kuk war ministry

The holder of the supreme command, Emperor Franz Joseph I , in the parade adjustment of the hunters' troops.

The kuk War Ministry , based in Vienna , until 1911 the War Ministry called, was 1867-1918 chief administrative instance of the common army , (in peacetime often shared ) army called, and the Navy Austria-Hungary .

The army provided the majority of the land forces of Austria-Hungary , which also included the land forces subordinate to the national defense ministers in Vienna and Budapest and the Landsturm. Army, Landwehr, Landsturm and Kriegsmarine formed the “armed power” or “Wehrmacht” of the dual monarchy under the supreme command of the monarch.

The Ministry was in Schematismus under the heading of central management and military authorities conducted. At the head was the Austro-Hungarian War Minister (until September 20, 1911 Reich Minister of War ), who was subordinate to the commander in chief and was appointed and removed by the monarch.

The War Department was not responsible for:

• the Royal Hungarian Landwehr ( királyi Honvédség or just Honvéd ); it was under the Budapest government
• the Imperial-Royal Landwehr (in Cisleithanien), which was subordinate to the Imperial and Royal Ministry of Defense .

The two land forces emerged as a compromise with Hungary, which sought a Hungarian army that was independent of the Vienna government. However, the number of recruits from the two land forces combined made up only a small proportion of all recruits.

Development until 1867

Until May 31, 1848, the Court War Council was the central military authority in the Austrian Empire . It was converted into a war ministry on June 1, 1848 , without first affecting the organizational structure. However, especially against the background of the revolution of 1848/1849 in the Austrian Empire , his competencies remained unclear. When the first Minister of War Theodor Baillet von Latour was assassinated in October 1848, his position remained vacant for weeks, while regional military commanders such as Field Marshals Josef Radetzky and Alfred zu Windisch-Graetz had extensive powers. Only after the fighting did the new Emperor Franz Joseph I define the military leadership structure in more detail in October 1849: The War Ministry was to take care of administration, the Quartermaster General was to take care of operational management, and the Military Central Chancellery was to take care of fundamental issues and personnel policy. The restriction posed a problem insofar as the war minister was initially responsible to parliament (until the constitution was repealed in 1851 ) and had to represent matters there that were beyond his decision-making power.

The most powerful position was now taken by the military central chancellery under Karl Ludwig von Grünne , under whose influence the War Ministry lost more and more powers and was finally dissolved completely in 1853. In its place came the Army High Command under Archduke Wilhelm , which accumulated many competencies but nevertheless tended to be inefficient. This became evident in the war against Sardinia and France (→ Sardinian War ), and as a result the Army High Command was dissolved in October 1859 and replaced by a new War Ministry. The new minister of war had extensive powers and, in addition to the head of the military chancellery and the commanding generals, an immediate right to act. Since the General Quartermaster's Staff was also subordinate to him, from then on he directed the administration, organization and operations of the military.

Minister of War 1848–1867

• Theodor Baillet von Latour (June 1 - October 6, 1848)
• Franz von Cordon (November 21, 1848 - June 2, 1849)
• Ferencz József Gyulay (June 3, 1849 - July 15, 1850)
• Anton Csorich of Monte Creto (July 16, 1850 - March 7, 1853)
• Wilhelm of Austria (March 8, 1853 - October 19, 1860); as chief of the army high command
• August von Degenfeld-Schonburg (October 20, 1860 - February 19, 1864)
• Karl von Franck (February 20, 1864 - November 29, 1866)
• Franz von John (November 30, 1866 - December 20, 1867)

minister

The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 stipulated the matters that the two states of the dual monarchy had in common and would therefore be administered in joint ministries. The equalization laws came into force on December 21, 1867.

A joint Reich Ministry of War was planned , but the Hungarians rejected this designation. Therefore, from 1874 the term Joint War Ministry was used. It was only after the change of minister on September 20, 1911 that the relevant minister was named kuk war minister, in accordance with a Hungarian demand . This was still appointed and removed by the monarch without the involvement of other constitutional organs. He formed the Council of Ministers for common affairs of both parts of the Real Union of Austria-Hungary with the kuk Minister of the Imperial and Royal House and Foreign Affairs as chairman, the Reich Finance Minister, later called Joint Finance Minister , and the two Prime Ministers . The minister had the right to speak to the monarch.

