Bremen city military
Bremen city militaries existed in Bremen in various organizational forms as citizens' groups in the four parish teams, as Bremen citizens' companies , as Bremen rifle companies or as a vigilante / citizens' guild.
Citizens' group in the Middle Ages
Since the Middle Ages, every citizen of Bremen capable of military service had to be available to defend the city in the event of war and to have their own weapons and equipment ready. In the 13th and 14th centuries this so-called “civil armor” consisted of an iron helmet, an iron-studded tunic or breastplate, bracers and greaves, iron gloves, a battle sword, a spear and a shield. Armor and weapons were passed on to the oldest male heir. Gun shows and exercises took place regularly.
The organization of the able-bodied citizenship was established in four "parish teams " in the four parishes of Our Dear Women , St. Ansgarii , St. Martini and St. Stephani . Each team was subordinate to a captain from the Bremen council and an ensign from one of the families eligible for advice (the middle class upper class). The units were divided into groups according to neighborhoods, each led by a Rottmeister . Military training and control of the security services were the responsibility of the sergeants . In the 16th century, the differences grew depending on the parish. The captain of the Martini-Quartier had only 17 squads to command, while that of the St.-Stephani-Quartier had 94.
The task of the citizen troops was to guard the city walls and the city gates and to defend the city. Furthermore, the citizens' troops were also responsible for fighting fires. For operations outside the city limits, mostly volunteers and recruited troops were used.
Bremen citizens' companies
The Bremen Citizens 'Companies were the militia of the city of Bremen from 1605 to 1814. Initially set up as military units, the Citizens' Companies took on more and more civilian tasks in the 18th century.
The division of the troops according to parishes and ranks was poor due to the very different area sizes. There were also significant deficiencies in the training of the units compared to experienced mercenary troops. In order to improve the defense readiness of the city, the city walls as fortifications of Bremen were strengthened by modern bastions. A new watch order was drawn up, which included a reorganization of the parish teams.
As in the Hanseatic sister cities of Hamburg and Lübeck, the Bremen militia was reorganized, which was completed by 1607.
Bremen rifle company
The Bremen rifle company or rifle flag was a unit of the Bremen citizen militia with special tasks and privileges. It existed independently of the regular civic companies from the Middle Ages to the middle of the 17th century.
Bremen volunteer hunter corps
The Bremen Voluntary Jäger Corps was a Jäger corps which the sugar manufacturer Heinrich Böse - also known as "Captain Böse" or "the old Böse" - put together with his own funds and made it available to the Bremen Senate. It participated within the Hanseatic Legion from the end of 1813 to June 30, 1814 and from May to November 1815 in two campaigns of the Wars of Liberation against Napoleon .
At the beginning of 1814 it comprised around 800 men and 200 horses. Leading officers were for the hunters Heinrich Böse for the cavalry Major Max von Eelking and for the infantry battalion Major von Wedige. The Jäger Corps marched as far as Lille during the first campaign, but could not actively participate in the fighting. During the second campaign, the hunters were in action in Brussels, near Waterloo (Belgium) and in front of Paris.
Bremen vigilante group
founding
The Bremen Citizens' Guard , first called the Bremer Bürgergarde , was created after the French era in Bremen to secure the state. In 1813 the provisional government set up a commission as a war council, consisting of two, later four senators, the Syndicus Heinrich Gröning , the citizen representative Isak Hermann Albrecht Schumacher and other parents of the merchant ; this became the Armament Deputation in 1814 . Initially, a citizen guard in the style of the Landsturm was thought of, which should only take on defensive tasks and also serve to "protect against the danger of the elements" "for the peace within". The costs for the first equipment amounted to 32,510 Reichstaler .
The Senate was allowed to dispose of the vigilantes without restriction and only communicated this to the citizens. The armament deputation basically had the normal exercises and disciplinary matters.
Conscription
The civil guards recruited from the conscripts from the age of 18, soon 20 or later the 22nd year, who then had to serve until the age of 45. Disabled people, active soldiers, preachers and teachers, doctors and pharmacists, strangers, the poor (!), Firefighters and convicts were excluded from service. Initially, around 200 conscripts were recruited. Since 1844, compulsory military service only began at the age of 23 and ended at the age of 35. The General Adjutantur based in Eschenhof on Domsheide watched over the conscription.
structure
The civil guard was divided into three battalions , each with four companies of 150 men. One company each came from the Bremen countryside and three from the city area. Each battalion was led by the major, his lieutenant and the battalion sergeant. Multiple rejection by the population and lack of discipline in the vigilante group had to be recorded first.
