Advertising (military)

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Old US Army advertising poster

From the end of the Middle Ages to the middle of the 19th century, the term advertising referred to the recruitment of volunteers ( mercenaries ) for service in the military . Until then, the word had only this military meaning, only later did the meaning in the sense of " advertise " prevail .

States in the current sense did not exist until the early modern era, and consequently no civic obligations. The legal relationships of the individual existed with their respective "master".

Creation of the paid warrior

The obligatory participation in acts of war in the form of the popular mobilization or army ban had been replaced in Europe by military successes as early as the end of antiquity, beginning in the Franconian Empire . Since the increasing money economy made it possible to pay warriors with money from the 12th century onwards , besides the feudal knights and their hired servants, soldier knights and hired servants were formed as a class of professional warriors.

With the change in warfare , triggered by the superiority of the Swiss Gevierthaufen over the knight army in the Battle of Morgarten in 1315, the importance of the infantry , which was needed in large numbers, grew . But only in a few areas was the general population mastered in the arms trade. B. with the Swiss rice walkers . It was therefore natural to fall back on the tried and tested system of soldiers made up of professional warriors and not to employ inexperienced subjects . In addition, the latter, as farmers and artisans, were far too valuable for their own economy to be jeopardized in a campaign or even to lose them.

Advertise the mercenaries

A prince or ruler , castle, who was planning a campaign with a force as an experienced military leader soldier a contract for a certain time, he commissioned as "advertising Lord," a certain number of mercenaries to recruit and horsemen, and here on provided him with a " advertising patent " out. In return, the advertiser received an agreed sum of money with which he paid for the recruitment and also the pay of the recruited. Sometimes the advertiser also advanced the amount or participated in the financing. During the campaign , the advertiser was usually also the regiment owner of the recruited troops, such as Georg von Frundsberg or Wallenstein during the Thirty Years' War .

Order of Duke Ulrich von Württemberg to recruit 6,000 men in the Confederation from August 12, 1518:

"After the Löuff genuinely rebelled at this time and we don't know whether the current Rychstag in Augspurg will end or not, we have also considered to look at us ourselves, so we will give you the feeling that you want us VIm [= 6 mille , 6,000] good servant and under the same also captains and fendrich inn of the aid association accept and order umb ain pay. If we will require Ir that they draw us the same pay, If we, however, Ir net require that we then act and also not syen guilty, to the extent that you would therefore accept and be ordered, from them you want to take notice beforehand whether or not our governor to do and dear Eberhard von Ryschach (so the Glychen beuelh of us had) also accepted them or dealt with you, so that no two action could be done, and one should accept the other and order error or prevention, you should then do something wol waist and we tell you the story of our opinion, dat stuttg. Dornstegg after laurentii XVIIj "
To H. Albrecht von Landenberg Rittr
Desglych to Eberhartten von Ryschach Vogt zu Tibinge

Advertising for standing armies from the 17th century

Prussian advertisers under Friedrich the Great
picture by Friedrich Hiddemann
Soldiers canvassing in the 18th century
Recruitment of German soldiers for the French army in the 18th century - "Living history" weekend in the Roscheider Hof open-air museum

With the rise of the standing armies towards the end of the 17th century, the sovereigns took over the advertising themselves. They instructed individual organs of the emerging administration to do this:

“After we, from the most gracious command of the Roman. Kaiserl. Maj. Our most gracious lord, our dermahlen from Morea in the process of returning regiment recruited to the and the common being, and therefore want to advertise throughout the whole of the duchy. As if our most gracious command is herewith to you, you should publish this in your most gracious place and office, and announce that whoever is willing to take service under such a regiment, which we ourselves will command, either here in our residence, or at Tübingen, Schorndorff, Göppingen, or Marppach, with the officers of the end who were engaged in advertising. Our opinion coats it "
  • Württemberg General Rescript to the officials of June 21, 1690, concerning the recruitment of a regiment on foot for Spanish services
"... as if this is our most gracious command that you should, so far away from getting some capable crew with you, also through your Ambts members, should accept them ... to the man 4 à 5 Rthlr. Hand money, and daily count on the maintenance ... But for the rest you have to be on the fact that no guaranteed or promised Lands Underthan, nor some of the Land Militia ... are accepted. "

or commissioned individual officers with whom they concluded a corresponding contract ( advertising patent ).

To make the advertising known, posters and flyers were also used.

