Thüngen Infantry
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Origin and History
On 14 March 1681, Ludwig Anton Prince Pfalz-Neuburg, bother-in-law of Emperor Leopold I offered him to raise an infantry regiment at his own expenses. On 18 March in Linz, the emperor issued the relevant decree. The “Hofkriegsrat” decided, that 7 companies of recently enlisted recruits initially destined to Starhemberg Infantry and Souches Infantry should rather be given to the new regiment. The “Leibkompanie” should be enlisted in Salzburg.
On 27 May 1681, Lieutenant-Colonel Johann Baron Areizaga notified the proprietor of the regiment that 3 coys had been enlisted in Philippsburg. By 8 October, the complete regiment was at Günzburg. It consisted of 2 battalions, each of 5 companies.
By 1682, 5 coys of the regiment were stationed at Philippsburg and 5 coys in the western part of the Monarchy (Österreichische Vorlande). On 12 March, the latter 5 coys were sent to Villingen. In April, a battalion (5 coys) was transported to Austria by boats. Financial problems forced the officers of the regiment to pay 800 fl. to their men by themselves. The battalion, under the command of Major Baron Röder finally joined the army camp at its camp near Pressburg (present-day Bratislava/SK) on the right bank of Danube.
In 1683, during the Great Turkish War, Röder's battalion took part in the defence of Vienna. The other battalion, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Baron Areizaga fought under the Prince of Lorraine against Thököly's rebels in Hungary. In September, after the victory at Vienna, the regiment assembled at Schwechat.
In January 1684, 500 recruits arrived from Silesia. The regiment was thus increased to 3 battalions, each of 4 coys. However, in the ensuing campaigns, it formed only 2 battalions. On 16 March, Franz Christoph Baron Areizaga was promoted to colonel and appointed commander of Leopoldstadt (present-day Leopoldov/SK). Baron Röder was then appointed lieutenant-colonel.
During the following years, the regiment fought against Turks and Thököly's rebels in Hungary. In 1685, the regiment was at the siege of Neuhäusel and in the Battle of Gran; in 1686, in the siege of Ofen; in 1687, in the Battle of Mohacs. In 1687 and 1688, there were 7 coys campaigning with the main army while 3 coys assumed garrison duty in various fortresses.
In October 1689, the regiments (now 2,100 men strong) was sent against the French on the Rhine. It took part in the storming of Mainz and then formed part of the garrison of this fortress.
On 4 May 1694, the proprietor of the regiment, Ludwig Anton Prince Pfalz-Neuburg, died in Liège (in present-day Belgium). On 2 July, GFWM Hans Karl von Thüngen, commander of the Fortress of Mainz, was appointed proprietor. On 11 August, the regiment contributed 4 companies for the creation of Deutschmeister Infantry.
In 1698, the regiment (12 coys for a total of 1,800 men under Lieutenant-Colonel Tocika) was sent to Philippsburg where it assumed garrison duty until 1701.
By the time of the War of the Spanish Succession, the regiment counted three battalions.
During the War of the Spanish Succession, the proprietors of the regiment were:
- since 2 July 1694: Hans Carl von Thüngen
- from 20 November 1709 until 1719: Friedrich Wilhelm Prince Holstein-Beck (killed in 1719 at Francavilla in Sicily)
Service during the War
On 27 March 1701, the regiment received 4 additional “Auctions-Kompanien” from Bohemia.
In 1702, two battalions of the regiment were sent to the army assembling on the Rhine under the Margrave of Baden. From June to September, they took part in the siege and capture of Landau where they were deployed with 3 other Imperial infantry battalions and 9 cuirassier squadrons behind the Wolmersheimer Höhen hills. On 30 July, the regiment, along with Bibra Infantry and Osnabrück Infantry, was attached to the corps under the command of FML Duke Sachsen-Meiningen, in the brigade of GFWM Count Wirich Daun. On 14 October, after the surrender of Landau, one battalion of the regiment took part in the Battle of Friedlingen. The regiment took its winter-quarters near Philippsburg.
