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123-605: During the Occupation of Upper Baden , George Frederick of Baden-Durlach was able to reunite the two parts of Baden-Baden and Baden-Durlach and, around 1600, generate a force of 200 cavalry, 600 foot soldiers and 40 guns. The Protestant margrave, whose territory was in the vicinity of the Habsburg Further Austria and who was in inheritance disputes with the Catholic Baden-Baden line, joined

246-416: A divisional commander with the rank of lieutenant general , the two brigades of the division were commanded by major generals or colonelss . A brigade consisted of two or three infantry regiments each with an establishment of three battalions and 2,088 men. The infantry life guard regiment was a little stronger at 3,125 men. The cavalry formed a brigade of three dragoon regiments, each of 718 men under

369-748: A sidearm or ancillary weapons . Infantry with ranged or polearms often carried a sword or dagger for possible hand-to-hand combat. The pilum was a javelin the Roman legionaries threw just before drawing their primary weapon, the gladius (short sword), and closing with the enemy line. Modern infantrymen now treat the bayonet as a backup weapon, but may also have handguns as sidearms . They may also deploy anti-personnel mines, booby traps, incendiary, or explosive devices defensively before combat. Infantry have employed many different methods of protection from enemy attacks, including various kinds of armour and other gear, and tactical procedures. The most basic

492-709: A battalion assigned to the imperial headquarters, the Badenese contingent under Major General William of Hochberg formed a brigade in Marshal Victor's IX Corps. The corps was assembled in Tilsit and spent August 1812 there. Illnesses and the unusual weather with its rapid changes affected the soldiers and reduced the strength of the corps by around a sixth before they even left. The corps finally marched off on 30 August, via Wilna (8 September) and Minsk (15 September) reaching Smolensk on 28 September. On 31 October,

615-580: A column of Russian infantry and took 500 prisoners, but was then wiped out by Russian cuirassiers. It lost the majority of its officers and around 150 soldiers and was then only a few men strong. After this bloody rearguard action, the IX Corps crossed the Berezina on the morning of 29 November and destroyed the bridge behind it. In the years that followed, the Baden Brigade continued to function as

738-489: A consecutive number and named after their regimental colonels . The infantry were equipped with percussion rifles , the dragoons each carried a sabre, a pistol and a carbine . The artillery included six- and twelve-pounder guns, seven-pounder howitzers, plus sixteen and twenty-four-pounder guns and mortars of various calibres as siege artillery. The peacetime strength of the Army was 14,459 men. The contingent to be provided for

861-468: A cuirassier and two infantrymen). Besides the circle troops, both Baden-Baden and Baden-Durlach had their own troops, so-called household troops , which included the Life Guards ( Leibgarde ). In Baden-Durlach, a grenadier battalion of four companies and a dragoon squadron was set up in 1752, Baden-Baden was followed in 1763 with an equally strong grenadier battalion, a cuirassier company and

984-628: A few exceptions like the Mongol Empire , infantry has been the largest component of most armies in history. In the Western world , from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages ( c. 8th century BC to 15th century AD), infantry are categorised as either heavy infantry or light infantry . Heavy infantry, such as Greek hoplites , Macedonian phalangites , and Roman legionaries , specialised in dense, solid formations driving into

1107-580: A force that had been summoned from Karlsruhe and Rastatt consisting of two battalions of infantry, one squadron of cavalry and four guns and commanded by General Friedrich Hoffmann. Hoffmann's contingent, about 800 strong met around 3,000 revolutionaries who had barricaded themselves near Staufen. The rebels were decisively defeated in the Battle of Staufen in the course of which 19 of their number and one soldier were killed, several houses were set on fire and 60 insurgents were captured. The revolutionaries fled to

1230-512: A full suit of attack-proof armour would be too heavy to wear in combat. As firearms improved, armour for ranged defence had to be made thicker and heavier, which hindered mobility. With the introduction of the heavy arquebus designed to pierce standard steel armour, it was proven easier to make heavier firearms than heavier armour; armour transitioned to be only for close combat purposes. Pikemen armour tended to be just steel helmets and breastplates, and gunners had very little or no armour at all. By

1353-417: A hundred meters wide and a dozen rows deep. Maintaining the advantages of heavy infantry meant maintaining formation; this became even more important when two forces with heavy infantry met in battle; the solidity of the formation became the deciding factor. Intense discipline and training became paramount. Empires formed around their military. The organization of military forces into regular military units

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1476-461: A living as deputies. From 1857 onwards, the infantry was equipped with the Vereinsgewehr 1857 ("union rifle") jointly procured by Baden, Hesse and Württemberg. This was a muzzle-loader with a 0.54 calibre rifled barrel and percussion lock . The tensions between Prussia and Austria in the 1860s put Baden in a precarious position. On the one hand, there was a close connection between

1599-409: A military union that raised an army of 20-25,000 men. In addition to the former troops of the regular Baden Army and the people's militias of the larger cities, the revolutionary army was also joined by volunteers from other European countries and numerous people from Württemberg. Among the latter was Fritz Heuss, great-great uncle of Theodor Heuss . A Polish commander of the army, Ludwik Mierosławski ,

1722-816: A new contingent of 6,850 men, who fought under the French Marshal André Masséna at the Battle of Ebelsberg . At the Battle of Aspern-Essling the Baden Dragoons distinguished themselves; twelve of its members receiving the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honour . The Badenese troops were also used in the Battle of Wagram and against the insurgent Tyrolese , so that the last of them only returned to Grand Duchy in 1810. An even heavier burden followed when Napoleon began his invasion of Russia and demanded around 6,700 men from Baden. Apart from

1845-399: A problem. This can be avoided by having shield-armed soldiers stand close together, side-by-side, each protecting both themselves and their immediate comrades, presenting a solid shield wall to the enemy. The opponents for these first formations, the close-combat infantry of more tribal societies , or any military without regular infantry (so called " barbarians ") used arms that focused on

