About the Grand Duchy
The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg was the eighth-largest member state of the German Empire in
size and the tenth-largest in population. It consisted primarily of three widely separated
enclaves - the Duchy of Oldenburg, located in northwest Germany, the Principality of
Lübeck, located immediately north of the Free and Hanseatic City of the same name, and
the Principality of Birkenfeld, located along the Nahe River in the Hunsrück Mountains
east of Trier. The city of Oldenburg was its capital. Oldenburg had been elevated to a Grand Duchy in 1815. It was a county from
the 1100s and had been elevated to a Duchy in 1777. Counts of Oldenburg had become Kings of Denmark in 1448 and
also were the Dukes of Schleswig and Holstein, but a separate line had ruled Oldenburg proper
until the death of Count Anton-Günther in 1667, whereupon Denmark assumed direct rule. Danish
kings ruled Oldenburg until 1773, when Duke Paul of Holstein-Gottorp took over (he would later
succeed Catherine the Great to become Tsar Paul I of Russia). He ruled Oldenburg for only a few months,
however, before turning power over to his cousin Friedrich August, the Bishop of Lübeck and first
Duke of Oldenburg. Friedrich August's nephew, Peter Friedrich Ludwig, ruled as regent from 1785 to 1806,
1807-1810, and 1813-1823 (interrupted by Dutch and French occupation) and as Duke from 1823
to his death in 1829. He oversaw the acquisition of Lübeck and Birkenfeld, the reacquisition of
the Estate of Jever from Russia, and the elevation of Oldenburg to a Grand Duchy (although he himself
never used the title of Grand Duke). Peter Friedrich Ludwig was succeeded by his son Grand Duke Paul
Friedrich August, who ruled from 1829 to 1853. He established the House Order and named
it after his father. He also ruled during the 1848
revolutions and was forced to grant the state a constitution. His son Nikolaus Friedrich
Peter ruled as Grand Duke Peter II from 1853 to 1900. He led Oldenburg into the Zollverein in 1854,
into the Prussian-led North German Confederation in 1866 and then into the German Empire. The
last Grand Duke was Friedrich August, who would rule from 1900 until forced to abdicate in 1918.
In 1918 all three enclaves of the former Grand Duchy became a Free State of the Weimar Republic. The
Nazi Party took power in the Free State in the 1932 elections. In 1937, Lübeck and
Birkenfeld passed to Prussia. In 1946, Oldenburg was incorporated into Lower Saxony
(Niedersachsen).
Oldenburg's Armed Forces
Oldenburg had managed to stay out of the Thirty Years' War and the initial phases of the
Napoleonic Wars, but in 1808 Oldenburg was forced to join
Napoleon's Conferation of the Rhine and was to contribute an 800-man infantry regiment.
In 1810, Napoleon annexed Oldenburg along with Holland and most of northern Germany and
in 1811 the Oldenburg Regiment became part of the 129e Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne, along with
units from Westphalia. The regiment went with the Grande Armée in Napoleon's ill-fated
invasion of Russia, where it suffered heavy casualties. The remnants were combined in 1813 with
those of the 127e and 128e Régiments, which had been formed primarily from troops from the
Hanseatic Cities of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck. Meanwhile, the Regent and Duke of Oldenburg
had fled to Russia, where they served with the Allied forces. With the return of the Duke to
his throne (and Peter Friedrich Ludwig to his regency) in November 1813, Oldenburg again
raised a regiment consisting of a regular battalion and a Landwehr battalion. Under the command of
the 33-year old Colonel Wilhelm Gustaf Friedrich Wardenburg, an Oldenburger and veteran of the German-Russian Legion, in
May 1815 the Oldenburg Regiment joined the North German Army Corps under General Kleist
von Nollendorf at Trier. The regiment participated in the sieges of Mezieres, Sedan and
Montmedy. Upon victory, Colonel Wardenburg was decorated with the Prussian "Pour le Mérite".
The Oldenburg Regiment became part of the army of the German Confederation established in
1815 and in 1830 was expanded to two regiments of 10 companies. These regiments were combined
with forces from the Hanseatic Cities into a brigade under Oldenburg command. In the 1848-49
fighting against Denmark in Schleswig-Holstein, the Oldenburgers participated in engagements at
Sundewitt, Rübel and Stenderup.
