The Königgrätz March ( AM II, 134 (AM II, 195)), also known as Der Königgrätzer or Der Königgrätzer Marsch, is one of the most famous German military

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

, composed in 1866 by

Johann Gottfried Piefke Johann Gottfried Piefke (9 September 1817 – 25 January 1884) was a German band leader, (''Kapellmeister'') and composer of military music. Piefke was born in Schwerin an der Warthe, Prussia (now Skwierzyna, Poland). In the 1850s, he was ...

in commemoration of the

Battle of Königgrätz The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königgrä ...

, the decisive

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

of the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

, in which the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

defeated the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

. In Piefke's most successful arrangement of the Königgrätzer Marsch, another march,

Der Hohenfriedberger "Der Hohenfriedberger" ( AM I, 21 (Army March I, 1c and Army march III, 1b)), also called "Hohenfriedberger Marsch" or "Der Hohenfriedberger Marsch", is one of the most classic and well known German military marches. It takes its name from the vic ...

(commemorating the

Battle of Hohenfriedberg The Battle of Hohenfriedberg or Hohenfriedeberg, now Dobromierz, also known as the Battle of Striegau, now Strzegom, was one of Frederick the Great's most admired victories. Frederick's Prussian army decisively defeated an Austrian army unde ...

), is used as a trio. The commonly played version (AM II, 195) is set as an infantry march, while an alternate adaptation is arranged as a cavalry

galop In dance, the galop, named after the fastest running gait of a horse (see Gallop), a shortened version of the original term galoppade, is a lively country dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and popul ...

(AM III, 228). The German military march catalogue also has the "Königgrätzer mit anderem Trio" ("Königgrätzer with other Trio") (Heeresmarsch IIIB, 67), but this secondary composition is far less recognized.

History

The first draft of the march is said to have been written by Piefke on the battlefield itself. The confident six-eighths meter composition follows the battle in two parts, the beginning motif signifying the indecisive combat between the first Prussian contingent and the Austrians, the second motif signifying the arrival of Prussian reinforcements. Piefke used ''Der Hohenfriedberger'' as a trio to recall the older victories of king

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

over the Austrians in the 18th century. The victory in the Battle of Königgrätz paved the way for the supremacy of Prussia in the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

and ultimately led to the establishment of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

in 1871. The Königgrätzer Marsch continues to be extremely popular and is a staple of any modern German military parade, whereas in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

it is heard only very rarely, because the piece is associated with Austrian military failure. Like many other German marches and musical compositions (such as ''Der Hohenfriedberger'' and the

Badenweiler Marsch The "Badonviller-Marsch" (Armeemarschsammlung, AM II, 256) is a Bavaria, Bavarian march (music), military march by composer :de:Georg Fürst, Georg Fürst (1870–1936). After 1934, with its name Germanized to "Badenweiler Marsch" by the Nazi Party ...

), the Nazis made significant use of the Königgrätzer Marsch. The piece has the dubious distinction of being one of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

's reported favorite marches, and it was often played during his public appearances including the

Nuremberg Rally The Nuremberg Rallies (officially ', meaning ''Reich Party Congress'') refer to a series of celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party in Germany. The first rally held took place in 1923. This rally was not particularly large or impactful; ...

. This connotation, however, has not dimmed the march's image, and it has been recorded many times by bands and orchestras since the Second World War. Like many German marches it is also used by the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade. In recent years, and a ...

and other militaries with a historical connection to Germany. The "Königgrätzer" is the regimental march of the 2nd Battalion,

The Jamaica Regiment The Jamaica Regiment is the main formation of land troops in the Jamaica Defence Force. It is a non-mechanised infantry regiment consisting of five battalions, three regular infantry battalions, one territorial infantry battalion, and a Combat S ...

, under the name "2nd Battalion West India Regiment", and the gallop march (under the name "Granaderos al Galope", with the addition of a traditional French fanfare) of the 1st Cavalry Regiment "Granaderos" of Chile. It was the march of the 91st Oldenburg Infantry Regiment and the parade-march of the 1st Bavarian Infantry Regiment "König" of the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

. : \relative c''

In popular culture

*The "Königgrätzer Marsch" is heard at the beginning of the massive revue parade in

Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda. A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...

propaganda film, ''

Triumph of the Will ''Triumph of the Will'' (german: Triumph des Willens) is a 1935 German Nazi propaganda film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl. Adolf Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his na ...

'' when

Viktor Lutze Viktor Lutze (28 December 1890 – 2 May 1943) was a German Nazi Party functionary and the commander of the '' Sturmabteilung'' ("SA") who succeeded Ernst Röhm as '' Stabschef'' and '' Reichsleiter''. He died from injuries received in a c ...

leads SA honor guards in their march past. *In the mod versions of ''

Day of Defeat ''Day of Defeat'' is a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game set in the European theatre of World War II on the Western front. Originally a modification of the 1998 game ''Half-Life'', the rights of the modification were purchas ...

'', the "Königgrätzer Marsch" played if the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

faction won. *In '' Call of Duty: World at War'' multiplayer mode, if the ''

'' faction wins the "Königgrätzer Marsch" plays. Also, in the final mission of the game's campaign mode, the song can be heard within and outside of the Reichstag while fighting a '' SS'' unit. It can also be heard in the minigame

Nazi Zombies Nazi zombies are a horror trope found in films, video games, and comic books. Nazi zombie narratives usually feature undead Nazi soldiers resurrected to fight for the Third Reich. The book ''Nazisploitation!: The Nazi Image in Low-Brow Cinema and ...

on the map ''Nacht Der Untoten''. *The march was featured in the film ''

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action film, action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jones, ''Indiana ...

'' when Jones infiltrates a Nazi book-burning ceremony. This was meant to be a reference to ''

''; scenes with

herself (played by Suzanne Roquette) filming the rally were shot but deleted from the final cut.

References

External links

Königgrätzer Marsch in a YouTube video.

Königgrätzer Marsch in a YouTube video, as played by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

Arrangement used by the Jamaica Regiment in a YouTube video (without trio section).

The march as used by the Chilean Army in a YouTube video (without trio section).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koniggratzer Marsch Compositions by Johann Gottfried Piefke German military marches 1866 compositions

History

In popular culture

See also

References

External links