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114-580: During the Occupation of Upper Baden , George Frederick of Baden-Durlach was able to reunite the two parts of Baden-Baden and Baden-Durlach and, around 1600, generate a force of 200 cavalry, 600 foot soldiers and 40 guns. The Protestant margrave, whose territory was in the vicinity of the Habsburg Further Austria and who was in inheritance disputes with the Catholic Baden-Baden line, joined

228-416: A divisional commander with the rank of lieutenant general , the two brigades of the division were commanded by major generals or colonelss . A brigade consisted of two or three infantry regiments each with an establishment of three battalions and 2,088 men. The infantry life guard regiment was a little stronger at 3,125 men. The cavalry formed a brigade of three dragoon regiments, each of 718 men under

342-693: A battalion assigned to the imperial headquarters, the Badenese contingent under Major General William of Hochberg formed a brigade in Marshal Victor's IX Corps. The corps was assembled in Tilsit and spent August 1812 there. Illnesses and the unusual weather with its rapid changes affected the soldiers and reduced the strength of the corps by around a sixth before they even left. The corps finally marched off on 30 August, via Wilna (8 September) and Minsk (15 September) reaching Smolensk on 28 September. On 31 October,

456-563: A column of Russian infantry and took 500 prisoners, but was then wiped out by Russian cuirassiers. It lost the majority of its officers and around 150 soldiers and was then only a few men strong. After this bloody rearguard action, the IX Corps crossed the Berezina on the morning of 29 November and destroyed the bridge behind it. In the years that followed, the Baden Brigade continued to function as

570-485: A consecutive number and named after their regimental colonels . The infantry were equipped with percussion rifles , the dragoons each carried a sabre, a pistol and a carbine . The artillery included six- and twelve-pounder guns, seven-pounder howitzers, plus sixteen and twenty-four-pounder guns and mortars of various calibres as siege artillery. The peacetime strength of the Army was 14,459 men. The contingent to be provided for

684-445: A cuirass') were cavalry equipped with a cuirass , sword , and pistols . Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers discarding their lances and adopting pistols as their primary weapon. In the later part of the 17th century, the cuirassier lost his limb armour and subsequently wore only the cuirass (breastplate and backplate), and sometimes

798-462: A cuirassier and two infantrymen). Besides the circle troops, both Baden-Baden and Baden-Durlach had their own troops, so-called household troops , which included the Life Guards ( Leibgarde ). In Baden-Durlach, a grenadier battalion of four companies and a dragoon squadron was set up in 1752, Baden-Baden was followed in 1763 with an equally strong grenadier battalion, a cuirassier company and

912-681: A few weeks, most French regiments stopped wearing the cuirass, as it served no real purpose in this new war. It was not however formally withdrawn until October 1915. The Russian and German cuirassiers ceased to exist when the Imperial armies in both countries were disbanded; respectively in 1917 (due to the Russian Revolution ) and in 1918 (due to the Treaty of Versailles ). The French cuirassiers continued in existence after World War I, although without their traditional armour and reduced in numbers to only

1026-576: A force that had been summoned from Karlsruhe and Rastatt consisting of two battalions of infantry, one squadron of cavalry and four guns and commanded by General Friedrich Hoffmann. Hoffmann's contingent, about 800 strong met around 3,000 revolutionaries who had barricaded themselves near Staufen. The rebels were decisively defeated in the Battle of Staufen in the course of which 19 of their number and one soldier were killed, several houses were set on fire and 60 insurgents were captured. The revolutionaries fled to

1140-483: A helmet. By this time, the sword or sabre had become his primary weapon, with pistols relegated to a secondary function. Cuirassiers achieved increased prominence during the Napoleonic Wars and were last fielded in the opening stages of World War I (1914–1918). A number of countries continue to use cuirassiers as ceremonial troops. The French term cuirassier means "one with a cuirass " ( French : cuirasse ),

1254-454: A living as deputies. From 1857 onwards, the infantry was equipped with the Vereinsgewehr 1857 ("union rifle") jointly procured by Baden, Hesse and Württemberg. This was a muzzle-loader with a 0.54 calibre rifled barrel and percussion lock . The tensions between Prussia and Austria in the 1860s put Baden in a precarious position. On the one hand, there was a close connection between

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1368-511: A man to serve in a whole cuirass" commented a late 17th century observer. The cuirassier lost his limb armour and entered the 18th century with just the breast and backplate. Body armour, was restricted to a cuirass , which fell in and out of use during the 18th century; for example British cavalry entered the War of the Spanish Succession without body armour, although they readopted it during

1482-409: A military union that raised an army of 20-25,000 men. In addition to the former troops of the regular Baden Army and the people's militias of the larger cities, the revolutionary army was also joined by volunteers from other European countries and numerous people from Württemberg. Among the latter was Fritz Heuss, great-great uncle of Theodor Heuss . A Polish commander of the army, Ludwik Mierosławski ,

1596-483: A much smaller scale, polearms (including sergeants equipped with spontoons and halberds ). It also had some psychological effect for the wearer (effectively making the cuirassier more willing to plunge into the thick of fighting) and the enemy (adding intimidation), while it also added weight to a charge, especially in cavalry versus cavalry actions. Napoleonic French cuirasses were originally intended to be proof against three musket shots at close range; however, this

1710-789: A new contingent of 6,850 men, who fought under the French Marshal André Masséna at the Battle of Ebelsberg . At the Battle of Aspern-Essling the Baden Dragoons distinguished themselves; twelve of its members receiving the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honour . The Badenese troops were also used in the Battle of Wagram and against the insurgent Tyrolese , so that the last of them only returned to Grand Duchy in 1810. An even heavier burden followed when Napoleon began his invasion of Russia and demanded around 6,700 men from Baden. Apart from

