Uniforms and construction of the kuk infantry after 1889

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Captain of the kuk infantry regiment No. 36 in parade adjustment

The part of the Common Army of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy , commonly known as the Austro-Hungarian Infantry , only existed with this name from 1889 and had been divided into two parts since the army reform of 1867:

This article deals with the structure and personal equipment in the peace stand.

composition

In their entirety, the kuk infantry consisted of:

see also: List of kuk combat troops in July 1914

According to the organic regulations for the Austro-Hungarian infantry from 1895, each of the 102 infantry regiments was divided into:

Peaceful personnel composition of an infantry regiment:
a colonel as regimental commander four staff officers as battalion commanders
a staff officer and two captains z. b. V. five regimental or senior physicians
a regimental adjutant four battalion adjutants (subaltern officers)
an engineer officer a provisions officer (subaltern officers)
an accounting officer (senior officer) two corporal grade accounting clerks
a gunsmith 21 officer servants
Regimental music
a staff leader a regiment drum,
a battalion drum four battalion horn players
one sergeant , four corporals , five privates, 30 men, two students
Total: 21 officers, 73 NCOs and men
With the companies
16 captains 48 subaltern officers
16 ensigns 16 Sergeant
16 accounting officers 32 platoon leaders ,
96 corporals 96 private
1,120 infantrymen 64 officer servants
16 company horn players 16 company reels
Total: 64 officers, 2,488 NCOs and men
Replacement battalion cadre:
at the staff
a major as a commander two supplementary district officers
a regimental or senior physician
an accounting officer (senior officer) three corporal laborers
a staff leader a gunsmith
at the sub-department
a captain a subaltern officer
two accounting officers a corporal
six infantrymen 2 officer servants
Total: seven officers, 24 NCOs and men
Former barracks of I. Baon 28th InfRgt in Schlanders

Sidearm

In the kuk infantry, the following soldiers wielded a saber as a side weapon:

Officers carried the infantry officer's saber, which was 82 cm long and the blade was hollow-ground on both sides . The blade was double-edged at the point. The scabbard was made of sheet metal and provided with a loop iron. Two iron carrying straps were attached to the scabbard for hanging in the saber dome. The saber was always worn underneath. The portepee belonging to the saber was made of gold web and consisted of a tassel and ribbon. The tassel consisted of drooping bouillons that were gold on the outside and black on the inside. This saber was also part of the equipment of ensigns and sergeants in charge of duty .

Accounting officers, staff officers and members of the regimental music carried the M.1861 infantry saber as an edged weapon. This was 65.8 cm long and was in a leather sheath. NCOs used this saber to wear the NCO's sportepee, which was made of imperial yellow and black wool. The tassel was closed at the bottom.

The battalion and company ramboures, battalion horn players, casualty carriers, bandage carriers and driving soldiers wore the pioneer saber M.1862

Ensign German Infantry (equalization: amaranth red) Captain Hungarian Infantry (equalization: apple green)
Ensign
German Infantry (equalization: amaranth red)
Captain
Hungarian Infantry (equalization: apple green)

Adjustment

The adjustment of the teams in peace in parade:

Soldier and NCOs with parade headgear and tunic . In the summer the coat was only carried on orders. Depending on the weather, en bandouilère (rolled over the shoulder) or dressed. Always dressed in winter. Bread bags and field equipment were not taken.

The so-called march adjustment was carried out in the field. H. instead of the parade headgear the field cap and instead of the tunic the field blouse. In summer the coat was worn en bandouilère, but it was put on in the rain and in winter. Other adjustments (mountain adjustment) according to orders or the special circumstances.

Officers en parade:

Parade headgear, tunic, armband , all decorations - without the ribbons of the grand cross. When deploying in parade with the troops, in their commanded execution, but only with coats if they were put on by the crew. Mounted without backpack and revolver . If the team started with the coat en bandouilère, it had to be strapped onto the saddle. For the gala as well as the parade, depending on the order with or without the ribbons of the great cross and armband. In the field, the uniform was to be worn in the same way as the team (mounted but with boot pants).

uniform

The team chako consisted of a black felt tube with a black lacquered leather cover and a parasol. A storm strap made of black lacquered calfskin lay on the shako umbrella. At the front there was a double-headed eagle emblem made of gold-colored sheet brass, above the shakorose (national), which was formed from ribbed sheet brass. The officer's chako was made similarly, but embroidered on the outside of the screen with a 1.3 cm wide gold strip. The eagle and the buckle of the storm strap were made of gold-plated metal. The shakorose was made of shiny gold bouillons that surrounded a round, black velvet field, in which the “Most High Name” FJI was embroidered.