The following ministers acted:

• Franz von John (Imperial and Royal Minister of War November 30, 1866, Reich Minister of War December 21, 1867– January 18, 1868)
• Franz Kuhn von Kuhnenfeld (January 18, 1868– June 14, 1874)
• Alexander von Koller (June 14, 1874– June 20, 1876)
• Artur Maximilian von Bylandt-Rheidt (June 20, 1876– March 16, 1888)
• Ferdinand von Bauer (March 16, 1888– July 22, 1893 [†])
• Rudolph von Merkl (July 24 - September 22, 1893, interim management)
• Edmund von Krieghammer (September 22, 1893– December 17, 1902)
• Heinrich von Pitreich (December 18, 1902– October 24, 1906)
• Franz Xaver von Schönaich (October 24, 1906– September 20, 1911; the last Reich Minister of War)
• Moritz von Auffenberg (September 20, 1911– December 12, 1912; the first Austro-Hungarian War Minister)
• Alexander von Krobatin (December 12, 1912– April 12, 1917)
• Rudolf Stöger-Steiner von Steinstätten (April 12, 1917– November 11, 1918)

In general, the ministers of war hardly developed any major political activity, since in the army and navy it was mostly the monarch himself, assisted by the chief of staff, who set the tone and the two prime ministers exerted significant influence. In the last decades of the 19th century, this led to stagnation and obsolescence.

Archduke heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este , commissioned by the Emperor in 1898 to analyze the military strength of the monarchy, succeeded in 1906 in removing the 65-year-old War Minister Pitreich and the 76-year-old Chief of Staff Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky ; this was replaced by the 54-year-old Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf .

The last Austro-Hungarian war minister played a special role when Hungary terminated the Realunion on October 31, 1918, and therefore de jure no longer existed a joint army from November 1, 1918.

Since after the collapse of Austria-Hungary neither Austria nor Hungary had a share in the Adriatic coast, there was also no more Austro-Hungarian navy. The emperor had decided on October 30th to transfer them to the new South Slav state ; the handover was carried out by Kontreadmiral Miklós Horthy on October 31, 1918 in Pola .

Minister Stöger-Steiner had the task of liquidating the entire previous military structure in Cisleithanien , from November 12, 1918 under the supervision of the State Secretary for the Army of German Austria (see joint ministers until October 31, 1918 ), as far as this was possible from Vienna. He held this position until December 1918. In April 1920, the liquidating War Ministry was converted into the Military Liquidation Office, which existed until 1931.

Headquarters of the Ministry

The War Ministry building on Stubenring in Vienna, 1913–1918 seat of the Ministry

The kuk  naval section building in Vienna around 1910

The War Ministry had its seat in the inner city  (1., Am Hof ​​today's house number 2; the building was demolished after 1912), where War Minister Theodor Graf Baillet von Latour was lynched during the revolution of 1848 . At the turn of the century, half of the ministry was housed in private houses and barracks. In 1913, the ministry moved to the newly built war ministry building on Vienna's Ringstrasse  (1st, Stubenring 1), where it was located until 1918. Field Marshal Radetzky’s memorial moved with the Ministry. The naval section of the War Ministry , not housed at the Ministry's headquarters for decades, was given its own building in 1908 in the immediate vicinity, 3rd, Vordere Zollamtsstraße 9, corner Marxergasse 2 (postal address), on which the coats of arms of former Austrian Adriatic ports can still be seen today.

Structure July 1914

Alexander von Krobatin

The war ministry consisted of several specialist departments, the auxiliary organs of the war minister and the marine section. The following illustration of the structure of the ministry relates to the status of July 1914, thus to the situation immediately before the decision of the emperor to begin what was later to become the First World War .

