r/Austrohungarian

source: https://roadstothegreatwar-ww1.blogspot.com/2022/09/salzburgs-rainer-regiment-museum.html

Photo: https://vpk.name/images/i537926.html

photo: https://ru.pinterest.com/pin/807551776913781866/

Photo: http://www.rainerregiment.at/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=73

The Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon was a German autocannon developed for aircraft use during World War I by Stahlwerke Becker [de]. It was first mass-produced in 1916 and was installed in a variety of aircraft. It was the only German autocannon to see service in the air during the war.

The Becker also served as the pattern for the famous Swiss-built Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, which is in service to this day, and in a later form, was the original inspiration, through the Swiss design after World War I, for the World War II German Luftwaffe's MG FF (Maschinengewehr Flügel Fest, "fixed wing-mount automatic ordnance") 20 mm autocannon design.

The original design was based on the 19 mm Becker cannon cartridge by the Coenders brothers at Stahlwerke Becker of Reinickendorf, Germany.[2][3] Development commenced in 1913 and was therefore already advanced when the War Ministry issued a specification in June 1915 calling for an aircraft cannon of under 37 mm caliber and 70 kg weight capable of firing a 10-round burst. Tests commenced shortly thereafter with the weapon mounted in a Gotha G.I, but proved unsatisfactory. Despite this, the potential of the gun was such that Spandau arsenal was engaged to help develop and fine-tune the design, leading to a production contract for 120 Becker Type M2 guns in June 1916. In addition to the orders for aircraft guns placed with Becker, Spandau and MAN also received a contract to build Becker cannon for the Army. The Spandau works developed the gun further, producing it as the Spandau Type 3 20 mm cannon, which was heavier and had a slower rate of fire at 250/min.

The main types to use the Type M2 were large, twin-engined aircraft, initially of IdFlieg's "G"-class Grossflugzeug category: the Friedrichshafen G.III bomber and AEG G.IVk ground-attack machine. Tests in smaller, single-engined aircraft were not so successful but were carried out extensively through the rest of the war, commencing with an Albatros J.I in December 1917. Due to the gun's operating principles, it could not be synchronised and this posed an immediate problem for its installation in this type of aircraft. The solution adopted after the tests with the Albatros J.I was to mount the gun at an angle to fire downwards. Fitting the gun to a fighter with a pusher configuration was another obvious solution and trials were carried out with an Albatros D.VI. Other intended installations were for an AGO S.I and the Hansa (Caspar) D.I, but these were not carried out before the armistice. Some rigid airships of the Imperial German Navy, such as the most modern Zeppelin L 70 (LZ 112), were armed with the Becker cannon. Total production figures are not known, but were in excess of 539 (111 by Becker and 428 by MAN); 362 were surrendered to the Allies.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becker_Type_M2_20_mm_cannon

Hello there, recently i have been very fascinated about the defence network of forts built around the Pula area by the Austro Hungarians but I have been wondering if anyone here knows of all the locations of those forts, so far i have located 12 on google maps but I have read that the Austro Hungarians built around 24 forts plus multiple bunker positions and artillery positions, today i have been at one of them called Monte Madonna near Šišan. Any and all help is very much apreciated and i am looking forward to your help.

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mickythepixel/5430705007

The political figure of Josip Broz Tito I think is known to everyone, as a boy I used to spent the summer holidays by my relatives in Croatia- Yugoslavia , and so I've heard of him often.

But in this post I will leave out his political life and talk only about his life as a citizen and then an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Josip Broz was born the Croatian village of Kumrovec, near Zagreb, on May 7, 1892, Tito—it was a pen name he began using in 1934 in his writing for Communist Party journals—was one of fifteen children in a peasant family. His father, Franjo Broz, was a Croat, and his mother, Marija Javeršek, a Slovene. Both the regions known as Croatia and Slovenia were, at the time, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The family’s farm was not successful, and Josip spent his preschool years mainly in the care of his maternal grandparents. He began school at the age of eight but completed only four grades—repeating the second grade—before leaving school in 1905 when he was thirteen. He moved about sixty miles north, to the town of Sisak, where he worked briefly in a restaurant before apprenticing himself to a locksmith. The Czech who owned the shop, Nikola Karas, encouraged his young apprentice to celebrate May Day and to read a socialist newspaper, Free Word. Broz not only read it, he began selling it.

