The Regiment "Prinz Frederick August" was formed on June 2nd, 1708 as the regiment "Graf Flemming". It first served during 1733 to 1735 in Poland and Pommerania. In the War of the Austrian Sucession, it served in Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Saxony. During the Seven Years War it served with the French Army following the reforming of the Saxon forces after the surrender at Pirna. It again saw service in 1778-1779 in the campaign against Austria. During the Revolutionary Wars of France, the regiment served with the Reich-contingent on the Rhine, and in 1798 its name was changed to "Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Frederick August"."
As part of the Prussian -Saxon forces at the Battle of Jena in 1806, the regiment began its Napoleonic Career. The first battalion, with Taventzien's Corps, was heavily engaged at the beginning of the battle. Withdrawn with the rest of the corps to form a reserve at Klein Romstadt, the battalion assisted in covering the retreat of the Prussian left before retiring from the field in good order.
On the extreme right of the Prussian position, the second battalion formed part of the Saxon Division of Zeschwitz I. At first successfully holding its ground, the general rout of the Prussians left them isolated and outnumbered, forcing them to retire slowly, contesting each foot of ground. Unaware that they had been cut off by French troops returning from the defeat of Ruchel, the Saxons were suddenly attacked from all sides at once and had no option but to lay down their arms.
The performance of the Saxon troops impressed Napoleon greatly. Saxony became an ally of France and Frederick August became a king.
The year 1807 found the regiment in Saxony, recruiting and strengthening itself.
In 1809, with an initial strength of 1,044 men of all ranks, the regiment formed part of the Second Brigade, von Boxberg, (Oberst von Steindel from June 8th) of von Polenz's Second Division, IX Corps, commanded by Marshal Bernadotte.
On May 18th, the reorganization of the Corps, caused by sickness etc., reduced all regiments to one battalion.
On July 5th, the "Bataillon Prinz Frederick August" participated in the attack on Deutsch-Wagram, at the center of the Austrian lines. Despite the weakness of the Saxon force, being only ten battalions, darkness and superior enemy numbers, the Saxons held the village for three hours before being forced to retire, unsupported and having lost 40% casualties. The next day, July 6th, the Saxon Corps fought well but suffered severly from enemy artillery fire. Well over half of the Saxons had fallen. The regiment listed five officers lost and an unknown number of men.
The year 1810 saw the entire Saxon Army reorganized and issued a more French like uniform, but still retaining the basic white color for the infantry. The "Regiment Prinz Frederick August" was increased to a full strength of 2,073 of all ranks as follows:
- Staff:
- 1 Oberst
1 Oberst-lieutenant
2 majors
2 aerzte (doctors)
1 regimental quartermaster
1 ober-auditeur
1 ober-regimente-chirugus (senior surgeon)
2 Fahnenjunkers (ensigns)
1 stabs-fourier
1 stabschirugus
1 Regiments-tambour (Regimental Drum Major)
1 Bataillons-Tambour (Battalion Drum Major)
8 Hautboister, 1st. Klass
12 Hautboister, 2nd Klass
1 Buchsenmacher (Armorer)
1 Buchsenschafter (Armorer's wood worker)
1 Profoss (Provost)
1 Profossknecht (Provost's assistant)
The regiment consisted of eight musketeer and two grendaier companies.
- 6 Kapitans 1st Klass
4 Kapitans, 2nd Klass
10 Premierkieutenants
20 Souslieutiant
10 Feldwebel (Company Sergeant-Major)
20 Sergeants
10 Fouriese
5 Chirugen
100 Korporals
6 Grenadiers-Tambours
24 Musketeer-Tambours
4 Grenadier-Zimmerleute (Pioneers)
16 Musketeer-Zimmerleute
360 Grenadiers
1440 Musketeers
The grenadiers, however, were to remain permanently detached, leaving the two musketeers battalions with a combined strength of 1,628 all ranks, plus 39 on the regimental staff.
1811 was a quite year, in preparation for the great adventure.
With a strength on June 30th, 1812 of 31 officers and 1,343 men, the musketeers formed part of yon Steindel's 1st Brigade of Lecoq's 21st Division, VII Corps, under General Reynier. The grenadiers, in Grenadier Battalion von Leibenau, were also part of the brigade.
Forming the right wing of the Grande Armee with Schwarzenburg's Austrians, VII Corps advanced into Russia and eventually defeated Tormassov's Russians at Gorodetschma, (also known as Puddubny) on August 12th. In this action, the musketeers lost one officer and three men killed, plus fourteen men wounded. The grenadiers possibly lost casuslaties also but no figures are available for the different units making up their composite battalion: the battalion as a whole lost five killed and six wounded.
In mid-September, the Russians received substantial reenforcments and took the offensive. Constant clashes gradually weakened the Saxons. Typical of this fighting was the action at Biala on October 18th, in which twenty men of two musketeers battalions were lost. On November 14th, a large Russian force attacked VII Corps in a snowstorm at Wolkowski; heavy casualties were suffered by both sides as the outnumbered Saxons held on.
