Austria-Hungary's troops on the Western Front (First World War)

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Austria-Hungary's troops on the Western Front werepart of the military support of the German Reich during World War I and were deployed in Belgium and France .

history

Little is known about the participation of units of the Austro-Hungarian Army in the operations on the Western Front between 1914 and 1918 , albeit not that great .

Altogether three phases of the deployment of Austro-Hungarian units on the western front can be identified.

Summer 1914

30.5 cm Skoda motor mortar.

At the request of the German General Staff , two units of the heavy artillery of the Austro-Hungarian Army had been relocated to Belgium on August 21, 1914 .

The two kuk half battalions " Krakau " and " Görz - Wippach ", each equipped with two batteries of two 30.5 cm Skoda motor mortars , were initially mainly involved in fighting down individual forts of the Belgian forts of Namur (until August 25, 1914 ) and the siege of Antwerp (until October 9, 1914). Interestingly, this happened a week before Austria-Hungary declared war on Belgium on August 28, 1914.

One half battalion consisted of the 3rd and 4th batteries of the kuk fortress artillery regiment No. 2 in Cracow , the other of the 7th and 8th batteries of the kuk fortress artillery regiment No. 8 near Gorizia .

After the short-term use of these artillery batteries on the Ypres Front , in the area northwest of Verdun and west of Metz , the batteries withdrew to the Austro-Hungarian armed forces in March and May 1915 and were now used on three fronts.

Spring 1918

38 cm siege howitzer M 16

In February 1918, Austro-Hungarian artillery units were relocated to the Western Front to support various German armies. These were the Austro-Hungarian Heavy Field Artillery Regiments No. 25, 59 and 206 as well as the Austro-Hungarian Heavy Field Artillery Regiments No. 45 and 54. Furthermore, a battery of the Austro-Hungarian Heavy Field Artillery Regiment No. 2 and a battery of the Austro-Hungarian Heavy Artillery Regiment No. 6 (with a 38 cm Howitzer ). Growing problems with the ammunition supply, however, led to the gradual relocation of some units back to Austria-Hungary after the initial phase of the Great Battle in France .

Summer 1918

At the insistence of the German Supreme Army Command , the kuk XVIII was established from June 4, 1918. Corps under the command of Lieutenant Field Marshal Ludwig Goiginger with a total of four divisions (kuk 1st Infantry Division , kuk 35th Infantry Division, ku 37th Infantry Division, kk 106th Landsturm Division ) moved in 234 train transports to the German western front. In addition, other artillery formations were balloon companies , and even 15,000 Russian prisoners of war march set. Initially it was planned to send all four divisions to the Verdun area , where they should be familiarized with the peculiarities of the Western theater of war. To increase their firepower, they were equipped with 200 captured light British Lewis type machine guns per division. The kuk western stage was set up in Arlon as a logistical base .

The combat area of ​​the kuk 35th Infantry Division near St. Mihiel (France) in September 1918.

Interestingly, the already massive national tensions in the Austro-Hungarian army on the western front in the summer of 1918 hardly had any impact.

During the first time after the arrival of the kuk 1st and kuk 35th infantry divisions at the front, the American-French major attack on the St. Mihiel front arch began on September 12th . The kuk 35th Infantry Division deployed in the area of ​​the German Army Division C suffered very high losses. They lost a total of around 3,300 men.

Deployment of the Austro-Hungarian 1st Infantry Division north of Verdun in October 1918.

The enormous material superiority of the Entente was to prove itself again in the following battles between October 8th and 11th in the Orne sector. Here the troops of the kuk XVIII. Corps, which were now subordinate to the German army group Maas Ost, embroiled in heavy fighting with US troops . Although a complete breakthrough of the Allied units could be prevented together with German units, the balance sheet of the Austro-Hungarian troops was ultimately devastating. After the temporary end of the fighting it became clear that if the Entente were to attack this dimension, which would involve similarly high losses, soon there would be nothing left of the troops. The losses of the Austro-Hungarian 1st Infantry Division had already exceeded 5,000 men from October 1st to 13th, that was over 55 percent of the number of meals at the beginning of the fighting. At the end of October 1918, the division had only 2,700 combat troops. A few days later, almost 400 soldiers suffering from gas sickness had to be taken from the front again.

Of the kk 106th Landsturm Division , only the kk Landsturminfanterieregiment No. 25 and the kk Storm Battalion No. 106, which are subordinate to the German 7th Reserve Division , fought against US units until mid-October.

