The ''Fähnlein'' (in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: fänika) was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

unit Unit may refer to: General measurement * Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law **International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system **English units, histo ...

approximately equivalent to the

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

which was used in parts of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The size of the unit varied; originally a Fähnlein could consist of as many as 1,000 soldiers, but numbers were generally less, around 500. It was sub-divided into sections or ''Rotten'' (singular: ''Rotte'') of between 6 and 12 men.

Origin and usage

The ''Fähnlein'', meaning "small banner", consisted of small number of

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word ...

that were organized under a single

banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

, hence the unit's name. ''Rotte'' comes from the

Middle Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidia and Africa Proconsularis under the Vandals ...

word ''rupta'' which means "dispersed troop". The word "company", which was used throughout Europe, superseded ''Fähnlein'' in the 17th century, even in German-speaking regions. It was later used by the

scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

and

Wandervögel ''Wandervogel'' (plural: ''Wandervögel''; English: "Wandering Bird") is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 to 1933, who protested against industrialization by going to hike in the country and commune with na ...

as well as by the

Deutsches Jungvolk The ''Deutsches Jungvolk in der Hitlerjugend'' (; DJ, also DJV; German for "German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth" or "German Young People") was the separate section for boys aged 10 to 13 of the Hitler Youth organisation in Nazi Germany. Throug ...

during the

Nazi era Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. ''Rotte'' was later also used in the organisational structure of the SS and has survived into the

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

History

By the

, the ''Fähnlein'' was already the administrative unit with military forces, especially in the

. It initially had 400 to 600 men, sometimes up to 1,000. In

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

it usually consisted of 300 men.

Georg von Frundsberg Georg von Frundsberg (24 September 1473 – 20 August 1528) was a German people, German military and Landsknecht leader in the service of the Holy Roman Empire and Imperial House of Habsburg. An Early modern period, early modern proponent of in ...

had 380 ''Landsknechte''. However, these numbers were target strengths, which were almost never attained. Thus, the actual strength of the French ''Fähnlein'' for a long time was no more than 100 to 200 men. The

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s of different armies had very different numbers of ''Fähnlein'': * 18 ''Fähnlein'' at Frundsberg * 12 ''Fähnlein'' in a French Legion * 10 ''Fähnlein'' in the

Imperial Troops An Imperial Army is an army of any empire. However, only some empires in history and in fiction have actually referred to their armies as "The Imperial Army". Former Imperial Armies In Europe * The Imperial Roman army * The Byzantine army * The O ...

during the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (; July 1546May 1547) was fought within the territories of the Holy Roman Empire between the allied forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Maurice, Duke of Saxony against the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League, with the forc ...

The ''Fähnlein'' consisted of a mix of

archers Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

pikemen A pike is a long thrusting spear formerly used in European warfare from the Late Middle Ages and most of the early modern period, and wielded by foot soldiers deployed in pike square formation, until it was largely replaced by bayonet-equipped ...

and

halberdier A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge), is a two-handed polearm that was in prominent use from the 13th to 16th centuries. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It may have a hook or t ...

s. In the 17th century, some ''Fähnleins'' or ''fänikor'' would have a strength of only 100 to 200 men, and it was at this time that the designation "

" came into widespread use.

Germany

In Germany, a ''Fähnlein'' was the subordinate formation within a ''

Landsknecht The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were German mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line was ...

'' regiment. Each ''Fähnlein'' consisted of several ''Rotten'' (singular: ''Rotte''). As a formed unit, a ''Fähnlein'' consisted of around 400 ''

e'', commanded by a captain ('' Feldhauptmann'', ''Hauptmann'' or ''Kapitän''). A ''Rotte'' consisted of eight to twelve ''Landsknechte'' or six '' Doppelsöldner'' and was led by a ''Rottmeister''. It equates roughly to the modern

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

fireteam A fireteam or fire team is a small modern warfare, modern military sub-subunit, subordinated element of infantry designed to optimize "Non-commissioned officer, NCO initiative", "combined arms", "bounding overwatch" and "fire and movement" mi ...

. At the beginning of the 17th century, i.e. before the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

a ''Fähnlein'' in Germany was supposed to have the following strength: * 100

* 160

musketeer A musketeer ( ) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare, particularly in Europe, as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a precursor to the rifl ...

s * 20

halberdiers A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge), is a two-handed polearm that was in prominent use from the 13th to 16th centuries. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It may have a hook or t ...

* 20

swordsmen Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to an ...

(''Rundtartschiere'') Under Charles V (HRR), Charles V the staff of a German ''Fähnlein'' was as follows: * 1 captain (army), captain (''Hauptmann'') * 1 lieutenant (''Leutnant'', ''Lieutenant'', ''Locotenens'' or ''Leutinger'') * 1 ensign (rank), ensign (''Fähnrich'') * 1 sergeant (''Feldwebel'') * 1 chaplain (''Kaplan'') * 1 quartermaster sergeant (''Fourier'') * 1 guide (''Führer'') * 2 ''Gemeinwebel'' * 1 or 2 Drummer (military), Drummers (''Trommler'') or fifers (''Pfeifer'') * 2 so-called ''Trabant (military), trabants'' to guard the captain * 1 translator (''Dolmetscher'') * 2 runners (''Jungen'') for the captain and the ensign * 1 Cooking, cook (''Koch'') * 1 mounted rider (''Knecht'') for the captain This structure was also called the ''prima plana'' (Latin for "first sheet") because these appointments were on the first page of the muster lists.

Sweden

Roughly the same organization was used in Sweden, where each Provinces of Sweden, province raised a number of ''fänikor'', which were organized into a provincial regiment. Many of the regiments of the Swedish Army of today trace their origins back to the ''fänikor'' of the 16th century. The ''fänika'' was led by a ''Hövitsman'', the equivalent of a Captain (land), Captain. The corresponding cavalry unit was called ''ryttarfana'' (rider banner).

Ensigns

The military rank of ''Fähnrich'' (Germany) or ''Fänrik'' (Sweden) was held by the ensign (rank), ensigns or low ranking Officer (armed forces), officer who carried the banner (German language, German ''Fahne'',

''Fana'') of the ''Fähnlein'' or ''fänika''. The Spanish army has a similar formation called a ''Bandera'' (flag, banner).

Origin and usage

History

Germany

Sweden

Ensigns

References

See also