Marshal's baton

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Marshal's baton of Archduke Friedrich of Austria

The marshal's baton is a baton that a marshal carries with him as an insignia of his dignity . The marshal's baton was only worn on ceremonial occasions.

Emergence

The marshal denotes a high office at princely courts and was the (military and political) leader of the knighthood of the respective prince. During the Renaissance , the office split up into its various areas, such as the military leader, the head of the court and the chairman of the aristocracy.

On solemn occasions the court marshal wore a long staff as a token of his dignity and was the innkeeper at court at the marshal's table, a side table for those who did not get a seat at the princely table. The person of the court marshal with the long staff can still be seen today. a. at the English court.

In the Middle Ages, the marshal's staff ( command staff) became a badge of honor for the highest military commanders. In the military, Generalfeldmarschall (also Field Marshal , Marshal of the Army , etc.) was the highest rank. The marshal's baton goes back on the mace .

In the German Imperial Navy, the Grand Admiral's Staff was modeled on the Marshal's staff without any prior tradition.

Marshal's baton in different countries

Sparta

Command staffs were already in use in classical Greece. This is documented, for example, for the army of Sparta , of which Plutarch reports that the general Gylippus during the siege of Syracuse in 414 BC. Chr. Brought about the turning point solely through his command staff and general mantle.

Roman Empire

In early Roman times, and later also during the dictatorship , the king , praetor , consul and finally the dictator were assigned a group of lictors who exercised the function of bodyguards. Her symbol was the bundle of lictors (lat. Fasces ). Originally the fasces were simple whips that were used as harmless striking weapons. Later the fasces were carried in front of the dignitary as a bundle of rods with a hatchet blade as a national emblem. Over the following centuries these fasces changed into a mere decoration .

Holy Roman Empire

Wallenstein

The field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire already carried command posts, but they were worked very differently. Wallenstein is represented as the first Generalis from around 1634 with staff so later. Prince Eugene led a command baton, which was made of two musket barrels welded together and had many perforations.

After the fall of the Holy Roman Empire (HRR) in 1806, no more field marshals were appointed.

The general field marshals or field marshals of various empire states of the HRR such as Kurbrandenburg (see picture by Alexander von Spaen , 1691), Kurbayern , Kurhannover , Kursachsen or Kurpfalz carried a staff.

Prussia

Prussian marshal's baton from 1895

On the death of Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington , in 1852, Prussia reintroduced the marshal's baton. Wellington was an honorary field marshal in the Prussian army . Before his funeral it was determined that he should have an English marshal's baton with him in the grave, but - because it did not exist - not a Prussian one. A Prussian marshal's baton was made and placed in the grave in a rapid process.

The Prussian field marshal's baton, 30 cm long, showed alternating golden royal crowns and heraldic eagles on sky-blue velvet . The black heraldic royal eagle on a white background was attached to the cross-sectional areas.

The marshal's staffs of the other German states were mostly similar to the Prussian staffs of that time, with differences in Bavaria and Württemberg .

Interim Field Marshal's Staff

The interim field marshal's baton (worn in daily service) was only available in the German armed forces. The staff was donated by Kaiser Wilhelm II . It was like a tailstock with a golden royal crown at the top. Marshal's baton was occasionally made for the 50th anniversary of King Albert of Saxony's military service and for the 90th birthday of Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke ( marshal's baton set with diamonds, Prussian version).

The German Imperium

Since the German Army was distributed among the federal states , marshal baton was awarded by the federal states in the German Empire as before 1871.

Replica: Marshal's baton from GFM von Richthofen

Wehrmacht after 1935

In the “Third Reich” , as a result of the blossoming systematic personality cult, there were for the first time uniform marshal's baton for all parts of the Reich. Adolf Hitler promoted Werner von Blomberg to field marshal general in 1936 and gave him a marshal's baton, which came to the USA after 1945 and is now on display in the National Museum of American History . As a result, different marshal's baton was manufactured for the army and air force .

In the Wehrmacht, too, it was common for interim baton to be used for everyday use, while the magnificently decorated marshal's baton was only used on special occasions such as parades.

army

The marshal's baton in the army was covered with red velvet. The iron cross was embedded on the knobs below and the Wehrmacht eagle above .

air force

In the Luftwaffe , the staffs were covered in light blue. As with the army, they wore the Iron Cross and the Wehrmacht eagle as well as the Balkenkreuz . Albert Kesselring's 49 cm long marshal's baton appeared in an American auction in December 2010.

marine

Grand Admiral's Staff of Erich Raeder

Since 1900, Grand Admirals of the German Navy led the Grand Admiral's Staff instead of the Marshal's Staff and the Interim Grand Admiral's Staff (a telescope ) in place of the Interim Field Marshal's Staff .

