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Austro-Hungarian Army

The Austro-Hungarian Army (Landstreitkräfte Österreich-Ungarns (German), literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; Császári és Királyi Hadsereg (Hungarian), literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army (Gemeinsame Armee, "Common Army", recruited from all parts of the country), the Imperial Austrian Landwehr (recruited from Cisleithania), and the Royal Hungarian Honvéd (recruited from Transleithania).

Army of Austria-Hungary
Landstreitkräfte Österreich-Ungarns (German), literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"
Császári és Királyi Hadsereg (Hungarian), literally "Imperial and Royal Army"
Active1867–1918
Country Austria-Hungary
Allegiance Emperor of Austria
Branch
TypeArmy
Size7,800,000 c.1917
Part ofAustro-Hungarian Armed Forces
Engagements
Commanders
Commander-in-chiefEmperor of Austria
Soldier of the Landwehr-Regiment Nr. 6 in battle dress

In the wake of fighting between the Austrian Empire and the Hungarian Kingdom and the two decades of uneasy co-existence following, Hungarian soldiers served either in mixed units or were stationed away from Hungarian areas. With the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 the new tripartite army was brought into being. It existed until the disestablishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire following World War I in 1918.

The joint "Imperial and Royal Army" (kaiserlich und königliche Armee or k.u.k.) units were generally poorly trained and had very limited access to new equipment because the governments of the Austrian and Hungarian parts of the empire often preferred to generously fund their own units instead of outfitting all three army branches equally. All of the Honvédség and the Landwehr regiments were composed of three battalions, while the joint army k.u.k. regiments had four.

The long-standing white infantry uniforms were replaced in the later half of the 19th century with dark blue tunics,[1] which in turn were replaced by the pike grey M1908 uniform used in the initial stages of World War I. In September 1915, field gray was adopted as the new official uniform colour.[2] As the KuK Army was plagued with supply shortages, when the new Field-gray uniforms were first introduced, remaining stocks of the preexisting Pike-grey uniforms remained in use alongside the newer Feldgrau model.

The last known surviving member of the Austro-Hungarian Army was World War I veteran Franz Künstler, who died in May 2008 at the age of 107.

From the Compromise of 1867 to the World War

Planning and operations

The major decisions 1867-1895 were made by Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen, who was the cousin of the Emperor Franz Joseph and his leading advisor in military affairs. According to historians John Keegan and Andrew Wheatcroft:

He was a firm conservative in all matters, military and civil, and took to writing pamphlets lamenting the state of the Army’s morale as well as fighting a fierce rearguard action against all forms of innovation…. Much of the Austrian failure in the First World War can be traced back to his long period of power…. His power was that of the bureaucrat, not the fighting soldier, and his thirty years of command over the peacetime Habsburg Army made it a flabby instrument of war.[3]

In the wake of defeat in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War Austria-Hungary avoided major wars in the era between 1867 and 1914 but engaged in a number of minor military actions. Nevertheless, the general staff maintained plans for major wars against neighboring powers, especially Italy, Serbia and Russia. By contrast, the main enemies Russia and Serbia had engaged in large scale warfare in the decade before the First World War.[4]

In the late 19th century the army was used to suppress unrest in urban areas of the empire: in 1882 and 1887 in Vienna[5] and notably against German nationalists at Graz and Czech nationalists in Prague in November 1897.[6] Soldiers under the command of Conrad von Hotzendorf were also used against Italian rioters in Trieste in 1902.[7]

The most significant action by soldiers of the Dual Monarchy in this period was the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the summer of 1878. When troops under the command of Josip Filipović and Stjepan Jovanović entered the provinces expecting little or no resistance, they were met with ferocious opposition from elements of both Muslim and Orthodox populations there. Despite setbacks at Maglaj and Tuzla, Sarajevo was occupied in October. Austro-Hungarian casualties amounted to over 5,000 and the unexpected violence of the campaign led to recriminations between commanders and political leaders.[8]

Size and ethnic and religious composition

In 1868, the number of active-duty troops in the army was 355,000, and the total could be expanded to 800,000 upon mobilization. However, this was significantly less than the European powers of France, the North German Confederation and Russia, each of which could field more than one million men.[9] Though the population of the empire had risen to nearly 50 million by 1900, the size of the army was tied to ceilings established in 1889. Thus, at the start of the 20th century, Austria-Hungary conscripted only 0.29% of its population, compared to 0.47% in Germany, 0.35% in Russia and 0.75% in France.[10] The 1889 army law was not revised until 1912, which allowed for an increase in annual conscriptions.[11]

The ethnic make-up of the enlisted ranks reflected the diversity of the empire the army served; in 1906, out of every 1000 enlisted men, there were 267 Germans, 223 Hungarians, 135 Czechs, 85 Poles, 81 Ukrainians, 70 Bosniaks and Serbs, 61 Romanians, 38 Slovaks, 26 Slovenes, and 14 Italians.[12]

To aid communication between the multitude of ethnicities, the army developed a simple language called Army Slavic, based primarily on Czech.

From a religious standpoint, the Austro-Hungarian army officer corps was dominated by Roman Catholics. In 1896, out of 1000 officers, 791 were Roman Catholics, 86 Protestants, 84 Jews, 39 Greek-Orthodox, and one Uniate. Of the pre–World War military forces of the major European powers, the Austro-Hungarian army was almost alone in its regular promotion of Jews to positions of command.[13] While the Jewish population of the lands of the Dual Monarchy 4.4% including Bosnia and Herzegovina), Jews made up nearly 18% of the reserve officer corps.[12] There were no official barriers to military service for Jews, but in later years this tolerance eroded to some extent, as important figures such as Conrad von Hötzendorf and Archduke Franz Ferdinand sometimes expressed anti-Jewish sentiments. Franz Ferdinand was also accused (by Conrad) of discriminating against Protestant officers.[14]

Linguistics and translations

 
Coronation of Emperor Franz Joseph I, after the signing and translation of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867

