The Prussian Army under Frederick William I (1713 - 40) - Chapter 17 - The Motley Coat (The Cavalry).

The following describes the uniforming and equipment of the old Prussian cavalry under King Frederick William I (1713–40).

For the organization and internal conditions as well as the remounting of the cavalry in the period in question, reference is additionally made to the separate contribution: The Prussian Army under Frederick William I (1713 - 40) - Chapter 5 - The Cavalry.

Following the contemporary military writer Wallhausen, German cavalry in the 17th century consisted of heavily armored lance riders, heavily armored cuirassiers and lightly armed bandolier riders or arquebusiers.

The first type, also called lancers, was described by Wallhausen (1616) as "the noblest, principal, and most precious part among the cavalry." However, it had already disappeared at the beginning of the Thirty Years' War. These had mainly been nobles.

Remaining were the cuirassiers and the more lightly mounted dragoons. The latter were primarily — for reasons of mobility — intended as mounted infantry. Their rise to regular battle cavalry was only pushed forward under Frederick the Great and succeeded in the Silesian Wars.

Under Frederick William I the infantry strength was increased above all.

Although the cavalry existing at the accession in 1713 was also expanded, the focus of quantitative and qualitative further development before 1740 was on the foot troops.

In 1740, according to Kling (Cuirassier and Dragoon Regiments, p. 7), 12 cuirassier and 6 dragoon regiments were present:

The designation cuirassier derives from the original heavy armor or cuirass.

The cuirass was reintroduced by King Frederick William I (order of 27 Feb 1715), as it had fallen out of use in the previous century.

Thus, for example, according to Schwerin, K 6 received black cuirasses in 1715 — as did the other regiments. These were lined with linen.

They were, moreover, only back plates, even for the officers; however, a royal order of 27 Feb 1715 to K 10 speaks of breast- and backplates (Kling, p. 86). This order was issued in identical terms to all other cavalry regiments.

The cuirasses were held by back straps.

According to Jany, in 1715 a total of 9,000 cuirasses were ordered in Nuremberg and 3,000 in Suhl (see also König, Residenzstadt Berlin, IV, p. 373). The corresponding costs are given as 25,690 Thaler, 16 Groschen, 9 Pfenning.

The officer corps of K 6 was the only regiment of the heavy cavalry to have polished cuirasses.

When the proprietor of this formation asked the King whether the officers’ cuirasses should also be blackened in future, he answered: "I find your opinion, to have the present officers’ cuirasses equalized to the others by blackening, right and conformable to my intention" (Schwerin, Vol. I, p. 208).

The dragoons at first also received cuirasses, but later lost them again. It seems as if King Frederick William I initially contemplated the creation of a unified cavalry.

With the abolition of the cuirasses before 1740, the heavy riders were left only with the metal hat cross and the leather koller or kollet as protective clothing.

The leather kollers or kollets had long skirts, a low — thumb-ready — standing collar and narrow shoulder straps. The sleeve cuffs were Swedish style.

The koller or kollet was painted yellow when required.

It was fastened with hooks rather than buttons.

From 1732 kollers or kollets made of kirsey (= coarse cloth) and woolen cloth were then introduced.

Over the aforementioned leather kollets or cloth vests, riders and dragoons already wore coats in the 17th century.

The coats were white in color.

From 7 May 1714 the coats were to be made only of kirsey (= cloth).

The corresponding royal order is found in Kling (Cuirassier and Dragoon Regiments, p. 115).

Collars and cuffs showed the differentiating regimental color (see the following overview).

The lining was made of Boy.

From autumn 1714 it was ordered that the regiments should again equip themselves with the koller or kollet.

The coats remained in use beside them. The koller or kollet (= service dress) were, according to Jany, to be worn only when the whole regiment was assembled.

The coat (kaputrock) could also be pulled on over it.

Noteworthy is that K 10 exceptionally had a special blue kaputrock.

After the introduction of the leather kollers or kollets, the cuirassiers wore a vest beneath them, later called camisole and still later chemisette.

These vests were also worn under the kirsey kollets. They were only hooked and had a narrow binding cord running down the front and around the bottom.

In K10 they were dark blue.

Cuirassiers and dragoons wore hats which under King Frederick William I acquired their typical triangular form — as with the infantry.

As head protection the already mentioned iron “casquets” were also carried, in a case or on a strap.

The dragoon regiment D III. bore since 22 Aug 1714 the honorable designation "Grenadiers on Horseback." To document this distinction outwardly the formation was equipped with special headdresses. In addition to the usual hats for ordinary and intermediate service, the regiment henceforth wore a kind of fusilier cap (also depicted in the Dessau specification of 1729); later it seems to have worn the set of grenadier caps relinquished by No. 6 (depicted in the Dessau specification of 1737). Due to a grave failure of a squadron of the regiment on 27 Feb 1741 at Baumgarten it lost this special headgear and had to cede it to Infantry Regiment No. 42" (Bleckwenn).

Even under the Great Elector the hair was "worn free, without being brought into any form" (König, Residenzstadt Berlin. II, p. 493).

Under King Frederick William I the hairstyle of the rider or dragoon became the braid or hair tail (now) customary throughout the army (for the change of hairstyle in this period in general see König, loc. cit., p. 258).

The Cavalry Regulation of 1720 stated: "The hair must be kept by those men in good order and if it is too long it must be cut, and the horses must always go with braided hair" (p. 287).

And the Cavalry (Cuirassier) Regulation of 1727 determined: "The hair must always be well trimmed so that the ears are covered, and no non-commissioned officer or rider shall wear a peruke, unless he necessarily must wear a peruke; in that case the peruke shall be made in the fashion of the King’s regiment" (p. 557).

