Fürst von Anhalt-Dessau Cuirassiers
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Origin and History
The regiment entered service in the army of King August II in 1698 as a regiment of dragoons, formerly belonging to the Duke of Brunswick-Wolffenbuettel.
During the War of the Spanish Succession, the regiment fought in Poland up to 1706; thereafter in Brabant till 1713. After the war, in 1717, it incorporated the disbanded ‘Saintpaul’ (sic) Dragoons.
During the War of the Polish Succession, from 1733 to 1735, the regiment campaigned in Poland.
During the War of the Austrian Succession, in 1741, 1742, 1744 and 1745, the regiment served with the Saxon Army in Bohemia and Saxony. At the end of the war, in 1748, the regiment was converted into cuirassiers by amalgamation with the Dallwitz Cuirassiers. In 1749, when the army was reduced to peace time strength, the regiment lost 4 coys.
According to the 1753 État, during peacetime each regiment counted 8 companies in 4 squadrons for a total of 514 men and 394 horses.
In 1756, after the surrender of the Saxon Army at Pirna, the entire regiment was distributed among the Prussian cavalry.
During the Seven Years' War, and since 1749, the Chef of the regiment was Lieutenant-general Fürst Eugen von Anhalt-Dessau who died with the rank Generalfeldmarschall in 1781.
During the Seven Years' War, the regiment was commanded by:
- since 1748: Colonel von Dallwitz
- from 1763 to his death in 1770: Colonel von Buttler
After the war, in 1763, the regiment was reformed and counted 4 squadrons. In 1764, it received an company of carabiniers. In 1770, this latter company joined the Garde du Corps.
Service during the War
At the end of August 1756, when Frederick II invaded Saxony, the regiment retired to Pirna with the rest of the Saxon army. At Pirna, the regiment was deployed on the right wing under von Arnim, as part of von Reitzenstein's Brigade. The Prussians blockaded the Saxon army in Pirna from September 9 until October 15 when the Saxons finally had to surrender. The entire regiment was then distributed among the Prussian cavalry.
In 1757, the men absconding from the Prussian service were rallied in Hungary and served as grenadiers with the Saxon infantry along with the French armies from 1758 to 1761.
In 1761, the men serving as grenadiers finally received mounts and united with the Garde du Corps to form a cavalry regiment counting 4 squadrons.
Uniform
Privates
| Headgear | black tricorne laced white with a white cockade fastened with a small white button; one yellow bob in each lateral corne | ||||||||||
| Neckstock | black | ||||||||||
| Coat | white lined yellow with 6 white buttons (arranged 1-2-3) down to the waist on each side; 3 white buttons under the waist on the right side
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| Waistcoat | buff leather kollet edged with a yellow braid with a white stripe; no button (fastened with hooks and eyes) a yellow waistcoat was worn under the kollet | ||||||||||
| Breeches | buff | ||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
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| Horse Furniture |
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Troopers were armed with ???.
Officers
Musicians
To do: specify particularities of the uniforms of the musicians
Standards
Leibfahne: White field, centre device: gold shield of ornate design upon a wreath of green palm leaves, on top a gold crown, lined crimson, set with silver pearls and colored stones, on the shield is a red field on which the arms of Polands (eagle and knight) are in white, on the centre the arms of Saxony beneath the electoral hat.
Ordinarfahne: Yellow field, in the centre the monogram A.R. in gold, crimson lined gold crown set with silver pearl and colored stones on a pedestal in white surrounded by pale green palm leaves, a gold design around the border, fringe in crimson and silver.
The first squadron carried the white colonel (Leib) standard while the 3 other squadrons each carried one ordonnance standard.
References
Geschichte und gegenwärtiger Zustand der Kursächsischen Armee. [History and present state of the Saxon Army.] 2nd edition, part IX, Dresden 1793.
Bavaria, Saxony and the Palatinate Supplement: Uniforms & Flags of the Seven Years War. Researched by M.Lange and A. Sharman. Compiled by R.D. Pengel. Artwork by G.R. Hurt. Birmingham, 1981.
