Austrian SYW: IR31 Haller (Hungarian)

Here are the two battalions of a Hungarian regiment raised in 1741 which accounts for it's red flags. For details on these red Austrian flags you will have to go back to a post on this blog from the 16th October 2010.

Now this regiment Haller had rather an inauspicious beginning. This comes from Kronoskaf.

"On October 21 1741, at the beginning of the War of the Austrian Succession, Samuel Baron Haller obtained a letter patent authorising him to raise a new regiment of 4 battalions (a total of 3,639 men in 20 companies). Recruitment had to be done in Hungarian and Transylvanian counties and the regiment had to muster in Szegedin. Recruitment proceeded very slowly and, by the end of the year, only four weak companies had been formed. Baron Haller then asked the Hofkriegsrat (Court War Council) for help.

From March 1742, G.d.C. Count Károlyi assisted Haller for the recruitment of his regiment. At the end of May, the Leib battalion was assembled. It was sent to Kaschau (present-day Košice), Leutschau (present-day Levoča) and Eperies (present-day Prešov). For its part, as soon as the battalion of the lieutenant-colonel was completed, it was stationed in Dioszég. In July, this battalion marched to Peterwardein. During this march, the troops mutinied, broke their muskets, tore up their uniforms and turned against their officers. After a gunfight Captain Catozzi was killed. The rebels then passed by Csibakháza where they terrorized the population. There were no regular troops in the neighbourhood and the Prefect of the County of Csongráder, Count Andrássy, had to arm the county militia. With these militia, he fell upon the camp of the rebels and defeated them. Afterwards, 150 men were tried by a military tribunal, many of them executed and the rest sentenced to many years of imprisonment. The battalion was then completed with new recruits and, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas von Papp, finally arrived to Peterwardein, its initial destination.

Even though Haller had asked to the Hofkriegsrat to use his regiment in the field as soon as possible, he had to wait till the Spring of 1744 to have two of his battalions (a total of 1,530 men) sent to Bavaria. On April 15, these two battalions set off under the command of Colonel Haller and reached Ingolstadt at the beginning of July. The commander-in-chief in Bavaria was G.d.C. Count Batthyányi. In August, the order of battle of the Austrian army mentions these two battalions in the first line, along with Wurmbrand Infantry and Platz Infantry in the area of Amberg. By October 5, after several manoeuvres, both battalions reached the camp of Čimelice. After the junction with the Saxons, Charles de Lorraine, now at the head of the combined armies, managed to drive the Prussians out of Bohemia without a single battle.

In the campaign of 1745, a battalion was initially sent to Vienna. In August, it was assigned to Field-Marshal Fürst Esterházy, who had been charged to raise additional Hungarian troops (the so-called “Insurrection Troops”), and marched to Jägerndorf (present-day Krnov). When Esterházy's Corps was attacked by the Prussians, the battalion covered its retreat. After most of the Hungarian “Insurrection Troops” had refused to continue to serve in the field, Esterházy ceded command to General Kheul who retired towards Libau (present-day Libava). After receiving reinforcements, Kheul returned to Jägerndorf. After the conclusion of peace with Prussia on December 25, the battalion marched towards Peterwardein.

During its march towards Peterwardein, the battalion received new orders redirecting it towards the Netherlands. In mid April 1746, it arrived at Hasselt where the entire regiment was reviewed by FML Batthyányi. This corps also included Imperial, Hanoverian, British, Dutch and Hessian units. On October 7, the regiment took part in a first combat beyond the Jaar River between Liege and Houtain where the Allied Army, once more commanded by Charles de Lorraine, engaged a French force. The regiment suffered heavily from artillery fire, losing 33 dead and 25 wounded. The next battle took place at Rocoux on October 11. After this defeat, the Allied Army had to retire to Maastricht and to winter on the Meuse.

The campaign of 1747 began only in July when the Allies, still under the command of Charles de Lorraine, were once more defeated in the Battle of Lauffeld on July 2. In this battle, two battalions of the regiment were deployed in the first line. The Allies then retired to Maastricht. The regiment did not take part in any other combat during this campaign. In November it was posted on the Meuse to guard the border.

In 1748, a battalion was assigned to the corps of FML Batthyányi. At the end of April, it joined the main army at Roermond and was attached to FZM Gaisruck's Corps along with the grenadier companies of the army. By June 18, the entire regiment (only 1,068 men fit for service) was reunited at the camp of Boxtel. In October, after moving back to Roermond, the entire army marched back towards the Habsburg Hereditary Lands. Even though soldiers had not been paid for several months, the march proceeded without major incidents. In December, the regiment arrived in Prague where it assumed garrison duty. At the end of December, Colonel Thomas Papp was appointed Head of the Invalides in Pest and Lieutenant-Colonel Josef Bakits was transferred to Andrássy Infantry as colonel."