Prague Prussian Flags Project - Flags of Prussian Fusilier Infantry Regiment 43 von Kalsow

Chefs SYW: Colonel Christian von Kalsow, later Lieutenant General to 19th January 1757; to 22nd January 1758 Major General Samuel Adolph von Kalckreuth; to 5th February 1760 Colonel Joachim Leopold von Bredow, later Major General; to 17th June 1767 Colonel Döring Wilhelm von Krockow, later Major General

This is another unusual flag set as the Kompaniefahne is completely green and the Leibfahne completely white, apart from the scrolls.

First raised as a garrison regiment in 1741 in Breslau, then converted 1744 into IR 43.

With Schwerin's Silesian Corps in 1756 and the grenadiers fought a rear guard action against attempts to pin them down at Lewin on October 29th. On January 9th 1757 300 men were added to the regimental strength and in April the regiment and grenadiers both marched to Prague. In the ensuing battle grenadiers and regiment were on the left wing in the initial attack which was repulsed and lost 400 men. They were involved in the siege of Prague from May 6th to June 20th. On the march home the First Battalion, barely 450 strong, reached Gabel and was attacked by overwhelming enemy forces and made prisoner on July 15th. At the end of August both the grenadiers and the Second Battalion went to Silesia under the command of Bevern. At the battle of Breslau on 22nd November they fought well on the right wing of the army at Pilsnitz. After the capitulation of Breslau there were only 100 men left.

In 1758 the regiment had been brought up to full strength again and was in the Saxon Corps, taking part in the invasion of Franconia to Hof and with Wedell in his counterattack on the Mulde crossings at Torgau and Eilenburg. The grenadiers were involved in the capture of Schweidnitz on April 16th and then fought at Zorndorf on August 25th, where they lost 246 men and another 87 captured.

In 1759 the regiment was in the advance guard at Himmelskron near Kulmbach, facing off against the Imperial army to May 11th. At the end of July the King took it with his army to face the Russians on the Oder River. At Kunersdorf on August 12th the regiment was in the second line of the advance guard in front of the right wing. It stormed the Bäckergrund and its abatis after a softening up bombardment of 30 minutes, and then took the Mühlberg and its large battery under tremendous fire. But the attack faltered and stopped in the Kuhgrund, with the loss of 550 men including Major the Prince of Holstein-Beck.

In 1760 the regiment was with Prince Heinrich against the Russians in northern Silesia and in 1761 in the camp of Bunzelwitz with the King.

In 1762 IR 43 stormed the Eisenberg at Adelsbach, south-west of Freiburg, under heavy fire and with the loss of 400 men. The King broke off the fight but Daun retreated anyway.

In 1784 the King excluded the regiment from his criticism of all the other Silesian regiments.

And this was the uniform in 1756: