French Flags Mini-Project: Flags Carried By Infantry Regiments at St Cast 1758 Number 2: Regiment Bresse

This is another French regiment which was much busier in the early 18th century than in the SYW but fought at St Cast in 1758.

First raised 14th September 1684 from a battalion of Normandie Infantry. One battalion only and ranked 83rd at the beginning of the SYW.

These flags were carried from 1684-1762.

With the Army of Germany 1691. With the Army of the Alps 1692. At the defence of Pignerol and the battle of Marsaglia 1693. Served in Provence 1694 then embarked for Catalonia and served at the relief of Palamos.  With the Army of Italy at the siege of Valenza 1696.  With the Army of Flanders in 1697.  With the Army of Italy in 1700. At the combats of Carpi and Chiari in 1701. Then at the combat of Santa Vittoria, and battle and taking of Luzzara; combat of Stradella and Castelnuovo, taking of Nago and Arco, taking of Asti; sieges of Verceil, Ivré and Vérue, battles of Cassano and Calcinato; siege of Turin from 1702-1706.  With the Army of Dauphiné from 1707 to 1709.  With the Army of Flanders, combat of Beuvrage, battle of Denain, siege of Douai from 1710-1712. In garrison at Douai.

 With the Army of Bavaria in 1742, combat of Sahay, relief of Frawemberg, defence of and retreat from Prague.  With the Army of Flanders in 1744.  With the Army of the Lower Rhine in 1745.  With the Army of Flanders, sieges of Mons, Charleroi and Namur, battle of Rocoux in 1746. Defence of Provence in 1747. Defence of the Gênes River line in 1748.
 
 Campaign of 1756 on the coast of Normandy. Campaigns of 1757 and 1758 on the coast of Brittany, combat of St Cast. Campaigns of 1759 to 1762 on the coast of Aunis. Disbanded 25th November 1762.

And this was the uniform in 1756:

French Flags Mini-Project: Flags Carried By Infantry Regiments at St Cast 1758 Number 1: Regiment Brie

As with the Prussian infantry flags, I hope and plan to do all the French infantry flags eventually. The British landing at St Cast in 1758, where the French gave British forces a very bloody nose, caught my attention recently so I have decided to do the remaining French infantry flags from this action. (I have already posted the flags of French infantry regiments Royal des Vaisseaux and Penthièvre which also fought at St Cast.) I shall list the earlier actions and campaigns of these regiments as well as their SYW experiences as they mostly had much more to do in the War of the Spanish Succession and War of the Austrian Succession and sometimes earlier, so these flags will appeal to wargamers depicting earlier French armies.

Brie ranked 87th at the beginning of the SYW and was only one battalion strong.

The flags as shown were carried from 1684-1762.

Brie first raised September 1684 from companies of the regiment of Picardy. In garrison in Calais 1687. Conquest of the Palatinate 1688. Served on the Rhine to 1693. With the Army of Italy from 1694-1696. With the Army of the Meuse in 1697. With the Army of the Rhine at the battle of Friedlingen 1702. At the sieges of Brisach and Landau and the battle of Speyerbach 1703. With the Army of the Alps 1704. At the conquest of Nice 1705. At the siege and battle of Turin 1706. At the defence of Toulon 1707. With the Army of the Rhine from 1708 to 1713. Briefly renamed Comte de la Marche 1726-1727.

With the Army of the Rhine 1733. At the siege of Philipsbourg 1734. At the combat of Klausen in 1735.

With the Army of Bavaria at the relief of Braunau 1742. At the defence of Eggenfeld 1743. Returned to the Rhine and at the battle of Rheinweiler. With the Army of the Alps in 1744; its colonel was severely wounded at the taking of Chateau-Dauphin. At the defence of Asti, where the regiment was taken prisoner, 4th March 1746. Exchanged in June 1747 and reformed on the Seyne, and then moved to Gênes where it served until the peace.

Defended the coast of Brittany during the Seven Years War. At the combat of St Cast in 1758; there its colonel was mortally wounded. Disbanded on the 25th November 1762.

And this was the uniform in 1756, as far as I can tell; there may have been a red collar earlier than 1758, when the État Militaire says it had one.

Prague Prussian Flags Project - Flags of Prussian Infantry Regiment 32

Chefs: Major General Joachim Christian von Tresckow, later Lieutenant General, 17th May 1747 to 25th June 1763

Newly raised in 1743, originally as fusiliers, from a garrison battalion and companies.

In 1756 the regiment was with Field Marshal Schwerin's Corps, taking part in the limited fortress attacks along the southern border of Silesia from mid-September to the end of October. In 1757 this Corps went to join the King's Army, which it met on May 6th at Prosek. At the battle of Prague the regiment was part of Hautcharmoy's second attack after the failure of the first line; after breaking through the enemy centre Tresckow took command after Hautcharmoy fell. There was murderous fighting in the Rokenitz Brook and Christopher Duffy, Army of Frederick the Great, 1st Edition, shows IR32 with about 25% casualties. As part of the forces investing Prague after the battle IR32 missed Kolin. After that, with the Duke of Bevern's Corps the regiment suffered badly and behaved ill at Moys on September 7th (as General von Winterfeldt was shot in the back here it is possible, as suggested by Christopher Duffy, that he was shot by his own men, perhaps from this regiment raised largely from understandably disaffected Upper Silesian Catholics!). The regiment then marched to Breslau, leaving that city on November 25th with just one battalion.

With the King's Army in 1758 it was at Domstadtl on June 30th, while the grenadiers under Tresckow had captured the fortress of Schweidnitz by April 16th.

In 1759 it was with the Pomeranian Corps and fought at the bloody defeat of Kay; its commander, Colonel Burkhard von Jagow, was killed there. With only one battalion left it was given the task of securing the Oder crossings to Kunersdorf at Göritz from 11th August. In mid-September the battalion, now under Finck, reached Wunsch's Corps at Torgau. On September 21st it took part in the victory of Korbitz.

In 1760 and 1761, restored to two battalions again, it was part of the garrison of Schweidnitz, its place in the field army taken by garrison regiments. On October 1st 1761 it was captured by Loudon's forces; the troops under the command of von Zastrow had been left by the King with far too few men for the task of holding the fortress.

The regiment was not restored in 1762 and was replaced in 1763 by von Horn's regiment, which had been in Saxony under Prince Friedrich August. In 1784 the King complained: "It doesn't amount to much."

Christopher Duffy says in the Army of Frederick the Great: "First battalion distinguished at Domstadtl but the regiment as a whole performed badly at Moys and Kay, due to the large element of Upper Silesian Catholics. Captured at Schweidnitz 1761 and replaced by the regiment of Horn (formerly no. 56)."

 And this was the uniform in 1756: