Tilsit Garrison
The Tilsit garrison was the northernmost garrison of the Prussian army . In the German Reich it resided until the evacuation and destruction of Tilsit's units of the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht .
history
In 1655, during the Second Northern War , a company of Brandenburg-Prussian soldiers was stationed in Tilsit for the first time . As early as 1659, around 1000 Brandenburg riders were also ready to fend off a possible crossing of the Swedes over the Memel ; however, there were only minor battles in Courland at that time . A few years later, in 1663, the Schwerin regiment was also moved to Tilsit. Since there was no fighting against the Swedes either, the Schwerins were withdrawn in 1664. Only when the Swedish field marshal Henrik Horn succeeded in invading Prussia in 1678 did the Brandenburg defenders lose the Tilsit Ordensburg and Ragnit Castle . On January 29, 1679, the Swedes were defeated by further troops under Colonel Joachim Henniges von Treffenfeld in the Battle of Splitter. They captured a horse standard , eight dragoon flags and two kettledrons . The Schwedenfriedhof in Splitter commemorates this battle.
First deployments
Under Friedrich von Dönhoff and Otto Magnus von Dönhoff , the previous Schwerin regiment was relocated to Tilsit as Grenadier Regiment 1 in 1687 . With this regiment, later in the East Prussian Grenadier Regiment No. 1 "Crown Prince" , Tilsit had the first standing force .
The Tilsiter Regiment was not used in the Northern War; it performed a barrier service against the Great Plague, which was invading from Poland . 1,632 Tilsiter died, about two thirds of the population at that time. In the rétablissement, new settlements and relocation of strong garrison sections helped the depopulated areas to regain their upswing. Thus, from 1714 to 1717, the Cuirassier - Regiment of the Margrave Albrecht Wolfgang von Brandenburg-Bayreuth moved to Tilsit. On April 19, 1717, 600 royal Saxon riders formed the Wuthenau Dragoon Regiment . The so-called "Porcelain Dragoons" were garrisoned from 1727 to 1920 after divisions and interruptions - most recently as the "Prince Albrecht of Prussia" (Litthauisches) No. 1 dragoon regiment . There were also parts of the hussar division of Wuthenau (1723–1726), the Dockum hussars (1727–1732), the Cosell hussars (1732–1737) and the “von Suter” hussar regiment (1779–1782).
Parts of Infantry Regiment No. 2, Cuirassier Regiment No. 8, Dragoon Regiment No. 7, Hussars No. 1 and 5 were stationed in Tilsit. If no exercises took place, units were mainly released for agricultural work. The horses were of great help to the farmers. On the other hand, their accommodation was provided by the farmers. Houses were built near the royal domain of Ballgarden, which were left to craftsmen with the obligation to take two soldiers with horses into quarters. In order to get rid of such requirements, the citizens built a barracks for a squadron in what would later become Kasernenstrasse. Another barracks was soon built on Königsberger Strasse, on Meerwisch. Other parts of the regiments remained in the barracks and garrison street in civil quarters . At that time the parade ground was the Anger. The garrison church on Deutsche Strasse, built in 1730, had to be demolished because it was used as a warehouse by the Russians at the time of the Seven Years' War and had become dilapidated in 1763. In their place a garrison school was established for the children of the Tilsit troops. The dragoons stationed in Tilsit fought in both Silesian Wars and in the Battle of Groß-Jägersdorf .ni during the Seven Years' War
Garrison School
The garrison had had a garrison school since 1779, which had been founded especially for the children of NCOs and military officials. The first school teacher was the former dragoons Gottfried Althäuser , who served in the school until 1792. The Garnion School existed until 1919.
Wars of Liberation
The Tilsiter Dragoon Regiment No. 7 fought in the battle of Jena and Auerstedt with the hussar detachments in the L'Estocq corps . Because of its special bravery it was not dissolved after the Peace of Tilsit , but on September 14th 1808 it was reorganized within the East Prussian brigade under the name of Dragoon Regiment "Prince Albrecht of Prussia" (Litthauisches) No. 1 (founded in 1717). It belonged to the I. Army Corps (Prussia) under Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg , who moved into Tilsit, which was hurriedly evacuated by the Grande Armée on January 1, 1813, and set up his headquarters here. The Dragoon Regiment took part in the Wars of Liberation from 1813 to 1815.
