This article deals with the rank insignia of the Austro-Hungarian Army, as worn by the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , 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 arm ...

after the reorganisation in 1867 until 1918. In the Austrian army

rank insignia An insignia () is a sign or mark distinguishing a group, grade, rank, or function. It can be a symbol of personal power or that of an official group or governing body. On its own, an insignia is a sign of a specific or general authority and is ...

are traditionally called ''Paroli'' (pl. ''Parolis'') and are worn as

gorget patch Gorget patches (collar tabs, collar patches) are an insignia in the form of paired patches of cloth or metal on the collar of a uniform ( gorget), used in the military and civil service in some countries. Collar tabs sign the military rank (group o ...

or collar tap, appliquéd to the gorget fore-part of the uniform coat, uniform jacket and/or battle-dress.

Austro-Hungarian Army

The

– so-called '' Paroli'' – of the

(1867–1918) were worn on the fore-part of the sleeves for jackets, but never on

shoulder strap A shoulder strap is a strap over a shoulder. They are often affixed to women's dresses to support its weight or as part of its style. The term is also applied to carrying bags. Dress shoulder strap Image:Camisole.png, Camisole Image:Preprom.jpg, ...

s of shirts, service jackets, and dress uniforms. They were identically for the

Common Army The Common Army (german: Gemeinsame Armee, hu, Közös Hadsereg) as it was officially designated by the Imperial and Royal Military Administration, was the largest part of the Austro-Hungarian land forces from 1867 to 1914, the other two eleme ...

as well as to the Imperial-Royal Landwehr. However, the mountain corps wore additionally an

edelweiss EDELWEISS (Expérience pour DEtecter Les WIMPs En Site Souterrain) is a dark matter search experiment located at the Modane Underground Laboratory in France. The experiment uses cryogenic detectors, measuring both the phonon and ionization signal ...

since 1907 behind the distinction star(s). The rank or distinction stars of enlisted personnel and non-commissioned officers (NCO) were made from white

celluloid Celluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common contemporary ...

, those of the ranks

Feldwebel ''Feldwebel '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupi ...

and

Stabsfeldwebel ''Stabsfeldwebel '' (StFw or SF; ) is the second highest Non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. It is grouped as OR-8 in NATO, equivalent to a First Sergeant in the United States Army, and to Warrant Officer C ...

have been made from white silk since 1914. The rank stars of the junior officer ranks normally consisted of relief metal. Pertaining self procured uniforms, embroidered (from metallic fibre) rank stars might have been selected. The embroidered version was mandatory for staff officer ranks from major (OF3The abbreviation "OF" stands for ''"officer / officier"'') onwards. For all other k.k. badges of the Austrian-Hungarian mountain corps from OR1-rankThe abbreviation "OR" stands for ''"Other Ranks / fr: sous-officiers et militaires du rang / ru:другие ранги, кроме офицероф"'' Jäger (en: hunter/ private) to the OF5-rank

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

(en: colonel) Even on the field shirts, officer rank stars showed the button-colour of the uniform jacket.Officer rank stars basically showed the button-colour of the uniform jacket i.g. gold coloured or silver coloured respectively brass coloured or white alloy. However, staff officers had additionally to wear a galloon on the uniform sleeve. If the galloon colour was silver, the colour of the buttons and the stars had to be golden and vice versa. On the galloon there was a serrated ornament. Generals wore always silver stars on golden galloon. From that derives, that the colour of the rank stars and galloons had nothing to do with the rank. On coats rank insignias had never been worn. Officers of the so-called Kaiserschützen as well as of the "Landwehr infantry regiments number 4 and 27" (also Mountain infantry regiments 4 and 27) wore on their dress uniforms shoulder straps with the imperator´s insignias (not to be mixed up with the particular rank). For any rank description there had to be provided as well an equivalent expression in Hungarian language. Military units, who consisted mainly of Czech, Slovakian, and/ or Polish personal, used unofficially the rank term in their mother language. NCOs were counted to the enlisted personnel, and did not made up a separate rank group.

Cadet

The Cadet (), in its position as aspirant to the professional officer career, ranked as well to the enlisted rank group. The cadet ranks counted to the appropriate nominal rank, however, behind the next higher rank. E.g. the "Cadet-gefreiter" was counted for the , however, behind the

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

, who himself was lower than the "Cadet-corporal". The characteristic of the cadet ranks was the so-called distinction-galloon on the sleeve ends. It was similar to the feldwebel-galloon, however, from gold colour instead of emperor-yellow. The particular rank was added as well.

