A Return to the Bavarians

With the completion of the last batch of buildings I have returned to working on the Franco-Prussian War Bavarians. This next batch of six battalions will represent Major General Joseph Maximilian Maillinger's 8th Infantry Brigade.

Born in Passau in October 1820 Maillinger entered Bavarian service in 1841 and served variously in the quartermaster service, the general staff and in the War Ministry.  He transferred to the 7th Infantry Regiment in 1865 as lieutenant colonel, and led the regiment as colonel a year later in the war against Austria. In the restructure of 1868 was given the 8th Infantry Brigade which he led through the early stages of the war in 1870. In the later stages of the war he commanded 4th Bavarian Division. He served with the Army of Occupation, returning to Bavaria in 1873 to take over the command of II Bavarian Corps upon the death of General Hartmann. He was Minister of War in the mid-1870s and took the inhabership the 9th Infantry (Wrede) Regiment. He served in the Reichsrat in 1888, retired from the army in 1893 and died at Bad Aibling in October 1901.

8th Bavarian Infantry Brigade consisted of:

• 3rd Battalion, 1st (King's) Infantry Regiment
• 3rd Battalion, 5th (Grand Duke of Hesse) Infantry Regiment
• 1st Battalion, 7th (Hohenhausen)  Infantry Regiment
• 3rd Battalion, 11th (von der Tann) Infantry Regiment
• 3rd Battalion, 14th (Hartmann) Infantry Regiment
• 5th Jäger Battalion

Presented here is III/1st Regiment.

You would think that with a  name like "King's Own" this regiment would have a long and distinguished history, after all the Royal Bavarian army has history that extends back to the 1680s, yet its establishment only dates back to 1814, when the army was restructured at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The grenadier companies were stripped from the line regiments to form the Lieb Regiment. The tallest men were retained for that regiment and the remainder formed the King's Own Regiment. 

The regiment went to France in 1815 as part of the Army of Occupation. When Ludwig I came to the throne in 1825 he slashed military spending and the third battalion was disbanded, but reinstated in 1835. During the disturbances of 1848 the regiment was assigned to protect the royal residences. It was engaged in the 1866 war in the west German campaign. In 1870 it fought at Wissembourg, Worth, Beaumont, Sedan, the Siege of Paris and in the Loire Valley. It was engaged in the Great War and was disbanded in 1918.

Given their "King's Own" title I have assumed that they would be more likely to have a bit more pride in their dress, so I have done them all wearing the Raupenhelm whereas the rest of this brigade will be wearing a mix of headgear.

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