List of Colonels General and Grand Admirals of Austria-Hungary

Uniform of a colonel general (here Friedrich Freiherr von Georgi, 1918)

Distinction of a Colonel General according to the circular decree of September 13, 1915

The list of Colonel General and Grand Admirals of Austria-Hungary contains generals of the Common Austro-Hungarian Army who rose to the rank of Colonel General ( Vezérezredes in Hungarian ) or who held this rank temporarily during their career. The Grand Admirals of the Austro-Hungarian Navy are also included as they were ranked on an equal footing with the Colonel General.

history

The position of "Colonel General" was already known from the 16th century, when it referred to the commanding officer over the infantry . In this context, it is older than the individual term “general”. After the title of Colonel General was reintroduced in Prussia in 1854 , it soon developed into a regular rank between the full general and the honorary rank of field marshal. This had to do with the division of the German Reich into army inspections , which were located above the corps level but below the top of the army command and whose owners, as designated army leaders , were to receive a rank in the event of war that did justice to this prominent position. In the Austro-Hungarian generals , there was originally no such rank due to different organizational conditions. Here the (full) general (of the cavalry, infantry or Feldzeugmeister) was the highest regular rank, which was initially associated with the management of corps, later armies or army groups. Above it was only the rare rank of field marshal , of which there was no active rank when the First World War broke out.

This soon led to complications. When the Austro-Hungarian Army had to cooperate with the army of the German Empire on the Eastern Front during World War I , the lack of a rank made itself felt. There were disputes over competence between German and Austrian agencies, which ultimately was the decisive factor in introducing the rank of colonel general in the Austro-Hungarian Army. In September / October 1914, the newly established German 9th Army under Artillery General Richard von Schubert was supposed to support the Austrian front. The Austro-Hungarian Army High Command demanded that the German troops of their command, i.e. H. subordinate to that of General der Infanterie Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf . The nominal commander in chief of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces Friedrich von Austria-Teschen was also the infantry general. Since the German command posts were reluctant to place their troops under a foreign command, instead of General Schubert, Paul von Hindenburg was simply appointed Commander-in-Chief of the 9th Army. This was Colonel General and thus superior to both the Chief of the Imperial and Royal General Staff and the Imperial and Royal Supreme Commander. Citing this fact, the Supreme Army Command (OHL) ultimately refused submission.

But otherwise, the hierarchy structure proved to be impractical for long-term leadership of mass armies, in which, contrary to what was previously assumed, a further level of management often had to be inserted between the army commands and the army high command. This problem occurred for the first time in May 1915 when Italy entered the war, when the two Austro-Hungarian troop groups at the front (Rohr Army Group and 5th Army) were both commanded by a full general. The designated commander-in-chief of this new south-western front , Archduke Eugen von Österreich-Teschen , was only a full general himself and even ranked behind the senior generals who were subordinate to him. A promotion to field marshal was not an option, because he would have been on the same level as the commander in chief of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces, who had held this rank since December 1914. Without further ado, the Archduke was therefore appointed the first colonel general in the history of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy on May 22, 1915. A month later, Chief of Staff Conrad von Hötzendorf was raised to this rank. Officially, this was done in recognition of his services in the Battle of Gorlice-Tarnów , but unofficially, this measure also helped with the problem of subordinating German troops, such as the Southern Army , which was commanded by a full general. However, the regulations of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces did not yet provide for this new rank. The official introduction took place in September 1915. On September 13, 1915, the circular ordinance, Section 13, No. 55340 established the distinction of the new rank; the first regular promotions took place in February 1916. By the demobilization of the army on November 11, 1918, 25 officers had reached this rank as the highest step in their military career. A further eight colonels-general were later appointed field marshal, while Charles I, as emperor, automatically rose to become commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the highest-ranking soldier from December 2, 1916 . Thus the much smaller kuk armed forces provided about as many colonels general as the armed forces of the German Empire.