Broz completed his three-year apprenticeship in 1910 and found work in Zagreb, where he joined the Metalworkers Union and became a labor activist and a member of the Social-Democratic Party of Croatia and Slavonia. After returning briefly to his hometown, he traveled about central Europe as a metalworker and sometimes organized labor actions at major factories, including the Skoda Works in Pilsen, Bohemia, and the Benz auto factory in Mannheim. In October 1912, he lived for a time in Vienna, staying with his older brother, before going to work for Daimler at Wiener Neustadt. Here he gained considerable experience with automotive technology, and he became a notable fencer—as well as a dancer. More important, he expanded his cultural outlook, learning both German and Czech.

Broz was conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian Army in the spring of 1913 and was granted permission to serve with a unit of the Croatian Home Guard, garrisoned in Zagreb. The army sent him to learn to ski during the winter of 1913-1914, at which he became skilled, and he was sent for training at a school for non-commissioned officers in Budapest. He was promoted to sergeant-major of his regiment, the youngest soldier to achieve that rank in the history of the regiment. He further distinguished himself by winning fencing championships in Budapest in the spring of 1914.

The outbreak of World War I in 1914 interrupted his socialist activism, and he accompanied his regiment in a march to the Serbian border—to fight Serbia, against which the Austro-Hungarian Empire had declared war. While on the march in August, Broz was arrested on charges of sedition for disseminating antiwar propaganda. He was imprisoned in the Petrovardian Fortress at Novi Sad but was released in January 1915 when the charges were dropped. The details of this incident are unclear, since Broz, in later life, told three distinct versions: he had threatened to desert to the Russians, he was overheard expressing the hope that the Empire would be defeated, he was the victim of a simple clerical error.

He was sent back to his regiment on the Carpathian front and then to the Bukovina front, where his regiment saw heavy action. He showed talent and initiative in action behind enemy lines when he led a scout platoon that captured eighty Russian soldiers. But on March 25, 1915, he was severely wounded by a Circassian cavalryman’s lance, which penetrated his back. Captured, he was held in various Russian POW camps after spending thirteen months in a makeshift hospital in a monastery at Sviyazhsk on the Volga. He survived his wound as well as pneumonia and typhus, and he took the opportunity to learn Russian with the help of two schoolgirls, who had volunteered to nurse the wounded.

Broz was at hard labor in a camp near Perm, working on the Trans-Siberian Railway, and was put in charge of his fellow POWs. When he discovered that Red Cross parcels sent to the camp were being stolen by the Russian staff, he protested, was brutally beaten, and put in a separate prison. At this point, the February Revolution (March 8-March 16, 1917) broke out, and an insurgent mob liberated Broz and returned him to the labor camp. There he met a Bolshevik, who helped him to escape to Petrograd (today St. Petersburg). Later, as Tito, Broz explained that he wanted to join the communist revolution, which he regarded as also a revolution against Austro-Hungarian domination of Croatia. Some historians claim, however, that Broz was simply looking to sit out the war. He did join in the July Days uprising against the Russian Provisional Government that followed the overthrow of the Czar Nicholas II, after which he attempted to escape to Finland, from which he planned to make his way to the United States. Apprehended by agents of the Provisional Government, he was imprisoned in Petrograd and then sent back to the labor camp near Perm but escaped at Ekaterinburg and made his way, by train, to Omsk in Siberia, which he reached on November 8, 1917. Police questioned him there but were deceived by his flawless Russian accent. He joined the Bolsheviks and fought in the Red Guard during the Russian Civil War (1917-1922) before making his way back home in 1920.

I would like to add that in some texts it is said that he reached the rank of captain but I did not find enough information

sources: https://warhistory.org/article/josip-broz-tito

The Imperial Hungarian Gendarmerie, known as Csendőrség in Hungarian, was established in 1881. This formation followed the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, which restructured the governance of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Historical Context Formation: The gendarmerie was created to take over law enforcement responsibilities in the Transleithanian regions, which were previously managed by the Austrian Federal Gendarmerie. Jurisdiction: It was responsible for maintaining public order and enforcing laws in the areas that fell under Hungarian control.

