of the regiment, still operating in Silesia, were used to create the Infanterieregiment von Werneck.

By 1759, the new regiment was organised in 2 battalions with 5 musketeer and 1 grenadier companies per battalion. Each company counted some 100 men for a total book strength of 1,219 men including staff. Furthermore, each battalion had a 3-pdr gun.

Throughout the Seven Years' War, the regimental inhaber was Lieutenant-general Franz Friedrich von Werneck.

During the Seven Years' War, the successive Kommandeure of the regiment were:

• since 1758: Colonel Ernst Ferdinand von Larisch
• from 1765: Colonel Christian Friedrich von Heimburg

Service during the War

From 1758 to 1759, the regiment was in the French service.

On August 1758, the regiment, as part of the Württemberger Contingent, made a junction with Soubise's Army in Kassel during the French offensive in Hesse. On October 10, the regiment took part in the Battle of Lutterberg where it was placed in the centre of the first line.

From August 1759, the regiment campaigned once more in Western Germany. On November 3, the Duke of Württemberg was instructed by the Duc de Broglie to march to Gemünden with his contingent. On November 11, the Württemberger Contingent arrived at Gemünden. The duke then sent his hussars on the Kinzig River. On November 19 and 20, the Württemberger Contingent (about 10,000 men), led personally by the duke, arrived at Fulda and took up its winter-quarters to assist the French army. On Friday November 30, an Allied force under the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick launched a surprise attack on Fulda. One battalion of the regiment was captured while covering the retreat of the Württemberger force. From December 19 to 23, the Württemberg Contingent (now only 7 bns) was at Steinberg. On December 25, the Duke of Württemberg marched to Schotten.

In 1760, the Württemberger Contingent operated under Austrian subsidies. In July, the regiment joined the Austrian army in Silesia to fight against Prussia. It then campaigned in Saxony till January 1761.

Uniform

The regiment probably retained the uniform worn when its two battalions were still part of the Garde zu Fuß.

Privates

Uniform - Copyright Kronoskaf

Uniform Details
as per L., J. Stadlinger, completed with other sources where necessary

Headgear	Musketeer black tricorne edged yellow (possibly a yellow/black pompon during the war) Grenadier Prussian style mitre cap with a brass front plate decorated with a mirrored C (for Carl Eugen) surmounted by a star and a ducal crown, with a red bag, a brass headband and yellow piping
Neckstock	black
Coat	dark blue in Prussian cut with 2 white buttons and 2 white buttonholes with white tassels under the lapel Collar carmine red Shoulder Straps carmine red with a yellow aiguillette on the right shoulder Lapels carmine red set with 8 white buttons and 8 white buttonholes with white tassels arranged in pairs Pockets horizontal pockets, each with 3 white buttons Cuffs carmine red Swedish cuffs with 2 white buttons and 2 white buttonholes with white tassels Turnbacks red fastened with a white button
Waistcoat	yellow (pale yellow as per Jacques André Frederic)
Breeches	white
Gaiters	black during campaigns
Leather Equipment	Crossbelt white Waistbelt white Cartridge Box black Bayonet Scabbard n/a Scabbard black Footgear black

Troopers were armed with a musket and a sword.

NCOs

NCO's tricorne was probably laced silver. Furthermore, they wore beige gloves and carried a baton and a partisan.

Officers

Officers wore a uniform quite similar to the troopers with the following exceptions:

• tricorne decorated with a gold lace
• gold gorget
• no turnbacks
• gold buttonholes
• brown and gold scabbard
• beige gloves
• spontoon

Until 1750, the officer’s sash was in the imperial colours: gold/black. At the beginning of the 1750´s, probably in 1752, when the Württemberg Army received the new dark blue uniforms, the sash was changed to the new Württemberg Knüpfmuster (knotted pattern): white (silver for staff officers and generals), yellow and red. Gold and red were the original Württemberg colours since 1593. So, during the Seven Years’ War, the Württemberg sash was white (resp. silver), yellow and red.