The ku 37th Honved Infantry Division had been relocated to the area south of Strasbourg in the first half of September and placed under the German Army Group, Duke Albrecht . However, it was no longer used, but was mainly used for building positions .

Exactly eight days after Ludendorff's demand to send four more Austro-Hungarian divisions to the Western Front, the Allied offensive on the Piave on the Italian front began on October 24th . Therefore, in the first week of November, in view of the critical situation on the Austro-Hungarian fronts, the first units of the Austro-Hungarian troops on the western front were prepared for relocation.

The corps command had already been transferred to Arlon on November 3 and to Diedenhofen on November 10 . The Austro-Hungarian divisions were quickly withdrawn from the front and assembled southwest of Diedenhofen by November 10th. Already at this point there was a separation into different national transport squadrons within the divisions, which were supposed to bring the soldiers back to their now independent nation states. Only the ku 37th Honvédinfanteriedivision, which is spatially separated from the other divisions, was moved back to Hungary by rail by November 16 .

Call for surrender in German and Hungarian.

First, the associations began their march back to the Rhine on foot. Between November 18 and 25, the corps command and the three remaining divisions reached the Karlsruhe - Germersheim area . Due to the completely inadequate transport situation, the march back to the Neckar in the Heilbronn area continued on foot in largely maintained military order until November 27 . In the following two days it was finally possible to get home by train. By the evening of November 29, the last Austro-Hungarian troops of the de facto defunct Austro-Hungarian army had left Germany.

In summary, it can be stated that the deployment of the Austro-Hungarian troops on the Western Front had no lasting effect on the events of the fighting. They could only insignificantly delay the Allied advance.

The losses of the Austro-Hungarian troops on the Western Front in 1918 amounted to 779 dead, 2,139 wounded, 5,403 prisoners of war and missing, and 10,974 sick in just under two months.

Outline on October 15, 1918

kuk XVIII. Corps Command

Commander: Lieutenant Field Marshal Ludwig Goiginger
The corps was subordinate to the German Army Group Gallwitz and commanded the Ornes section near Verdun.

kk 106th Landsturm Division

Commander: Lieutenant Field Marshal Karl Kratky
The division was under the kuk XVIII. Corps and fought in the Ornes sector near Verdun.
  • kk division staff
  • Imperial and Royal Storm Battalion No. 106
  • kk 20th Landsturm Infantry Brigade
    • kk Landsturm Infantry Regiment No. 31
    • kk Landsturm Infantry Regiment No. 32
  • kk 211th Landsturm Infantry Brigade
    • kk Landsturm Infantry Regiment No. 6
    • kk Landsturm Infantry Regiment No. 25
  • Reserve squadron of the Austro-Hungarian Uhlan Regiment No. 1
  • 4th battery of the kuk field artillery regiment No. 206
  • 6. Battery of the Austro-Hungarian Field Artillery Regiment No. 306
  • 2nd company of the Austro- Hungarian Sappeur Battalion No. 16

kuk 1st Infantry Division

Commanding officer: Lieutenant Field Marshal Joseph Metzger
The division was deployed with the German V. Reserve Corps and fought in the Brabant subsection near Verdun.
  • kuk division staff
  • Imperial and Royal Storm Battalion No. 1
  • kuk 1st Infantry Brigade
    • Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment No. 5
    • Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment No. 61
  • kuk 2nd Infantry Brigade
    • Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment No. 112
    • kuk Feldjäger Battalion No. 17
    • kuk Feldjäger Battalion No. 25
    • kuk Feldjäger Battalion No. 31
  • 2nd squadron of the ku Honvédhusar Regiment No. 10
  • kuk 1st field artillery brigade
    • Austro-Hungarian field artillery regiment No. 1
    • Austro-Hungarian field artillery regiment No. 101
    • kuk Heavy Field Artillery Regiment No. 1
    • Imperial and Royal Mountain Artillery Department No. 1
  • kuk sapper battalion No. 1
  • kuk balloon company No. 13