1968-578: A regiment of foot with 46 officers and 1,687 men under Colonel (later Major General) Heinrich von Porbeck and a battery of six guns under Captain (later Lieutenant General and Adjutant General) von Lassolaye. These troops formed up in July and moved across the Rhine to Kehl on 25 August before assembling in Metz at the end of August where they were issued with French weapons. They marched through France and crossed

2091-831: A result of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803 and the Treaty of Pressburg , Baden increased its territory: in addition to land ruled by the Church and former Imperial cities, the Electoral Palatine and the Breisgau became part of the Margraviate which, in 1803, was elevated to become an Electorate and, in 1806, a Grand Duchy . Many of the new Baden territories had previously raised their own small military forces which now became part of

2214-440: A return to body armour for infantry, though the extra weight is a notable burden. In modern times, infantrymen must also often carry protective measures against chemical and biological attack, including military gas masks , counter-agents, and protective suits. All of these protective measures add to the weight an infantryman must carry, and may decrease combat efficiency. Early crew-served weapons were siege weapons , like

2337-478: A squadron of hussars . After the death of the last Baden-Baden margrave, Augustus George Simpert , Frederick of Baden-Durlach finally reunited the two states into the Margraviate of Baden . United Baden now had a population of around 257,000, and although Charles Frederick had taken on the debts of the old Baden-Baden margraviate which he had to pay off, he was also able to enlarge the army. In 1780, he united

2460-602: A tailor in Penza and looked after Badenese prisoners of war there. The story of the "tailor of Pensa" was taken up in 1815 by Johann Peter Hebel in the form of a so-called calendar story ( Kalendergeschichte ). The remnants of the Baden Brigade were reinforced in Glogau by 1,200 men in order to defend the French-held fortress against the advancing Russian and Prussian besiegers. Additional troops were raised who took part in

2583-463: Is personal armour . This includes shields , helmets and many types of armour – padded linen , leather, lamellar , mail , plate , and kevlar . Initially, armour was used to defend both from ranged and close combat; even a fairly light shield could help defend against most slings and javelins, though high-strength bows and crossbows might penetrate common armour at very close range. Infantry armour had to compromise between protection and coverage, as

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2706-419: Is a specialization of military personnel who engage in warfare combat . Infantry generally consists of light infantry , irregular infantry , heavy infantry , mountain infantry , motorized infantry , mechanized infantry , airborne infantry , air assault infantry , and naval infantry . Other types of infantry, such as line infantry and mounted infantry , were once commonplace but fell out of favor in

2829-692: Is first noted in Egyptian records of the Battle of Kadesh ( c.  1274 BC ). Soldiers were grouped into units of 50, which were in turn grouped into larger units of 250, then 1,000, and finally into units of up to 5,000 – the largest independent command. Several of these Egyptian "divisions" made up an army, but operated independently, both on the march and tactically, demonstrating sufficient military command and control organisation for basic battlefield manoeuvres. Similar hierarchical organizations have been noted in other ancient armies, typically with approximately 10 to 100 to 1,000 ratios (even where base 10

2952-654: The Battle of Ludwigshafen . Instead, they managed to cross the Rhine further south at Germersheim on 20 June and were then able to threaten the Baden Revolutionary Army from the south. The successes of the Baden Army against II Corps and the Neckar Corps, whose advance had been stopped at the Neckar, were thus negated. Mieroslawski switched the main effort of his troops to the south and attacked

3075-561: The Battle of the Katzbach and in the Battle of Leipzig . As on the Berezina, it was their duty to cover Napoleon's retreat after the defeat at Leipzig . The Badenese infantry refused to defect and were taken prisoner by Prussia, from whom they were soon released again after the Grand Duchy broke away from Napoleon and on 20 November 1813 switched to the side of Austria, Prussia and Russia. Landwehr and Landsturm were set up based on

3198-596: The Minister President of Prussia , Otto von Bismarck , turned the Badenese liberals against Prussia. They repeatedly expressed their solidarity with their Prussian party comrades, which finally led to the resignation of the Roggenbachs in 1865 and the appointment of the liberal, pro-Austrian Ludwig von Edelsheim. When the tensions surrounding the Schleswig-Holstein question escalated in 1866,

3321-588: The Protestant Union in 1608 and increased the size of his army to 15,000 men around 1617. For his sons Frederick , Charles and Christopher, George Frederick wrote his own book on military operations from 1614 to 1617, which he never published. He also relied on the military academy known as the School of War ( Ritterliche Kriegsschule ), founded in 1616 by John VII, Count of Nassau-Siegen in Siegen . At

3444-594: The Prussian and Baden dynastic houses : Grand Duke Frederick had married Princess Louise of Prussia in 1856 and was therefore a son-in-law of the Prussian King William. Politically, Frederick had also tended to side with Prussia in federal affairs, with the support of his foreign minister Franz von Roggenbach , who advocated the Lesser Germany solution. However, the anti-liberal attitude of

3567-1142: The Royal Dragoon Guards , Royal Lancers , and King's Royal Hussars . Similarly, motorised infantry have trucks and other unarmed vehicles for non-combat movement, but are still infantry since they leave their vehicles for any combat. Most modern infantry have vehicle transport, to the point where infantry being motorised is generally assumed, and the few exceptions might be identified as modern light infantry . Mechanised infantry go beyond motorised, having transport vehicles with combat abilities, armoured personnel carriers (APCs), providing at least some options for combat without leaving their vehicles. In modern infantry, some APCs have evolved to be infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), which are transport vehicles with more substantial combat abilities, approaching those of light tanks . Some well-equipped mechanised infantry can be designated as armoured infantry . Given that infantry forces typically also have some tanks, and given that most armoured forces have more mechanised infantry units than tank units in their organisation,

3690-707: The Spring Campaign and fought in the Battle of Großgörschen , among others. A second brigade was set up from August, so that the Badenese contingent in Napoleon's army now comprised two brigades with around 7,000 men. Together with those troops still in Spain, the Baden Army looked like this in 1813: In the Autumn campaign the two Badenese brigades fought in Marshal MacDonald's XI Corps inter alia in

3813-474: The Union Army . Several natives of Baden and revolutionaries achieved the rank of general: Franz Sigel became a major general and general officer commanding of an army corps, Max (von) Weber commanded a division as a brigadier general and August Mersy  [ de ] had a brigade in the rank of colonel . All three had been officers in the Baden Army before the revolution and had graduated from

