The Electoral Saxon Army of the Seven Years’ War, 1756–1763

The Saxon Army of the Seven Years’ War, 1756–1763

Following its surrender at Pirna, 15 October 1756, the army of the Electorate of Saxony went into Prussian captivity. Officers were dismissed, the NCOs promoted to officers, and entire regiments incorporated into the Prussian army, with the exception of the Leibgrenadier-Garde.

Infantry-Regiment Königin and Grenadier-Battalion Kurprinzessin refused to take the oath and were disbanded. Many soldiers of the remaining ten infantry regiments deserted en masse in the following months or went over to the enemy on the battlefield, so that by 1758 there was only one formerly Saxon infantry regiment on the establishment of the field army and two on the garrison establishment.

Many of the deserted Saxon soldiers made their way to Hungary via Bohemia and Poland, where a new Saxon army was being formed under the command of Lieutenant-General Franz Xavier prince of Saxony, count of Lusatia, from 1757. These troops received new regimental colours in March of 1758 and they took part in the campaigns of the combined French and Imperial Army along the Rhine.

Available Miniatures

Austrian General Staff, 15 mm Old Glory SYA11
Prussian Grenadiers
Prussian Musketiers
Prussian Fusiliers
Prussian Dragoons
Prussian Cuirasssiers
Austrian Hussars
Prussian Artillery

General Staff		from	until
Feldmarschall Friedrich August Graf Rutowski		1756
Generallieutenant Prince Xavier of Saxony		1756	1763
Generalmajor Noe de Crousatz		1756	1763
Generalmajor Graf Nostitz		1756	1763
Feldjäger-Corps zu Fuß		1756	1763
Feldjäger-Corps zu Pferd		1756	1763
Infantry	Inhaber	from	until
Leibgrenadier-Garde	Kurfürst Friedrich August II. of Saxony	1756	1763
Garde zu Fuß	Kurfürst Friedrich August II. of Saxony	1751	1760
Infantry Regiment Königin Infantry Regiment Prince Josef of Saxony, 1757	Maria Josepha Kurfürstin of Saxony, Queen of Poland	1756	1756
	Prince Josef of Saxony	1757	1763
Grenadier Battalion Kurprinzessin	Maria Antonia Walpurgis, Kurprinzessin of Saxony	1756	1763
Infantry Regiment Prince Friedrich August of Saxony	Prince Friedrich August of Saxony	1756	1763
Infantry Regiment Prince Xavier of Saxony	Prince Xavier of Saxony	1756	1763
Infantry Regiment Prince Clemens of Saxony	Prince Clemens of Saxony	1756	1763
Infantry Regiment Graf Brühl	General Graf Brühl	1756	1763
Infantry Regiment Fürst Lubomirski	Generalmajor Fürst Lubomirski	1756	1763
Infantry Regiment von Rochow	von Rochow	1756	1763
Infantry Regiment von Minckwitz Infantry Regiment Prince Anton of Saxony	von Minckwitz	1756	1759
	Prince Anton of Saxony	1759	1763
Infantry Regiment Prince Adolf Johann of Saxe-Gotha	Prince Adolf Johann of Saxe-Gotha	1756	1763
Infantry Regiment Prince Carl Maximilian of Saxony	Prince Carl Maximilian of Saxony	1756	1763
Grenadier Battalions, 1756	Parent Units
Grenadier-Bataillon Bennigsen	Garde zu Fuß & Infantry Regiment Graf Brühl
Grenadier-Bataillon Kavanagh	Prince Friedrich August & Lubomirski
Grenadier-Bataillon von de Pforte	Prince Xavier & Prinz of Saxe-Gotha
Grenadier-Bataillon von Götze	Prince Maximilian & Minckwitz
Grenadier-Bataillon von Milckau	Königin & Infantry Regiment von Rochow
Grenadier-Bataillon von Pfundheller	Prince Clemens & Leibgrenadier-Garde
Cavalry	Inhaber	from	until
Regiment Garde du Corps
Karabiniergarde
Leibkürassiere
Königl. Prinz-Kürassiere
Kürassier-Regiment von Arnim
Kürassier-Regiment Fürst Anhalt
Kürassier-Regiment von Plötz
Kürassier-Regiment von Vitzthum
Chevauleger-Regiment Graf Brühl
Chevauleger-Regiment Prince Karl		1756	1763
Chevauleger-Regiment Prince Albrecht
Chevauleger-Regiment Graf Rutowski
Ulanen Pulk Wilczewski
Ulanen Pulk Rudnicki
Ulanen Pulk Bronikowsky
Husaren-Eskadron von Schill	Rittmeister Johann Georg von Schill	1761	1763
Upper Saxon Circle Contingent	Inhaber	from	until
1. Kreis-Regiment		1733	1756
2. Kreis-Regiment		1733	1756
3. Kreis-Regiment		1733	1756
4. Kreis-Regiment		1733	1756
Garrison Troops & Militia	Commandant	from	until
Invalidencorps Garnisonskompanie Königstein
Invalidencorps Garnisonskompanie Pleißenburg
Invalidencorps Garnisonskompanie Sonnenstein
Invalidencorps Garnisonskompanie Stolpen
Invalidencorps Garnisonskompanie Wittenberg
Invalidenkompanie Waldheim
Henneberg Miliz		1730	1756
Artillery & Engineers	Commandant	from	until
Artillerie-Bataillon		1756	1763
Artillerie Hauskompanie, Dresden		1756	1763
Pionierkorps, Dresden		1756	1763
The four regiments of the electoral Saxon contingent of the Upper Saxon Circle perished with the army in 1756 and they were not raised again during the war. The Leibgrenadier-Garde spent the rest of the war in the neutral fortress of Königstein.

Bibliography

Förster, Hoch, Müller, Swoboda: Uniformen europäischer Armeen, 17. bis 20. Jahrhundert
Funcken, L. & F.: Historische Uniformen 18. Jahrhundert, Band 2, S. 82-85
Große, Otto: Prinz Xaver von Sachsen und die sächs. Armee 1758–1763, Leip. 1907
Großer Generalstab, Die Kriege Friedrichs des Großen. Der Siebenjährige Krieg
Knötel-Sieg: Handbuch der Uniformkunde
Knötel, Uniformkunde V 26 Sachsen
Kraszewski, Józef Ignacy: Graf Brühl
Lezius/Knötel, Zeitalter Friedrichs des Großen, Sturm Zigaretenbilder
Mollo, John: Uniforms of the Seven Years’ War, 1756–1763
Schirmer, Friedrich: Die Heere der kriegführenden Staaten 1756-63
Wise, Terence, & Rosignoli, Guido: Military Flags of the World, 1618–1900
Zeitschrift für Heereskunde Nr. 150, Berlin
Ref.No. UPS 56, Museum für deutsche Geschichte (Zeughaus), Berlin

Frequently Asked Questions

For further information on the subject, please contact the editors of Military Miniatures Magazine in the Miniatures Forum.

Seven Years’ War Miniatures