Royal Bavarian 2nd Uhlan Regiment "König"

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The last regiment owner, King Ludwig III. , Photography Atelier Elvira 1914

The 2nd Lancers "king" was a cavalry joined the Bavarian army . The peacetime location of the regiment was Ansbach .

history

Positioning and development

The regiment was set up on December 21, 1863 on the highest resolution by King Maximilian II of November 23, 1863 in Ansbach (two squadrons), Neustadt an der Aisch (two squadrons) and Schwabach (one squadron). It was formed from the 5th and 6th Squadron of the 1st Chevaulegers Regiment and the 5th and 6th Squadron of the 5th Chevaulegers Regiment . Philipp Freiherr von Diez was appointed the first regimental commander. In the middle of February 1864, 50 new lances were tested in the regiment, which were used throughout the association from May 1864 with white and blue flags. The NCOs carried white flags with the royal coat of arms. On July 6, 1864, King Ludwig II of Bavaria became the owner of the regiment, which was called the 2nd Uhlan Regiment "King" from the start . The regiment's nickname was Bier-Ulanen (while the 1st Uhlan Regiment Bamberg was nicknamed Sekt-Ulanen ). In July 1865 the lance model II was introduced. The lance flag was dropped later. On May 20, 1866, the 5th Squadron was set up. The regiment was stationed in Ansbach as a whole.

War against Prussia 1866

On June 6, 1866, the regiment entered with four field squadrons with 443 horses. The 5th squadron was intended as a replacement squadron with 110 horses. The 6th Squadron was set up on June 10, 1866 and disbanded after the peace agreement. It was subordinated to the 1st Light Cavalry Brigade under Major General Duke Ludwig in Bavaria / the Reserve Cavalry Corps under General der Kavallerie Fürst von Thurn und Taxis. It fought in Thuringia, Hammelburg and Würzburg against the Prussian Main Army. The regiment suffered hardly any losses during the war (a fallen Ulan and two missing horses). After the defeat of the federal troops , it returned to Ansbach on September 8, 1866.

The 1st squadron was relocated to Triesdorf until November 26, 1867. On May 11, 1867, the 2nd Squadron of the disbanded 3rd Uhlan Regiment was added. On May 20, 1867, the 5th Squadron was reclassified as a depot. The regiment was now divided into four field squadrons with 443 horses. In 1868 the regimental staff consisted of twelve officers and officials, each squadron of four officers and one candidate officer, 137 non-commissioned officers and men and 125 horses. From 1868, the regiment's peacetime location was Ansbach. On March 5, 1869 Konstantin Freiherr von Pflimmern was appointed regimental commander.

War against France 1870/71

At the beginning of the war, the regiment entered twenty officers, five civil servants, 525 NCOs and Uhlans, seven vehicles and 570 horses. With the 1st Uhlan Regiment and the 5th Chevaulegers Regiment , it formed the Uhlan Brigade with the II Army Corps, which was under the command of Major General Freiherr von Mulzer. On August 6, 1870, the regiment proved itself in the purge and persecution near Niederbronn. It was implicated in the taking of Marsal on August 14th. From August 16, 1870, it was in readiness at the fortress of Toul . In the Battle of Sedan on September 1, 1870, it was also kept in readiness, but was not used. On September 16, 1870, it fought at Rubelles and stood before Paris on September 18, 1870. The next day it was again in readiness at Frêsnes les Rungis, on October 13, 1870 in Petit-Bicêtre and finally from November 29 to 30, 1870 south of La belle Epine. Then it was included in the siege ring around Paris as part of the Uhlan Brigade . In January 1871, it auctioned 88 service horses. On March 10, 1871, the regiment marched from Paris and entered Ansbach on June 29, 1871. During the entire war, the regiment "only" had two dead and two missing horses.

