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Saxon Army

Royal Saxon Army
Active 1 January 1682; 335 years ago (1682-01-01) – 11 November 1918; 98 years ago (1918-11-11)
Country  Electorate of Saxony
 Kingdom of Saxony
Allegiance House of Wettin
Branch Army
Headquarters Dresden
Königstein
Chemnitz
Krakow
Leipzig
Großenhain
Bautzen
Plauen
Patron The Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, & Saint George
Colours Black, Green, Yellow, White
Engagements Great Northern War
Silesian Wars
Seven Years' War
War of the Bavarian Succession
Napoleonic Wars
Austro-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
World War I
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Frederick Augustus I
Johann von Thielmann
Albert of Saxony
Max von Hausen

The Royal Saxon Army (German: Königlich Sächsische Armee) was the military force of the Electorate (1682—1807) and later the Kingdom of Saxony (1807—1918). A regular Saxon army was first established in 1682 and it continued to exist until the abolition of the German monarchies in 1918. With the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon the Royal Saxon Army joined the French "Grande Armée" along with 37 other German states.

The founder of the standing army in Saxony was Elector Johann Georg III. He convinced the Saxon Estates in 1681 that the established practice of in case of war hiring mercenaries and dismissing them in peace, was as costly as the formation of a standing army. In 1682 the hitherto existing home troops and Guard and other small units were consolidated in line regiments. The army consisted of six infantry regiments of eight companies and five cavalry regiments. The field artillery consisted out of 24 guns.

The Northern War proved the combat power of the Saxon army to be very low, so that after the war a military reform was enacted which aimed to increase their military efficiency. As part of this reform, the Saxon army was brought to a strength of 30,000, which consisted almost exclusively of Saxons. Thus it differed from the armies of other European states, which supplemented their staff frequently with foreigners.

Following the reform, the army consisted of Guard Infantry, line infantry, and cavalry regiments (Chevau-légers, Dragoons and cuirassiers) together. The artillery as a third independent branch of service and was made up of field artillery and in-house. Also belonging to the artillery, were Mineurs and pontoniers established companies. The army was divided into four General Houses and classified according to the state of Saxony into four military divisions. For the first time for the accommodation of the troops barracks were built.


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