Lübeck city military
The Lübeck city military was Lübeck's standing army from the late 17th century until February 23, 1811 .
history
During the Middle Ages and until the beginning of the Thirty Years' War the city of Lübeck did not maintain a permanent troop of professional soldiers . Mercenaries were only used when needed and for relatively short periods of time. Routine military tasks, such as guarding the city gates or securing public order, were carried out by city officials or armed citizens. With the expansion of Lübeck's city fortifications in the course of the 17th century, however, it became necessary to set up professional military units. The exact beginning of the existence of the Lübeck city military cannot be determined; however, by 1691 at the latest, the troops existed as a permanent, permanently paid unit.
The Lübeck city military existed for the entire 18th century. In 1796, the mayor Hermann Georg Bünekau, with the help of the Lübeck citizen companies, had to settle the soldiers' revolt of the Lübeck city military, which had been triggered by outstanding wages. Two leaders of the uprising were shot dead. The city military was not dissolved even after the French occupation of the city in 1806, but continued to perform security and order tasks together with the French occupying power. It was only with the incorporation of Lübeck into the French Empire on January 1, 1811, that the city's military ceased to exist. The garrison was officially disbanded on February 23, the soldiers dismissed and, depending on their fitness, some of them were taken over into the French army or the Garde des Côtes de Lubeck customs force .
After Lübeck was liberated from the French occupation in 1813, the city's military was not revived in its old form. In its place came the new Lübeck military , which lasted until the conclusion of the military convention with the Kingdom of Prussia on June 27, 1867, with which Lübeck ceded its military sovereignty .
composition
The actual Lübeck city military was a pure infantry force , which until 1750 consisted of musketeers ; temporarily there was a company of grenadiers from 1713 to 1718 . Not until 1751 was a grenadier company set up again, which received grenadier caps with a front shield made of sheet brass .
The manning of the guns on the ramparts was not one of the tasks of the city military, but of the artillerymen . They were administratively and organizationally separated from the military and were only subordinate to the city commandant's high command in the event of war, although General von Chasot made repeated efforts to integrate the artillery into the city's military.
The city of Lübeck did not maintain its own cavalry unit , but only a number of mounted council servants, who, however, occasionally had to carry out order tasks in addition to courier and escort services. Chasot's demand for a contemporary dragoon unit based on the Hamburg model was not granted.
Strength
The strength of the Lübeck city military fluctuated considerably in the course of its existence, depending on the financial situation as well as the foreign and domestic political situation. At times in the early 18th century there were only about 300 soldiers, spread over three companies, in the service of the city. By the middle of the century, the number of men increased, until it reached the highest level of around 600 men in five companies under Chasot in 1762. This was followed by a reduction in that the positions of soldiers who had left the service were not filled again. In 1797 there were only 460 men under arms.
The armed force was supplemented by a number of military musicians , civilian administrative staff and a military surgeon.
The strength of the personnel does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the combat strength of the city military, as some of the soldiers were of old age and were therefore only partially operational. In 1772, for example, 32 soldiers were over 70 years old.
tasks
The city military had to monitor the movement of goods at the city gates in order to prevent the importation of prohibited goods. The soldiers also carried out identity checks to keep unwanted people out of the city or to catch wanted criminals.
In addition, the city military performed police tasks, including the protection of public order , law enforcement , fire-fighting , the control of foreigners and the crackdown on unrest.
In Travemünde a garrison of the city military took over control of the incoming ships, and smaller contingents were stationed in Lübeck exclaves such as Bergedorf as an expression of sovereign authority.
Securing the passages of the Lübeck Landwehr and carrying out controls at the barriers was also the responsibility of the city military, as was the prosecution of undesirable people or fugitives and maintaining order on the entire Lübeck territory.
Uniformity
During the 18th and early 19th centuries, Lübeck soldiers were dressed in white and red, the city's coat of arms. They wore white trousers and red skirts with white lapels and borders . As headgear, the infantrymen wore a black three-cornered hat , the grenadiers received grenadier caps .
In contrast, the independently organized artillerymen wore green skirts.
Others
Although the Lübeck city military were recruited volunteers , as was customary at the time , a third of the soldiers came from Lübeck itself; many were citizens of Lübeck .
There was no accommodation in barracks in Lübeck, just as there was no billeting with the residents. The soldiers were expected to have their own apartments. In some cases soldiers were homeowners themselves. The equipment was in the armory .
literature
- Schlürmann, Jan : The military of the Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck 1623-1867 , in: Handbuch zur Nordelbischen military history. Armies and wars in Schleswig, Holstein, Lauenburg, Eutin and Lübeck 1623-1663 / 67 , ed. by Eva S. Fiebig and Jan Schlürmann, Husum 2010, pp. 165–204.
- Thomas Schwark: Lübeck's city military in the 17th and 18th centuries. Investigations into the social history of a professional group in the imperial city . Published by the archive of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck. Schmidt-Römhild, Lübeck 1990, ISBN 3-7950-0456-X , ( Publications on the history of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck B 18), (At the same time: Hamburg, Univ., Diss., 1989).
