Bataillon Leichter Infanterie (Mecklenburg-Strelitz)
| Unit Information | |
| Country |  Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
|
| Garrison | Altstrelitz, Neubrandenburg, Neustrelitz, Woldegk (Various Years) |
| Ethnicity | German |
Title |
Bataillon Leichter Infanterie (From 6 May 1808) |
Commander |
Obrist Christian Anshelm von Bonin (From 6 May 1808) |
The Light Infantry Battalion of Mecklenburg-Strelitz a unit raised by the Duchy to meet the quota for a contingent placed on it by the Confederation of the Rhine after Strelitz joined it in 1808. Whilst officially known as the Battalion of Light Infantry it was often referred to as the Strelitz Battalion, Strelitz Contingent or even the Ducal Contingent Battalion, and the men who composed it were termed as Fusiliers. After the Invasion of Russia in 1812 the battalion received heavy losses, this was no problem as in March 1813 Mecklenburg-Strelitz defected to the coalition relieving the states obligation to maintain a battalion sized contingent leading to its downsizing to a single company of fusiliers.
History
Formation
On 22 March 1808 Strelitz signs off to join the Confederation of the Rhine and became mandated to provide a contingent of 400 men to the Confederation.
On the 23rd of April a council of the following members was established: Prinz Carl, Colonel von Bonin, Regulatory Councilor von Dertzen and Chamber Councilor Mende's then existing military organization commission to organize the entire Ducal Military.
On the 6th of May the military organization commission is ordered to provide a budget for the following units:
1) a battalion of light infantry of 400 men divided into 4 companies; |
Organization of the battalion began almost immediately with the leadership of the battalion being handed to Colonel (written as "Obrist") von Bonin. The formation of the battalion is slow and difficult due to the tiny population of the duchy and a difficulty in finding recruits, by 10 March 1809 there was only 201 officers and men in the contingent of the 400 demanded of the state from the Confederation. By January 1809 the companies each had received their own garrisons: 1st and 4th in Neustrelitz, 2nd in Neubrandenburg, and 3rd in Woldegk, these garrisons would remain consistent for much of the battalions history despite the occasional change for one or two of the companies.
In the meantime, there were several plans drawn up for the Strelitz battalion, one saw it forming a "Régiment d'Holstein" with the Oldenburg contingent, another where it would form a combined contingent with troops from the neighboring state of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and a third where all three contingents would be put together. The last was chosen but the Oldenburg contingent for one reason or another would never arrive, and so the 7th Rheinbund regiment as it would be known would only be formed from troops from the states of Mecklenburg, with Strelitz contributing its lone battalion to the formation as its 3rd battalion.
1809 Campaign
Sweden had still continued its long war with France since 1805, and so Mecklenburg troops that were formed were ordered to march and occupy Swedish Pomerania to avoid any Swedish support for the Austrians during the War of the Fifth Coalition.
On 21 February 1809 Napoleon wrote to his then Minister for War, General Clarke, to amongst other things have the 400 man contingent from the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz march to occupy Swedish Pomerania.
On 10 March the 201 men of the Strelitz battalion departed the Duchy for Swedish Pomerania and arrived at Greifswald on 14 March. Before departing from the duchy a depot company would be established in Altstrelitz consisting of 35 men. The battalion would remain at Greifswald until May.
It is not precisely known what movements the battalion made during this time were, but on 24 May a Schweriner force had been defeated by von Schill's forces at Damgarten, forcing the Mecklenburger troops in Pomerania to retreat and regroup. On the 26th the battalion moved out to join the Mecklenburg-Schwerins 1st battalion at Grimmen where they soon marched south. By the 27th the Mecklenburg troops all arrived at the town of Anklam where despite being in Prussian territory, the units rested for a few days until on the 31st where news of von Schill's defeat and the successful storming of Stralsund by a joint French-Danish-Dutch force had them march north.
During the campaign the battalion had steadily rose in strength so that by the 1st of June it was at 301 officers and men. For most of the month it was stationed in Greifswald alongside the 2 battalions from Schwerin, by 26 June the Mecklenburgers marched into Stralsund and remained garrisoned there until the signing of a peace treaty between France and Sweden on 6 January 1810 where the battalion was subsequently sent back home and the companies sent to their respective garrisons. The garrisons of the companies as of January 1st, 1810 were: 1st and 4th Companies garrisoned in Neustrelitz, 2nd Company in Neubrandenburg, and 3rd in Woldegk.
Whilst not seeing much fighting throughout the campaign and performing much more of an auxiliary role the French noted that the Strelitz battalion had a abnormally high rate of desertion.
1811
There is little information about the unit during time period aside from the garrisons of the companies in January: 1st and 4th Companies garrisoned in Neustrelitz, 2nd Company in Neubrandenburg, and 3rd at Schönberg in the Principality of Ratzeburg which was in personal union with the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The unit would remain in within the boundaries of the duchy and steadily reached its designated strength.