In 1872 the regiment was divided into five squadrons and had a strength of 732 men and 739 horses. On November 3, 1872, Gustav Ritter von Fleschuez took command of the regiment, which was placed in command of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade in 1878 à la suite . On July 1, 1882, the regiment was solemnly presented with its standard from General von Orff. On June 13, 1886, King Otto I of Bavaria was appointed owner of the regiment. On March 6, 1887, Albert Freiherr von Koenitz was appointed regimental commander, who was appointed as major general and commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade in 1891 à la suite. Six volunteers signed up for the 3rd Squadron of the East Asian Cavalry Regiment for the China expedition in 1900. A sergeant and 31 Uhlans were dispatched to serve in German South West Africa from March 1904 to December 1906, two of whom did not return. On April 26, 1913, the Prince Regent Ludwig Foundation was made available to the regiment with a deposit of 25,000 Reichsmarks. Two-thirds of their interest was to be used for charitable institutions of the officer corps and one-third for outstanding enlisted officers. On June 4, 1913, Rittmeister donated z. D. Anton Rächl donated a significant amount, the interest of which was to be used to pay out a convalescence allowance for needy subaltern officers who had suffered damage to their health through their service. Major z. D. Friedrich Meyer donated 14,000 Reichsmarks for the regiment's NCO corps. On December 1, 1913, Major Otto von Faber du Faur was appointed regiment commander, who led the regiment until the end of its existence.

First World War

1914

The regiment entered on August 2, 1914 in strength 33 officers, 85 NCOs and 570 Uhlans, 600 horses and 20 vehicles. It was divided into four field squadrons, the 5th squadron was the replacement squadron and together with the 1st Uhlan Regiment formed the 4th Cavalry Brigade (so-called Uhlan Brigade ). In addition, the 2nd Landsturm Squadron of the II Army Corps was established in August . From August 5 to 10, 1914, the regiment was deployed to guard the border in Lorraine, where an ulan was killed. On August 11, 1914, three squadrons under the Uhlan Brigade took part in the battle at Lagarde , with the Uhlan Brigade capturing eleven cannons, several machine guns and an eagle; they also took 1,400 French prisoners. In the course of the attack, the regiment lost three officers, 34 non-commissioned officers and lancers as well as twenty horses; of the wounded four officers, 27 NCOs and Uhlans and eleven horses, as well as fourteen Uhlans and 135 horses on missing persons. On August 21, 1914, replacements for four officers, 88 NCOs and Uhlans and 295 horses arrived. On August 21, 1914, it was involved in the occupation of Lunéville. The regiment reached Thiaucourt on September 8, 1914, and the following day it lost a fallen Ulan in the Nonsard affair and two were wounded. Beaumont was reached on September 12, 1914. During the battles for Lille on October 3, 1914, Rittmeister Karl Fürst von Wrede distinguished himself, so that he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order . In Wambrechies on 5 October 1914 were two men, one was missing. By October 9, 1914, the regiment had advanced as far as Hazebrouk, but had to be withdrawn on Armentières because of its right flank threatened by English troops. On October 21, 1914, the regiment joined the Uhlan Brigade on the left wing of the cavalry division and fought its way to Hooge-Schuer until October 26. Two Uhlans fell during these fighting. On December 9, 1914, three Uhlans were killed near Froyennes. After that, the regiment was used in the police service at Thuin-Chimay until January 9, 1915. It lost a sergeant and four lancers to the dead.

