There were essentially four distinct periods during the 8^th Kür. Regt’s war-time history.  Each of these will be discussed briefly in the proceeding sections.

I.  Beim Kriegsausbruch (At the War’s Outbreak)

The regiment was mobilized on 1. August, and it left the Deutz garrison, crossed the Rhein River, and marched past the world-famous Cologne Cathedral before departing, by train, for the German-Luxembourg border. 

An important distinction must be made here:  The 3. Friedenseskadron (peace-time squadron) was selected to remain in Deutz as the Ersatzeskadron (replacement squadron).  The 4. Friedenseskadron became the 3. Feldeskadron—the specific squadron that the members portray.

At the outbreak of the war, the regiment was attached to the 15^th Inf. Div., VIII. A.K.  (Note:  1 full cavalry regiment in support of 1 division.)  In support of this division, the regiment participated in the advance into Luxembourg and Belgium, the Meuse (German:  Maas) River crossing into France, the advance through the Champagne Region and the Battle of the Marne.  Following the defeat at the Battle of the Marne in early September, 1914, the German Army was pushed back northward.  Thus, the regiment ended the year again in the Champagne Region.  Primary duties during the advance included reconnaissance patrols and the covering of divisional artillery.

As the front line stabilized, the cavalrymen found themselves patrolling the rear areas and guarding the streets, railroads and telegraph lines.  Beginning in November, each squadron had to provide a Zug for front-line service.  In addition, officers, NCOs and men were detached to other infantry units, as needed.

Oberlt. v. Winterfeld was the 3. Feldeskadron’s CO at the beginning of the war.  In Sept. 1914 Rittmeister v. Thielmann returned to the regiment and assumed command of the 3. Feldeskadron.  He would hold this position for most of the rest of the war.

 II. Kavallerie-Division Graf Lippe  (November 1914 – March 1915)

In late 1914, the regiment and other cavalry regiments were amalgamated into one cavalry division.  Key priorities were training the riders in trench warfare and creating a mobile reserve for the Armee Korps.  The unit participated in the winter battle in the Champagne.  During this time, it received training in the development of positions, and it helped to build the defensive positions on hill 193 by Tahure and Navarin Farm.  In February, the regiment also undertook farming activities.  In March, numerous detachments served with the infantry regiments of the 15. Inf. Div.

III. Halbregiment des Rittm. v. Thielmann  (March 1915 – July 1916)

In late March 1915 the cavalry division was disbanded and the 3. and 4. Feldeskadrone formed a half-regiment (Halbregiment) under the command of the squadron’s CO, Rittmeister Freiherr v. Thielmann.  This unit served with the 113. Inf. Div.  As the divisional cavalry unit, the Halbregiment supported the division primarily as dispatch riders and providing security.  Again, detachments of officers and men also served in the division’s infantry regiments.

From late June through August 1915 the Halbregiment was placed under the command of Kavallerie Brigade von Kotz, which was situated on the Verdun front.

In March and April 1916 the division and its cavalry served at the Verdun front just outside of the village of Douaumont and Fort Douaumont.  Numerous detachments served on the staffs of the division’s infantry regiments, and, at times, Züge were also in the front-most trench lines.

In May, the division moved to a quieter area, where the halbregiment’s duties again turned to railroad, bridge and canal protection.

IV.  3. Feldeskadron  (July 1916 – Nov. 1918)

On 15 July 1916, the Halbregiment was disbanded and the 3. Feldeskadron remained under the command of the 113. Inf. Div.  Due to the increasing shortage of horses and the facilities to care for them, one cavalry squadron now supported one infantry division.

The division and the 3. Feldeskadron, as its divisional cavalry, participated in numerous battles on the Western Front during the last 2+ years of the war.  Squadron duties varied tremendously, but they included:  providing dispatch riders, field work, guard duty, signal corps work and divisional observation work.  Also, detachments of officers and men continued to serve other units in the division.  Most notable, Rittmeister Freiherr von Thielmann, the squadron’s CO, served as battalion CO of I./Res. Inf. Regt. 32 during a portion of the Chemin des Dames battle in June – Sept. 1917.  The regimental history also states that the men were trained on the use of machine guns during that same period.

Unfortunately, the squadron’s activities during this last phase are also the least documented; taking up only 7 pages of the 200+ pages in the regimental history.

A total of 17 officers and 144 men are listed in the Roll of Honor, and these include those who fell serving in other units.

V.  The 8. Kür. Regt. Today

Today’s reenacting regiment was started by John Novicki in the late 1990s / early 2000s, and it grew out of his desire to find a unique and challenging unit to portray on a first-person basis.  In this regard, there are several features that are unique to the regiment:  First, it was not a front-line infantry unit, although its men and officers certainly saw front-line service.  Second, the 8 Prussian Kürassier regiments were heavy cavalry; although though their duties changed substantially as the war progressed.  Third, as an Imperial cavalry unit the regiment would have included many elite members.  One way to see this is to look at the Ehrentafel (List of the Fallen) in the regimental history:  Key officers who were killed included Rittmeister v. Winterfeld and Leutnant Graf v. Spee, who most assuredly were related to their more famous namesakes.

In addition to participating in the Great War Association’s reenactments, the regiment undertakes numerous other activities designed to enhance authenticity and boost members’ knowledge of the life of a German Soldier during the Great War.  In 2004 and 2005 it participated in Military Through the Ages, a judged living history timeline event.  The unit won the Best Camp award in 2004.  In 2005 it toured the regiment’s old sites and battlefields in Germany and France.  (A second trip is being planned for 2012.)  In 2006 and 2009, its members researched original German war-time documents at the National Archives.  The regiment also holds educational and social events such as the Kaiser’s Birthday Celebration; and it has initiated a cultural theme to Saturday night post-combat.  Successful past themes have included Christmas 1917, a Theater Evening, and a Game Evening, where the emphasis was to teach the members to play SKAT.  The cultural theme for the Spring 2010 reenactment is Vaterländischer Unterricht (patriotic instruction), which was instituted by the German High Command in late 1917 as a way to educate German soldiers and civilians about the need to continue to support the war effort in the hopes of a more favorable outcome at war's end.