Canton system

The canton system (also canton system or canton regulation ) was introduced by King Friedrich Wilhelm I in Prussia in 1733 to maintain a standing army . The far-reaching and visible effects of the canton system on Prussia contributed, among other things, to Friedrich Wilhelm I becoming known under the nickname "Soldier King". In 1813 the Prussian army reform replaced the canton system with general conscription .

The name canton system goes back to the division of the state into so-called " enrollment cantons ", from which the recruits were recruited by regiment :

• A Prussian canton comprised around 5,000 " fire places " (i.e. households) for an infantry regiment or 1,800 fire places for a cavalry regiment ,
• For the company economy, the cantons were further subdivided into districts of seven to ten villages,
• The respective company commander then drafted three to four cantons per year in these districts .

Basics

The canton system can be viewed as a less mature preliminary stage of today's conscription .

The basis of the canton system was an existing service obligation for all subjects . The conscripts were usually enrolled (registered) directly by the pastor on the occasion of their confirmation, and the registers were updated annually in the respective cantons. Enrolled persons between 16 and 24 years of age could be drafted as part of the annual spring inspection as soon as they had reached a height of at least 1.73 meters; Those who had already exceeded the age limit or did not reach the required size could instead either be transferred to a garrison regiment or be released from enrollment entirely.

The duration of the service obligation was de jure lifelong, but as a rule it lasted "only" up to 20 years; In times of peace, cantonists had to fulfill an annual service obligation of two months after their two-year training and were given leave of absence from the army for the rest of the year without pay . Under the reign of Frederick II , the cantonists made up about 40% of the personnel in the Prussian army in peacetime.

However, the principle of general compulsory service collided with the fact that numerous population groups were not covered at all by the canton system; this included clergy or nobles (whose members often entered the army voluntarily to serve as officers), members of the Mennonite religious community , certain craft trades , residents of the (traditionally more privileged) cities and residents of regions that were responsible for the Economics were important.

advantages

One advantage of the canton system over the previously usual forced recruitment was the precise state regulation of recruitment and at least partial equal treatment of the lower classes. In addition, attempts were made to structure recruitment in the cantons in such a way that the economic viability of the respective canton was maintained.

An indication of the advantage of the canton system was the much lower rate of desertions among the cantonists; in addition, the canton system, together with other far-reaching reforms, contributed to Prussia's economic boom under Friedrich Wilhelm I. Another innovation of this system was that (in contrast to the mercenary armies customary up to that time ) the citizens saw themselves in a certain way obliged to provide a service to their home country or fatherland; on the other hand, the canton system also formed one of the foundations of Prussian militarism .

Due to the visible successes of Prussia, the canton system was taken over by other states of the German Empire after a relatively short time. B. from Austria and Hessen-Kassel .

disadvantage

Procurement of replacement

If a regiment was wiped out in a battle , the responsible canton had to provide for personnel replacement.

The first attempt was to recruit volunteers ; if these were not sufficient, recruiting was carried out in the canton. The cantons were often overwhelmed by this, however, and the cantons inevitably became depopulated through recruiting methods that were very similar to the forced recruitment by the former press units . The applicants therefore went into farmhouses and took the next son of the family with reference to his military service from. According to the law on the cantonal system, this was legal, and even necessary, in order to make the respective regiment ready for battle again in the shortest possible time, but those affected felt this to be just as unfair as the previously common method of forced recruitment.

In addition, these forced recruitments led to a labor shortage in the country and to rural exodus , as residents of the cities were not affected by the conscription and it was thus possible to escape the conscription.

collective punishment

If a soldier deserted from his regiment, his replacement was recruited from the same community from which the deserter came. This was preferably a blood relative of the deserter and another resident of the village, which subsequently led to conflicts in the village community .

Other possible sanctions were, for example, the confiscation of the deserter's entire property, his house being burned to the ground, or reprisals against his relatives in the form of clan liability ; the property of the relatives was also confiscated or they were evicted if they lived in the same house as the deserter . All of this also contributed significantly to the low rate of desertion among the cantonists.

Compulsory service

A violation of compulsory service was punishable as treason . In addition, there was no way for the lower classes to free themselves from compulsory service, as they were often unfree , for whom the legal system of the time made it impossible to enforce any rights.

So the raising of troops was effectively a coercive measure.

Soldier trade

The German states that took part in the soldier trade (i.e. the leasing of soldiers to other states) also recruited the necessary troops according to the regulations of the cantonal system.

While some see this soldier trade and in particular the rental of mercenaries based on subsidy contracts in the 18th century as a legal matter without coercive measures, in which soldiers served voluntarily and for remuneration in foreign armies, others point out that due to the combination This “voluntariness” has to be viewed in relative terms based on cantonal regulations and the class differences existing in absolutism.

abuse

The basic idea behind the canton system was Friedrich Wilhelm I's wish to reform his country and bring about an economic upswing. Furthermore, a well-trained standing army should always be available through the canton system so that Prussia could defend itself against attacks from outside at any time.

The canton system was also used to set up mercenary armies that did not serve to defend their own country, but could rent the Prussians to other states. In this case, too, the additional troops required for this were recruited according to the canton system.

literature

• Hans Bleckwenn : Under the Prussian eagle. Munich 1978.
• Otto Büsch: Military System and Social Life in Old Prussia 1713-1807. The beginnings of the social militarization of Prussian-German society. Frankfurt am Main, Berlin 1981.
• Christopher Clark : Prussia. Rise and Fall 1600-1947. Bonn 2007.
• Gordon Craig: The Prussian-German Army 1640-1945. State within the state. Düsseldorf 1960.
• Siegfried Fiedler: Warfare and Warfare in the Age of Cabinet Wars. Koblenz 1986.
• Hartmut Harnisch: Prussian canton system and rural society. In: Bernhard Kroener, Ralf Pröve : War and Peace. Military and Society in the Early Modern Era. Paderborn 1996. pp. 137-165.
• Otto Hintze: The Hohenzollern and their work. Darmstadt 1979/80.
• Curt Jany : History of the Prussian Army from the 15th century to 1914. From the beginning to 1740. Volume I. Osnabrück 1967.
• Jürgen Kloosterhuis: The canton system in Prussian Westphalia. In: Bernhard Kroener, Ralf Pröve: War and Peace. Military and Society in the Early Modern Era. Paderborn 1996. pp. 167-190.
• Karl Lange: Prussian soldiers in the 18th century. Oberhausen 2003.
• Max Lehmann: Advertising, conscription and leave of absence in the army of Friedrich Wilhelm I. In: Heinrich von Sybel, Max Lehmann: Historical magazine. Volume LXVII. Munich, Leipzig 1891. pp. 254-289.
• Dieter Sinn: Everyday life in Prussia. Frankfurt am Main 1991.
• Wilhelm Treue: Acta Borussica. The organization of the authorities and the general state administration of Prussia in the 18th century. Volume VI. Frankfurt am Main 1986/87.
• Wolfgang Venohr: The soldier king. Revolutionary on the throne. Frankfurt am Main, Berlin 1990.
• Eugen von Frauenholz : History of the development of the German army. Volume IV. Munich 1940.
• Martin Winter: Submissive spirit through military service? The Prussian canton system in Brandenburg cities in the 18th century. Bielefeld 2005.

Web links

• Information about the Prussian army

Individual evidence

1. ^ Martin Guddat : Handbook on Prussian Military History. 1688-1786 . Mittler, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-8132-0925-9 , p. 236 f.