The dragoons wore cornflower blue uniforms with red axel flaps and yellow buttons. The regimental strength was set at 23 officers , 61 NCOs , 468 men and 13 trumpeters . In 1860 the regiment received another, the 5th Squadron . The 2nd squadron was delivered to Ragnit until 1878 . The DR 1 took part in the German War and the Franco-German War . From parts of East Prussian cavalry , the Reserve Dragoon Regiment 1 was set up on August 1, 1870 under Lieutenant Colonel von Keltsch in Tilsit. When passing through Königsberg i. Pr. On August 7, 1870 for the war effort against France, this reserve regiment was given the standard of the former 1st Landwehr Cavalry Regiment from 1813 by the Deputy General Command .
Empire
In 1878 the whole dragoon regiment "Prince Albrecht of Prussia" (Litthauisches) No. 1 was able to move into the new barracks in Bahnhofstrasse. The Tilsit garrison was expanded in 1885 by the 2nd Battalion of the "von Boyen" (5th East Prussian) No. 41 infantry regiment set up in Königsberg on July 1, 1860 , which moved into the newly built barracks in Stolbecker Strasse. After the building of a new barracks had been completed across from the old infantry barracks in Stolbecker Strasse, the regimental headquarters and 1st Battalion IR 41 as well as the military district command were relocated to Tilsit in 1901. A provision office was set up in Magazinstrasse between Landwehrstrasse and Lindenstrasse. After the district command moved into the new infantry barracks, the vacated rooms on Fabrikstrasse and the corner of Wasserstrasse could be used to expand the garrison hospital .
A garrison was (even then) of great economic importance. In Tilsit the music corps and the trumpet corps of the Dragoons also enriched cultural life. Music masters were Adolf Poggendorf , August Berger and Walter Harmens . At that time the officers of the Russian garrison Tauroggen liked to frequent Tilsit's Hotel de Russie . The fiftieth anniversary of the IR 41 in May 1910 was celebrated in a big way.
First World War
The First World War brought some changes for the garrison and the city. In the association of the 1st Division (German Empire) the IR 41 moved into the field under Colonel Schönfeld and the DR 1 under Major Graf von Kanitz . At the beginning of the war, East Prussia faced an offensive by the Russian army . Both regiments did an excellent job in the Battle of Gumbinnen and the Battle of Tannenberg (1914) , but suffered heavy losses. Since Tilsit had already been evacuated by all troops on August 21, 1914, the city and its surroundings were occupied on August 26 by several companies of Russian infantry and by Cossacks . They made their quarters in the dragoon barracks. The 43rd Russian Division under General Iwan Alexejewitsch von Holmsen entered Tilsit on August 30, 1914 and bivouacked in tents in front of the city. The officers were housed in the barracks. On September 12, 1914, there were battles with German troops. The Russians were beaten and escaped over the Queen Luise Bridge . In order to prevent the bridge from being blown up afterwards, Captain Fletcher hurried ahead and chopped up the glowing ignition cable with his sword . 6000 Russians and General v. Holmsen fell into German captivity .
To protect the borders, the East Prussian Volunteer Corps was hastily formed in the winter of 1918/19 . In Tilsit, the border guards found accommodation in the dragoon barracks and in the barracks blocks on Stolbecker Strasse. On December 21, 1918, IR 41 returned to its garrison town. After four and a half years of war and a winter ride of 1500 km, the 1st Cavalry Division returned from Ukraine.
Reichswehr
Although the Treaty of Versailles set the total strength of the Reichswehr at 100,000 men, Tilsit remained a garrison town. The remaining soldiers formed the trunk for the new units of volunteers . Under Hans von Seeckt , the Imperial Army consisted of seven infantry and three cavalry divisions. The new Infantry Regiment 1 was formed from the former 41s in Stolbecker Strasse and carried on the tradition of the IR 41 "von Boyen" (5th Eastern Pride). The brick building of the old infantry barracks in Stolbecker Strasse was occupied by four hundred units of the state police, some of whom were mounted . On February 1, 1920, the new cavalry regiment 1 was created , which was formed from the dragoon regiment Prince Albrecht of Prussia (Litthauisches) No. 1. The 1st and 4th squadrons moved into the dragoon barracks in Bahnhofstrasse. The soldiers of both regiments were committed to twelve years of service.
