Bosniak (lancer)

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Bosniaks is a term for cavalry units in several armies. The term was also used for "irregular cavalry units".

Prussian Army

Prussian Bosniak Regiment 1786

history

In the Prussian army , there were Bosniaks Lancer, which as a special department at since August 1, 1745 Hussars of Ruesch were on duty. In the summer of 1745 a mixed troop of 72 horsemen deserted under the leadership of the former gem dealer Stephan Serkis, originally part of a Polish - Saxon Uhlan regiment , recruited from the Electorate of Saxony against Prussia. As the financier of the troops, Serkis had not been sufficiently paid by the client, Count Brühl , and for this reason offered his services to the Prussian king. Frederick the Great appointed Serkis Rittmeister and his troop quickly proved themselves in the Second Silesian War .

This was the core of the later Bosniak regiment. The Bosniaks wore a picturesque uniform that quickly adapted to the hussar uniform and were the only Prussian horsemen to wield a light lance .

The troops took part in the Seven Years' War and were reinforced during this time up to ten squadrons with a total of around 1000 men. They were mainly used against the Russian Cossacks, who were also equipped with lances. The Bosniaks were also involved in the War of the Bavarian Succession and the fighting in Poland . In 1796 the Bosniak Corps was expanded by the allocation of a Tatar regiment consisting of former Polish soldiers.

In 1800 the Bosniaks were renamed the Towarzysz Regiment in order to win over the lower Polish landed gentry for arms service. "Towarzysz" (Polish = class comrade , fellow class member ; plural: Towarzysze ) were called the noble riders in the former Polish cavalry. Each of them commanded one or more "Pacholken" ( Pachołek , Polish = Page, squire) or "Podzones" ( Pocztowy , Polish = follower; Poczet , Polish = follower), who served as personal boys , but at the same time also did military service. The regiment's garrison was Lyck . The Towarzysze were exempt from dishonorable sentences. They only obeyed officers , non-commissioned officers of peasant origin were not regarded as equal. Towarzysze received double wages in the Prussian cavalry.

origin

The ethnic composition of the Prussian Bosniaks has not been definitively clarified. Originally it was assumed in the literature that because of the name they were all Bosniaks , that is, they came from Bosnia and were exclusively or predominantly Muslim Bosnians. Later information contradicts this: The Serkis troops were of Bosnian, Albanian, Turkish, Polish and Tatar origin or there were no Bosnians at all. This is supported by the fact that the group was recruited in the then Polish Ukraine - in Poland-Lithuania, light cavalry from the European part of the Ottoman Empire was called "Bosniaks". Bosniak was the general military term for this group of lancers at the time. Serkis himself was of Albanian or, as occasionally stated, of Aromanian descent and allegedly called his riders "Bosniaks" because he knew the Bosnians to be good riders.

Other armies

Bosniaks (Polish Bośniacy ) were also part of the Polish army in the first half of the 18th century. The Bosniaks, however, led a marginal existence alongside the Uhlans , who were at the same time part of the Polish military .

Bosniaks are also mentioned as lancers by the Danish hussars. There, based on the Prussian model, a squadron lancer was equipped with similarly fantastic uniforms. The Prussian Bosniaks were also a model for the Netherlands when the "Bosnian Uhlans" (Bosniaques) were set up as a formation of lancers.

See also

literature

  • Gerhard Förster, Peter Hoch, Reinhold Müller: Uniform of European armies. Gondrom Verlag, Bindlach 1987.
  • David v. Dziengel: History of the Royal Second Uhlan Regiment: also includes: The history of the Towarczys from 1675; the history of the Bosniaks from 1745; of the Tartar group of 1795; of the Towarczys from 1800, [...] , Potsdam 1858. Digitized from ULB Düsseldorf

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Franz Genthe: The Bosniaks in the Prussian Army. In: Scientific reports from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnian-Herzegovinisches Landesmuseum in Sarajewo, Volume 8, Vienna 1901, pp. 145–200, p. 161.
  2. ↑ a b Martin Guddat : Handbook on Prussian Military History 1701–1786. Mittler, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-8132-0732-3 , p. 35.
  3. ^ Hugo FW Schulz: The Prussian Cavalry Regiments 1913/1914 according to the law of July 3, 1913. Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, Friedberg 1985, ISBN 3-7909-0236-5 , p. 138; German Soldiers' Yearbook. 1961, p. 92; German Soldiers' Yearbook. 1972, p. 161; David v. Dziengel: History of the Royal Second Uhlan Regiment: also includes: The history of the Towarczys from 1675; the history of the Bosniaks from 1745; of the Tartar group of 1795; of the Towarczys from 1800, [...] , Potsdam 1858. Digital copy of the ULB Düsseldorf , p. 18ff.
  4. ^ A b Philip J. Haythornthwaite: Frederick the Great's Army: Cavalry Men-at-arms series. Osprey Publishing, 1991, ISBN 1-85532-134-3 , p. 35.
  5. ↑ German Soldiers' Yearbook . 1961, p. 95; Karl von Schöning: History of the Uhlan Regiment Graf Haeseler (2nd Brandenburg) No. 11. v. Schöning's history of the 2nd Brandenburg Uhlan Regiment No. 11 from its foundation to January 1, 1885. Mittler, Berlin 1906, p. 2.
  6. ^ Franz Genthe: The Bosniaks in the Prussian Army. In: Scientific reports from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnian-Herzegovinisches Landesmuseum in Sarajewo, Volume 8, Vienna 1901, pp. 145–200, p. 152.
  7. ^ A b Franz Genthe: The Bosniaks in the Danish army. In: Scientific reports from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnian-Herzegovinisches Landesmuseum in Sarajewo, Volume 8, Vienna 1901, pp. 201–203, here p. 202.
  8. ↑ a b German Soldiers' Yearbook. 1961, p. 92.
  9. ^ Christopher Duffy: The army of Frederick the Great. Hippocrene Books, 1974, p. 102.
  10. ↑ Muhamed Hadzijahic: The Beginnings of National Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In: Südost-Forschungen , 21 (1962), S. Hirzel, pp. 168–193, here: p. 181.