Croats | |
---|---|
Active | 17th century |
Country | Habsburg monarchy |
Allegiance | Imperial Army |
Branch | light cavalry |
Type | auxiliary [1] |
Role | off-battlefield |
Equipment | Carbine and pistols |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
Initial structures | Count of Tilly |
First regular regiments | Albrecht von Wallenstein |
The Croats, also known as Cravats or Crabats, [6] were 17th-century light cavalry forces in Central Europe, comparable to the hussars. [7] The Croats were initially irregular units loosely organized in bands. The first regular Croat regiment was established in 1625.
The most notable engagement of the Croats was their participation on the Habsburg side in the Thirty Years' War, serving in the Imperial Army or within the troops of the Catholic League. At the height of the Thirty Years' War, as many as 20,000 Croatian cavalry were in the service of the Imperial Army, including the majority of Wallenstein's harquebusiers.
The name came to be used as a generic term for light cavalry from the area of the Habsburg Military Frontier rather than an ethnic designation, and included ethnic Croats, Hungarians, Serbs, Wallachians, Poles, Cossacks, Albanians and Tatars. [7] [8]
The Croats were initially recruited by generals of the Habsburg monarchy. [9] The soldiers who joined Croats signed contracts which expired after the military campaign would be over, most often for any booty and sometimes for a fee. [7] At the beginning, their bands were loosely organized. [7] They were dismissed after the military campaign was finished and returned in the spring to be recruited by their old commanders. [7]
In 1623, the size of the Croat units under command of Count of Tilly was reduced from 172 hearths to 72. [1] They participated in the 1623 Battle of Stadtlohn under Tilly's command. [2] Denmark hired in Croat troops during both the Swedish Wars (1657-1660) and the Scanian War (1676-79). During the Scanian War they were led by Disznoldt and lodged in the heavily fortified town of Landskrona in Scania where they caused quite a lot of trouble and were picky about their lodgings. They were sent on 'small war' missions together with the native friskytter corps and several of them were killed in battle.
The first regular Croat regiment was established in 1625 by Hector Ludwig Isolani, a military officer in service of Albrecht von Wallenstein.
They were engaged to confuse the enemy flanks by attacking their wings. [6] In many historical works the Croats are criticized for their cruel methods. [10] It has been reported that the worst atrocities during the Sack of Magdeburg were committed by the Croats and Walloons. [11] By the end of 1633 the Croats began their service in the army of the Kingdom of France. [9]
The Croats wore hats made of fur and long red cloaks. [6] [12] Their primary arms were carbines. [6] Besides carbine the Croat arms included two pistols. [13] The Croats wore scarves around their necks, probably for hygienic purposes. [14] During the Thirty Years' War the Croats came in contact with French who were impressed by their outfit and soon adopted the scarf, naming it after the Croats, cravat (French : cravate), which evolved into the modern-day cravat and necktie. [14] The Cravat Regiment is a guard of honour established in 2010 in Zagreb, Croatia, which wears uniforms that are replicas of those worn by the Croats.
The influence of the Croat military unit was so strong that between 1631 and 1638 similar units were established in Bavaria, Spain and France. [7] At the beginning of the 20th century mothers still scared their children with tales about the 1631 Sack of Magdeburg in which Croats took part. [15] The population of eastern France compared all invasions after the Thirty Years' War with stories about Croats and Swedes who ravaged their territory in the 1630s. [16] The Croats are mentioned in Grimmelshausen's Simplicissimus and in Friedrich Schiller's Wallenstein . [17]
The Thirty Years' War, from 1618 to 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from the effects of battle, famine, or disease, while parts of Germany reported population declines of over 50%. Related conflicts include the Eighty Years' War, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Franco-Spanish War, the Torstenson War, the Dutch-Portuguese War, and the Portuguese Restoration War.
The Battle of Lützen, fought on 16 November 1632, is considered one of the most important battles of the Thirty Years' War. Led by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, an Allied army primarily composed of troops from Sweden, Saxony, and Hesse-Kassel, narrowly defeated an Imperial force under Albrecht von Wallenstein. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, with Gustavus himself among the dead.
The Battle of Nördlingen, fought over two days from 5 to 6 September 1634, was a major battle of the Thirty Years' War. A Imperial-Spanish force led by the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand and Ferdinand of Hungary inflicted a crushing defeat on the Swedish-German army led by Gustav Horn and Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar.