Functions and Responsibilities

The gendarmerie was tasked with maintaining public order and safety. It operated in various capacities, including rural policing and border control. The establishment of the Imperial Hungarian Gendarmerie marked a significant shift in law enforcement within the Hungarian territories, reflecting the broader political changes of the time.

sources : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gendarmerie_(Austria) https://www.pinterest.com/pin/399764904400497806/ https://www.deviantart.com/rose-history/art/WW2-Hungarian-Gendarmerie-790402765

http://ww2-weapons.com/austro-hungarian-army/

Anton Marussig (* November 20, 1868 in Graz, Austria-Hungary; † November 2, 1925 ibid) was an Austrian landscape, portrait, figure and genre painter as well as illustrator.

source and more information:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Marussig

The Balkanstreitkräfte (German for "Balkan Armed Forces"), also known as the Balkan Army, was a military formation of the Austro-Hungarian Army created for operations against the Kingdom of Serbia at the onset of World War I.

Formed in August 1914, the force participated in three unsuccessful invasions of Serbia, culminating in a decisive defeat at the Battle of Kolubara in December of that year. Following this failure, its commander, Feldzeugmeister Oskar Potiorek, was dismissed. The Balkanstreitkräfte was officially disbanded in May 1915, with its remaining elements, notably the 5th Army, reorganized under Archduke Eugen of Austria and redeployed to the Italian front.

The Balkanstreitkräfte was formed on 7 August 1914 following the consolidation of Minimalgruppe Balkan (Balkan Minimal Group) and B-Staffel (B-Contingent). Minimalgruppe Balkan was composed of the Fifth and Sixth armies, designated for operations against the Serbia and Montenegro. B-Staffel, a reserve force renamed the Second Army, was initially held in reserve to support Minimalgruppe Balkan or to be deployed against the Russians in Galicia.[3] In total, seven of the sixteen Austro-Hungarian Army corps were assigned to the Serbian campaign. The forces allocated to the Balkan front consisted of four corps from B-Staffel and three corps from Minimalgruppe Balkan, comprising a total of nineteen infantry divisions.[3]

On 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. In response, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff, ordered both Minimalgruppe Balkan and B-Staffel to advance south.[4] The force was subsequently reinforced to a total of twenty-six divisions following the reassignment of III Corps from A-Staffel to B-Staffel. At this stage, the units deployed against Serbia represented approximately half of the Austro-Hungarian military strength.[5]

The Balkan Army was placed under the command of Oskar Potiorek, the military governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[b] His appointment was made by Conrad von Hötzendorf, who also entrusted him with direct command of the 6th Army.

Order of Battle edit Organisation of the Balkanstreitkräfte as of 7 August 1914[8]

Minimalgruppe Balkan B-Staffel 5th Army – Liborius Ritter von Frank VIII Corps (Prag) 9th Inf. 21st Landwehr Divs. XIII Corps (Agram) 36th Inf. 42nd Domobranstvo Divs. 6th Army – Oskar Potiorek XV Corps (Sarajevo) 1st Inf. Divs. 48th Landwehr Divs. XVI Corps (Ragusa) 18th Inf. Div. 2nd Army – Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli IV Corps (Budapest) 31st Inf. 32nd Inf. 5th Huszar Divs. VII Corps (Temesvár) 17th Inf. Divs. 34th Inf. Divs. IX Corps (Leitmeritz) 29th Inf.