The Austro-Hungarian Empire often suffered from a lack of military interpreters, and proved to be a major force in the partial dysfunctioning and blunders of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Nearly all officers of the upper ranks spoke German (specifically Austrian German), and because only a fraction of soldiers spoke German, this produced a logistical obstacle for organizing the military. Likewise the lack of mutual intelligibility between speakers of Hungarian and German led to a feeling of resentment by many non-Austrian soldiers. The delivery of orders was particularly ineffective, and the bureaucratic and dysfunctional system led to individual ethnic units becoming isolated from the overall high command.[15]

This in turn led ethnic tensions and political violence in the empire, as such language battalions began instigating mutinies and revolts against the Austrian commanders, whom they saw as out of touch. Desertion and revolts were most common amongst Slavic battalions, particularly the Czech-Slovakian battalions, however all battalions during the war suffered from these logistical challenges. The battalions' use of languages that were not understood by the Austrian commanders also led to it being extremely difficult to impossible to discover attempts at desertion or revolt.[16]

Funding and equipment

 
Austro-Hungarian artillery unit appearing in The Illustrated London News in 1914

Following the 1867 constitutional arrangements, the Reichsrat was dominated by German Liberals, who generally regarded the army as a relic of feudalism. In Budapest, legislators were reluctant to authorize funds for the joint army but were generous with the Hungarian branch of the army, the Honvédség. In 1867 the military budget accounted for about 25% of all government spending, but the economic crash of 1873 hit Austria-Hungary hard and foreign observers questioned whether the Dual Monarchy could manage a major war without subsidies.[17] Despite increases throughout the 1850s and 1860s, in the latter half of the century Austria-Hungary was still spending less on its army than were other major European powers.[17] While the budget continued to rise—from 262 million crowns in 1895 to 306 million in 1906—this was still far less per capita than for other major European states, including Italy, and about on par with Russia, which had a much larger population.[18] Further contributing to the monarchy's military weakness was the low rate of conscription: Austria-Hungary conscripted only 0.29% of its population annually, compared to 0.47% in Germany and 0.75% in France. Attempts to increase the yearly intake of recruits were proposed but repeatedly blocked by officials in Budapest until an agreement was reached in 1912.[10]

In the emerging field of military aviation, Austria-Hungary lagged behind other European states. While balloon detachments had been established in 1893, they were mostly assigned to the fortress artillery, except for a brief period from 1909 to 1911 when they were under command of the multifaceted Verkehrs Brigade.[19] Realization that heavier-than-air machines were necessary or useful came late, and Austria-Hungary acquired only five airplanes by 1911. In 1914 the budget for military aviation was approximately 125th the amount spent by France. Austria-Hungary entered the war with only 48 first-line aircraft.[19]

Command Structure

Austria-Hungary had a complex military structure. The country had three main distinct ground forces. As a union the Monarchy had a common government of three ministers (Minister of the Imperial Household and Foreign Affairs; Minister of War and Minister of Finance). The Imperial Minister of War had authority over the Common Army and the Navy.

The Common Army was the premier land force. It was the best equipped and had the main role to secure the borders of the Monarchy. In case of war it was to absorb the Austrian Landwehr and the Hungarian Honvéd within its command structure. For that reason the Common Army was organised in army corps even in peacetime, while the Landwehr and Honvéd were organised in territorial districts. The provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina were governed as a condominium between the Austrian and the Hungarian parts of the dual monarchy. As such the local troops of Bosnian Riflemen were subordinated through the Governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Imperial Minister of War. The general peacetime order of battle of the Common Army included:

The Austrian part of the monarchy (officially called Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council, unofficially and for short Cisleithania) had its own government. It included the Imperial and Royal Ministry of National Defence (completely independent from the Imperial War Ministry). In peacetime it had complete authority and responsibility for the Imperial-Royal Landwehr and its:

The Hungarian part of the monarchy (officially called Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, unofficially and for short Transleithania) also had its own government. One of its ministries was the Royal Hungarian Honvéd Ministry (also completely independent from the Imperial War Ministry). In peacetime it had complete authority and responsibility for the:

  • Honvéd High Command (Budapest)
    • Royal Hungarian I. Budapest Honvéd District Command
    • Royal Hungarian II. Szeged Honvéd District Command
    • Royal Hungarian III. Kassa Honvéd District Command
    • Royal Hungarian IV. Pozsony Honvéd District Command
    • Royal Hungarian V. Kolozsvár Honvéd District Command
    • Royal Hungarian VI. Zagreb Croat-Slavonian District Command (the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia was in personal union with Hungary, including a local Croat-Slavonian Homeguard (Landwehr in German), incorporated into the Honvéd as its sixth territorial district)[20]

Austro-Hungarian Army in July 1914

 
Austro-Hungarian soldiers resting in a trench
 
Austro-Hungarian POWs in Russia, 1915; photo by Prokudin-Gorskii
  • 36,000 Officers
  • 414,000 NCOs and troops
  • 120,000 horses (estimate)
  • 1,200 artillery pieces

Official designations were as follows:

  • regiments of the common army were designated Imperial and Royal (German: "kaiserlich und königlich" (k.u.k.); Hungarian: "Császári és Királyi"), in which Imperial stands for the Kaiser of Austria, who was also King of Hungary.
  • Austrian Landwehr regiments were Imperial-Royal (German: kaiserlich-königlich (k.k.), in which Imperial stands for the Kaiser of Austria, who was also King of Bohemia in the Austrian part of the dual monarchy (kaiserlich österreichisch/königlich böhmisch)); Hungarian: császári/királyi)
  • Hungarian Honvéd regiments were called Royal Hungarian for the Kaiser's title of Apostolic King of Hungary (German: königlich ungarisch; Hungarian: Magyar Királyi). Within the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary the monarch was also King of Croatia-Slavonia, this was however not included in the titles of the Honvéd's units.

After war was declared, 3.35 million men (including the first call-up of the reserves and the 1914 recruits) gathered for action.

