Saturday 15 July 2023

Standard of French Raugrave Cavalry alias Volontaires Liégois

The unit was first raised as Raugrave Cavalry in 1743 as a "light horse" unit. It was renamed Volontaires Liégeois in 1756. It had consisted of only 100 men in 4 companies but in November 1756 it was increased to 300 men in 2 squadrons. In February 1758 it was renamed Cavalerie Liégeoise and increased to a total of 320 men in 2 squadrons (each of 2 companies).

Standard 1758-1762:
 



The emblem is the famous perron or column of Liège.

Brief service history:

1757: With the Army of Saxony; Rossbach Campaign
1758: With Broglie's Army to July then with Soubise
1758: July 23rd Battle of Sandershausen; heavily engaged
1758: October 10th Battle of Lutterberg; not heavily engaged
1759: April 13th Battle of Bergen
1759: From June with the main army under Contades
1759: August 1st Battle of Minden
1760: September 7th Two companies of the regiment captured with their standards

From then to the end of the war I cannot find any significant actions in which the regiment was involved. The regiment was disbanded at the end of the war.

And this was the uniform in 1758:

Image courtesy of NYPL: https://iiif-prod.nypl.org/index.php?id=1236204&t=v

Friday 14 July 2023

Warburg French Flags Project: Flags of French Swiss Regiment Jenner 1751-1762

It's some time since I focussed on a specific battle and its French flags. Warburg offers a variety of new infantry flags including some attractive Swiss flags. Once I complete the flags for Warburg there will be well over 100 French flag sets on the blog.

The battle of Warburg took place on the 31st July 1760 and was a French defeat. A detailed account of the battle can be found on Kronoskaf here:  

http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=1760-07-31_-_Battle_of_Warburg

Jenner Infantry:

First raised 1672 as Erlach Infantry. It was always recruited from inhabitants of Berne. Became Manuel 1694, Villars-Chandieu 1701, May 1728, Bettens 1739, Jenner 1751, Erlach de Riggisberg 1762, Ernest 1782

At the start of the Seven Years War Jenner ranked 49th and had 3 battalions

Flags 1751-1762:



Summary of Service before the Seven Years War:

Franco-Dutch War 1672-1678

1672: Siege of Nijmegen
1673: Siege of Maastricht
1674: Battle of Seneffe
1675: Siege and capture of Bellegarde
1676: Garrison of Bellegarde
1677: Combat of Espouilles
1678: Siege of Puigcerda and return to France
1684: Siege of Luxembourg

Nine Years War 1688-1697:

1689: Siege and then defence of Campredon
1691: Storming of Seu d'Urgell
1693: Capture of Rosas
1694: Battle of Torroella; sieges of Palamos, Girona, Ostalrich and Castelfollit
1697: Siege of Barcelona

War of the Spanish Succession 1701-1713:

1701: To the Army of Flanders
1702: Combat of Nijmegen
1703: Battle of Ekeren
1704: Campaign between Rhine and Moselle
1706: Battle of Ramillies
1708: Battle of Oudenarde and defence of Lille
1709: Battle of Malplaquet
1712: Defence of Arras, battle of Denain, and sieges of Douai, Le Quesnoy and Bouchain
1713: Siege of landau

1715: Reduced from 3 to 2 battalions

War of the Polish Succession 1733-1735:

1733: 3 battalions again and joined the Army of the Rhine
1735: Combat of Klausen

1737: Reduced to 2 battalions again

War of the Austrian Succession 1740-1748:

1742: At Dunkirk then to Douai
1743: At Douai Up to 3 battalions again
1744: To Courtrai then Menin and Ypres
1745: 2 battalions to the siege of Tournai and then at the battle of Fontenoy. Then at the sieges of Oudenarde, Ostend, Nieuport and Ath
1746: Sieges of Bruxelles, Antwerp and Namur and the battle of Rocoux
1747: Battle of Lauffeldt and the conquest of the Dutch Flanders
Sent back to Normandy after heavy losses
1748: On the coast of Brittany


This is my translation of the account from Susane Vol.6 of the regiment's history in the Seven Years War:

The regiment took the name of Jenner in 1751 and took part in the camp of Gray in 1753. It was reduced to two battalions on the 1st of April 1756 and was one of the twenty battalions promised by Louis XV to help Maria Theresa; but France found herself also involved in the Seven Years War and Jenner was sent to the Army of the Lower Rhine. It took part in 1757 in the victory of Hastenbeck and the conquest of the Electorate of Hanover, and then in the battle of Krefeld in 1758. In 1759 it was at the siege of Münster where Colonel Jenner was wounded and Lieutenant Colonel De La Chennelas was killed. In 1760, the regiment fought at Korbach under the command of the Comte de St Germain; it then came under the command of the Chevalier de Muy and covered itself in glory at Warburg, where, with Regiments Bourbonnais, La Couronne and Lochmann, it withstood the enemy attack and enabled the retreat of the army; Colonel Jenner was once again wounded. In 1761 it was at the affair of Villingshausen and was part of the detachment which pushed forward into the Electorate of Hanover. Returning from this expedition it took up winter quarters in Gueldres and in 1762, when the peace was signed, it was sent to Strasbourg. By then it was called Erlach. In 1763 it was sent successively to Phalsbourg, Metz and Longwy.

And this was the uniform in 1756: