The Guard Hussar Regiment () is a
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
unit of the
Royal Danish Army
The Royal Danish Army (; ; ) is the land-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures, equipment and training methods ...
, whose primary task is to train the Guard Hussars for various functions in the mobilisation force. The Guard Hussar Regiment is one of two active
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
regiments of the Danish Army, and was formed in 2001 through the amalgamation of the original Guard Hussars regiment,
Zealand Life Regiment
The Zealand Life Regiment () was a Royal Danish Army infantry regiment. On 1 January 2001 it was amalgamated into the Guard Hussar Regiment (Denmark), Guard Hussar Regiment, which was moved from Næstved to Slagelse.
History
The Sjællandske Livr ...
and
Danish Life Regiment.
History
Origins of the regiment
Although the Guard Hussars themselves date from
10 February 1762, the Danish Army takes the date of the founding of a regiment from its oldest part, in this case the
Zealand Life Regiment
The Zealand Life Regiment () was a Royal Danish Army infantry regiment. On 1 January 2001 it was amalgamated into the Guard Hussar Regiment (Denmark), Guard Hussar Regiment, which was moved from Næstved to Slagelse.
History
The Sjællandske Livr ...
, which was founded in 1614. This makes the Guard Hussars one of the oldest regiments of
hussar
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 ...
s in the world still operational, it is also the only hussars in mounted parade uniform to still wear the slung and braided
pelisse
A pelisse was originally a short fur-trimmed jacket which hussar light-cavalry soldiers from the 17th century onwards usually wore hanging loose over the left shoulder, ostensibly to prevent sword cuts. The name also came to refer to a fashiona ...
which was formerly characteristic of this class of cavalry. In addition to its operational role, the Guard Hussar Regiment is one of two regiments in the Danish Army (along with the
Den Kongelige Livgarde
The Royal Life Guards () is a mechanized infantry regiment of the Danish Army, founded in 1658 by King Frederik III. The primary task is to provide a number of soldiers from the Guard Company to serve as a guard/ceremonial unit to the Danish ...
) to be classed as 'Guards'; in this case, the
Mounted Squadron perform the same role as the
Household Cavalry do in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
.
From 1961 to 1972 the regiment was responsible for two armoured battalions, one recon battalion. From 1972–2000 the regiment was responsible for one armoured, one mechanised infantry, one reconnaissance and one infantry battalions. From 2000–2004 the regiment was responsible for two armoured, two mechanised infantry, one reconnaissance and two infantry battalions. From 1992–2004 the regiment also had to form two light Reconnaissance Squadrons assigned to the
1st Zealand Brigade and
Danish International Brigade
The Danish International Brigade (), short DIB (also sometimes known as the ''Danish Reaction Brigade'') was a Denmark, Danish military brigade.
The political decision to form this brigade was conceived in the Danish Defence agreement 1992–1995 ...
.
2001 amalgamation
As part of the
Defence Agreement 2000–04, it was decided to merge the Guard Hussar Regiment with the
Zealand Life Regiment
The Zealand Life Regiment () was a Royal Danish Army infantry regiment. On 1 January 2001 it was amalgamated into the Guard Hussar Regiment (Denmark), Guard Hussar Regiment, which was moved from Næstved to Slagelse.
History
The Sjællandske Livr ...
and the
Danish Life Regiment. With this amalgamation of the three infantry regiments, the name and history of the new regiment had to be decided. This led to what the media called "the Colonels' War" (), with the three colonels fighting for their regiment’s name and history to survive.
The Chief of Defence,
Christian Hvidt, ordered the old insignia removed, which was not customary. The new armoured horse head was nicknamed the "
biker patch". Furthermore, it was decided that a
colour
Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...
be used alongside the standard.
Modern times
Following the amalgamation, the Guard Hussar Regiment has participated in a number of international missions, resulting in the loss of 16 soldiers.
Structure
Current units
Today the Gardehusarregiment is classed as a cavalry regiment, it is in fact a mixed armoured and infantry unit, with three battalions:
*

Guard Hussar Regiment, in
Slagelse
Slagelse () is a town on Zealand (Denmark), Zealand, Denmark. The town is the seat of Slagelse Municipality, and is the biggest town of the municipality. It is located 15 km east of Korsør, 16 km north-east of Skælskør, 33 km south-east of Ka ...
**

I Armoured Infantry Battalion – assigned to 1st Brigade; Motto: ''Hurtig i tanke og handling, livsfarlig for sine fjender (''Quick in thought and action, deadly to his enemies'')''
***

Staff Company (SLEIPNER) Motto: ''Altid Klar'' (Always Ready)
***

1st Armoured Infantry Company (1/I/GHR or VIDAR) Motto: ''Når storm lægger sig raser vi stadig'' (When the storm subsides we rage on)
***

2nd Mechanised Infantry Company (2/I/GHR or ULTRA) Motto: ''Non plus ultra'' (Nothing further beyond)
***

4th Mechanised Infantry Company (4/I/GHR) (inactive)
**

III Reconnaissance Battalion – assigned to 2nd Brigade; Motto: ''Nec temere nec timide'' (Neither brashly nor timidly)
***

Staff Squadron (Inactive)
***

1st Light Reconnaissance Squadron (1 LOPKESK)
***

2nd Light Reconnaissance Squadron (2 LOPKESK) nickname: ''Spøgelserne fra Bornholm'' (The ghosts from Bornholm)
***

3rd Light Reconnaissance Squadron (3 LOPKESK)
*** Marine Squadron (4th Training Squadron) - Motto:''Klar til kamp – altid i front'' (Ready to fight - always in front)
**

V Training Battalion – assigned to 2nd Brigade; Motto:''Terror in Hostes – Vor fjender til frygt''
***

Staff Company (Inactive)
***

1st Training Company - 8 Month Mobilization Conscription - Motto:''Fremad på ny – hurtig og adræt'' (Forward again - fast and agile)
***

2nd Training Company (Livkompagniet) - 4 Month Training Conscription - Motto:''Fremad på ny – lige på og hårdt'' (Forward again - head on)
***

4th Mechanised Infantry Company (4/V/GHR) 8 Month Training Conscription
**
Mounted Squadron – 4 Month Training and 8 months taking care of the regiments horses and public and ceremonial duties
Officially disbanded units
*

II/GHR Armoured Battalion (1955−1976), Infantry Battalion (1977-2000), Armoured Infantry Battalion (2001-2018)
*

IV/GHR Infantry Battalion (1983−1996), Armoured Infantry Battalion (1997-2013).
*

VI/GHR Infantry Battalion (2000-2004).
*

VII/GHR Infantry Battalion (2000-2004).
Names of the regiment
References
External links
*
Source
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Military units and formations established in 2001
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Cavalry regiments of Denmark
Military of Denmark