Imperial Foot

The Imperial troops came into their own after Wallenstein became active in recruiting and equipping the Bohemian troops in the early 1630’s. These troops, in general, wore red, green, yellow or un-dyed woolen coats. For example, Wallenstein’s guard at Lutzen wore red with light blue lining and trim while the foot guard was trimmed with gold and silver. His brother, Berthold Wallenstein, had a foot unit which wore green coats and Max Wallenstein’s foot wore yellow coats. The later Austrian/Imperial army absorbed most of Wallenstein’s army.
The Imperial eagle was commonly found in the colors of the troops and often had the arms of the  Emperor, Ferdinand II, in the center. This basic pattern was adopted in the middle war years and initially used by the regiments employed by the Emperor. As a field sign, the Imperialists favored a red sash based on Wallenstein’s orders from May 1632 but also used green or yellow.

Unit History – Goltz IR (Imperial 1626 - 1639)
The regiment, Goltz, is based on one of the Imperialist regiments at the battle of Lutzen under the command of Pappenheim. Formed in 1626, this High German regiment saw action, as part of Pappenheim’s force, in relief of Stade and, in 1632, was part of expeditionary force in Saxony. The unit was held in reserve at Weissenfels (November 1632), a major skirmish just prior to Lutzen. At Lützen, the regiment, of roughly 700 men, has part of Pappenheim’s covering force and was commanded at the battle by Oberst Martin Maximilian Freiherr von der Goltz.
After Lützen and Pappenheim’s death, the regiment was assigned to Holk’s Corps which invaded Saxony. The regiment was ravaged by typhus and starved in Saxony which had been stripped of any supplies by the various campaigns. Holk died in September 1633 of the plague and the unit was transferred to Silesia for the 1634 campaign. In Silesia, it joined the Imperial Corps under the command of Rodolfo Colloredo.
In 1636, the unit fought at Wittstock (October 1636) on the left flank as part of Hatzfeld’s corps. At Chemnitz (April 1639), the unit was part of Marrazino’s corps which was decisively defeated by Baner. Marrazino survived the court-martial but never commanded again.
The flag is based on the historical remnants of Imperial flags found in the Swedish museum but it is difficult to attribute to the specific unit.

Unit History – Alt-Sachsen IR (Imperial 1618 - 1634)
The regiment, Alt-Sachsen, is based on one of the Imperialist regiments at the battle of Lützen under the command of Obstlt Bernhard Hemmerle. Originally raised by the Inhaber, Heinrich Julius Herzog zu Sachsen-Lauenburg in 1618. The regiment initially fought in minor actions under Bucquoy before fighting at the battle of White Mountain (November 1620).
Later was part of Wallenstein’s forces in the Dessau campaign in 1626 against the Danes. Fought at Wolgast (August 1628) against the Danish forces. In 1630, the regiment was part of Gartz’s Corps in Pomeria. In 1631, it was with the force garrisoning Frankfurt an der Oder. The garrison force was under the command of Schaunenburg and tried but failed to block the Swedish advance. 
The regiment fought at Alte Veste (September 1632) and Lützen (November 1632) under the command of Wallenstein. At Lützen, the regiment of roughly 800 men was in the center in the 2nd Echelon along with the Colloredo IR.
After Lützen and Pappenheim’s death, the regiment was assigned to the Grana Brigade which was part of Holk’s Corps which invaded Saxony. The brigade consisted of the Alt-Sachsen IR, the Alt-Breuner IR and Grana IR. The regiments were ravaged by typhus and starved in Saxony which had been stripped of any supplies by the various campaigns. Holk died in September 1633 of the plague and the unit was transferred to Silesia for the 1634 campaign. In Silesia, it joined the Imperial Corps under the command of Rodolfo Colloredo but disappeared from the records soon after.
The flag of the unit is speculative and is based on the coat-of-arms of Sachsen Lauenburg combined with the Imperial eagle on a background of the traditional Sachsen green and white field. It was quite common to see the combination of a coat-of-arms and the Imperial eagle in the period.

Unit History – Chiesa IR (Imperial 1618 - 1637)The regiment, Chiesa, later called Kehraus, is based on one of the Imperialist regiments at the battle of Alte Veste under the command of Wallenstein. The regiment was formed in 1618. At Breitenfeld (September 1631), the regiment fought in the center under the command of Otto Friedrich von Schonberg who was an experienced officer who had been with Tilly since the beginning of the war. Schonberg was killed in the battle. 
Later the regiment fought at Alte Veste (September 1632) and Lützen (November 1632) where the regiment savagely fought as Kehraus under the command of Wallenstein in the center against the Swedish Yellow IR. The regiment was commanded at the battle by Oberst Andreas Matthias Kehraus - hence the reference.
Assigned to Holk’s corps after the battle, the regiment was brigaded into Dietrichstein’s Brigade consisting of three regiments: Kehraus, Max Wallenstein and Dietrichstein. After supporting the invasion of Saxony, the regiment was ravaged by typhus and starved in Saxony which had been stripped of any supplies by the various campaigns.
It later fought at Nordlingen (September 1634) with the remaining 150 men mustering for service January 1637 in Gallas’s army after his disastrous failure during the 1636 campaign.
The flag is based on the historical remnants of common Imperial flags found in the Swedish museum. The specific flag of the unit is unknown.

Unit History – Pappenheim IR (Imperial 1631 – 1634)
This regiment was raised in 1631 for Imperial service and was part of Rudolf Sax-Lauenburg Corps located around Donauwerth during the 1631 Swedish advance into Germany. A detachment fought at Alte Veste (September 1632). 
In 1634, the regiment was part of the garrison of Prague.
In 1636, the unit fought at Wittstock (October 1636) on the left flank as part of Hatzfeld’s corps.
The flag incorporates the traditional Imperial eagle on a yellow and white field and would likely have been used by the unit.
Interestingly there is an earlier Pappenheim IR raised by the Bavarians in 1621 for the Catholic League. It saw service as a garrison force at Riva in Northern Italy during 1625 and was later at Breitenfeld (September 1631). Their commander, Filip Pappenheim, was killed during the battle with the unit being effectively destroyed in the subsequent retreat. Filip’s more famous cousin was the overall Imperial Cavalry commander, Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, who was killed at Lutzen.
The flag of the second unit would have had the traditional Bavarian colours of sky blue and white. 

Additional Flags
The attached colours are a variety of flags captured from Imperial troops by the Swedes during the 1630’s campaigns found in the Swedish museum.

 

More flags using the double headed eagle which is a common feature of Imperial units.



Sources
Text: Uniforms of the Thirty Years War by Bill Boyle in Time Portal Passage Summer 2000
Battles of the Thirty Years War From White Mountain to Nordlingen, William P. Guthrie, Greenwood Press, 2002.
The Later Thirty Years War From the Battle of Wittstock to the Treaty of Westphalia, William P. Guthrie, Greenwood Press, 2003.
Osprey's Lützen 1632 (Campaign Series), Richard Brezezinski, 2001.
Swedish Museum link: http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/search?query=fana+trettio%C3%A5riga