The Austro-Hungarian Imperial Army was officially under the control of the Commander-in-Chief, Emperor Franz Josef. By 1914, however, Franz Josef was 84 years old and the chief of staff, Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, effectively had more power over the armed forces. Conrad favored an aggressive foreign policy and advocated the use of military action to solve Austria-Hungary's territorial disputes with Italy and Serbia.[21]

Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen was appointed Supreme Commander of the Austro-Hungarian army by Franz Joseph on July 11, 1914. It was thought he would not interfere with the operational and tactical plans of Conrad von Hötzendorf. Friedrich remained Supreme Commander until February 1917, when Emperor Charles I decided to assume the office himself.

Common Army

 
Corps areas in the Austro-Hungarian Army

The Common Army (k.u.k.—kaiserlich und königlich) consisted of:

  • 16 corps
  • 49 infantry divisions: 76 infantry brigades, 14 mountain brigades
  • 22 cavalry divisions: 44 cavalry brigades
  • 102 infantry regiments (each of four battalions), including 4 Bosnian-Herzegovinian (Bosnisch-Hercegowinische) infantry regiments (each of four battalions)
  • 4 Imperial Tyrolian rifle regiments (Tiroler Kaiserjäger) (each of four battalions)
  • 32 rifle battalions (Feldjäger), including 1 Bosnian-Herzegovinian rifle battalion (Bosnisch-Hercegowinisches Feldjäger Bataillon)
  • 42 field artillery regiments (Feldkanonen-Regimenter), including 14 field howitzer regiments (Feldhaubitz-Regimenter)
  • 15 mounted artillery battalions (originally named Reitende Artillerie Division), 14 heavy howitzer battalions (originally named schwere Haubitz-Division)
  • 11 mountain artillery regiments (Gebirgsartillerie Regimenter)
  • 6 fortress artillery regiments (Festungsartillerie Regimenter): 8 independent fortress artillery battalions (selbst. Festungsartillerie Bataillone)
  • 15 regiments of dragoons (Dragoner), 16 regiments of hussars (Husaren), 11 regiments of lancers (Ulanen)
  • 16 transport battalions (railway)
  • 23 engineer battalions (Sappeure/Pioniere), 1 bridge construction battalion (Brücken Bataillon), 1 railway regiment (Eisenbahn-Regiment), 1 telegraph regiment (Telegraphen-Regiment)

Imperial-Royal Landwehr

 
Officer's helmet, Imperial and Royal Dragoons

The Imperial-Royal Landwehr (k.k. or kaiserlich österreichisch/königlich böhmisch) was the standing army of Austria responsible for the defence of Austria itself.

  • 35 Landwehr infantry regiments: each of 3 battalions (Landwehr Infanterie-Regimenter)
  • 6 Landwehr regiments of lancers (uhlans)
  • 8 Landwehr field artillery battalions (Feldkanonen), 8 Landwehr field howitzer battalions (Feldhaubitz)

The mountain infantry had the following units:

  • 2 Landwehr mountain infantry regiments (Gebirgsinfanterie-Regimenter), the 4th and 27th
  • 3 Tyrolean rifle regiments (Tiroler Landesschützen Regimenter)—from January 1917 named "imperial rifles" (Kaiserschützen)
  • 1 mounted Tyrolean rifle battalion (Reitende Tiroler Landesschützen)
  • 1 mounted Dalmatian rifle battalion (Reitende Dalmatiner Landesschützen)

Royal Hungarian Landwehr

 
Officer's Czapka (cap), 2nd Landwehr Lancers

The Royal Hungarian Landwehr (königlich ungarische Landwehr) or Royal Hungarian Honvéd (k.u. Honvéd) was the standing army of Hungary. A part of the Honvéd was the Royal Croatian Landwehr (Kraljevsko hrvatsko domobranstvo), which consisted of 1 infantry division (out of 7 in Honvéd) and 1 cavalry regiment (out of 10 in the Honvéd).

  • 6 Landwehr districts (honvéd katonai kerület)
  • 2 infantry divisions (honvéd gyalogos hadosztály)
  • 9 cavalry divisions (honvéd lovassági hadosztály)
  • 4 infantry brigades (honvéd gyalogosdandár)
  • 12 independent infantry brigades (honvéd önálló gyalogdandár)
  • 18 cavalry brigades (honvéd lovasdandár)
  • 32 infantry regiments (honvéd gyalogezred)
  • 10 regiments of hussars (honvéd huszárezred)
  • 8 field artillery regiments (honvéd tábori tüzérezred)
  • 2 horse artillery battalion (honvéd lóvontatású tüzérosztály)

The infantry regiments of the k.u.k. army had four battalions each; the infantry regiments of the k.k. and k.u. Landwehr had three battalions each, except the 3rd Regiment of the "Tiroler Landesschützen" (Tyrolian fusiliers), that had also four battalions.

In 1915 units that had nicknames or names of honour lost them by order of the War Ministry. Thereafter units were designated only by number. For instance, the k.u.k. Infanterie-Regiment (Hoch und Deutschmeister) Nr. 4 became Infanterie-Regiment No. 4 (4th Infantry Regiment).

Landsturm

The Landsturm consisted of men aged 34 to 55 who belonged to the Austria k.k. Landsturm and the Hungarian k.u. Landsturm. The Landsturm formed 40 regiments totaling 136 battalions in Austria and 32 regiments totaling 97 battalions in Hungary. The Landsturm was a reserve force intended to provide replacements for the first line units. However, the Landsturm provided 20 brigades who took to the field with the rest of the army.

Standschützen

The Standschützen (singular: Standschütze[A. 1]) were originally rifle guilds and rifle companies that had been formed in the 15th and 16th centuries, and were involved time and again in military operations within the borders of the Austrian County of Tyrol. A Standschütze was a member of a Schützenstand ("shooting club"), into which he was enrolled,[A. 2] which automatically committed him to the voluntary, military protection of the state of Tyrol (and Vorarlberg). In effect they were a type of Tyrolean local militia or home guard.