The shako was also used to attach distinction badges:

Distinction mark on the shako
Private: Imperial yellow-black round cord made of sheep's wool
Corporal, battalion horn player, battalion drum: 4 cm wide border made of imperial yellow sheep's wool in a zigzag pattern, a black stripe woven in on both edges
Platoon commander, staff commander, sergeant, accounting sergeant, regiment drum 4 cm wide border made of imperial yellow wool, divided into two jagged stripes by a black central line
Ensign As for platoon leaders, but made of imperial yellow silk
Lieutenant and first lieutenant 4 cm wide border made of imperial yellow gold spun in a zigzag pattern, with a black stripe woven in on both edges
Captain 4.6 cm wide border made of imperial yellow gold thread, divided into two jagged strips by a black central line
Staff officers 6.6 cm wide border made of imperial yellow gold thread, provided with a black border at the top and bottom, and divided into three stripes lengthways by two black central lines.

For the teams, the field cap was made of pike-gray cloth with a pull-down neck piece. The umbrella was made of leather. The rose is embossed from sheet brass and pierced with the letters FJI. The officer's field cap was made of fine, black cloth and roughly shaped like a shako. The shade was made of black lacquered leather. At the lower edge was a golden, black braided, square cord 8 mm wide. The rose was similar to that of the shako.

Regimental flag of the 59th Inf Rgt from the time of Emperor Franz II.

The men’s tunic was made of dark blue cloth with a collar and cuffs in the equalizing color . It had a row of 6 yellow or white buttons. In order to be able to fix the sling, each armpit had a so-called armpit clasp (shoulder flap) made of cloth in the regimental color. The shoulders were also made in the regimental color to prevent the rifle sling from slipping down. The cuffs were shaped differently. While the German regiments carried so-called "Swedish" serves (all around of the same width), the Hungarian units were equipped with curved serves. These also had a white flap in bouillon form (so-called bear paw) on the lapels.

Officer's tunics were made of finer cloth, without armpit clasps and armpit bulges. The edges of the skirt were provided with passepoils in the equalizing color. The back of the lap had two curved flaps with three buttons each.

The field blouse was the same for men and officers. It was made of pike-gray fabric and had a concealed button placket with six black-legged buttons on the front. Two breast pockets and two lap pockets were provided with curly flaps, the stand-up collar with parolis in the regimental color . There was a large metal button on each armpit and an armpit roll on the right shoulder to hold the rifle sling.

The coat for the teams consisted of pike-gray cloth with two rows of five buttons each. He had two slanted lap pockets with flaps. There were armpit braces on either side.

The officer's coat was cut like that of the men, but with six buttons and a velvet collar. The armpit clasps were omitted here, but there was a paroli in the regimental color on each side of the collar. Below the left pocket flap was an incision through which the saber was stuck. The edges of the jacket were passepoiled.

The trousers were different between the German and Hungarian regiments. The German regiments wore "pantaloons" (also ensigns of the Hungarian infantry) made of light blue cloth with two slanted thigh pockets. The Hungarian infantry had "cloth trousers" made of the same material and color as the pantaloons, but of a completely different cut. It had an ornament of round cords on both thighs, the so-called Vitéz Kötés , and the thigh seams were also provided with cords. The pants had a cut that became tighter towards the bottom and were worn tucked into the shoes with a bar. All officers (including the Hungarian ones) wore light blue pantaloons made of fine cloth. In the field, during marches and military exercises, the mounted officers had to wear boot pants with boots like those for dragoon officers.

In order to adjust the march, pike-gray trousers were generally worn.

Man armor

The personal equipment for the team (called man armor) consisted of the pattern 1881:

  • The waist strap made of brown upper leather, which was blackened on the outside. A belt lock made of matt-burnt brass with a double-headed eagle as an emblem served as a clasp .
  • The calfskin knapsack, consisting of a box-like sack with a lid and carrying frame. The sack and lid were made of rough calfskin and lined with canvas. Three leather sleeves were sewn onto the top of the back wall. With the help of a so-called needle that was pulled through these loops, the knapsack could be connected to the carrying frame. Two “leather pretzels” (rings) were sewn onto the side walls of the knapsack to which the rolled-up coat was attached. The corresponding supporting structure was made of brown leather.
Infantry in parade
  • Two cartridge pouches made of brown upper leather were attached to the waist strap by means of carrying loops that could be headed into the bottom of the pouches.
  • The bayonet in a black leather bayonet pouch and the bread sack were also attached to the waist strap. The bread sack was made of brown canvas and had a small pocket inside to hold the canteen.

