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"Prussian landwehr - cuff colours" Topic


13 Posts

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414 hits since 3 Jul 2025
©1994-2025 Bill Armintrout
Comments or corrections?

Personal logo ochoin Supporting Member of TMP03 Jul 2025 5:11 p.m. PST

I have a few Landwehr figures to paint. I consulted some sources – internet & books – on their simple uniform. I am confused.

Are the cuffs in provincial colours or simply in the plain, uniform blue? The sources are contradictory.

John Armatys03 Jul 2025 5:49 p.m. PST

Knotel, Knotel & Sieg's "Uniforms of the World" (Arms and Armour Press 1980) says that the collar colour (which also appeared on the cap band) showed the province and that the colour of the shoulder straps showed the battalion, suggesting that the cuffs were the same dark blue as the coat.

robert piepenbrink Supporting Member of TMP03 Jul 2025 7:24 p.m. PST

I'm with John on this and Nash concurs--at least for enisted men wearing litewka--though I'm interested in who says otherwise and why.

That said, while the regulation was hatband and collar. I'm seeing enough old plates--even at least one Knoetel--to make me think cuffs in provincial colors happened sometimes, especially in Silesia. There's a plate or so positioned so you can't see the cuffs, too--the sure sign of an artist who either doesn't have information or doesn't trust it.

Personal logo ochoin Supporting Member of TMP03 Jul 2025 8:28 p.m. PST

Here's one source that does indicate coloured cuffs:
link

I didn't ask the question to reject, out of hand, answers to my question so I will happily go with dark blue cuffs & note that coloured cuffs *may* have occurred sometimes.

BillyNM Supporting Member of TMP03 Jul 2025 10:34 p.m. PST

Without looking into it, I would suggest blue cuffs was probably regulation (or the cuff colour was not mentioned in the regulation) but that in practice some units did their own thing for a variety of reasons such as a manufacturer misunderstanding the regulation or shortages / surplus supplies of one colour of material.
I note in the Cent Jour that the unit the link goes to is the only regiment in litewka with coloured cuffs, albeit I did only skim through the first battalions and some regiments could not even provide every battalion with the same uniform, in these circumstances it's hardly surprising if some were not regulation.

Prince of Essling03 Jul 2025 11:34 p.m. PST

See discussion along with Heer und Tradition plates at "The Prussians in 1815" Topic TMP link

Prince of Essling04 Jul 2025 3:48 a.m. PST

Sorry, I see the Prussian Landwehr infantry plate did not pull through, so I have posted 2 plates as JPGs on Media Fire that can be downloaded as

picture
&
picture

Prince of Essling04 Jul 2025 5:05 a.m. PST

Sorry, I see the Prussian Landwehr infantry plates did not pull through, so I have reposted links to Media Fire so that they can be downloaded as:
link
link

Another few images of Silesian Landwehr

picture

picture

Prince of Essling04 Jul 2025 6:29 a.m. PST

I have uploaded various articles from Zeitschrift fur Heereskunde which include descriptions of landwehr uniforms to Media Fire. Note this is in German and is downloadable from PDF link

14Bore04 Jul 2025 9:25 a.m. PST

There is a lot more information now than when I made my Prussian Landwehr troops before the information age. But still enough doubt to make some unit out of the ordinary. Know some flags were used so have a couple with flags.

robert piepenbrink Supporting Member of TMP05 Jul 2025 7:23 a.m. PST

Yeah, the flags are a similar matter. We have descriptions of them marching out with flags, and we know the King ordered them all sent home fairly early--before, I think, any of the landwehr were in combat. WERE they all sent home? Hard telling. I haven't seen a verbal description of one later than the King's order, but as far as I'm concerned, they add color to the battlefield.

Parallel case. Lee ordered his regiments to fly the ANV flag and no other. No one talks much about it, but there were First Nationals captured well after that, and there's good evidence the Texans continued to fly the Lone Star. I paint my miniatures accordingly.

Prince of Essling05 Jul 2025 3:35 p.m. PST

On standards Warflag have the following (need to check my various files):

link

link

link

link

link

link

On 3 June 1814 the Landwehr were authorised to carry colours but they were not issued until after 15 June 1815 too late for the 1815 campaign.

Oliver Schmidt07 Jul 2025 5:56 a.m. PST

a bit on Landwehr flags:

TMP link

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