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The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy (1867 - 1918). It was composed of the joint army (Gemeinsame Armee - Common Army - recruited from all parts of the country), the Austrian Landwehr (recruited from Cisleithania), and the Hungarian Honvédség (recruited from Transleithania).
Most of Hungarian cavalry, infantry and artillery troops fought for the Hungarian royal government which waged an unsuccessful War of Independence from 1848 until 1849 when it surrendered to the Czarist army dispatched to help out the Austrian Imperial army. After the surrender, Hungarian units were either disbanded or relocated and national Hungarian military units could not be organized again until the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867.
The joint army (or k.u.k.) came into existence after the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy in 1867 and was disbanded after the end of World War I in 1918. Prior to 1867, Austria's ground forces were those of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (named k.k. for kaiserlich, königlich).
The joint "Imperial and Royal" units were poorly trained and had very limited access to new equipment because the governments of the cisleithanian and transleithaian 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-coloured infantry uniforms were replaced with a dark blue, which would remain the standard version in following decades until a pike grey uniform, later used during World War I, was introduced in 1909.
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.
Contents |
Official designations were as follows:
After the 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 Josef was 84 years old and the chief of staff, Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, had more power over the armed forces. Conrad favoured an aggressive foreign policy and advocated the use of military action to solve Austro-Hungary's territorial disputes with Italy and Serbia. [1]
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 talents of Conrad von Hötzendorf. Friedrich remained Supreme Commander until February 1917, when Emperor Charles I decided to assume the office himself.
The Mountain Infantry with the following units:
A part od Royal Hungarian Landwehr whose an Royal Croatian Landwehr ( Kraljevsko hrvatsko domobranstvo ), it consisted of 1 infantry division ( out of 7 in Honved ) and 1 cavalry regiment ( out od 10 in Honved ).
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 battailons.
In 1915 units which had nicknames or names of honor 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) No.4 became Infanterie-Regiment No. 4.
The following were the medals awarded to a Zugsführer (Staff-Sergeant) of the 2nd Regiment of the Tyrolian Imperial Rifles (later transferred to the 30th High Mountain Company), who saw action at:
He received the following decorations:
| Infantry | Cavalry | Artillery | Rifles | Rank insignias | Rank insignias mountain rifles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troops | |||||
| Infanterist / Honvéd (Hung.) (Private) |
Dragoner Husar Ulan |
Kanonier | Jäger |
|
|
| Gefreiter / Őrvezető (Hung.) (Private 1st Class) |
Gefreiter | Vormeister Főtűzér |
Patrouillenführer Járőrvezető |
|
|
| (NCO's) | |||||
| Korporal / Tizedes (Hung.) Kaprál (Polish)/Desátník (Czech) (Corporal) |
Korporal | Geschütz-Vormeister | Unterjäger |
|
|
| Zugsführer / Szakaszvezető (Hung.) (Master Corporal) |
Zugsführer | Zugsführer | Zugsführer |
|
|
| Feldwebel / Őrmester (Hung.) (Sergeant) |
Wachtmeister | Feuerwerker | Oberjäger |
|
|
| Kadett-Feldwebel / Kadétőrmester (Hung.) Hadapród) (Cadet-Sergeant, since 1908 Cadet) |
Kadett-Wachtmeister (Kadett) |
Kadett-Feuerwerker (Kadett) |
Kadett-Oberjäger (Kadett) |
|
|
| Stabs-Feldwebel / Törzsőrmester (Hung.) (Staff Sergeant since 1913 - insignias until 1914) |
Stabs-Wachtmeister | Stabs-Feuerwerker | Stabs-Oberjäger |
|
|
| Stabs-Feldwebel / Törzsőrmester (Hung.) (Staff Sergeant, insignias after 1914) |
Stabs-Wachtmeister | Stabs-Feuerwerker | Stabs-Oberjäger |
|
|
| Offiziersstellvertreter (seit dem 6. Juni 1915) / Tiszthelyettes (Hung.) (Warrant-Officer) |
Offiziersstellvertreter | Offiziersstellvertreter | Offiziersstellvertreter |
|
|
| Officers-Candidates | |||||
| Kadett-Offiziersstellvertreter Hadapród-Tiszthelyettes (Hung.) (Cadet-Warrant-Officer) (until 1908) |
Kadett-Offiziersstellvertreter | Kadett-Offiziersstellvertreter | Kadett-Offiziersstellvertreter |
|
|
| Fähnrich (ab 1908) / Zászlós (Hung.) (Officers-Candidate) (since 1908 - replaced the CWO) |
Fähnrich | Fähnrich | Fähnrich |
|
|
