German Empire. II. [RHS]
Of the whole German Cavalry the Prussian arm has the best record. This dates from the time of Frederick the Great and his celebrated Cavalry leaders Zieten, Seydlitz, and others, who made use of bold and clever offensive tactics which led to grand results at Rossbach, Leuthen, Zorndorf, and other actions. Prussian horses are powerful, fast, and capable of considerable endurance, so that they are particularly suited to military service. In addition, the Prussian soldier is a capital groom. These qualities, in conjunction with thorough discipline and tactical training, have brought the German Cavalry to a height of excellence that is surpassed by few.
The Cuirassiers are the troops who from their outward appearance most resemble the knights of the Middle Ages. Although the cuirass, from which they take their name, has lately been abolished for field service in consequence of its weight and inability to keep off the enemy bullets, yet with the lance, just introduced, a genuine knightly weapon has been brought in to take its place.
The Prussian Regiment of Gardes-du-Corps, whose chief is ex-officio the King of Prussia, is equipped and armed in the same way as the Cuirassiers. Although it forms a Royal body-guard, still the regiment has seen a considerable amount of service. History tells of a memorable saying of the Commander of the regiment, Colonel von Wacknitz, at the battle of Zorndorf (25th August, 1758), where the enemy, the Russians, were getting the best of the day; Frederick the Great was with his regiment, the Gardes-du-Corps, and said anxiously to Colonel von Wacknitz: “What do you think of it? My idea is that we shall get the worst of the action.” Von Wacknitz lowered his sword and said: “Your Majesty, no battle is lost, in my opinion, where the Gardes-du-Corps have not charged.” “Very good,” said the king, “then charge.” And the fortune of the day was decided by the brilliant and successful attack made by this regiment. The battle was won, and the country saved.
In Bavaria the two regiments of Heavy Cavalry, and in Saxony the regiments of Horse Guards and Carbineers, correspond to the Prussian Cuirassiers.
The Dragoons were originally intended to combine the fire-action of Infantry with the rapidity of movement of Cavalry, and were therefore armed, on horseback, with a light musket and bayonet. The Brandenburg Dragoons of the great Elector Frederick William came greatly to the fore in this double capacity at the battles of Warsaw and Fehrbellin. The uncertainty, however, of the results of shooting when mounted, and the inconvenience of dismounting or mounting according as to whether the fight raged on foot or on horseback, showed plainly as time went on that the idea of an intermediate arm, a sort of mounted infantry, could not yet be brought to perfection. The Dragoons were therefore, during the eighteenth century, gradually formed into Cavalry pure and simple, and at the present time they are horse-soldiers, and horse-soldiers only. One of the most celebrated Cavalry attacks was that of the regiment of Anspach-Bayreuth Dragoons in the battle of Hohenfriedberg (4th June, 1745). In this action, the regiment rode down no fewer than 20 battalions of Infantry, took 2,500 prisoners and 66 standards, besides a large number of guns: as Frederick the Great said, “It is a feat unparalleled in history.” This regiment was, at a later period, turned into a Cuirassier regiment, and is now known as the Queen’s 2nd Cuirassiers (Pomeranians).
The Bavarian Chevau-légers correspond to the Prussian Dragoons, and many a record testifies to their gallantry in action.
The spirit of Zieten, the “Hussar-father,” and of old Blücher, “Field Marshal Forwards,” still lives in the Hussars of the German Empire. Activity, boldness, and cheeriness are the attributes which make a good Hussar, and many are the songs which record their successes in camp and field.