Jung-Hannover Cuirassiers
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Origin and History
There are some doubts about the year of creation of this regiment. Gräffer as well as A. v. Thürheim in his book “Die Reiterregimenter der k. k. österreichischen Armee“ (Vienna, 1862) mention that Prince Julius Heinrich Sachsen-Lauenburg created this cuirassier regiment in 1618. Josef Victorin explained the real history the foundation of the regiment in his book “Geschichte des K. K. Dragoner Regimentes Herzog Wilhelmvon Braunschweig Nr 7” (Vienna, 1879) as follows:
- During the Thirty Years' War, Prince Julius Sachsen-Lauenburg owned several horse regiments between 1620 and 1625. In 1621, his arquebusier regiment was transformed into cuirassiers. Furthermore, in 1621 and 1622, cuirassier regiment mutinied and was disbanded. In 1625, he raised another cuirassier regiment (disbanded in 1650 as “Bossu”) and, in 1627-1628, he erected a new arquebusier regiment.
- On 9 November 1655, Johann Baron Garnier received a decree (Gehorsams Patent) authorising him to raise a new horse regiment (“…ein neues Regiment zu Pferde werben…”). That means, it was an entirely new regiment, without any connection with those of the Prince Sachsen-Lauenburg (but it is possible that some men from these regiments were incorporated in it). According to a letter of Emperor Leopold I to Count Montecuccoli dated 12 May 1659, this regiment was subdivided into two distinct units: one (6 coys) under Colonel Scholz, the other (4 coys) under Colonel Count Caraffa.
- In 1663, the Garnier brothers offered to the Emperor to raise a corps of 5,000 men and one horse regiment. Leopold accepted and GFWM Johann Baron Garnier immediately started to enlist cavalrymen in Silesia. On 1 and 5 May 1664, the new regiment was reviewed at Troppau (present-day Opava/CZ) and Freistadtl (present-day Fryšták/CZ).
Thus, the year 1663 is the real year of foundation of the regiment who initially counted 1,000 men and was assigned to the Corps FZM of Souches. On 19 July, it participated in the Battle of Lewencz (present-day Levice/SK). The army, badly hurt by diseases, camped around Neuhäusel. By that time, the regiment had only 150 men. At the beginning of August 1664, Johann Baron Garnier died. On 26 August, Hans Nikolaus Count Nostitz auf Kunewalde was appointed as new proprietor and commander. The regiment did not take part in any other action until the signature of peace at Vasvár.
In February 1670, Count Nostitz died. The new proprietor Johann Heinrich Count Dünewald was appointed on 17 March 1670.
In 1673, the regiment served on the Rhine against France. On 4 October 1674, it was at the Battle of Ensisheim. On 1 August 1675, it fought in the Battle of Altenheim. On 22 August 1677, it was at Altkirch under Count Dünewald.
In 1683, the regiment took part in the campaign against the Turks. The same year, it was among Duke Carl von Lothringen's Army when it relieved Vienna. It was at the first siege of Ofen. In 1685, it fought at Gran and took part in the second siege of Ofen. In 1687, it was at the Battle of Mohacs and took part in the expedition in Slavonia. In 1688, it was at the siege of Belgrade. In 1689, it served on the Rhine and took part in the siege of Mainz.
In 1691, the regiment returned to Hungary where it fought in the Battle of Szlankamen. In 1692, it was at the capture of Gyula and at the siege of Grosswardein. In 1695, it fought in the bloody Battle of Lugos; in 1696, in the Battle of Ollasch; and in 1697, in the Battle of Zenta.
The regiment counted 6 squadrons.
Since its creation, the successive proprietors of the regiment were:
- from 1663 to August 1664: Johann Baron Garnier, GFWM
- from 26 August 1664 to March 1670: Hans Nikolaus Count Nostitz auf Kunewalde
- from 17 March 1670 to 31 August 1691: Johann Heinrich Count Dünewald, FM
- from 14 September 1691 to 1697: Vitus Heinrich Baron Truchsess von Wetzhausen
- from 1 August 1697 to 31 July 1703: Christian Prince Braunschweig-Lüneburg zu Hannover, colonel (killed at the Battle of Munderkingen)
- from 30 August 1703 to March 1711: Junicus Lamoral Count de La Tour Thurn und Taxis, FML (resigned from function in 1711, killed on 16 August 1717 at the siege at Belgrade)
- from 5 March 1711 to March 1718: Peter Joseph Baron de Viard, FML
- from 14 May 1718 until 1738: Andreas Count Hamilton, G.d.C.
