'Blaue' Würzburg IR

Inhaber

1756 Prinz Bischof v. Würzburg

Unit History
The unit was the sister regiment to the Rote-Würzburg which had red (Rote) facings. The regiment was formed from a cadre of 500 men of the pre-war Kolb Regiment. This cadre was formed into the first battalion while the second battalion had to be raised entirely from scratch. The Rote-Würzburg joined the Austrian field armies in March 1757 while the Blaue regiment was diverted to counter the threat of a Prussian raid on Franconia in May 1757 and so accompanied the Imperial army on its march towards Saxony. Both regiments thus shared the respective fates of the forces to which they were attached. The Rote regiment losing 24 officers and 755 men killed or captured during its defence of the churchyard at Leuthen while the Blaue regiment suffered 291 casualties and prisoners at Rossbach when it fled along with the Kurtrier regiment. The unit was considered to be of fair quality by the French general Soubise.
In 1758, the second battalion was in Eger in Bohemia, while the other continued to be part of the nominal Austrian contingent with the Reichsarmee. The unit fought along side the Hohenzollern Cuirassiers at Meilrichstadt along the Rhine.
In August 1759, most of the first battalion was captured, prompting the Austrians to release the other battalion to the Rote Regiment that had continued to serve with the main Austrian army (1758-59) and had been present at the battles of Leuthen (famously defending the churchyard) and Hochkirch.
The heavy losses placed an increasing strain on Würzburg's limited resources, and the Bishop of Würzburg began pressing the Austrians to amalgamate the two regiments into a single regiment entitled Kaiserliche Würzburg. While one battalion remained in Eger as a depot, the other two battalions served with the Austro-imperial army operating in Saxony in 1761 and 1762. These battalions were present at the battle of Freiberg.
Late in 1762 the field elements were sent to the Austrian Netherlands (modern day Belgium and Luxembourg) as part of a vain effort to seize Prussian territory in Westphalia. However, the Peace of Hubertusburg put an end to all such attempts and the regiment was formally discharged from service on February 24, 1763.

Comments
I enjoyed creating the speculative flags for the unit. The eagle is an imperial (Hapsburg) eagle which the coat of arms of the city. The outer fringe is based on the Austrian pattern of waves in alternating colours. The colours themselves are based on the coat and lapel colours of the uniform. Unit painted in 2003.

Sources
Text: P. Wilson, Wurzburg and Bamberg in the Seven Years War, Seven Years War Association Journal Vol. IX No.2

Speculative Regimental then Leib flag

Kurmainz (Brencken) IR

Inhaber
1756 Wildenstein, 1757 Gudenus, 1758 v. Brencken

Unit History
The regiment was formed by the Elector Johann Friedrich Carl v. Mainz who was, as Primate of the Empire, an enemy of the King of Prussia and the evangelical church. One battalion was taken into Austrian service in November 1756. The troops with Austria were badly mauled at Prague (May 6 1757) but still rated as good at Hochkirch and Rossbach. At Rossbach, the battalions were detached near Kosen on the river Saale. The unit was considered to be of fair quality by the French general Soubise. From 1758, the unit was in Prinz von Zweibrücken's corps. It spent 1760 to 1762 in Saxony consolidating the Austrian control of the region.
At Freiburg, October 1762, the unit, brigaded under Rosenfeld with Kurtrier, was on the right centre. The brigade collapsed under the concentrated Prussian attack, even though the Reichsarmee was protected by temporary field works.
After Maxen and Torgau, the unit had a poor reputation as raw Catholic recruits had replaced the original experienced Haustruppen. At best a regular unit prior to 1758 but later at par with Militia. Unit dissolved in the late 18th century.

Comments
I enjoyed creating the speculative flags for the unit. The eagle is an imperial (Hapsburg) eagle which the coat of arms of the city. The colours themselves are based on the coat and lapel colours of the uniform and follow the pattern of other Reichsarmee units from the Kurrheinisches Kreis. I painted the unit after being inspired by a visit to Mainz-Kastel (a small garrison located across the river from Mainz). A very interesting garrison that suffered from its location in a swamp – very high mortality rates due to mosquito bourn illnesses. Unit painted in 2003.

Sources
Pengel & Hurt, The Reichsarmee: Organization, Flags & Uniforms 1756 to 1762, Imperial Press

Speculative Regimental

Speculative Leib