Officer of the 5th Regiment of Dragoons, Prussia 1745

The figure is that of an officer of the 5th Regiment of Dragoons from Frederick the Great’s army during the War of Austrian Succession, 1740 – 1748. 

In the battle of Mollwitz a charge by six squadrons routed the enemy. The regiment gained its reputation in the battle of Hohenfriedberger, by holding the battle line against repeated infantry attacks and by the support it gave to the Prussian infantry. It destroyed 20 Saxon and Austrian battalions, took 2500 prisoners and captured 67 flags. As a reward for this, the number 67 was embossed in gold on their cartridge belts and the regiment received a diploma from King Frederick II, naming the officers. The regiment’s courage was further lauded by the composition of a march, Der Hohenfriedberger, by the King himself.

In 1756, during the Seven Years War, the regiment was in the vanguard of the Prussian advance in Saxony. In the battle of Lobositz the regiment attempted two unsuccessful cavalry charges against the Austrians at Homolkaberg and succeeded in saving the King’s personal Life Guard from annihilation.