1824-566: A regiment of foot with 46 officers and 1,687 men under Colonel (later Major General) Heinrich von Porbeck and a battery of six guns under Captain (later Lieutenant General and Adjutant General) von Lassolaye. These troops formed up in July and moved across the Rhine to Kehl on 25 August before assembling in Metz at the end of August where they were issued with French weapons. They marched through France and crossed

1938-744: A result of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803 and the Treaty of Pressburg , Baden increased its territory: in addition to land ruled by the Church and former Imperial cities, the Electoral Palatine and the Breisgau became part of the Margraviate which, in 1803, was elevated to become an Electorate and, in 1806, a Grand Duchy . Many of the new Baden territories had previously raised their own small military forces which now became part of

2052-472: A squadron of hussars . After the death of the last Baden-Baden margrave, Augustus George Simpert , Frederick of Baden-Durlach finally reunited the two states into the Margraviate of Baden . United Baden now had a population of around 257,000, and although Charles Frederick had taken on the debts of the old Baden-Baden margraviate which he had to pay off, he was also able to enlarge the army. In 1780, he united

2166-588: A tailor in Penza and looked after Badenese prisoners of war there. The story of the "tailor of Pensa" was taken up in 1815 by Johann Peter Hebel in the form of a so-called calendar story ( Kalendergeschichte ). The remnants of the Baden Brigade were reinforced in Glogau by 1,200 men in order to defend the French-held fortress against the advancing Russian and Prussian besiegers. Additional troops were raised who took part in

2280-628: The Battle of Ludwigshafen . Instead, they managed to cross the Rhine further south at Germersheim on 20 June and were then able to threaten the Baden Revolutionary Army from the south. The successes of the Baden Army against II Corps and the Neckar Corps, whose advance had been stopped at the Neckar, were thus negated. Mieroslawski switched the main effort of his troops to the south and attacked

2394-550: The Battle of the Katzbach and in the Battle of Leipzig . As on the Berezina, it was their duty to cover Napoleon's retreat after the defeat at Leipzig . The Badenese infantry refused to defect and were taken prisoner by Prussia, from whom they were soon released again after the Grand Duchy broke away from Napoleon and on 20 November 1813 switched to the side of Austria, Prussia and Russia. Landwehr and Landsturm were set up based on

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2508-603: The English Civil War , the Lifeguard of the Earl of Essex and the ' London lobsters ,' though individuals within other regiments did serve in full armour. With the refinement of infantry firearms, especially the introduction of the powerful musket , the usefulness of the protection afforded by full armour became greatly lessened. By the mid-17th century, the fully armoured cuirassier was becoming increasingly anachronistic. "It will kill

2622-574: The Minister President of Prussia , Otto von Bismarck , turned the Badenese liberals against Prussia. They repeatedly expressed their solidarity with their Prussian party comrades, which finally led to the resignation of the Roggenbachs in 1865 and the appointment of the liberal, pro-Austrian Ludwig von Edelsheim. When the tensions surrounding the Schleswig-Holstein question escalated in 1866,

2736-572: The Protestant Union in 1608 and increased the size of his army to 15,000 men around 1617. For his sons Frederick , Charles and Christopher, George Frederick wrote his own book on military operations from 1614 to 1617, which he never published. He also relied on the military academy known as the School of War ( Ritterliche Kriegsschule ), founded in 1616 by John VII, Count of Nassau-Siegen in Siegen . At

2850-573: The Prussian and Baden dynastic houses : Grand Duke Frederick had married Princess Louise of Prussia in 1856 and was therefore a son-in-law of the Prussian King William. Politically, Frederick had also tended to side with Prussia in federal affairs, with the support of his foreign minister Franz von Roggenbach , who advocated the Lesser Germany solution. However, the anti-liberal attitude of

2964-679: The Spring Campaign and fought in the Battle of Großgörschen , among others. A second brigade was set up from August, so that the Badenese contingent in Napoleon's army now comprised two brigades with around 7,000 men. Together with those troops still in Spain, the Baden Army looked like this in 1813: In the Autumn campaign the two Badenese brigades fought in Marshal MacDonald's XI Corps inter alia in

3078-468: The Union Army . Several natives of Baden and revolutionaries achieved the rank of general: Franz Sigel became a major general and general officer commanding of an army corps, Max (von) Weber commanded a division as a brigadier general and August Mersy  [ de ] had a brigade in the rank of colonel . All three had been officers in the Baden Army before the revolution and had graduated from

3192-452: The armour could not protect against contemporary flintlock musket fire, it could deflect shots fired from long range, stop ricochets , and offer protection from all but very close-range pistol fire. More importantly, in an age which saw cavalry used in large numbers, the breastplates (along with the helmets ) provided excellent protection against the swords and lances of opposing cavalry and infantry equipped with bayonets , and, on

3306-628: The heavy cavalry branch of their army in 1868. Influenced by the French example, the Belgian Army created two regiments of cuirassiers in 1830 and then for reasons of economy they were converted to lancers in 1863. By the end of the 19th century, the German and Russian cuirassiers used the breastplates only as part of their peacetime parade dress, but the French regiments still wore the cuirass and plumed helmet (both with cloth covers) on active service during

3420-493: The pragmatic sanction of Margrave Christopher I of Baden and the Indemnification Agreement of 1537 . According to the house law of Margrave Christopher, the entire Baden territory continued to form a single unit despite all its subdivisions. After the death of Bernard III of Baden-Baden , an extended contractual relationship was agreed between the guardians of his children and his brother Ernest . If one line of

