Garrison Calbe (Saale)

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The city of Calbe has been a garrison town several times in its history .

Beginnings under Saxon rule

According to the provisions of the Peace of Westphalia , the former Archdiocese of Magdeburg was to become a Brandenburg duchy after the death of the administrator August von Sachsen-Weißenfels , which then came into effect in 1680 . Right from the start, the citizens of Calber had a divided and sometimes tense relationship with the Brandenburg- Prussian military. When it in 1675 to the historic Battle of Fehrbellin was that Calbenser hid their cattle from the pervading Brandenburg troops. In 1677 the Saxon lieutenant colonel von Lichtenhain had a gallows erected on the market square against the resistance of the city council, on which the names of the deserted soldiers were posted.

Calbe as a Brandenburg and Prussian garrison

After 1680 , under the "Great Elector " Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg, the military must have been in Calbe, because it is thanks to the Brandenburg soldiers who sounded the alarm that the citizens were made aware of a rapidly spreading city ​​fire in 1683 .

Even under "Soldier King" Friedrich Wilhelm I , the quarters were still occupied sporadically. In 1722 the entire "Dessau Regiment" ( Infantry Regiment No. 3 ), the model military unit under General Field Marshal Leopold Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, was in Calbe for 7 weeks.

The cantonal regulations introduced by Friedrich Wilhelm I provided that boys from Calbe were drafted into Infantry Regiment No. 5 , the "King's Body Regiment". In special emergencies, such as the death of the father's handicraft business owner, the sons could be released from military service in the interests of a prosperous economy. A ransom was also possible with considerable sums of money. Likewise, sons from the middle and upper classes could join voluntary associations such as the Freikorps .

Breastplate (cuirass) of the cuirassiers in the Calbe / Saale home parlor

Even at the beginning of the reign of Frederick II (the Great) , Calbe was not regularly used as a military headquarters. In the winter months in particular, the soldiers had to be housed in the town houses, barracks did not yet exist. It is noticeable, however, that under Frederick II, the number of occupations expanded both in terms of time and number of crews.

In 1741 and 1742 four companies of Infantry Regiment No. 9 ( von Leps ) were quartered in Calbe. In 1743 and in the following years (until 1752 ?) The second battalion of Infantry Regiment No. 47 (Fusilier Regiment Hessen-Darmstadt) was in the city. In 1743 635 members of the military ( officers , NCOs , soldiers and wives) had to be housed in Calbe, not counting the soldiers' children, and that with a population of around 3,000.

From 1753 to 1806 Calbe became the permanent location for an squadron (two companies) of the cuirassier regiment No. 3 , the so-called body cuirassier regiment of the king. The citizens owe that not two squadrons were brought to Calbe to the fact that the city was at the forefront of wool fleece production for the military. (The council had advised Frederick II that too many soldiers in the city would hinder the production of cloths. The king recognized that.)

The Seven Years 'War ( 1756  - 1763 ) brought Calbe back in 1757 for the first time after the Thirty Years' War with hostile billeting, looting, harassment and demands for contributions from the troops of the Imperial Army , the Austrians , Russians and French .

In addition to the stationing of the squadron body cuirassiers, there were occasional occupations by other troops.

Units that stopped in Calbe in 1778 before moving to Bohemia in the War of the Bavarian Succession :

1781 made 2887 man in Calbe station (with a population of 3,161) used for maneuvers with troops parade in Körbelitz in Magdeburg plated,

In 1806, with the beginning of Napoleonic rule, Calbe's time as a garrison ended.

Sufferings of the soldiers

  • Extremely high loss rates (death and wounds) in the body regiment
  • “Hard blows” ( running the gauntlet ) in the event of theft, which also led to the death of soldiers stationed in Calbe
  • Public hanging of those deserters on the market square who had been captured again and defended themselves (Soldier Kallenbach was dragged after the hanging and buried outside of Calbe.)
  • Half-shaving of the head for soldiers in transport services to make their desertions more difficult

Rewarding retired soldiers

In Calbe (just as everywhere in Prussia), retired soldiers were given citizenship rights if they wanted to settle here as foreigners and were able to become master craftsmen on more favorable terms than “unserved” craftsmen . This led to resentment and indignation from the "long-established residents". Laid-off military personnel were in Calbe, among others, restaurant owners , suburban - teacher or postmaster .

Burdens on the citizens of Calbe

  • Accommodation for the soldiers
  • Food for the soldiers
  • Guarding the soldiers (walling up the windows of soldiers' quarters, locking the doors, chaining ladders)
  • Noise and restlessness
  • Frequent thefts
  • Impairment of your own freedom
  • Brutalities of the superiors towards the soldiers
  • Guard houses and gallows in the market
  • Unbearable arrogance of the officers who despised the citizens

However, some professions, particularly those in the clothing and utility industries, benefited from garrisonings and militarization.

swell

  • Reccius, Adolf, Chronik der Heimat (documented news about the history of the district town of Calbe and its immediate surroundings), Calbe / Saale 1936.
  • Hävecker, Johann Heinrich, Chronica and description of the towns of Calbe, Acken and Wantzleben as well as the Closter of God's grace ..., Halberstadt 1720.

literature

  • Hertel, Gustav, History of the City of Calbe on the Saale , Berlin / Leipzig 1904.
  • Steinmetz, Dieter H., In search of historical traces - A city tour in Calbe an der Saale (see web link).

Web links