In February 1703, the regiment was part of the army (10,000 men) of the Margrave of Baden, entrenched at Offenburg. When Villars passed the Kinzig River, the Margrave retired behind the Lines of Stollhofen. On 23 March, the French attacked these lines defended by FM Thüngen who repulsed them. The regiment distinguished itself in this action. On 3 June, when the Margrave of Baden set off for the Danube, the regiment remained with the corps (13,000 men) left in the Lines of Stollhofen under the command of FM Thüngen. During the campaign of 1703, the grenadiers of the regiment were attached to the army of the Margrave of Baden and took part in all combats of this army. Imperial troops took their winter-quarters between Lake Constance and Upper-Palatinate.
In January 1704, 500 recruits arrived from Silesia led by Captain Friedrich von Lewald. On 28 June, an Allied army under the command of the Duke of Marlborough effected a junction with the corps of the Margrave of Baden at Ulm. Shortly afterwards, Prince Eugène de Savoie assumed command of the Lines of Stollhofen. On 2 July, the grenadiers of the regiment took part in the Battle of the Schellenberg. Prince Eugène then marched with the bulk of his corps from the Lines of Stollhofen and effected a junction with the forces of Marlborough and the Margrave of Baden at Höchstädt. One battalion and the grenadiers of the regiment were deployed on the right wing, in the brigade of GFWM Count Fugger. On 13 August, the combined armies of the Allies defeated the Franco-Bavarians in the Battle of Blenheim. The regiment then followed the Margrave of Baden who laid siege to Ulm. After the surrender of Ulm on 10 September, Thüngen marched by Philippsburg and joined the army of the Magrave of Baden in front of Landau. On 10 September, a battalion of the regiment arrived at Landau with the corps of FML Prince von Durlach while the other battalion led by Lieutenant-Colonel Baron Wangen arrived at Landau with Thüngen's Corps. For the first time since the beginning of the war, the regiment was reunited under the walls of Landau. On 26 November, the garrison of Landau surrendered and the Allies took their winter-quarters. By then, the regiment counted only 376 men. It formed part of the garrison of Phillipsburg. Some new recruits were enlisted in Bohemia, others in Swabia and in Austrian territories.
During the campaign of 1705, the regiment remained at Philippsburg.
In 1706, the regiment was sent to Hungary to quench Rákóczi Uprising. It arrived in Hungary in June and was attached to the corps of FML Guido Starhemberg. On 9 October, the regiment took part in the capture of Gran (present-day Esztregom/HU).
In 1707, the regiment remained in Hungary and Transylvania and did not take part in any major action.
At the beginning 1708, the regiment was transferred from Hungary to Germany where it was attached to the army of Prince Eugène campaigning in the Low Countries. On 11 July, the regiment took part in the Battle of Oudenarde. From August to December, it was at the siege of Lille. After the capitulation of Lille, the regiment formed part of its garrison.
In January 1709, Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Holstein-Beck, who would later become proprietor of the regiment, assumed command. In July, the regiment took part in the siege of Tournai. After the capitulation of Tournai on 3 September, the Allies marched to Mons. On 11 September, the regiment fought in the Battle of Malplaquet where it was placed on the right wing commanded by Prince Eugène. During this battle, the Prince Holstein-Beck was severely wounded. On 8 October, FM Hans Karl von Thüngen, proprietor of the regiment, died. On 20 November, the Prince Holstein-Beck was appointed as the new proprietor of the regiment.
In 1710, campaign started only in April when the regiment took part in the siege of Douai which surrender on 22 June. It was also at the siege of Béthune where it deployed on the west side under General Schulenburg. On 28 August, Béthune surrendered and the regiment was attached to the observation army of Prince Eugène posted near Blessy.
On 13 June 1711, the regiment was part of a corps of 20,000 men who set off from the camp of Anchin under the command of Prince Eugène and marched to the Upper Rhine to effect a junction with the Reichsarmee near Mühlberg. These armies remained idle there until then end of the year. They then crossed the Rhine near Philippsburg and went to winter-quarters.
In the Spring of 1712, the regiment was still part of the army of Prince Eugène who returned to the Low Countries. From 8 June, the regiment took part in the Siege of Le Quesnoy. The fortress surrendered on 4 July. Meanwhile, one battalion and the grenadier coy of the regiment formed part of the garrison of Freiburg (some 10,000 men) under the command of FML Baron Harsch. From 22 September, these elements of the regiment took part in the defence of Freiburg. On 1 November, after a heroic defence, Harsch retired into the upper castle of Freiburg. On 17 November, after the capitulation of the Castle of Freiburg, the garrison was allowed to march to Villingen.
