Old Prussian Cuirassier regiments

The 13 Cuirassier regiments of Old Prussia (Kavallerieregimenter der altpreußischen Armee) were formed in the mid-17th to mid-18th centuries, and formed the basis of Frederick the Great's vaunted cavalry.

The cavalry regiments were the largest organization units of the old Prussian mounted troops. Between 1644 and 1806, 35 cavalry regiments were gradually formed. Initially called Regiments of Horse (Regiment zu Pferde), eventually these regiments were also differentiated according to different types of troops: Cuirassier Regiment, Dragoon Regiment, Hussar Regiment. The first mounted (horse) troops were simply called cavalry, then the dragoons (mounted infantry), and the hussars only midway through the 18th century. The size of the regiments varied between the types of troops. In the course of time, the regiments also changed within a cavalry type. At the time of Frederick the Great, Cuirassier and Dragoon regiments usually consisted of five squadrons, hussar regiments of ten squadrons. In the early-modern period (up to about 1800), units bore the name of their colonels, also called the Proprietor (Inhaber). If the regiment belonged to the king or one of the princes, he had colonels who commanded the regiments for him, and the regiment bore the name of the king. After the Prussian military reorganization in 1806, the units were given numbers.

Army standard and reorganization

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Until 1806, all army units were garrisoned in specific towns. They could stay there for years, absent wars, and might grow old and die in their garrison. In Berlin, for example, a traveler noted that the men were so underpaid that they could barely feed themselves; consequently, they indulged in lawlessness which their officers either could not or did not prevent.[1]

Cuirassier regiments

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The Regiment was established by Colonel Jakob von Bulow by advertising in 1672, and immediately received the name of the Leib Regiment at its foundation. The uniform was a buff-colored leather tunic with dark blue cuffs, collar and waistcoat. In 1805, tunic was changed to a white color. The coats and waistcoat were covered with a blue velvet trim, in which a white stripe (among the officers a golden dress). The men wore a bicorne hat, and during combat they had an iron skullcap underneath it. The regiment canton (recruiting district) was part of the Aschersleben, the third district of the Holzkreis, and the cities Kochstedt, Schönebeck, Frohsa, Saltz, Hamersleben, Mannsfeld and Gerbstädt, amounting to 4429 households comprised its recruiting district.

„Horse Regiment“

Horse Regiment“

„Horse Regiment“

„Horse Regiment“

Horse Regiment

1691 as "Bayreuth" founded. 1691 Christian Heinrich von Bayreuth-Kulmbach, 1712 Albert Wolfgang von Bayreuth-Kulmbach, 1716 Stephan von Dewitz, 1723 Friedrich von Egeln, 1734 Friedrich Siegmund von Waldow („Jung-Waldow“), 1742 Friedrich Wilhelm von Rochow, 1757 Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, 1774 Maximilian Sigmund von Pannewitz, 1787 Karl Friedrich Adam von Schlitz gen. Görtz, 1797 Ludwig Ferdinand Friedrich von Heising. 1806 capitulation at Pasewalk.

Horse Regiment

Leib-Carabiniers“

Horse Regiment“

Garde du Corps“

* 1740 as Lehreskadron.

Old Prussian Dragoon Regiments

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Old Prussian Hussar Regiments

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References

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  1. ^ Adam Neale, Travels through some parts of Germany, Poland, Moldavia and Turkey, 1818, p. 60-61.
  2. ^ In älterer Literatur findet sich die (auf einem Druckfehler beruhende) Angabe, das Regiment wäre von einem Obersten Nicolaus von Below begründet worden. Einen solchen gab es zu dieser Zeit nicht. Vgl. Gustav Lehmann: Die brandenburgische Kriegsmacht unter dem Großen Kurfürsten. In: Forschungen zur brandenburgischen und preußischen Geschichte, Band 1, Leipzig 1888, dort S. 478 ff.
  3. ^ Curt Jany bezeichnet ihn in Band III, S. 360 as Vater des Reichskanzlers. Vater ist vielmehr Friedrich Adolf Ludwig von Bismarck.