1915

During the fighting at Jeandize on February 11 and 20, 1915, two Uhlans were killed. In the battles on Monsec from March 21 to 26, 1915, there were no casualties to complain about. On March 31, 1915, the regiment was loaded onto rail and transferred via Koblenz , Kassel , Halle and Posen to Stallupönen on the eastern front, which it reached on April 3, 1915. During the battle at Kielmy on April 28, 1915, two officers, two NCOs and five Uhlans died; two officers and twelve Uhlans were wounded and fifteen horses were killed. At Schaulen on April 30th, 146 Russians were taken prisoner and a machine gun was captured without losses. From May 4 to 8, 1915, the regiment advanced to Kiejdany, losing an Ulan on May 5 in the fighting near Beisagola. On the night of May 7th or 8th it blew up the railway line at Zejmy. During the occupation of Johanpol (near Cytowiany ) on May 11, 1915, it suffered a fallen Ulan and six wounded. During the defensive battles on the Dubissa from May 12 to June 5, 1915, thirteen men were killed, but two Russian officers and 198 men were also captured. In the course of 1915 the lance flags were reintroduced to distinguish them from the Cossacks. Between June 10 and July 21, 1915, the regiment took up positions near Plavginie and Bagno Terule, where only one fallen Ulan had to complain. On July 22, 1915 it advanced to Penjany and took possession of Rogowo on July 24, 1915. On August 6th and 7th, 1915, it was involved in the attack on Wilkomierz , which led to the battle at Szlenie on August 7th, 1915. On August 11, 1915, the "Fasolt" patrol was formed with two officers, five non-commissioned officers and 40 horsemen to investigate the course of the Punje brook. On August 15 and 19, 1915, fighting broke out on the Jara, where the advance came to a standstill and led to trench warfare on the Swienta from August 20 to September 9. On September 12, 1915, the regiment captured 55 Russians near Bikuny. During an attack carried out near Rabun with strong Russian infantry forces, an Ulan fell on September 22, 1915, a non-commissioned officer was taken prisoner by the Russians, where he died. From October 3 to 18, 1915, the regiment fought position battles on the Miadsiolka. Then it went to Komaika ( Lithuania ) on October 20 and remained there until April 13, 1916.

1916/17

On March 19, 1916, the regiment surprisingly managed to storm the Heinrichspitze. From April 17th to July 4th 1916 it was kept in readiness as an army reserve at Olita . From September 7, 1916, the regiment was on the Stochod . After the Russians took Toboly away on August 18, 1916 with far superior forces, the regiment was tasked with retaking Toboly on August 19, 1916. During the successful operation, 40 men were killed, 24 men died of diseases, the number of wounded was not known. It took two Russian officers and 270 men prisoner, and four machine guns were captured. Rittmeister Otto Rizzi was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order for his proven bravery in the battles for Toboly. In the autumn of 1916 a machine gun squadron was set up. The regiment remained on the Stochod until February 18, 1918.

1918

The advance through Ukraine began on February 19, 1918. On March 16 and 18, 1918, the regiment was involved in the battle near Alexandrowka. On March 19, 1918, it fought at Jelisavetgradka. During the rail war it fought primarily against the Bolsheviks via Kiev to Novomoskowsk until April 1918. There the regiment could be made fully mounted again with Russian cavalry horses. On May 8, 1918, the fighting over the Baramont mine took place. From June 16 to September 29, 1918, the regiment was used to fight gangs around Kiev, where four men were killed. At Bobrinskaya it had to accept another fallen Ulan on September 30, 1918. From October 27 to November 15, 1918, it was in readiness in the Crimea to prevent English landings.

Total losses during the First World War:

  • Fallen / wounded: 18 officers, 17 NCOs and 169 men
  • Missing: three NCOs and 29 men

Twelve men were taken prisoner.

Whereabouts

After the news of the outbreak of the revolution in Germany, the regiment decided on November 16, 1918, to march back home. From November 28, 1918 to February 4, 1919, it marched 1,800 km from the Black Sea through the Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland to East Prussia in a brigade with the Kaiserulans . The march back took place with great difficulty in temperatures of up to 30 degrees Celsius, poor accommodation and food, and ongoing fighting with gangs and semi-regular enemy troops. So it came on December 9, 1918 to the fighting at Yelisavetgrad and Zaslaw. At Zaslaw there was another battle on January 8, 1919, where an officer and eight men were killed, the number of wounded could no longer be determined. On February 2, 1919, the regiment reached the German border at Lyck . Between February 7th and 11th, 1919, the regiment entered Ansbach in full order and with all equipment, where demobilization and subsequent dissolution began on February 12th, 1919 .

The tradition took over in the Reichswehr the 2nd Squadron of the 17th (Bavarian) Reiter Regiment in Ansbach. In the Wehrmacht , the 1st Battalion of the 25th Panzer Regiment in Erlangen continued the tradition.