N.B.: from 1701 to 1703, the regiment was designated as “Jung-Hannover” to distinguish it from the “Alt-Hannover Cuirassiers”.
During the War of the Spanish Succession, the regiment was commanded by its successive proprietors till 1711 and then by:
- from 1711: Johann Christoph Baron Seherr von Thoss, colonel
In 1768, the regiment was numbered 21 among the Austrian cavalry regiments. In 1798, it was renumbered 7. In 1867, it was transformed into a dragoon regiment, retaining its number. Prior to the First World War, the regiment garrisoned Stanislau/Galicia (present-day Poland) and was known as the “Böhmisches Dragoner-Regiment Leopold Herzog von Lothringen und Bar Nr. 7”.
Service during the War
At the beginning of the war, in 1701, the regiment was stationed in Slavonia.
In April 1702, the regiment along with Steinville Cuirassiers and Zanthe Cuirassiers arrived at Philippsburg. In October and November, it then took part in the Siege of Landau.
In 1703, the regiment was attached to the corps of Leopold Count Schlik. On March 11, the regiment along with Schlik Dragoons was surprised by the Bavarians near Eisenbirn and suffered heavy losses. At the end of July, FML Count de La Tour marched to Munderkingen at the head of this regiment, one dragoon and one hussar regiment. On July 31, this corps clashed with a French corps under General Haron. As the regiment proprietor, Christian Prince Braunschweig-Lüneburg, was crossing the Danube River, he was hit in the head by a bullet. The prince fell into the river and drowned. His body was found 6 days later on the shore. The regiment and Schlik Dragoons were then transferred to Hungary to quench the beginning of Rákóczi Uprising. Under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Viard, the regiment arrived in Pressburg (present-day Bratislava/SK) and formed a cordon along the Danube River.
In 1704, the regiment was attached to the corps of FM Sigbert Count Heister and took part in the campaign against Rákóczi in Hungary, fighting in the battles of Szent Miklós and Stuhlweissenburg (present-day Székesfehérvár/HU). On 12 July, the regiment fought alongside Alt-Hannover Cuirassiers and distinguished itself at the Battle of Gyarmath against Károlyi's troops. On 26 December, at the battle of Tyrnau (present day Trnava/SK), Heister's infantry (mostly formed of young recruits) routed. However, Heister at the head of his cuirassier regiments turned the battle into a victory. The rebels lost 2,000 men, many of them French.
In 1705, the regiment campaigned in Hungary with Herbeville's main army, fighting in the battle at Budmeritz (present-day Budmerice/SK) and Sibó. The regiment was later transferred to Transylvania.
For the campaign of 1706, the regiment was assigned to Rabutin's Corps and went afterwards to Upper Hungary (Slovakia).
In 1707, the regiment served in Guido Starhemberg's Corps stationed on the left bank of the Danube River. It saw no major action.
On 9 March 1708, the regiment was involved at Bruska/SK and, on 4 August, in the Battle of Trencsén (present-day Trenčín/SK).
In 1709, the regiment campaigned once more in Upper Hungary where it took part in the pacification of the country.
On 22 January 1710, the regiment took part in the Battle at Vadkert (or Romhány/HU) and in smaller actions in Upper Hungary.
From 1711 to 1716, the regiment garrisoned various places in the Comitat of Sáros (present-day Šariš/SK) and Csongrad/HU.
Uniform
Before 1738, there are almost no surviving contemporary sources describing the details of the uniforms of each Austrian regiment. Even secondary sources are scarce. In this section, we present a tentative reconstruction of the uniform worn by this unit.