In 1817 the vigilante group was combined into a regiment with now four battalions. The command of the regiment included the colonel, the adjutant general and the staff sergeant (later the staff adjutant).
The IV Battalion, which was added in 1817 and was always controversial, consisted of 20 to 25-year-olds who served two years. The aim was not to mix the young men with the older ones for five years. The staff of this battalion consisted of the major, an adjutant, a quartermaster, a staff sergeant, a staff drum as head of the drummers and a staff crescent blower . The IV Battalion was disbanded in 1834.
Armament and uniform
The men were armed with pikes and shotguns. The introduction of the percussion rifle took place in the 1850s. The uniform consisted of the overcoat , the hat with rolled up brim, the cartridge pouch , the epee belt and the bayonet scabbard . The member had to bear the costs himself until 1817.
guide
At the head of a battalion was a major , each with a quartermaster and an adjutant. There were also twelve companies, each with a captain , three lieutenants , a sergeant , two sergeants , a furier and eight corporals . The uniformed and armed members exercised regularly.
Colonel Heinrich Böse was in charge of the civil guard for the period from April 2, 1815 to April 29, 1817 ; his adjutant general was Major Max Freiherr von Eelking. From 1817 to 1831 Colonel Johann Gerhard Oelrichs was chief of the civil guard and from 1831 to 1849 Colonel von Eelking was chief. Battalion commanders were initially (1815) the majors Nicolaus Wolff, Johann Gerhard Oelrichs and Dr. Heinrich Groening. The colonel received no salary. After his appointment, Eelking continued to receive the adjutant general's salary as a major.
Further developments
The discipline of the entire troop, with the exception of the 4th Battalion, often left a lot to be desired. The running costs of the vigilante group amounted to 6,333 thalers in 1817. A portion of the costs was passed on to the new residents. The constitution of the vigilante group remained largely constant from 1835 to 1849. In 1842 the three battalions had 2,121 men.
The Schützenhof was the practice site for 31 years.
In the German Revolution of 1848/49 , many members sided with the revolutionaries. The Senate used the vigilante group for internal security. It was difficult for the regiment to ensure “peace and order”. Parts of the militia refused to intervene in 1848 and the lack of discipline could not be stopped.
resolution
In a request from 55 officers, they asked for the dissolution of the vigilante group in order to initiate a decisive reorganization. A senate commission examined the matter. On May 21, 1849 the vigilante group was initially dissolved and then re-established. The new regiment consisted of the headquarters and 13 regional companies corresponding to the 13 urban districts. Colonel Johann Hinrich Reuter became the new boss in 1850. Other officers in the staff were a lieutenant colonel , a major, two adjutants, an auditor , a staff fourier, four sergeants , a drumstick beater and a horn player . A voting procedure for the ranks was established. Colonel Reuter set up a line battalion with 675 regular soldiers in 1852/53 . In 1853 the vigilante group was therefore dissolved.
Infantry Regiment "Bremen" (1st Hanseatic) No. 75
The . Infantry Regiment "Bremen" (first Hanseatic) No 75 was from 1866 to 1918 an infantry - regiment of the Prussian army , which in Bremen and Stade was stationed. So it did not belong to the Bremen city military. It was housed in the barracks in the Neustadt district , Neustadtscontrescarpe , of which only barracks IV still exists.
See also
- Bremen rifle company
- Bremen citizens' companies
- Hamburg citizen military
- Lübeck city military
- Hanseatic Legion
literature
- Andree Brumshagen: The Bremen city military in the 17th and 18th centuries . State Archives Bremen, Bremen 2010.
- Herbert Black Forest : The Great Bremen Lexicon . Edition Temmen , Bremen 2003, ISBN 3-86108-693-X .
- Herbert Black Forest: History of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Volume 1-4. Extended and improved edition. Edition Temmen, Bremen 1995, ISBN 3-86108-283-7 .
- Johann Hermann Duntze: History of the free city of Bremen . Heyse Verlag, Bremen 1848.
- Johann Focke : From the Bremen city military . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . Volume 19, Bremen 1900.
- Klaus Schwarz: Companies, parishes and convents in Bremen 1606–1814 . In: Karl H. Schwebel (ed.): Publications from the State Archives of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen . Volume 37, Carl Schünemann, Bremen 1969, ISBN 978-3-11-000041-2 .
- Fritz Lemelson: The Bremen militia 1813-1853 . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . Volume 33, Bremen 1931.
- Peter Koster: Chronicle of the Imperial Free Imperial and Hanseatic City of Bremen 1600–1700 . Temmen, Bremen 2004, ISBN 3-86108-687-5 .