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3936-442: The ballista , trebuchet , and battering ram . Modern versions include machine guns , anti-tank missiles , and infantry mortars . Beginning with the development the first regular military forces, close-combat regular infantry fought less as unorganised groups of individuals and more in coordinated units, maintaining a defined tactical formation during combat, for increased battlefield effectiveness; such infantry formations and

4059-504: The pragmatic sanction of Margrave Christopher I of Baden and the Indemnification Agreement of 1537 . According to the house law of Margrave Christopher, the entire Baden territory continued to form a single unit despite all its subdivisions. After the death of Bernard III of Baden-Baden , an extended contractual relationship was agreed between the guardians of his children and his brother Ernest . If one line of

4182-505: The rear guard of the army. Further battles and above all the extreme cold claimed more and more lives. William of Hochberg later wrote: 7th December was the worst day of my life. At 3 o'clock in the morning the marshal ordered the march; the cold had sunk to its lowest point - when the signal was to be given, the last drum had frozen solid. So I now went round the individual soldiers and encouraged them to get up and collect themselves, but all efforts were in vain, I could hardly gather 50 men,

4305-469: The 1800s with the invention of more accurate and powerful weapons. In English, use of the term infantry began about the 1570s, describing soldiers who march and fight on foot. The word derives from Middle French infanterie , from older Italian (also Spanish) infanteria (foot soldiers too inexperienced for cavalry), from Latin īnfāns (without speech, newborn, foolish), from which English also gets infant . The individual-soldier term infantryman

4428-719: The 2nd Division of VIII Army Corps under Prince Alexander of Hesse-Darmstadt . The VIII Corps took part in the Campaign of the Main during the Austro-Prussian War . When the Corps retreated to the River Tauber , Badenese troops were involved in the battles at Hundheim (23 July), Werbach (24 July) and Gerchsheim (25 July). Problems were caused by the fact that Prussian and Baden uniforms were very similar, so that

4551-707: The 4th Infantry Regiment remained in Schleswig after the Armistice of Malmö and took part in the Battle of Ulderup where, together with the Württemberg troops, acted as a reserve to prevent a defeat. Then it remained in the area Eckernförde for coastal security. In the meantime there had been several armed conflicts in Baden which culminated in the uprising of 1849. In April 1848 there were several uprisings in Baden,

4674-527: The American all-purpose lightweight individual carrying equipment (ALICE). Infantrymen are defined by their primary arms – the personal weapons and body armour for their own individual use. The available technology, resources, history, and society can produce quite different weapons for each military and era, but common infantry weapons can be distinguished in a few basic categories. Infantrymen often carry secondary or back-up weapons, sometimes called

4797-404: The Army was remodelled, no regiments were formed; instead, the new Baden Army was divided into ten infantry battalions, three cavalry units ( Reiterdepots ) and five gun batteries. This changed when Frederick I became first Regent and then Grand Duke. In 1852, the old regiments were reformed (the cavalry as early as 1850), the conscription law of 1825 came back into force, and in 1861 the Army

4920-507: The Baden Army comprised 1,125 men and the military budget in 1782/83 was a little more than 105,000 Baden gulden . The illegitimate son of Margrave Charles Frederick, Charles Frederick Hermann of Freystedt created a militia system and is considered the pioneer of general conscription. With a reform of Baden's military law, he also ensured a certain protection of the soldiers from the arbitrariness of their superiors in 1782. The French Revolution and resulting tensions between France and

5043-713: The Baden Army. This grew and included the following in 1806: The total strength of the army was 14 battalions of infantry, 10 squadrons of cavalry and three batteries of artillery. The Electorate/Grand Duchy was divided into four cantons along the lines of the Prussian model. With the increase in territory and military forces, thanks to Napoleon , came obligations. For the War of the Third Coalition , Baden switched sides to join France and had to provide 3,000 men. However, by

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5166-631: The Baden Brigade fought in the Battle of Chashniki and lost 20 men killed and wounded. In the following days there were further skirmishes between the IX and II Corps of the French Army and the Russian Army under Wittgenstein , which tried to attack the rear of the main French army retreating from Moscow. The corps then also retreated under rearguard action, and on 26 November it met the remnants of

5289-699: The Baden-Baden and Baden-Durlach Grenadier Battalions to form the Life Guard Infantry Regiment consisting of a battalion of musketeers and a battalion of grenadiers. The hussar squadron remained as an independent unit, the Baden-Baden Cuirassiers and Baden-Durlachian Dragoons formed the Garde du Corps and on top of that two fusilier battalions were set up. Together with a garrison company and four three-pounder guns,

5412-832: The Baden-Durlach ruling house held the command of the same 1st Infantry. The Catholic Margraviate of Baden-Baden provided 19 cuirassiers for the Circle Curassiers Regiment and 122 infantrymen for the 3rd Circle Infantry. In addition to the two Badenese margraviates, the Duchy of Württemberg, the Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg and the Imperial cities mainly bore the major cost of the circle army, but even smaller counties and lordships had to provide contingents (for example Gengenbach Abbey had to provide

5535-568: The Badenese troops only wanted to defend their own country. Precautions for the defence had to be taken soon, because federal troops under Prussian leadership were mobilised to suppress the Baden Revolution and its government. Prussia improvised two corps for this, which were divided into seven divisions and numbered almost 35,000 men. Another 18,000 armed men were combined into the " Neckar Corps " and consisted of contingents from several other German states. Their overall commander-in-chief

5658-636: The Badenese-Hessian troops under Friedrich von Gagern. Hecker withdrew from Kandern in the direction of the Wiesental, where another group of rebels under Joseph Fickler was waiting in Steinen, but before that he was defeated in the Battle on the Scheideck between Kandern and the Wiesental. The battle claimed around a dozen serious injuries and dead on both sides. Among the dead was Gagern, who