Field marshals general without marshal's baton

Field Marshal General Friedrich Paulus , Ferdinand Schörner (both Army) and Robert Ritter von Greim (Air Force) did not receive a Marshal's baton, as Paulus fell into Soviet captivity in Stalingrad shortly after his promotion, and Schörner and von Greim were only promoted to General Field Marshal in 1945 and because of the War conditions no more marshal's baton could be made. Schörner received the interim staff.

Reichsmarschall

The formal quality of the highest-ranking commander of a part of the armed forces of the Wehrmacht with the otherwise militarily functionless designation of the Reichsmarschall under the supreme command of Adolf Hitler required a special decoration for the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force Hermann Göring in the National Socialist personality cult . This lent himself a marshal's baton for his own promotion to Reichsmarschall.

Interim Field Marshal's Staff

The interim field marshal's staff was the same for the army and air force and similar to that of Prussia. In contrast, however, it had a smooth knob and a pineapple at the end. It was decorated with Wehrmacht eagles.

Poland

Official staff of the Sejm Marshal

King Augustus the Strong appointed as Polish King August II (1697–1733) also royal Polish field marshals who led a staff.

The Marshal of Poland carried a so-called pusikan , a mace , as his official sign .

The President of the Sejm , the first chamber of the Polish Parliament, is known as the Sejm Marshal . He too has a marshal's baton.

British Empire

In Great Britain , the marshal's baton was introduced as early as 1736 and has retained its shape ever since. The staff is covered with red velvet on which English lions are placed. At the top of the staff is a mounted knight who kills a dragon , which goes back to St. George .

Marshals from armies of the former colonies of the British Empire also received this type of marshal's baton, especially Canada and Australia .

France

Details of a French marshal's baton

In France, the marshals received the baton fleurdelisé from the 18th century , 20 inches long, 1.5 inches thick, covered with blue velvet and topped with heraldic lilies . The gold-framed ends have the name and rank of the owner on one side and the motto Terror belli decus pacis ( " Terror belli decus pacis " ( "Terror in war, ornament in times of peace" ) on the other . The later imperial and republican marshal's staffs are covered with Napoleonic eagles or stars instead of lilies .

Quotes on the marshal's baton

It is said that Napoleon motivated the soldiers by saying that everyone had a marshal's baton in their cartridge pouch (“giberne”). He wanted to say that every common soldier has the opportunity to become a commanding officer.

Marshal's baton in museums

Prussian marshal's baton in the Hermitage

The marshal's baton of the General Field Marshals listed below are located in museums and can be viewed there:

Grand admiral staffs in museums

Marshal's baton in heraldry

Crossed bars behind the coat of arms

The staff is not particularly common in heraldry . In and behind the escutcheon , only military people, often also in the nobility, used this mean figure , even if they were actually in possession of this military symbol. It is shown as a cross behind the coat of arms and often shows the characters of the original. Some heraldists consider this staff to be a fitting .

See also

literature

  • André Stirenberg, André Hüsken : Myth of Marshal's Staff . Marshal's baton in Prussian and German history from 1852 to 1945. HM Hauschild, Bremen 2004, ISBN 3-89757-252-4 .

Web links

Commons : Marshal's Batons  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files
Wiktionary: Marshal's baton  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Plutarch, Nicias , 14
  2. ^ A b c d e André Stirenberg, André Hüsken: Myth of Marshal staff . The Marshal's Staff in Prussian and German History from 1852 to 1945. 2004.
  3. ^ Dönitz legacy: Where is his staff? In: Die Zeit from August 26, 1983, accessed on June 4, 2020.
  4. ^ A b Adolf Schlicht, John R. Angolia: The German Wehrmacht. Uniforms and equipment 1933–1945. Volume 1: The Army. 4th edition. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-613-01390-8 .
  5. ↑ Nazi baton fetches $ 731,600 at auction in Towson ( Memento of the original from August 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 25, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / archives.explorebaltimorecounty.com
  6. ^ Adolf Schlicht, John R. Angolia: The German Wehrmacht, Uniforms and Equipment 1933–1945. Volume 3: The Air Force. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-613-02001-7 .