service in the field of any of the minor German armies. The oldest
regiments date from the Thirty Years' War, in which the veteran army
of the Catholic league, commanded by Count Tilly and formed on the
nucleus of the Bavarian army, played a conspicuous part. Later in the
war the Bavarian general, Count Mercy, proved himself a worthy
opponent of Turenne and Conde. Henceforward the Bavarians were engaged
in almost every war between France and Austria, taking part
successively in the wars of the Grand Alliance, the Spanish Succession
(in which they came into conflict with the English), and the Polish
and Austrian Succession wars. In pursuance of the traditional
anti-Austrian policy, the troops of Bavaria, led by a distinguished
Bavarian, Marshal (Prince) Wrede, served in the campaigns of 1805 to
1813 side by side with the French, and Napoleon made the electorate
into a kingdom. But in 1813 Bavaria joined the Alliance, and Wrede
tried to intercept the French on their retreat from Leipzig. Napoleon,
however, inflicted a severe defeat on his old general at Hanau, and
opened his road to France. In 1866 the Bavarians took part against
Prussia, but owing to their dilatoriness in taking the field, the
Prussians were able to beat them in detail. In 1870, reorganized to
some extent on Prussian lines, they joined their former enemy in the
war against France, and bore their full share in the glories and
losses of the campaign, the II. Bavarian corps having suffered more
heavily than any but the III. Prussian corps. The I. Bavarian corps
distinguished itself very greatly at Sedan and on the Loire. Bavaria
still retains her separate war office and special organization, and
the troops have been less affected by the Prussian influence than
those of the other states. The Bavarian corps are numbered separately
(I. Bav., Munich; II. Bav., Wurzburg; III. Bav., Nuremberg), and the
old light blue uniforms and other distinctive peculiarities of detail
are still maintained.