5781-643: The Catholic line. In Baden's case, the Peace of Westphalia did not restore the state to its pre-1618 borders, but rather to that before the occupation of Upper Baden. Under the leadership of Circle Field Marshal ( Kreisfeldmarschall ) Louis William of Baden-Baden and the Duchy of Württemberg the Imperial Swabian Circle decided to set up a standing body of circle troops ( Kreisheer ) for which

5904-514: The Federal Army mobilised, each state had to field replacement troops comprising one six hundredth of its total population. Furthermore, the arms of service had to be provided in certain ratios to one another: one seventh of each contingent was to consist of cavalry , and there had to be two artillery pieces for every one thousand men. A War Ministry was set up in Baden for military purposes. Its Commander-in-Chief ( Oberste Kriegsheer )

6027-492: The Grand Duchy initially remained neutral; however, when Prussia left the German Confederation, the armed conflict became a federal execution that the Grand Duchy could not escape, especially since the neighbouring kingdoms of Württemberg and Bavaria both sided with Austria and the people of Baden also had no sympathy for Prussia and its king after 1849. The 10,000-strong Baden Army contingent moved out and formed

6150-615: The House of Baden defaulted in paying off their share of common debts and a claim was made against the other line by creditors, the other line had the right to indemnify itself by occupying the land of the defaulting line. This happened after a creditor of Margrave Eduard Fortunat of Baden-Baden tried to collect interest payments from the Baden-Durlach cities of Durlach and Pforzheim . Eduard Fortunat did not change his behaviour despite all warnings from his Durlach cousin and continued to live beyond his means. Infantrymen Infantry

6273-582: The II Corps under Karl von der Groeben and Eduard von Peucker 's Neckar Corps were to invade Baden from the north, so that the Baden Army as a whole would be sandwiched between the Rivers Neckar and Rhine. The advance of I Corps was highly successful, the Palatinate was quickly overcome and, from 15 June Prussian troops were in front of Mannheim , where they were initially stopped by artillery in

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6396-423: The Karlsruhe Military Academy. The Baden Army was dissolved and completely reorganized under pressure from Prussia. Commissions checked the entire personnel, whereby 700 were placed in detention, 300 of them non -commissioned officers. In addition, military courts of honour were set up, which released around a third of the Baden Army's officer corps from the Army. Some were also moved to Prussia for re-training. When

6519-467: The Margrave of Baden also committed to peace: in 1796 a separate treaty was signed, Baden left the coalition and gave up its left bank territory. However, since Austria continued the war, Baden, which was actually neutral, became a theatre of war: there were battles at Emmendingen and Schliengen in October 1796 and parts of South Baden were plundered by the French armies. In the War of the Second Coalition , Margrave Charles Frederick remained neutral. As

6642-416: The Margraviate grew to around 16,000 men. Military spending also rose drastically, the average ten-year defence budget between 1789 and 1798 was around 158,000 gulden. As a result of its defeat in the War of the First Coalition , however, the coalition's promises were not fulfilled and Baden's left bank of the Rhine was finally lost de facto in 1794. Prussia reached an accommodation with France in 1795, and

6765-401: The Prussian model, and with the introduction of general conscription in December 1813, a total of 16,000 men were called up. Reinforced by Liechtenstein and Hohenzollern troops, it formed the VIII Army Corps. Under the command of William of Hochberg, it besieged the French fortresses of Kehl , Strasbourg , Landau in der Pfalz and Pfalzburg and returned to Baden in June 1814. An exception

6888-426: The River Bidasoa on 13 October. Over the following six years they participated in the Peninsula War in Iberia . They fought the Spanish Guerilleros inter alia at Talavera where von Porbeck was killed, and the Battle of Vitoria . The Badenese suffered heavy losses: of their original strength of 1,733 men only 500 returned to Baden. At the beginning of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809, Napoleon asked for

7011-455: The Swiss, English, Aragonese and German, to men-at-arms who went into battle as well-armoured as knights, the latter of which at times also fought on foot. The creation of standing armies —permanently assembled for war or defence—saw increase in training and experience. The increased use of firearms and the need for drill to handle them efficiently. The introduction of national and mass armies saw an establishment of minimum requirements and

7134-415: The VII and VIII Army Corps were deployed in Baden, moving towards the Badenese Oberland in three columns: a large part of the Baden Army, reinforced by Hessian and Nassau troops, marched through the Upper Rhine Plain from north to south. The commander of this force was General Friedrich von Gagern , who was actually in Dutch service. At the same time, a Württemberg division under General Moriz von Miller

7257-413: The VIII Army Corps was 10,000 men, plus 1,667 as reserve personnel and 3,333 as reserves in the event of war. There was a general school of war in Karlsruhe for the training of officers. Also in Karlsruhe was the Higher School of War for general staff officers. Artillery officers and non-commissioned officers were trained at Gottesaue Palace . The Badische Gewehrfabrik (Badenese Small Arms Factory)

7380-569: The War Treasury, the Directorate of Armouries, the Directorate of Magazines and others. Under the 1825 conscription act, there was general conscription for men, which began when they reached the age of 20 and for the enforcement of which the Grand Duchy was divided into three recruitment districts, Freiburg, Karlsruhe and Mannheim. The period of service was six years. Between 1849 and 1855, an average of slightly under than 12,000 young men were subject to compulsory military service each year, of whom an average of around 3,500 were actually conscripted. From

7503-494: The age of 17, voluntary service was possible; it was also possible to do military service in such a way that you served a full year and then stood by as a reserve in case of war. One way of avoiding military service was by deputising as an Einsteher : there were associations that organised a deputy in return for a fee and, in the event of a draft, the deputy came forward to serve. In this way, the sons of wealthier citizens could avoid military service, while poorer men were able to earn

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7626-443: The arms they used developed together, starting with the spear and the shield. A spear has decent attack abilities with the additional advantage keeping opponents at distance; this advantage can be increased by using longer spears, but this could allow the opponent to side-step the point of the spear and close for hand-to-hand combat where the longer spear is near useless. This can be avoided when each spearman stays side by side with