The formerly customary large sleeveless blue riding cloak was abolished under Frederick William I (from 1727) for cost reasons.

However, the dragoons received large white coats (called kaputrücke). These had colored collars and sleeve cuffs.

The cuirassiers and dragoons wore tight leather breeches as legwear. These reached just below the knee.

Characteristic for the cuirassiers and dragoons were boots with large gaiters.

In foot service and off duty shoes were worn.

Over these white gaiters were then pulled on.

From royal orders of 30 June 1730 and 18 Sept 1732 it is evident that black gaiters became customary on duty.

On the officers’ kollet the lace ran down the front and around the turned-back skirts. The chemisette was also edged with lace.

The non-commissioned officers of the cuirassiers and dragoons had black-and-white hat cords and a special (golden) lace trimming around the collar and the sleeve cuffs as well as a distinctive sword knot.

The special outfitting of the uniforms of the drummers, hautbois and fifers of the dragoons was the responsibility of the regimental proprietors.

The hautbois wore the hat and the sword knot of the NCOs.

Top left:

Otto Gustav v. Lepell (1657-1735), Generalmajor since 1721, commander of K 2.

Top right:

Friedrich Leopold v. Geßler (1688 - 1762), Generalmajor since 1739, chief of K 4 since 1733. Became Generalfeldmarschall in 1751.

Center:

David Hans Christoph v. Lüderitz (1699 - 1756), Generalmajor since 1752, commander en chef of K 5 since 1753.

Bottom left:

Dubislav Gneomar v. Natzmer (1654 - 1739), chief of K 10 from 1691, became Generalfeldmarschall in 1728.

Bottom right:

Friedrich Wilhelm v. Brandenburg-Schwedt in the coat of K 5, around 1740 or 1742.

Already before Frederick William I’s accession the dragoons also wore white coats.

As with the cuirassiers, these were made of kirsey from the year 1714 onward.

In cut the coat followed the development of the infantry coat.

It received flaps or lapels and had rounded sleeve cuffs with a white facing. D VII later lost the (white) lapels again (Royal order to Colonel v. Massow of 19 Jan 1737, Kling, p. 115).

The buttons were made of brass.

The flaps and cuffs displayed the respective regimental color (see the following overview).

D II, however, seems to have had white lapels (according to Jany 1735; the cuffs remained light blue).

Partly (in K 6 and 7) the collars also bore the regimental color.

The dragoons initially also received leather kollers.

From 1727 the dragoons received instead "bockfellene" vests or camisoles.

At the end of his reign cloth vests were introduced (from 1733).

According to the Dragoon Regulation of 1727 (p. 552), when re-equipping, camisoles were to be made from the old coats.

Under Frederick William I the cuirassiers received a pallasch. Previously they had carried a heavy broadsword.

In a circular from April 1733 it was ordered: "Henceforth the cavalry regiments shall receive new swords," which "shall be made with substantial hilts and scabbards." The new sword hangers with the sword pockets are "only to be put on before the King or when the regiment must march" (Kling, Cuirassier and Dragoon Regiments, p. 160).

At the end of August 1733 Friedrich Leopold Count v. Geßler (* 24 June 1688 in Jodschen, a lost locality in the Gumbinnen district; † 22 Aug 1762 in Brieg, regimental proprietor of K 4) received the following letter of 20 Aug 1733:

"To Colonel von Geßler. I have approved that swords be made for the non-commissioned officers and riders of your regiment, which have the proper length of blades and are made with substantial hilts and scabbards. I therefore send your regiment hereby 730 pieces and command that they are never to be used except when I see the regiment, or when it must march; then the regiment shall leave the old swords in its garrisons and bravely wear and take along the new swords. If a sword breaks in two, or a blade snaps, they shall have it repaired likewise and have the very same good stiff long blades put in, and for this reason they shall procure such blades from the Potsdam Rifle Manufactory in stock. These swords of your regiment shall also be well kept, namely at the castle in Pr. Holland, where you should have a suitable place arranged so that the swords can be properly hung up, and the blades and hilts should be wiped every week and thus kept in good condition" (Priesdorff, Geßler, pp. 28/29).

The dragoons also received pallasches or longer swords with a brass basket hilt adorned with an eagle’s head from the mid-1730s. The scabbards were leather with brass fittings. The costs for the initial procurement amounted in total to 183,333 1/3 Thaler (22 Nov 1734, Kling, Cuirassier and Dragoon Regiments, p. 161).

Pallasches and swords were carried in a hanger.

In addition the cavalrymen had carbines and pistols.

Over the left shoulder hung for the carbine the bandolier made of yellow leather. It had a carbine hook for the firearm and attached to it the cartridge pouch with 30 rounds.

The leather equipment (also carabiner strap, hanger, gloves) was painted when necessary. The Dragoon Regulation of 1727 (p. 555, see also p. 571) states on this: "For such leather equipment, when it is washed and painted, is as good as new."

Before 1729 the cuirassiers did not yet have saber pouches.

They were finally introduced from the year 1733, because the close-fitting uniform had no pockets.

The cipher on the saber pouches was regularly white.

Cavalrymen also had, for stable duty etc., smocks and so-called forage caps.

Horse equipment included saddlecloths and holster covers as well as the saddle bag.

The saddle, baggage and bridle were the same for cuirassiers and dragoons.

The saddlecloths and the holster caps (holferkappen) had a colored trim in the respective regimental color and displayed in the corners a crowned shield bearing the black eagle.

In royal orders from 1734 and 1736 (Kling, Cuirassier and Dragoon Regiments, p. 155) the procurement of white sheepskins for marching is mentioned (drummers: black). However, they do not seem to have proven themselves and from 1737 were replaced by those made of cowhide.