Bavarian Army

The Bavarian Army () was the army of the Electorate (1682–1806) and later the Kingdom (1806–1918) of Bavaria.
It was founded in 1682 as Bavaria’s standing army and lasted until 1919, when Bavaria’s military sovereignty () was merged into that of the German state.
The Bavarian Army was never as strong as the armies of the Great Powers of the 19th century.
However, through effective alliance politics, it gave the Wittelsbach dynasty enough freedom to turn Bavaria from a territorially fragmented small state into the second-largest state of the German Empire after Prussia.

 History 

 1682–1790: From the first standing army to the Napoleonic Wars 

The  of 1681 required Bavaria to provide troops for the Imperial army.
At the same time, maintaining a standing army was increasingly regarded as a key feature of a modern nation-state.

On 12 October 1682, at a field camp in Schwabing, newly recruited troops under the command of Hannibal von Degenfeld were formally taken into Bavarian service.
The new army consisted of seven regiments of infantry, two regiments of dragoons, two regiments of cuirassiers, and an artillery corps.

The traditional mid-blue uniform colour was already widely used by Bavarian infantry and became standard from 1684.
Cuirassiers and artillery wore light grey tunics, while dragoons wore red or blue uniforms.

Under Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, the Bavarian Army distinguished itself during the Great Turkish War, particularly at the Siege of Belgrade.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Bavaria fought on the side of France.
After the defeat at the Battle of Blenheim, the Bavarian Army ceased to exist as an effective, unified fighting force, although small remnants continued to serve until the end of the war.

Austria occupied Bavaria during this period, which led to a popular uprising that was violently suppressed in the so-called "Murderous Christmas of Sendling" ().
By 1701, the army had essentially the same structure as during the Turkish wars, but now included three regiments each of cuirassiers and dragoons.

During the War of the Austrian Succession, Elector Charles Albert initially succeeded in being elected Holy Roman Emperor.
However, the campaign ended with another Austrian occupation of Bavaria.

At the start of the Seven Years' War, the Bavarian Army consisted of eight infantry regiments, two dragoon regiments, three cuirassier regiments, and an artillery brigade.
In 1757, one cuirassier regiment was disbanded and its personnel distributed among the remaining regiments, while in the dragoon regiments only one company per regiment remained mounted.

Infantry regiments were composed of two battalions, each containing four Füsilierkompanien of about 130 men, one infantry company of roughly 100 men, and two four-pounder battalion guns.
Although the official paper strength of a regiment was about 1,800 men, this figure was never achieved in the field.

The Lifeguard regiment consisted of three battalions, but only two were deployed on active service.
In fulfilment of Bavaria’s Imperial obligations, ten infantry battalions were sent to support the Habsburgs.
These forces fought unsuccessfully at Schweidnitz, Breslau, and Leuthen in 1757, and at Troppau, Olmütz, and Neiße in 1758.

The unification of the Wittelsbach line with the Palatinate line in 1777 increased the Bavarian Army by eight infantry regiments.
The Palatine troops also introduced a lighter shade of blue for infantry uniforms.

The War of the Bavarian Succession became known as the “Potato War” because both sides focused largely on securing food supplies and denying them to the enemy rather than on major battles.
For the Bavarian Army, the conflict passed with little direct combat.

In 1785, the infantry adopted white uniforms, and the cuirassiers abandoned their traditional body armour.

 1790–1871: The Napoleonic Wars until the German Empire 

In 1790, the Bavarian Army underwent major reforms that standardised uniforms for all field troops, including the introduction of a leather helmet with a horsehair plume known as the “Rumford Casket,” named after the Minister for War, Count Rumford.

When Maximilian IV came to power in 1799, he found the army in extremely poor condition: most units were understrength, the Rumford uniform was unpopular and impractical, and training standards were low.
Having served as a colonel in the French Royal Deux-Ponts regiment under the Ancien Régime, Maximilian made the rebuilding of the army a central policy goal.