Ranks and rank insignia

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Rank group General/flag officers Field/senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet
Rank insignia                      
German Feldmarschall Generaloberst General der Waffengattung Feldmarschall-Leutnant Generalmajor Oberst Oberstleutnant Major Hauptmann / Rittmeister Oberleutnant Leutnant
Hungarian Tábornagy Vezérezredes Tábornok Altábornagy Vezérőrnagy Ezredes Alezredes Őrnagy Százados / Kapitány Főhadnagy Hadnagy

Other ranks

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank group Senior NCO Junior NCO Private
Rank insignia            
German Stabsfeldwebel Feldwebel Zugsführer Korporal Gefreiter Infanterist
Hungarian Törzsőrmester Őrmester Szakaszvezető Tizedes Őrvezető Honvéd

Types of uniforms

See also

References

  1. ^ Rothenberg, G. (1976). The Army of Francis Joseph. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press. p. 83. ISBN 0911198415.
  2. ^ Rothenberg 1976, p. 193.
  3. ^ John Keegan and Andrew Wheatcroft, Who's Who in Military History: From 1453 to the Present Day (2001) p, 12.
  4. ^ Rothenberg 1976, pp. 97, 99, 113–17, 124–25, 159.
  5. ^ Rothenberg 1976, p. 121.
  6. ^ Rothenberg 1976, p. 130.
  7. ^ Rothenberg 1976, p. 143.
  8. ^ Rothenberg 1976, pp. 101–02.
  9. ^ Rothenberg 1976, p. 81.
  10. ^ a b Rothenberg 1976, p. 126.
  11. ^ Rothenberg 1976, pp. 126, 165.
  12. ^ a b Rothenberg 1976, p. 128.
  13. ^ Rothenberg 1976, p. 118.
  14. ^ Rothenberg 1976, p. 142, 151.
  15. ^ Marácz, László (14 April 2012). "Multilingualism in the Transleithanian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867-1918): Policy and practice". Jezikoslovlje. XIII (2): 269–298 – via www.ceeol.com.
  16. ^ Schulze, Max-Stephan; Wolf, Nikolaus (14 May 2012). "Economic nationalism and economic integration: the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late nineteenth century 1: AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE". The Economic History Review. 65 (2): 652–673. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.2010.00587.x. S2CID 154778592 – via DOI.org (Crossref).
  17. ^ a b Rothenberg 1976, p. 78.
  18. ^ Rothenberg 1976, pp. 125–26.
  19. ^ a b Rothenberg 1976, p. 175.
  20. ^ Steiner, Glenn Jewison & Jörg C. . www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
  21. ^ . Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
  1. ^ The German word Standschütze is derived from Schützenstand or Schießstand, which means "firing point" or "firing range", and generally refers to the members of a local shooting club – the Schießstand, Schützenstand or Schützenverein – in German-speaking countries. These were in essence volunteer militia. They still exist today, albeit their role is purely social and ceremonial.
  2. ^ enrolliert is the Austrian military jargon for "enrolled" (from the Old French enroller).

Further reading

  • Bassett, Richard. For God and Kaiser: The Imperial Austrian Army, 1619-1918. Yale UP (2016).
  • Deák, István. "The Habsburg army in the first and last days of world war I: a comparative analysis." in Bela K. Kiraly and Nandor F. Dreisziger, eds. East Central European Society in World War I (1985): 301–312.
  • Stone, Norman. "Army and society in the Habsburg Monarchy, 1900-1914." Past & Present 33 (1966): 95–111. in JSTOR
  • Tunstall, Graydon A. The Austro–Hungarian Army and the First World War. Cambridge UP. 2021
  • Watson, Alexander. Ring of Steel. Germany and Austria–Hungary at War 1914–1918. Penguin. 2016.
  • Watson, Alexander. "Managing an ‘Army of Peoples’: Identity, Command and Performance in the Habsburg Officer Corps, 1914–1918." Contemporary European History 25#2 (2016): 233–251.

In German

  • Lichem, Heinz von (1977). Spielhahnstoß und Edelweiß. Graz: Stocker Verlag. ISBN 370200260X.
  • Lichem, Heinz von (1985). Der Tiroler Hochgebirgskrieg 1915–1918. Berwang (Tirol): Steiger Verlag. ISBN 3854230524.
  • Allmeyer-Beck; Lessing (1974). Die K.u.K. Armee 1848–1918. München: Bertelsmann.
  • Rest; Ortner; Ilmig (2002). Des Kaisers Rock im 1. Weltkrieg. Wien: Verlag Militaria. ISBN 3950164200.
  • Schreiber, Georg (1967). Des Kaisers Reiterei. Wien: Verlag Kremayr & Scheriau.
  • Wandruszka Adam / Urbanitsch Peter. Hrsg.(1987) Die Habsburgermonarchie 1848–1918. Bd.5.Die Bewaffnete Macht. Wien: ÖAW.

External links

  • The Austro-Hungarian Army 1914-18, by John Dixon Nuttall (details of organization and wartime order of battle)
  • (in German)
  • Antique Photography & Postcards of Austro-Hungarian army 1866-1918 (in English)