At the outset of the Serbian Campaign in August 1914, the Balkanstreitkräfte fielded a total of 319½ infantry battalions, amounting to approximately 320,000 rifles, supported by sixty cavalry squadrons, 744 artillery pieces, 48 aircraft, and 486 machine guns. In contrast, Serbia's operational army comprised 250,000 troops but was inadequately equipped, possessing only 200 machine guns, three aircraft, and 180,000 modern rifles.[9] The 6th Army, comprising the XV and XVI Corps, was positioned along the upper River Drina. The 5th Army, which included the VIII and XIII Corps, was positioned along the Drina valley to the River Sava at Zvornik. Further north, the 2nd Army, incorporating the IV and IX Corps, was stationed along the Sava River, directly facing Serbia. Additionally, the independent VII Corps was assigned on the eastern flank near Pancsova (Pančevo).[10]

Initial Operations and First Invasion edit The Austro-Hungarian invasion plan called for a coordinated offensive, with the 5th and 6th Armies advancing from the west, while elements of the 2nd Army penetrated from the northwest. This manoeuvre was intended to encircle Serbian forces and achieve a swift and decisive victory.[11] Hostilities commenced on 28 July with the Bombardment of Belgrade (1914), followed by the first Austro-Hungarian invasion on 12 August. On 18 August, the 2nd Army, excluding the 8th Corps, was redeployed to the Battle of Galicia to counter the Russian Army. This left the 5th Army, unprepared for mountain warfare, struggling to cross the Drina River and maintain coordination with the 6th Army to the south. Meanwhile, the Serbian Army, well-prepared for defensive operations, successfully drew the Austro-Hungarian forces into Serbia, engaging them separately. This culminated in the Serbian victory at the Battle of Cer on 20 August.[12] By the end of summer 1914, all Austro-Hungarian forces had withdrawn from Serbian territory, marking the first Allied victory of the war.[12]

Second Invasion and the Battle of the Drina edit On 8 September, Potiorek launched a second invasion, aiming to capture Belgrade. However, the offensive stalled at the Battle of the Drina, where the 5th Army was repelled and forced to retreat into Bosnia. Simultaneously, the 6th Army, facing the threat of encirclement by Serbian and Montenegrin forces, withdrew on 25 September.[13]

Valjevo Offensive and the Battle of Kolubara edit A renewed offensive began on 24 October, with Austro-Hungarian forces making significant gains in northern Serbia. By early November, their superior artillery forced the Serbian Army to retreat. On 2 December, the 5th Army successfully captured Belgrade. However, shortly thereafter, a Serbian counteroffensive at the Battle of Kolubara forced the 6th Army into a disorganised retreat towards Syrmia. The Serbian Army then turned its attention to the 5th Army, driving it back into western Banat. Faced with potential annihilation, the Balkanstreitkräfte was compelled to withdraw from Serbia entirely, abandoning Belgrade, which Serbian forces recaptured on 15 December.

By the end of December 1914, losses sustained by the Balkanstreitkräfte amounted to 274,000 personnel, including nearly 30,000 killed, over 122,000 wounded, and 75,000 missing or captured.[c] The severity of these losses led to the dissolution of the 6th Army, with its remaining units integrated into the 5th Army. According to historian John R. Schindler, the failure to overcome the Serbian Army, a force largely composed of peasant soldiers, inflicted a severe blow to the self-confidence, pride, and prestige of the Habsburg Monarchy.[15] On 17 December 1914, General Oskar Potiorek was relieved of his command and formally resigned a few days later. Command of the remaining 5th Army was assumed by General der Kavallerie Archduke Eugen. On 27 May 1915, the 5th Army was redeployed to the Isonzo front, marking the final dissolution of the Balkanstreitkräfte.

source and more information:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkanstreitkr%C3%A4fte

source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sunnybrook100/albums/72157602114332290/

The Motorkanonwagen was the most futuristic Austro-Hungarian rail-cruiser of World War I. A rail-cruiser was a type of armored train, a self-propelled rail car with one or more fully-rotating turrets, akin to a tank on rails The Motorkanonwagen, a self-propelled armored rail cruiser was armed with a 7cm Skoda gun. It could travel independently or be hooked to a larger armored train.

photos: http://www.fortepan.hu/_photo/download/fortepan_52263.jpg

https://georgy-konstantinovich-zhukov.tumblr.com/image/73785664882a

The gun in the first clip is the Austrian M1849 tube-lock rifle, and the gun in the second clip is the Lorenz M1854 from war of rights game.

, the reason second cilp is from game because it can't find good real life Lorenz rifle video

Since both were used by Austria, this post isn't off-topic, right?