2. Leib-Hussar Regiment "Queen Victoria of Prussia" No. 2

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2. Leib-Hussars in maneuvers (before 1910)

The 2nd body hussar regiment "Queen Victoria of Prussia" No. 2 was a cavalry unit in the Prussian army in the tradition of the old Prussian hussar regiment H 5. It had no guard status .

Association membership

Viktoria Luise von Prussia in the uniform of the "Skull Hussars" of the 2nd Leib-Hussar Regiment "Queen Victoria of Prussia" No. 2, of which she was head of the regiment from 1909.
XVII. Army Corps in Danzig - Commanding General : General of the Cavalry August von Mackensen
36th Division in Danzig - Commander: Major General Konstanz von Heineccius
Leibhusaren Brigade in Danzig - Commander : Major General Eberhard von Schmettow
Regimental commander : Lieutenant Colonel Edler Herr and Freiherr von Plotho

history

Lineup

With the Highest Cabinet Order (AKO) of August 9, 1741, King Friedrich II founded the fifth Hussar Regiment (H 5) of the Prussian Army, which was initially called the Regiment Black Hussars . Major von Mackroth was appointed as the first chief of the regiment, but the unit did not use this name. By September 5, five squadrons had been raised and the towns of Ohlau , Münsterberg , Grottkau and Strehlen had been assigned as garrisons.

Ruesch hussars around 1756 (according to Richard Knötel uniform studies )

For the first time with the second chief, the regiment, as was customary at the time, was given his name for identification and was called from then on the Hussar Regiment " von Ruesch ". With each change of chief, the regiment name was also changed, so the unit was called:

division

With AKO on December 20, 1808, the regiment was split up and the 1st Leib-Hussar Regiment in Goldap and the 2nd Leib-Hussar Regiment in Prussian Stargard were formed. General von Prittwitz remained chief of the two regiments, which were always closely linked to one another. On November 23 and 24, 1817, the 2nd Leib-Hussars moved into their assigned garrisons. In the autumn of 1852 the regiment was transferred to Lissa and Posen , where it was renamed the 2nd Leib-Hussar Regiment No. 2 on May 7, 1861 . On April 1, 1886, the entire regiment was brought together in Posen, where it was named 2nd Leib-Hussar Regiment "Kaiserin" No. 2 on March 22, 1888 .

After the two Leib-Hussar regiments had been combined to form the Leibhusaren Brigade, they were assigned the new barracks in Danzig-Langfuhr as a garrison on September 14, 1901. At the same time, the 2nd Leib-Hussar Regiment "Kaiserin" No. 2 was renamed for the last time and from then on it was finally called the 2nd Leib-Hussar Regiment "Queen Victoria of Prussia" No. 2 .

Campaigns and fighting

On September 15, 1901, Kaiser Wilhelm II transferred the 2nd body hussar regiment "Queen Victoria of Prussia" to his new garrison in Danzig-Langfuhr. Colonel August von Mackensen rode to the emperor's side

The hussar regiment "von Ruesch" fought successfully in 1744 in the Second Silesian War in Bohemia near Smatschna and Moldauthain . With the cavalry attack of 22 squadron hussars led by General von Zieten on November 23, 1745, a Saxon army was wiped out near Katholisch-Hennersdorf . For their bravery, Frederick II awarded the black hussars the captured kettledrum, which the regiment wielded until 1918.

In the Seven Years' War (Third Silesian War) the regiment attacked on August 25, 1758 in the Battle of Zorndorf .

In the War of the Bavarian Succession in 1778/79, the hussars were only used in outposts and reconnaissance.

In the liberation war of 1813/14 the hussars fought near Großgörschen , the Katzbach , Möckern , Laon and Paris . On the night of January 1, 1814, the regiment was the first cavalry unit under Field Marshal Blücher to cross the Rhine near Kaub . After Napoleon's abdication , the unit moved into Paris with the victorious troops on August 14, 1814.

During the unrest in Poland in 1830, 1848 and 1863/64, the regiment stood as a security on the Prussian-Russian border.

In the war against Austria of 1866 the regiment fought in Bohemia and took part in the Battle of Königgrätz on July 3, 1866 .

The Franco-German War saw the body hussars in the battle of Weißenburg , Hagenau , Wörth and the battle of Sedan against the troops of Emperor Napoleon III. with subsequent transfer to the Southern Army in the Orléans area . On June 18, 1871, the regiment returned to its home garrison.

At the beginning of the First World War, the regiment moved to the western front on August 3, 1914 with its sister regiment (1st Leib-Hussar Regiment), with which it was to remain in the association of the Leib-Hussar Brigade throughout the war . The Hussars took part in the Battle of the Marne and the fighting for Arras and were relocated to the Eastern Front in autumn 1914. Here they fought first in Galicia and in the Battle of Riga and were involved in the occupation of the islands of Oesel and Dagö . The brigade was sent to Finland in 1917 to support the struggle for independence . After the peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Soviet Russia of March 3, 1918, the units remained as occupation troops in the Russian territories. In January 1919 the Leib-Hussars returned to Danzig, where demobilization began in spring and the regiment was disbanded.

Until the end of the war, the 2nd Leib-Hussar Regiment No. 2 had retained its cavalry status.

