Grenz infantry
| Grenz infantry | |
|---|---|
Serbian Grenzer, 1742 | |
| Country | Habsburg monarchy Austrian Empire Austria-Hungary |
| Type | Border guard |
| Role | Artillery observer Border control Cavalry tactics Charge Direct fire Infantry square Internal security Line warfare Raiding Reconnaissance Screening Security checkpoint Skirmisher |
| Nickname(s) | Grenzers / Krajišnici |
| Engagements | Ottoman–Habsburg wars and the Napoleonic Wars |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Branković family, Vuk Isaković, Jovan Tekelija, Paul Davidovich, Adam Bajalics von Bajahaza, Wilhelm von Wartensleben, Ignác Gyulay, Mathias Rukavina von Boynograd, Josef Philipp Vukassovich |
Grenz infantry or Grenzers or Granichary (from German: Grenzer "border guard" or "frontiersman"; Serbo-Croatian: graničari, krajišnici, Hungarian: granicsár, Serbian Cyrillic: граничари, крајишници, Russian Cyrillic: граничары) were combined border guard troops (include light cavalry, light horse artillery, light infantry, and line infantry) 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.
As Granichary, members of this Grenz infantry were invited to the Russian Empire where on territory of modern Ukraine they formed historic frontier region of New Serbia.