List of colonels general

Legend: Appointment indicates the date of the official appointment as Colonel General. Seniority indicates the date on which the promoted officers were entered in the seniority lists. This can vary greatly from the appointment date. Notes provides background information on the officer's career and position and is intended to place the appointment in context. The lines of those officers who were later promoted to field marshal and who were therefore only temporarily charged as colonels general have been given a gray background for better identification .

image	Surname	born	died	appointment	Seniority	Remarks
	Arthur Arz von Straussenburg	June 16, 1857	0July 1, 1935	Feb. 26, 1918	0Feb 9, 1918	Son of an evangelical clergyman, started the war as a field marshal lieutenant in the war ministry. After positions as corps and army commander against Russia, Serbia and Romania, he became the new chief of the general staff in February 1917.
	Friedrich Graf von Beck-Rzikowsky	21 Mar 1830	0Feb 9, 1920	Feb. 26, 1916	Feb. 26, 1916	As a general staff officer, Beck was a veteran of the revolutionary struggles of 1848/49 as well as the Sardinian and German wars . After he was head of the kuk military chancellery (1867) and adjutant general of the emperor (1874), he remained chief of the general staff from 1881 to 1906. After that he only held honorary posts.
	Arthur Heinrich Freiherr von Bolfras	Apr 16, 1838	December 19, 1922	Feb. 28, 1916	Feb. 26, 1916	As a troop and general staff officer, Bolfras was a veteran of the Sardinian and German wars . From 1889 to 1917 he was head of the kuk military chancellery and adjutant general of the emperor. In 1904 he rose to the baron class.
	Viktor Graf Dankl von Krasnik	Sep 18 1854	0Jan. 8, 1941	0May 9, 1916	0May 1, 1916	As the commander of the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army Sieger in the Battle of Kraśnik (1914), Dankl was entrusted with the defense of Tyrol in May 1915 . In 1916 he achieved further successes against Italy as commander of the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army and in 1918 was elevated to the rank of count as deputy commander of the Arcièren Life Guard .
	Friedrich Freiherr von Georgi	Jan. 27, 1852	June 23, 1926	0May 6, 1916	0May 1, 1916	From 1907 Georgi kk was Minister of Defense and in 1912 was elevated to the rank of baron. During the First World War he was largely responsible for organizing the Austro-Hungarian war effort. In 1918 he retired from political and military business.
	Leopold Freiherr von Hauer	Jan. 21, 1854	0May 3, 1933	Aug 12, 1917	0Aug 1, 1917	Coming from a traditional family of officers, he made a career as a cavalryman. From 1914 to 1917 he led various cavalry divisions and corps, some of them under German command. From autumn 1917 he withdrew to Budapest without a command and became a Hungarian citizen after the First World War.
	Samuel Baron von Hazai	Dec. 26, 1851	Feb 13, 1942	Aug 11, 1917	0Nov 1, 1916	Born to Jewish parents named Samu Khon, Hazai was promoted to ku Honvédminister in 1910 . In 1912 he was appointed baron. During the war he also held the position of chief of the substitute system. After the First World War he settled in Budapest and became a Hungarian citizen.
	Karl Georg Count Huyn	Nov 18, 1857	Feb 21, 1938	May 14, 1917	0May 1, 1917	Originally a cavalryman, Huyn was temporarily employed as a military attaché in Romania after completing his training as a general staff officer . From 1912 he was General Cavalry Inspector. He led the XVII. Corps in the Battle of Komarów (1914) and was relieved of command and only re-used as Military Governor of Galicia in 1917 .