3534-505: The rear guard of the army. Further battles and above all the extreme cold claimed more and more lives. William of Hochberg later wrote: 7th December was the worst day of my life. At 3 o'clock in the morning the marshal ordered the march; the cold had sunk to its lowest point - when the signal was to be given, the last drum had frozen solid. So I now went round the individual soldiers and encouraged them to get up and collect themselves, but all efforts were in vain, I could hardly gather 50 men,

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3648-422: The 16th century, the heavy "knightly" lance gradually fell out of use perhaps because of the widespread adoption of the infantry pike . Also, the lance required a great amount of practice to perfect its use, whilst proficiency in the use of firearms was considerably more easily acquired. The lancer or demi-lancer , when he had abandoned his lance, became the pistol-armed cuirassier or reiter . The adoption of

3762-691: The 2nd Division of VIII Army Corps under Prince Alexander of Hesse-Darmstadt . The VIII Corps took part in the Campaign of the Main during the Austro-Prussian War . When the Corps retreated to the River Tauber , Badenese troops were involved in the battles at Hundheim (23 July), Werbach (24 July) and Gerchsheim (25 July). Problems were caused by the fact that Prussian and Baden uniforms were very similar, so that

3876-683: The 4th Infantry Regiment remained in Schleswig after the Armistice of Malmö and took part in the Battle of Ulderup where, together with the Württemberg troops, acted as a reserve to prevent a defeat. Then it remained in the area Eckernförde for coastal security. In the meantime there had been several armed conflicts in Baden which culminated in the uprising of 1849. In April 1848 there were several uprisings in Baden,

3990-563: The 6th and 9th Regiments had served in the Crimean War but had not actually encountered the enemy. Accordingly, the prospect of action against the Prussian Army, which included 10 cuirassier regiments of its own, was seen as an opportunity for a strongly traditional branch of the French cavalry to prove its continuing relevance. In the event, in a series of massed charges against Prussian infantry and artillery at Froeschwiller and Rezonville,

4104-404: The Army was remodelled, no regiments were formed; instead, the new Baden Army was divided into ten infantry battalions, three cavalry units ( Reiterdepots ) and five gun batteries. This changed when Frederick I became first Regent and then Grand Duke. In 1852, the old regiments were reformed (the cavalry as early as 1850), the conscription law of 1825 came back into force, and in 1861 the Army

4218-507: The Baden Army comprised 1,125 men and the military budget in 1782/83 was a little more than 105,000 Baden gulden . The illegitimate son of Margrave Charles Frederick, Charles Frederick Hermann of Freystedt created a militia system and is considered the pioneer of general conscription. With a reform of Baden's military law, he also ensured a certain protection of the soldiers from the arbitrariness of their superiors in 1782. The French Revolution and resulting tensions between France and

4332-649: The Baden Army. This grew and included the following in 1806: The total strength of the army was 14 battalions of infantry, 10 squadrons of cavalry and three batteries of artillery. The Electorate/Grand Duchy was divided into four cantons along the lines of the Prussian model. With the increase in territory and military forces, thanks to Napoleon , came obligations. For the War of the Third Coalition , Baden switched sides to join France and had to provide 3,000 men. However, by

4446-563: The Baden Brigade fought in the Battle of Chashniki and lost 20 men killed and wounded. In the following days there were further skirmishes between the IX and II Corps of the French Army and the Russian Army under Wittgenstein , which tried to attack the rear of the main French army retreating from Moscow. The corps then also retreated under rearguard action, and on 26 November it met the remnants of

4560-667: The Baden-Baden and Baden-Durlach Grenadier Battalions to form the Life Guard Infantry Regiment consisting of a battalion of musketeers and a battalion of grenadiers. The hussar squadron remained as an independent unit, the Baden-Baden Cuirassiers and Baden-Durlachian Dragoons formed the Garde du Corps and on top of that two fusilier battalions were set up. Together with a garrison company and four three-pounder guns,

4674-746: The Baden-Durlach ruling house held the command of the same 1st Infantry. The Catholic Margraviate of Baden-Baden provided 19 cuirassiers for the Circle Curassiers Regiment and 122 infantrymen for the 3rd Circle Infantry. In addition to the two Badenese margraviates, the Duchy of Württemberg, the Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg and the Imperial cities mainly bore the major cost of the circle army, but even smaller counties and lordships had to provide contingents (for example Gengenbach Abbey had to provide

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4788-560: The Badenese troops only wanted to defend their own country. Precautions for the defence had to be taken soon, because federal troops under Prussian leadership were mobilised to suppress the Baden Revolution and its government. Prussia improvised two corps for this, which were divided into seven divisions and numbered almost 35,000 men. Another 18,000 armed men were combined into the " Neckar Corps " and consisted of contingents from several other German states. Their overall commander-in-chief

4902-613: The Badenese-Hessian troops under Friedrich von Gagern. Hecker withdrew from Kandern in the direction of the Wiesental, where another group of rebels under Joseph Fickler was waiting in Steinen, but before that he was defeated in the Battle on the Scheideck between Kandern and the Wiesental. The battle claimed around a dozen serious injuries and dead on both sides. Among the dead was Gagern, who

5016-620: The Catholic line. In Baden's case, the Peace of Westphalia did not restore the state to its pre-1618 borders, but rather to that before the occupation of Upper Baden. Under the leadership of Circle Field Marshal ( Kreisfeldmarschall ) Louis William of Baden-Baden and the Duchy of Württemberg the Imperial Swabian Circle decided to set up a standing body of circle troops ( Kreisheer ) for which

