The Royal Bavarian Infantry Lifeguards Regiment (') was a

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

- lifeguard (bodyguard) regiment of the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n kings from the end of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

until the fall of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

monarchy and the subsequent disbanding of the

Bavarian army The Bavarian Army was the army of the Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom (1806–1919) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereignty (''Wehrhoheit'') of Bavaria into that of ...

Predecessors

Before the actual Lifeguards Regiment, two infantry regiments of the Bavarian Army infantry held the title of 'King's' (''König''): from 1684 to 1778, the unit that later became the Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment No. 10 ("König Ludwig") and from 1778 to 1811, the unit that later became the Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment No. 1 ("König").

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 "König" Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment 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 (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

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 Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

and

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

. 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 Germersheim () is a town in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, of around 20,000 inhabitants. It is also the seat of the Germersheim district. The neighboring towns and cities are Speyer, Landau, Philippsburg, Karlsruhe and Wörth. Coat ...

, 1862 in Landau; 2nd battalion 1853 in

Landau Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...

, 1859 in Landsberg, 1871 in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

; 3rd battalion 1873 in Fürstenfeldbruck). Immediately after the death of Maximilian I Joseph, his son and heir

Ludwig I en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...

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 Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen ...

in Marsch, to protect

Charles, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Karl, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (20 February 1785 – 11 March 1853) was the reigning Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen from 1831 to 1848. In 1833, Karl summoned a constitutional assembly (''Landtag'') and promulgated a constitutional ...

and to depose the provisional government there. After similar deployments under an "observation corps" in the area of

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

and

Günzburg Günzburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Genzburg'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is a ''Große Kreisstadt'' and the capital of the Swabian Günzburg (district), district Günzburg. This district was constituted in 1972 by combining the city ...

, 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 The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

, 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 Siegmund Freiherr von Pranckh (5 December 1821, Altötting, Upper Bavaria – 8 May 1888, Munich), descendant of the ancient Austrian noble family Pranckh, originally residentiary in the former March and later Duchy of Styria, was a Bavarian g ...

, 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 The Military Order of Max Joseph (german: Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden) was the highest military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in th ...

. 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 Armée de la Loire was a French army of the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed in October 1870 by Léon Gambetta, interior minister and minister for war in the Government of National Defence, then taking refuge in Tours after the French d ...

. The cautious but brave actions of Captain Karl Hoffmann, head of the 9th Company of the regiment, in the

Battle of Villepion The Battle of Villepion was a battle between the French XVI Corps under General Chanzy and the I Bavarian Corps during the Franco-Prussian War. It occurred in the district of Terminiers, between Terminiers and Nonneville on 1 December 1870, a ...

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 A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, 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. {, class="wikitable" , - bgcolor="silver" ! Commander ! Time in office , - , Franz Freiherr von Hertling (28 June 1780 – 13 September 1844) , 16 July 1814 – 11 February 1824 , - , Friedrich von Greis (27 May 1779 – 6 February 1847) , 11 February 1824 – 22 May 1836 , - , Johann Ritter von Fleischmann (24 March 1771 – 27 December 1855) , 22 May 1836 – 27 April 1841 , - , Hugo von Bosch (1 January 1782 – 7 August 1865) , 27 April 1841 – 18 October 1844 , - , Wilhelm Freiherr von Jeetze , 18 October 1844 – 7 April 1847 , - , Ludwig Graf von Deroy (15 January 1786 – 11 February 1864) , 7 April 1847 – 30 June 1848 , - , Jakob Ermarth , 30 June 1848 – 19 January 1851 , - , August Freiherr von Frays (15 April 1790 – 24 October 1863) , 19 January 1851 – 19 September 1851 , - , Caspar von Hagens (22 December 1800 – 6 January 1877) , 19 September 1851 – 9 May 1859 , - , Karl Graf von Speti , 9 May 1859 – 11 January 1865 , - , Siegmund Freiherr von Pranckh (5 December 1821 – 8 May 1888) , 11 January 1865 – 13 July 1866 , - , Adalbert Högenstaller (8 August 1813 – 11 September 1880) , 13 July 1866 – 14 April 1867 , - , Anton Ritter von Täuffenbach (17 August 1817 – 25 February 1880) , 14 April 1867 – 27 March 1871 , - , Rudolf Freiherr von Gumppenberg , 27 March 1871 – 3 November 1872 , - , Heinrich von Wirthmann (1818–13 November 1893) , 3 November 1872 – 15 December 1875 , - , Otto von Parseval , 15 December 1875 – 7 July 1881 , - ,

Prince Arnulf of Bavaria Prince Arnulf of Bavaria (german: Franz Joseph Arnulf Adalbert Maria Prinz von Bayern; 6 July 1852 – 12 November 1907) was a member of the Bavarian Royal House of Wittelsbach and a General of Infantry. Early life Arnulf was born in Munich, Bava ...

