Marine Regiment
Hierarchical Path: War of the Spanish Succession (Main Page) >> Armies >> Danish Army >> Marine Regiment
Origin and History
The regiment was raised in 1672 by Christian IV and assigned, under the command of Captain Vogel, to garrison duty at the Glückstadt naval base on the Elbe.
It was generally considered to be a punishment to be a marine. Therefore, the regiment recruited mostly among soldiers who were not retained by other infantry units. The Marineregimentet was reputed for its fighting spirit.
By the time of the War of the Spanish Succession, the regiment counted two battalions (10 fusilier companies and 1 grenadier company) and was garrisoned in Copenhagen.
During the War of the Spanish Succession, the commanders of the regiment were:
- since 1699: L. Hohndorff
- from 1708: A. A. Gaffron
- from 1710 to 1719: A. Andichou
The Battalion in Austrian pay was under the command of:
- from 1700 to 1 March 1703: Daniel Plessen
In 1741, the regiment was renamed "Bornholm Infantry" and was garrisoned in Rendsburg in Schleswig-Holstein.
Service during the War
In 1700, one battalion (5 coys) of the regiment was sent to Saxony.
In 1701, this battalion was attached to the Danish Contingent taken in Austrian pay. In March, this contingent was in Saxony but had already been ordered to join the Imperial army assembling in Tyrol for the planned invasion of Northern Italy. By mid-November, the contingent had reached Bolzano. By 8 December, it was incorporated in Commercy's Corps who took position at Povegliano. The regiment took its winter-quarters in Governolo.
In 1702, the battalion in Austrian pay took part in the Campaign in Northern Italy. On 15 August, it fought at the Battle of Luzzara.
On 1 March 1703, the remaining troops of the battalion were incorporated into the newly formed 1st, 2nd and 3rd Danske Infantry Regiments.
Uniform
Privates
| Headgear |
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| Neck stock | white | ||||||||||||
| Coat | double-breasted grey-white coat with grey-white lining and with 22 pewter buttons (11 on each side) and 1 pewter button on each side in the small of the back. In the first years of the war, all buttonholes were usually trimmed in the distinctive colour of the regiment.
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| Waistcoat | grey-white with pewter buttons | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | grey-white during the early years of the war and gradually standardized to red | ||||||||||||
| Stockings | grey-white fastened under the knee with a natural leather strap | ||||||||||||
| Gaiters | the use of gaiters generalized much later but they were already used in 1700 where red gaiters are reported | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
|
The uniform changed in 1707 to a grey-white coat with blue lining, blue cuffs and blue collar; black tricorne laced white; blue breeches; blue stockings.
Soldiers were armed with a flintlock musket, a small bayonet and a sword (fusiliers) or a sabre (grenadiers). Grenadiers were also armed with hand grenades and with a small axe.
NCOs
NCOs were probably distinguished from privates by a silver lace on the hat and by silver edging on the cuffs.
NCOs carried a cane whose characteristics indicated the precise rank of each NCO.
NCOs also carried a halberd and a sword. They had no musket.
Officers
Uniforms of officers differed from those of the privates and NCOs by the finer material used. They were not standardized across the entire army but seems to have been similar within a regiment. Buttons were silver-plated and silver embroideries decorated the coat, cuffs and pocket flaps. Their coat could be single or double-breasted.
The hats of officers were often edged with a red or white plumetis.
Officers usually wore a wig.
Officers wore a gorget and a silken sash of the distinctive colour of their regiment. Those serving in Dutch pay wore an orange sash across the shoulder.
Officers carried a cane whose characteristics indicated the precise rank of each officer; a pike and a sword. Officers of the grenadier companies carried a musket instead of a pike.
In the field, pistols of various forms were carried by officers who often carried two of them when dismounted.
Musicians
Drummers usually wore coats similar to those of privates but richly decorated with braids on the sleeves and body (without swallow nests). Braids were usually of the metal colour of the regiment.
The shell of the drum was of painted woods and decorated with the regimental arms or the King's double monogram.
Colours
The colonel company carried the colonel colour and each other company carried its own company colour.
Colonel Colour: no information found
Ordonnance Colour: light blue field spangled with golden stars; centre device consisting of the crowned monogram of Frederick IV in gold surrounded by a laurel wreath; corner devices consisting of silver flames; a white wavy stripe along the upper and lower edge (Source: Snorrason as per Kühn).
 Ordonnance Colour - Copyright: Kronoskaf |
References
Martinsson, Örjan: Danish Infantry Uniforms 1700-1730 in Tacitus.nu
Snorasson, Torstein and Søren Henriksen: Danish Uniforms 1699-1712, in Chakoten, translated and published by Dan Schorr in 2008
Vaupell, O. F.: Den Danske Haers Historie, Copenhagen 1876, p. 632
Wikipedia
- Danish Edition – Marineregimentet
- English Edition – Marineregimentet
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
Acknowledgements
Jörg Meier for additional information on this regiment.
