Imperial Gendarmerie Brigade in Alsace-Lorraine

The Imperial Gendarmerie Brigade in Alsace-Lorraine formed the gendarmerie in the Reichsland Alsace-Lorraine from 1902 to 1918 . After their dissolution, the gendarmes joined the Royal Prussian Landgendarmerie . The headquarters of the brigade was Strasbourg . The brigade, like the protection troops in the German colonies and the sea ​​battalions , was an imperial troop and therefore did not belong to any national contingent.

history

In Alsace-Lorraine there was a gendarmerie brigade analogous to the Royal Prussian Gendarmerie, to which it was subordinate à la suite , since 1872 . Structure and uniforms largely corresponded to the Prussian model. As in the Kingdom of Prussia , the term brigade corresponded neither to the military brigade term nor to the French gendarmerie term, which was also used in German federal states, where a gendarmerie brigade usually comprised 1 head sergeant and 4 or 5 gendarmes. Analogous to the 20 districts of the Reichsland, there were 20 so-called mounts, which were led by gendarmerie chief sergeants as mount guides. They were subordinate to an unknown number of gendarmerie stations, which were usually manned by two gendarmes.

On December 16, 1902, the brigade became an independent authority , but was still subordinate to the Prussian Minister of War , as he also assumed the role of Reich Minister of War. Technically, however, the brigade was subordinate to the imperial governor in Alsace-Lorraine and the civil authorities of the Reichsland, analogous to the other gendarmeries of the federal states. Outwardly, the change was expressed in a uniform detail. Instead of the Prussian coat of arms, the imperial eagle was now worn on the helmet and the imperial colors black-white-red instead of the previous Prussian black-and-white on the portepee and officer 's sash .

The time of the dissolution of the brigade is unknown, but is likely to be in connection with the evacuation of Alsace-Lorraine by the German military due to the conditions of the Compiègne armistice on November 11, 1918. Accordingly, France demanded the immediate evacuation of the Reich by all military units stationed there or in garrison.

literature

• Wiegand Schmidt-Richberg: The reign of Wilhelm the second. In: Military History Research Office (ed.): German military history in six volumes 1648–1939. Volume 3, Section V: From Bismarck's release to the end of World War I, 1890–1918. Herrsching (Manfred Pawlak Verlagsgesellschaft mbH) 1983, pp. 3–155, here pp. 211f.
• Ingo Löhken: Police Uniforms of the South German States 1872–1932. Baden, Bavaria, Hessen, Württemberg, Reichslande. Friedberg / H. 1988, ISBN 3-7909-0328-0 .
• Werner Blankenstein: The Prussian Landjägerei through the ages. Erfurt 1931.

Web links

• Article about the brigade at seitengewehr.de