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Brunswick, Germany

The Black Duke and His Black Band of Vengeance

Friedrich Wilhelm assumed the title of Duke after his father, Duke Wilhelm Ferdinand, died. The French had killed his father and stolen his lands. He was consumed with hatred and spent the rest of his lifetime in the pursuit of Napoleon’s downfall.

In his pursuit of vengeance the Duke aligned himself with Austria and in February 1809 concluded a pact in which he would raise infantry and cavalry units of 1,000 men each.  He was given uniforms, weapons, ammunition for firearms and cannon, and other material necessary to outfit his 2,000 men.  His uniforms were all black and the insignia for his troops badge was a skull and cross-bones in recognition of his thirst for vengeance.  Thus was born the "Black Band of Vengeance" after which he was called the Black Duke.  It formed up in April 1, 1809 at Nachod.

The soldiers fought bravely for their Duke against Napoleon's armies for many years. They even traveled to England, among other places, to join forces to resist the French. On June 16, 1815 the Duke was shot and killed. His death was a great blow to those men who survived him.

The remaining men returned home to French-plundered lands and little support. Within ten years there remained only one regiment each of infantry and Hussars and one battery of artillery.

In 1825 Duke Karl II reorganized them again garrisoning them in Braunschweig. A truly war ready force was not established again until 1830.

(More information may be found in, "A History of Brunswick:  Life in a German Duchy from Roman Times through 1900," by Dan C. Heinemeier.  Amazon.com bookstore)

This soldier in the Duke's "Black Band of Vengeance" pictured below is an ancestor of mine from Braunschweig.  I am sorry to say I don't know who he was.  A close look at the front of his hat reveals the skull and cross bones of the Duke's army.

Click on the picture to enlarge it

Life in Germany From 1860 through 1874

Politically

Otto von Bismark was the Prussian Ambassador to St. Petersburg.  He believed that the only way Prussia would eventually regain their military lead was by defeating Austria in a war.  There were many in parliament and elsewhere who disagreed.

Liberal politicians believed that Prussia and Austria could share power in a German confederation.  Militants believed that only a Prussian-dominated union of German states north of the Main River would do.

By 1862 Bismark had become Prussian Prime Minister.  Bismark set to work to agitate the Austrians.  He continued to exclude Austria from the Zollverein, then exacerbated the condition by establishing a trading agreement with France.  He then sided with Czar Alexander against a Polish Nationalist uprising, knowing that his action would reduce the possibility of Russian support for Austria.

In 1863 Austria tried once more to assert its power over Prussia.  Emperor Francis Joseph announced a meeting of al the German princes to revise the Constitution of the German Confederation and sent the king of Saxony to present a personal invitation to William of Prussia.  Bismark believed that this meeting was a ploy to assimilate Prussia and its army into an Austrian-dominated Germany.  He convinced William not to go.

An unexpected alliance between Austria and Prussia took place in 1863.  King Christian IX of Denmark declared that the duchy of Schleswig was a part of the Danish state.  The population was predominantly German.  Bismark, ever watchful, used this alliance to his advantage.

Prussia and Austria worked together and crushed the Danes and the Treaty of Vienna, ratified in October 1864, gave Prussia and Austria joint dominion over Schleswig and Holstein.

During the next two years Bismark sought to isolate Austria by making agreements with France and Italy.  France gave a vague assurance of neutrality and Italy promised to attack Austria if Prussia did so within three months.  Austria was provoked to such a degree that it took its case to the German council in Frankfurt and urged the federation to mobilize against Prussia.

The battle between Austria and Prussia was as decisive as it was short.   By the end of June, Prussia had crushed all resistance in Hanover, Hesse, and Saxony.  By the time the Prussian army converged upon the village of Sadova, fifty miles across the Austrian border, it was the Hapsburg army alone that it faced.

On July 3, 1866, nearly half a million men met in battle in the rain-sodden woods and fields around Sadova to decide the future of their two nations.  Bismark, now a Major General, and King William watched the fighting together on horseback for thirteen hours.

The Austrians lost 10,000 men in twenty minutes during one final assault.  The Prussian soldiers had much better weapons, breech-loading rifles, and could out fire at a rate of five to one.

Bismark was distressed at the carnage and later commented, "If foreign ministers had always followed their sovereigns to the front, history would have fewer wars to tell of."  However, his glee at winning could not be hidden when later, while pounding a table, said, "I have beaten them all!  All!" 

The air over Prussia was euphoric.  Only a few dared to question the wisdom of Bismark's war against Austria.  Prussia was again a major power.  The old German Confederation was ended.  Austria established a dual monarchy with Hungary, and by the Treaty of Prague, agreed to recognize "a new form of Germany without participation of the Austrian empire."

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This page was last updated 11/23/05

     

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