"What Russian regiment did Christoph Gassmann serve in." Topic
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Gunfreak  | 16 Sep 2018 3:46 a.m. PST |
I know he fought in the Saxon kurprinsen, and ended up in the Swedish gyllenstierna dragoons.
Before being captured by the Russians and serving with the Russians for several years.
My question is do anyone know which Russian Regiment he ended up in? |
| FoxtrotPapaRomeo | 16 Sep 2018 3:36 p.m. PST |
PDF link references Christophe's book. Can you get a copy? To complicate your search, his name is written a variety of ways (Christoph | Christophe) (Gassmann | Gassman | Gassmanns? | Gassmans?) Article in German Wiki link similar to the Russian reference above. The 1966 book is available in some libraries link |
| FoxtrotPapaRomeo | 17 Sep 2018 6:18 a.m. PST |
Gun freak, ebook is freely available at link Christophe's story is pages 10-103. Sorry, but I am not good at German and this is compounded by the old style characters. Lots of Kalmuck and Tartar references, on page 80 mentions Derbent(in the Caucasus) and Pferd is mentioned a lot so probably he was in a cavalry unit. |
| Gunfreak | 17 Sep 2018 8:48 a.m. PST |
Thank you for great help! |
| Musketier | 19 Sep 2018 1:56 p.m. PST |
Have now read the relevant passage with great interest, but there is no mention of a particular unit, only that he felt compelled to enter the service of Muscovy after his prisoner-of-war status ended in 1720, because he had no means to return home (p.70). After three months in Astrakhan he was ordered to join the escort of one Ambassador Walinsky on an embassy to Persia, which took a year (p.73). In 1722 he then got drafted into the Czar's expedition across the Caspian Sea, serving aboard the flagship as one of 62 Germans (p.79). It would appear that this group stayed together throughout the campaign (pp. 81, 83) so it may have been an ad-hoc company of some kind.
(Pferd is mentioned in connection with the Tartars, mostly as food, so no cavalry reference I'm afraid.) |
| Musketier | 19 Sep 2018 2:19 p.m. PST |
Gassman states his earlier military career as being forcibly recruited into Saxon Regiment von Kanitz (p.10) which became Kurprinz in 1706 (p.11). Taken prisoner at Fraustadt and with no ransom in sight two months later, he entered Swedish service with Regt. Görtzen ( pp. 12/13), only to be made prisoner again at Kalisch and press-ganged into a new Saxon regiment raised from the prisoners of war (p.15). Returned to Swedish service, this unit was raised to dragoons in recognition of their tenacious resistance at Kalisch (p.20). |
| Gunfreak | 19 Sep 2018 10:45 p.m. PST |
Thank you, I guess my plan on doing all units he was in is out of the question.(I already have kurprinsen and gyllenstierna dragoons. |
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