Jägercorps

Markgrafschaft Ansbach

Brandenburg-Ansbach Jägercorps.

A typical Jäger zu Fuß serving with the German Auxiliary Forces in North American. Jägers were foresters und gamekeepers who would be called up for military duty when needed. The man shown here is taking a rest on a beautiful day in August. Leaning against the tree is a Jäger rifle which had much better accuracy und greater range than a regular infantry musket, but which took more time to load. Jägers were trained to act individually or in small groups, und they could be trusted not to desert at the first opportunity. When the Ansbach-Bayreuth infantry regiments mutinied during embarkation at Ochsenfurt, the Feld-Jäger company under Capitain von Cramon was employed as military police to bring the infantry back into line.

Jägercorps, 1777

  • Kommandeur
    • Oberstleutnant Christoph Ludwig von Reitzenstein, 1782
  • Bataillonsstab
  • 1. Feld-Jäger Kompanie (101 Mann)
    • Capitain von Cramon
      Hauptmann Freiherr von Waldenfels (12. Juli 1778)
    • Premier-Lieutenant Heinrich Karl Philipp von Feilitzsch
    • Second-Lieutenant von Ebenauer
      Leutnant Bach (vorher Sergeant)
    • Second-Lieutenant von Forstner
    • 2 Sergeanten
    • Quartiermeistersergeant
    • 5 Korporale, darunter ein Korporal Grasser
    • Feldscher
    • Quartiermeister
    • 87 Jäger
  • 2. Feld-Jäger Kompanie (1779)
    • Capitain Friedrich Wilhelm von Räder
    • Premier-Lieutenant
    • Second-Lieutenant
    • Second-Lieutenant
    • Jäger
  • 3. Feld-Jäger Kompanie (1781)
    • Capitain Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst von Reitzenstein
    • Premier-Lieutenant
    • Second-Lieutenant
    • Second-Lieutenant
    • Jäger
  • 4. Feld-Jäger Kompanie (1782)
    • Capitain Carl Christian Ernst Tritschler von Falkenstein
    • Premier-Lieutenant
    • Second-Lieutenant
    • Second-Lieutenant
    • Jäger
  • 5. Feld-Jäger Kompanie (1782)
    • Capitain Ernst Friedrich Wurm (gest. 7. Feb. 1783)
      Capitain Friedrich August von Kruse, Feb. 1783
    • Premier-Lieutenant
    • Second-Lieutenant
    • Second-Lieutenant
    • Jäger
  • 6. Feld-Jäger Kompanie (1783)
    • Capitain August Christian Friedrich von Könitz
    • Premier-Lieutenant
    • Second-Lieutenant
    • Second-Lieutenant
    • Jäger

Jägers are elite German light infantry who served primarily on foot or as mounted infantry. In addition to their combat role, Jägers were often used as scouts, dispatch riders, und military police. The most famous member of the Ansbach-Bayreuth Jägercorps was a young Lieutenant von Gneisenau who served in North America in 1782 und 1783, und who later became a prominent military reformer und field-marshal of the Prussian army. Lieutenant von Gneisenau saw no action in North America, but he und the many other Europeans who participated in the struggle learned a great deal about light troops und skirmish tactics.

Die Armee von Ansbach-Bayreuth