5130-508: The Federal Army mobilised, each state had to field replacement troops comprising one six hundredth of its total population. Furthermore, the arms of service had to be provided in certain ratios to one another: one seventh of each contingent was to consist of cavalry , and there had to be two artillery pieces for every one thousand men. A War Ministry was set up in Baden for military purposes. Its Commander-in-Chief ( Oberste Kriegsheer )

5244-690: The French cuirassiers suffered very heavy losses for little return. In 1914, the German Army still retained cuirassiers (ten regiments including the Gardes du Corps and the Guards Cuirassiers ); as did the French (twelve regiments) and the Russian (four regiments, all of the Imperial Guard) armies. The Austrians had dispensed with breastplates in 1860 and formally abolished the twelve Kuirassier regiments as

5358-420: The Grand Duchy initially remained neutral; however, when Prussia left the German Confederation, the armed conflict became a federal execution that the Grand Duchy could not escape, especially since the neighbouring kingdoms of Württemberg and Bavaria both sided with Austria and the people of Baden also had no sympathy for Prussia and its king after 1849. The 10,000-strong Baden Army contingent moved out and formed

5472-689: The House of Baden defaulted in paying off their share of common debts and a claim was made against the other line by creditors, the other line had the right to indemnify itself by occupying the land of the defaulting line. This happened after a creditor of Margrave Eduard Fortunat of Baden-Baden tried to collect interest payments from the Baden-Durlach cities of Durlach and Pforzheim . Eduard Fortunat did not change his behaviour despite all warnings from his Durlach cousin and continued to live beyond his means. Cuirassier Cuirassiers ( / ˌ k w ɪr ə ˈ s ɪər / KWIRR -ə- SEER ; from French cuirassier [kɥiʁasje] , 'wearing

5586-404: The II Corps under Karl von der Groeben and Eduard von Peucker 's Neckar Corps were to invade Baden from the north, so that the Baden Army as a whole would be sandwiched between the Rivers Neckar and Rhine. The advance of I Corps was highly successful, the Palatinate was quickly overcome and, from 15 June Prussian troops were in front of Mannheim , where they were initially stopped by artillery in

5700-423: The Karlsruhe Military Academy. The Baden Army was dissolved and completely reorganized under pressure from Prussia. Commissions checked the entire personnel, whereby 700 were placed in detention, 300 of them non -commissioned officers. In addition, military courts of honour were set up, which released around a third of the Baden Army's officer corps from the Army. Some were also moved to Prussia for re-training. When

5814-467: The Margrave of Baden also committed to peace: in 1796 a separate treaty was signed, Baden left the coalition and gave up its left bank territory. However, since Austria continued the war, Baden, which was actually neutral, became a theatre of war: there were battles at Emmendingen and Schliengen in October 1796 and parts of South Baden were plundered by the French armies. In the War of the Second Coalition , Margrave Charles Frederick remained neutral. As

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5928-416: The Margraviate grew to around 16,000 men. Military spending also rose drastically, the average ten-year defence budget between 1789 and 1798 was around 158,000 gulden. As a result of its defeat in the War of the First Coalition , however, the coalition's promises were not fulfilled and Baden's left bank of the Rhine was finally lost de facto in 1794. Prussia reached an accommodation with France in 1795, and

6042-416: The Napoleonic Wars as a part of their full dress uniforms, but never had occasion to wear the armour in battle.. However as late as 1887 these regiments were still wearing cuirasses on maneuvers in "field day order". Cuirassiers were generally the senior branch of the mounted portion of an army, retaining their status as heavy cavalry—"big men on big horses". Their value as a heavy striking force during

6156-602: The Napoleonic Wars ensured that the French, Russian, and Prussian armies continued to use cuirassier regiments throughout the 19th century. The Austrian cuirassiers were abolished in 1868. For the reasons of both climate and cost, cuirassiers of the 19th century type seldom appeared outside of Europe and Latin America . However Ranjit Singh 's Sikh Army (the Khalsa ) of the 1830s included two regiments of cuirassiers equipped and armed in French fashion. Four hundred carabinier cuirasses were imported from France while helmets and uniforms were manufactured in Wazirabad . Though

6270-523: The Netherlands campaign of 1794, using breastplates taken from store. The Austrian cuirassiers traded protection for mobility by wearing only the half-cuirass (without back plate) and helmet. Napoleon believed it sufficiently useful that he had cuirassier-style armour issued to his two carabinier regiments after the Battle of Wagram . The Russians, having abandoned Austrian-style half-cuirasses in 1801, reissued full cuirasses in 1812 for all Army and Guard cuirassier regiments, with troops receiving them during

6384-401: The Prussian model, and with the introduction of general conscription in December 1813, a total of 16,000 men were called up. Reinforced by Liechtenstein and Hohenzollern troops, it formed the VIII Army Corps. Under the command of William of Hochberg, it besieged the French fortresses of Kehl , Strasbourg , Landau in der Pfalz and Pfalzburg and returned to Baden in June 1814. An exception

6498-426: The River Bidasoa on 13 October. Over the following six years they participated in the Peninsula War in Iberia . They fought the Spanish Guerilleros inter alia at Talavera where von Porbeck was killed, and the Battle of Vitoria . The Badenese suffered heavy losses: of their original strength of 1,733 men only 500 returned to Baden. At the beginning of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809, Napoleon asked for