austro, hungarian, army, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, ap. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Austro Hungarian Army news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Austro Hungarian Army Landstreitkrafte Osterreich Ungarns German literally Ground Forces of the Austro Hungarians Csaszari es Kiralyi Hadsereg Hungarian literally Imperial and Royal Army was the ground force of the Austro Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918 It was composed of three parts the joint army Gemeinsame Armee Common Army recruited from all parts of the country the Imperial Austrian Landwehr recruited from Cisleithania and the Royal Hungarian Honved recruited from Transleithania Army of Austria HungaryLandstreitkrafte Osterreich Ungarns German literally Ground Forces of the Austro Hungarians Csaszari es Kiralyi Hadsereg Hungarian literally Imperial and Royal Army Arms of Austria HungaryActive1867 1918Country Austria HungaryAllegianceEmperor of AustriaBranchCommon Army Gemeinsame Armee Imperial Royal Landwehr Kaiserlich Konigliche Landwehr Royal Hungarian Honved Magyar Kiralyi Honvedseg TypeArmySize7 800 000 c 1917Part ofAustro Hungarian Armed ForcesEngagementsAustro Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina World War I Serbian CampaignCommandersCommander in chiefEmperor of Austria Soldier of the Landwehr Regiment Nr 6 in battle dress In the wake of fighting between the Austrian Empire and the Hungarian Kingdom and the two decades of uneasy co existence following Hungarian soldiers served either in mixed units or were stationed away from Hungarian areas With the Austro Hungarian Compromise of 1867 the new tripartite army was brought into being It existed until the disestablishment of the Austro Hungarian Empire following World War I in 1918 The joint Imperial and Royal Army kaiserlich und konigliche Armee or k u k units were generally poorly trained and had very limited access to new equipment because the governments of the Austrian and Hungarian parts of the empire often preferred to generously fund their own units instead of outfitting all three army branches equally All of the Honvedseg and the Landwehr regiments were composed of three battalions while the joint army k u k regiments had four The long standing white infantry uniforms were replaced in the later half of the 19th century with dark blue tunics 1 which in turn were replaced by the pike grey M1908 uniform used in the initial stages of World War I In September 1915 field gray was adopted as the new official uniform colour 2 As the KuK Army was plagued with supply shortages when the new Field gray uniforms were first introduced remaining stocks of the preexisting Pike grey uniforms remained in use alongside the newer Feldgrau model The last known surviving member of the Austro Hungarian Army was World War I veteran Franz Kunstler who died in May 2008 at the age of 107 Contents 1 From the Compromise of 1867 to the World War 1 1 Planning and operations 1 2 Size and ethnic and religious composition 1 2 1 Linguistics and translations 1 3 Funding and equipment 2 Command Structure 3 Austro Hungarian Army in July 1914 3 1 Common Army 3 2 Imperial Royal Landwehr 3 3 Royal Hungarian Landwehr 4 Landsturm 5 Standschutzen 6 Ranks and rank insignia 6 1 Commissioned officer ranks 6 2 Other ranks 7 Types of uniforms 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 10 1 In German 11 External linksFrom the Compromise of 1867 to the World War EditPlanning and operations Edit The major decisions 1867 1895 were made by Archduke Albrecht Duke of Teschen who was the cousin of the Emperor Franz Joseph and his leading advisor in military affairs According to historians John Keegan and Andrew Wheatcroft He was a firm conservative in all matters military and civil and took to writing pamphlets lamenting the state of the Army s morale as well as fighting a fierce rearguard action against all forms of innovation Much of the Austrian failure in the First World War can be traced back to his long period of power His power was that of the bureaucrat not the fighting soldier and his thirty years of command over the peacetime Habsburg Army made it a flabby instrument of war 3 In the wake of defeat in the 1866 Austro Prussian War Austria Hungary avoided major wars in the era between 1867 and 1914 but engaged in a number of minor military actions Nevertheless the general staff maintained plans for major wars against neighboring powers especially Italy Serbia and Russia By contrast the main enemies Russia and Serbia had engaged in large scale warfare in the decade before the First World War 4 In the late 19th century the army was used to suppress unrest in urban areas of the empire in 1882 and 1887 in Vienna 5 and notably against German nationalists at Graz and Czech nationalists in Prague in November 1897 6 Soldiers under the command of Conrad von Hotzendorf were also used against Italian rioters in Trieste in 1902 7 The most significant action by soldiers of the Dual Monarchy in this period was the Austro Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the summer of 1878 When troops under the command of Josip Filipovic and Stjepan Jovanovic entered the provinces expecting little or no resistance they were met with ferocious opposition from elements of both Muslim and Orthodox populations there Despite setbacks at Maglaj and Tuzla Sarajevo was occupied in October Austro Hungarian casualties amounted to over 5 000 and the unexpected violence of the campaign led to recriminations between commanders and political leaders 8 Size and ethnic and religious composition Edit In 1868 the number of active duty troops in the army was 355 000 and the total could be expanded to 800 000 upon mobilization However this was significantly less than the European powers of France the North German Confederation and Russia each of which could field more than one million men 9 Though the population of the empire had risen to nearly 50 million by 1900 the size of the army was tied to ceilings established in 1889 Thus at the start of the 20th century Austria Hungary conscripted only 0 29 of its population compared to 0 47 in Germany 0 35 in Russia and 0 75 in France 10 The 1889 army law was not revised until 1912 which allowed for an increase in annual conscriptions 11 The ethnic make up of the enlisted ranks reflected the diversity of the empire the army served in 1906 out of every 1000 enlisted men there were 267 Germans 223 Hungarians 135 Czechs 85 Poles 81 Ukrainians 70 Bosniaks and Serbs 61 Romanians 38 Slovaks 26 Slovenes and 14 Italians 12 To