Grenz infantry
Grenz infantry or Grenzers or Granichary (from German: Grenzer "border guard" or "frontiersman"; Serbo-Croatian: graničari, krajišnici, Serbian Cyrillic: граничари, крајишници, Russian Cyrillic: граничары) were light infantry troops who came from the Military Frontier in the Habsburg monarchy (later the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary). This borderland formed a buffer zone between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire, and the troops were originally raised to defend their homelands against the Ottoman Turks. When there was no danger of war against the Ottomans, the Grenzer regiments were employed by the Habsburgs in other theatres of war, although one battalion of each regiment would always remain guarding the border.
| Grenz infantry | |
|---|---|
Serbian Grenzer, 1742 | |
| Country | Habsburg monarchy Austrian Empire Austria-Hungary |
| Type | Light infantry Border guard |
| Nickname(s) | Grenzers / Krajišnici |
| Engagements | Ottoman–Habsburg wars and the Napoleonic Wars |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Adam Bajalics von Bajahaza, Wilhelm von Wartensleben, Ignác Gyulay, Mathias Rukavina von Boynograd, Josef Philipp Vukassovich |
As Granichary, members of this Grenz infantry were invited to the Imperial Russia where on territory of modern Ukraine they formed historic frontier region of New Serbia.