6612-415: The VII and VIII Army Corps were deployed in Baden, moving towards the Badenese Oberland in three columns: a large part of the Baden Army, reinforced by Hessian and Nassau troops, marched through the Upper Rhine Plain from north to south. The commander of this force was General Friedrich von Gagern , who was actually in Dutch service. At the same time, a Württemberg division under General Moriz von Miller

6726-413: The VIII Army Corps was 10,000 men, plus 1,667 as reserve personnel and 3,333 as reserves in the event of war. There was a general school of war in Karlsruhe for the training of officers. Also in Karlsruhe was the Higher School of War for general staff officers. Artillery officers and non-commissioned officers were trained at Gottesaue Palace . The Badische Gewehrfabrik (Badenese Small Arms Factory)

6840-569: The War Treasury, the Directorate of Armouries, the Directorate of Magazines and others. Under the 1825 conscription act, there was general conscription for men, which began when they reached the age of 20 and for the enforcement of which the Grand Duchy was divided into three recruitment districts, Freiburg, Karlsruhe and Mannheim. The period of service was six years. Between 1849 and 1855, an average of slightly under than 12,000 young men were subject to compulsory military service each year, of whom an average of around 3,500 were actually conscripted. From

6954-494: The age of 17, voluntary service was possible; it was also possible to do military service in such a way that you served a full year and then stood by as a reserve in case of war. One way of avoiding military service was by deputising as an Einsteher : there were associations that organised a deputy in return for a fee and, in the event of a draft, the deputy came forward to serve. In this way, the sons of wealthier citizens could avoid military service, while poorer men were able to earn

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7068-418: The army coming from Moscow near Borisov . The strength of the Baden Brigade at this time was still 2,240 men and thus around a third of the original force. On 28 November the Battle of Berezina took place, in which the IX Corps, east of the river, faced Wittgenstein's army. The Baden Brigade was west of the river at this point, but was ordered back to the corps early in the morning, great confusion occurring at

7182-418: The autumn of 1792, the Margraviate joined the anti-French coalition and undertook to provide 1,000 soldiers. In return, the coalition promised to return the occupied left bank of the Rhine to Baden when a peace treaty was agreed and to reimburse its war costs. In addition to its regular forces, Heinrich Medicus organised a Baden state militia consisting of single 19–50 year olds, so that the military strength of

7296-456: The beginning of the Thirty Years' War he sided with the "Winter King", Frederick V of the Palatinate . After Spanish troops occupied the Palatinate and the Protestant Union had dissolved, George Frederick wanted to unite his now 20,000 strong army with the troops of Ernst von Mansfeld who were fighting in the Palatinate against the Catholic troops under Tilly . However, the Margrave and von Mansfeld did not agree on who should be in command of

7410-425: The best known of which was the Hecker uprising . Led by Friedrich Hecker , Gustav Struve , Franz Sigel and Joseph Fickler , volunteers ( Freischärle ) moved from the county of Seekreis in the south-east of the country towards the west and north, while the German Democratic Legion raised in Paris and stationed in Alsace threatened to cross the Rhine. Against the revolutionaries from within and without, troops of

7524-420: The bicorne hat. A resurgence of armoured cavalry took place in France under the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte , who increased the number of armoured regiments from one to, ultimately, sixteen (fourteen cuirassier regiments plus two Carabiniers-à-Cheval regiments). During the first few decades of the 19th century most of the major states of Europe, except Austria which had retained its armoured cavalry, readopted

7638-403: The breastplate armour which they wore. The first cuirassiers were similar in appearance to the fully armoured Late Medieval man-at-arms . They wore three-quarter armour that covered the entire upper body as well as the front half of the legs down to the knee. The head was protected by a close helm , burgonet , or lobster-tailed pot helmet, usually worn with a gorget for the neck. The torso

7752-461: The burden of the weight carried by the individual trooper, but left his back unprotected during a swirling cavalry melee . Most heavy cavalry from c. 1700 to c. 1785 wore the tricorne hat, which evolved into the bicorne , or cocked hat, towards the close of the century. In the first two decades of the 19th century, helmets, often of hardened leather with brass reinforcement (though the French used iron-skulled helmets for their cuirassiers), replaced

7866-424: The cavalry, dating back through the Franco-Prussian War to the campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. Before the war, it had been argued within the army that the cuirass should be limited to parade dress, but upon mobilisation in 1914 the only concession made to active service was the addition of a cover of brown or blue cloth over the shining steel and brass of the metal equipment to make the wearer less visible. Within

7980-412: The command of a lieutenant general. The artillery was also organised into a brigade and comprised four batteries of artillery and one company of engineers . Of the four batteries, one was mounted and had six guns, the three field batteries had eight each. The total strength was 30 guns and 1,315 men. In 1829 the Grand Duchy of Baden Gendarmerie Corps ( Großherzoglich Badisches Gendarmeriekorps )

8094-407: The conflict. Cuirassiers played a prominent role in the armies of Austria , and of Frederick the Great of Prussia . By the time of the French Revolutionary Wars , few heavy cavalry regiments, except those of Austria, wore the cuirass on campaign. The twelve Austrian cuirassier regiments in existence between 1768 and 1802 (when the number was reduced) unusually wore only a front plate. This reduced

8208-585: The cuirass for some of their heavy cavalry in emulation of the French. The Russians fielded two divisions of armoured cavalry, but most other states armoured a few senior regiments: Prussia three regiments, the Kingdom of Saxony three, the Kingdom of Westphalia two, Spain one ( Coraceros Españoles ) and the Duchy of Warsaw one. The three Household Cavalry regiments of the British Army ( 1st and 2nd Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards ) adopted cuirasses shortly after