| Low Grade Officers | |||||
| Leutnant / Hadnagy (Hung.) (Lieutenant) |
Leutnant | Leutnant | Leutnant |
|
|
| Oberleutnant / Főhadnagy (Hung.) (1st Lieutenant) |
Oberleutnant | Oberleutnant | Oberleutnant |
|
|
| Captains | |||||
| Hauptmann / Százados (Hung.) (Captain) |
Rittmeister | Hauptmann | Hauptmann |
|
|
| Staff-Officers | |||||
| Major / Őrnagy (Hung.) |
Major | Major | Major |
|
|
| Oberstleutnant / Alezredes (Hung.) (Lieutenant-Colonel) |
Oberstleutnant | Oberstleutnant | Oberstleutnant |
|
|
| Oberst / Ezredes (Hung.) (Colonel) |
Oberst | Oberst | Oberst |
|
|
| Generals | |||||
| Generalmajor / Vezérőrnagy (Hung.) (Major-General equiv. to Brigadier-General) |
|
||||
| Feldmarschalleutnant / Altábornagy (Hung.) (Lieutenant-Field-Marshall equiv. to Major-General) |
|
||||
| General der Infanterie Gyalogsági tábornok (Hung.) (General of the Infantry) |
General der Kavallerie Lovassági tábornok (General of the Cavalry) |
Feldzeugmeister / Táborszernagy (General of the Artillery) |
|
||
| Generaloberst / Vezérezredes (Hung.) (Colonel-General) (since 1915) |
|
||||
| Feldmarschall / Tábornagy (Hung.) (Field-Marshall) |
|
||||
The ranks displayed after the "/" are the Hungarian equivalents of the Austrian ranks, since they were used in this format in the Magyar Királyi Honvédség / königlich ungarische Landwehr (Royal Hungarian Home Defence Forces). The English equivalents are from the Austrian Bundesheer's homepage. The general ranks are equivalent of today's NATO standard.
 Bosnian-Hercegovinian Rifles |
 Infantry officer, duty dress |
 Mountain Rifles, battle dress |
 Hussar of the Honvéd |
 Life Guard Infantry |
 Master-Sergeant of the Medical Corps |
 Rifles parade dress |
 Adjutant of his Majesty the Emperor |
 Battledress Engineers |
 Officer of the Field-Artillery |
 Captain of the Military-Police-Corps |
 Dragoons (battledress and paradedress for enlisted men) |
.]] The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy (1867 - 1918). It was composed of the joint army (k.u.k. Armee - recruited from all parts of the country), the Austrian Landwehr (recruited from Cisleithania), and the Hungarian Honvédség (recruited from Transleithania). [[File:|thumb|Soldier of the Landwehr-Regiment Nr. 6 in Battledress]] Official designations were as follows:
Most of Hungarian cavalry, infantry and artillery troops fought for the Hungarian royal government which waged an unsuccessful War of Independence from 1848 until 1849 when it surrendered to the Czarist army dispatched to help out the Austrian Imperial army. After the surrender, Hungarian units were either disbanded or relocated and national Hungarian military units could not be organized again until the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867.
The joint army (or k.u.k.) came into existence after the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy in 1867 and was disbanded after the end of World War I in 1918. Prior to 1867, Austria's ground forces were those of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (named k.k. for kaiserlich, königlich).
The joint "Imperial and Royal" units were poorly trained and had very limited access to new equipment because the governments of the cisleithanian and transleithaian 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-coloured infantry uniforms were replaced with a dark blue, which would remain the standard version in following decades until a pike grey uniform, later used during World War I, was introduced in 1909.
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.
Contents |
After the 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 Josef was 84 years old and the chief of staff, Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, had more power over the armed forces. Conrad favoured an aggressive foreign policy and advocated the use of military action to solve Austro-Hungary's territorial disputes with Italy and Serbia. [1]
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 talents of Conrad von Hötzendorf. Friedrich remained Supreme Commander until February 1917, when Emperor Charles I decided to assume the office himself.
(Helmet) 2nd Landwehr Lancers Regiment]]
The Mountain Infantry with the following units:
s Officers Helmet]]
A part od Royal Hungarian Landwehr whose an Royal Croatian Landwehr ( Kraljevsko hrvatsko domobranstvo ), it consisted of 1 infantry division ( out of 7 in Honved ) and 1 cavalry regiment ( out od 10 in Honved ).
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 battailons.
In 1915 units which had nicknames or names of honor 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) No.4 became Infanterie-Regiment No. 4.