	Karl Graf von Kirchbach on Lauterbach	May 20, 1856	May 20, 1939	Nov 11, 1916	0Nov 1, 1916	Coming from an old family of officers, he was in command of various corps and army groups between 1914 and 1916 and served on the Eastern and Italian fronts. After taking command of various armies and advancing to the rank of count (1917), he became military commander of all troops in the Cherson Governorate and then briefly inspector of the Austro-Hungarian troops on the western front .
	Karl Křitek	Oct. 24, 1861	03rd Sep 1928	May 16, 1916	0May 1, 1916	After a career as a general staff officer, he commanded various divisions and corps on the Eastern and Italian fronts from 1914 to 1916 before becoming commander of the 3rd Army and later the 7th Army in 1917/18. He was then removed from command in the spring of 1918.
	Hermann Kusmanek von Burgneustädten	16 Sep 1860	0Aug 7, 1934	May 15, 1917	0May 1, 1917	Kusmanek served as a general staff officer and in the war ministry. At the outbreak of the First World War he became the fortress commander of Przemyśl . The fortress was enclosed and conquered in 1914, with Kusmanek and 120,000 men being taken prisoner. He did not return until 1918, but was honored for defending Przemyśl.
	Hugo Martiny from Malastów	Feb 13, 1860	Nov 30, 1940	May 10, 1918	0May 1, 1918	After a career as a general staff officer, Martiny was division commander in 1914. The following year he commanded a corps and in 1916 became military commander of Graz and inspector of the military educational institutions. After further corps commands in 1917/18 on the Italian front, he was taken prisoner there in 1918.
	Charles I.	17 Aug 1887	0Apr 1, 1922	0Nov 1, 1916	0Nov 1, 1916	Initially trained as an officer, Karl became heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary in 1906 after Franz Ferdinand. In 1916, he was only slightly involved politically and militarily, and then became the new emperor. He took over the supreme command and soon sought a peace treaty.
	Joseph Ferdinand of Austria-Tuscany	May 24, 1872	Aug 26, 1942	Feb. 26, 1916	Feb. 26, 1916	The archduke made a career as a troop officer and was a fan of the new aviation technology. He began the First World War as a corps commander on the Eastern Front, where he soon (1914) took over the 4th Army before he became General Inspector of the Austro-Hungarian Aviation Forces (1916). Later imprisoned by the Gestapo (1938).
	Leopold Salvator of Austria-Tuscany	Oct 15, 1863	04th Sep 1931	May 20, 1916	May 20, 1916	Leopold Salvator was technically gifted in many ways. After various troop commands, the Archduke of Austria was appointed General Artillery Inspector in 1907. He held this position until his dismissal in 1918. He then lived in Barcelona until 1930 .
	Eduard Graf von Paar	0Dec 5, 1837	0Feb. 1, 1919	Feb. 27, 1916	Feb. 26, 1916	As a son from a noble family, the couple was orderly officer or wing adjutant of Emperor Franz Joseph from 1866–1869. After a time as a troop commander, he became adjutant general in 1887 and thus had a great influence on the emperor's decisions. He did not retire from active service until 1917 and retired in 1918.
	Karl Freiherr von Pflanzer-Baltin	0June 1, 1855	0Apr 8, 1925	0May 8, 1916	0May 1, 1916	Initially a cavalry and general staff officer, he achieved the position of general inspector of the corps officer schools. During the First World War he led a corps on the Eastern Front, later the 7th Army, before he was dismissed in 1916 under pressure from the Supreme Army Command . Reactivated in the following year, he commanded Army Group Albania and was General Inspector of the Austro-Hungarian infantry.
