Regiment chief
A regiment chief was the owner / manager of a cavalry or infantry regiment from the 16th to 18th centuries . The term used mainly by the Prussian Army ; In the Austro-Hungarian Army and in the Bavarian Army , the term regiment holder was common.
The title "Chief of / a ( infantry -, cavalry - etc.) ... regiment", also called "Oberstinhaber", became an honorary title in the early 19th century, comparable to the so-called honorary colonel in the British Army .
Emergence
At the time of the Landsknechte , the field captain , who had recruited the pennant for a sum of money on behalf of a prince , was not only a military leader, but also, as the owner, responsible for the equipment and payment. This function within the company economy kept the owner of a company until the beginning of the 19th century. This also applied to the economy of the regiment at the next level up.
At the end of the 16th century, the regiment , composed of several companies ( international word derived from the German word Fähnlein), developed into the actual type of association . The military leader of a regiment was initially the most experienced of the captains , initially with the title Obristfeldhauptmann , later shortened to Colonel , from whom Colonel is derived. However, he remained the owner of his company ( Leibcompanie ) and was also the owner of the entire regiment, that is, "regiment owner". Since the economy of the regiment was analogous to the company economy, he received pay and other income at the same time as the owner of the regiment and as the owner of the body company.
The regiment was named after the owner.
Situation in the 17th and 18th centuries
With the transition to the standing armies , the sovereigns themselves recruited their regiments, appointed the officers and appointed the regiment owner . This often no longer led his regiment himself. Regimental commanders in today's sense became the former deputy lieutenant colonels (lieutenant colonels), who then enforced the rank and pay of the colonel, i.e. the regiment owner, due to the real leadership function.
If a Reichskreis appointed a colonel as the owner of a district regiment , he concluded a surrender with him .
The sovereign was usually personally owner of the " Leibregiment " (or the "... Regiment No. 1") with the Leibcompanie.
The regiments were often still named after their owner. The same regiment had different names over the years. If a name could designate two regiments, for example because a father owned one regiment and his son owned another, the name was prefixed with an “old” or “young” in the German-speaking area. (This was true even if the military concerned owned two regiments.)
Examples in the Duchy of Württemberg for the same regiment:
| time | Name of the regiment | Regimental owner |
|---|---|---|
| 1767-1784 | Grenadier Regiment v. Eye | Lieutenant General Johann Abraham David von Augé |
| 1784-1786 | Grenadier Regiment v. Gabelenz | Major General Christoph Friedrich von Gabelenz |
| 1786-1788 | Grenadier Regiment v. Saxe-Coburg | Major General Prince Ludwig Karl von Sachsen-Coburg |
| 1788-1791 | Grenadier Regiment v. Phull | Major General Lebrecht Friedrich August von Phull |
| 1791-1794 | Grenadier Regiment v. Nicolai | Major General Ferdinand Friedrich von Nicolai |
| time | Name of the regiment | Regimental Commandant |
| 1767 | Grenadier Regiment v. Eye | Colonel Karl Friederich Eberhard von Reischach |
| 1767-1774 | Grenadier Regiment v. Eye | Colonel August Ludwig Graf von Hohenlohe-Kirchberg |
| 1774-1775 | Grenadier Regiment v. Eye | Colonel Sigmund Friedrich von Schütz |
| 1775-1794 | Grenadier Regiment v. Augé to Grenadier Regiment v. Nicolai | Colonel Otto Wilhelm Alexander von Rau from and to Holzhausen |
Situation in the 19th century
At the latest at the beginning of the 19th century, the ownership of a regiment was abolished in the German states with the mercenary armies , in Prussia with the army reform 1807-1814.
The regiments were now only named yet by the type of weapon and numbered, in the Kingdom of Württemberg z. B. by a royal order of May 26th, 1811: “SKM orders that all regiments of cavalry and infantry, except those, so princes of the king. House bosses, no longer use the name of the proprietor, but should be named according to numbers as follows
-
Cavalry
- No. 1 Chevauxleger Regiment Duke Heinrich
- No. 2 Leib-Chevauleger Regiment
- No. 3 Jäger-Regiment on Horseback Duke Louis
- No. 4 Hunter Regiment on Horseback King
- No. 5 Dragoon Regiment Crown Prince
-
infantry
- No. 1 Infantry Regiment Prince Paul
- No. 2 Infantry Regiment Duke Wilhelm
- (by Phull) 3rd Infantry Regiment
- (by Franquemont) 4th Infantry Regiment
- 5th Infantry Regiment Prince Friedrich
- 6th Infantry Regiment Crown Prince
- (v. Koseritz ) 7th Infantry Regiment
- (v. Scharfenstein) 8th Infantry Regiment
- (v. Etzorf) 9th Infantry Regiment ”.
The additions were finally removed with the reorganization of the Württemberg army in 1817.
Situation in the German Empire
In the 19th century, the function and position of the "boss" changed to a purely honorary position .