(6 July 1862 – 12 November 1906) , 7 July 1881 – 20 March 1884 , - , Hugo von Helvig , 20 March 1884 – 11 May 1888 , - , Moriz von Bomhard (20 December 1836 – 17 June 1907) , 11 May 1888 – 8 March 1889 , - , Wilhelm Gemmingen Freiherr von Massenbach , 8 March 1889 – 25 November 1891 , - , Ludwig Edler von Grauvogl , 25 November 1891 – 15 January 1895 , - , Theophil Freiherr Reichlin von Meldegg , 15 January 1895 – 9 November 1895 , - , Karl Freiherr von Horn (16 February 1847 – 5 June 1923) , 9 November 1895 – 10 May 1896 , - , Karl Ferdinand Maximilian von Malaisé (27 March 1868 – 28 July 1946) , 10 May 1896 – 17 March 1897 , - , Alfred Graf Eckbrecht von Dürckheim-Montmartin , 17 March 1897 – 14 August 1901 , - ,

Felix Graf von Bothmer Felix Ludwig Graf von Bothmer (10 December 1852 – 18 March 1937) was a German general from Bavaria. He notably served in the Brusilov offensive of World War I. Military Career and After In 1871 Bothmer joined the Bavarian Army. He spent most ...

(10 December 1852 – 18 March 1937) , 14 August 1901 – 18 May 1903 , - , Friedrich Freiherr Kreß von Kressenstein , 18 May 1903 – 17 October 1905 , - , Karl von Brug (18 June 1855 – 25 March 1923) , 17 October 1905 – 11 September 1906 , - , Maximilian Graf von Montgelas (23 May 1860 – 4 February 1938) , 11 September 1906 – 18 September 1908 , - , Alexander Freiherr von Harsdorf auf Enderndorf , 18 November 1908 – 24 January 1910 , - , Bernhard von Hartz , 24 January 1910 – 1 October 1912 , - , Friedrich Freiherr von Pechmann (28 July 1862 – 6 December 1919) , 1 October 1912 – 24 December 1914 , - , Franz Ritter von Epp (16 October 1868 – 31 December 1946) , 24 December 1914 - 1918 , -

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...
awards, 1914-1918

* 5 December 1917, Lieutenant of the Reserve

Ferdinand Schörner Ferdinand Schörner (12 June 1892 – 2 July 1973) was a German military commander who held the rank of ''Generalfeldmarschall'' in the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. He commanded several army groups and was the last Command ...

* 29 May 1918, Colonel Franz Ritter von Epp

Military Order of Max Joseph The Military Order of Max Joseph (german: Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden) was the highest military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in th ...
Knight's Cross awards, 1914-1918

* 15 November 1915, First Lieutenant Hans Freiherr von Speidel (killed 28 December 1916) * 25 June 1916, Prince Heinrich of Bavaria (killed 8 November 1916) * 23 June 1916, Lieutenant Colonel Franz Ritter von Epp * 11 July 1916, Captain Emmerich Freiherr von Godin * 24 June 1916, Captain of the Reserve Günther Freiherr von Pechmann * 20 July 1916, Lieutenant of the Reserve Wilhelm Meng * 6 January 1917, Major Robert Graf von Bothmer (killed 28 September 1918) * 6 January 1917, First Lieutenant Ludwig Graf von Bothmer * 10 August 1917, Lieutenant of the Reserve Hans von Ruckteschell * 27 October 1917, Lieutenant of the Reserve

Karl Ritter von Halt Dr Karl Ritter von Halt, born Karl Ferdinand Halt (2 June 1891 – 5 August 1964) was a sport official in Nazi Germany and in the German Federal Republic. He was born and died in Munich. Biography Karl Ritter von Halt was a track and field a ...

* 28 May 1918, Lieutenant of the Reserve Franz Wimmer * 18 September 1918, Captain Hans von Pranckh File:LeutnantFerdinandSchoerner.jpg, Lieutenant Ferdinand Schoerner with the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...

File:Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley.png, Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley