Cuirassier regiment "Graf Gessler" (Rheinisches) No. 8

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Memorial of the Cuirassier Regiment No. 8 in Cologne-Deutz (before renovation)

The Cuirassiers "Count Gessler" (Rhenish) no. 8 was a cavalry joined the Prussian army . The designation "Graf Gessler" was given in 1888 by the German Kaiser Wilhelm II and referred to the Prussian Field Marshal Friedrich Leopold von Geßler .

Association membership 1914

"Deutzer Cuirassiers around 1900" by Carl Rüdell
  • Garrison: Cologne-Deutz
  • Foundation day of the regiment: March 7, 1815

history

Lineup

Barracks of the regiment in Cologne-Deutz
"Graf Gessler" regiment around 1893

With AKO of September 7, 1815, the formation of the 8th Dragoon Regiment was ordered in Halberstadt .

To do this, each had to submit a squadron :

In 1819 the unit was converted into the 8th Cuirassier Regiment. With AKO on January 27th, it was given the final name of the cuirassier regiment "Graf Gessler" (Rheinisches) No. 8.

From 1817 to 1849 the regiment in Langensalza was garrisoned . In 1850 it was moved to Deutz.

Battle calendar

Parade of the regiment on April 21, 1900, on Cologne's Neumarkt , for the 50th anniversary of the garrison

The regiment no longer took part in the fighting against Napoleonic France . It was distributed in the area around Koblenz until 1817 and then came to its first permanent garrison in Langensalza.

German revolution

On the occasion of the civil unrest, the regiment took part in the street fighting in Erfurt in 1848 . In 1849 it took part in the suppression of the Baden Revolution and the siege of the Rastatt fortress .

German war

During the German war it was the invasion of Bohemia , the battle of Königgrätz and the subsequent advance to Vienna .

Franco-German War

During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, the regiment was involved in the enclosure and siege of Metz as well as the break-up of the French Northern Army. It returned to Deutz on June 30, 1871.

First World War

The regiment lost its cavalry status in autumn 1914 and was converted into a cavalry rifle regiment .

On August 1, 1914 march to the west with border protection in Luxembourg , then participation in the Battle of the Marne . The regiment or parts of it were:

on August 10, 1914 in Luxembourg
on August 20, 1914 in Bastogne
on August 22, 1914 the 1st Squadron in Pocheresse
on September 19, 1914 near Somme-Py

From autumn 1914 to mid-1917 position battles near Arras and around Reims in Champagne . In July 1916, the 1st Squadron was in the summer segment . In June 1917 he was transferred to the Eastern Front , fighting in Galicia and the Carpathians . In October 1917, the 1st Squadron was in the Isonzo combat sector .

In December 1917 relocation to the west , participation in the German spring offensive . Until November 5, 1918 positional and defensive battles in northern France.

Whereabouts

During the armistice on November 11, 1918, the unit was in the Hermann position , from where it began the march back home. Since the Deutz location belonged to the demilitarized zone, the regiment marched to Rastede near Oldenburg, where it was demobilized and disbanded in May 1919.

The tradition took over in the Reichswehr the 2nd Squadron of the 7th (Prussian) Reiter Regiment in Wroclaw .

Commanders

Rank Surname date
Lieutenant colonel Ernst von Müller March 29, 1815 to June 13, 1826
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Bogislav Tauentzien von Wittenberg 0March 5, 1827 to March 30, 1837
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Gustav von Graeve April 13, 1837 to March 30, 1846
Lieutenant colonel Hans von Unruh March 31, 1846 to January 24, 1850
Major / Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Friedrich von Derenthall January 25, 1850 to April 24, 1854
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Rudolf von Gotsch 0May 4, 1854 to May 17, 1858
major Louis Ernst Eduard von Borstell May 18, 1858 to January 2, 1859
Major / Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Anton von Below March 12, 1859 to April 17, 1865
Major / Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Maximilian von Roedern April 18, 1865 to April 3, 1871
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Maximilian von Schmettow 0April 4, 1871 to November 15, 1875
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Kurt von Arnim November 16, 1875 to March 12, 1880
Major / Lieutenant Colonel Karl Schenk March 13 to November 8, 1880 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Karl von Schenk 0November 9, 1880 to March 7, 1887
Major / Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Ludwig von Gemmingen-Hornberg 0July 7, 1887 to August 21, 1891
Konrad von Lüttichau August 22, 1891 to May 21, 1896
Adolf Willich von Pöllnitz May 22, 1896 to August 1, 1900
Karl von Plüskow 0August 2, 1900 to October 18, 1905
George of Hugo October 19, 1905 to June 26, 1908
Lieutenant Colonel / Colonel Hermann Heidborn June 27, 1908 to January 26, 1912
Lieutenant colonel Richard Beissel from Gymnich January 27, 1912 to March 21, 1914

uniform

Inscription on a sword of the Graf Gessler cuirassier regiment

Until 1912, a white rollerball and white boot pants were also worn in the field. Officers were equipped with epaulettes , NCOs and men with epaulets . There were also black cuirassier boots (so-called cannon boots) and the cuirassier helmet made of brightly polished iron with fittings and ornaments made of brass, as well as a white bandolier with a black cartridge . In addition, a white metal, two-part cuirass was put on for parades. For normal duty the cuirassiers wore a dark blue tunic. As a society uniform, this was equipped with epaulettes and fringes for officers. This included a white peaked cap with a green trim.

