The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the

Austro-Hungarian 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 ...

Dual Monarchy Dual monarchy occurs when two separate kingdoms are ruled by the same monarch, follow the same foreign policy, exist in a customs union with each other, and have a combined military but are otherwise self-governing. The term is typically us ...

from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army (, "

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 ...

", recruited from all parts of the country), the Imperial Austrian Landwehr (recruited from

Cisleithania Cisleithania, also ''Zisleithanien'' sl, Cislajtanija hu, Ciszlajtánia cs, Předlitavsko sk, Predlitavsko pl, Przedlitawia sh-Cyrl-Latn, Цислајтанија, Cislajtanija ro, Cisleithania uk, Цислейтанія, Tsysleitaniia it, Cislei ...

), and the

Royal Hungarian Honvéd The Royal Hungarian ( hu, Magyar Királyi Honvédség) or Royal Hungarian (german: königlich ungarische Landwehr), commonly known as the (; collectively, the ), was one of the four armed forces (german: Bewaffnete Macht, links=no or ) of ...

(recruited from

Transleithania The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen ( hu, a Szent Korona Országai), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River) were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire exis ...

). In the wake of fighting between the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

and the

Hungarian Kingdom The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

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 Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungar ...

the new tripartite army was brought into being. It existed until the disestablishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

in 1918. The joint "Imperial and Royal Army" ( 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 White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

infantry uniforms were replaced in the later half of the 19th century with dark blue tunics, 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 ''Feldgrau'' (English: field-grey) is a grayish green color. It was the official basic color of military uniforms of the German armed forces from the early 20th century until 1945 (West Germany) or 1989 (East Germany). Armed forces of other cou ...

was adopted as the new official uniform colour. 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 Franz Künstler ( hu, Künstler Ferenc, 24 July 1900 – 27 May 2008) was, at age 107, the last known surviving veteran of the First World War who fought for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Following the death of 110-year-old Ottoman veteran Yakup S ...

, 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 Archduke Albrecht Friedrich Rudolf Dominik of Austria, Duke of Teschen (3 August 1817 – 18 February 1895), was an Austrian Habsburg general. He was the grandson of Emperor Leopold II and one of the chief military advisors of Emperor Francis ...

, who was the cousin of the Emperor Franz Joseph and his leading advisor in military affairs. According to historians

John Keegan Sir John Desmond Patrick Keegan (15 May 1934 – 2 August 2012) was an English military historian, lecturer, author and journalist. He wrote many published works on the nature of combat between prehistory and the 21st century, covering land, ...

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. In the wake of defeat in the 1866

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

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

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

in 1902. The most significant action by soldiers of the Dual Monarchy in this period was the

Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The campaign to establish Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina lasted from 29 July to 20 October 1878 against the local resistance fighters supported by the Ottoman Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Army entered the country in two large mov ...

in the summer of 1878. When troops under the command of

Josip Filipović Josip Filipović, ''Freiherr'' (Baron) von Philippsberg, also Josef von Philippovich or Joseph Philippovich (April 1818 – 6 August 1889), was an Austro-Hungarian general (''Feldzeugmeister''). Life and career Filipović was born in the Milita ...

and

Stjepan Jovanović Stjepan Jovanović (Stephan ''Freiherr'' (Baron) von Jovanovich; 5 January 1828 – 8 December 1885) was a military commander of the Austrian Empire from the Military Frontier. Jovanović was born in the village of Pazarište near Gospić in Lika ...

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 Maglaj ( sr-cyrl, Маглај) is a town and municipality located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, south of Doboj. It ...

and

Tuzla Tuzla (, ) is the third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inhabitants. Tuzla is the economic, cultural, ed ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajev ...

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.

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 France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

, each of which could field more than one million men. 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 Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, 0.35% in Russia and 0.75% in

. The 1889 army law was not revised until 1912, which allowed for an increase in annual conscriptions. 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 , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, 223

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ural ...

, 135

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...

, 85 Poles, 81

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Or ...

, 70

Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, ...

and

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their ...

, 61

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...

, 38

Slovaks The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovak. In Slovakia, 4.4 ...

, 26

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, History ...

, and 14

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = Flag of Italy, The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , ...

. 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 The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In 1896, out of 1000 officers, 791 were Roman Catholics, 86

Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, 84

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

, 39

Greek-Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

, and one

Uniate The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...

. 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. While the Jewish population of the lands of the Dual Monarchy 4.4% including

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

), Jews made up nearly 18% of the reserve officer corps. 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 Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washingto ...

and

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

sometimes expressed anti-Jewish sentiments. Franz Ferdinand was also accused (by Conrad) of discriminating against Protestant officers.