	Paul Freiherr Puhallo von Brlog	Feb 21, 1856	Oct 12, 1926	May 13, 1916	0May 1, 1916	Of Croatian descent, Puhallo became an artillery and general staff officer and commanders of the kuk war school. During the First World War he commanded a corps (1914), then the 1st Army (1915) on the Eastern Front. Although not used since 1916, it was raised to the baron class (1917). After the war he lived temporarily in Yugoslavia .
	Adolf Freiherr von Rhemen zu Barensfeld	December 22, 1855	Jan. 11, 1932	May 13, 1917	0May 1, 1917	The son of a general initially served as an infantry general staff officer. Between 1913 and 1916 he commanded a corps on the Eastern Front and in the Balkans before he was appointed Governor General in Serbia , which he remained until 1918.
	Josef Freiherr Roth von Limanowa-Łapanów	Oct 12, 1859	0Apr 9, 1927	Feb 25, 1918	0Feb. 1, 1918	As the son of an officer, Roth himself entered the general staff service and became commander of the Theresian Military Academy (1910) before he was successively commander of a division, a corps and an army group on the Eastern Front at the beginning of the First World War. From 1915 he again commanded sections and a corps on the Italian front, and also held the post of “General Inspector for Returnees”.
	Stephan Freiherr Sarkotić von Lovćen	0Oct. 4, 1858	Oct 16, 1939	Nov 17, 1917	0Nov 1, 1917	The descendant of a Croatian officer family made a career as a troop officer. As such, he served in the Serbian theater of war (1914) and then became military governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1915). In addition to numerous repression measures, he led the campaign against Montenegro (1916) and was raised to the baron status (1917) for this. Even after the war he remained politically active from Vienna.
	Viktor Graf von Scheuchenstuel	May 10, 1857	Apr 17, 1938	Nov 16, 1917	0Nov 1, 1917	Comes from the middle classes and was field marshal and division commander at the outbreak of war. Deployed against Serbia, Italy and Romania, he was promoted to corps commander and later to commander of the 11th Austro-Hungarian Army. He was also raised to the rank of count.
	Eduard Konrad Prince of Schönburg-Hartenstein	Nov 21, 1858	Sep 20 1944	Nov 11, 1918	0Nov 1, 1918	Eduard Konrad became a military attaché in Berlin as a cavalry and general staff officer. He temporarily resigned from the military in 1896 and devoted himself to politics. He served as a commander of various brigades, divisions and a corps (1914/16), as well as the 6th Army (1917/18) on the Eastern and Italian fronts. In the Dollfuss government (1933/34) he was State Secretary and finally Federal Minister for the Army.
	Rudolf Freiherr Stöger-Steiner von Steinstätten	Apr 26, 1861	May 12, 1921	May 11, 1918	0May 1, 1918	Initially an artillery and general staff officer, Stöger became divisional and corps commander (1914/17) on the Eastern Front and later in Italy during the First World War. In 1917 he rose to the position of kuk war minister and as such directed the war efforts of Austria-Hungary.
	Karl Tersztyánszky of Nádas	Oct 28, 1854	07th Mar 1921	May 11, 1916	0May 1, 1916	Trained as a cavalry and general staff officer, the Hungarian Tersztyánszky rose to the position of corps commander until the First World War. As such, he initially served on the Eastern Front (1914) and was then supposed to lead the offensive against Serbia (1915), but was replaced early. He then took command of the 4th Army on the Eastern Front and later the 3rd Army (1916/17).
