11. Dragoon Regiment

The regiment was founded in 1688. Throughout its history, it had been involved in all major campaigns of the Monarchy. Its name, its garrison, its recruiting area have changed constantly. The regiment was owned by Emperor Franz Joseph I from 1848. Therefore, they were also called “Kaiser dragoons”. In 1914, the regiment was classified as part of the 21st Corps, with headquarters in Vienna. Its crew, however, was not from here, but from Moravia. It consisted of 90 % Czech soldiers. The command was also in Brünn.

In the Great War, the regiment fought for the 7th Army in Bukovina. Some sources highlighted an event that took place on March 19, 1916. At that time, the Dniester defense line had to be given up because of the Russian attacks. The 11th Dragoons struggled as quarterbacks. Behind their backs, the Russian attackers destroyed the river bridge. From the encirclement, they were able to cut themselves through to the line of the neighboring division with heavy losses. For endurance, they received praise from army commander.

The dragoon regiments were highly regarded. Accordingly, they had very nice cap badges. The golden-lacquered laurel wreath has a bright red enamel dial. The script DR 11 refers to the unit and the name of the emperor is also mentioned: FJ1. The wearing photo shows the badge in the usual place, at the front of the cap, in the middle.