In an exposed border location, at the easternmost edge of Prussia, considerable troop contingents were always stationed in East Prussia. The army was omnipresent and an important economic and social factor.
Königsberg was the third strongest garrison town in the empire after Berlin and Metz in Lorraine and housed some of the most traditional units of the Prussian army such as the grenadier regiments No. 1 "Crown Prince" (1st East Prussian) or No. 3 "King Frederick William I"(2nd East Prussian). In border towns like Tilsit, Gusev or Goldap mobile cavalry units were stationed: cuirassiers, dragoons and lancers.
For conscripts the state preferred to resort to the rural regions of East Prussia, which were considered particularly loyal. Since almost all noble families in the country had one of the highly respected officer careers in mind for one of their sons, large parts of East Prussian society were directly connected with the Prussian army.
Illustrations:
1.) Field marshal Hermann von Boyen (1771-1848)
Born in Kreuzburg (today Kluczbork) near Preußisch-Eylau (today Bagrationovsk), Boyen attended Königsberg war school, but he also listened to lectures by Immanuel Kant, and, together with Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, paved the way for Prussian military reforms after Prussia's defeat by Napoleon. In 1814, as the minister of war, he introduced compulsory military service.
2.) A popular spectacle in Königsberg (today’s Kaliningrad) was the parade of the guards in front of the castle, combined with a concert at the castle pond as well as the processions and concerts of the music bands of the seven Königsberg regiments and two battalions. A regular sensation was caused by the drum wagon of the infantry regiment "Duke Karl von Mecklenburg-Strelitz" (6th East Prussian) No. 43, which was pulled by a "drum dog" that had been captured in the battle of Königgrätz against Austria in 1866.
Photo: Picture archive East Prussia