Halen 3-German forces
When discussing German cavalry units, there is a myriad of names. For instance, at the Battle of Halen were Husaren, Dragoner, Ulanen, and Kürassiere. The Germans operated so that all cavalry units were identically trained and equipped but dressed differently according to their own lineage and heritage. Otherwise, there were no differences among the types of units. After the 1900 introduction of machine guns, the role of the cavalry shifted from a battle cavalry—deciding battles by mass attacks, as in the Kaisermanöver—to a reconnaissance cavalry. This development also blurred the differentiation among the cavalry branches toward a standardized cavalry (Einheitskavallerie). Taking the tradition of Husaren, Dragoner, Ulanen, and Kürassiere regiments into consideration together with the egotistical, noble tradition of many regiments, one might imagine how painful this homogenization process must have been.
All German cavalry units were equipped similarly. Each trooper carried a lance, carbine, and sword. There was no bayonet at this time. Although there were many examples from the Russo- Japanese War that bayonets were needed to dig out the defenders, hard-line cavalry supporters could not see giving up the sword for a bayonet. Despite a bayonet-mounting socket on the carbine, the cavalry had not adopted the bayonet before the war; the HKK 2 commander did not request bayonets until October 1914, and they were not issued until December 1914, long after the battle. The German unit uniforms were somewhat different. Although all had dressed in gray colors since 1910, each still possessed very different and identifiable helmets. The Dragoner wore a leather pickelhaube. The Ulanen wore a unique of headgear known as a tschapka, easily identifiable because the top of the helmet had a mortarboard rather than a spike. The Kürassiere had a polished metal helmet with a spike on the top and Prussian eagle on the front. They were the only cavalry type at Halen to wear this metal helmet, which gave rise in a poem to the nomenclature “the Battle of the Silver Helmets.”
Headgear could cause identification problems. Belgian Lancer regiments also wore the very distinctive tschapka with an oilcloth cover. Though different from those of the Ulanen in detail, they could look identical to both sides from a distance. This also intensified the common Belgian habit of calling all German cavalry Ulan in many contemporary accounts, even if the approaching cavalry might not actually be Ulanen. One relatively easy way to distinguish friend from foe was that the German units all wore field gray uniforms; the Belgians wore their very distinctive, colorful prewar uniforms.
Upon mobilization, the five-Squadron regiment was usually re-divided into four active Squadrons of 180 officers and men and 180 horses; each Squadron had three wagons and a replacement (Ersatz) Squadron that remained in the garrison or mobilization station to take in and train further reservists.
In addition to the two cavalry brigades the German fourth cavalry division had some significant organic formations that really beefed up the combat power of the division. The separate machine-gun battalion assigned to the division, Garde Maschinengewehr-Abteilung (G MG-Abt) Nr 2 consisted of four officers, fourteen NCOs, one trumpeter, 130 enlisted men, ninety horses, and fourteen wagons. Most of the wagons carried baggage and ammunition. Machine-gun battalions had six guns mounted on horse-driven carriages, but four horses each towed the carriages—making them faster and more mobile to keep pace with the cavalry units. The guns of the machine-gun battalions could also be fired when mounted on their carriages. They were equipped with Maschinengewehr 08, which could fire up to a distance of four kilometers.
Originally, Jäger battalions consisted of four companies, each having twenty-three officers, two medical officers, seventy NCOs (called Oberjäger), and 570 men. However, in 1913 this number grew to six companies, which included a machine-gun and a bicycle company. Jäger battalions were considerably stronger than regular infantry battalions were. They could cover more difficult or demanding tactical missions because of their higher firepower and training. Machine-gun companies offered confusing size terminology. Peacetime strength was about four officers, ten NCOs plus one medical NCO, and sixty enlisted. The company had twenty-two horses, six machine guns mounted on two-horse carriages, and three ammo carriages. Mobilization strength increased up to ninety-six men, horses, and twelve wagons. So, a machine-gun company within a Jäger battalion was about the same size as an entire, separate machine-gun battalion; both had six machine guns.
The Jäger (J) Bn Nr 9 was known as the Lauenburg Jäger. They had started the war with three Jäger companies, one machine-gun company, and one Bicyclist company. They were already on their second commander of the war, Maj. Herbig. They were reinforced by a single company (Komp)—4th Komp/J Bn Nr 7. The 4th Komp had been cut off from its battalion during the fight at Liège. Due to losses and difficult marches, after many consolidations, only one company could be formed under the command of Oberleutnant (Ob.Lt) von Wey. They are commonly referred to as the Jäger Bn Nr 7, which could confuse the reader into thinking it was a full battalion. Similar to other soldiers in the German Army, this unit had been wearing a kind of field-gray (green-gray) uniform since 1910. They could easily be identified, as they wore a shako instead of a pickelhaube or spiked helmet. They were armed with the standard, single-shot G98 Mauser rifle with a magazine that fired five rounds before needing to reload. The rifle could shoot as far as 800 to 1200 meters; effectively aimed shots were limited to about 400 meters.
There is a notion that these forces were somehow elite. Indeed, service in one of these Jäger battalions generally qualified the soldier to serve as a civil servant in the forestry industry, a qualification that was heavily sought after. However, Jäger units had no separate doctrinal manual. Instead, they used the 1906 infantry manual. Allegedly, they were given a bit more ammunition for marksmanship training. But considering the very small amount of ammunition allotted to the infantry for training, the additional allotment could not have been much. What they did have was a training and utilization attitude that allowed them to create more independent and open formations. They were expected to use cover and concealment to approach the enemy, were far less rigid than infantry formations, and had more firepower compared to a same size infantry organization.
They were reinforced by two companies of Jäger Bn Nr 7. Known as the Bückeburg Jäger, they really represented the entire battalion. However, the battalion had been mauled in the battle with the Liège forts; two companies were all that was left. These two were merged into one company. Actually, both Jäger Bn Nr 9 and Nr 7 had been committed to Liège as part of the Army of the Meuse. The Jäger Bn Nr 9 had lost its commander and Jäger Bn Nr 7 had been completely brutalized.
Cavalry divisions were also equipped with an artillery battalion commanded by a major. These battalions were the highly mobile riding battalions. Normally, two field artillery battalions would form a regiment. However, certain regiments had a third riding battalion that comprised three batteries or company-sized organizations with four guns each.These battalions are confused in almost every English-language source. The German term is Abteilung, which is often mistranslated as “detachment” or “section.” The word “riding battery” is directly translated from the German word Reitende Batterie, distinguished from “driving battery” (Fahrende Batterie). The familiar English phrase for riding battery would be “battery of horse artillery.”
The 4th Kav Div had been assigned the riding battalion from Feldartillerie Regt (FAR) Nr 3. The 2nd Kav Div had the riding battalion from FAR Nr 35; it too came forward and participated in the battle. Combined, these two units provided twenty-four artillery pieces available to the German forces.