7749-418: The army coming from Moscow near Borisov . The strength of the Baden Brigade at this time was still 2,240 men and thus around a third of the original force. On 28 November the Battle of Berezina took place, in which the IX Corps, east of the river, faced Wittgenstein's army. The Baden Brigade was west of the river at this point, but was ordered back to the corps early in the morning, great confusion occurring at

7872-418: The autumn of 1792, the Margraviate joined the anti-French coalition and undertook to provide 1,000 soldiers. In return, the coalition promised to return the occupied left bank of the Rhine to Baden when a peace treaty was agreed and to reimburse its war costs. In addition to its regular forces, Heinrich Medicus organised a Baden state militia consisting of single 19–50 year olds, so that the military strength of

7995-456: The beginning of the Thirty Years' War he sided with the "Winter King", Frederick V of the Palatinate . After Spanish troops occupied the Palatinate and the Protestant Union had dissolved, George Frederick wanted to unite his now 20,000 strong army with the troops of Ernst von Mansfeld who were fighting in the Palatinate against the Catholic troops under Tilly . However, the Margrave and von Mansfeld did not agree on who should be in command of

8118-425: The best known of which was the Hecker uprising . Led by Friedrich Hecker , Gustav Struve , Franz Sigel and Joseph Fickler , volunteers ( Freischärle ) moved from the county of Seekreis in the south-east of the country towards the west and north, while the German Democratic Legion raised in Paris and stationed in Alsace threatened to cross the Rhine. Against the revolutionaries from within and without, troops of

8241-411: The carrying burden is spread across several infantrymen. In all, this can reach 25–45 kg (60–100 lb) for each soldier on the march. Such heavy infantry burdens have changed little over centuries of warfare; in the late Roman Republic, legionaries were nicknamed " Marius' mules " as their main activity seemed to be carrying the weight of their legion around on their backs, a practice that predates

8364-412: The command of a lieutenant general. The artillery was also organised into a brigade and comprised four batteries of artillery and one company of engineers . Of the four batteries, one was mounted and had six guns, the three field batteries had eight each. The total strength was 30 guns and 1,315 men. In 1829 the Grand Duchy of Baden Gendarmerie Corps ( Großherzoglich Badisches Gendarmeriekorps )

8487-444: The different regions of the Circle had to provide certain contingents. Between 1732 and 1796 this 'circle army' consisted of five regiments that were set up separately based on their Christian denominations . The Protestant Margraviate of Baden-Durlach provided 23 dragoons for the circle's regiment of dragoons ( Kreisdragonerregiment ) and 121 infantrymen for the 1st Circle Infantry Regiment ( Kreisinfanterieregiment ). Members of

8610-623: The discipline and cohesion of the Revolutionary Army, and individual units withdrew. On 22 June, the Federal Army's Neckar arm finally crossed the Neckar and threatened Mieroslawski's right flank. However, the commander of the Revolutionary Army managed to escape the encirclement and withdraw his troops behind the River Murg near Rastatt. On the Murg, however, the Revolutionary Army opposed the now united federal army, and after several skirmishes it largely broke up. The government of Baden fled from Karlsruhe to Rastatt and from there via Offenburg to Freiburg. Mierowslaski asked for his release on 1 July and

8733-463: The distinction between mechanised infantry and armour forces has blurred. The first military forces in history were infantry. In antiquity , infantry were armed with early melee weapons such as a spear , axe , or sword , or an early ranged weapon like a javelin , sling , or bow , with a few infantrymen being expected to use both a melee and a ranged weapon. With the development of gunpowder , infantry began converting to primarily firearms . By

8856-455: The enemy to prepare for the main forces' battlefield attack, protecting them from flanking manoeuvers , and then afterwards either pursuing the fleeing enemy or covering their army's retreat. After the fall of Rome, the quality of heavy infantry declined, and warfare was dominated by heavy cavalry , such as knights , forming small elite units for decisive shock combat , supported by peasant infantry militias and assorted light infantry from

8979-442: The eponymous Gaius Marius . When combat is expected, infantry typically switch to "packing light", meaning reducing their equipment to weapons, ammunition, and other basic essentials, and leaving other items deemed unnecessary with their transport or baggage train , at camp or rally point, in temporary hidden caches, or even (in emergencies) simply discarding the items. Additional specialised equipment may be required, depending on

9102-400: The existence of any organised military, likely started essentially as loose groups without any organisation or formation. But this changed sometime before recorded history ; the first ancient empires (2500–1500 BC) are shown to have some soldiers with standardised military equipment, and the training and discipline required for battlefield formations and manoeuvres: regular infantry . Though

9225-434: The expected duration of time operating away from their unit's base, plus any special mission-specific equipment. One of the most valuable pieces of gear is the entrenching tool —basically a folding spade —which can be employed not only to dig important defences, but also in a variety of other daily tasks, and even sometimes as a weapon. Infantry typically have shared equipment on top of this, like tents or heavy weapons, where

9348-570: The federal government issued its 'war constitution', which provided for a jointly established federal army to which the states had to contribute quotas. In order to be prepared in case of war, the contingents assigned to the Federation had to be kept ready in times of peace. The size of the respective contingents was determined by the population of the contributing state; essentially, a state's armed forces had to make up one percent of its total population, excluding auxiliary troops. In addition, when

9471-612: The further and anterior regions of the County of Sponheim were not occupied; the dominions of Rodemachern , Useldingen and Hesperingen formed the separate Margraviate of Baden-Rodemachern at that time and were ruled by Philip III, a brother of Eduard Fortunat . An attempt by Ernest Frederick to take over the Lordship of Gräfenstein was fended off. The Badenian portion of the County of Eberstein had been enfeoffed by Eduard Fortunat in

9594-616: The great powers of the Holy Roman Empire put Baden in a difficult situation. On the one hand, in the course of the revolution, it finally lost control of its possessions on the left bank of the Rhine ; and on the other hand it was situated on the Upper Rhine , wedged between France and Further Austria and exposed to the danger of becoming a theatre of war as it had been during the Thirty Years' War of 1618–1648. In

