The Austro-Hungarian 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 Austrian Landwehr (recruited from Cisleithania), and the Hungarian Honvédség (recruited from Transleithania).
In the wake of fighting between the Austrian Empire and Hungarian nationalists during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, 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 latter half of the 19th century with dark blue tunics,[1] which in turn were replaced by a pike grey uniform used in the initial stages of World War I. In September 1915, field gray was adopted as the new official uniform color.[2]
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.
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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.[3]
In the late 19th century the army was used to suppress unrest in urban areas of the empire: in 1882 and 1887 in Vienna[4] and notably against German nationalists at Graz and Czech nationalists in Prague in November 1897[5]. Soldiers under the command of Conrad von Hotzendorf were also used against Italian rioters in Trieste in 1902.[6]
The most significant action by soldiers of the Dual Monarchy in this period was the 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.[7]
In 1868 the number of active-duty troops in the army was 255,000, 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.[8] 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 turn of the 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.[9] The 1889 army law was not revised until 1912, which allowed for an increase in annual conscriptions.[10]
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 Ruthenians (or Ukrainians), 67 Croats and Serbs, 64 Romanians, 38 Slovaks, 26 Slovenes, and 14 Italians.[11]
From a religious standpoint, the Austro-Hungarian army officer corps was dominated by Catholics. In 1896, out of 1000 officers, 791 were 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.[12] While the Jewish population of the lands of the Dual Monarchy was about 5%, Jews made up nearly 18% of the reserve officer corps.[13] 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 Franz Ferdinand sometimes expressed anti-Jewish sentiments. Franz Ferdinand was also accused (by Conrad) of discriminating against Protestant officers.[14]
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.[15] Despite increases throughout the 1850s and 1860s, in the last half of the century Austria-Hungary was still spending less on its army than other major European powers were.[15] While the budget continued to rise--from 262 million crowns in 1895 to 306 million in 1906--this was still, on a per-capita basis, far less than the other major European states, including Italy, and about on par with Russia, which had a much larger population.[16] Further contributing to the monarchy's military weakness was the low rate of conscription: Austria-Hungary conscripted only 0.29% of its population, 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.[9]
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.[17] 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 1/25th the amount spent by France. Austria-Hungary entered the war with only 48 first-line aircraft.[17]
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, however, 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 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 plans 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 of the Royal Hungarian Landwehr was the Royal Croatian Landwehr ( Kraljevsko hrvatsko domobranstvo ), which 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 that 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 |
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| (NCO's) | |||||
| Korporal / Tizedes (Hung.) Kapral (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) |
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| 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) |
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| Feldmarschalleutnant / Altábornagy (Hung.) (Lieutenant-Field-Marshal equiv. to Major-General) |
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| 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) |
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| Generaloberst / Vezérezredes (Hung.) (Colonel-General) (since 1915) |
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| Feldmarschall / Tábornagy (Hung.) (Field-Marshal) |
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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.
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