Troopers
| Headgear |
Western European theatres: black tricorne laced white reinforced with an iron skullcap for combat Eastern European theatres: round helmet of wrought iron with neck and nose protection hair had to be of a standard length and tied with a black ribbon | ||||||||||||
| Neck stock | white | ||||||||||||
| Coat | buff leather lined red with short skirts reaching above the thighs replaced by a grey-white coat around 1710
| ||||||||||||
| Waistcoat | white made of linen cloth | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | red (buff leather around 1710) | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
| ||||||||||||
| Horse Furniture |
|
Troopers were armed with a cuirasse of blackened wrought-iron (some regiments used a leather full cuirasse with front and back plates) edged red, a pallasch (sword) and a pair of pistols.
NCOs
no information found yet
Officers
Uniforms of officers differed from those of the privates and NCOs by the finer material used. Cuffs and pockets were probably edged with a wide silver braid.
Officers wore a black and yellow silk sash across the chest or around the waist.
Musicians
In the Austrian Cuirassier regiments, kettle drummers and trumpeters were dressed according to the regiment owner's tastes. They often wore brightly coloured uniforms with:
- a plumed black round slouch hat
- a curled periwig down to the shoulders
- a white cravate
- a comfortable red or blue coat with wide skirts reaching above the knees, decorated with ribbons and braids
- red breeches
- riding boots made of Russian leather with a knee pad reaching above the knee
The fairly large trumpet had a square yellow silk apron carrying an embroidered black double-eagle.
Kettle drums were similar to those used nowadays in symphonic orchestras. They were fastened to the saddle on each side of the pommel. One drum had a low register, the other a high one. The kettle drums were covered with richly laced and fringed yellow or red silken brocade apron measuring 128 cm. The middle of this apron was decorated with the painted (oil paint) arms of the regiment owner.
Standards
According to Dohna, from 1657 to 1705, all Austrian (Imperial) cuirassier regiments carried the same white Leibstandarte (colonel standard). It was fringed in gold and, on both sides, the border was decorated with a golden floral pattern:
- obverse (right): centre design consisted of an armed black Imperial double-eagle with the arms of Austria on a shield, surmounted by a crown
- reverse (left): the Mother of God (which had been declared the patroness of the army by Kaiser Ferdinand III) on a cloud and surrounded by rays
N.B.: according to Sapherson (The Imperial Cavalry 1691–1714), the reverse of the Leibstandarte "carried the colonel's arms or the Virgin and Child emblem. These designs were often accompanied by the initials of the colonel, heraldic designs of various types and scrollwork or wreaths."
Despite this supposed standardization, it seems that several cuirassier regiments continued to carry standards departing from this regulation.
As an example, the following Leibstandarte is documented for the present regiment.
From 1657 to 1705, the obverse (right side) of the Ordinärestandarten (regimental standards) of all Austrian (Imperial) cuirassier regiments was of an identical pattern and consisted of an armed black Imperial double-eagle with the arms of Austria on a shield, surmounted by a crown. The border of the obverse was decorated with a floral pattern in the metal colour of the regiment.
References
Abtheilung für Kriegsgeschichte des k. k. Kriegs-Archives: Feldzüge des Prinzen Eugen von Savoyen, Series 1, Vol. 1, Vienna 1875, pp. 212, 219-222, 227
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy K.u.K . Kriegsministerium , Heer - Schematismus für das kaiserliche und königliche Heer und für die kaiserliche..., 1893
Donath, Rudolf: Die Kaiserliche und Kaiserlich-Königliche Österreichische Armee 1618-1918, 2. Aufl., Simbach/Inn 1979, plate B.6, B.8
Gräffer, August: Geschichte der kaiserl. Königl. Regimenter, Corps, Bataillons und anderer Militär-Branchen seit ihrer Errichtung biz zu Ende des Feldzuges 1799, Vol. 2, Vienna, 1804, pp. 29-33
Thürheim, Andreas: Die Reiter-Regiment der k. k. österreichischen Armee, vol. 1 - Die Cürassiere und Dragoner, F.B. Geitler, Vienna: 1862, pp. 175-191
Victorin, Josef: Geschichte des k. k. siebten Dragoner_Regimentes Herzog Wilhelm von Braunschweig, Vienna: 1879
Wrede A. v.: Geschichte der K. und K. Wehrmacht, Vienna 1898 - 1905
Acknowledgement
Harald Skala for the initial version of this article