Linguistics and translations

Josef Klaus Krönung Kaiser Franz Josephs I

The

Empire often suffered from a lack of military interpreters, and proved to be a

major force Major Force (Clifford Zmeck) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Major Force is the evil counterpart of the superhero Captain Atom. Publication history Major Force first appeared in ''Captain Atom'' (vol. 3) #12 (Fe ...

in the partial dysfunctioning and blunders of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Nearly all

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

of the upper ranks spoke

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

(specifically

Austrian German Austrian German (german: Österreichisches Deutsch), Austrian Standard German (ASG), Standard Austrian German (), or Austrian High German (), is the variety of Standard German written and spoken in Austria. It has the highest sociolinguistic p ...

), and because only a fraction of soldiers spoke German, this produced a logistical obstacle for organizing the military. Likewise the lack of

mutual intelligibility In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as a ...

between speakers of Hungarian and

led to a feeling of resentment by many non-Austrian soldiers. The delivery of

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

was particularly ineffective, and the

bureaucratic The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...

and

dysfunctional Abnormality (or dysfunctional behavior) is a behavioral characteristic assigned to those with conditions that are regarded as rare or dysfunctional. Behavior is considered to be abnormal when it is atypical or out of the ordinary, consists of un ...

system led to individual

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

units becoming isolated from the overall high command. This in turn led ethnic tensions and

political violence Political violence is violence which is perpetrated in order to achieve political goals. It can include violence which is used by a state against other states ( war), violence which is used by a state against civilians and non-state actors ( forc ...

in the empire, as such language battalions began instigating

mutinies Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among members ...

and revolts against the Austrian commanders, whom they saw as out of touch.

Desertion Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), whic ...

and revolts were most common amongst Slavic battalions, particularly the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

- Slovakian battalions, however all battalions during the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

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.

Funding and equipment

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. 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. While the budget continued to rise—from 262 million crowns in 1895 to 306 million in 1906—this was still far less ''

per capita ''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". The term is used in a wide variety of social sciences and statistical research contexts, including government statistic ...

'' than for other major European states, including Italy, and about on par with Russia, which had a much larger population. 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. In the emerging field of

military aviation Military aviation comprises military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift ( air cargo) capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a war thea ...

, Austria-Hungary lagged behind other European states. While

balloon A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or li ...

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. 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 th the amount spent by France. Austria-Hungary entered the war with only 48 first-line aircraft.

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: * General Staff (

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) ** I. Army Corps (

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...

) ** II. Army Corps (

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) ** III. Army Corps (

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popu ...

) ** IV. Army Corps (

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

) ** V. Army Corps (

Pozsony Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

) ** VI. Army Corps ( Kassa) ** VII. Army Corps ( Temesvár) ** VIII. Army Corps (

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

) ** IX. Army Corps ( Leitmeritz) ** X. Army Corps (

Przemyśl Przemyśl (; yi, פשעמישל, Pshemishl; uk, Перемишль, Peremyshl; german: Premissel) is a city in southeastern Poland with 58,721 inhabitants, as of December 2021. In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was pr ...

) ** XI. Army Corps (

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

) ** XII. Army Corps (

Nagyszeben Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the ...

) ** XIII. Army Corps (

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

) ** XIV. Army Corps ( Innsbruck) ** XV. Army Corps (

) and ** XVI. Army Corps (

Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...

) The Austrian part of the monarchy (officially called ''Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council'', unofficially and for short ''

'') 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 The Imperial-Royal Landwehr (german: kaiserlich-königliche Landwehr or ''k.k. Landwehr''), also called the Austrian Landwehr, was the territorial army of the Cisleithanian or Austrian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1869 to 1918. Its cou ...

and its: *

Landwehr ''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortificatio ...

High Command (

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) ** Landwehr Garrison Command in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

** Landwehr Command in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

** Landwehr Command in

** Landwehr Command in Leitmeritz ** Landwehr Command in

** Landwehr Command in

Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to: Places Croatia * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...

** Landwehr Defence Command in Innsbruck ** Higher Authority for National Defence in

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 ...

and

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 ...

(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

) 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 (

) ** Royal Hungarian I.

Honvéd District Command ** Royal Hungarian II.

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...

Honvéd District Command ** Royal Hungarian III. Kassa Honvéd District Command ** Royal Hungarian IV.

Honvéd District Command ** Royal Hungarian V.

Kolozsvár ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , l ...

Honvéd District Command ** Royal Hungarian VI.

Croat-Slavonian District Command (the

Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia ( hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija; hu, Horvát-Szlavónország or ; de-AT, Königreich Kroatien und Slawonien) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation with ...

was in personal union with Hungary, including a local Croat-Slavonian Homeguard (Landwehr in German), incorporated into the Honvéd as its sixth territorial district)

Austro-Hungarian Army in July 1914

* 36,000

Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," ...

s * 414,000 NCOs and troops * 120,000 horses (estimate) * 1,200 artillery pieces Official designations were as follows: * regiments of 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 ...

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 The Imperial-Royal Landwehr (german: kaiserlich-königliche Landwehr or ''k.k. Landwehr''), also called the Austrian Landwehr, was the territorial army of the Cisleithanian or Austrian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1869 to 1918. Its cou ...