Stabsfeldwebel

The ranks , , and were introduced to the k.u.k. armed forces in 1913. Before it was equivalent to the (en: District-Sergeant) of the Gendarmerie (as part of the ; in Austria ). To the Feldwebel–uniform the wore a headgear similar to the officers cap, however, without the characteristic golden officers distinction. In 1913 the sleeve distinction consisted of a 1.3 cm broad feldwebel-galloon made from imperator-yellow silk. Additionally three white rank celluloid stars were appliquéd. In June 1913 the rank insignia was changed. The galloon was now silver designed, and the rank stars were made from white silk and embroidered. In 1915 the ranks (en: officer deputy) were summarised to the new rank group ''higher/ senior NCOs'' ().

One-year volunteer

The officer aspirant ( (OA)/ ) of the reserve undertook military training as a

One-year volunteer A one-year volunteer, short EF ( de: ''Einjährig-Freiwilliger''), was, in a number of national armed forces, a conscript who agreed to pay his own costs for the procurement of equipment, food and clothing, in return for spending a shorter-than-usu ...

( (EF)/ ). The distinguishing badge was an imperator-yellow silk square-galloon on the upper part of the cuff. In 1915 the galloon was removed after passing the final examination. It was replaced by the so-called bright “EF-button” to be worn on the collar. The EF-button was fixed behind the nominal rank stars, and was removed on promotion to first officer grade.

Ensign

The rank „Cadet officer-deputy“ () was renamed to

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

() in 1908. The service insignia was a map case, made from black coloured leather, and to be worn on the waist belt. More characteristics were the black officer's cap, however with imperator-yellow side ornament (instead from gold). The white celluloid star was replaced by a silver coloured star. Also in this year, the old term (rank) “” was replaced by the new one Cadet ( / ).

Shako

In addition to the gorget rank insignias, the so-called distinction, the individual rank was indicated by the yellow distinction-galloon on the parade headgear, called

shako A shako (, , or ) is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a visor, and sometimes tapered at the top. It is usually adorned with an ornamental plate or badge on the front, metallic or otherwise; and often has a feather, plume (see hackle) ...

(, ) a special version of helmet. * Gefreiter: Was to be identified with a yellow, black-carved 0.5 Austrian inch (~0.5 cm) thick round cord * Corporal: Wore a 1.5 Austrian inch (~4 cm) broad the yellow distinction-galloon (with zigzag trim ornament) * , , and Cadet officer-deputy (Ensign): As to the corporal, however, concentric divided by a 1/24 Austrian inch (~1 mm) small black stripe The distinction galloons and pipings for enlisted ranks and NCOs were made from yellow sheep's wool, for Ensigns since 1908 from yellow silk, and for officers from gold yarn. Pertaining private procured special editions to enlisted ranks and NCOs, silk trims have been allowed as well. The (en: corps colour) had to be in correlation to the appropriate military unit, branch, or branch of service. Tschako der k.u.k. Husaren-Regimenter 4, 5, 8 und 14.png, Tschako der k.u.k. Husaren-Regimenter 1 und 13.png, Tschako der k.u.k. Husaren-Regimenter 7 und 10.png, Tschako der k.u.k. Husaren-Regimenter 6, 11, 15 und 16.png, Tschako der k.u.k. Husaren-Regimenter 2, 3, 9 und 12.png, K.u.k. Artillerietschako.png,

Enlisted men, NCOs, officer aspirants, and officer-deputies

(RK means the Rangklasse (Rank classification. As the k.u.k. Army was never a member of NATO, it did not use NATO Rank Codes)