aid communication between the multitude of ethnicities the army developed a simple language called Army Slavic based primarily on Czech From a religious standpoint the Austro Hungarian army officer corps was dominated by Roman Catholics In 1896 out of 1000 officers 791 were Roman Catholics 86 Protestants 84 Jews 39 Greek Orthodox and one Uniate Of the pre World War military forces of the major European powers the Austro Hungarian army was almost alone in its regular promotion of Jews to positions of command 13 While the Jewish population of the lands of the Dual Monarchy 4 4 including Bosnia and Herzegovina Jews made up nearly 18 of the reserve officer corps 12 There were no official barriers to military service for Jews but in later years this tolerance eroded to some extent as important figures such as Conrad von Hotzendorf and Archduke Franz Ferdinand sometimes expressed anti Jewish sentiments Franz Ferdinand was also accused by Conrad of discriminating against Protestant officers 14 Linguistics and translations Edit Coronation of Emperor Franz Joseph I after the signing and translation of the Austro Hungarian Compromise of 1867 The Austro Hungarian Empire often suffered from a lack of military interpreters and proved to be a major force in the partial dysfunctioning and blunders of the Austrian Hungarian Empire Nearly all officers of the upper ranks spoke German specifically Austrian German and because only a fraction of soldiers spoke German this produced a logistical obstacle for organizing the military Likewise the lack of mutual intelligibility between speakers of Hungarian and German led to a feeling of resentment by many non Austrian soldiers The delivery of orders was particularly ineffective and the bureaucratic and dysfunctional system led to individual ethnic units becoming isolated from the overall high command 15 This in turn led ethnic tensions and political violence in the empire as such language battalions began instigating mutinies and revolts against the Austrian commanders whom they saw as out of touch Desertion and revolts were most common amongst Slavic battalions particularly the Czech Slovakian battalions however all battalions during the war suffered from these logistical challenges The battalions use of languages that were not understood by the Austrian commanders also led to it being extremely difficult to impossible to discover attempts at desertion or revolt 16 Funding and equipment Edit Austro Hungarian artillery unit appearing in The Illustrated London News in 1914 Following the 1867 constitutional arrangements the Reichsrat was dominated by German Liberals who generally regarded the army as a relic of feudalism In Budapest legislators were reluctant to authorize funds for the joint army but were generous with the Hungarian branch of the army the Honvedseg In 1867 the military budget accounted for about 25 of all government spending but the economic crash of 1873 hit Austria Hungary hard and foreign observers questioned whether the Dual Monarchy could manage a major war without subsidies 17 Despite increases throughout the 1850s and 1860s in the latter half of the century Austria Hungary was still spending less on its army than were other major European powers 17 While the budget continued to rise from 262 million crowns in 1895 to 306 million in 1906 this was still far less per capita than for other major European states including Italy and about on par with Russia which had a much larger population 18 Further contributing to the monarchy s military weakness was the low rate of conscription Austria Hungary conscripted only 0 29 of its population annually compared to 0 47 in Germany and 0 75 in France Attempts to increase the yearly intake of recruits were proposed but repeatedly blocked by officials in Budapest until an agreement was reached in 1912 10 In the emerging field of military aviation Austria Hungary lagged behind other European states While balloon detachments had been established in 1893 they were mostly assigned to the fortress artillery except for a brief period from 1909 to 1911 when they were under command of the multifaceted Verkehrs Brigade 19 Realization that heavier than air machines were necessary or useful came late and Austria Hungary acquired only five airplanes by 1911 In 1914 the budget for military aviation was approximately 1 25 th the amount spent by France Austria Hungary entered the war with only 48 first line aircraft 19 Command Structure EditAustria Hungary had a complex military structure The country had three main distinct ground forces As a union the Monarchy had a common government of three ministers Minister of the Imperial Household and Foreign Affairs Minister of War and Minister of Finance The Imperial Minister of War had authority over the Common Army and the Navy The Common Army was the premier land force It was the best equipped and had the main role to secure the borders of the Monarchy In case of war it was to absorb the Austrian Landwehr and the Hungarian Honved within its command structure For that reason the Common Army was organised in army corps even in peacetime while the Landwehr and Honved were organised in territorial districts The provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina were governed as a condominium between the Austrian and the Hungarian parts of the dual monarchy As such the local troops of Bosnian Riflemen were subordinated through the Governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Imperial Minister of War The general peacetime order of battle of the Common Army included General Staff Vienna I Army Corps Krakow II Army Corps Vienna III Army Corps Graz IV Army Corps Budapest V Army Corps Pozsony VI Army Corps Kassa VII Army Corps Temesvar VIII Army Corps Prague IX Army Corps Leitmeritz X Army Corps Przemysl XI Army Corps Lemberg XII Army Corps Nagyszeben XIII Army Corps Zagreb XIV Army Corps Innsbruck XV Army Corps Sarajevo and XVI Army Corps Mostar The Austrian part of the monarchy officially called Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council unofficially and for short Cisleithania had its own government It included the Imperial and Royal Ministry of National Defence completely independent from the Imperial War Ministry In peacetime it had complete authority and responsibility for the Imperial Royal Landwehr and its Landwehr High Command Vienna Landwehr Garrison Command in Vienna Landwehr Command in Vienna Landwehr Command in Graz Landwehr Command in Prague Landwehr Command in Leitmeritz Landwehr Command in Krakow Landwehr Command in Przemysl Landwehr Command in Lemberg