Minister of War : Feldzeugmeister Alexander Ritter von Krobatin (Minister 1912–1917)

Wing adjutants to the Minister of War: Lieutenant Colonel of the General Staff Corps Dragutin Csoban; Major in the 7th Hussar Regiment Ladislaus Döry de Jobbaháza

Sections of the Ministry

Section heads

• Field Marshal Lieutenant Leopold Schleyer Edler von Pontemalghera

• Responsible for: 5th TB department - 5th M department - 7th department - 7th P department - 8th department - 8th HB department

• Field Marshal Lieutenant Arthur Arz von Straussenburg

• Responsible for: 3rd department - 5th department - 5th EB department - 6th department - 10th department

• Field Marshal Lieutenant Árpád Tamásy von Fogaras

• Responsible for: 1st department - 2nd St. Department - 2nd W Department - 3rd R Department - 9th Department

• Section head Ladislaus Jarzębecki - head of the economic section and head of the military directorate (Vienna VII district collegiate barracks)

• Responsible for: 11th department - 11th department - 12th department - 13th department - 15th department - 15th department

• Assigned: Lieutenant Field Marshal Alfred Ritter Rohm von Hermannstädten

• kuk naval section : Admiral Anton Haus

• Presidential Office
  • Board of Directors : Major General Karl Bellmond Edler von Adlerhorst

Organization of the army in the field, personnel matters of the active generals and staff officers, as well as the military registry officials from the eighth rank upwards. Supervision of business and service operations in the entire army, press matters, ordinance sheets, military schematism, standard evidence and special matters, office management.

Departments subordinate to the sections:

1st department Board of Directors : Colonel in Infantry Regiment 8 Karl Geřabeck Personnel matters of the active senior officers of the soldier's class and the troop accounting officers, as well as the military registry officials of the IX. Rank upwards, furthermore all retired officers. Appointment of ensigns or cadets. Evidence of the qualification lists and administration of the Elisabeth-Theresien-Military Foundation. 2.W. Department Board of Directors : Major General Karl Czapp Military law and matters arising from the NCO employment laws. 2nd St. Department Board of Directors : Colonel in Infantry Regiment 48 Jobst von Rupprecht Registry and land registry matters, personnel matters for the teams. 3rd department Board of Directors : Colonel of the General Staff Corps Adam Nowottny Organization of cavalry and training troops; Training 3.R. Department Board of Directors : vacant Remonts and horses of the army 4./I. Department Board of Directors : Chief Auditor Josef Köhler Military justice , judicial personnel matters 4./II. Department Board of Directors : Chief Auditor Karl Maschka Military justice legislation, publication of decisions of principle of the Supreme Military Court 5th department Board of Directors : Colonel of the General Staff Corps Georg Domaschnian Operational affairs, fortifications of the empire, communications, post and telegraph systems, troop deployment and tactical training, regulations, general staff and matters of the pioneer troops , as well as the specialist training institutions 5. EB department Board of Directors : Colonel of the General Staff Corps Johann Straub Communications, Railway Regiment Affairs, Railway Affairs 5.TB department Board of Directors : Colonel of the General Staff Corps Rudolf Schamschula Postal and Telegraph Services, Telegraph Regiment Affairs 5 M. Department Board of Directors : Colonel of the General Staff Corps Ottokar Landwehr von Pragenau Organization and management of the automobile and airship industry, including the fortress balloon departments and the volunteer corps 6th department Board of Directors : Lieutenant Colonel in Infantry Regiment 27 Hermann Leidl Organization and management of the military educational institutions, the officer's daughter educational institutes, and the administration of the foundations affected by them. 7th department Board of Directors : Major General Árpád Kiss de Nagy-Sitke Organization and administration of artillery weapons and artillery equipment, as well as weapons and ammunition in the army