Regimental music

According to the Bavarian War Minister Rescript of October 29, 1883, the trumpet corps of the regiment consisted of fifteen trumpeters and five auxiliary trumpeters, who were led and trained by the baton trumpeter. Rod trumpeter was Friedrich Wittig (1837-1917) from 1863 to 1883, Johannes Wich (1856-1925) from 1883 to 1909 and Robert Behn (1876-1945) from 1909 to 1919.

  • Presentation march: The Torgau Parade March by Joachim Scholz; arranged by FW Voigt
  • Parade march in stride: The Great Elector's cavalry march by Count Cuno von Moltke, arranged by Reinhard Lehmann (according to another source: Archduke Albrecht-March von Komzak)
  • Parade march at a trot: Trot march from the operetta Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach, arranged by Wilhelm Sillig
  • Parade march at a gallop: Amazon march from the ballet Fantaska by Peter Ludwig Hertel, Opus 95

Uniforms

The steel-green tunic ( ulanka ) had Polish lapels , collars, advances and, for parade, discounts of crimson red badge color . The uniform differed from the 1st Uhlan Regiment only in the white metal buttons and fittings . The epaulettes had new silver moons and crimson red epaulette fields. A white horsehair bush (NCOs and officers white-blue) was attached to the Tschapka . The corporal stresses were silver, the national cockade blue and white. The long steel-green trousers were fitted with crimson lampasses . The boot pants were steel green with black leather trim (for officers in parade without trim). The belt and the bandolier were white, officers made of silver braid with blue threads. On the bandolier there was a black cartridge with an ornate, silver-plated lid for officers (bandolier with cartridge was not worn with formal clothes or with dressing gowns.) The lance flags were white-blue (for NCOs white with the Bavarian coat of arms), as were the standard symbols or nationally named cockade on the headgear.

For mobilization , a field uniform of the same cut as the peace uniform was introduced. The color was called field gray, the leather goods were natural brown. The helmets were provided with a reed gray cover. Bandeliers were omitted. The epaulettes were replaced by shoulder boards (officers' shoulder pieces).

Others

The traffic location of the officers' corps in Ansbach was the Hotel Schwarzer Bock . This is how the regimental chronicle of 1904 describes:

“ ... the officers' corps, namely unmarried men, frequented citizens, teachers and officials almost every day. There was also an evening drink in the Schwarzen Bock every day from 6 a.m., in which the gentlemen of the officer corps up to the commanding officer often took part. ... "

The regimental chronicle of the association of former royal ulans in Ansbach writes the following:

“ ... on September 27, 1899, 62 former royal ulans came together there at the instigation of comrade Meyer, Gasthof zum Schwarzer Bock, and decided to found the Ansbach Association, whose first board member was comrade Karl Prächtel. ... "

The Ansbach Uhlans were jokingly called "Beer Uhlans", as important brewery owners served in their ranks. Especially the service time of the owner of the former Ansbacher Hofbräu, later Hürnerbräu, Rittmeister Hürner, may have contributed to the fact that the Ansbacher Uhlans rarely lacked beer.

literature

  • Günter Wegner: Germany's armies until 1918. Volume 11: Bavaria: Cavalry, artillery, technical troops. Biblio publishing house. Osnabrück 1984, ISBN 3-7648-1199-4 .
  • Hugo FW Schulz: The Bavarian, Saxon and Württemberg cavalry regiments. 1913/14. According to the law of July 3, 1913. Licensed issue. Weltbild Verlag. Augsburg 1992, ISBN 3-89350-342-0 .
  • Max Hein: The Little Book of the German Army. A manual and reference book for instruction on the German military power. Processed according to the latest regulations. Lipsius & Tischer. Kiel u. a. 1901.
  • Karl Müller: The organization, clothing, equipment and armament of the Royal Bavarian Army from 1806 to 1906. A. Oehrleins Verlag. Munich 1906.

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