In 1713, the regiment was posted in the Lines of Ettlingen.
Uniform
Privates
| Headgear |
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| Neck stock | red | ||||||||||||
| Coat | pearl grey with white buttons on the right side and 1 white button on each side in the small of the back
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| Waistcoat | straw (dark blue with white buttons by 1716) | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | straw (dark blue with white buttons by 1716) | ||||||||||||
| Stockings | white with dark blue stripes (white by 1716), fastened under the knee with a natural leather strap | ||||||||||||
| Gaiters | made of canvas and used only when the soldier wore linen breeches; in this case, the stockings were replaced by linen socks; the use of gaiters generalized much later | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
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Armaments consisted of a musket and a bayonet. Grenadiers were also armed with hand grenades.
Other interpretations
According to Czegka, in 1716 the Hofkriegsrat enquiried to all regiments to know how to accoutre recruits with the proper uniform before sending them to their unit. For the present regiment, the following uniform is described:
- black tricorne laced white
- red neckstock
- white coat with blue lining, blue cuffs and cloth buttons
- blue waistcoat
- blue breeches
- white stockings
NCOs
NCOs carried a spontoon (half-pike). They were also armed with a Stossdegen (a long two-edged estoc or rapier) carried in a black leather scabbard attached to the waist-belt.
NCOs of grenadier companies carried a flintlock musket instead of the spontoon.
NCOs also carried a cane whose characteristics indicated their precise rank. This cane had the length of a walking stick and was carried in and out of service. In action, to free hands, the cane was hanged to a button of the coat. Grenadier sergeants and fouriers were distinguished from privates by three silver braids on the bag of their bearskin.
Officers
Uniforms of officers were always of finer cloth than those of the privates.
Officers wore a black and yellow silk sash across the chest or around the waist.
Lieutenants of the grenadier companies were distinguished from privates and NCOs by four golden braids on the bag of their bearskin; captains by five golden braids on their bearskin.
Officers carried a partisan. The partisan was decorated with a tassel: gold for the colonel, gold with silver fringe for the lieutenant-colonel, gold and silken fringe for captains and silken fringe for lieutenants. In some regiments, the captains' tassel was entirely of silk; in this case the lieutenants' partisan had no tassel. The partisans of staff officers had gilt butt caps.
Officers were also armed with a Stossdegen (a long two-edged estoc or rapier) carried in a black leather scabbard attached to the waist-belt.
Officers carried a cane whose characteristics indicated their precise rank. This cane had the length of a walking stick and was carried in and out of service. In action, to free hands, the cane was hanged to a button of the coat.
Officers of grenadier companies carried a flintlock musket instead of the partisan. Captains, lieutenants and sergeants of these companies always had their bayonet affixed to their musket.
In the field, officers carried a pair of pistols.
Musicians
In the Austrian Army of the time, musicians often wore uniforms in reverse colours with the distinctive colour of the regiment used for the coat.
The drum belt was usually brown and worn on the right shoulder.
Colours
no information found
References
Abtheilung für Kriegsgeschichte des k. k. Kriegs-Archives: Feldzüge des Prinzen Eugen von Savoyen, Series 1, Vol. 1, Vienna 1875, pp. 212-218, 222-227
Czegka, Eduard: Uniformen der kaiserlichen Infanterie unter Prinz Eugen. in: Zeitschrift für Heereskunde 49-51, 1933, pp. 459-473
Donath, Rudolf; Die Kaiserliche und Kaiserlich-Königliche Österreichische Armee 1618-1918, 2. Aufl., Simbach/Inn 1979
Gräffer, August: Geschichte der kaiserl. Königl. Regimenter, Corps, Bataillons und anderer Militär-Branchen seit ihrer Errichtung biz zu Ende des Feldzuges 1799, Vol. 1, Vienna, 1804, pp. 84-90
Seyfart, Kurzgefaßte Geschichte aller kaiserlich-königlichen Regimenter zu Pferde und zu Fuß, Frankfurth and Leipzig, 1762, pp. 7-8
Treuenfest, A. v.: Geschichte des k. k. Infanterie-Regiments Nr. 20 Friedrich Wilhelm, Kronprinz von Preussen, Vienna 1878
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
Acknowledgements
Harald Skala for the translation and synthesis of Treuenfest's work