The line infantry was reduced to ten regiments and restored to full strength.
The two Jäger regiments were reorganised into four light infantry battalions, while the cavalry consisted of three light cavalry regiments, two dragoon regiments, and two cuirassier regiments.

The infantry returned to its traditional light blue uniform, and in 1801 all branches adopted the Raupenhelm, which became a distinctive symbol of the Bavarian Army. Generals such as Deroy, Wrede, and Triva reformed the army along French lines, making it the most modern army in Germany and the first to abolish flogging.

The field army was largely based on compulsory military service, and a national guard was created with three classes: reserve battalions of line regiments, a territorial army, and a citizen levy.

In 1800, Bavaria reluctantly fought alongside Austria against France in the War of the Second Coalition.
When Austria attacked Bavaria again in the War of the Third Coalition in 1805, it faced a far stronger Bavarian Army.

The Bavarians initially withdrew to link up with Napoleon’s advancing forces and prepare a counter-offensive.
Around 30,000 Bavarian troops took part in the successful Siege of Ulm and the liberation of Bavaria.
At the Battle of Austerlitz, Bavarian forces secured Napoleon’s flanks and supply lines.
In 1806–1807, Bavarian troops also forced several Prussian fortresses to surrender.

As a reward for its alliance with France, Bavaria received the Austrian province of Tyrol.
In 1809, unrest there developed into a major rebellion led by Andreas Hofer, which could only be suppressed with French military assistance.
Later the same year, Austria again attacked Bavaria during the War of the Fifth Coalition.
While Napoleon’s main forces were engaged in the Spain, troops of the Confederation of the Rhine, predominantly Bavarian, conducted the early operations against Austria.
At the Battle of Wagram, Bavarian forces played a decisive role in securing victory for Napoleon.

During the Russian Campaign, the Bavarian Army suffered catastrophic losses.
Of the approximately 33,000 Bavarian soldiers who marched into Russia in 1812, including later reinforcements, only about 4,000 returned.

Influenced by the Crown Prince and General Wrede, King Maximilian I Josef reluctantly abandoned France and joined the Allied coalition shortly before the Battle of Leipzig.
In 1813, Wrede attempted to block the retreat of the Grande Armée at the Battle of Hanau, but his Austro-Bavarian corps was narrowly defeated.

The Allied campaign of 1814 began unfavourably, but Wrede later compensated with important victories over his former allies at the Arcis-sur-Aube and the Bar-sur-Aube.

In 1814, the Bavarian Army consisted of a Grenadier Guard regiment, 16 regiments of line infantry, two battalions of Jäger, seven regiments of light cavalry (one territorial), one regiment of Uhlans, two Hussar regiments, one regiment of Garde du Corps (the mounted royal bodyguard), two regiments of foot artillery, and one regiment of horse artillery.

In 1815, the 7th (National) Light Cavalry Regiment was reorganised into two cuirassier regiments.
The Hussar and Uhlan regiments were disbanded in 1822.
Following the recommendations of the Military Savings Commission in 1826, one infantry regiment was converted into two Jäger battalions, and the Grenadier Guard regiment was reorganised as an infantry lifeguard regiment.
The Garde du Corps was redesignated as the 1st Cuirassier Regiment, while the former 1st Cuirassier Regiment was merged into the 2nd Regiment.

Mobilisation for the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 was only completed on 22 June, by which time the Prussian Army had already advanced deep into Bohemia.
The war proved disastrous for Bavaria.

The Bavarian commander-in-chief, Prince Karl, who also commanded the southern forces of the German Confederation, was moving to support the Kingdom of Hanover when he learned of the Hanoverian surrender following the Battle of Langensalza.
Because of the rapid Prussian advance, Karl was unable to link up with the western Confederate forces under Prince Alexander of Hesse.