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 Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the assignme ...

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 Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

. By 1914, however, Franz Josef was 84 years old and the chief of staff,

Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, 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 Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen (Friedrich Maria Albrecht Wilhelm Karl; 4 June 1856 – 30 December 1936) was a member of the House of Habsburg and the supreme commander of the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I. Early life Frie ...

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 Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

decided to assume the office himself.

Common Army

The

(''k.u.k.—

kaiserlich und königlich The phrase Imperial and Royal (German: ''kaiserlich und königlich'', ), typically abbreviated as ''k. u. k.'', ''k. und k.'', ''k. & k.'' in German (the "und" is always spoken unabbreviated), ''cs. és k. (császári és királyi)'' in Hungari ...

'') 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 Bosnians (Bosnian language: / ; / , / ) are people identified with the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina or with the region of Bosnia. As a common demonym, the term ''Bosnians'' refers to all inhabitants/citizens of the country, regardless ...

(''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 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 sieges, ...

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 Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat ...

(''Dragoner''), 16 regiments of

hussars A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

(Husaren), 11 regiments of

lancers A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...

(Ulanen) * 16 transport battalions (railway) * 23

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

battalions (''Sappeure/Pioniere''), 1 bridge construction battalion (''Brücken Bataillon''), 1 railway regiment (''Eisenbahn-Regiment''), 1 telegraph regiment (''Telegraphen-Regiment'')

Imperial-Royal Landwehr

The

(''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

(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

The

Royal Hungarian Landwehr Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

(''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 In German-speaking countries, the term ''Landsturm'' was historically used to refer to militia or military units composed of troops of inferior quality. It is particularly associated with Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, German Empire, Germany, Aus ...

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 The ''Standschützen'' (singular: ''Standschütze'' The German noun ''Standschütze'' is a so-called nominal composition, composed of the nouns ''Stand-'' (en = social position, standing, status) and ''-Schütze'' (en = rifle man). In the Imperi ...

(singular: ''Standschütze''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.) 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 The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised pr ...

. A ''Standschütze'' was a member of a ''Schützenstand'' ("shooting club"), into which he was enrolled,''enrolliert'' is the Austrian military jargon for "enrolled" (from the

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligi ...

''enroller''). which automatically committed him to the voluntary, military protection of the state of

(and

). In effect they were a type of Tyrolean local

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

or home guard.

Ranks and rank insignia

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent conte ...

Other ranks

The rank insignia of

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

s and

enlisted personnel An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States m ...

Types of uniforms

File:K.u.k. Bosnisch-Herceowinischer Infanterist in Paradeadjustierung.png,

Bosnian-Herzegovinian Infantry The Bosnian-Herzegovinian Infantry (german: Bosnisch-Hercegovinische Infanterie), commonly called the ''Bosniaken'' (German for Bosniaks), were a branch of the Austro-Hungarian Army. Recruited from outside the Austrian and Hungarian regions of th ...

File:K.u.k. Hauptmann der deutschen Infanterie in Dienstadjustierung.png, Infantry officer in service dress File:K.k. Gebirgsinfanterie in Marschadjustierung nach 1907.png, Mountain Rifles soldier in battle dress File:K.u. Honved Husar.png, Hussar of the Honvéd File:Olt gardeinf Kopie.png, Captain of the Life Guard Infantry File:K.u.k. Sanfw.png, Master-Sergeant of the Medical Corps File:Unterjäger der k.u.k. Jägertruppe in Parade.png, Rifle infantryman in parade dress File:K.u.k. Flügeladjutant.png, Adjutant of His Majesty the Emperor File:K.u.k. Sappeur in Marschadjustierung.png, Engineer in battle dress File:K.u.k. Feldartillerie - Marschadjustierung bis 1910.png, Field artillery officer File:HptmMPWachk.png, Captain of the Military Police Corps File:K.u.k. Dragoner in Marschadjustierung.png, Dragoon (battle dress and parade dress for enlisted men) File:K.u.k. Dragoneroffizier in Parade.png, Dragoon officer

References

External links

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 & Jörg C. Steiner

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080228163548/http://www.oesta.gv.at/Docs/2007/6/5/K_k_%20bzw_%20k_u_k_%20Generale%201816-1918.pdf Generals of Austria and Hungary, 1816-1918
Antique Photography & Postcards of Austro-Hungarian army 1866-1918
{{Military of Austria-Hungary 1867 establishments in Austria-Hungary Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 Military units and formations established in 1867

From the Compromise of 1867 to the World War

Planning and operations

Size and ethnic and religious composition

Linguistics and translations

Funding and equipment

Command Structure

Austro-Hungarian Army in July 1914

Common Army

Imperial-Royal Landwehr

Royal Hungarian Landwehr

Landsturm

Standschützen

Ranks and rank insignia

Commissioned officer ranks

Other ranks

Types of uniforms

See also

References

Further reading

In German

External links