Prussian Dragoon Regiment Number 5 Bayreuth Dragoons
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Dragoner-Regiment Nr.5
Dragoner-Regiment Nr.5 Bayreuth Dragoner
Dragoner-Regiment Nr.5 Königin Dragoner
Kürassier-Regiment Königin Nr. 2
The Dragoner-Regiment Nr.5 Bayreuth Dragoner was a Prussian dragoon regiment. Formed in 1717, the regiment was a part of the Prussian order of battle until 1918. The Bayreuth Dragoons achieved fame for their role in winning the Battle of Hohenfriedberg in 1745.
[edit] History
The Prussian Dragoner-Regiment Nr.5 was formed by a royal order on 2 April 1717. The new formation was to be sponsored by Oberst Achaz von der Schulenburg and raised from recruits in the Duchies of Ansbach and Bayreuth. by 1 June the regiment was formed, with 44 officers and NCOs and 295 cavalry troopers, all aged between 20 and 40 years old. By 1718, the regiment had expanded to four squadrons comprising 689 men.
It was not until 1730 that the regiment reached its full size, ten squadrons, a total of 62 officers, 120 NCOS, standard bearers, 30 drummers and 1,320 cavalry troopers. On 7 August 1731 the regiment was granted the honor title Bayreuth Dragoner (Bayreuth Dragoons) and was redesignated Dragoner-Regiment Nr.5 Bayreuth Dragoner.
The regiment wore the standard powder blue coat of the Prussian dragoons with crimson turnbacks and facings.
The regiment first saw action during the War of Austrian Succession. At the Battle of Mollwitz, six squadrons of the regiment were engaged on an attack on the Austrian's left wing. This attack caused the enemy to retreat and brought victory for the Prussian king, Frederick the Great.
At the Battle of Chotusitz, the regiment did not fare as well. During two cavalry attacks, the Bayreuth Dragoons failed to break through the enemy lines and suffered heavy losses including 14 officers, and three standards.
The regiment won its reputation at the Battle of Hohenfriedberg. The Austrian commander, Prinz Karl von Lothringen, was holding against repeated Prussian infantry attacks. The commander of the Bayreuth Dragoons, Generalleutnant Gessler, saw an opportunity to attack a large force of Austrian infantry attacking the exhausted Prussian infantry. The ten squadrons of the regiment formed into two columns and charged into the Austrians. In the fighting that followed, the Bayreuth Dragoons destroyed 20 Austrian and Saxon battalions, took 2,500 prisoners, and captured 67 regimental standards, losing only 6 officers and 28 men killed. Prinz Karl was forced to retreat in disarray, and the battle was won.
After the charge at Hohenfriedberg, the regiment was permitted to wear a golden 67 on their cartridge cases. They also received a diploma from Frederick the Great, naming all officers who took part in the charge and praising the regiment, as well as granting them their own regimental march, the Hohenfriedberger Marsch, composed by Frederick himself.
Although the regiment was present at the Battle of Soor, it did not see any action, arriving just before the Austrian defeat.
With the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in 1756, the regiment was in the vanguard of the Prussian advance into Saxony. At the Battle of Lobositz, the regiment was involved in the two failed cavalry charges against the Austrians on the Homolka-berg. The regiment performed as well as could be expected,with two squadrons rescuing the Garde du Corps from annihilation.
The dragoons participated in the siege of Pirna, and on 6 May 1757 took part in the bitterly fought Battle of Prague.
[edit] Regimental Sponsors
- Generalleutnant Achaz von der Schulenburg - (2 Apr 1717 - 7 Aug 1731)
- Generalleutnant Markgraf Friedrich Erbprinz von Bayreuth (7 Aug 1731 - ? May 1763)
- Generalleutnant Friedrich Christian Markgraf von Bayreuth (? May 1763 - 2 Aug 1769)
- Generalleutnant Christian Friedrich Carl Alexander Markgraf von Ansbach und Bayreuth (2 Aug 1769 - 5 Mar 1806)
- Major Luise Königin von Preußen (5 Mar 1806 - 4 Aug 1810
- from 1810 onwards the regiment was sponsored by the Prussian Queen until 1918.