8322-493: The different regions of the Circle had to provide certain contingents. Between 1732 and 1796 this 'circle army' consisted of five regiments that were set up separately based on their Christian denominations . The Protestant Margraviate of Baden-Durlach provided 23 dragoons for the circle's regiment of dragoons ( Kreisdragonerregiment ) and 121 infantrymen for the 1st Circle Infantry Regiment ( Kreisinfanterieregiment ). Members of

8436-783: The discipline and cohesion of the Revolutionary Army, and individual units withdrew. On 22 June, the Federal Army's Neckar arm finally crossed the Neckar and threatened Mieroslawski's right flank. However, the commander of the Revolutionary Army managed to escape the encirclement and withdraw his troops behind the River Murg near Rastatt. On the Murg, however, the Revolutionary Army opposed the now united federal army, and after several skirmishes it largely broke up. The government of Baden fled from Karlsruhe to Rastatt and from there via Offenburg to Freiburg. Mierowslaski asked for his release on 1 July and

8550-564: The federal government issued its 'war constitution', which provided for a jointly established federal army to which the states had to contribute quotas. In order to be prepared in case of war, the contingents assigned to the Federation had to be kept ready in times of peace. The size of the respective contingents was determined by the population of the contributing state; essentially, a state's armed forces had to make up one percent of its total population, excluding auxiliary troops. In addition, when

8664-623: The first few weeks of World War I. Amongst ceremonial units the Spanish Escolta Real (Royal Escort) Squadron, the Argentinian Presidential Bodyguard, and the Italian Cuirassier ( Corazzieri ) Corps all wore cuirasses as part of their mounted full dress in the early 20th century. The retention of cuirasses as part of their field uniform by the French Army in 1914 reflected the historic prestige of this branch of

8778-599: The further and anterior regions of the County of Sponheim were not occupied; the dominions of Rodemachern , Useldingen and Hesperingen formed the separate Margraviate of Baden-Rodemachern at that time and were ruled by Philip III, a brother of Eduard Fortunat . An attempt by Ernest Frederick to take over the Lordship of Gräfenstein was fended off. The Badenian portion of the County of Eberstein had been enfeoffed by Eduard Fortunat in

8892-596: The great powers of the Holy Roman Empire put Baden in a difficult situation. On the one hand, in the course of the revolution, it finally lost control of its possessions on the left bank of the Rhine ; and on the other hand it was situated on the Upper Rhine , wedged between France and Further Austria and exposed to the danger of becoming a theatre of war as it had been during the Thirty Years' War of 1618–1648. In

9006-420: The invasion of Bavarian troops. The Baden regions remained a theatre of war in the years that followed, mainly due to fighting between Swedish troops (which Frederick allied with) and Imperial troops. From 1634, the Imperial side gained the upper hand, Frederick lost his territory and was only able to get it back in the course of the Treaty of Westphalia , but without the Baden-Baden territories, which went back to

9120-565: The next day. That left only the German Legion of Georg Herwegh that had been raised in Paris, but he decided to retreat across the Rhine after the defeats of Hecker, Fickler and Sigel. On 27 April, in the Battle of Dossenbach , it encountered parts of the Württemberg division and was also crushed. This ended the first Baden insurrection (16–27 April). However, only 5 months later, in September, there

9234-508: The outnumbered 1st Prussian Division on 21 June at the Battle of Waghäusel . The insurgents captured the two villages of Waghäusel and Wiesental (today both belong to Waghäusel) and pushed the Prussians back to Philippsburg . However, when the 4th Prussian Division arrived as reinforcements, the Revolutionary Army was routed. A total of 21 Prussian soldiers lost their lives, 100 were wounded and 130 went missing. The defeat at Waghäusel weakened

9348-744: The people of Baden had to march in winter coats to avoid confusion. Overall, participation in the Austro-Prussian War claimed the lives of 27 Baden soldiers, while around 200 were wounded. Occupation of Upper Baden The occupation of Upper Baden refers to the occupation of the upper part of the Margraviate of Baden-Baden by troops of Margrave Ernest Frederick of Baden-Durlach under Wolf Dietrich von Gemmingen (1550–1601) on 21 November 1594, and its subsequent administration which lasted until 1622. The main towns – Ettlingen , Baden-Baden , Kuppenheim , Stollhofen and Rastatt – were immediately occupied. The Lordship of Gräfenstein as well as

9462-494: The pistol as the primary weapon led to the development of the stately caracole tactic, where cuirassiers fired their pistols at the enemy, then retired to reload whilst their comrades advanced in turn to maintain the firing. Following some initial successes, this tactic proved to be extremely ineffective as infantry, with superior firearms and numbers, could easily outgun the cuirassiers. The change from cavalry reliant on firearms to shock-capable close combat cavalry reliant mainly on

9576-547: The process, with the exception of the standard bearer. As a result of the defeat, the Upper Baden Occupation was reversed, parts of Baden-Durlach were also occupied and plundered by troops of the League . George Frederick also carried around 70 so-called pike or pointed wagons in his army. The pointed wagons are described as an invention of his. These are wagons with two or three axles, on which two beams are attached so that

9690-601: The rebel commander, Otto von Corvin , a chance to assess the situation outside the fortress, in Freiburg and Konstanz. Corvin accepted, and when, after his return, he reported to the besieged that there was no trace of the Revolutionary Army to be found, the revolutionaries laid down their arms on 23 July and were taken prisoner. After the Baden Revolution was suppressed, 51 death sentences and 715 ten-year prison sentences were pronounced. The sentences were imposed by Prussian courts martial and often appear harsh and arbitrary. The aim