1812 Campaign
On 5 February 1812 the Duchies of Mecklenburg were ordered to prepare their contingents for a coming campaign against Russia and to be ready to march as early as the 15th but this was not possible on such short notice. For the next few months the companies of the Strelitz battalion remained in their garrisons: 1st, 3rd, and 4th in Neustrelitz and the 2nd in Neubrandenburg. By this time the battalion is presumed to have been at full or near full strength.
Mecklenburg troops marching from Malchim arrive at Neubrandenburg on the 14th of March where they meet up with a company of Strelitz infantry (likely the 2nd Company due to the aforementioned garrisons). The next day both march to Woldegk which was the designated rallying point for the Strelitz battalion, they would not stay for long as they began their march to Stettin the same day, departing Mecklenburg-Strelitz territory. On the 17th they were at Löknih (modern day Löcknitz) just before Stettin where they would arrive midday the next day.
The Mecklenburg contingents are inspected by French General Gudin on the 19th, and on the same day it was announced that the Mecklenburg regiment would be split up, with the Strelitz contingent being attached as the 3rd battalion of the French 127th Regiment of Line Infantry which was a primarily German speaking regiment with most of its recruits coming from the Hanseatic departments. Around this time the remnants of the garrisons were concentrated at Neustrelitz where any man not send to Russia formed a battalion depot company whilst the battalion was still serving in the field, it is unknown what the strength of this depot company was in 1812.
The movements and the actions of the Strelitz battalion during the campaign are not entirely clear, all that is known is that the battalion was split into two, with half of it splitting off and remaining to guard supply routes in Lithuania and the other half marching with the main Grande Armée all the way to Moscow and on the subsequent retreat back. It is unknown when the battalion returns to the Duchy but its likely sometime in January or February 1813 as the Staats-Kalendar of January 1813 still lists the battalion as in the field.
During the campaign the Strelitz battalion received heavy losses, it is not known how many, but it is after the battalion returns to Russia that in February 1813 Colonel von Bonin passes away, it is not entirely clear if the campaign is a factor in his death. Only 2 captains survived the Russian campaign but the most senior of them, von Schmalensee who led the 1st company took command of the surviving remnants of the battalion.
Post-Defection
On 30 March 1813 as Russian troops approach Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Duke Carl II of Strelitz ends his alliance with France and joins the war against Napoleon.
For most of 1813 the remnants of the battalion remained in Neustrelitz remaining in limbo as all resources were sent to the newly formed volunteer units that were being raised for the German War of Liberation. In the Staats-Kalendar the unit is simply called fusiliers and likely could not number more than a battalion during this period, but rather a company.
In 1814 the company of grenadiers was merged into the fusiliers only inflating the excess of officers within the unit. This would be fixed with a reorganization in 1815 that is seen in the Staats-Kalendar of 1816. During these years the Fusiliers adapted the garrisons of the former grenadier company: Altstrelitz, Neustrelitz, and Mirow.
Organization
Organization
The unit, just like many of those from Mecklenburg-Strelitz was organized after the Prussian model, this also meant many of the naming conventions were adapted from Prussia as opposed to France.
Organization of the battalion based on what can be pieced together from the Staats-Kalendar:
| Battalion Staff (Bataillon Staab) | 4 Fusilier Companies (4 Füselier Compagnie) |
|---|---|
|
|
The battalion took part in the 1812 Invasion of Russia where it suffered heavy casualties, it is unknown what the size and the composition of the unit that remained was but it was simply titled as "Füseliere" in the Staats-Kalendar and had a plethora of officers, it is likely that this unit was company sized.
Sometime in 1814 the company of grenadiers was merged into the Fusiliers, creating an excess of staff which were reorganized sometime in 1815 to fit the organization of a single company which was laid out in the Staats-Kalendar of 1816.
Garrisons
| 1ste Comp. | 2te Comp. | 3te Comp. | 4te Comp. | Depot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1809 | Neustrelitz | Neubrandenburg | Woldegk | Neustrelitz | Altstrelitz |
| 1810 | Neustrelitz | Neubrandenburg | Woldegk | Neustrelitz | |
| 1811 | Neustrelitz | Neubrandenburg | Schönberg | Neustrelitz | |
| 1812 | Neustrelitz | Neubrandenburg | Neustrelitz | Neustrelitz | |
| 1813 | IN THE FIELD | Neustrelitz | |||
| Füselier-Comp. | |
|---|---|
| 1813 | Neustrelitz |
| 1814 | Neustrelitz |
| 1815 | Altstrelitz, Neustrelitz, Mirow |
Recruitment
TBD
Colours
The battalion is not recorded to have carried any standards.
Dress & Armaments
Gallery
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Right Fusilier Officer (Richard Knötel, Uniformkunde)