Ferdinand III was Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1625, King of Bohemia from 1627 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1637 to his death.
The Battle of White Mountain was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years.
A hussar was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry regiments in European armies during the late 17th and 18th centuries. By the 19th century, hussars were wearing jackets decorated with braid plus shako or busby fur hats and had developed a romanticized image of being dashing and adventurous.
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland, also von Waldstein, was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). His successful martial career made him one of the richest and most influential men in the Holy Roman Empire by the time of his death. Wallenstein became the supreme commander of the armies of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and was a major figure of the Thirty Years' War.
The cravat is a neckband, the forerunner of the modern tailored necktie and bow tie, originating from a style worn by members of the 17th century military unit known as the Cravats. The modern British "cravat" is called an "ascot" in American English.
The Military Frontier was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungarian Empire. It acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire.
The Battle of Rain took place on 15 April 1632 near Rain in Bavaria during the Thirty Years' War. It was fought by a Swedish army under Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and a Catholic League force led by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly. The battle resulted in a Swedish victory, while Tilly was severely wounded and later died of his injuries.
The Battle of Breitenfeld or First Battle of Breitenfeld, was fought at a crossroads near Breitenfeld approximately 8 km north-west of the walled city of Leipzig on 17 September, or 7 September, 1631. A Swedish-Saxon army led by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and Saxon Elector John George I defeated an Imperial-Catholic League Army led by Generalfeldmarschall Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly. It was the Protestants' first major victory of the Thirty Years War.
Ottavio Piccolomini, 1st Duke of Amalfi was an Italian nobleman whose military career included service as a Spanish general and then as a field marshal of the Holy Roman Empire.
The sack of Magdeburg, also called Magdeburg's Wedding or Magdeburg's Sacrifice, was the destruction of the Protestant city of Magdeburg on 20 May 1631 by the Imperial Army and the forces of the Catholic League, resulting in the deaths of around 20,000, including both defenders and non-combatants. The event is considered the worst massacre of the Thirty Years' War. Magdeburg, then one of the largest cities in Germany, having well over 25,000 inhabitants in 1630, did not recover its importance until well into the 18th century.
The Battle of Lutter took place on 27 August 1626 during the Thirty Years' War, south of Salzgitter, in Lower Saxony. A combined Danish-German force led by Christian IV of Denmark was defeated by Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly, commanding an army of the Catholic League loyal to Emperor Ferdinand II.
The Battle of the Alte Veste was a significant battle of the Thirty Years' War in which Gustavus Adolphus' attacking forces were defeated by Wallenstein's entrenched troops.
The Treaty of Fontainebleau was signed on 30 May 1631 during the Thirty Years' War, at the Palace of Fontainebleau. It was a pact of mutual assistance between Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, and France, for a period of eight years.
Heinrich Holk was a Danish-German mercenary in both Christian IV of Denmark's and Albrecht von Wallenstein's service during the Thirty Years' War.
The Battle of Frankfurt an der Oder on 13 April 1631 took place during the Thirty Years' War. It was fought between the Swedish Empire and the Holy Roman Empire for the strategically important, fortified Oder crossing Frankfurt an der Oder, Brandenburg, Germany.
The Swedish invasion of the Holy Roman Empire or the Swedish Intervention in the Thirty Years' War is a historically accepted division of the Thirty Years' War. It was a military conflict that took place between 1630 and 1635, during the course of the Thirty Years' War. It was a major turning point of the war: the Protestant cause, previously on the verge of defeat, won several major victories and changed the direction of the War. The Habsburg-Catholic coalition, previously in the ascendant, was significantly weakened as a result of the gains the Protestant cause made. It is sometimes considered to be an independent conflict by historians.
Imperial Army or Imperial troops was a name used for several centuries, especially to describe soldiers recruited for the Holy Roman Emperor during the early modern period. The Imperial Army of the Emperor should not be confused with the Army of the Holy Roman Empire, which could only be deployed with the consent of the Imperial Diet. The Imperialists effectively became a standing army of troops under the Habsburg Emperors from the House of Austria, which is why they were also increasingly described in the 18th century as "Austrians", although its troops were recruited not just from the Archduchy of Austria but from all over the Holy Roman Empire.