Royal Bavarian Infantry Lifeguards Regiment The Royal Bavarian Infantry Lifeguards Regiment ( " Königlich Bayerisches Infanterie - Leib - Regiment " ) was a household - bodyguard regiment of the Bavarian kings from the end of the Napoleonic Wars until the fall of the Wittelsbach monarchy and the subsequent disbanding of the Bavarian army . Predecessors . Before the actual Lifeguards Regiment , two infantry regiments in Bavaria held this name : History . Creation . The regiment was created by Royal Decree on 16 July 1814 as the " " Grenadier - Garde - Regiment " " from the grenadier companies of the Bavarian line infantry regiments . The tallest men were transferred to the Grenadier Guards Regiment , the rest to the " Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment " König " Nr . 1 " . The regiment consisted of 3 battalions of 6 companies each . The first Colonel - Commandant ( after 1872 , the term " commander " was used ) was Franz Freiherr von Hertling , who was in command until 11 February 1824 . On 13 April 1815 the regiment received its colours in Munich . A field battalion was established from all battalions on 14 April 1815 and deployed for guard duties under the 6th Royal Bavarian Reserve Infantry Brigade in Mannheim and Auxerre . After the armistice , the 2nd and 3rd battalion were transferred to Auxerre . On 22 September 1815 the colours were blessed in the cathedral of Auxerres . The Regiment ' s garrison city was generally Munich , at times individual battalions of the Regiment were stationed elsewhere ( 1st battalion 1851 - 1853 in Germersheim , 1862 in Landau ; 2nd battalion 1853 in Landau , 1859 in Landsberg , 1871 in Augsburg ; 3rd battalion 1873 in Fürstenfeldbruck ) . Immediately after the death of Maximilian I Joseph , his son and heir Ludwig I decreed the abolition of the expensive Guard regiments . The Regiment from 6 December 1825 held the name " Line Infantry Lifeguard Regiment " , consisting of 2 battalions of 6 companies each ( 20 to 30 soldiers to a company ) . From 28 October 1835 it was named the " Infantry Lifeguard Regiment " , without a Regiment number , it stood at the head of the infantry in the order of precedence . In practice , however , it maintained its " Guard " status . Quickly , " " Leiber " " ( " Lifeguards " ) became a nickname for members of the Regiment . In 1848 the 3rd battalion was re - established . The Regiment was placed on high alert on 4 April 1848 during the confusion of the Revolution , and took up positions in front of the ruler ' s residence . On 30 June 1848 , the first commoner , Jakob Ermarth , was appointed Colonel - Commandant . The 1st and 2nd battalions were transferred on 5 October 1848 to Sigmaringen in Marsch , to protect Charles , Prince of Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen and to depose the provisional government there . After similar deployments under an " observation corps " in the area of Ulm and Günzburg , the battalions returned by 31 December 1849 to Munich . For the Regiment ' s 50th anniversary on 16 July 1864 , its officers and the Colonel - Commandant Karl Graf von Spreti held a banquet in the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Munich , and its non - commissioned officers and enlisted ranks received an allowance of 500 guilders from King Ludwig II , and 100 guilders from Prince Otto . War against Prussia . In 1866 in the Austro - Prussian War , with Bavaria fighting on the Austrian side , the Regiment was not deployed as a whole ; the I battalion was stationed in the fortress of Mainz , whilst the II and III battalions , under Colonel Siegmund von Pranckh , were assigned to the 1st Royal Bavarian Infantry Brigade . After 4 battles , the Regiment counted 17 dead and 136 wounded , with the Colonel having been replaced , unusually , by the non - aristocratic Adalbert Högenstaller already after the first of these battles ( at Nüdlingen ) . Franco - Prussian War . In the Franco - Prussian War the whole Regiment was assigned to the 1st Brigade , and thus to the 1st Division . At Lechfeld , it counted 66 officers and 2879 men ready for action . In the battles of Wörth on 6 August 1870 and Sedan on 1 September the Regiment was at the centre of the fighting and suffered a few casualties . For the actions at Sedan the commander of the III battalion , Major Joseph Graf von Ioner - Tettenweiß , was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph . After the battle at Artenay on 10 October 1870 the Regiment occupied Orléans on 11 October , but had to give it up again on 9 November 1870 in the face of far superior French forces , the Armée de la Loire . The cautious but brave actions of Captain Karl Hoffmann , head of the 9th Company of the Regiment , in the Battle of Villepion on 1 December 1870 prevented a breakthrough by superior French units , and held the endangered position until the end of that day . He was also awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph . On 2 December 1870 the Regiment proved itself in the bloody Battle of Loigny - Poupry , for which First Lieutenant Hermann Ehrne von Melchthal ( 8th Company ) received a Knight ' s Cross for bravery in the face of the enemy . The Regiment recaptured Orléans the following day . On 7 December 1870 Second Lieutenant Friedrich Krieger , head of the 11th Company , repelled an attack by superior French forces on an artillery unit at Lemons ( near Meung ) and engaged in a counter - attack on his own initiative . He pursued and captured numerous French soldiers and an enemy artillery battery ; for this he received a Knight ' s Cross . On the same day Second Lieutenant Alfred Meyer distinguished himself through his brave actions in a battle at Le Bardon ( north - west of Meung ) , resulting in the award of a Knight ' s Cross on 24 May 1871 . In the Battle of Beaugency on 8 December 1870 the Regiment held its positions against the French attacks . The Regiment was kept on alert during the siege of Paris , but did not have to intervene in the fighting . The Regiment had officially fielded 66 officers and 2879 men at the start of the war ; 54 officers and 2193 men were present at the victory parade in Munich on 16 July 1871 . In 8 transports , 34 officers and 2333 men had been sent as reinforcements , so that the Regiment had suffered a total loss in terms of dead , wounded and diseased , of 46 officers and 3019 men , that is , 100 more men than had originally belonged to the Regiment at the start of the war . Notable members . Commanding officers . The commander was always the King himself , but the military and administrative leadership of the regiment lay with the Colonel - Commandants , or after 1872 , with the commanders .