The heads of state of the federal states of the German Empire ( federal princes ) were chiefs of their respective body regiments. But foreign monarchs also held chief positions in German regiments until the beginning of the war in 1914 (e.g. the King of England, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the King of Italy, etc.); these wore the badges of rank that corresponded to the rank they held in their own army. Only Tsar Nicholas II wore the insignia of a colonel with all domestic and foreign uniforms. Conversely, the German Kaiser Wilhelm II was the chief or honorary colonel (as it is called in some countries) of numerous foreign regiments. During stays abroad or visits by foreign monarchs in Germany, he wore the uniform of the units of which he was chief.
Not all regiments in the empire had a regimental chief. This had now become a special award - equally for the honored person and for the regiment, which usually bore the (crowned) signature (initials / monogram) of their boss on the shoulder boards or shoulder pieces / epaulettes (officers) (see web links) .
The regimental commander was of "his" regiment monthly report refunded and given a list of the officers serving in the regiment.
Wilhelm II was z. B. Chief of the following regiments:
- 1st Guards Regiment on foot (at the same time he was company commander of the 1st company / body company )
- Regiment of the Gardes du Corps
- Life Guard Hussar Regiment
- 1st Guards Field Artillery Regiment (1st field battery = His Majesty's body battery )
- King's Uhlan Regiment (1st Hannoversches) No. 13
- Grenadier Regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm I." (2nd Badisches) No. 110
- Infantry Regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm" (2nd Grand Ducal Hessian) No. 116
- King Infantry Regiment (6th Lorraine) No. 145
- Grenadier Regiment "King Friedrich Wilhelm I." (2nd East Prussian) No. 3
- Grenadier Regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm, King of Prussia" (2nd Royal Saxon) No. 101
- Infantry Regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm, King of Prussia" (2nd Württembergisches) No. 120
- King Jäger regiment on horseback No. 1
In exceptional cases, independent battalions were also given a chief, such as the Lauenburg Jäger Battalion No. 9, whose chief on October 18, 1916, the infantry general Otto von Below became.
Female bosses
In the Prussian army and in the German army (with the exception of Saxony and Bavaria ) female members of the ruling houses were enfeoffed with regiments. In 1914 there were 21 female regiments. In this function they wore the uniform of the respective regiment, but without a side arm. With the exception of the Empress, they wore the shoulder pieces or epaulettes of a colonel ; The sash was worn with epaulettes and the field bandage with the shoulder pieces .
Situation after 1918
The time of the regiment chiefs ended with the empire . In the Wehrmacht , the tradition was taken up again six times: for example, the former Chief of Army Command Colonel General Hans von Seeckt became Chief of Infantry Regiment 67 in Berlin-Spandau, the characterized Infantry General Franz Ritter von Epp became Chief of Infantry Regiment 61 in Munich, and the longest-serving soldier General Field Marshal August von Mackensen Chief of Cavalry Regiment 5 in Stolp (Pomerania), Colonel General Werner von Fritsch as "reparation" (cf. Blomberg-Fritsch Crisis ) Chief of Artillery Regiment 12 in Schwerin (Mecklenburg) and Colonel General Gerd von Rundstedt on his farewell Chief of the Infantry Regiment 18 in Bielefeld , Field Marshal of the Austro-Hungarian Army Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli, Chief of Infantry Regiment 28 in Opava .
The Bundeswehr no longer has a senior position.
Situation in Great Britain
In Great Britain there is still the position of chief or Colonel-in-Chief ( translated as Colonel of Honor in Germany ). So are z. B. in Great Britain the heir to the throne Prince Charles ( Welsh Guards ), Prince Phillip ( Scots Guards as Duke of Edinburgh; consort Queen Elizabeth II. ) And the Princess Royal Honorary Chiefs of their regiments; Other members of the British royal family and the late " Queen Mum " had and still have "their" regiments.
literature
- Klaus von Bredow, Ernst von Wedel: Historical ranking and master list of the German army. Berlin (Scherl) 1905. ( online )
- Wilhelm Weber: The German Kaiser as colonel owner of Austrian-Hungarian regiments. In: Orden-Militaria-Magazin. 1996, pp. 12-16.
- August Ludwig Reyscher (Ed.): Complete, historically and critically processed collection of the Württemberg laws. Volume 19.1: War Laws 1. Part 1360–1800. Tübingen 1849; Volume 19.2: War Laws Part 2 1801–1820. Tübingen 1850; Volume 19.3: War Laws 3rd Part 1821–1849. Tuebingen 1851.
Footnotes
- ↑ That was the name of the Imperial Dragoon Regiment D IV 1734 Old Savoy (after Eugen Franz Prince of Savoy ) and in the same year the Cuirassier Regiment K 2 Young Savoy (after Eugen Johannes Prince of Savoy ).
- ↑ quoted from Reyscher, Volume 19.2, p. 1174 f.
- ^ Alfred Cramer : History of the Infantry Regiment Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands (2nd Westphalian) No. 15. Verlag R. Eisenschmid, publishing bookshop for military science, Berlin 1910.
- ↑ Herbert Knötel the Elder J., Paul Pietsch, Werner Collas: The German Army - peace uniforms at the outbreak of the world war. 1st volume, 2nd edition, Stuttgart 1982, p. 35 ff.
- ↑ The German Army 1939, structure, locations, staffing and list of all officers on January 3, 1939. Ed. HH Podzun, Bad Nauheim 1953.