The badge color on the Swedish lapels, the collar and the epaulette fields was light green, the buttons and trimmings gold. On the epaulette fields was the intertwined monogram GVR ( Georg V. Rex (King George V)) with a crown for the British regimental owner, which was only removed in 1917.

Already ordered by AKO on February 14, 1907 and introduced gradually from 1909/10, the colorful uniform was replaced for the first time by the field-gray field service uniform (M 1910) on the occasion of the imperial maneuver in 1913. This was completely like the peace uniform. The leather gear and the boots were natural brown, the helmet was covered by a fabric cover called reed-colored. The bandolier and the cartridge were no longer applied to this uniform.

education

The patterned young men, who often came from simple social backgrounds, were not only trained in military discipline and in the handling of a weapon ( carbine 88 ). On the contrary, if they were sufficiently intelligent and hardworking, they had the opportunity to learn a trade.

Since as a cuirassier dealing with horses was in the foreground, it was possible, among other things, to pass an examination as a farrier and even acquire the ability to independently manage a business, which corresponded to the master’s examination.

  • Military passport of a private (title page) 1891

  • Extract from a military passport 1891/94

  • Certificate of good conduct from a private 1894

  • Examination certificate "farriery trade" 1894

  • Training a private

  • Master blacksmith A. Burghardt (65) as a former Deutz cuirassier in 1935

monument

After the First World War, units of the Reichswehr , including the 2nd Squadron of the 7th (Prussian) Cavalry Regiment, commissioned the Berlin sculptor Paul Wynand to create a design for the equestrian statue of a Deutz cuirassier. It was to be built to commemorate the dead of the First World War from the cuirassier regiment "Graf Gessler". The work was carried out by Linke-Hofmann-Lauchhammer AG from Lauchhammer in Saxony, which in 1924 estimated the costs including transport and installation at a total of 8,300 gold marks . The memorial was inaugurated on September 21, 1930 on what was then the south wing of the old cuirassier barracks.

Horse and rider are 4.20 m high. Together with the 5.80 m long lance, the statue reaches a height of around 7 m. Its weight is around 4.5 tons.

As part of the redesign of the Rhine promenade in Cologne-Deutz, the equestrian statue was removed from its base in 2015 and fundamentally restored by the Hoppen company in Dattenfeld over a three-year period, whereby a flag was again attached to the lance according to old original photos. On the occasion of the end of the First World War 100 years ago, the renovated equestrian statue was lifted back onto its base in 2018. From 2015, the archaeological excavations in the Deutz Historical Park also included a sighting and stabilization of the plinth foundation.

  • Monument 2019 after restoration

  • Monument 2019, view from the northwest

  • Monument 2019 in front of the city panorama

literature

  • Rückforth: History of the cuirassier regiment Graf Geßler Rheinisches No. 8. Verlag Georg Stilke, Berlin 1910. Online .
  • Hugo FW Schulz: The Prussian Cavalry Regiments 1913/1914. Weltbild Verlag 1992.
  • Jürgen Kraus : German Army in the First World War. Militaria Verlag, Vienna 2004.
  • Reichsarchiv (Ed.):
    • Volume 12b: Breakthrough on Isonzo II.
    • Volume 20/21: Somme Nord. Volume 1 and 2.
    • Volume 22–26: The Battle of Paris. The Marne Drama 1914.
  • Wilhelm Foerster: History of the Royal Prussian First Cuirassier Regiment from its establishment to our time. Breslau 1841, digitized

Web links

Commons : Cuirassier Regiment "Graf Gessler" (Rheinisches) No. 8  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon, 14th ed., 7th volume, Leipzig 1908, p. 869.
  2. ^ Günter Wegmann (Ed.), Günter Wegner: Formation history and staffing of the German armed forces 1815-1990. Part 1: Occupation of the German armies 1815–1939. Volume 3: The staffing of active regiments, battalions and departments from the foundation or list up to August 26, 1939. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1993, ISBN 3-7648-2413-1 , pp. 31–32.
  3. ^ Graf Gessler memorial in Deutz on the website of KG Kölsche Kürassiere e. V.
  4. ↑ Axel König: The return of the cavalry soldier. Remembering the victims of the First World War . In: Kölner Wochenspiegel from November 17, 2018.
  5. ^ Förderverein Historischer Park Deutz e. V.
  6. ↑ The photographer Raimond Spekking made a detailed photo documentation of this work. To do this, click on the picture of the monument (before the restoration) at the top right, then on "More details". In the "Photograph" box, click on the middle of the three pictures, then on "More details".