Kuk infantry regiment “Viktor Emanuel III. King of Italy ”No. 28

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Imperial and royal infantry regiment "Viktor Emanuel III."

Vittorio Emanuele III (c. 1924-1934) .jpg

The regiment owner King Viktor Emanuel III.
active 1698 to 1918
Country Habsburg Monarchy , 1804 Austrian Empire , 1867 Austria-Hungary
Branch of service infantry
Location Prague
Origin of the soldiers 1915: Bohemia 95%, others 5%
owner King Victor Emmanuel III

The kuk infantry regiment “Viktor Emanuel III. King of Italy ”No. 28 was an infantry regiment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire , founded in 1698 , which was deployed in Galicia during the First World War and was disbanded in 1915 by imperial orders. In the following month, its mostly Czech troops were assigned as reserves to other large formations on the Italian Isonzo front, the regiment then obtained the right to briefly re-deploy until the end of the war in 1918.

history

Beginnings

Established: 1698

On the eve of World War I (excluding the 2nd Battalion), the regiment was part of the 5th Infantry Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division (Innsbruck), while the 2nd Battalion was part of the 18th Infantry Brigade of the 9th Infantry Division (Prague) .

Ethnic composition: 95% Czech - 5% other
Regimental language: Czech
Supplementary district command, replacement battalion cadre: Prague
Garrison: Staff, I. Baon: Prague - II. Baon: Schlanders - III. Baon: Innsbruck - IV. Baon: Malè
German uniform - leveling color: grass green - buttons: white

First World War

During the First World War, more than 90% of the regiment consisted of conscripts from Prague and the surrounding area. At the beginning of the war the regiment was part of the 5th Inf. Brigade (Major General Schneider-Mannsau ) of the 3rd Infantry Troop Division (FML Roth ), which was deployed in the XIV Army Corps in the Battle of Lemberg .

Commanding officer : Colonel Ferdinand Sedlaczek

Staff officers :
Colonel: Eduard Edler von Merten, Hugo Eckelt
Lieutenant Colonels: Alexander de Brunfaut, Friedrich Balling
Majors: Florian Schaumeier, Theodor Praschak, Rudolf Rumpel

The legend of the betrayal on Holy Saturday 1915

At the beginning of April 1915 the regiment consisted of starved and injured men who were part of the kuk III. Corps had to dig new positions in wet snow for 2 weeks after the Battle of the Carpathians . Colonels and lieutenant colonels had already withdrawn. The provisional commander Florian Schaumeier asked to be allowed to withdraw the soldiers, but was refused. During an attack by the Russian 49th Division (XXIV Army Corps), the scarce supplies were completely cut off and after a few days the regiment was almost completely wiped out.

In the official account it was reported that most of the members of the regiment deserted to the Russian side to the sounds of the regimental band. Since this representation had advantages for both warring sides, it was rumored for a long time. The Russians were able to represent the attraction of the Pan-Slavic idea and for the Austro-Hungarian army leadership the image of the "unfaithful Czechs" served as a distraction from the neglect in caring for their own soldiers. In particular, it was possible to divert attention from the fact that the much better armed 87th Infantry Regiment left the "28s" to their fate.

guide

Regimental holder

Regimental Commanders

  • Colonel Alexander von Lebzeltern (1859–1872)
  • Colonel Friedrich von Bouvard (1872)
  • Colonel Adolph Resić von Ruinsburg (1872–1876)
  • Colonel Adolph von Wenko (1876–1877)
  • Colonel Alexander Heimbach von Ethlersheim (1877–1882)
  • Colonel Alois Hauptmann (1882–1886)
  • Colonel Johann Holzbach (1886–1890)
  • Colonel Ludwig Castaldo (1890-1894)
  • Colonel Julius Weyrich von Trubenburg (1894-1889)
  • Colonel Hugo Meixner von Zweienstamm (1889–1902)
  • Colonel Heinrich Fath (1902–1907)
  • Colonel Franz Daniel (1907–1912)
  • Colonel Ferdinand Sedlaczek (1912-1914)
  • Colonel Eduard von Merten (1914–1915)
  • Colonel Maximilian Hemala (1917-1918)

literature

  • Josef Fučík: Osmadvacátníci , Mladá fronta, Praha 2006, ISBN 80-204-1376-6 .
  • Richard Lein: Duty or high treason. The Czech soldiers of Austria-Hungary in the First World War . LIT, Vienna 2011, ISBN 978-3-643-50158-5 .
  • Andreas Graf von Thürheim: Commemorative sheets from the war history of the Austro-Hungarian Army Bookshop for military literature, Vienna and Teschen 1880, p. 180 f.
  • Richard Lein: The "Betrayal" of the kuk Infantry Regiment 28th Truth or Legend? In: Aleš Skřivan, Arnold Suppan (Eds.): Prague Papers on the History International Relations . Institute of World History, 2009, ISBN 978-80-7308-296-3 , ISSN  1803-7356 , pp. 325–348 (English, cuni.cz [PDF]).

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