Mecklenburg military

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The Mecklenburg military were the army formations of the Mecklenburg states from the beginning of the standing armies to the dissolution of the old Mecklenburg troops after the end of the First World War . Compared to its large southern neighbor, Prussia, but also to Bavaria or Saxony, it was a small armed force of a few regiments of infantry , cavalry and artillery organized in brigades (infantry and cavalry brigades). Organization, equipment and training reached the level of the great armies in Germany in the first half of the 19th century. Areas such as the medical service were even organized in an exemplary manner.

Napoleonic period

After the occupation of Mecklenburg by Napoleonic troops in 1806 and the flight of the dukes to Altona , the country was placed under a French governor. In 1807 the dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin returned and, like those of Strelitz, joined the Rhine Confederation in 1808 . The Mecklenburg troop contingent comprised around 2,300 men. Of these, 1,900 came from Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 400 men from Mecklenburg-Strelitz, where the old guard on horseback, founded in 1701, was disbanded, but the guard set up in the same year on foot and the district hussar corps were left in place.

Mecklenburg-Schwerin troops were supposed to prevent the Schill Corps from moving to Stralsund on the Mecklenburg Pass near Ribnitz in 1809 - they did nothing to do anything. The Mecklenburg-Strelitzer battalion was doing garrison duty in Greifswald and had to face outpost skirmishes with the Schill corps at Richtenberg and fled to Anklam, losing all baggage.

In the campaign against Russia in 1812 , the Mecklenburgers fought in Napoleon's Great Army . The Strelitzers provided a battalion that was incorporated into the 127th French Line Infantry Regiment. With the invasion of Russia, the battalion was divided into an occupation force and a combat group. The latter took part (possibly) in the battle of Walutina Gora, where the French regiment was awarded an eagle by Napoleon, came to Moscow and withdrew after the fire, leaving the sick, wounded and baggage behind. The occupation forces found themselves with Colonel von Bonin, the battalion commander, under difficult conditions in Widsy, were attacked and finally withdrew. Overall, around a third of Mecklenburg-Strelitz returnees were registered over the years (until 1827).

The Mecklenburg-Schwerin were part of the 5th Infantry Division in Napoleon's 1st Army Corps. Only 68 (according to other sources 56) Mecklenburg-Schwerin soldiers came back from the campaign.

Wars of Liberation

On March 25, 1813, the Schwerin duke Friedrich Franz I, the first prince of the Rhine Confederation, renounced Napoleon and stood on the side of Russia and Prussia . The Duke of Strelitz followed on March 30th. New troops were raised. The Mecklenburg-Strelitz Hussar Regiment , the C- Hussars , a unit made up of volunteers under Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm von Warburg , took part in many important battles of the Wars of Liberation as part of the Prussian Silesian Army under Blücher , including the Battle of Goldberg / Silesia , in the Battle of the Katzbach (without directly intervening in the fighting) and in the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig on October 16 near Möckern . The Mecklenburg-Strelitz hussar Joachim Christian Timm managed to capture the eagle of the French 1st Marine Artillery Regiment near Möckern. The Schwerin troops, also recruited on a voluntary basis, acted together with Prussian units on the north-western theater of war.

Overall, Mecklenburg provided around 13,000 soldiers with a total population of less than 500,000 in the Wars of Liberation . After the end of the campaign in 1815, the troops returned to Mecklenburg and were enthusiastically received by the population.

From the Congress of Vienna to the North German Confederation in 1867

The Congress of Vienna raised the status of both Mecklenburg dukes to Grand Dukes , a share of the French war indemnity and for Strelitz a new territory on the Saar , which was sold to Prussia. Both Mecklenburg became members of the German Confederation and the military part of the Federal Army . The Mecklenburg troops were part of the X Army Corps.

Mecklenburg-Schwerin troops took part in the campaign against revolutionary Baden in 1848/49 as part of the Prussian Army . In the same period of time, Mecklenburg-Strelitz troops were deployed to secure the coast in Rostock to guard duty in Bützow and to deploy against Denmark. In 1860, after long hesitation and negotiation, Neustrelitz met the obligation to provide at least one so-called special troop unit and set up an artillery battery. This battery later belonged to the Holstein Field Artillery Regiment No. 24, was assigned to the department stationed in Güstrow and was then officially, because it was to remain in Neustrelitz , as commanded to Neustrelitz.

Gendarme of the Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Schwerin Gendarmerie Corps around 1840

Part of the Mecklenburg military were also the Grand Ducal State Gendarmerie , which existed until 1918, and the Mecklenburg-Strelitz District Hussar Corps, which was founded in 1798.

In the North German Confederation

After the Prussian victory against Austria in 1866, the North German Confederation was founded under Prussia's leadership and the exclusion of Austria. In the period that followed, the two Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz battalions formed the Mecklenburg Grenadier Regiment No. 89, then the Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Grenadier Regiment No. 89. The battalion from Neustrelitz formed the 2nd Battalion and retained its golden braids and red and gold epaulettes, while the battalions from Schwerin wore silver braids and white and red epaulettes.

In the German Empire

In the German Empire , founded in 1871 , the Mecklenburg troops formed part of the Prussian army and belonged to the 17th division .

The following units existed:

infantry

The Mecklenburg infantry units formed the 34th Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Brigade .

Grand Ducal Mecklenburg (Guard) Grenadier Regiment No. 89 with garrisons in Schwerin and Neustrelitz . As a guard regiment, this regiment wasalso intended for special service with the sovereigns. The castle guards in Schwerin and Neustrelitzprovided units of this regiment. The officers and soldiers of the regiment were the only troops of the German Army towear bearskin hats to the parade, but only the two battalions in Schwerin.

Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Fusilier Regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm" No. 90 " with garrisons in Rostock and Wismar .

In addition to these two regiments, there was also the Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Jäger Battalion No. 14 with garrison in Colmar in Alsace .

cavalry

The Mecklenburg cavalry troops formed the 17th Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Cavalry Brigade of the German Army.

artillery

The artillery troop units formed the 17th field artillery brigade of the German Army.

Fortresses

In Mecklenburg the fortress Dömitz existed from 1559 to 1894 near the city ​​of the same name .

Sources and literature

  • Otto Vitense : The History of Mecklenburg . Gotha 1920
  • Erna Keubke; Klaus-Ulrich Keubke: The Mecklenburg military and its uniforms in the Biedermeier period . Hinstorff, Rostock 1991
  • Wolf Karge; Hartmut Schmied; Ernst Münch : The history of Mecklenburg . Hinstorff, Rostock 1993
  • Jürgen Borchert : Mecklenburg's Grand Dukes . Demmler-Verlag, Schwerin 1992
  • Klaus-Ulrich Keubke: Small military history of Mecklenburg . Stock & Stein, Schwerin 1995
  • Jean Bellmann: Sketches for Mecklenburg-Strelitz Military History 1701 to 2018 . Neustrelitz 2019