"The advent of the skirmisher marked the beginning of a new epoch in warfare. "- Charles WhiteUniforms
In 1806, Jaeger uniform was a black bicorne with dark green feather plume. Coats were dark green with red collars and cuffs. The coat was closed to the waist with dark green lapels. Breeches were white with knee boots.
In 1808, the Foot Jaeger Regiment was reorganised into the East Prussian Jaeger battalion and the Garde-Jager battalion. The uniform of the Garde-Jager battalion is pictured below. Both battalions had similar uniforms - ie Black shako with tall black feather plume and green cords, dark green coat with red collar, cuffs and shoulder straps. The turnbacks were also piped red. Grey overalls with knee boots were worn on campaign. The plume was also not worn on campaign and the shako was covered with an oil skin. The Garde-Jager had the following distinctions - yellow guard lace on collars and cuffs, star badge on shako front.
Regimental HistoryInterest in light infantry tactics increased across Europe after the Battle of Valmy, where the Prussian line infantry proved unable to break through the French sharpshooters. Initially soldiers were drawn directly from the line infantry to fight as skirmishers instead, but in time many German-speaking states adopted Jäger to fulfill this role. In theory the Jäger operated in pairs to protect each other while reloading, and remained within 100-200 yards of close-order infantry on which they could fall back if they were endangered by cavalry or driven off by infantry. However, it was admitted that, due to the difficulty of controlling troops spread out in open-order and in the thick of battle, these guidelines might not always be followed. Jäger were allowed to act with a certain amount of initiative on the battlefield, unlike line infantry who were rigidly drilled and kept under tight control by their officers. For this reason, it was the most energetic and daring soldiers who were selected to become Jäger.
The Jägers were armed with rifles (regular or as gifts from huntsmen and foresters) and "were always considered a crack formation." They were the most professional elite of the infantry. Some were huntsmen and foresters and experienced marksmen and experts at concealement in wooded area. Unfortunately there were only very few formations of jägers. In 1815 additional battalion of jägers was raised from the Saxon Jäger Battalion, Saxon 'Volunteer Banners' and jäger company of Russo-German Legion. The Saxons however had little enthusiasm for the war in 1815 and serving in the Prussian army.
The Guard Jäger Battalion (Garde-Jäger-Bataillon ) has its origins back to the wars of King Frederick the Great. In 1813 and 1814 they fought in numerous engagements but didn't see any action in 1815. They wore dark green coats, red collars and cuffs, grey trousers, shako covered with oilcloth, cartridge box with brass star. They were armed with rifles and bayonets.
In 1813 and 1814 the Prussian guard was attached to the Russian Imperial Guard. In 1815 the Guard Brigade and Grenadier Brigade were part of a separate corps.
The Royal Guard have participated in some heavy fighting during the campaign of 1813 in Saxony. The Foot Guard Regiment and Guard Jäger Battalion had very high losses at Großgörschen (Lutzen). They did fight at Leipzig and at Paris. The Guard Jägers took part in a lot of minor skirmishes troughout the 1813/14 campaign.
