Campaigns of the Prussian Army
1740-1763

Prussian grenadiers in the battle of Leuthen 1757
As an
excursion from this site's focus on the Great Northern War, this page is a
continuation of the page containing the Campaigns of the
Prussian Army 1702-1715 and it cover the Prussian army during its age of
greatness. That is the years 1740-1763 when the Prussian king Frederick the
Great waged a series of wars that raised Prussia from a minor state into a
great power. These wars are known as the First and Second Silesian Wars (1740-42
and 1744-45), which were parts of the Austrian War of Succession (1740-48), as well as
the Seven Years War (1756-1763). The content on this page is almost
exclusively taken from Philip Haythornthwaite's Osprey books: "Frederick the Great's Army"
volumes 1-3 (1991-92).
The years 1740
and 1763 are not included in the table since no battles were fought in those
years. The first Silesian War started 16 December
1740 when the Prussian army crossed the border to Silesia without a
declaration of war. And the Seven Years War ended with the peace at Hubertusburg
16 February 1763. A much more eventful year was however 1757 when the
biggest battles were fought, among others Frederick the Great's first defeat (Kolin) and his
greatest victory (Leuthen). Between those battles he had also inflicted a
crushing defeat on the
French and the German Reichsarmee at Rossbach, and the Prussians had faced
the Russians for the first time at Gross-Jägersdorf. Because of this density
of battles there are two columns for 1757 (one for each half-year).
The wars
fought by Frederick the Great were geographically limited, so in contrast to
my other pages the colour codes in this page do not show which country the
regiments were located in, but rather which opponents they fought against in
the battles according to the following system:
French
(+ Reicharmee 1757) |
French & Russians |
French & Austrians |
Austrians
(+ Saxons 1745) |
Russians & Austrians |
Russians |
The letters represent different battles and are explained
further down on the page. The only exception is Schweidnitz 1761 (S)
which was a fortress that fell to the Austrians.
The
Prussian regiments were usually named after their "Inhaber" which were
replaced several times during this period. I have for simplicity chosen to only
use the official numbering of the Prussian regiments. In those cases when
the regiments actually had a permanent name, then this is added in bold
style. Otherwise I have instead of official names only noted in the name
field which province the regiment was recruited from, or nick names if such
existed. The third column notes which year the regiment was raised.
The difference between musketeers and fusiliers was that the latters were
newly raised regiments with soldiers that did not meet the high standards as
in the other regiments. They were for example shorter and were thus equipped
with shorter muskets and had special fusilier caps which resembled the caps
worn by grenadiers.
Infantry
|
Musketeers |
1741 |
1742 |
|
1744 |
1745 |
|
1756 |
1757 |
1758 |
1759 |
1760 |
1761 |
1762 |
1 |
Brandenburg |
1615 |
M |
|
|
|
H |
|
|
P |
RL |
H |
|
LT |
|
B |
2 |
Ostpreussen |
1655 |
|
C |
|
HS |
|
|
G |
Z |
Ka K |
|
|
|
3 |
Magdeburg |
1655 |
|
|
|
HS |
L |
PK |
|
|
Ka |
L |
|
B |
4 |
Ostpreussen |
1672 |
|
C |
|
S |
|
|
G |
Z |
|
|
|
B |
5 |
Magdeburg |
1655 |
|
|
|
HS |
|
|
RL |
H |
|
LT |
|
B |
6 |
Grenadier-Garde |
1675 |
|
|
|
HS |
|