kuk 35th Infantry Division

Commander: Lieutenant Field Marshal Eugen von Podhoránszky
The division was used by the German Army Department C and fought at the Combreshöhe.
  • kuk division staff
  • Imperial and Royal Storm Battalion No. 35
  • kuk 69th Infantry Brigade
    • Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment No. 62
    • kuk infantry regiment No. 64
  • kuk 70th Infantry Brigade
    • Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment No. 51
    • Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment No. 63
  • 6th squadron of the ku Honvédhusar Regiment No. 4
  • kuk 35th Field Artillery Brigade
    • 1st to 5th battery of the Austro-Hungarian Field Artillery Regiment No. 35
    • Austro-Hungarian field artillery regiment No. 135
    • Imperial and Royal Field Artillery Regiment No. 35
    • Imperial and Royal Mountain Artillery Department No. 35
    • 3rd mortar battery of the Austro-Hungarian Heavy Artillery Regiment No. 1
  • kuk sapper battalion No. 35
  • kuk balloon company No. 27

ku 37th Honvéd Infantry Division

Commander: Lieutenant Field Marshal Johann Haber
The division was deployed in the German army group Duke Albrecht von Württemberg in Alsace .
  • ku division staff
  • ku Storm Battalion No. 37
  • ku 73rd Honved Infantry Brigade
    • ku Honvéd Infantry Regiment No. 13
    • ku Honvéd Infantry Regiment No. 18
  • kuk 74th Infantry Brigade
    • ku Honvéd Infantry Regiment No. 14
    • ku Honvéd Infantry Regiment No. 15
  • 5th Squadron of the Austro-Hungarian Hussar Regiment No. 4
  • ku 37th Field Artillery Brigade
    • 6. Battery of the ku Honvédfeldartillerieregiment No. 37
    • ku Honvédfeldartillerieregiment No. 137
    • ku Honvéd Mountain Artillery Department No. 37
  • 1st company of the Austro-Hungarian Sappeur Battalion No. 37

kuk IX. Corps Command

Commander: Lieutenant Field Marshal Joseph Schneider Edler von Manns-Au
The corps was in the process of formation in Strasbourg.

kuk stage west

Commanding officer: Colonel Edmund Ritter von Wallerstein

Austro-Hungarian units divided into German troops

  • Imperial and Royal Field Artillery Regiment No. 11
  • Imperial and Royal Field Artillery Regiment No. 54
  • Imperial and Royal Field Artillery Regiment No. 59
  • Imperial and Royal Field Artillery Regiment No. 72
  • Imperial and Royal Mountain Artillery Regiment No. 8
  • 1st, 3rd and 12th batteries of the Austro-Hungarian Heavy Artillery Regiment No. 1
  • 10. Battery of the Austro-Hungarian Heavy Artillery Regiment No. 6
  • 13th battery of the Austro-Hungarian Heavy Artillery Regiment No. 8
  • 1st and 2nd battery of the Austro-Hungarian Heavy Artillery Regiment No. 9
  • 10. Battery of the Austro-Hungarian Heavy Artillery Regiment No. 10
  • 14th battery of the Austro-Hungarian Heavy Artillery Regiment No. 11

A total of 45 ¾ infantry battalions, four cavalry squadrons, 96 artillery batteries, eight technical companies and two balloon companies with a total of around 18,000 fire rifles, 400 horsemen and 360 guns stood on the German western front.

proof

swell

Austrian State Archives Vienna : New field files

literature

  • Austrian Federal Ministry for the Army and War Archives. Under the direction of Edmund Glaise-Horstenau (Ed.): Austria-Hungary's Last War 1914–1918 , Volume VII with supplements, Verlag der Militärwissenschaftlichen Mitteilungen, Vienna 1938 ( digitized version )
  • Wolfgang Etschmann: Austria-Hungary between commitment and restraint. Kuk troops on the Western Front , in Jörg Duppler and Gerhard P. Groß on behalf of the Military History Research Office: End of war 1918. Event, effect, aftermath., R. Oldenbourg Verlag Munich 1999, p. 97ff, ISBN 3-486-56443-9
  • Friedrich von Franek : K. and k. Troops in the West , Military Science Communications, Vienna 1931, May & June issue
  • Peter Jung : The Austro-Hungarian Forces in World War I (2) 1916-18 , Men-at-Arms-Series, Osprey Military No. 397, Osprey, London 2003, ISBN 978-1-84176-595-2
  • Jean-Claude Laparra: Le prix de l'alliance: Les Austro-Hongrois sur le front Ouest , Ysec Editions, Louviers 2002, ISBN 2-84673-017-2
  • Maximilian Polatschek: Austro-Hungarian troops on the Western Front 1914-1918 , dissertation, Vienna 1974

Web links

The Austro-Hungarian Army on the "German" front

Remarks

  1. ↑ Used by the German 7th Reserve Division.
  2. ↑ Was assigned to the division.