In 1849, a cavalry regiment was added to Oldenburg's forces. In
1850 the infantry and artillery forces were reorganized and the two infantry regiments were combined
into one three-battalion regiment, called the "Oldenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment",
assigned to the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Division of the X Army Corps.
Having joined the Prussian-led North German Confederation in 1866, Oldenburg participated in the
war against Austria and its South German allies. The Oldenburg-Hansa Brigade was part
of the 13th Division in the Main-Armee and fought a series of engagements primarily against
troops from Baden and Saarbrücken. Like most other German states, Oldenburg signed a
military convention in 1867 placing its armed forces under Prussian control. The
infantry regiment was designated the Oldenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment No.91 (OIR91). The
cavalry became the Oldenburgisches Dragoner-Regiment No.19.
In 1870, both units were assigned to the Second Army for the war against France. The
infantry regiment was part of the 19th Infantry Division (X Corps) and the dragoons were part
of the 5th Cavalry Division's 11th Cavalry Brigade. Oldenburg's artillery batteries were
part of the X Corps' Feld-Artillerie-Regiment (1. Hannoversches) Nr.10. In the
early stages of the war, the dragoons participated in the fighting at Spicheren and
Wörth. The infantry regiment was badly mauled at Mars-la-Tour on August 16, 1870,
and the commander was killed in action. The dragoons participated in the German
counterattack and suffered a number of casualties as well. Both regiments and the
artillery batteries then participated in the major battle of Gravelotte-St. Privat. Due to
its casualties, the infantry regiment was then put on less stressful duty in the siege of Metz and
Thionville. Returning to the line in December, Oldenburg's troops would participate in
a number of other engagements and battles, including Beaune la Rolande, Beaugency and Le Mans.
After the victory, the Oldenburg regiments would pull occupation duty until returning to
Oldenburg in 1873. Normal peacetime activities followed, and in August 1893 the Oldenburg
OIR91 received a new commander - Colonel Paul von Beneckendorff
und Hindenburg. The later Field Marshal and President von Hindenburg would command
OIR91 for three years. Also in 1893, a fourth battalion was added to the regiment, but in an
1897 reorganization, the fourth battalion was removed to become the nucleus of the 4.
Hannoversches Infanterie-Regiment Nr.164. Also, at some point before World War One, the
Oldenburg artillery batteries were organized as a battalion of the Ostfriesisches
Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr.62, which was headquartered in the city of Oldenburg. In addition to OIR91 and the 19th Dragoons,
Oldenburg also maintained a connection to other units, such as the Saarbrücken-based
8. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr.70, whose Colonel-in-Chief was the Grand Duke
of Oldenburg, and which recruited from the Oldenburg possession of Birkenfeld. Also, while
not directly affiliated to the Grand Duchy, the Imperial Navy's battleship SMS Oldenburg
maintained a traditional affiliation. Because of their geography, Oldenburgers also had
an affinity for the sea and a large number of the Grand Duchy's citizens served in the
Imperial Navy. When the mobilization was announced in 1914,
OIR91 and other Oldenburg units were on maneuvers. These were cancelled and the Oldenburg
infantry and dragoon regiments and field artillery batteries prepared for war. They would be
joined by Landwehr and reserve units, and would march into Belgium on August 12, 1914.
During the course of the war, the Oldenburgers would fight on the Western and Eastern Fronts.
OIR91 alone suffered the follwoing losses: out of 443 officers and 19,108 NCOs and enlisted men,
98 officers and 3,765 NCOs and enlisted men were killed, 172 officers and 9,244
NCOs and enlisted men were wounded, 29 officers and 798 NCOs and enlisted men were taken
prisoner, and 4 officers and 932 NCOs and enlisted men were missing in action. Members of
the regiment earned from Prussia one Pour le Mérite, 17 Royal House Orders of Hohenzollern, 4 Golden
Military Merit Crosses and 185 Iron Crosses 1st Class and 5,238 2nd Class. From Oldenburg, they
received 1 Officer's Cross of the House and Merit Order with Swords and Laurel Wreath, 2 Knight's Crosses
2nd Class with Crown and Swords, 14 Knight's Crosses 2nd Class with Swords, and 4 Honor Crosses
with Swords. They also received 716 Friedrich August Crosses 1st
Class and 6,810 Friedrich August Crosses 2nd Class.
|
