"SYW Hanovarian Grenadier question" Topic

Can any one tell how many regiments formed the combined grenadiers?

Thanks in advance.

Hunlion

9

Is ‘9' supposed to read as the German "Nein" [No]?
If that's so, Musketier is right. No way of sorting this out. You have all the liberty of combining your preferred converged grenadier units the way you love it.

Oh,
concerning numbers: There was no fixed establishment in 1757-1758. From 1759 on 3 battalions. In 1762 the force was doubled with now 6 bats. formed in two brigades of three bats each.

Thanks guys for your comments.

Although I'm quite happy to bat the occasional pun across the linguistic fence, in this case "9" was meant to be the answer to the question as I understood it: According to Niemeyer/Ortenburg, 'The Hanoverian Army during the Seven Years War', p. 14,

"From 1759 the grenadiers were formed into 3 grenadier battalions on the Prussian model, each of which was formed by grouping together the grenadier companies of 9 regiments."

Unfortunately, the text does not say which regiments combined their grenadiers. However, it goes on to explain that the regiments then raised new grenadier companies, which were amalgamated by 4s in 1762. (So, were the battalions of the second raising only half strength?)

Also, note that the Guard's grenadier companies served as HQ guard and therefore were not part of any converged battalion.

All trough the preparations for the 1762 campaign. Hanoverian regts fielded only a smallish grenadier corps of below company establishment. Early in 1762 orders were issued from Ferdinands staff to create a grenadier company in each battalion. The commanders were to select the most trusted company in their unit to their own choosing that was to become the future grenadier company. That's the entire story to it. Note that the English edition of the Niemeyer/Ortenburg book got this terribly wrong here as a result of poor translation.
To my understanding you now count 24 gren coys excluding the guards and the two 1758 raised "new" wartime battalions (13A and 13B) which never had any grenadiers, just 5 line companies. The resulting 24 gren coys from 24 fild battalions now formed 2 brigades with 3 bats each and each bat formed of 4 coys of around 100 men each.