9717-889: The individual – weapons using personal strength and force, such as larger swinging swords, axes, and clubs. These take more room and individual freedom to swing and wield, necessitating a more loose organisation. While this may allow for a fierce running attack (an initial shock advantage) the tighter formation of the heavy spear and shield infantry gave them a local manpower advantage where several might be able to fight each opponent. Thus tight formations heightened advantages of heavy arms, and gave greater local numbers in melee. To also increase their staying power, multiple rows of heavy infantrymen were added. This also increased their shock combat effect; individual opponents saw themselves literally lined-up against several heavy infantryman each, with seemingly no chance of defeating all of them. Heavy infantry developed into huge solid block formations, up to

9840-422: The introduction of special troops (first of them the engineers going back to medieval times, but also different kinds of infantry adopted to specific terrain, bicycle, motorcycle, motorised and mechanised troops) culminating with the introduction of highly trained special forces during the first and second World War. Naval infantry, commonly known as marines , are primarily a category of infantry that form part of

9963-420: The invasion of Bavarian troops. The Baden regions remained a theatre of war in the years that followed, mainly due to fighting between Swedish troops (which Frederick allied with) and Imperial troops. From 1634, the Imperial side gained the upper hand, Frederick lost his territory and was only able to get it back in the course of the Treaty of Westphalia , but without the Baden-Baden territories, which went back to

10086-725: The lower classes. Towards the end of Middle Ages, this began to change, where more professional and better trained light infantry could be effective against knights, such as the English longbowmen in the Hundred Years' War . By the start of the Renaissance , the infantry began to return to a larger role, with Swiss pikemen and German Landsknechts filling the role of heavy infantry again, using dense formations of pikes to drive off any cavalry. Dense formations are vulnerable to ranged weapons. Technological developments allowed

10209-417: The main enemy lines, using weight of numbers to achieve a decisive victory , and were usually equipped with heavier weapons and armour to fit their role. Light infantry, such as Greek peltasts , Balearic slingers , and Roman velites , using open formations and greater manoeuvrability, took on most other combat roles: scouting , screening the army on the march, skirmishing to delay, disrupt, or weaken

10332-447: The main force of the army, these forces were usually kept small due to their cost of training and upkeep, and might be supplemented by local short-term mass-conscript forces using the older irregular infantry weapons and tactics; this remained a common practice almost up to modern times. Before the adoption of the chariot to create the first mobile fighting forces c.  2000 BC , all armies were pure infantry. Even after, with

10455-487: The mid 17th century began replacement of the pike with the infantry square replacing the pike square. To maximise their firepower, musketeer infantry were trained to fight in wide lines facing the enemy, creating line infantry . These fulfilled the central battlefield role of earlier heavy infantry, using ranged weapons instead of melee weapons. To support these lines, smaller infantry formations using dispersed skirmish lines were created, called light infantry, fulfilling

10578-595: The mission or to the particular terrain or environment, including satchel charges , demolition tools, mines , or barbed wire , carried by the infantry or attached specialists. Historically, infantry have suffered high casualty rates from disease , exposure, exhaustion and privation — often in excess of the casualties suffered from enemy attacks. Better infantry equipment to support their health, energy, and protect from environmental factors greatly reduces these rates of loss, and increase their level of effective action. Health, energy, and morale are greatly influenced by how

10701-581: The next day. That left only the German Legion of Georg Herwegh that had been raised in Paris, but he decided to retreat across the Rhine after the defeats of Hecker, Fickler and Sigel. On 27 April, in the Battle of Dossenbach , it encountered parts of the Württemberg division and was also crushed. This ended the first Baden insurrection (16–27 April). However, only 5 months later, in September, there

10824-400: The others in close formation, each covering the ones next to him, presenting a solid wall of spears to the enemy that they cannot get around. Similarly, a shield has decent defence abilities, but is literally hit-or-miss; an attack from an unexpected angle can bypass it completely. Larger shields can cover more, but are also heavier and less manoeuvrable, making unexpected attacks even more of

10947-582: The outnumbered 1st Prussian Division on 21 June at the Battle of Waghäusel . The insurgents captured the two villages of Waghäusel and Wiesental (today both belong to Waghäusel) and pushed the Prussians back to Philippsburg . However, when the 4th Prussian Division arrived as reinforcements, the Revolutionary Army was routed. A total of 21 Prussian soldiers lost their lives, 100 were wounded and 130 went missing. The defeat at Waghäusel weakened

11070-753: The people of Baden had to march in winter coats to avoid confusion. Overall, participation in the Austro-Prussian War claimed the lives of 27 Baden soldiers, while around 200 were wounded. Occupation of Upper Baden The occupation of Upper Baden refers to the occupation of the upper part of the Margraviate of Baden-Baden by troops of Margrave Ernest Frederick of Baden-Durlach under Wolf Dietrich von Gemmingen (1550–1601) on 21 November 1594, and its subsequent administration which lasted until 1622. The main towns – Ettlingen , Baden-Baden , Kuppenheim , Stollhofen and Rastatt – were immediately occupied. The Lordship of Gräfenstein as well as

11193-561: The process, with the exception of the standard bearer. As a result of the defeat, the Upper Baden Occupation was reversed, parts of Baden-Durlach were also occupied and plundered by troops of the League . George Frederick also carried around 70 so-called pike or pointed wagons in his army. The pointed wagons are described as an invention of his. These are wagons with two or three axles, on which two beams are attached so that

11316-458: The raising of large numbers of light infantry units armed with ranged weapons, without the years of training expected for traditional high-skilled archers and slingers. This started slowly, first with crossbowmen , then hand cannoneers and arquebusiers , each with increasing effectiveness, marking the beginning of early modern warfare , when firearms rendered the use of heavy infantry obsolete. The introduction of musketeers using bayonets in

11439-606: The rebel commander, Otto von Corvin , a chance to assess the situation outside the fortress, in Freiburg and Konstanz. Corvin accepted, and when, after his return, he reported to the besieged that there was no trace of the Revolutionary Army to be found, the revolutionaries laid down their arms on 23 July and were taken prisoner. After the Baden Revolution was suppressed, 51 death sentences and 715 ten-year prison sentences were pronounced. The sentences were imposed by Prussian courts martial and often appear harsh and arbitrary. The aim

