Company economy

In the 18th century armies were financed through the so-called company economy. The captain ( company commander ) received a certain sum of money ( lump sum) from the respective state , with which he had to cover all expenses of the company. He was able to legally use the savings he generated to flow into his own assets.

The services to be disputed from the lump sum included:

Meal rate,
Uniform ( large and small mount ),
Pay and accommodation of every single soldier,
the recruitment of "foreigners", i.e. non-regional children of both German and non-German origins. The foreigners made the troops up to 50%, the recruitment costs (charges of advertising squads, earnest money for the new recruits) per soldier could be 100 dollars and more.

In Prussia , the company commander received three talers a month from the state treasury , five groschen for each common soldier (the sum was higher for non-commissioned officers). Two thalers of this were paid directly to the soldiers as pay; a thaler and five groschen were withheld as a usage fee for the small mount (hat, collar, shirt, trousers, stockings, shoes, etc.). The small mount became the property of the soldier after it was paid off, the large mount (uniform skirt and coat) remained the property of the company.

Before an officer could take over a company , he had to reimburse his predecessor for the expenses made in advance for material and armament ( iron inventory ). It was therefore seldom possible for an officer without assets to take over a company; With the appropriate qualifications, however, he could take over the company of a staff officer as a staff captain . The surpluses he had earned flowed to the owner of the company, while he himself received only a relatively small salary .

It was entirely up to the entrepreneurial abilities of the company owner whether the officer service turned into a profit or loss for him . To reduce costs, the company commander generously granted vacation tickets. In many armies in Europe only a few men were actually in their garrison, especially during the military rest phase of the cold season up to around March 21 . The rest were at home or elsewhere. The company commander was able to book the money saved as a result.

Later the company commanders were given the right to leave some of the foreigners as so-called " free guards ". The free guards were only allowed to move freely in the garrison town. The soldiers on leave generally left large sums of money or even valuables in the care of their captain, who in this way was definitely interested in his people staying away ( deserting ).

With the generated surpluses, the company commander was able to achieve a very good income. For this reason, the owner of a regiment remained the owner of the first company ( Leibcompanie ) until the beginning of the 19th century , his representative, the lieutenant colonel , remained the owner of the second company and the third staff officer in the regiment, the major , remained the owner of the third company to get additional income. In fact, these companies were led by a staff captain (see above). The later General Field Marshal von Gneisenau achieved a net profit of 2,000 thalers annually from his company in the period before 1807, i.e. around 20 annual wages for a well-paid craftsman.

With the Prussian army reform in 1807, the company economy in Prussia was officially abolished. The management task that had previously been the responsibility of the company commander was passed on to the military officials .

literature

Martin Winter: Submissive spirit through military service? The Prussian canton system in Brandenburg cities in the 18th century , Verlag für Regionalgeschichte, Bielefeld 2005, ISBN 3-89534-540-7
Siegfried Fiedler: Warfare and Warfare in the Age of Cabinet Wars , Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz 1986, ISBN 3-7637-5478-4