In order to protect the country's economic resources, the recruitment of working subjects (in the service of the sovereign, craftsmen, farmers) was prohibited. When the inclination to commitments decreased because of the grievances in the armies at the time and because the many wandering homeless people (" wandering and masterless servants ") were perceived as a nuisance, these were also deliberately forcibly recruited as were the deserters from other armies :

"As if this is our command that you are to assign us as much of the people as possible, including all deserters, whatever their service or nation, except for the national-French, with all the rest of the wandering and masterless servants, also with all those who do not provide credible passports, take them away without any trouble, and then deliver Asperg to the officer commanding there ... "
"Pursche who wander around on the begging and are not wandering craft Pursche, not even provided with credible passports or certificates, should be taken away to the military - but presented to the nearest Vogtamt by the advertising officers beforehand - and recognized by them whether they are to be taken for vagabonds too. "

Advertising in the 19th and 20th centuries

After the recruitment of men in many countries was regulated by the introduction of compulsory military service , it was only left to the individual regiments in Germany until the 20th century ( Reichswehr ) to recruit longer-serving NCOs and officers themselves.

States such as B. Great Britain or the USA knew no conscription, were still dependent on the recruitment of volunteers. Also for own units that could not or should not fall back on conscripts despite existing conscription, such as B. the Foreign Legion in France or the protection troops in the German colonies , had to be recruited.

Advertising today

All armies use all modern advertising media, including the Internet, to advertise volunteers for service as temporary or professional soldiers . As an incentive to become a soldier , "hand money" was paid in earlier centuries. Today's armed forces usually advertise with a commitment bonus and / or the opportunity to acquire additional educational qualifications.

After the abolition or suspension of compulsory military service in many European countries, despite increased advertising measures, they often fail to win the required number of voluntary citizens of their own for service in the armed forces, so that they sometimes also recruit foreign nationals (Spain) or for service in the Authorize armed forces (Netherlands).

For the Bundeswehr , the career advisors deployed at the Bundeswehr career centers take on the practical tasks of recruiting volunteers for the local armed forces. Central tasks are performed by the Federal Office for Personnel Management of the Bundeswehr .

Advertising posters from different times

  • Advertising poster around 1740

  • Advertising poster from the American Civil War

  • Advertising poster England in World War I.

  • Advertising poster Canada 1939-1945

Ban on advertising

Prohibition of third-party advertising

From the 16th to the beginning of the 19th century, there was a repeated ban in many countries to advertise troops from other countries or to be recruited for foreign troops. Only the imperial army was allowed to advertise within the entire Holy Roman Empire .

Today it is a criminal offense in Germany to recruit German citizens "for the benefit of a foreign power ... for military service in a military or military-like institution". The situation is similar in Austria and Switzerland.

References

See also

Web links

Commons : Advertising  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

literature

  • Hans Delbrück : History of the art of war - Vol. 2 The modern times. 1st edition. Georg Stilke, Berlin, 1920; New edition Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 2000, ISBN 3-937872-42-6 .
  • Siegfried Fiedler: Warfare and warfare in the age of the mercenaries. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz, 1985, ISBN 3-7637-5462-8 .
  • Siegfried Fiedler: Warfare and Warfare in the Age of Cabinet Wars. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz, 1986, ISBN 3-7637-5478-4 .
  • Theodor Fuchs: History of the European Warfare - Part I: From ancient times to the formation of the standing armies. Herold Publishing House, Vienna 1972,
History of the European Warfare - Part II: From the establishment of the first standing armies to the emergence of the modern people's armies , Verlag Herold, Vienna 1986
  • Dr. August Ludwig Reyscher , Ed .: Complete, historically and critically edited collection of the Württemberg laws
Vol. 19.1 War Laws Part 1 1360-1800, Tübingen, 1849
Vol. 19.2 War Laws Part 2 1801-1820, Tübingen, 1850
Vol. 19.3 War Laws Part 3 1821-1849, Tübingen, 1851

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ quoted from Fuchs, p. 166.
  2. ↑ Reyscher 19.1, p. 13f.
  3. ↑ Reyscher 19.1, p. 263.
  4. ↑ Reyscher 19.1, pp. 271f.
  5. ↑ Reyscher, 19.1, p. 549.
  6. ↑ Reyscher, 19.1 p. 614
  7. ↑ Advertising on the Bundeswehr website
  8. ↑ In Württemberg z. B. Reyscher on March 9, 1714, January 20, 1716, October 31, 1716, October 27, 1725 (discontinuation of the Prussian advertisements) and July 30, 1728
  9. ↑ In Württemberg z. B. according to Reyscher on February 3, 1625, June 18, 1625 Placat, regarding the prohibition of accepting foreign military service "loss of his civil rights, referral of our Herztogthumb, also forwarding wife and children", December 24, 1644 and June 20, 1639
  10. ↑ § 109h StGB