11562-463: The rest of 200-300 men lay dead or half-frozen on the ground. The brigade was reconstituted as a regiment and arrived in Wilna on 8 December 1812, just around 400 strong. All in all, Napoleon's Russian campaign had cost the lives of more than 6,000 soldiers from Baden. As a consequence, the tailor, Franz Anton Egetmeyer , who was born in the Badenese town of Bretten , became famous, because he settled as

11685-556: The revolutionary-republican mood had also reached the Army. The garrison of Rastatt Fortress held a joint meeting with the Rastatt Democrats on 9 and 10 May, at which the soldiers demanded recognition of the imperial constitution and the dismissal of "anti-people" officers. The commander of the fortress had the leaders of the assembly arrested on 11 May, but this led to a mutiny . Baden's Minister of War, Hoffmann, marched to Rastatt with other troops to crush them, but most of

11808-526: The river crossings. The Baden Brigade then formed the right wing of the IX Corps, their position ran from the Berezina to Studyanka. In fierce fighting, the infantry succeeded in repelling the Russian attacks. Losses were very high, more than 1,100 men were killed or wounded, leaving the brigade with a strength of only 900 after fighting ended. The Baden Hussars, reinforced by Hessian Chevau-légers , broke up

11931-1041: The same multiple roles as earlier light infantry. Their arms were no lighter than line infantry; they were distinguished by their skirmish formation and flexible tactics. The modern rifleman infantry became the primary force for taking and holding ground on battlefields as an element of combined arms . As firepower continued to increase, use of infantry lines diminished, until all infantry became light infantry in practice. Modern classifications of infantry have since expanded to reflect modern equipment and tactics, such as motorised infantry , mechanised or armoured infantry , mountain infantry , marine infantry , and airborne infantry . Beyond main arms and armour, an infantryman's "military kit" generally includes combat boots , battledress or combat uniform , camping gear , heavy weather gear, survival gear , secondary weapons and ammunition , weapon service and repair kits, health and hygiene items, mess kit , rations , filled water canteen , and all other consumables each infantryman needs for

12054-723: The soldier is fed, so militaries issue standardised field rations that provide palatable meals and enough calories to keep a soldier well-fed and combat-ready. Communications gear has become a necessity, as it allows effective command of infantry units over greater distances, and communication with artillery and other support units. Modern infantry can have GPS , encrypted individual communications equipment, surveillance and night vision equipment, advanced intelligence and other high-tech mission-unique aids. Armies have sought to improve and standardise infantry gear to reduce fatigue for extended carrying, increase freedom of movement, accessibility, and compatibility with other carried gear, such as

12177-418: The soldiers accompanying him also switched over to the side of the revolutionaries. In the days that followed all the other garrisons in the country joined. As a result, Grand Duke Leopold had to leave the country and fled with his family and his government to the federal fortress at Mainz . Revolutionaries also took power in the neighbouring Bavarian Palatinate , and the two revolutionary governments formed

12300-664: The spring of 1595 to Philip III of Eberstein, for which he was to receive over 20,000 guldens to finance his mercenaries. Since the fief required the consent of Fortunat's brothers and agnates according to the laws of the House of Baden, Ernest Frederick first asked the Ebersteins to end the invalid contract of the estate. When they did not comply, Ernest Frederick sent his troops to the County of Eberstein and Philip III withheld his payment to Eduard Fortunat. The Lordships of Lahr and Mahlberg were soon occupied by Ernest Frederick. Ernest Frederick based his intervention legally on

12423-464: The time of Napoleonic warfare , infantry, cavalry and artillery formed a basic triad of ground forces, though infantry usually remained the most numerous. With armoured warfare , armoured fighting vehicles have replaced the horses of cavalry, and airpower has added a new dimension to ground combat, but infantry remains pivotal to all modern combined arms operations. The first warriors, adopting hunting weapons or improvised melee weapons, before

12546-445: The time of the musket, the dominance of firepower shifted militaries away from any close combat, and use of armour decreased, until infantry typically went without wearing any armour. Helmets were added back during World War I as artillery began to dominate the battlefield, to protect against their fragmentation and other blast effects beyond a direct hit. Modern developments in bullet-proof composite materials like kevlar have started

12669-509: The time they joined Napoleon's army, the war had already been decided by the battles of Ulm and Austerlitz . In the Fourth Coalition War , Baden's quota comprised 6,000 men, who only entered the campaign after the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt . However, they were employed in the sieges of Danzig and Stralsund . Their commander was Joseph von Cloßmann . In 1808, the Grand Duchy had to provide another contingent comprising

12792-531: The tribal host assembled from farmers and hunters with only passing acquaintance with warfare and masses of lightly armed and ill-trained militia put up as a last ditch effort. Kushite king Taharqa enjoyed military success in the Near East as a result of his efforts to strengthen the army through daily training in long-distance running. In medieval times the foot soldiers varied from peasant levies to semi-permanent companies of mercenaries, foremost among them

12915-447: The united army, so a merger did not come about. Instead, the Badenese armed forces fought on 6 May 1622 without Mansfeld's troops against Tilly and were defeated in the Battle of Wimpfen , one of the bloodiest battles of the Thirty Years' War. George Frederick's army was smashed in the process, the margrave himself escaped, according to tradition, only through a sacrifice made by 400 men of Pforzheim who covered his retreat and all died in

13038-541: The upper Wiesental valley and from there to Wehr , where Struve was captured on 25 September. The failure of the German nations' Constitution of St. Paul's Church and the resulting Imperial Constitution Campaign also led to unrest in the Grand Duchy of Baden. A congress of the people's associations in Offenburg was scheduled for 12 May 1849, which was to be followed by a people's assembly. In contrast to 1848, however,

13161-613: The weapon speciality; examples of infantry units that retained such names are the Royal Irish Fusiliers and the Grenadier Guards . Dragoons were created as mounted infantry , with horses for travel between battles; they were still considered infantry since they dismounted before combat. However, if light cavalry was lacking in an army, any available dragoons might be assigned their duties; this practice increased over time, and dragoons eventually received all