Officers and officials

} / / , rowspan="2", 3 gold/silver embroidered star rosettes , - , Veterinarian adjunct / Veterinarian senior grade/ Pharmacist senior grade/ Official senior grade (civilian army branch) / Teacher senior grade/ Fencing-instructor senior grade / Economy manager (civilian army branch)/ War economy first commissioner (civilian army branch)/ Forest-administrator (civilian army branch) , - , rowspan="2", RK IX , / / / , rowspan="4", 3 gold/silver embroidered stars , - , Secretary of the military office of His Majesty / Director junior grade/ Artillery engineer / Military construction engineer , - , rowspan="2", RK IX , - / / / / , - , Captain / Captain cavalery / Regimental medical doctor / Captain auditor / Fiscal Captain , - , rowspan="2", RK VIII , / / / / / / / / / / / , rowspan="2", 1 gold/silver embroidered star rosette on 33mm gold/silver galloon , - , Veterinarian senior grade/ Pharmacist senior grade / Technical consultant (civilian army branch)/ Financing consultant (civilian army branch)/ Paymaster / Registry official / Artillery supply administrator / Food administrator / Senior teacher / Senior economy administrator / War economy consultant , - , rowspan="2", RK VIII , / / / , rowspan="4", 1 gold/silver embroidered star on 33mm gold/silver galloon , - , Secretary of the military office of His Majesty / Intendant / Senior artillery engineer 3rd class / Military construction engineer 3rd class , - , rowspan="2", RK VIII , - / / , - , Major / Surgeon / Major auditor , - , - , rowspan="2", RK VII , / / / / / / / / / / , rowspan="2", 2 gold/silver embroidered star rosettes on 33mm gold/silver galloon , - , Extraordinary professor (civilian army branch)/ Major veterinarian / Major pharmacist 2nd class / Senior technical adviser / Senior artillery supply administrator 2nd class (civilian army branch)/ Senior financing consultant 2nd class (civilian army branch)/ Cashier`s office director 2nd class / Senior food administrator / Registry official director junior grade/ Economy director / Senior war economy consultant 2nd class , - , rowspan="2", RK VII , / / / / , rowspan="4", 2 gold/silver embroidered stars on 33mm gold/silver galloon , - , Court-secretary of the military office of His Majesty / Secretary of the military office of His Majesty / Senior director 2nd class / Senior artillery director 2nd class / Senior military construction engineer 2nd class , - , rowspan="2", RK VII , - , - , Lieutenant colonel , - , rowspan="2", RK VI , / / / / / / / / / , rowspan="2", 3 gold/silver embroidered stars rosettes on 33mm gold/silver galloon , - , Ordinary professor(civilian army branch) / Major pharmacist 1st class / Technical adviser 1st class / Senior technical adviser 1st class /Senior artillery supply administrator 1st class (civilian army branch)/ Senior financing consultant 1st class (civilian army branch)/ Registry director (civilian army branch)/ Cashier`s office director 1st class / Senior war economy consultant 1st class (civilian army branch) , - , rowspan="2", RK VI , / / / / , rowspan="4", 3 gold/silver embroidered stars on 33mm gold/silver galloon , - , Section-consultant of the military office of His Majesty / Senior administrative officer of the military office of His Majesty / Senior director 1st class / Senior artillery engineer 1st class / Senior military construction engineer 1st class , - , rowspan="2", RK VI , - / / , - ,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

, - , rowspan="2", RK V , / / / / / / , rowspan="2", 1 silver embroidered star on 33mm gold galloon , - , Court-consultant of the military chancellery office of His Majesty / General-indendant / Artillery general-engineer / Construction general-engineer / Court-consultant of the veterinarian high school / Superior counsellor in a ministerial department / War economy director-general , - , rowspan="2", RK V , - / / , rowspan="2", 1 silver embroidered star on 33mm gold galloon , - , Brigadier-general , - , rowspan="2", RK IV , , rowspan="2", 2 silver embroidered stars on 33mm gold galloon , - , Section chief , - , rowspan="2", RK IV , * - / * , rowspan="2", 2 silver embroidered stars on 33mm gold galloon , - , *Major-general / General-Chief Surgeon * General-Chiefauditor , - , rowspan="2", RK III , * - * - * - , rowspan="2", 3 silver embroidered stars on 33mm gold galloon , - , * General of the Infantry *

General of the Cavalry 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 ...

General of the Artillery General of the Artillery is/was a general officer of artillery, and may be: *General of the Artillery (Germany) and Austria-Hungary * General of the Artillery (Imperial Russia) * General of the Artillery (Poland) *Feldzeugmeister (OF-8) of the Austr ...

, - , rowspan="2", RK II , - since 1915 , rowspan="2", 3 silver embroidered stars, underlaid by a 40mm silver embroidery wreath on 33mm gold galloon , - ,

Colonel-general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a r ...

, - , rowspan="2", RK I , - , rowspan="2", 33mm gold embroidery with oak leaves directed below , - ,

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 ...

Members of the military personal status

Enlisted men

NCO ranks

Higher Staff NCO-ranks and officer aspirant (OA) ranks

Officers

;Note: The embroideries of the collars of the ranks major to colonel were always in the same color as the tunic buttons (silver/gold). The rank stars were converse (silver embroidery - golden star(s))
The ranks lieutenant to captain had stars in the same color as the tunic buttons.

Generals

In the course of uniform reorganisation pertaining the Imperial-Royal Landwehr (de: k.k. Landwehr), the service coat ( or ) of all enlisted personnel was substituted by a tunic () in general. The rotary-coloured gorget patch was replaced by a standard gorget patch () in grass-green with rank insignias. According to the special function, e.g. as member to a "machine gun unit", the

Edelweiss EDELWEISS (Expérience pour DEtecter Les WIMPs En Site Souterrain) is a dark matter search experiment located at the Modane Underground Laboratory in France. The experiment uses cryogenic detectors, measuring both the phonon and ionization signal ...

on the gorget patch was additional.