Landwehr Command in Ragusa Landwehr Defence Command in Innsbruck Higher Authority for National Defence in Tyrol and Vorarlberg command of higher status and autonomy The Hungarian part of the monarchy officially called Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen unofficially and for short Transleithania also had its own government One of its ministries was the Royal Hungarian Honved Ministry also completely independent from the Imperial War Ministry In peacetime it had complete authority and responsibility for the Honved High Command Budapest Royal Hungarian I Budapest Honved District Command Royal Hungarian II Szeged Honved District Command Royal Hungarian III Kassa Honved District Command Royal Hungarian IV Pozsony Honved District Command Royal Hungarian V Kolozsvar Honved District Command Royal Hungarian VI Zagreb Croat Slavonian District Command the Kingdom of Croatia Slavonia was in personal union with Hungary including a local Croat Slavonian Homeguard Landwehr in German incorporated into the Honved as its sixth territorial district 20 Austro Hungarian Army in July 1914 Edit Austro Hungarian soldiers resting in a trench Austro Hungarian POWs in Russia 1915 photo by Prokudin Gorskii 36 000 Officers 414 000 NCOs and troops 120 000 horses estimate 1 200 artillery piecesOfficial designations were as follows regiments of the common army were designated Imperial and Royal German kaiserlich und koniglich k u k Hungarian Csaszari es Kiralyi in which Imperial stands for the Kaiser of Austria who was also King of Hungary Austrian Landwehr regiments were Imperial Royal German kaiserlich koniglich k k in which Imperial stands for the Kaiser of Austria who was also King of Bohemia in the Austrian part of the dual monarchy kaiserlich osterreichisch koniglich bohmisch Hungarian csaszari kiralyi Hungarian Honved regiments were called Royal Hungarian for the Kaiser s title of Apostolic King of Hungary German koniglich ungarisch Hungarian Magyar Kiralyi Within the Hungarian part of Austria Hungary the monarch was also King of Croatia Slavonia this was however not included in the titles of the Honved s units After war was declared 3 35 million men including the first call up of the reserves and the 1914 recruits gathered for action The Austro Hungarian Imperial Army was officially under the control of the Commander in Chief Emperor Franz Josef By 1914 however Franz Josef was 84 years old and the chief of staff Count Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf effectively had more power over the armed forces Conrad favored an aggressive foreign policy and advocated the use of military action to solve Austria Hungary s territorial disputes with Italy and Serbia 21 Archduke Friedrich Duke of Teschen was appointed Supreme Commander of the Austro Hungarian army by Franz Joseph on July 11 1914 It was thought he would not interfere with the operational and tactical plans of Conrad von Hotzendorf Friedrich remained Supreme Commander until February 1917 when Emperor Charles I decided to assume the office himself Common Army Edit Corps areas in the Austro Hungarian Army Main article Common Army The Common Army k u k kaiserlich und koniglich consisted of 16 corps 49 infantry divisions 76 infantry brigades 14 mountain brigades 22 cavalry divisions 44 cavalry brigades 102 infantry regiments each of four battalions including 4 Bosnian Herzegovinian Bosnisch Hercegowinische infantry regiments each of four battalions 4 Imperial Tyrolian rifle regiments Tiroler Kaiserjager each of four battalions 32 rifle battalions Feldjager including 1 Bosnian Herzegovinian rifle battalion Bosnisch Hercegowinisches Feldjager Bataillon 42 field artillery regiments Feldkanonen Regimenter including 14 field howitzer regiments Feldhaubitz Regimenter 15 mounted artillery battalions originally named Reitende Artillerie Division 14 heavy howitzer battalions originally named schwere Haubitz Division 11 mountain artillery regiments Gebirgsartillerie Regimenter 6 fortress artillery regiments Festungsartillerie Regimenter 8 independent fortress artillery battalions selbst Festungsartillerie Bataillone 15 regiments of dragoons Dragoner 16 regiments of hussars Husaren 11 regiments of lancers Ulanen 16 transport battalions railway 23 engineer battalions Sappeure Pioniere 1 bridge construction battalion Brucken Bataillon 1 railway regiment Eisenbahn Regiment 1 telegraph regiment Telegraphen Regiment Imperial Royal Landwehr Edit Main article Imperial Royal Landwehr Officer s helmet Imperial and Royal Dragoons The Imperial Royal Landwehr k k or kaiserlich osterreichisch koniglich bohmisch was the standing army of Austria responsible for the defence of Austria itself 35 Landwehr infantry regiments each of 3 battalions Landwehr Infanterie Regimenter 6 Landwehr regiments of lancers uhlans 8 Landwehr field artillery battalions Feldkanonen 8 Landwehr field howitzer battalions Feldhaubitz The mountain infantry had the following units 2 Landwehr mountain infantry regiments Gebirgsinfanterie Regimenter the 4th and 27th 3 Tyrolean rifle regiments Tiroler Landesschutzen Regimenter from January 1917 named imperial rifles Kaiserschutzen 1 mounted Tyrolean rifle battalion Reitende Tiroler Landesschutzen 1 mounted Dalmatian rifle battalion Reitende Dalmatiner Landesschutzen Royal Hungarian Landwehr Edit Main article Royal Hungarian Landwehr Officer s Czapka cap 2nd Landwehr Lancers The Royal Hungarian Landwehr koniglich ungarische Landwehr or Royal Hungarian Honved k u Honved was the standing army of Hungary A part of the Honved was the Royal Croatian Landwehr Kraljevsko hrvatsko domobranstvo which consisted of 1 infantry division out of 7 in Honved and 1 cavalry regiment out of 10 in the Honved 6 Landwehr districts honved katonai kerulet 2 infantry divisions honved gyalogos hadosztaly 9 cavalry divisions honved lovassagi hadosztaly 4 infantry brigades honved gyalogosdandar 12 independent infantry brigades honved onallo gyalogdandar 18 cavalry brigades honved lovasdandar 32 infantry regiments honved gyalogezred 10 regiments of hussars honved huszarezred 8 field artillery regiments honved tabori tuzerezred 2 horse artillery battalion honved lovontatasu tuzerosztaly The infantry regiments of the k u k army had four battalions each the infantry regiments of the k k and k u Landwehr had three battalions each except the 3rd Regiment of the Tiroler Landesschutzen Tyrolian fusiliers that had also four battalions In 1915 units that had nicknames or names of honour lost them by order of the War Ministry Thereafter units were designated only by number For instance the k u