The 1st Foot Guard Regiment (german: 1. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß) was an infantry regiment of the

Royal Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the cor ...

formed in 1806 after

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

defeated

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

in the

Battle of Jena–Auerstedt The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt (; older spelling: ''Auerstädt'') were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Pruss ...

. It was formed by combining all previous Foot Guard Regiments and was, from its inception, the bodyguard-regiment of

Kings of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

. Save William II, who also wore the uniforms of other regiments, all Prussian Kings and most Princes of Prussia wore the uniform of the 1st Foot Guard Regiment. All Princes of Prussia were commissioned lieutenants in the 1st Foot Guards upon their tenth birthdays. The King of Prussia was also the Colonel-in-chief of the regiment, as well as the Chief of the 1st Battalion and 1st Company of the regiment. Therefore, the regiment held the highest rank within the Prussian Army, which, among other things, meant that the

officer corps An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...

of the regiment marched before the princes of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

and the

diplomatic corps The diplomatic corps (french: corps diplomatique) is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body. The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission ( am ...

in the traditional New Year's reception. Unofficially, the regiment was known as the "First Regiment of Christendom" (german: Erstes Regiment der Christenheit). The regiment was disbanded in 1919 when the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

was dissolved, with the

Infantry Regiment 9 Potsdam Infantry Regiment 9 of Potsdam (I.R. 9) was an infantry regiment in Weimar Republic's Reichswehr and Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht, descended from famed 1st Prussian Regiment of Foot Guards in the German Empire's Deutsches Reichsheer. Garrisoned at ...

of the new ''

Reichsheer ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

'' bearing its tradition. The ''

Wachbataillon The Wachbataillon (full name: ''Wachbataillon beim Bundesministerium der Verteidigung'' (WachBtl BMVg) (Guard Battalion at the Federal Ministry of Defence) is the German ''Bundeswehr's'' honour guard. The Wachbataillon number about 1,000 soldie ...

'' continues the tradition of this regiment in the ''

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

'' of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

Regimental commanders

* 4 November 1806 – 15 April 1807: Second Lieutenant Julius Ludwig von Pogwisch * 16 April 1807 – 20 January 1813: Colonel Gustav Adolph von Kessel (died 18 September 1827 as lieutenant general) * 9 February – 20 June 1813: Major Ernst Ludwig von Tippelskirch (died 23 January 1840 as lieutenant general) * 20 June 1813 – 5 April 1814: Major Friedrich Johann Carl Gebhard von Alvensleben (died 12 February 1831 as lieutenant general) * 7 April 1814 – 13 February 1816: Lt. Col Carl Heinrich von Block (died 18 January 1839 as general Commanding II. Army Corps) * 13 February 1816 – 1 June 1828: Lt. Col Eugen Max von Röder (died 10 February 1844 as lieutenant general) * 1 June 1828 – 20 September 1835: Colonel Carl Ludwig Wilhelm Ernst von Prittwitz (died 8 June 1871 as infantry general) * 20 September 1835 – 25 March 1841: Col. Franz Karl von Werder (died 3 June 1869 as infantry general) * 25 March 1841 – 27 March 1847: Col George Leopold Carl von Gayl II (died 29 November 1876 as general of the infantry) * 27 March 1847 – 4 May 1850: Col Carl Eberhard Herwarth von Bittenfeld (died 2 September 1884 as field marshal) * 4 May 1850 – 4 November 1851: Col Eduard

von Brauchitsch Brauchitsch is the surname of a Prussian noble family, first documented in the 13th century at the Silesian village of Chrustenik. Members of the family have been noted as statesmen and high military officers in Germany. Notable members of the fami ...

(died 3 November 1869 as infantry general) * 4 November 1851 – 5 August 1856: Colonel Count Albert

von Blumenthal The von Blumenthal family are Lutheran and Roman Catholic German nobility, originally from Brandenburg-Prussia. Other (unrelated) families of this name exist in Switzerland and formerly in Russia, and many unrelated families (quite a few of them Je ...

(died 30 June 1860 as lieutenant general) * 5 August 1856 – 22 March 1859: Col Friedrich Wilhelm Johann Ludwig Freiherr Hiller von Gaertringen (died 3 July 1866 as lieutenant general and commander of the 1st Guard Infantry Division) * 22 March 1859 – 7 March 1863: Col Karl Graf

von der Goltz Von der Goltz is the name of an old and influential German noble family whose members occupied many important positions in the Kingdom of Prussia and later in the German Empire. History The family can trace their lineage from East Brandenburg ...

(died January 1881 as lieutenant general) * 7 March 1863 – 18 May 1867: Col Bernhard von Kessel III (died 7 June 1882 as infantry general, adjutant-general) * 18 May 1867 – 18 August 1870: Col Victor Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Dietrich von Roeder (died 18 August 1870, shot in the head at St. Privat) * 18 August – 11 December 1870: von Oppell (acting commander) * 11 December 1870 – 12 December 1874: Col Oktavio Philipp von Boehn * 12 December 1874 – 28 October 1875: Col. Anton Wilhelm Karl von L'Estocq (latterly also as general of the infantry) * 28 October 1875 – 19 October 1876: Lt. Col Otto von Derenthall (acting commander) * 20 September 1876 – 23 November 1882: Col Otto von Derenthall * 23 November 1882 – 27 January 1888: Col Oskar von Lindequist * 27 January 1888 – 9 February 1891: Col Hans von Plessen * 9 February 1891 – 9 February 1893: Col Oldwig Wilhelm Ferdinand von Natzmer (died 1899 as lieutenant general) * 9 February 1893 – 21 March 1896: Col Gustav Emil Bernhard Bodo von Kessel (latterly as lieutenant general and Commander of the 1. Guards Infantry Division) * 21 March 1896 – 15 June 1898: Col Georg von Kalckstein (latterly as lieutenant general and commander of the 13. Infantry Division) * 15 June 1898: Lt. Col Karl Freiherr von Plettenberg * 22 March 1902: Gustav Freiherr von Berg * 16 October 1906: Karl Freiherr von Willisen * 22 March 1910: Friedrich

von Kleist The House of Kleist is the name of an old and distinguished Pomeranian Prussian noble family, whose members obtained many important military positions within the Kingdom of Prussia and later in the German Empire. Notable members * Henning Alex ...

* 20 March 1911: Friedrich von Friedeburg * 1 August 1914: Eitel Friedrich Prince of Prussia * 14 November 1914 Friedrich von Bismarck (killed at Bouvincourt, acting commander) * 6 November 1916: Siegfried Graf zu Eulenburg-Wicken (acting commander) * 28 April 1917: (ad interim) Friedrich Franz Adolf von Stephani (acting commander) * 7 July 1917 – 11 December 1918: Siegfried Graf zu Eulenburg-Wicken (acting commander) * 27 August 1918: (ad interim) Friedrich Franz Adolf von Stephani (acting commander) * 1 September – 11 December 1918: Siegfried Graf zu Eulenburg-Wicken (acting commander) * 26 September 1918: (ad interim) Friedrich Franz Adolf von Stephani (acting commander) * 30 September – 11 December 1918: Siegfried Graf zu Eulenburg-Wicken (acting commander)

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Guards regiments of the Prussian Army Military units and formations established in 1688 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1688 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire

Regimental commanders

See also

References