Musicians

no information available yet

Colours

Informations about the colours of the Württemberger infantry regiments are very scarce. The following descriptions represent an "educated guess" based on these few sources.

Leibfahne: white field with, on both sides, the arms of the duke of Württemberg, surmounted by a gold and red ducal crown. The coat of arms consisted of an oval shield surrounded by a necklace of the Order:

• Necklace: 8 red links with a golden eagle, 8 blue links depicting precious stones and a red cross over a yellow background
• Upper left canton: yellow and black checkerboard pattern (Teck arms)
• Upper right canton: yellow flags on a blue field (Reichssturm)
• Lower right canton: brown head with a red bonnet on a yellow field (Heidenheim arms)
• Lower left canton: two gold fish on a red field (Monbéliard arms)
• Central escutcheon: 3 black stag antlers on a yellow field

Here follows a tentative reconstruction of this flag:

Leibfahne - Copyright: Kronoskaf

Regimentsfahne: probably red field with

• Right side: probably the arms of Württemberg (identical to those on the Leibfahne) surmounted by a gold and red ducal crown
• Left side: probably the duke's cipher (a mirrored C)

Here follows a tentative reconstruction of this flag:

Regimentsfahne - Copyright: Kronoskaf

N.B.: the Württemberger colours also carried the motto "Provide et constanter". However, the exact location (side and position) of this motto on the colours is unknown.

References

Boehm, E.; Rottgardt, D., Die Reichsarmee 1757-63. I. Teil: Zusammensetzung und Organisation, KLIO-Arbeitsgruppe 7jähriger Krieg, Friderzianische Epoche, Manuskript, o.J

Boehm, E.; Rottgardt, D.; Weirich, W.-D., Die Reichsarmee 1757-63. II. Teil: Die einzelnen Einheiten, ihre Stärke, Zusammensetzung, Uniform und Feldzeichen, KLIO-Arbeitsgruppe 7jähriger Krieg, Friderzianische Epoche, Manuskript, o.J.

Deutsche Uniformen, Bd. 1, Das Zeitalter Friedrich des Großen, 240 Bilder von Herbert Knötel d. J., Text and explanations by Dr. Martin Letzius, published by Sturm-Zigaretten GmbH, Dresden 1932

Frederic, Jacques André, Etat des Trouppes de S.A.S. Monseigneur le Duc de Virtemberg et Theck sur pié en 1759, Augsburg, 1759

Großer Generalstab, Die Kriege Friedrichs des Großen. Der Siebenjährige Krieg, Berlin 1901-1914

Knötel, R., Farbiges Handbuch der Uniformkunde: Die Entwicklung der militärischen Tracht der deutschen Staaten, Österreich-Ungarns und der Schweiz, published in 1937 by Herbert Knötel d.J. and Herbert Sieg.

Koch, A.U., Der modische Wandel der Uniform im 18. Jahrhundert. Reich und Württemberg. (Officer's portraits 1730 to 1790), in Zeitschrift für Heereskunde, Nr. 330, LI. Jg (1987), S. 33-36

Kroll, I., Truppen der kriegführenden Staaten in Nordwestdeutschland 1757-1762, in Die Zinnfigur, Heft 12 (1987), pp. 361-362, 375-378

Military Miniatures Magazin, Die Armee von Carl Eugen Herzog von Württemberg, Herzogtum Württemberg 1756 – 1763

Rogge, Christian; The French & Allied Armies in Germany during the Seven Years War, Frankfurt, 2006

Stadlinger, L., J. von, Geschichte des Württembergischen Kriegswesens – von der frühesten bis zur neuesten Zeit, Stuttgart, 1856

Zahn, Michael, Die Herzoglich Württembergische Armee im Siebenjährigen Krieg, Manuskript, Stuttgart: January 2008

N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.

Acknowledgement

Volker Scholz for the information on the sash of the officers