13284-452: The weapons and training as both infantry and cavalry, and could be classified as both. Conversely, starting about the mid-19th century, regular cavalry have been forced to spend more of their time dismounted in combat due to the ever-increasing effectiveness of enemy infantry firearms. Thus most cavalry transitioned to mounted infantry. As with grenadiers, the dragoon and cavalry designations can be retained long after their horses, such as in

13407-410: The wheels can be easily and widely rotated. Small swivelling howitzers (sometimes also referred to as mortars ) were attached to the beams, as well as iron pikes (hence the name) which were pointed outwards, in particular to ward off enemy cavalry. It was not until 1631 that George Frederick's son and successor Frederick V Was financially able to raise his own troops again, but this was prevented by

13530-670: Was another uprising, the Struve Putsch . Gustav Struve, who fled to Switzerland after the April insurrection, crossed the border into Baden again on 21 September and proclaimed the German Republic in Lörrach that same day. From Lörrach he moved north and reached Staufen im Breisgau via Kandern and Schliengen on 24 September. Between eight and ten thousand men had meanwhile joined his ranks. At Staufen, however, he encountered

13653-618: Was appointed. The former First Lieutenant Karl Eichfeld became Minister of War, but the War Ministry itself was severely restricted in its ability to act due to the flight of numerous officials. Two attempts to invade Hesse with the revolutionary troops and to offer military protection to the St. Paul's Church Parliament failed: firstly because the Hessian military and population proved to be less revolutionary than expected and, secondly, because

13776-782: Was expanded by an additional regiment, so that the structure in 1861 was as follows: Baden also had to furnish a 15,000-man contingent for the VIII Federal Army Corps. Commander-in-chief of the Army was the Grand Duke, as before; its management was vested in the Ministry of War headed by the War Minister ( Kriegspräsident ). The Ministry of War was divided into a military, an administrative (responsible for catering, payment, medical services, etc.) and legal department ( rechtsgelehrte ) and had other departments such as

13899-587: Was founded, which was part of the army and organisationally subordinate to the Ministry of War, but in service to the Ministry of the Interior. As far as is known, it had no military police duties. The following gives an overview of the status of the Baden Army in 1832: With the exception of the Life Guards and the Dragoons (formerly Life Guard Dragoons or Gardedragonerregiment ) the regiments were given

14022-533: Was initially the supplier of the percussion rifles. In 1848, part of the Baden Army was sent to the war against Denmark . The deployment comprised five infantry battalions and one field battery that served in a brigade in the mixed division of the Württemberg General Moriz von Miller and were stationed in Holstein . The majority of the troops were soon withdrawn, but the 1st Battalion of

14145-757: Was moving southwest from the Baden-Württemberg border to Donaueschingen , and a Bavarian brigade was marching west from Bavaria into the Seekreis. Due to the presence of Württemberg troops near Donaueschingen , the direct route from Konstanz to Freiburg and further north was blocked for the revolutionaries. Hecker was pushed south and moved west in mid-April until he reached the Wiesental valley and marched through it to Steinen . From Steinen he tried to turn north again and reached Kandern on 19 April. However, on 20 April he encountered there some of

14268-570: Was not coined until 1837. In modern usage, foot soldiers of any era are now considered infantry and infantrymen. From the mid-18th century until 1881, the British Army named its infantry as numbered regiments "of Foot" to distinguish them from cavalry and dragoon regiments (see List of Regiments of Foot ). Infantry equipped with special weapons were often named after that weapon, such as grenadiers for their grenades , or fusiliers for their fusils . These names can persist long after

14391-399: Was not common), similar to modern sections (squads) , companies , and regiments . The training of the infantry has differed drastically over time and from place to place. The cost of maintaining an army in fighting order and the seasonal nature of warfare precluded large permanent armies. The antiquity saw everything from the well-trained and motivated citizen armies of Greece and Rome,

14514-554: Was probably to act as a deterrent beyond Baden's borders, but another result was resentment by the people of Baden against the Prussians and their military. A commemorative medal issued by Grand Duke Leopold became popularly known as the "fratricide medal" ( Brudermordmedaille ). Numerous members of the Baden Revolutionary Army fled to the United States as Forty-Eighters and served in the American Civil War with

14637-517: Was replaced by Franz Sigel . However, since coherent resistance was no longer an option, Sigel's main task was to save the remaining troops from being captured. Freiburg was occupied on 7 July, and on 11 July the Revolutionary Army crossed the Rhine into Switzerland. Only about 6,000 men remained and they were trapped in Rastatt Fortress under Gustav Tiedemann and they continued to resist. The Prussian, General Karl von der Groeben, offered

14760-440: Was succeeded by Badenese colonel, Heinrich von Hinckeldey. Hinckeldey continued to pursue the rebels and on the same day defeated Fickler's men at Steinen. Hecker's and Fickler's defeat also prevented the two rebel groups from uniting with a third led by Franz Sigel, whose irregulars were at Todtnau on 20 April. Instead, Sigel marched against Freiburg. In the Battle of Günterstal his men were also defeated on 23 April and dispersed

14883-464: Was the Grand Duke, who appointed a general as President of the Ministry of War. The Badenese contingent for the Federal Army was organised into a division and the subordinated to the VIII Army Corps where it formed the 2nd Division. The VIII Army Corps was a mixed corps, in addition to the Badenese troops, it also included Württembergian and Hessian troops. At the head of the division was

15006-811: Was the Life Guard Grenadier Battalion, which fought together with the Prussian-Russian Guard Corps in the Battle of Paris and moved into the city on 1 April. During the Napoleon's reign of the Hundred Days a field division had to be raised again, but it did not take part in any combat operations. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the German Confederation was founded, the Grand Duchy of Baden being one of its founder members. On 9 April 1821,

15129-636: Was the Prince of Prussia, later Emperor William I , who since the March Revolution in Berlin had been nicknamed the "Prince of Grapeshot" ( Kartätschenprinz ). The attack on Baden was carried out on two fronts: the I Prussian Corps under Moritz von Hirschfeld was to secure the Palatinate and then cross the Rhine and attack the Revolutionary Army concentrated in North Baden from the west, while

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