Heerwesen, österreichisches#

Armed Forces, Austrian: It was not until after the Thirty Years´ War in 1648, when Emperor Ferdinand III decided not to dissolve 9 foot and mounted regiments that Austria had its first permanent army. The ground for this development had been prepared by A. v. Wallenstein during the Thirty Years´ War. From the time of Maximilian I the Habsburg rulers had managed to secure their power in Europe with the help of their armies, even though the lansquenets and mercenaries were more subordinate to their mercenary leaders, warlords and commanders (the most prominent of whom was A. v. Wallenstein) than to their sovereign. Before 1648 the Austrian army had resembled more a formation of "Imperial warrior nations".

Changes introduced under field marshal R. Montecuccoli, such as better accommodation, regular rations and pay as well as the supply of military clothing ("Montur") helped the leaders of the Habsburg army, Duke Karl of Lorraine, Margrave Ludwig of Baden and Prince Eugène of Savoy to win a decisive victory over the Turkish military power in the Turkish Wars 1663/64 and 1683-99.

Reforms carried out by Prince Eugène as president of the Court Council of War, a superior military authority established in 1556 to render the Imperial-Habsburg army more powerful, resulted in the formation of modern infantry, armed with muskets and dressed in white or pearl-grey uniforms. Also created were a largely reformed heavy battle cavalry ( Dragoons and cuirassiers), a siege artillery, a field artillery and the forerunners of today´s engineer troops. Supported by an effective system of supply, the army proved successful in the big military conflicts of the first third of the 18th  century, such as the Spanish Succession, War of the 1701-14, the Kuruc Invasion 1703-11 and the Turkish war of 1716-1718. From 1720 on, a time when the Austrian territory had reached its maximum expansion, the army went through a phase of stagnation that was soon to be reflected in the military failures of the Polish Succession, War of the 1733-1735 and the Turkish War 1737-1739.As there was no comparable military leader to succeed Prince Eugène in the fight against the threats to the Habsburg empire, the loss of Parma, Piacenza and, most importantly, of the province of Silesia in the Austrian Succession, War of the and in the first Silesian Wars was unavoidable. Still, the motivation of the Austrian army by Maria Theresia, the increased employment of Hungarian troops and regiments from the area of the Military Border (created 1537), as well as the leadership talent of field marshals O. F. Abensberg-Traun and L. A. Khevenhueller helped maintain the territorial integrity of the Habsburg empire. The attempt to win back Silesia in the Seven Years' War, during which field marshals L. Daun and E. G. Laudon achieved major victories against the Prussian army, failed. The internal development of the Austrian army was given new impetus in the second half of the 18th  century with the introduction of new regulations in 1748 (field marshal Daun), the foundation of the Theresianische Military Academy 1752 for the improvement and standardisation of officers´ training and the introduction of the Military Maria-Theresa Order as highest bravery award for officers 1757. New reforms were introduced by Count F. M. Lacy. The infantry regiments, which had until then been named after their leaders, were given serial numbering in 1769 (1-59, plus 16 border infantry regiments); recruiting was considerably improved by the system of conscription introduced in 1771 even though numerous exceptional provisions delayed the introduction of universal compulsory military service.

In view of the heavy defeats suffered by Austria and its coalition powers (who had standing armies) from 1792 on against the army of the French Republic, which could rely on large numbers of soldiers recruited by universal compulsory military service, Archduke Karl, from 1801 president of the Court Council of War, introduced more reforms. Service for soldiers in the regiments of the Austrian patrimonial lands and Galicia was reduced to 12 or 14 years, depending on the branch of service, the scientific and theoretical education of officers was improved (the "Oesterreichische Militaerische Zeitschrift" magazine was established), the Landwehr was formed in 1808 and a separate army corps was created. Consequently, in the war of 1809, the Austrian army proved to be an opponent to be reckoned with, despite its defeat by Napoleon. In the Wars of Liberation (1813/14) field marshal Prince K. Schwarzenberg with his chief-of-staff, field marshal lieutenant Count J. Radetzky led the allied troops to victory over the French army in the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig ( Napoleonic Wars).

After the Napoleonic Wars the size of the Austrian army was drastically reduced, its chief function was to suppress revolutionary tendencies on Italian territory. Once again the army was subject to structural changes: in 1815 conscription was extended to the Tirol and to Vorarlberg, in 1830 life service for the Hungarian regiments was abolished, one year later the landwehr battalions were integrated into the infantry regiments as 4th and 5th battalions. The system of "substitution" was still in use and conscripts could still buy themselves out of service (500 Gulden); "substitution" was not outlawed until 1851. The exemption of the aristocracy from military service was lifted in 1848.

The revolutionary years of 1848/49, during which the Imperial army under the leadership of J. Radetzky, A. Windisch-Graetz, J. Jellačič and J. v. Haynau managed to secure the territorial integrity of the monarchy by employment of maximum military action against internal and external enemies (Piedmont-Sardinia), once again resulted in large-scale changes in the structure of leadership. The Court Council of War, with its sluggish system of collective responsibility and competence, was replaced by a ministry of war; a supreme command of the army existed from 1851 until 1861, when the minister of war resumed his vital function as a link between the monarch, the army and parliament. The rather inefficient institution of corps of adjutants was united with the staff of quartermaster general in 1865 to form the new general staff; as chief-of-staff, its leader was given the privilege to report to the emperor in person in 1875.

The Sardinian War of 1859 and the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, which Austria lost, led to further reforms in the Imperial army. The Compromise with Hungary also resulted in radical changes within the Austrian army. The separate administration of the two parts of the empire called for the creation of a common imperial ministry of war responsible for the administration of their common army. In accordance with the Army Act of 1868, landwehrs - the imperial landwehr and the royal Hungarian Honved - were established in both parts of the empire; their primary function was to defend the territory. 12 years of compulsory military service were introduced for the entire male population of the monarchy (between the ages of 21 and 42), 3 years of which were active service in the imperial army. Also, the two parts of the country formed their own reserve forces. Graduates of secondary schools were given the opportunity to qualify for a career as officer in the reserve by becoming "Einjaehrig-Freiwillige". With the passing of the new military service act in 1889 the organisation of the military system of the monarchy entered into its final stage before the outbreak of World War I. In times of peace the army consisted of 16 corps with 110 infantry regiments (among them 4 Tiroler Kaiserjaeger rifle regiments and 4 infantry regiments from Bosnia-Hercegovina), 26 Feldjaeger infantry battalions, 42 cavalry regiments and 14 artillery brigades as well as one railway and telegraph regiment. In addition there was a total of 72 landwehr infantry regiments (3 of which were Tiroler Landesschuetzen rifle regiments- from 1917 called Kaiserschuetzen). Uniforms and arms changed a lot in the years before 1914; the blue uniforms of the infantry, introduced after 1868, were replaced by blue-grey ones after 1909; modern semi-automatic rifles and machine guns were introduced in the infantry, the artillery was equipped with a large number of guns with barrel recoil. At the outbreak of World War I the air force was still in its early stages.

In the second half of 1914 almost 2.5 million reservists were called up, in addition to the peace establishment of 415,000. At the end of 1918 approx. 8 million soldiers from the Habsburg monarchy served in the army, more than 1 million did not come back from the war, more than 1.5 million returned home, often after many years of imprisonment. For the military system after 1918, Federal Armed Forces.

Literature#