During the night of November 14th-15th, Fahnenjunker Steinback of the Second Battalion, unbelievably handed over the Bataillonsfahne without a fight to a pair of Russian officers who had appeared unseen and challenged him. For this disgraceful conduct Steinback was cashiered from the army. Fighting continued for a number of days, the regiment losing thirty men killed, two officers and thirty-eight men wounded and forty men missing in the period November 13th-18th, 1812.
By February 1st, 1813 the regiment was down for a single battalion of twenty-three officers and 557 men fit for duty. Further heavy losses were incurred at Kalisch on the 13th, when von Steindel's Brigade took the brunt of heavy Russian attacks, destroying themselves, although at a terrible cost. Cold, fatigue and constant skirmishing gradually destroyed VII Corps during the next two months. When the Saxons reached Dresden in March, only a skeleton corps remained.
By May, a single weak battalion of musketters had been reformed, taking the field as part of the 6,000 strong Saxon 'mobil division', fighting at Bautzen and Reichenbach. By the end of the armistice, a second battalion had been raised, and the regiment, around 1,200 strong, became part of von Melletin's 2nd Brigade of Lecoq's 1st Division, VII Corps. On August 23rd, the Corps was attacked and outflanked in a pouring rain, at Gross Beerh.
Despite being unable to fire their muskets, the Saxons put up a good fight against a superior number of Prussians, but were foxced to retreat. The 1st Division, retiring in good order, acted as rearguard.
At Dennewitz on September 6th, the Saxons suffered heavy casualties.
As a consequence the two Saxon divisions were merged and all regiments reorganized into single battalions. 'Bataillon Prinz Fredrich August' mustered fifteen officers and 580 men on September 21st. Five days later VII Corps met Taventzien's Prussians and threw them back across the Elbe, a prelude to the complex manoeuvering leading up to the Battle of Leipzig. Regimental returns for October 1st quote a strength of seventeen officers and 619 men with the colors, plus thirty-three horses. This improvement shows the arrival of replacements or return to duty of some of the many men listed as sick, (the weather of the summer of 1813 was poor.)
By this time the Saxons were utterly disillusioned with French mismanagement and the ravaging of their country. Indeed, many of the men had already gone over to the Allies.
The Corps reached Leipzig on October 17th in a somber mood. Early on the 18th the officers of the Saxon Division, plus the light cavalry, resolved to march to join the Allies at the earliest opportunity; von Steindel's Brigade, including 'Bataillon Prinz Ferdich August' defecting with the main body around 4:00 P.M.
After serving at the siege of Torgau, a strange situation for the regimental staff and men of the 1st Battalion as this was their home station, the regiment joined the III German Army Corps, (commanded by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar). The Saxons underwent extensive reorganization; the remnants of the Guard and line infantry formed three provisional regiments, "Prinz Fredich August becoming part of the 3rd regiment and its grenadiers joining the 3rd Battalion, Provisional Guard Regiment.
In 1814, under Saxe-Weimar, the Saxons fought in the Netherlands and Flanders, later serving in Hesse-Kassel and on the Rhine.
The regiment survived the partitioning of the Saxon Army, officially becoming IIIes Linen-Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Fredrich August.
During the One Hundred Days, the regiment marched to join Schwarzenburg's Austrians at Mainz, serving at the subsequent sieges of Schlettstadt and Neubreisach. The regiment was destined to remain in France as part of a small Saxon Corps and did not return home until the end of 1818.
Regimental Commandants during the Napoleonic Era:
- 1794--1806 Oberst Bevilagua
1806 Oberst von Nehrhoff
1806-1807 Generalmajor von Dyhernn
1807-1812 Oberst von Brochowski
1812 Oberst und kgl General-Adjutant von Boblick (appointed June 6th.)
1813-1815 Oberst(?) von Brand
1815 Oberst von Liebenau
Regimental Station:
- Staff and 1st Battalion Torgau
2nd Battalion Oschatz
Grenadiers Belgern (Wittenberg from 1810)
Several illustrations of the regiment are recommended. First, plate 46 and pages 144-145 of Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars in Color, 1796-1814 by Jack Cassin-Scott and Philip J. Haythornthwaite, Hippocrene Books Inc., Blandford Press, London, 1973, illustrates the dress of a surgeon of the regiment.
He wears:
- "a pale grey coat with light green facings, with white turnbacks, buff
overalls with brass buttons. The bicorn hats were covered with oilskins in
campaign dress. The surgeon's medical equipment was carried in a leather
satchel slung over one shoulder. The Saxon Officer carried a light bladed
sword with a brass hilt and black leather swordknot, in a scabbard with
brass fittings, suspended from a white waistbelt."
A drummer of one of the musketeer companies after the uniform change of 1810 is shown as figure three, plate F in Otto von Pivka's Napoleon's German Allies (3): Saxony, 1806-1815.
Senior Editor's Note: In typing the hand written version of this article, I have probably made several mistakes, especially on German words. These are my fault, not the author's. One such is the spelling of the term Frederick which should have appeared as Friedrich.
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