Hello,
This man belongs to some distant relatives of mine. I believe this portrait was taken before WW1 - but I could be wrong.
Thank you in advance for taking time answering my question!
Well I started by having a look for German lancer regiments because of the very distinctive square-topped hat, called a 'Czapka' that he is wearing and it appears from the picture on Wikipedia that it is a uniform of the 1st Guards Uhlans Regiment as you can tell by the distinctive white breast and dark tunic. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Guards_Uhlans
However, as you can see, the man in that link has red collars and cuffs whilst your relative (although we can't tell for sure) has white collars and cuffs but according to this - http://www.kaisersbunker.com/gtp/New/ulan0.htm - the First Guards Uhlan Regiment did actually have either red or white collars and cuffs so I think this is still correct.
Unfortunately, I can't find out much about that regiment but I can tell you that the man in question was a cavalryman and although he is holding a sword in the picture their main armament would have been a lance, which was effectively a long spear.
However, this would've been replaced with a standard infantry rifle during the Great War such as a Gewehr 98.
Additionally, traditional uniforms like that would have been switched for a drab 'Feldgrau' or Field Grey version before entering battle.
Although without a better view of his shoulder epaulettes I can't tell you what rank the man is but seeing as he can afford to have his portrait taken alone I wouldn't be surprised if he was an officer, perhaps a Lieutenant.
Here is a bit more information about German Uhlans - http://www.kaisersbunker.com/gtp/ulan.htm
I'm no expert on military matters, more of a general social history type, but I can say that the pictured uniform is the full dress (parade) uniform of a Prussian Guards Uhlan Regiment, the exact regiment number however is hard to tell without colours. (Judging by the eagle on the czapka it could be the Uhlan Regiment von Katzler, No. 2, but they used to have red insignia and epaulettes which doesn't seem to be the case on the photograph.)
The German Imperial Army had 19 Prussian, 3 Saxon, 2 Württembergian, and 2 Bavarian Uhlan regiments. The separation by state is due to the fact that even after the unification of Germany in 1871 the larger German states continued to maintain their own respective armies including Uhlans. However, these became increasingly integrated into the Imperial Army command structure until WWI. (If you want to know more about this you might consider posting a separate question to try to get the attention of a more appropriate military flaired user.) While the Uhlans were still separately administered and kept their own traditions, their uniforms became more and more streamlined until the Great War, with eventually all states adopting Prussian style dress.
Uhlans were considered to be expert horsemen fit for reconnaissance, pursuit, and shock. Uhlan tradition is of Eastern European origin, stemming from the Polish-Lithuanian light cavalry armed most famously with lances but also with sabres and small firearms. The Prussian and Russian armies adopted Uhlan style cavalry in the Early Modern Era and kept Uhlan regiments well into WWI. These modern Uhlans continued to use their signature lances.
The Prussian Uhlans in the era of the German Empire, to whom the gentleman in the picture most certainly belongs to, wore the distinctive czapka helmet (a typical Uhlan style headwear), called Tschapka in German, in full dress with a white plume for officers and a black one for NCOs. Their tunic is called Ulanka and was usually Prussian blue with the front colour varying by regiment, although there was a slightly less sophisticated battlefield version of the tunic which was simply blue. I cannot comment on how the German Uhlans fared on the battlefields of WWI (which saw frequent use of cavalry on all sides), but I know that their unique uniforms quickly fell victim to the further streamlining process of the Imperial Army. In 1915 the new grey field tunic was introduced for all soldiers of all branches. The new tunic had only epaulettes differing by colour, which was assigned by service branch. (In the case of the Uhlans it was red.)
If you have any questions, feel free to ask, I'd be happy if I can help you, but if you want to delve more into the military role of Uhlans etc. consider making a separate post.
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