|
RL |
H |
|
LT |
|
B |
7 |
Pommern |
1676 |
M |
C |
|
H |
L |
K |
|
Z |
K |
T |
|
|
8 |
Pommern |
1679 |
|
|
|
H |
|
P |
L |
H |
|
T |
|
|
9 |
Westfalen |
1679 |
|
|
|
|
L |
P |
R |
|
Ka K |
T |
|
|
10 |
Westfalen |
1683 |
M |
C |
|
|
|
|
L |
|
|
|
|
B |
11 |
Ostpreussen |
1685 |
|
C |
|
H |
|
|
G |
Z |
|
|
|
|
12 |
Brandenburg |
1685 |
M |
|
|
H |
|
P |
|
|
K |
|
|
B |
13 |
Brandenburg |
1686 |
M |
|
|
H |
L |
|
RL |
H |
|
LT |
|
B |
14 |
Ostpreussen |
1626 |
|
C |
|
HS |
|
|
G |
Z |
K |
|
|
|
15 |
Regiment-Garde |
1688 |
M |
C |
|
HS |
|
K |
RL |
H |
|
LT |
|
B |
16 |
Ostpreussen |
1698 |
|
C |
|
|
|
|
G |
Z |
Ka K |
T |
|
B |
17 |
Pommern |
1693 |
|
C |
|
HS |
L |
PK |
|
|
|
T |
|
|
18 |
Brandenburg |
1698 |
|
|
|
|
|
PL |
|
ZH |
|
LT |
|
B |
19 |
Brandenburg |
1702 |
M |
|
|
HS |
|
P |
RL |
H |
K |
T |
|
|
20 |
Magdeburg |
1674 |
|
|
|
H |
L |
K |
|
H |
|
T |
|
|
21 |
Halberstadt |
1713 |
|
|
|
H |
L |
K |
R |
|
K |
T |
|
|
22 |
Pommern |
1713 |
M |
|
|
H |
|
K |
|
Z |
|
T |
|
B |
23 |
Brandenburg |
1713 |
M |
|
|
HS |
|
P |
RL |
ZH |
|
LT |
|
|
24 |
Brandenburg |
1713 |
M |
C |
|
H |
|
P |
R |
|
Ka K |
LT |
|
|
25 |
Brandenburg |
1713 |
M |
|
|
HS |
|
K |
L |
Z |
|
T |
|
B |
26 |
Brandenburg |
1714 |
M |
|
|
|
|
P |
RL |
H |
|
LT |
|
|
27 |
Brandenburg |
1715 |
M |
C |
|
|
L |
|
L |
Z |
|
|
|
|
28 |
Niederschlesien |
1723 |
|
|
|
H |
|
P |
|
|
|
|
|
|
29 |
Niederschlesien |
1723 |
|
C |
|
H |
|
PK |
|
|
K |
|
|
|
30 |
Pommern |
1728 |
|
C |
|
H |
L |
P |
L |
H |
|
T |
|
|
31 |
Niederschlesien |
1729 |
|
|
|
|
|
P |
G |
|
K |
LT |
|
|
32 |
Niederschlesien (fusileesr 1743-45) |
1743 |
|
|
|
|
|
P |
|
|
Ka |
|
|
|
34 |
Brandenburg |
1740 |
|
C |
|
|
|
|
L |
|
|
L |
|
|
|
Fusiliers |
1741 |
1742 |
|
1744 |
1745 |
|
1756 |
1757 |
1758 |
1759 |
1760 |
1761 |
1762 |
33 |
Glatz |
1740 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
P |
|
|
|
La |
|
|
35 |
Prinz Heinrich |
1740 |
|
|
|
|
|
PK |
L |
|
K |
T |
|
|
36 |
Pommern |
1740 |
|
|
|
|
L |
K |
L |
|
M |
|
S |
|
37 |
Niederschlesien |
1740 |
|
|
|
H |
|
P |
L |
Z |
K |
La |
S |
B |
38 |
Oberschlesien |
1740 |
|
|
|
|
|
P |
B |
|
K |
|
|
|
39 |
|
1740 |
|
|
|
|
|
P |
L |
H |
|
|
|
|
40 |
(Transferred from Saxony-Eisenach army) |
1740 |
|
|
|
|
|
PK |
|
Z |
Ka |
L |
|
|
41 |
Westfalen (from Württemberg army) |
1741 |
|
|
|
|
|
PK |
|
|
K |
LT |
|
|
42 |
Oberschlesien |
1741 |
|
|
|
|
|
P |
|
|
|
La |
|
|
43 |
Niederschlesien |
1741 |
|
|
|
|
|
P |
|
|
K |
|
|
|
44 |
|
1742 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F |
45 |
|
1743 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
M |
|
|
|
46 |
(Raised only with foreign recruits) |
1743 |
|
|
|
|
|
P |
L |
Z |
K |
|
|
|
47 |
Oberschlesien (from Holstein-Gottorp) |
1743 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
KM |
|
|
|
48 |
(Recruited from the Minden garrison) |
1756 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
49 |
Niederschlesien (pioneers 1742-58) |
1758 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Z |
Ka K |
T |
|
|
50-9 |
In October 1756 ten captured
Saxon regiments were forced into Prussian service. Desertions resulted
however in that all regiments except
IR 54-56 ceased to exist after barely a year. The remaining regiments
were disbanded after the war and their men were transferred to IR 33
and IR 36. Their numbers would be reclaimed by new regiments raised 1773-74
in Oberschlesien (50) and
Westpreussen (51-55). |
|
1741 |
1742 |
|
1744 |
1745 |
|
