The Army of the Holy Roman Empire (; , ''Reichsheer'', or ''Reichsarmatur''; ) was created in 1422 and came to an end when the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

was dissolved in 1806 as a result of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. The Army of the Empire was not a

standing army A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars ...

. When there was danger, it was mustered from among the elements constituting it, in order to conduct a military campaign or ''Reichsheerfahrt'' during an Imperial War (''Reichskrieg'') or an Imperial Execution (''Reichsexekution''). It could only be deployed with the consent of the Imperial Diet and should not be confused with the Imperial Army (''Kaiserliche Armee'') of the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

. In practice, the various forces of the Army of the Empire often had stronger local allegiances than to the Holy Roman Emperor.

History

Prompted by the threat posed by the

Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...

s, the Imperial Diet of 1422 held in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

created the Army of the Empire by demanding specific contingents of troops from the various parts of the Empire. The

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

continued from 1420 to 1434, by which point the army had proved its worth. Over the next hundred years, the size of the Army was controlled either by the number of serving men being strictly regulated or by limits on the money that paid for it. At the Diet of Worms in 1521 a commitment was made to keep the strength at 20,063

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 ...

and 4,202

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 ...

. This was later simplified to 20,000 and 4,000. The monthly cost of paying for an army of this size was known as the Roman Month (''Römermonat''). The Imperial Register (''Reichsmatrikel'' or ''Heeresmatrikel'') determined the contributions of the individual states making up the Empire, the first being the Register of 1422. Contrary to popular belief, the Army of the Empire did not take part in 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 ...

of 1618 to 1648. The Emperor participated in this war with the Imperial Army (''Kaiserliche Armee'') instead. The Constitution of the Army of the Empire (''Reichsdefensionalordnung'') of 1681 finally determined the composition of the army, fixing the contingents to be provided by the various Imperial Circles. The simple total strength (called in Latin the ''Simplum'') was now fixed at 40,000 men, consisting of 28,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry, including 2,000

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

s (that is,

mounted infantry Mounted infantry were infantry who rode horses instead of marching. Unlike cavalry, mounted infantry dismounted to fight on foot. The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Editio ...

). In emergencies, the size of the army could be increased by doubling or tripling the contingents. Such multiples were called in Latin the ''duplum'' and the ''triplum''. The figures for the contingents to be supplied by each Imperial Circle were little altered until the demise of the Empire. In practice, they were organized into a number of separate

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. In some cases, money was provided instead of men to fulfil these military obligations to the Emperor.

Campaigns

Between the 1590s and the

French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (sometimes called the Great French War or the Wars of the Revolution and the Empire) were a series of conflicts between the French and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompas ...

, the Army fought in the wars directly affecting the Empire, usually with units of the

Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor Imperial Army (Latin: ''Exercitus Imperatoris'', ) or Imperial troops (''Kaiserliche Truppen'' or ''Kaiserliche'') was a name used for several centuries, especially to describe soldiers recruited for the Holy Roman Emperor during the early mode ...

and other local territorial forces. It did not take part in the

of 1618 to 1648. * Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) *

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...

(1673–1679) *

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

(1688–1697) *

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

(1701–1714) * War of the Polish Succession (1734–1735) *

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

(1756-1763) *

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...

(1792–1797) *

War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition () (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war targeting French Revolution, revolutionary French First Republic, France by many European monarchies, led by Kingdom of Great Britain, Britai ...

(1798–1801)

End

In 1804, the imperial forces originating from the lands of the new

Emperor of Austria The emperor of Austria (, ) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The hereditary imperial title and office was proclaimed in 1804 by Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorr ...

, a title created that year, became the Imperial and Royal Army (''Kaiserlich-königliche Armee''), which was defeated by the French at the battles of Ulm and Austerlitz in 1805. In 1806 the victorious French organized much of the former empire into the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...

, a grouping of

client state A client state in the context of international relations is a State (polity), state that is economically, politically, and militarily subordinated to a more powerful controlling state. Alternative terms for a ''client state'' are satellite state, ...

s of the French Empire, with a common federal army.Michael Hughes, ''Early modern Germany, 1477-1806'' (1992), p. 182

Notes

External links

{{commons category, Military of the Holy Roman Empire Military history of the Holy Roman Empire 1420s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1422 establishments in Europe Military units and formations established in the 15th century

History

Campaigns

End

Further reading

See also

Notes

External links