Rittmaster

Rittmeister in the Karabinier-Regiment Graf Hatzfeld, 1748

Rittmaster(German:Rittmeister,lit. 'riding/cavalry master')is usually acommissioned officermilitary rankused in a few armies, usually equivalent toCaptain.Historically it has been usedGermany,Austria-Hungary,Scandinavia,and some other countries.

Arittmeisteris typically in charge of asquadron(acompany-sized unit called a "troop" in theUnited States,as opposed to the U.S. cavalry squadron of largerbattalionsize), and is the equivalent of aHauptmannrank (orcaptainin most army branches).

Spelling

• Danish:ritmester
• Estonian:rittmeister
• German:Rittmeister(until 1951)
• Norwegian:rittmester(bokmål;the spellingritmesterwas used until 1907) orrittmeister(nynorsk)
• Swedish:ryttmästare

The armies of manyCentral and Eastern Europeancountries adopted a localised term for the similar rank.

• Czech:rotmistr
• Finnish:ratsumestari
• Lithuanian:rotmistras
• Polish:rotmistrz
• Russian:ротмистр,romanized:rotmistr

Czechia

The rank ofRotmistris an 'ensign' rank, used by both branches in theCzech Army.It is ranked OR-5 within theNATO rank structure.The immediate senior rank is calledNadrotmistr(lit. 'senior rittmaster') and is ranked OR-6.

The Netherlands

The Dutch rankRitmeester,is the rank of squadron leading officers in thecavalryunits of theRoyal Netherlands Army.

Norway

The Norwegian rank,Norwegian:rittmester/rittmeister,is the rank of officers in thearmouredandmechanized infantryunits of theNorwegian Army.The spellingritmesterwas used in Norwegian until 1907.

Historical use

In thePolish army(from the 15th century to the mid-20th century) arotmistrzcommanded a formation called arota.However, arotmistrzofhussarswas a commander of between 100 and 180 hussars, with a lieutenant of hussars as his second-in-command. The Lithuanian term wasrotmistras.In earlier times, therotmistrzserved as the commander of aninfantryorcavalrycompany,though sometimes he would temporarily be assigned field rank tasks e.g. commanding an entireregimentor even a larger formation. In the cavalry, the rank continued until 1945 as a company level title. Applied to the commander of atroop,it was equivalent of a modern-daycaptain.

The rank was also adopted byRussianNew Regimentsasrotmistr(ротмистр) and later formalized inTable of Ranksas the cavalry post; until 1798, and between 1883 and 1918, a lower-rankingshtabs-rotmistr(штабс-ротмистр) also existed, representing the ranks of Senior Captain and Junior Captain in the Russian Imperial Guards Cavalry, Army Cavalry, Gendarmerie and Border Guards by 1914.

In British and Commonwealth military forces, a Riding Master is not a rank. In theHousehold Cavalry Regimenta suitableWarrant Officerwith the rank ofRiding Instructorsis appointed Riding Master. The duration of this appointment is determined by the commanding Lieutenant-Colonel and, once appointed, the Riding Master is the person in the lead of training of recruits and horses of theHousehold Cavalry Regiment.

NATO code

While the rank is used in some ofNATO countries,it is ranked differently depending on the country.

NATO code	Country	English equivalent
		UK	US
OF-2	Netherlands, Norway	Captain
OR-5	Czech Republic	Sergeant	Sergeant

Insignia

Current

• 
  Rotmistr
  (Czech Land Forces)
• 
  Ritmeester
  (Royal Netherlands Army)
• 
  Rittmester
  (Norwegian Army)

Former

• 
  Rotmistr
  (Government Army of Bohemia and Moravia)
• 
  Rotmistr
  (Czechoslovak Army)
• 
  Ritmester
  (Royal Danish Army)
• 
  Rittmeister
  (German Army)
• 
  Rotmistrz
  (Polish Land Forces)
• 
  Ротмистр
  Rotmistr
  (Imperial Russian Army)

See also

• Comparative military ranks
• Comparative military ranks of World War I