The following were the medals awarded to a Zugsführer (Staff-Sergeant) of the 2nd Regiment of the Tyrolian Imperial Rifles (later transferred to the 30th High Mountain Company), who saw action at:
He received the following decorations:
| Infantry | Cavalry | Artillery | Rifles | Rank insignias | Rank insignias mountain rifles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troops | |||||
| Infanterist / Honvéd (hung.) (Private) | Dragoner Husar Ulan | Kanonier | Jäger | [[File:|thumb|75px]] | File:Jä 75px |
| Gefreiter / Őrvezető (hung.) (Private 1st Class) | Gefreiter | Vormeister Főtűzer | Patrouillenführer Járőrvezető | [[File:|thumb|75px|]] | File:Patrouillenfü 75px |
| (NCO's) | |||||
| Korporal / Tizedes (hung) kapral (polish) (Corporal) | Korporal | Geschütz-Vormeister | Unterjäger | File:Unterjä 70px | |
| Zugsführer / Szakaszvezető (hung.) (Sergeant) | Zugsführer | Zugsführer | Zugsführer | File:Zugsfü 75px | File:Zugsfü 75px |
| Feldwebel / Őrmester (hung.) (Master-Sergeant) | Wachtmeister | Feuerwerker | Oberjäger | File:K.u.k. 75px | File:K.k. Oberjä 75px |
| Kadett-Feldwebel / Kadétőrmester Hadapród) (Cadet-Sergeant, since 1908 Cadet) | Kadett-Wachtmeister (Kadett) | Kadett-Feuerwerker (Kadett) | Kadett-Oberjäger (Kadett) | File:K.k. Kadett 75px | |
| Stabs-Feldwebel / Törzsőrmester (Sergeant-Major since 1913 - insignias until 1914) | Stabs-Wachtmeister | Stabs-Feuerwerker | Stabs-Oberjäger | ||
| Stabs-Feldwebel / Törzsőrmester (Sergeant-Major, insignias after 1914) | Stabs-Wachtmeister | Stabs-Feuerwerker | Stabs-Oberjäger | File:K.u.k. 75px | |
| Offiziersstellvertreter (seit dem 6. Juni 1915) / Tiszthelyettes (Warrant-Officer) | Offiziersstellvertreter | Offiziersstellvertreter | Offiziersstellvertreter | File:K.u.k. 75px | File:K.k. 75px |
| Officers-Candidates | |||||
| Kadett-Offiziersstellvertreter Hadapród-Tiszthelyettes (Cadet-Warrant-Officer) (until 1908) | Kadett-Offiziersstellvertreter | Kadett-Offiziersstellvertreter | Kadett-Offiziersstellvertreter | File:K.u.k. 75px | |
| Fähnrich (ab 1908) / Zászlós (Officers-Candidate) (since 1908 - replaced the CWO) | Fähnrich | Fähnrich | Fähnrich | File:Fähnrich 75px | |
| Low Grade Officers | |||||
| Leutnant / Hadnagy (Lieutenant) | Leutnant | Leutnant | Leutnant | [[File:|thumb|75px]] | [[File:|thumb|75px]] |
| Oberleutnant / Főhadnagy (1st Lieutenant) | Oberleutnant | Oberleutnant | Oberleutnant | File:OltDunkelgrü 75px | [[File:|thumb|75px]] |
| Captains | |||||
| Hauptmann / Százados (Captain) | Rittmeister | Hauptmann | Hauptmann | [[File:|thumb|75px]] | [[File:|thumb|70px]] |
| Staff-Officers | |||||
| Major / Őrnagy | Major | Major | Major | [[File:|thumb|75px]] | |
| Oberstleutnant / Alezredes (Lieutenant-Colonel) | Oberstleutnant | Oberstleutnant | Oberstleutnant | File:K.u.k. 75px | [[File:|thumb|75px]] |
| Oberst / Ezredes (Colonel) | Oberst | Oberst | Oberst | File:K.u.k. 75px | [[File:|thumb|75px]] |
| Generals | |||||
| Generalmajor / Vezérőrnagy (Major-General equiv. to Brigadier-General) | |||||
| Feldmarschalleutnant / Táborhadnagy (Lieutenant-Field-Marshall equiv. to Major-General) | |||||
| General der Infanterie Gyalogsági tábornok (General of the Infantry) | General der Kavallerie Lovassági tábornok (General of the Cavalry) | Feldzeugmeister / Táborszernagy (General of the Artillery) | |||
| Generaloberst / Vezérezredes (Colonel-General) (since 1915) | |||||
| Feldmarschall / Tábornagy (Field-Marshall) | |||||
1898]] 1898]]
The ranks displayed after the "/" are the Hungarian equivalents of the Austrian ranks, since they were used in this format in the Magyar Királyi Honvédség / königlich ungarische Landwehr (Royal Hungarian Home Defence Forces).
Bosnian
Bosnian-Hercegovinian Rifles |
Jä
Rifles parade dress |
Flü
Adjutant of his Majesty the Impereor |
Sappeur.GIF
Battledress Engineers |
in Russia; a 1915 photo by Prokudin-Gorskii]]
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