Sergeant Lieutenant
The rank of sergeant lieutenant ( also sergeant-lieutenant ) was the lowest officer rank in the German army since 1877 . In the Imperial Navy since 1916 he was the deck officer lieutenant .
Sergeant Lieutenant did not designate an "active" rank, but one of the "leave of absence" ( reserve ). Long-serving NCOs “on leave” ( reserve ) were promoted to sergeant lieutenants in times of peace, and professional NCOs during World War I. A further promotion to lieutenant was not intended, but occurred in a few rare cases during the First World War.
Officer candidates for active careers ( portepee ensigns ) and reserve careers ( one-year volunteers ) did not have this rank, they were promoted directly to lieutenant if they were suitable .
The designation sergeant lieutenant was also common in the cavalry and mounted artillery - contrary to their tradition of having sergeant ranks as "sergeants" (e.g. vice sergeants ).
The sergeant lieutenant had the rank of lieutenant, but always ranked behind a lieutenant because he did not have an officer license. Nor was he subject to the honorary jurisdiction of the officers' corps. In the hybrid position between sergeant and officer , the sergeant lieutenant resembled the warrant officer in the armed forces of the USA and Great Britain or the ensign of the armies of the later socialist states in the Warsaw Pact , such as the Soviet Army and the NVA .
The rank was abolished in the Reichswehr in spring 1920 . The owners had previously been given the choice of taking the officers' examination in order to be employed as active lieutenants. The vast majority, however, were retired as "Lieutenant of the Landwehr aD ", since the Reichswehr was prohibited from setting up reserve careers due to the Treaty of Versailles .
Use in the reserve troops and the sea battalion
The rank of Warrant Officer was in the reserve troops, the 1877 Sea Battalion , the Landwehr - Foot Artillery , the depot - squadrons and the militia introduced. As a reservist rank he was not used in the active troops in peacetime. Seriously experienced inactive and no longer compulsory NCOs could be appointed sergeant lieutenant under special conditions. In the event of war or mobilization , the sergeants should be used in the office or as platoon leaders. They shared the latter task with the officer deputies during the First World War .
Use in the cadet corps and in the castle guard company
In the cadet corps , each company had a sergeant lieutenant who was selected from the group of army sergeants who were entitled to supply (see civil supply ). He took care of the correspondence, the clothing administration and the supervision of the attendant staff. The caretakers of the cadet institutions could also be appointed sergeant lieutenants if they were former NCOs.
The personnel of the Prussian Castle Guard Company , which consisted only of NCOs, also included a sergeant -major at times.
uniform
The sergeant major wore the officer's uniform with braids and collar buttons of the vice sergeant's (mockingly: "Cain's mark"); in addition there were the lieutenant's shoulder pieces, but not the silver sash (field band). The side rifle (officer's sword) was carried on the team belt or on the bandolier .
The cadet sergeant-major put on the complete lieutenant's uniform (without the "Cain's mark" of the unpopular NCOs).
The historical forerunner: the sergeant-lieutenant
The indirect historical forerunner of the sergeant lieutenant was the sergeant-lieutenant. He acted as an adjutant in military units, fortresses and larger cities.
In Austria the Wachtmeister lieutenant has been proven since 1648, initially as a regimental adjudant and since 1769 also as a battalion adjudant. In uniform like a mounted officer, he was only ranked as the highest-ranking sergeant. Until 1752 he was "under the stick", i. that is, he was subject to the same penalty system as the other NCOs. From 1759 he put on a sash in battle that was to be worn over the right shoulder. In 1769 the name changed to regimental adjutant. In 1803 he received the rank of ensign, and since 1861 he was entitled to a state-paid ( Aryan ) service horse.
The establishment of the sergeant-lieutenant was also known in Prussia . In the 18th century, however, his duties seem to have been taken over by the most senior sergeants and officers.
In many German cities and fortresses of the 17th and 18th centuries, the sergeant-lieutenant was responsible for the security system and thus the superior of all guards. The office was tied to a specific location, i.e. H. the sergeant-lieutenant stayed behind when the garrison troops left town and moved to a new location.
See also
literature
- Curt Jany: History of the Prussian Army from the 15th century to 1914. 2nd supplemented edition, reprint. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1967.
- Jürgen Kloosterhuis : Legendary "tall guys". Sources on regimental culture of the royal grenadiers of Friedrich Wilhelm I, 1713–1740. Secret State Archive of Prussian Cultural Heritage, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-923579-03-9 .
- Ralf Pröve : Standing Army and Urban Society in the 18th Century. Göttingen and its military population 1713–1756 (= contributions to military history. Vol. 47). Oldenbourg, Munich 1995. ISBN 3-486-56060-3 (also: Göttingen, Univ., Diss., 1992).
Web links
- Sergeant Lieutenant . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 6, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 120.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Decree of April 28, 1920, published in the Heeres-Verordnungsblatt , Volume 2, No. 31 (April 30, 1920), Berlin 1921, p. 411