The Tilsit garrison included an army technical school in which the older NCOs and men could prepare for the later civilian profession. The tense situation on the borders of East Prussia required that the Tilsit squadrons of the new cavalry regiment "Rifle at Foot" kept an eye on the borders and events. Their deployment became necessary in August 1920: During the Polish-Soviet War , 42,000 Russians of the 1st Red Cavalry Army with their commander Semjon M. Budjonny transferred to German territory in order to avoid an inevitable capture by Poland . Above all, the advance of Polish troops into the Johannisburger Heide had to be prevented. The IR 1 had to bring the converted Russians to the internment camp Arys .
A memorial in the Schützengarten commemorated the former IR 41. Another memorial was inaugurated on July 20, 1924 for the Dragoon Regiment 1 with the names of those who fell in the 1914/18 war. This monument stood on Thesingplatz by the New Church.
On October 1, 1934, the 1 rider regiment was concentrated in Insterburg . The withdrawal of the riders from the dragoon barracks was a turning point for Tilsit's population. In the now renamed "Yorck" barracks in Bahnhofstrasse, the III. Division of Artillery Regiment 1 placed. A replacement training battalion was temporarily attached to it. When the state police had cleared the old infantry barracks in Stolbecker Straße, the cycling department 1 moved there (until the “Kurfürsten” barracks in Stolbeck were completed). The 2nd Battalion of IR 1 was relocated to Insterburg. In its place, the training battalion of the Gumbinnen infantry regiment moved into the “Boyen” barracks in Stolbecker Strasse, from which the III. Battalion IR 43 was. A replacement battalion was temporarily placed in the "Boyen" barracks to train the unused. The commander of this training battalion was Lieutenant Colonel Völkers , who was also the site elder in 1934/35.
The (well-known) music corps of the IR 1 (staff music master Thiedecke) came to the III. Battalion IR 43. It was led by Heinz Michalowski , the youngest music master of the German Reich. The corps was also housed in the “Boyen” barracks on Stolbecker Strasse. On the occasion of the “ Saar return ” on March 1st, there was a big tattoo on the Anger .
Wehrmacht
The annexation of Austria , the occupation of the Sudetenland and the smashing of the rest of the Czech Republic had no direct impact on the Tilsit garrison because of the great distances. On March 22, 1939 it was announced that Lithuania had returned the Memelland to Germany. The III. The battalion, led by the marching band and the music corps, marched over the Königin-Luise-Bridge into the Memelland.
Before the outbreak of World War II , the following units of the Wehrmacht belonged to the Tilsit garrison:
- III. Battalion IR 43 under Lt. Col. Fixson
- III. Department of Artillery Regiment 1 under Major Kurt Hähling
- Cycling Department 1 under Major Maximilian von Edelsheim
- Tilsit military district command under Lieutenant Colonel Walter Simniok
- Insterburg Landwehr Command in Tilsit, Head of Training Major Erich Balla
- Tilsit first aid team
- Defense Registration Office
- Wehrmacht welfare officer in Tilsit.
Tilsit remained a popular garrison town during the war. Replacement troops were placed in all barracks buildings. The Kurfürstenkaserne served as a reserve hospital. Local and foreign soldiers loved the culturally and historically rich city. Heavy flooding of the Memel in 1941 flooded the city and the countryside, including the Teutonic Order Church . All available units of the Tilsit garrison provided assistance.
Fall of Tilsit
From 1943 onwards, increasingly strong Soviet bombing attacks destroyed Tilsit's city center, especially Deutsche Strasse from Fletcherplatz to Deutsches Tor. There was no longer any effective defense against the air raids. In July and August 1944, women, children and old residents were evacuated to parts of East Prussia further away from the border. The 700 year old city sank to rubble and ashes. The military situation made the evacuation of the rest of the civilian population inevitable in October 1944 . On October 19, the first artillery bombardment began on Tilsit. On October 22nd, a pioneer unit was ordered to blow up the Königin-Luise-Bridge and the railway bridge, the Red Army occupied the right bank of the Memel almost simultaneously, and three months later, after several days of fighting with the Wehrmacht and Volkssturm , also the city on the 18th to January 20, 1945.
literature
- Harry Goetzke: A garrison town on the Memelstrom . Tilsit-Arbeitsbrief (1990), pp. 38-45
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Swedish cemetery in Splitter
- ↑ Cosel Hussars
- ↑ Up to 1806, the Prussian regiments were usually named after their chiefs and only then received a regiment number.
- ↑ EC Thiel: Statistical-topographical description of the city of Tilse . Königsberg 1804, pp. 171-172.
- ↑ Double surprise on the Memel (PAZ, December 5, 2009)
- ↑ 1st ID ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ panzerarchiv.de ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
