Uniforms and Equipment of the Old Army - Cavalry - Heavy Cavalry - Bavaria
In 1914 the Bavarian cavalry included two Heavy Cavalry Regiments, namely the 1st Heavy Cavalry Regiment Prince Karl of Bavaria (Munich) and the 2nd Heavy Cavalry Regiment Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este (Landshut).
Both regiments were originally cuirassiers.
Their headgear was the white-metal helmet with yellow fittings, with a black crest. For officers this was made of bearskin.
The tunic was light blue with a bright-red collar and matching Swedish sleeve cuffs.
The 1st Cuirassier Regiment had its foundation day on 26.03.1813, the 2nd Cuirassier Regiment on 10.09.1815.
The garrison of the former unit had always been Munich; the staff and the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 4th squadrons of the second unit were stationed in Landshut, the 3rd squadron initially in Nymphenburg.
In 1879 the conversion to Heavy Cavalry took place.
The cuirasses were discarded.
The light-blue tunic of the Heavy Cavalry — already worn by the Bavarian cuirassiers — differed from the tunic of the Bavarian infantry essentially only by the Swedish sleeve cuffs.
The rounded collar and the simple sleeve cuffs were bright red.
The shoulder boards bore no insignia.
Five-centimeter-wide bright-red stripes were worn on the long light-blue trousers.
The riding breeches were black-blue mottled.
The helmet was the older model with an angled peak and a large helmet badge.
The spike sat on a trefoil and was hollowed out.
The scale chains were arched.
For parade a white plume was worn.
Text
The two regiments differed in the color or material of the buttons, braids, the helmet fittings, etc., namely for No. 1 white (silver-colored), for No. 2 yellow (gold-colored).
Heavy Cavalry
The cap was also light blue with a bright-red trimming stripe and a similar edging around the top rim.
The gray greatcoat of the ranks had bright-red collar patches and shoulder straps.
The heavy pallasch had a two-banded brass mount.
Officers of the Heavy Cavalry
Sources
Herbert Knötel/ Paul Pietsch, Uniformkunde. The German Army. Peacetime uniforms at the outbreak of the World War, second edition Stuttgart 1982.
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