!!!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 18%%sup th/%
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 18%%sup th/% 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 4%%sup th/% and 5%%sup th/% 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
J. Christoph Allmayer-Beck, Die kaiserlichen
Kriegsvoelker, 1978; J. Christoph Allmayer-Beck, Das Heer unter dem
Doppeladler, 1981; Die Habsburgermonarchie 1848-1918, vol. V,
ed. by A. Wandruszka and P. Urbanitsch, 1987; M. Rauchensteiner,
Der Tod des Doppeladlers, 1992.
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