Imperial Army (Holy Roman Empire)

This article is about the army of the Holy Roman Emperor in his personal capacity. For the army of the Empire itself, see Army of the Holy Roman Empire.
An imperial cuirassier in the War of the Polish Succession before Philippsburg in 1734 (The Young Savoys – contemporary Gudenus manuscript)

Imperial Army (Latin: Exercitus Imperatoris,[1] German: Kaiserliche Armee) or Imperial Troops (Kaiserliche Truppen or Kaiserliche) was a name used for several centuries, especially to describe soldiers recruited for the Holy Roman Emperor during the early modern period. The Imperial Army of the Emperor should not be confused with the Army of the Holy Roman Empire (Exercitus Imperii (Romani), Reichsarmee, Armée du Saint-Empire), which could only be deployed with the consent of the Imperial Diet. The Imperialists effectively became a standing army of troops under the Habsburg Emperors from the House of Austria, which is why they were also increasingly described in the 18th century as "Austrians", although its troops were recruited not just from the Archduchy of Austria but from all over the Holy Roman Empire.

  1. ^ N. Iorga, Studii şi documente cu privire la istoria Romînilor, Bucarest, Stabilimentul grafic I. V. Socecǔ, 1901, p. 261 : "Omnes annales et historiae, tam huius provinciae, quam externarum gentium testantur quod ab anno 1774 usque ad annum 1789 continuis incendiis, tiraniis, irruptionibus vexata fuit haec provincia; quare intravit exercitus imperatoris Romani et bellum gessit cum Turcis hic in provincia usque ad annum 1793. Sequenti anno statim incepit revolutio cum Pascha vidinensi et terribilis pestis, in tantum quod etiam filii patriae debuerint aufugere, et haec omnia mala durarunt usque ad annum 1802.