	Wenzel Freiherr von Wurm	Feb. 27, 1859	21 Mar 1921	Aug 10, 1917	0Aug 1, 1917	The officer's son and general staff officer served as a corps commander in the Serbian theater of war (1914) and then on the Italian front (1915/17) at the beginning of the First World War. In 1917 briefly commander of the 4th Army on the Eastern Front, he soon took over the 1st Isonzo Army against Italy.
	Eduard Freiherr von Böhm-Ermolli	Feb 21, 1856	0Dec 9, 1941	0May 7, 1916	0May 1, 1916	Son of an honored officer, he became a general staff officer and corps commander until 1914. He then commanded the 2nd Army against Serbia and on the Eastern Front, where he led an army group from October 1916. Promoted to field marshal in January 1918, he was replaced in May.
	Svetozar Boroëvić from Bojna	Dec 13, 1856	May 23, 1920	May 10, 1916	0May 1, 1916	Son of a Serbian-Croatian non-commissioned officer, quickly rose to become a general staff officer and was ennobled in 1905. Initially corps commander on the Eastern Front, he took over the 3rd Army there in September 1914 before taking over the 5th Army on the Italian Front. Here he became field marshal in January 1918 and stayed in Austria after the armistice.
	Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf	Nov 11, 1852	Aug 25, 1925	June 23, 1915	June 23, 1915	Coming from a noble family of officers, he was Chief of the Army General Staff from 1906 with a brief interruption. Tried aggressively to get involved in foreign policy, but managed the first operations rather unhappily. Released in March 1917, he later took over command of the Southwest Front against Italy, where he was relieved again in July 1918.
	Hermann Baron Kövess von Kövessháza	30th Mar 1854	22 Sep 1924	Feb. 26, 1916	01st Mar 1916	The officer's son became a general staff officer and was promoted to corps commander on the Eastern Front until 1914. Then he led the 3rd Army in the Balkans. After a brief deployment against Italy, he took over the 7th Army on the Eastern Front, and later an Army Group. He became the last army commander in November 1918 after previously commanding the occupation forces in the Balkans.
	Alexander Freiherr von Krobatin	Sep 12 1849	Dec. 27, 1933	Feb. 26, 1916	Feb. 29, 1916	As an artillery expert in the War Ministry since 1896, he became War Minister in 1912. He resigned in connection with a scandal in April 1917 and took over the 10th Army on the Italian front. Became field marshal there in November 1917, from October 1918 he briefly led an army group and then retired into private life.
	Joseph August of Austria	07 Aug 1872	0July 6, 1962	0Nov 1, 1916	0Nov 1, 1916	As an officer of the Honved, he commanded the VII Corps on the Eastern Front in 1914. Deployed in Italy in 1915, he took over the troops in East Transylvania against Romania in 1916 and later commanded an army group in Tyrol. After brief command of the troops in the Balkans, he became governor in Hungary at the end of October 1918.
	Eugene of Austria-Teschen	May 21, 1863	Dec 30, 1954	May 22, 1915	May 22, 1915	Already a general at the age of 38, he left military service in 1911 and did not return until 1914. In May 1915 he took over the south-western front against Italy, which was expanded into an army group in March 1916. In November 1916 he was made field marshal, but discharged from service in December 1917.
	Franz Baron Rohr von Denta	Jan. 27, 1852	June 23, 1926	0May 5, 1916	0May 1, 1916	The officer's son was promoted to commanding general of the Honved by 1914 and took over command of the Italian border at the start of the war. From May 1915 he commanded an army group, finally the 11th Army and in 1917 switched to the Eastern Front, where he commanded the 1st Army. He was promoted to baron and in January 1918 field marshal.