9804-459: The rest of 200-300 men lay dead or half-frozen on the ground. The brigade was reconstituted as a regiment and arrived in Wilna on 8 December 1812, just around 400 strong. All in all, Napoleon's Russian campaign had cost the lives of more than 6,000 soldiers from Baden. As a consequence, the tailor, Franz Anton Egetmeyer , who was born in the Badenese town of Bretten , became famous, because he settled as

9918-548: The revolutionary-republican mood had also reached the Army. The garrison of Rastatt Fortress held a joint meeting with the Rastatt Democrats on 9 and 10 May, at which the soldiers demanded recognition of the imperial constitution and the dismissal of "anti-people" officers. The commander of the fortress had the leaders of the assembly arrested on 11 May, but this led to a mutiny . Baden's Minister of War, Hoffmann, marched to Rastatt with other troops to crush them, but most of

10032-466: The river crossings. The Baden Brigade then formed the right wing of the IX Corps, their position ran from the Berezina to Studyanka. In fierce fighting, the infantry succeeded in repelling the Russian attacks. Losses were very high, more than 1,100 men were killed or wounded, leaving the brigade with a strength of only 900 after fighting ended. The Baden Hussars, reinforced by Hessian Chevau-légers , broke up

10146-439: The six regiments that had been most decorated during the war. Five of these units had achieved their distinctions serving as "cuirassiers à pied " or dismounted cavalry in the trenches. The surviving cuirassier regiments were amongst the first mounted cavalry in the French Army to be mechanised during the 1930s. One cuirassier regiment still forms part of the French Army in the modern day. The development of firearms, which reduced

10260-418: The soldiers accompanying him also switched over to the side of the revolutionaries. In the days that followed all the other garrisons in the country joined. As a result, Grand Duke Leopold had to leave the country and fled with his family and his government to the federal fortress at Mainz . Revolutionaries also took power in the neighbouring Bavarian Palatinate , and the two revolutionary governments formed

10374-706: The spring of 1595 to Philip III of Eberstein, for which he was to receive over 20,000 guldens to finance his mercenaries. Since the fief required the consent of Fortunat's brothers and agnates according to the laws of the House of Baden, Ernest Frederick first asked the Ebersteins to end the invalid contract of the estate. When they did not comply, Ernest Frederick sent his troops to the County of Eberstein and Philip III withheld his payment to Eduard Fortunat. The Lordships of Lahr and Mahlberg were soon occupied by Ernest Frederick. Ernest Frederick based his intervention legally on

10488-511: The summer 1812 and wearing cuirasses at Borodino . After the Battle of Tarutino the Pskov dragoon regiment received captured French cuirasses and was officially upgraded to a cuirassier regiment. Despite being metallurgically more advanced than the plate armour of old, the Napoleonic era cuirass was still quite cumbersome and hot to wear in warm weather; however, the added protection that it gave to

10602-413: The sword was often attributed to Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in the 1620s and early 1630s. Gustavus Adolphus also reduced the number of ranks in a cavalry formation from the previously usual six to ten, for pistol-based tactics, to three to suit his sword-based shock tactics, or as a partial remedy to the frequent numerical inferiority of his cavalry arm. Only two cuirassier regiments were raised during

10716-400: The thighs and knees, and riding boots were substituted for lower leg armour ( greaves and sabatons ). Weapons included a pair of pistols in saddle holsters (these were the primary weapons instead of a lance ), a sword , and sometimes a " horseman's pick " (a type of war hammer ). By the mid-16th century, Barding (horse armour) largely fell into disuse on the battlefield. Therefore, it

10830-500: The time they joined Napoleon's army, the war had already been decided by the battles of Ulm and Austerlitz . In the Fourth Coalition War , Baden's quota comprised 6,000 men, who only entered the campaign after the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt . However, they were employed in the sieges of Danzig and Stralsund . Their commander was Joseph von Cloßmann . In 1808, the Grand Duchy had to provide another contingent comprising

10944-447: The united army, so a merger did not come about. Instead, the Badenese armed forces fought on 6 May 1622 without Mansfeld's troops against Tilly and were defeated in the Battle of Wimpfen , one of the bloodiest battles of the Thirty Years' War. George Frederick's army was smashed in the process, the margrave himself escaped, according to tradition, only through a sacrifice made by 400 men of Pforzheim who covered his retreat and all died in

11058-483: The upper Wiesental valley and from there to Wehr , where Struve was captured on 25 September. The failure of the German nations' Constitution of St. Paul's Church and the resulting Imperial Constitution Campaign also led to unrest in the Grand Duchy of Baden. A congress of the people's associations in Offenburg was scheduled for 12 May 1849, which was to be followed by a people's assembly. In contrast to 1848, however,

11172-477: The wearer and the imposing appearance of an armoured cavalryman were factors favouring its retention. The last occasions when cuirassiers played a major tactical role as shock cavalry wearing traditional armour was during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871). The French cuirassiers numbered 11 regiments at the outbreak of war but had not seen active service since the Battle of Waterloo . A brigade comprising

11286-410: The wheels can be easily and widely rotated. Small swivelling howitzers (sometimes also referred to as mortars ) were attached to the beams, as well as iron pikes (hence the name) which were pointed outwards, in particular to ward off enemy cavalry. It was not until 1631 that George Frederick's son and successor Frederick V Was financially able to raise his own troops again, but this was prevented by

11400-647: Was another uprising, the Struve Putsch . Gustav Struve, who fled to Switzerland after the April insurrection, crossed the border into Baden again on 21 September and proclaimed the German Republic in Lörrach that same day. From Lörrach he moved north and reached Staufen im Breisgau via Kandern and Schliengen on 24 September. Between eight and ten thousand men had meanwhile joined his ranks. At Staufen, however, he encountered