In addition, the following could be ordered to be taken along:

the cartridge bag for additional rifle ammunition
the cookware (for two men each)
the spade (not for all)

Others

Marksman badge

The marksman badge was awarded for special shooting achievements (not for officers) and consisted of (carmine-red - green for hunters) dyed Isfahan wool in the form of a 4 mm thick cord with a braid, a push ball and two ball tassels. The shooting award was always worn on the top piece of uniform. It was attached with the upper loop to the button of the left armpit clasp and with the lower loop in the third button from the top of the tunic or blouse. For the coat, use the second button in the right row.
Flag tip of the IR 59

Regimental flags

In 1883 it was determined that only one flag was to be carried for each of the 102 kuk infantry regiments. For historical reasons there were regiments with white and yellow flags. The flag sheet formed a 1.32 × 1.75 m rectangle and was made of silk. On the (heraldic) front, the white flag had an image of the Immaculate Mother of God with 12 silver stars around her head, surrounded by golden lines. Woven on the back was the imperial eagle with the coats of arms of all kingdoms and countries. The latter image was on both sides of the yellow flag. The edges of both types of flags had a 12 cm wide border made of a woven border that shows alternating black-gold-red-silver flames. The flag leaf was rolled around the pole and fastened with four rows of 30 gold-plated brass nails each with hemispherical heads. Each row of nails was underlaid with a white, red, black and yellow band 1.3 cm wide. The flagpole was 2.84 m long and painted in a spiral shape in red, white, black and yellow. The flag had a linden leaf-shaped tip made of gilded brass, on both sides of which there were the initials FJI, which were raised by an imperial crown.

Sleeve badge

Non-commissioned officers and crews were given a voluntary extension of active service after three years, after six years two and nine years three sleeve stripes as an award. The badges formed an upward right angle, consisted of 1 cm wide imperial yellow silk braids with a black stripe in the middle and were attached to the underside of the left sleeve. One-year-old volunteers wore a braid in the same design around both cuffs, the Hungarians in the correspondingly changed shape.

Signaling instruments

Drums and horns were used for acoustic signaling. The drum consisted of a riveted aluminum cylinder (since 1894 - previously made of brass) 32.2 cm in diameter and 15.7 cm in height. The two eardrums were made of parchment-like calfskin. The drum was carried on a black leather strap with a double brass sleeve on the chest to accommodate the hornbeam or cherry wood drumstick. Signal horns in the F and A voices were also used. The F bugle was made of sheet brass and was 34 cm long. It served the company horn player. Signal horn A was also made of sheet brass, but only 27 cm long and was used by the battalion horn player. The signal horns were worn on cords made of imperial yellow wool mottled with black threads. They were laid twice, at each end there was a tassel with a yellow and black fringe.

Museum reception

The history of the Austro-Hungarian infantry is documented in detail in the Army History Museum in Vienna. Particularly noteworthy are the 34 uniform depictions of the Austro-Hungarian Army, painted by Oskar Brüch , which were made for the Budapest Millennium Exhibition in 1896 .

swell

  • kuk war ministry “Dislocation and division of the kuk army, kuk navy, kk landwehr and ku landwehr” in: Seidel's small army scheme - published by Seidel & Sohn Vienna 1914

literature

  • Peter Fichtenbauer , Christian Ortner : The history of the Austrian army from Maria Theresa to the present day in essays and pictorial representations. Verlag Militaria, Vienna 2015, ISBN 978-3-902526-71-7 .
  • Austrian State Archives / War Archives in Vienna (adjustment regulation for the Austro-Hungarian Army, Part II, Vienna 1911)
  • Glenn Jewison, Jörg C. Steiner: The Austro-Hungarian Land Forces 1848-1918. ( [1] ).
  • Military Science Institute (Hrsg.): Writings of the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum in Vienna. Volume 10 The Austro-Hungarian Army. Leopold Stocker Verlag, Graz 1997.

Web links

Commons : Austro-Hungarian military uniforms  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Austro-Hungarian military uniforms in details  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Manfried Rauchsteiner , Manfred Litscher (Ed.): The Army History Museum in Vienna. Graz, Vienna 2000 pp. 56-71.