7.P. Department Board of Directors : Artillery General Engineer Eugen Ritter Schlesinger von Benfeld Firing, explosive and detonating matters, administration of the powder monopoly, patents. 8th department Board of Directors : Major General Gustav Stowasser Organization of the staff of genius and the military construction service, administration of the genius direction, construction and fortification 8.HB department Board of Directors : Colonel of the Engineer Officer Corps Viktor Dziubinski Organization of the military civil engineering service, personnel matters of the military civil engineers 9th department Board of Directors : Lieutenant Field Marshal Johann Löbl Care and disability services , military pastoral care matters , foundations, care for disabled and mentally ill officers 10th department Board of Directors : Colonel of the General Staff Corps Eduard Ritter von Steinitz Matters of readiness for war and quick-wittedness of the Austro-Hungarian Army and related statistical work 11th department Board of Directors : General Director Wilhelm Hanauseck Organization of the military directorship and troop accounting service, fees, tax and stamp matters, military coffers, replacement and passage negotiations 11.E. Department Board of Directors : General Director Ferdinand Firbas Accommodation and credits matters 12th department Board of Directors : Chief Military Officer 1st Class Johann Schubert Organization of food and bed magazines, food in kind for the army, freight forwarding, personnel matters for military food staff 13th department Board of Directors : General Director Adolf Seipka Adjustment matters, organization of the equipment management agencies. Ensuring the outfit, armor and field props. 14th department Board of Directors : General-Oberstabsarzt Philipp Beck, Chief of the Military Medical Officer Corps Military medical services , personnel matters for military doctors and military medicine officers, organization of military medical institutions. 15th department Board of Directors : Military Superintendent 1st Class Georg Warta Organization of military accounting and control, main accounts, liquidation matters 15.B. Department Board of Directors : Chief Military Officer 1st class Josef Anderka Constitution and record keeping of the army budget, determination and distribution of the money requirement

Office of the War Ministry

• Office director : The respective board of the presidential office
  • Submission protocol - Director : Lieutenant Colonel in the Mountain Artillery Regiment 6 Josef Ritter Fritsch von Cronenwald
  • Expedit - Director : Colonel in Infantry Regiment 8 Josef Löderer
  • Registrar - Director : Military Registrar Unterdirektor Rudolf Ritter von Klar

War Department Pay Office

• Board of Directors : Military Treasurer 2nd Class Hieronymus Berner

Auxiliary organs of the Minister of War

Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf

General Staff

The General Staff, formally listed under the auxiliary organs of the Minister of War, was able to develop an autonomous position in the last decades of the 19th century and set the tone for military decisions, especially during the First World War. The chief of staff had the right to report personally to the monarch. When the Army High Command , to which the General Staff belonged, was formed at the beginning of the war in 1914 , Franz Joseph I told the Army Commander Archduke Friedrich to let Chief of Staff Conrad work and make decisions largely independently.

(Vienna I district Stubenring 1 - War Ministry building)

• Chief of the General Staff : General of the Infantry Franz Freiherr Conrad von Hötzendorf

Wing adjutant of the Chief of the General Staff: Major of the General Staff Corps Rudolf Kundmann

• Deputy of the Chief of the General Staff: Field Marshal Lieutenant Franz Höfer von Feldsturm
• Chief of the stage system: Major General Franz Kanik
• Head of the management office: Colonel Ferdinand von Kaltenborn
• Head of the operations office: Colonel Josef Metzger
• Head of the stage office: Colonel Anton Höfer
• Head of the instruction office: Colonel Karl Sóos von Bádok
• Head of the State Descriptions Office: Colonel Huigo Schmid
• Head of the Registry Bureau : Colonel August Urbanski of Ostrymiecz
• Head of the Railway Bureau: Colonel Johann Straub
• Chief of the telegraph office: Colonel Rudolf Schamschula

War Archives

(Vienna VII district Stiftgasse 2)

