Infantry Regiment Rechteren..

As promised a post on the regiment that didn't quite manage to make the June painting totals...

Rechteren's Regiment of Foot, were a Dutch regiment from the Overijssels region of Holland (a province of the Netherlands, in the central eastern part of the country) their official number was Infanterie Regiment 672h, and they were established in 1672, as Polentz's Infantry (as usual named after their first colonel, A Willem van Polentz).


From 1695 the regiment was under the command of Ernst Lodewijk van Wilcke, from 1704 however, Reint van Rechteren took over - there are some interesting people involved here so apologies for the small detour..

Wilcke was from Saxony but entered Dutch service in 1689 at the fairly late age of 39 - given he entered service as a Major in IR 671D (also known to those of you who follow my units as Regiment Goor, another Dutch unit I've just completed), I'm assuming he was gainfully employed elsewhere before he took the post. He served as major for two years, before taking the post of Lieutenant Colonel of IR 673B (van Keppel's) for four years, before finally taking command of this regiment in 1695.

While in command he was promoted to brigadier (in 1702), and it was shortly after this that Rechteren was promoted to the position of Kolonel-commandant. Apparently this was usual in the Dutch army - any regiment with a general officer had a Colonel Commandant - presumably to lead the regiment while the senior commander was away doing other duties.

Following disagreements** over promotion he went into service with Hessen-Kassel as a major general in 1704, shortly before the Schellenberg/Blenheim campaign, at which point Reint van Rechteren took full command of the regiment before being promoted Colonel in 1705.


Wilcke finally went on to make general in 1714 after service with Hesse-Kassel he went into the service of the Elector of Saxony - and eventually died in 1725 aged 72 - not bad in those days.

Reinhard (Reint) van Rechteren, was born in 1659 so was six years younger than Wilcke, and also had a title of Heer van Westerveld. One is tempted to think that there may have been a little friction between the grizzled veteran, and the young titled upstart, when Rechteren took the position of Colonel Commandant - but no evidence of any kind to back it up!

Rechteren had been Lieutenant Colonel in another regiment before getting this promotion - but only for a year - I can't find any other evidence of his serving elsewhere, so obviously there was plenty of "interest" being called on... I think that Reint's brother may have been Adolf Hendrik van Recheren, who was responsible for organizing the logistical support for Marlborough's march to the Danube in 1704. As it happens he was also Field Deputy for Overijssel during the War of the Spanish Succession - and therein may lie the clue to Reint's rapid promotion???

The interweb tells me that Rechteren lived in a manor house 3.5 km from the center of Zwolle in what is today called 'het westerveldse bos' or the Westerveld forest. There's none of it left any more so I can't show you pictures, but as it happens, Zwolle is in the Overijssels region - which is also where the regiment originated. The only other informnation I have is that the manor house belonged to Reint until he died in 1732, before being passed on to another member of the family.

Apologies for the overload of information - I find it almost impossible not to find this kind of stuff interesting when studying the units I am representing on the wargame table!

The figures are all 15mm Minifigs - there is no known information on what the regimental colours would have been so I had to make a guess. Given the regiment came from the Overijssels area, and that their Colonel also came from Zwolle, I decided to use the city colours for Zwolle..

Anyhow - the regiment served at most of the major engagements of the period including the Boyne:

1690 Boyne
1704 Schellenberg, Blenheim
1706 Oostende
1708 Rijssel, Oudenard
1709 Malplaquet

At the Schellenberg they were in Beynheym's/Beinheim's Brigade (6 battalions of Foot) with Goor (Dutch), Beinheim (Dutch), Hirzel (Swiss/Dutch), Sturler (Swiss/Dutch) & Heidebrecht (Ansbach). At Blenheim with very little change they were in Major General the Prince of Holstein-Beck's Brigade of 5 battalions of Foot with Heidebrecht (Ansbach), Sturler (Swiss/Dutch), Hirzel (Swiss/Dutch) and Goor (Dutch).

** My thanks to Dan Schorr for the following - Apparently Wilcke's departure from Dutch service was the result of being passed over for promotion to Major General. On 14 April 1704 Beynheym and Pallandt were promoted Major Generals. Wilcke thought that he was the senior to these two and should have been promoted before these. Marlborough got involved writing to the Dutch authorities in June 1704 for clarification. Apparently, the result was not in Wilcke's favor and he left Dutch service around that time. Wilcke entered Hesse-Kassel service as a Major General prior to Schellenburg/Blenheim. He commanded a brigade of Hesse-Kassel troops under Cutts on the left wing during the battle.