''Feldzeugmeister'' was a historical military rank in some German and the Austro-Hungarian armies, especially in use for the

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found at the beginning of the 20th century in some European countries. In the army of

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

, the rank of Feldzeugmeister was an equivalent of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Etymology

The German term ''Feldzeugmeister'' literally translates as "ordnance master" or "gun master". (''Feld-'' means

battlefield A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...

, as used in the German title for

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

(''Feldmarschall''), and ''-zeug-'' refers to the

gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...

s used by the artillery.) In French, the equivalent expression was , used since the days of

Philip VI of France Philip VI (french: Philippe; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (french: le Fortuné, link=no) or the Catholic (french: le Catholique, link=no) and of Valois, was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 ...

().

Military rank

Originally, the ranks above ''Feldzeugmeister'' were ''

Feldhauptmann The ''Feldhauptmann'' (plural: ''Feldhauptleute'') was a historical military appointment, during the time of the ''Landsknechte'' or mercenaries in European warfare, who commanded a ''Fähnlein'', a unit of roughly battalion-size. A literal transla ...

'' and ''

Feldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

''. The third most important person in the army was the ''Feldzeugmeister''. Although the expression was common in the German

, Austrian, Hungarian and French militias used the title as well. The position of a ''Feldzeugmeister'' differed by German states. In Austria-Hungary, the ''Feldzeugmeister'' was one of three separate

general of the branch A general of the branch, general of the branch of service or general of the ... (where instead of the ellipsis an appropriate name of the military branch is being put) is a three or four-star general officer rank in some armies. Several nations di ...

ranks. In 1898, the Ministry of War of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

created the position of a ''Feldzeugmeister'' which was comparable to the commander of a division. The ''Feldzeugmeister'' was in charge of delivering weapons,

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

and personnel. In

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

of 1906, the inspection of weapons was organised by the department of the ''Feldzeugmeister''.

Austro-Hungarian Army

In the Austrian and Hungarian service, ''Feldzeugmeister'' (in Hungarian ''Táborszernagy'') had a different meaning. During the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, the Feldzeugmeister held the rank just above

Feldmarschallleutnant Lieutenant field marshal, also frequently historically field marshal lieutenant (german: Feldmarschall-Leutnant, formerly , historically also and, in official Imperial and Royal Austrian army documents from 1867 always , abbreviated ''FML''), was ...

and just below Feldmarschall (field marshal). It was a roughly equivalent rank to full general. Feldzeugmeister was equal to general of the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

(''

General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imp ...

'') and general of the cavalry (''

General der Kavallerie General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers ...

''). It remained the second highest rank of the

Austrian army The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of nati ...

until the creation of colonel-general (''

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East Germany, East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. ...

'') in 1915. Originally members of the infantry and artillery were given this rank, while members of the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

would become generals of the cavalry. From 1908 onwards the rank ''Feldzeugmeister'' was given to members of the artillery only.

References

{{reflist

External links

List of Austrian Generals

Military ranks of Austria

Etymology

Military rank

Austro-Hungarian Army

See also

References

External links