• Director : General of the Infantry Emil Woinovich von Belobreska

War History Department

Board of Directors : The War Archives Director

Font Department

Board of Directors : Colonel of the Army Ludwig Eberle

Card department

Board of Directors : Major of the Army, Josef Paldus

Library department

Board of Directors : Lieutenant Colonel Alois Veltzé

Inspections

General Cavalry Inspector (Vienna VII. District Mariahilferstrasse 24 - Stiftskaserne / Mosertrakt) General of the cavalry Karl Georg Graf Huyn Wing adjutant: Major in Uhlan Regiment 2 Heinrich Freiherr von Tinti General artillery inspector (Vienna I. District Universitätsstr. 7 / Corps command building) se. kuk Highness Feldzeugmeister Archduke Leopold Salvator Assigned: Lieutenant Colonel of the Artillery Staff Franz Freiherr Wolf-Schneider von Arno Inspector of the fortress artillery (Vienna IX, district Elisabethenpromenade 1 - Roßauer barracks / north wing) Feldzeugmeister Adalbert Benda Assigned: Lieutenant Colonel of the Artillery Staff Karl Schmutzer Inspector of the technical artillery (Vienna X. District Arsenal / Object I) Major General Wilhelm Puchera Assigned: Lieutenant Colonel of the Artillery Staff Franz Stering General engineer inspector (Vienna IX, district Schlickplatz 6 - Roßauer barracks / south wing) Field Marshal Lieutenant Alexander Blénesi Assigned: Colonel of the staff of genius Alexander Kuchinka General sapper inspector (Vienna IX district Maria Theresienstrasse 21 - Roßauer barracks / central wing) Major General Emil Ritter von Gołogórski Assigned: Lieutenant Colonel of the Sappeur Battalion 2 Artur Ritter Müller von Elblein General Pioneer Inspector (Vienna IX district, Türkenstrasse 22 - Roßauer Kaserne) Field Marshal Lieutenant Emil Reinold Assigned: Lieutenant Colonel of Pioneer Battalion 5 Heinrich Kopetz General trainer inspector (Vienna IX district Elisabethenpromenade 1 - Roßauer barracks / north wing) Major General Stephan Schneeberger Assigned: Rittmeister of Train Division 2 Josef Tunk

General Inspector of the Corps Officer's Schools (Vienna VII district, Stiftgasse 2 - academy wing) Field Marshal Lieutenant Vinzenz Fox Assigned to: Major of the General Staff Corps Moritz Ritter von Fischer von Ledenice General Inspector of the Military Educational Institutions (Vienna IX district, Türkenstrasse 22 - Roßauer Kaserne / Middle Wing) Major General Karl Waitzendorfer Assigned: Captain Ludwig Stössl-Wimmer General renovation inspector (Vienna IX, district Elisabethenpromenade 1 - Roßauer barracks / north wing) Generald of the cavalry Siegmund Bacsák von Benefa Assigned: Rittmeister of the Uhlan Regiment 11 Friedrich Freiherr Riedl von Riedenau Medical troop commander (Vienna IX, district Elisabethenpromenade 1 - Roßauer barracks / north wing) Colonel Constantine Cyrus Adjutant: Captain of the Medical Corps Adolf Filla Apostolic Field Vicariate (Vienna VIII. District Skodagasse 19) Apostolic Field Vicar: Emmerich Bjelik Field Consistorial Director: Leonhard Rendl Head of the officer corps of auditors (Vienna I. District Stubenring 1 - War Ministry building) Chief Auditor General Eduard Entremont (Senior Senate President of the Supreme Military Court) Assigned: Major Auditor Franz Ryška Head of the Military Medical Officer Corps (Vienna I. District Stubenring 1 - War Ministry building) Chief Medical Officer General Dr. Philipp Peck (at the same time board member of the 14th Department of the War Ministry) Assigned: Senior Staff Physician 2nd Class Dr. Edmund Kopřiwa Head of the Military Directorate (Vienna I. District Stubenring 1 - War Ministry Building) Section head Ladislaus Jarzębecki (head of the economic section)

Military Technical Committee

(Vienna VI district, Getreidemarkt 9)

• President: Lieutenant Field Marshal Ferdinand Goglia

• I. Section: Artillery
  • Section chief: Colonel of the Field Cannon Regiment 24 Johann Putsek

1. Department - Munitions (Board of Directors: Lieutenant Colonel of the Staff of Genius Hermann Brandl)

2. Department - Theoretical work and experiments (Board: Lieutenant Colonel Rudolf Edler von Portenschlag-Ledermayr)

3rd Department - Construction (Board of Directors: Lieutenant Colonel of the Artillery Staff Karl Padiaur)

4th Department - Equipment and Weapons (Board: Major of the Artillery Staff August Graf Scapinelli von Leguigno)

• Section II: Genius , Pioneer and Military Construction
  • Head of Section: Major General Adolf Kutzlnigg

