Saturday 30 May 2009

30th Reichsarmee Template: Trooper of the Ansbach Dragoon Regiment (Franconian Circle)

Franconian Kreis-Dragoner Regiment first raised 1691. Inhaber: Markgraf von Brandenburg-Ansbach. Composition: 5 squadrons each of 2 companies, theoretical establishment a total of c.700. 21 contingents. Disbanded 1791.

Fought at Rossbach, where as part of the second line of the right wing of cavalry their performance was not entirely uncreditable as they lasted longer than the Hohenzollern and Bayreuth Cuirassiers before being routed by the Prussian envelopment. In May 1758 had a strength of 407. Still with the Reichsarmee in June 1760. Not at Freiberg 1762.

I've chosen the simplest recorded variant of this uniform, which more closely matches later near-contemporary depictions and seems more likely given the poverty-stricken nature of the Reichsarmee. Richard Knötel in his Uniformkunde shows a surprisingly complex uniform with white lace on the buttonholes and a curious emblem like a coiled snake on the shabraque. The Sturm cigarette cards figure shows a much darker blue for the facings and dots around the sinuous pattern on the edge of the shabraque.