k Infanterie Regiment Hoch und Deutschmeister Nr 4 became Infanterie Regiment No 4 4th Infantry Regiment Landsturm EditThe Landsturm consisted of men aged 34 to 55 who belonged to the Austria k k Landsturm and the Hungarian k u Landsturm The Landsturm formed 40 regiments totaling 136 battalions in Austria and 32 regiments totaling 97 battalions in Hungary The Landsturm was a reserve force intended to provide replacements for the first line units However the Landsturm provided 20 brigades who took to the field with the rest of the army Standschutzen EditThe Standschutzen singular Standschutze A 1 were originally rifle guilds and rifle companies that had been formed in the 15th and 16th centuries and were involved time and again in military operations within the borders of the Austrian County of Tyrol A Standschutze was a member of a Schutzenstand shooting club into which he was enrolled A 2 which automatically committed him to the voluntary military protection of the state of Tyrol and Vorarlberg In effect they were a type of Tyrolean local militia or home guard Ranks and rank insignia EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Austro Hungarian Army news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Main article Rank insignia of the Austro Hungarian Army Commissioned officer ranks Edit The rank insignia of commissioned officers Rank group General flag officers Field senior officers Junior officers Officer cadetRank insignia German Feldmarschall Generaloberst General der Waffengattung Feldmarschall Leutnant Generalmajor Oberst Oberstleutnant Major Hauptmann Rittmeister Oberleutnant LeutnantHungarian Tabornagy Vezerezredes Tabornok Altabornagy Vezerornagy Ezredes Alezredes Ornagy Szazados Kapitany Fohadnagy HadnagyOther ranks Edit The rank insignia of non commissioned officers and enlisted personnel Rank group Senior NCO Junior NCO PrivateRank insignia German Stabsfeldwebel Feldwebel Zugsfuhrer Korporal Gefreiter InfanteristHungarian Torzsormester Ormester Szakaszvezeto Tizedes Orvezeto HonvedTypes of uniforms Edit Bosnian Herzegovinian Infantry Infantry officer in service dress Mountain Rifles soldier in battle dress Hussar of the Honved Captain of the Life Guard Infantry Master Sergeant of the Medical Corps Rifle infantryman in parade dress Adjutant of His Majesty the Emperor Engineer in battle dress Field artillery officer Captain of the Military Police Corps Dragoon battle dress and parade dress for enlisted men Dragoon officerSee also EditOrders decorations and medals of Austria Hungary Army Slavic Grenz infantry 1st Army Austria Hungary in World War I Schutzkorps Imperial and Royal Army during the Napoleonic Wars List of Austro Hungarian colonel generals List of Austro Hungarian field marshals Weaponry of the Austro Hungarian Empire The Good Soldier SvejkReferences Edit Rothenberg G 1976 The Army of Francis Joseph West Lafayette IN Purdue University Press p 83 ISBN 0911198415 Rothenberg 1976 p 193 John Keegan and Andrew Wheatcroft Who s Who in Military History From 1453 to the Present Day 2001 p 12 Rothenberg 1976 pp 97 99 113 17 124 25 159 Rothenberg 1976 p 121 Rothenberg 1976 p 130 Rothenberg 1976 p 143 Rothenberg 1976 pp 101 02 Rothenberg 1976 p 81 a b Rothenberg 1976 p 126 Rothenberg 1976 pp 126 165 a b Rothenberg 1976 p 128 Rothenberg 1976 p 118 Rothenberg 1976 p 142 151 Maracz Laszlo 14 April 2012 Multilingualism in the Transleithanian part of the Austro Hungarian Empire 1867 1918 Policy and practice Jezikoslovlje XIII 2 269 298 via www ceeol com Schulze Max Stephan Wolf Nikolaus 14 May 2012 Economic nationalism and economic integration the Austro Hungarian Empire in the late nineteenth century 1 AUSTRO HUNGARIAN EMPIRE The Economic History Review 65 2 652 673 doi 10 1111 j 1468 0289 2010 00587 x S2CID 154778592 via DOI org Crossref a b Rothenberg 1976 p 78 Rothenberg 1976 pp 125 26 a b Rothenberg 1976 p 175 Steiner Glenn Jewison amp Jorg C Austro Hungarian Land Forces 1848 1918 www austro hungarian army co uk Archived from the original on 2019 01 03 Retrieved 2018 10 04 Austria in 1914 Archived from the original on 2009 02 07 Retrieved 2009 02 17 The German word Standschutze is derived from Schutzenstand or Schiessstand which means firing point or firing range and generally refers to the members of a local shooting club the Schiessstand Schutzenstand or Schutzenverein in German speaking countries These were in essence volunteer militia They still exist today albeit their role is purely social and ceremonial enrolliert is the Austrian military jargon for enrolled from the Old French enroller Further reading EditBassett Richard For God and Kaiser The Imperial Austrian Army 1619 1918 Yale UP 2016 Deak Istvan The Habsburg army in the first and last days of world war I a comparative analysis in Bela K Kiraly and Nandor F Dreisziger eds East Central European Society in World War I 1985 301 312 Stone Norman Army and society in the Habsburg Monarchy 1900 1914 Past amp Present 33 1966 95 111 in JSTOR Tunstall Graydon A The Austro Hungarian Army and the First World War Cambridge UP 2021 Watson Alexander Ring of Steel Germany and Austria Hungary at War 1914 1918 Penguin 2016 Watson Alexander Managing an Army of Peoples Identity Command and Performance in the Habsburg Officer Corps 1914 1918 Contemporary European History 25 2 2016 233 251 In German Edit Lichem Heinz von 1977 Spielhahnstoss und Edelweiss Graz Stocker Verlag ISBN 370200260X Lichem Heinz von 1985 Der Tiroler Hochgebirgskrieg 1915 1918 Berwang Tirol Steiger Verlag ISBN 3854230524 Allmeyer Beck Lessing 1974 Die K u K Armee 1848 1918 Munchen Bertelsmann Rest Ortner Ilmig 2002 Des Kaisers Rock im 1 Weltkrieg Wien Verlag Militaria ISBN 3950164200 Schreiber Georg 1967 Des Kaisers Reiterei Wien Verlag Kremayr amp Scheriau Wandruszka Adam Urbanitsch Peter Hrsg 1987 Die Habsburgermonarchie 1848 1918 Bd 5 Die Bewaffnete Macht Wien OAW External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Austro Hungarian Army A webpage which is devoted to Austro Hungarian Army Detailed information about Organisation biographies of the leaders uniforms and detailed weapon statistics by Glenn Jewison amp Jorg C Steiner The Austro Hungarian Army 1914 18 by John Dixon Nuttall details of organization and wartime order of battle Generals of Austria and Hungary 1816 1918 in German Antique Photography amp Postcards of Austro Hungarian army 1866 1918 in English Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Austro Hungarian Army amp oldid 1122495201, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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