11514-604: Was appointed. The former First Lieutenant Karl Eichfeld became Minister of War, but the War Ministry itself was severely restricted in its ability to act due to the flight of numerous officials. Two attempts to invade Hesse with the revolutionary troops and to offer military protection to the St. Paul's Church Parliament failed: firstly because the Hessian military and population proved to be less revolutionary than expected and, secondly, because

11628-755: Was expanded by an additional regiment, so that the structure in 1861 was as follows: Baden also had to furnish a 15,000-man contingent for the VIII Federal Army Corps. Commander-in-chief of the Army was the Grand Duke, as before; its management was vested in the Ministry of War headed by the War Minister ( Kriegspräsident ). The Ministry of War was divided into a military, an administrative (responsible for catering, payment, medical services, etc.) and legal department ( rechtsgelehrte ) and had other departments such as

11742-571: Was founded, which was part of the army and organisationally subordinate to the Ministry of War, but in service to the Ministry of the Interior. As far as is known, it had no military police duties. The following gives an overview of the status of the Baden Army in 1832: With the exception of the Life Guards and the Dragoons (formerly Life Guard Dragoons or Gardedragonerregiment ) the regiments were given

11856-517: Was initially the supplier of the percussion rifles. In 1848, part of the Baden Army was sent to the war against Denmark . The deployment comprised five infantry battalions and one field battery that served in a brigade in the mixed division of the Württemberg General Moriz von Miller and were stationed in Holstein . The majority of the troops were soon withdrawn, but the 1st Battalion of

11970-454: Was more commonly used for ceremonial purposes such as parades or festivals . The armour of a cuirassier was very expensive; in England, in 1629, a cuirassier's equipment cost four pounds and 10 shillings (equivalent to £1,084.487 in 2024) , whilst a harquebusier 's (a lighter type of cavalry) was a mere one pound and six shillings (equivalent to £313.296 in 2024). During the latter half of

12084-739: Was moving southwest from the Baden-Württemberg border to Donaueschingen , and a Bavarian brigade was marching west from Bavaria into the Seekreis. Due to the presence of Württemberg troops near Donaueschingen , the direct route from Konstanz to Freiburg and further north was blocked for the revolutionaries. Hecker was pushed south and moved west in mid-April until he reached the Wiesental valley and marched through it to Steinen . From Steinen he tried to turn north again and reached Kandern on 19 April. However, on 20 April he encountered there some of

12198-493: Was never achieved in practice. The regulations eventually recognised this, and cuirasses were subsequently only expected to be proof against one shot at long range. The utility of this armour was sometimes disputed. Prussian cuirassiers had abandoned the armoured cuirass before the Napoleonic Wars, but were reissued with it in 1814. During this period, a single British cavalry regiment (Royal Horse Guards) wore cuirasses during

12312-539: Was probably to act as a deterrent beyond Baden's borders, but another result was resentment by the people of Baden against the Prussians and their military. A commemorative medal issued by Grand Duke Leopold became popularly known as the "fratricide medal" ( Brudermordmedaille ). Numerous members of the Baden Revolutionary Army fled to the United States as Forty-Eighters and served in the American Civil War with

12426-409: Was protected by a breast and back plate, sometimes reinforced by a plackart . The arms and shoulders were fully armoured with pauldrons , rerebraces , elbow couters , and vambraces . Armoured gauntlets were often abandoned, particularly for the right hand, as they interfered with the loading of pistols. Long tassets , instead of a combination of short tassets with cuisses , protected the front of

12540-509: Was replaced by Franz Sigel . However, since coherent resistance was no longer an option, Sigel's main task was to save the remaining troops from being captured. Freiburg was occupied on 7 July, and on 11 July the Revolutionary Army crossed the Rhine into Switzerland. Only about 6,000 men remained and they were trapped in Rastatt Fortress under Gustav Tiedemann and they continued to resist. The Prussian, General Karl von der Groeben, offered

12654-440: Was succeeded by Badenese colonel, Heinrich von Hinckeldey. Hinckeldey continued to pursue the rebels and on the same day defeated Fickler's men at Steinen. Hecker's and Fickler's defeat also prevented the two rebel groups from uniting with a third led by Franz Sigel, whose irregulars were at Todtnau on 20 April. Instead, Sigel marched against Freiburg. In the Battle of Günterstal his men were also defeated on 23 April and dispersed

12768-457: Was the Grand Duke, who appointed a general as President of the Ministry of War. The Badenese contingent for the Federal Army was organised into a division and the subordinated to the VIII Army Corps where it formed the 2nd Division. The VIII Army Corps was a mixed corps, in addition to the Badenese troops, it also included Württembergian and Hessian troops. At the head of the division was

12882-767: Was the Life Guard Grenadier Battalion, which fought together with the Prussian-Russian Guard Corps in the Battle of Paris and moved into the city on 1 April. During the Napoleon's reign of the Hundred Days a field division had to be raised again, but it did not take part in any combat operations. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the German Confederation was founded, the Grand Duchy of Baden being one of its founder members. On 9 April 1821,

12996-667: Was the Prince of Prussia, later Emperor William I , who since the March Revolution in Berlin had been nicknamed the "Prince of Grapeshot" ( Kartätschenprinz ). The attack on Baden was carried out on two fronts: the I Prussian Corps under Moritz von Hirschfeld was to secure the Palatinate and then cross the Rhine and attack the Revolutionary Army concentrated in North Baden from the west, while

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