Enlisted personnel insignia of Guards formations

In the Austrian-Hungarian armed forces there existed five guard units. In two of them served exclusively officer grades. The remaining three of them were called “Enlisted men guards” (). K.u.k. GardeInfanterist.png, Garderreiter.png, K.u.k. Gardekorporal.png, Gardezugsführer.png, Gardezugsführer.png, Gardefeldwebel.png, 1. Gardewachtmeister.png, TrabantenGarde.png, GardefeVizesekondewm.png, There was no difference between the rank insignias of the officers in comparison to regular troops.

Estate riflemen troops

k.k. Estate riflemen units and companies were established in the 15th/16th century and did belong to the so-called (en: home guard). However, k.k. Estate riflemen troops did not wear regular uniforms. After k.k. Estate riflemen troops had to be involved in 1915 to regular military engagement, the Austrian-Hungarian administration was forced to procure these units with regular uniforms. To emphasise the character and status of the Estate riflemen, they did wear slightly different rank insignias. Officer collar patches showed a gold embroidered rosette. Pertaining enlisted personnel and NCOs the rosette was silver embroidered. Because silver and gold embroidery was deficit, the rosettes were finally replaced by celluloid stars, as this was the case to regular troops. The rank insignias were fixed on the collar patches () showing at the background the corps colour of the Riflemen infantry (also: Hunter-troops or Riflemen-troops; ) "Grass-green".

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

ese collar patches showed the silver metallic "Tyrol eagle" behind the rosette/star. For the

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...

estate riflemen the eagle was replaced by a white metallic shield with the "Vorarlberg coat of arms". Major was the highest rank of the Estate riflemen troops. Unterjäger der Standschützen von Vorarlberg.png, Zugsführer der Standschützen von Vorarlberg .png, Leutnant der Standschützen von Tirol.png, Oberleutnant der Standschützen von Tirol.png, Hauptmann der Standschützen von Vorarlberg.png, Major der Standschützen von Tirol.png,

Military officials

As regards to ''military officials'', there were in force exactly the same rules who applied to ''military officer ranks''. However, military officials wore only four-leaved star rosettes instead of the rank stars (the only exception: officials with explicit star ranks!). ''Fiscal officials'' () in line service have been provided always with silver color buttons. ; Further exemptions from the principal rule are described as follows: *Military officials with port epée: Staff ranks wore a galloon with applied "cross-band ornament" () **Military commissariat official: in the Common Army – golden color buttons; in the home guard () silver color buttons **Military construction engineers: in the Common Army – silver color buttons; in the home guard golden color buttons), *Military officials without port epée: Staff ranks wore a galloon with "waved cross-band ornament" () **Auditors: in the Common Army gold color buttons; in the Home guard silver buttons **Military surgeon officer corps: in the Common Army gold color buttons; in the Home guard silver buttons (with the appropriate variations of collar) Aspirant im k.u.k. Eisenbahn- und Telegrafenregiment.png, K.u.k. Untertierarzt.png, K.u.k. Kassenoffizial.png, K.u.k. Artilleriezeugsoberoffizial .png, K.u.k. Stabsapotheker.png, K.u.k. Oberintendant 2. Klasse.png, K.u.k. Oberverpflegsverwalter 1. Klasse.png,

Examples

The gallery below shows examples of different kinds of (en: uniforms). Patrouilleführer der k.u.k. Jägertruppe.png, Hellblaue Attila der k.u.k. Husarenl.png, Einjährig Freiw. Korporal der k.u.k. Bosnisch-Hercegowinischen Infanterie.png, Zgssfhr34.png,
(Sergeant Hungarian uniform) Stabswachtmeister der k.u.k. Traintruppe.png, Staber68.png, Fähnrich k.u.k. InfRgt 90.png, LandesschtzDienst.png, Hauptmann im k.u.k. Generalstab.png, Hauptmann im k.u.k. InfRgt 97.png, Arcieren.PNG, Kuk-Feldmarschall Gala 1918.png, K.u.k. Verpflegsakzessist.png,

Notes

Sources

* Schriften des Heeresgeschichtlichen Museums in Wien ''Das k.u.k. Heer im Jahre 1895'', Edition ''Leopold Stocker'', Graz, 1997 *Rest, Ortner, Illming ''Des Kaisers Rock im 1. Weltkrieg'', Edition ''Militaria'', Vienna, 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Army Ranks And Insignia Of The Austro-Hungarian Army

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

Austro-Hungarian Army Military ranks of Austria Military units and formations established in 1867 Military of Austria-Hungary