The Cavalry Sword (KD) 89

In this article, we take a closer look at the cavalry sword 89 (KD 89). We will first take a look at the edged weapons used by the hussars and the rest of the cavalry during the 19th century. We will then take a closer look at the KD 89, starting with its different appearances in the various countries and its brief development. We then look at how it was used by the cavalry in training before the First World War, as well as taking a brief look at the discussion of the KD 89 or bayonet or sidearm, before finally discussing the use of this weapon during the war.

 

The edged weapons of the cavalry in the 19th century

In 1808, the hussars and Uhlans were given a curved sabre based on the English model as a cutting weapon. The cuirassiers and dragoons, however, retained their pallash. The sabre had a leather-covered handle with an iron guard, a crossguard and a grip fitting. There was a hollow trowel on the relatively wide blade, while the iron scabbard was fitted with two rings for the walking straps.

A new weapon was introduced by means of the Km.-V. of 08.01.1857: The cavalry sabre 52. Except for the cuirassiers, who still had to use the pallash. The sabre 52 continued to have a leather-covered grip, while the hilt, blade and scabbard were still made of iron. In 1873, the Uhlans still received French sabres.

 

The KD 89, its introduction and development

With the A.K.O. of 21.06.1890, the KD 89 was finally introduced for the entire cavalry, with the cuirassiers again being an exception. It had a basket in which the national emblem of the respective state of the troop units was used. In addition, the blade was now straight. The KD was primarily intended to be used for thrusting, but it could also be used for slashing attacks, in contrast to the English cavalry sword based on the 1908 model, which was intended exclusively for thrusting. The rings of the scabbard were no longer movable but welded on.

With the A.K.O. of 10.01.1895, the weapon was detached from the hilt on horseback and clamped into a carrying device. The scabbard of the KD 89 lost the second ring as this was no longer required. According to the A.K.O. of 15.06, the scabbards were to be dyed black from 1905 onwards. The grip of the KD 89 was made of hard rubber.

 

The KD 89 in cavalry training

Training with the cavalry sword within the cavalry was rather neglected, as it was only considered a secondary weapon alongside the lance and the carbine. Accordingly, the entries in the guidebook literature are also rather sparse. It is pointed out that the weapon exists and that a few exercises can be done with it, but that the lance should be the main focus of training. In the 35th edition of “von Mirus’ Leitfaden für den Kavalleristen” (ed. E. v. Pelet-Narbonee) from 1911, for example, the use of the sword and its handling is described on a quarter of a DIN A5 page, while lance handling takes up a whole 4-5 pages. The handbook “Three years in the saddle. Ein Lern- und Lesebuch für den Dienstunterricht des deutschen Kavalleristen” (von Unger) even writes in the sixth edition of 1905 (p. 253):

 

“The epee – Kavalleriedegen 89 or Kürassierdegen 54 […] has the sole purpose of serving as a substitute when, exceptionally, the lance has been broken or lost by an unfortunate accident.

Training with the epee is therefore only practiced to the extent that it is absolutely necessary for the simplest handling of the weapon.”

 

On the use of the lance, on the other hand, he says (p. 246), after stating that the most important thing is the art of horsemanship:

 

“It [the lance] must become so completely a habit for the cavalryman on horseback that he is really missing something if he does not carry it with him. Carrying it must seem no different to him than if he had a cigar or a riding stick in his hand. As long as someone still feels somehow inconvenienced by the lance when riding in the field, he has by no means made enough friends with it. Only when you feel a certain exuberant confidence in wielding the lance, when you are tempted to perform all kinds of tricks with the lance on horseback – then it’s right!”

 

In the manuals for one-year volunteers and officers, there is practically no mention of the cavalry sword, apart from an explanation of what it consists of. On the one hand, the carbine and the associated shooting training as well as the lance and the handling of the same clearly dominate here. In his book “Reiterdienst. Kritische Betrachtungen über Kriegstätigkeit, Taktik, Ausbildung und Organisation unserer Kavallerie” from 1910, Fr. v. Bernhardi is more critical of the lance and makes a lapidary comment on the rapier (p. 290):

 

“Training in the use of the sword should be limited to the few prescribed exercises, but should not be completely neglected. In hand-to-hand combat, a man will often have to rely on this weapon.”

