"The Length of the Prussian Pace" Topic

I have not found a German publication with this information. The translation of Scharnhorst's Officers' Field Book fails to give coherent answers, actually providing three different distances that range from 24.5 inches to 28 inches.

Would anyone have access to that information?

Maybe this is of interest, a compilation I used

1 Preußischer Zoll (inch) = 2.615 cm = 26.15 mm
1 Preußischer Fuß of 12 Zoll = 31.38 cm
1 Preußischer Schritt of 28 Zoll = 73.22 cm
1 Preußisches Pfund (pound) = 0.467 kg = 467 g
1 Preußisches Lot = 14.6 g

In the Netherlands the Rhineland inch was used:
Apparently this was the same as the Preußischer Zoll.

Indeed, at least this was in use in the Napoleonic time for the Prussians.

VW:

Thank you for that.

Where those public or military measurements…or both?

this was military measure – as far as I know – I don't know what the public used but at that time also hours – was used to describe the length of a way and it was more or less known how long an hour way was in length.

The Prussian (Rheinländische) Fuß became standard measurement in the whole Prussian monarchy by a law of 16 May 1816. It had already been official measurement in East Prussia, Kurmark, Neumark and Pomerania since 28 October 1773.

I couldn't find any hint as to whether the Fuß in use in these provinces and in the Prussian army before 1773, was the same (not yet sactioned by a law), or one or several units of measurement of a different length.

A discussion in German (and it seems special characters are not correctly displayed):

link

VW:

What was the source of your information?

Thanks to you and Oliver.

Hopefully Oliver can chip in, in case I remember correctly he told me, and also the source.

I don't remember where we discussed it (maybe also the Napoleon Online forum ?), but here another source, from a German 1828 book for children:

link

It says that a distance of "half an hour" means a distance which you usually walk in a regular pace in half an hour.

It continues that in a quarter of an hour you will walk about 1500 paces, and that in 2 hours you usually walk 1 mile (probably he means the German Meile of quite exactly 7,5 km).

Obviously these distances given in paces and hours are rough estimates to give an idea, nothing which you would measure down to the meter.

Yes – most likely on napoleon online, but I cannot find it any more, I was under the impression it was in the drill regulations or Scharnhorst handbook for officers, artillery??

I was under the impression it was in the drill regulations or Scharnhorst handbook for officers.

WV:

No, I looked there first. The English translation has made a hash of the distances in an effort to make everything Anglo-centric. Depending on the place in the Appendix, the pace calculations creates a range from 24.5 inches to over 28 inches. [English] I haven't checked his work on the atillery.

It is in Scharnhorst volume one, erste Tabelle des ersten Bandes, Tabelle 1

Preußen / Prussia

Ein Schritt = 2 Fuß 4 Zoll

And here, Militairisches Taschenbuch:

link

And here, Handbuch für Officiere:

link

So Ein Schritt = 2 Fuß 4 Zoll = 732.2mm = 28.83"

Yes, 1 (Prussian military) Schritt = 2 Fuß 4 Zoll = 28 Zoll = 73,23 cm

The 28.83" are American inches ?