The tradition continued in the Reichswehr with the 2nd Squadron of the 5th (Prussian) Cavalry Regiment in Belgard .

Commanders

Rank Surname date
Lieutenant colonel Karl Anton Stephan Paul from La Roche-Aymon 1808
Lieutenant colonel Dietrich Christoph Gotthold from Cosel 1810
major Georg Friedrich von Kall March 27 to May 5, 1813
Colonel Otto von Stössel May 19, 1813 to September 9, 1818
major Franz Satorius von Schwanenfeld 1818
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel August von Hedemann November 29, 1821 to March 29, 1829
Lieutenant colonel Gustav von Munster-Meinhövel March 30, 1829 to March 29, 1830 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant colonel Wilhelm zu Eulenburg April 18, 1830 to April 22, 1831 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Wilhelm zu Eulenburg April 23, 1831 to March 17, 1839
Lieutenant colonel Konrad von Zedlitz-Neukirch March 30, 1839
Lieutenant colonel Ferdinand von Kaphengst 0April 7, 1842 to January 9, 1843 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant colonel Ferdinand von Kaphengst January 10, 1843 to March 29, 1844
Colonel August of Liège March 30, 1844
Colonel Otto Schimmelpfennig from Oye 0January 2, 1848
Colonel Hugo von Wrschowetz-Sekerka von Sedczicz June 30, 1855
Major / Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Eduard Moritz Flies 0January 8, 1857 to June 20, 1859
major Bernhard von Lindern June 20, 1859 to July 23, 1861 (in charge of the tour)
Major / Lieutenant Colonel Bernhard von Lindern July 24, 1861 to September 3, 1864
Lieutenant colonel Theodor von Schauroth 0September 4, 1864 to April 17, 1865 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Theodor von Schauroth April 18, 1865 to January 6, 1871
Lieutenant colonel Friedrich von Winterfeldt January 18, 1871 to December 14, 1873
Lieutenant colonel Paul Detmering December 17, 1873 to February 16, 1874 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Paul Detmering February 17, 1874 to March 13, 1882
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Ferdinand von Stein-Liebenstein zu Barchfeld March 14, 1882 to January 14, 1887
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Willy von Haeseler January 15, 1887 to June 15, 1891
Lieutenant colonel August von Bassewitz June 16, 1891 to June 16, 1893
major Karl von Sponeck June 17, 1893 to October 17, 1897
Major / Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Konrad von der Schulenburg October 18, 1897 to September 11, 1902
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Friedrich Wilhelm von Pfeil and Klein-Ellguth September 12, 1902 to July 1, 1908
Colonel Adolf Krahmer 0July 2, 1908 to April 21, 1912
Colonel Gebhard von Plotho April 22, 1912 to May 11, 1917
major Hasso von Bredow May 12, 1917

uniform

Black attila with white lacing. The fur was also black and trimmed with light gray. The fur hat had a white Kolpak and a black and white horsehair bush for the parade. On the front of the fur hat was a nickel silver skull and crossbones. This skull was also found in a greatly reduced form on the cap, where it was attached between the trim strip and the upper cockade. The national cockade was black and white, as was the lance flag. The skull differs in shape and size from that of the Brunswick Hussar Regiment No. 17 .

Regarding the color of the uniform, there is no reliable information, but two variants have survived:

a) are said to have been used for the uniform of the new regiment, the balls of black material with which the Potsdam Palace was lined in 1740 on the occasion of the memorial services for King Friedrich Wilhelm I.

b) the costs of establishing the regiment were raised from fines and goods from the Leubus Monastery ( Silesia ). The monks of the monastery had made a pact with the Austrians in 1740 and were to be punished in this way. In this monastery mainly black fabrics with white skulls were made for use as towels .

Since Prussia, as a not very rich country, has proven to have often improvised when creating new troops, both variations are not entirely impossible, but the latter seems closer to the probability.

Already ordered by AKO on February 14, 1907 and gradually introduced from 1909/1910, the colorful uniform was replaced for the first time by the field-gray field service uniform (M 1910) on the occasion of the imperial maneuver in 1913. This was completely similar to the peace uniform, but the lacing was gray. The leather gear and the boots were natural brown, the fur hat was covered by a fabric cover called reed-colored. The bandolier and the cartridge were no longer applied to this uniform.

The regiment was equipped with black horses .

Skull Hussars

Brunswick skull from 1815

" Totenkopfhusaren " was the popular name for the Brunswick Hussar Regiment No. 17 and for the 1st and 2nd Leibhusarenregiment in Danzig (Langfuhr) because of the skull worn on fur and cloth hats, which is said to be an old symbol of the fact that neither Pardon take still give. They are not to be confused with the Belling's hussars, called “The Whole Death” , who wore a complete skeleton with the inscription “ vincere, aut mori ” (“to win or to die”) on their hats.

Web links

literature

  • Hans Bleckwenn : The Frederician Uniforms 1753-1786 . Volume III: Mounted Troops. Dortmund 1984, ISBN 3-88379-444-9 .
  • Hugo FW Schulz: The Prussian Cavalry Regiments 1913/1914 . Weltbild Verlag, 1992.
  • Jürgen Kraus, Stefan Rest (Ed.): The German army in the First World War . Ingolstadt 2004.