 

Before we come to the leather sheath and the sabre-carrying device, let’s talk about a contemporary witness, namely Baron Albrecht von Knigge, who volunteered for the Prussian army in 1916 at the age of 17 ½ and joined Hussar Regiment No. 10 as an ensign. He not only completed his enlistment here, but also went to the front as a hussar in this regiment. His letters contain a few comments on the cavalry sword and its use. For example, he wrote to his mother on July 1, 1916 from his time as a recruit near Stendal (Als Husar im I. Weltkrieg. Letters, diary excerpts and photographs of Baron Albrecht Knigge (ed. Graf von Reichenbach, Berlin 2014, p. 28):

 

“The lance is too splendid a piece of furniture, much better than the boring sabre. I hope it won’t be abolished after the war.”

 

So he had an admiration for the lance, while the cavalry sword lived up to its stepmotherly reputation here. About a month later, in mid-August of 1916, he noted with astonishment (Knigge, Reichenbach, p. 39):

 

“Recently we are no longer allowed to carry a sidearm, only sabres. Too crazy.”

The decree that he was only allowed to carry a sabre with his dress uniform, as he was on his way to the city, is thus reflected here. Interesting is here as well that the words sabre and epee are used as synonyms. Around ten days later, on 24.08.1916, he mentions sabre fencing in a letter, where he is particularly struck by the differences to student fencing (Knigge, Reichenbach, p. 42):

 

“Today was departmental riding and sabre fencing. […] The sabre fencing is quite nice. Completely different from student fencing. Here you hit with your full arm, whereas there the wrist has to do everything.”

 

Knigge’s comments on the sabre and its use, as well as the relatively low level of training with this weapon compared to the others, thus reflect the previous sources very well, as do the regulations that were made during the war with regard to the cavalry sword.

 

The sabre-carrying device

Mounted cavalrymen carried the cavalry sword or sabre on horseback and no longer had it strapped on. They used a special carrying device for this purpose, which was attached to the saddle. The carrying device consisted of a 35.5 cm long rounded leather blade that tapered from 10 cm at the top to 7.5 cm at the bottom. So that this device could be hung on the saddle, there was a buckle strap at the upper end that was pulled through and riveted in place. A pocket with an opening for inserting the sabre was sewn into the middle of the pouch. The cavalry sword or sabre was attached to the carrying device with another buckle.

 

The use of the cavalry sword during the First World War

Already in the run-up to the war, there were extensive discussions as to whether the use of the KD 89 was still in keeping with the times or whether it would not be better to switch to the short sidearm 84/98. This discussion has the potential to fill an article of its own, so we will only refer to it here before we come to its use during the war.

With the A.K.O. of 25.01.1908 (KM of 14.02) there was an order in Prussia to carry out carrying trials in which the cavalry was to replace the KD 89 with a short sidearm in maneuvers and field dress. It was decided that the short sidearm should be introduced generally, while the rapier should only be retained for service in the field. On 11.08.1913, the Kaiser granted permission for this new armament to be introduced on a trial basis in the newly established Jäger regiments on horseback no. 7-13. However, it was only after the outbreak of war that the A.K.O. of 09.11.1914 (KM of 28.11) authorized the general arming of non-commissioned officers and enlisted men with the mountable side rifle 84/98, which was to be carried on the right side of the waist belt. However, the KD 89 continued to be prescribed as part of the dress uniform.

The experience gained in the war made rearmament urgently necessary. The cavalry sword proved to be a hindrance with the increase in infantry and especially with the beginning of positional warfare in the trenches, mainly in the west. By decree of February 10, 1915, the Prussian KM surprisingly ordered the rearmament of troops on the eastern front first. The order was to be

 

1. 8th and 9th Army
2. Southern Army
3. Army Group Woyrsch
4. Zastrow Corps

 

should be adhered to. However, as the wooden grips of the 84/98 side arms were often slightly damaged, the side arms were issued with metal grips. For this purpose, the side arms with wooden grips were to be returned together with the KD 89.