1st Department - Fortifications and Fortress Warfare (Board: Colonel Adolf Janda)

2nd department - nonexistent

3rd Department - Pioneering and Mining (Board of Directors: vacant)

4th Department - Military Construction and Intendancy (Board of Directors: Lieutenant Colonel of the Engineer Officer Corps August Marussig)

• III. Section: Statistics and Management
  • Head of Section: Colonel of the General Staff Corps Richard Ritter von Gruber

1st Department - Military Statistics (Board of Directors: Lieutenant Colonel Albert Werth)

2nd Department - Intendancy (Board of Directors: Chief Military Officer 1st Class Eduard Alscher)

• IV. Section: Technology - a chemical laboratory, a collection of physical instruments, a mechanical workshop and a photographic workshop.
  • Head of Section: Colonel of Field Artillery Regiment 1 Dr. Phil. Leopold Austerlitz
• Automotive

Automotive testing department: Vienna VI. Bez. Gumpendorfer Straße 1 (Technical Military Committee Building)

Commanding officer: Lieutenant Colonel Robert Wolf

See also : kuk Technical Military Committee

Military Medical Committee

(Vienna IX district Währinger Strasse 25)

• President: General Staff Doctor Dr. Zdislaus Ritter von Juchnowicz-Hordyński (at the same time commander of the military medical application school )

Specialized Accounting Department of the War Ministry

(Vienna I. District Fleischmarkt 19)

• Board of Directors: General Director Ernst Edler von Mosing

literature

• kuk War Ministry (ed.): Seidel's small army scheme. Dislocation and division of the Imperial and Royal Army, the Imperial and Royal Navy, the Imperial and Royal Landwehr and the Imperial and Royal Landwehr. Seidel & Sohn, Vienna, No. 76, 1914.
• Walter Wagner : History of the Imperial and Royal War Ministry . 2 volumes, Böhlau, Vienna a. a. 1966/71.

• Volume 1: 1848–1866 (= studies on the history of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy . Vol. 5). 1966.
• Volume 2: 1866–1888 (= studies on the history of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy . Vol. 10). 1971.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Supreme Command - His Majesty the Emperor and King - Franz Joseph I. This is the official name of the Commander-in-Chief until 1916
2. ↑ Removal of the Reich Minister of War, appointment of the Minister of War. In:  Wiener Zeitung , September 22, 1911, p. 1 (online at ANNO ).
3. ↑ Denise Geng: Monarch and Military - On the Relationship between Political and Military Leadership in the 19th Century , Berlin 2013, pp. 79f
4. ^ Gunther E. Rothenberg: The Army of Francis Joseph , West Lafayette 1998, pp. 40f; Denise Geng: Monarch and the military - On the relationship between political and military leadership in the 19th century , Berlin 2013, pp. 79f
5. ↑ Denise Geng: Monarch and Military - On the Relationship between Political and Military Leadership in the 19th Century , Berlin 2013, p. 80
6. ↑ Denise Geng: Monarch and Military - On the Relationship between Political and Military Leadership in the 19th Century , Berlin 2013, p. 80 fn. 22
7. ↑ General register on the stenographic minutes of the (Austrian) delegation, 1868–1904, register of persons, Section 1: Minister, kk Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1906
8. ↑ The law on matters common to all countries of the Austrian monarchy and the manner in which they are dealt with (Delegation Law)
9. ^ Official part. In:  Wiener Zeitung , June 22, 1876, p. 1 (online at ANNO ).
10. ^ Official part. In:  Wiener Zeitung , December 21, 1902, p. 1 (online at ANNO ).
11. ^ Official daily newspaper Wiener Zeitung , October 26, 1906, p. 1
12. ^ Official daily newspaper Wiener Zeitung , No. 287, December 14, 1912, p. 1
13. ↑ Little Chronicle. The new war ministry building. In:  Neue Freie Presse , Morgenblatt, May 31, 1913, p. 8 (online at ANNO ).
14. ^ Departments of the War Ministry
15. ↑ Section chief was at the same time a rank of the military officials - corresponded to the field marshal lieutenant
16. ↑ Bureau is the usual spelling for office at the time