1756 |
1757 |
1758 |
1759 |
1760 |
1761 |
1762 |
Cavalry
|
|
Cuirassiers |
1741 |
1742 |
|
1744 |
1745 |
|
1756 |
1757 |
1758 |
1759 |
1760 |
1761 |
1762 |
1 |
|
1666 |
|
C |
|
|
HSK |
|
|
PK |
BL |
H |
Ka K |
T |
|
F |
2 |
|
1666 |
|
C |
|
HS |
L |
K |
B |
Z |
K |
LT |
|
|
3 |
Leibregiment zu Pferde |
1672 |
|
|
|
K |
L |
PK |
RL |
|
K |
LT |
|
F |
4 |
|
1674 |
|
C |
|
HS |
|
P |
BL |
H |
|
T |
|
F |
5 |
|
1683 |
M |
|
|
HK |
|
P |
BL |
Z |
Ka K |
LT |
|
|
6 |
|
1688 |
|
|
|
HK |
L |
K |
BL |
|
M |
|
|
|
7 |
|
1688 |
|
C |
|
HK |
L |
PK |
RL |
|
KM |
|
|
|
8 |
|
1691 |
|
C |
|
HSK |
L |
K |
RL |
ZH |
|
LT |
|
|
9 |
|
1691 |
|
C |
|
HS |
|
P |
BL |
H |
M |
|
|
|
10 |
Regiment Gens d'Armes |
1691 |
M |
|
|
HS |
L |
|
RL |
ZH |
|
LT |
|
|
11 |
Leib-Carabinier Regiment |
1691 |
M |
|
|
HK |
L |
PK |
BL |
ZH |
|
LT |
|
|
12 |
|
1704 |
|
C |
|
HSK |
|
PK |
L |
H |
Ka K |
T |
|
|
13 |
Garde du Corps |
1740 |
|
|
|
HS |
L |
PK |
RL |
ZH |
|
LT |
|
|
|
Dragoons |
1741 |
1742 |
|
1744 |
1745 |
|
1756 |
1757 |
1758 |
1759 |
1760 |
1761 |
1762 |
1 |
|
1689 |
M |
|
|
|
H |
|
|
PK |
BL |
ZH |
|
LT |
|
|
2 |
|
1689 |
|
|
|
H |
|
PK |
BL |
H |
K |
LT |
|
|
3 |
|
1704 |
M |
C |
|
HS |
L |
PK |
R |
|
K |
|
|
|
4 |
|
1704 |
M |
|
|
HK |
L |
PK |
RL |
ZH |
|
LT |
|
|
5 |
|
1717 |
M |
C |
|
HK |
L |
|
BL |
|
|
T |
|
|
6 |
"Porcelain Dragoons" |
1717 |
|
|
|
H |
|
|
G |
Z |
K |
|
|
F |
7 |
|
1727 |
|
C |
|
K |
|
|
G |
Z |
|
|
|
F |
8 |
|
1744 |
|
|
|
K |
|
|
G |
Z |
K |
T |
|
F |
9 |
|
1741 |
|
|
|
K |
|
|
G |
K |
Mi |
L |
|
|
10 |
|
1743 |
|
|
|
K |
|
|
G |
K |
Mi |
L |
|
|
11 |
|
1740 |
|
|
|
H |
|
PK |
L |
|
KM |
T |
|
F |
12 |
|
1742 |
|
|
|
S |
|
PK |
BL |
|
M |
T |
|
|
|
Hussars |
1741 |
1742 |
|
1744 |
1745 |
|
1756 |
1757 |
1758 |
1759 |
1760 |
1761 |
1762 |
1 |
Preussisches Husaren (Green) |
1721 |
|
C |
|
|
H |
|
L |
K |
RL |
|
K |
T |
|
F |
2 |
Leib-Husaren (Red) |
1730 |
M |
|
|
H |
|
PK |
BL |
ZH |
Ka K |
LT |
|
|
3 |
|
1740 |
|
|
|
|
|
PK |
L |
|
|
LT |
|
|
4 |
White Hussars |
1741 |
|
|
|
HS |
|
PK |
L |
H |
Ka K |
|
|
|
5 |
Totenkopf (Death skull or Black) |
1741 |
|
|
|
H |
|
|
G |
KZ |
Ka Mi |
|
|
|
6 |
Brown Hussars |
1741 |
|
|
|
HK |
|
PK |
L |
H |
|
T |
|
|
7 |
Yellow Hussars |
1743 |
|
|
|
K |
|
P |
GL |
Z |
Ka Mi K |
|
|
|
8 |
Red husarerna |
1743 |
|
|
|
H |
|
KB |
RL |
|
M |
|
|
|
9 |
Der ganze tod
(Whole Dead or New Black) |
1758 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
K |
|
|
F |
|
1741 |
1742 |
|
1744 |
1745 |
|
1756 |
1757 |
1758 |
1759 |
1760 |
1761 |
1762 |
In
addition to the above mentioned units there were also temporary grenadier
battalions in each war which were raised by pairing the grenadier companies
from two infantry regiments. There were also up to 17 garrison regiments and
special units such as two jäger corps and 23 free corps.
These are not included in the list since I have no information about which
battles they participated in.
B = Breslau (1757),
Burkersdorf (1762)
C = Chotusitz (1742)
F = Freiberg (1762)
G = Gross-Jägersdorf (1757)
H = Hohenfriedeberg (1745), Handkirch (1758)
K = Kesselsdorf (1745), Kolin (1757), Krefeld (1758), Kunersdorf (1759)
Ka = Kay (1759)
L = Lobositz (1756), Leuthen (1757), Liegnitz (1760)
La = Landeshut (1760)
M = Mollwitz (1741), Maxen (1759)
Mi = Minden (1759)
P = Prag (1757)
R = Rossbach (1757)
S = Soor (1745), Schweidnitz (1761)
T = Torgau (1760)
Return to
Armies of the Great Northern War or
to
Campaigns of the Prussian Army 1702-1715. |