Bavarian troops withdrew to Bad Kissingen and, after heavy fighting, fell back to Schweinfurt and Würzburg, where only the fortress and parts of the city could be held.
On 1 August, a Prussian reserve corps occupied Nuremberg.

These failures were largely blamed on the Bavarian  (parliament) and on the army’s senior leadership.
Chronic reductions in the military budget meant that the Bavarian War Ministry was unable to conduct manoeuvres above brigade level.
Apart from Prince Karl and General von Thurn und Taxis, no Bavarian general had previously commanded a division.
Contemporary newspapers also criticised the conduct of von der Tann.

As a result, King Ludwig II appointed the experienced General Siegmund von Pranckh as War Minister on 1 August 1866.
Von Pranckh, who had earlier served as an adjutant to War Minister von Lüder, played a central role in modernising the army through the reforms of 1868.

When the candidacy of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern for the Spanish throne worsened relations between Prussia and France in 1870, von Pranckh ordered the mobilisation of the two Bavarian army corps on 14 July.
During the Franco-Prussian War, the Bavarian corps fought as part of the III Army under Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm. The I Army Corps was commanded by von der Tann, and the II Army Corps by Jakob Freiherr von Hartmann.

Bavarian troops under Jakob von Hartmann captured Wissembourg and fought at Wörth, Beaumont, Sedan, and during the Siege of Paris.
More than 5,000 Bavarian soldiers were killed during the Franco-Prussian War.

Under the Constitution of the German Empire, Bavaria secured extensive rights, particularly in military affairs.
Like the kingdoms of Saxony and Württemberg, Bavaria retained its own army, War Ministry, and military justice system.
Bavarian regiments were excluded from empire-wide regimental renumbering and only came under Imperial command in wartime.

Bavaria also retained its light-blue infantry uniforms, the  until 1886, its Light Cavalry, and other distinctive traditions.
Officers and soldiers of the Bavarian Army continued to swear their oath to the King of Bavaria rather than to the German Emperor.

Despite this autonomy, uniform cut, equipment, and training were standardised according to the Prussian model.
When field-grey uniforms were introduced, Bavarian units were distinguished mainly by their cockade and the blue-and-white lozenge collar trim.

At the outbreak of World War I, the Bavarian Army numbered 87,214 men, including 4,089 officers and officials, 83,125 NCOs and enlisted men, and 16,918 horses.
With mobilisation on 1 August 1914, supreme command of the Bavarian field army passed to the German Emperor, although units within Bavaria remained under the Bavarian War Ministry.

The Bavarian Army—comprising three Bavarian Army Corps and the Bavarian Cavalry Division—was reinforced by the XXI Corps, recruited largely from the Rhineland and Westphalia, and deployed to the Western Front as the German 6th Army under Crown Prince Rupprecht.

The Bavarian Army fought at the Battle of the Frontiers, the last occasion on which it operated as a unified Bavarian force.
From autumn 1914 onward, reorganisation of the Imperial German Army steadily reduced exclusive Bavarian command over its units.
Rupprecht remained in command for the remainder of the war and was promoted to Field Marshal in 1916 due largely to his military ability, though most troops under his command after 1914 came from outside Bavaria.

After the collapse of the German Empire during the German Revolution of 1918–19 and the forced abdication of King Ludwig III in November 1918, Bavaria initially retained its military sovereignty.
However, the establishment of the Bavarian Soviet Republic in April 1919 and the chaotic fighting surrounding its overthrow, including the defeat of its so-called Red Army, convinced the drafters of the Bamberg Constitution of 1919 to relinquish Bavaria’s military independence in favour of the Weimar Republic.

By this point, most regular Bavarian Army units had already been demobilised following the end of World War I, and the fighting against the Red Army was carried out largely by Freikorps formations and Reichswehr units drawn from outside Bavaria.

During World War I, approximately 200,000 soldiers of the Royal Bavarian Army were killed.

 References 

Category:Armies