The rearmament of the Western Army with the 84/98 side arms was initiated by the decree of 08.04.1915. Here, too, there was an order in which to proceed:

 

1. 1st-7th Army
2. Army Division Falkenhausen
3. Army Division Strantz
4. Army Division Gaede

 

Even though the KD 89 proved to be a hindrance in the trenches, the troops were reluctant to surrender their cavalry swords, as they considered the weapon indispensable. For as long as the troops were still fighting on horseback, they were deprived of their only effective weapon, especially if the lance was damaged or lost. On 25.05.1915, the Prussian KM agreed that, in addition to the side arms, the KD 89 should also be left with the troop units that did not carry a lance and did not fight on foot. The same was also decreed by the Bavarian KM on 02.06.1915, which according to the Bavarian KME of 20.08.1915 also included the:

 

1. Landwehr-Eskadrons
2. Landsturm escadrons
3. Cavalry staff guards
4. field gendarmerie squads and
5. cavalry intelligence detachments

 

The non-commissioned officers who were not equipped with the lance also retained

 

1. non-commissioned officers
2. trumpeters
3. armourer
4. armourers and
5. train soldiers

 

their sabre or sword. These ranks, who were not equipped with the lance, were expressly (!) permitted by a Prussian decree of 15.09.1915 to retain the sidearm in addition to the KD 89.

The Pruss. KM extended the permission to retain the KD 89 to the entire cavalry of the Eastern Army after the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Army had requested it. This was because many lances were both lost and unusable in the east.

As there were also considerable shortages here during the war, captured weapons from other armies were also used, i.e. not exclusively the weapons of the Imperial German Army.

 

Conclusion

The use of the cavalry sword 89 is therefore not so easy to grasp. Even before the war, there were discussions as to whether it should still be used at all. The training of recruits with these was not too intensive anyway, compared to the lance and the carbine. Overall, shortly after the outbreak of war, it was replaced by the sidearm.

Nevertheless, recruits trained with it during the First World War. It also continued to be part of the dress uniform, although the regulations changed again and again. The use and equipment of the respective troop unit with the cavalry sword also depended on the intended use and the horse situation. If the troops remained mounted, it made sense to continue using the rapier. However, if the troops were mainly deployed in trenches, it was more practical to fall back on the short sidearm. In case of doubt, the troops may also have displayed a certain amount of independence, but this must remain speculation for the time being.

 

Sources

Printed Sources:

Heinrich Graf von Reichenbach (Ed.): Als Husar im I. Weltkrieg. Briefe, Tagebuchauszüge und Fotografien des Freiherrn Albrecht von Knigge, Berlin 2014.

Friedrich Frhr. von Senden (Ed.)/Eberhard Frhr. von Senden: Der Erste Weltkrieg 1914-1918 Erlebnisse eines Jungen Leutnants. Ostfront – Patrouillen an der Spitze im Bewegungskrieg. Westfront – Kämpfen, Durchhalten, Überleben im Stellungskrieg, Norderstedt 2020, 2. Aufl.

Jürgen Kraus: Die Feldgraue Uniformierng des deutschen Heeres 1907-1918, Band 1, Wien o.J.

Pietsch, Paul: Formations- und Uniformierungsgeschichte des preußischen Heeres 1808-1910, Berlin 1911, Band 1 und 2.

Pelet-Narbonne, E.v.(Hrsg.): v. Mirus Leitfaden für den Kavalleristen, Berlin 1911 (35. Auflage).

von Unger: Drei Jahre im Sattel. Ein Lern- und Lesebuch für den Dienstunterricht des deutschen Kavalleristen, Berlin 1905 (6. Auflage).

von Unger: Hülfsbuch für die Einjährig-Freiwilligen der Kavallerie, Berlin 1911 (3. Auflage).

von Maltzahn: Handbuch für den Einjährig Freiwilligen der Kavallerie, Berlin 1911 (13. Auflage).