List of Grand Admirals

KuK Grand Admiral

Sleeve stripes

Command flag

The rank of Grand Admiral in the Austro-Hungarian Navy was not created until 1916. In the system of the Austro-Hungarian "rank classes" an Austro-Hungarian Grand Admiral belonged to the 2nd class and was thus on an equal footing with an Austro-Hungarian Colonel General; both were below the 1st class with the rank of kuk field marshal .

There was no separate rank of the 1st class (which would have been equivalent to an Austro-Hungarian field marshal) in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. This circumstance represented a considerable difference to the ranking system of the German Imperial Navy . Below the 2nd class was the 3rd class in Austria-Hungary, whose officers in the Austro-Hungarian Navy the rank of (full) admiral and in the land forces that of a " Generals of Infantry "," Generals of Cavalry "or" Feldzeugmeisters "led.

The first and only regular Austro-Hungarian Grand Admiral was Anton Haus as Commander-in-Chief of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. His successors in this office no longer achieved this rank. Only Emperor Karl I, in his capacity as commander in chief of the armed forces of Austria-Hungary a. a. also this rank. The other two appointments to the Austro-Hungarian Grand Admiral were honorary and concerned Heinrich Prince of Prussia and Kaiser Wilhelm II. Prince Heinrich had previously been in command of the German deep-sea fleet from 1906 to 1909. He remained the only officer who achieved the rank of Grand Admiral in two navies.

image	Surname	born	died	appointment	Seniority	Remarks
	Anton house	June 13, 1851	0Feb 8, 1917	May 12, 1916	May 12, 1916	Haus joined the Austro-Hungarian Navy in 1869 and worked for a long time as a teacher at the Fiume Navy Academy . In 1901 he took command of an armored cruiser and took part in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion . In 1907 he took part in the Hague Conference . From 1912 he served as a fleet inspector and in the following year as supreme commander of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. In 1915 he operated successfully in the Adriatic against the Italian troops. He died of pneumonia on his flagship in 1917.
	Heinrich Prince of Prussia	Aug 14, 1862	April 20, 1929	0Oct 9, 1916	0Oct 9, 1916	The brother of Kaiser Wilhelm II joined the Imperial Navy in 1877, made a trip to Japan and passed his naval officer examination in 1880. He then attended the naval academy and school and commanded various ship units until 1895, then ship formations, including the East Asia Squadron . In 1903 he became chief of the naval station of the Baltic Sea and in 1906 commander of the deep sea fleet and in 1909 German Grand Admiral. During the First World War he served as Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Sea Forces from 1914 to 1917 and retired from service in November 1918.
	Karl Archduke of Austria	17 Aug 1887	0Apr 1, 1922	0Nov 1, 1916	0Nov 1, 1916	Initially trained as an officer, Karl became heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary in 1906 after Franz Ferdinand. In 1916, he was only slightly involved politically and militarily, and then became the new emperor. He took over the supreme command and soon sought a peace treaty.
	Wilhelm II, German Emperor	Jan. 27, 1859	0June 4, 1941	Feb. 22, 1917	Feb. 22, 1917	Wilhelm entered the military in 1877 and became a captain. He also attended university. In addition to military service, he should continue to train in civil authorities. In 1888 he became the new Kaiser of the German Empire. From 1898 to 1900 he specifically promoted the development of a powerful battle fleet, which led to the arms race with Great Britain.

literature

• Antonio Schmidt-Brentano: The kk or kuk generals 1816-1918. Austrian State Archives, Vienna 2007 ( online version ).
• Jörg C. Steiner: The rank and distinction badges of the kuk army , Vienna 1992. ISBN 3-901215-02-6

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hubert Zeinar: History of the Austrian General Staff , Vienna 2006, p. 68, fn. 111.
2. ↑ Cf. Reinhard Stumpf: The Wehrmacht Elite - Structure of Rank and Origin of German Generals and Admirals 1933–1945. Boppard / Rhein 1982, pp. 136-139.
3. ↑ Timothy C. Dowling: The Brusilov Offensive. Bloomington 2008, p. 47; Edmund von Glaise-Horstenau , who was also active in the Army High Command at the time, remarked that the Colonel General was "a charge that had been created with regard to the German army situation." Peter Broucek: A general in the twilight. The memories of Edmund Glaise von Horstenau. Volume 1, Vienna 1980, p. 324.
4. ↑ Austria-Hungary's last war 1914–1918. Volume 1, Vienna 1930, p. 350.
5. ↑ Peter Broucek: A General in the Twilight. The memories of Edmund Glaise von Horstenau. Volume 1, Graz 1980, p. 148, fn. 24.
6. ↑ Lawrence Sondhaus: Franz Conrad From Hötzendorf. Architect of the Apocalypse. Boston 2000, p. 175.
7. ^ Gunther Erich Rothenberg: The Army of Francis Joseph. West Lafayette 1998, p. XIII.
8. ↑ Colonel General of the Austro-Hungarian Army on weltkriege.at, accessed on October 19, 2016.
9. ^ Antonio Schmidt-Brentano: The kk or kuk generality 1816-1918. Vienna 2007, passim.
10. ↑ Jörg C. Steiner: The rank and distinction badges of the kuk army , Vienna 1992, p. 109

This version was included in the selection of informative lists and portals on November 1, 2016 .