"Austrian Feldjagers in WW1" Topic

Hey all,

For all you WW1 gurus out there:

It appears in the Austro-Hungarian OOB that each Austrian brigade would usually have a battalion of Feldjagers attached.

Does anyone know if their uniform was significantly different than standard line units?

Also, I think it is safe to assume that they were trained differently than the standard line unit. Do you all think the difference would be pronounced enough to rate jagers better than other troops?

Thanks!

J

The Feldjagers did not have a special cut of uniform. Jagers had collar tabs that have been described as "grass green" or "apple green," so take your pick, as well as (if earned) green marksman lanyards. Bosnian Feldjagers wore a fez rather than tradition army headgear. The Bosnian battalion facing color was alzarin red. Jagers and Bosnians had yellow uniform buttons.

The k.u.k. suffered from a lack of trained and qualified officers and ncos from jump street, so I don't know how much stock I'd put in their jager battalions being better than their line.

No guarantees as to how guru-like this might be, but J S Lucas's book "Austro-Hungarian Infantry 1914-1918" has this to say on the subject of Austrian WW1 Jaegers -

JAEGER AND BOSNIAN REGIMENTS

THE KAISERJAEGER
The four regiments had lower establishments than Common Army regiments and only the second regiment had four battalions; the other had only three apiece.
The peacetime strength of such a regiment, excludingthe Reserve battalion cadre, was 84 officers and 1570 men.
The Kaiserjaeger regiments had such a distinguished career during the Great War that on January 16,1917, the Emperor bestowed upon the 8th Infantry Division the distinction of 'Kaiserjaeger' Division in recognition of the conspicuous gallantry with which it had fought on both the eastern and southern fronts.

THE BOSNIAN-HERZOGOVINIAN INFANTRY REGIMENTS
Like the Kaiserjaeger, the Bosnian units of the Monarchy were considered to be elite formations and had four regiments on the peacetime establishment.
Each had its full complement of four battalions and in some case, supernumerary battalions were raised which were converted into Feldjaeger battalions, except in one case when a fifth regiment was formed during the war, from the supernumeraries.
When the reduction to three battalion regiments was ordered, the units released thereby were combined to form a further three regiments.
Other troops raised from Bosnia were thirteen Lines-of-communication battalions.

FELDJAEGER BATTALIONS
Whereas the Kaiserjaeger and Bosnian regiments had drawn their men from certain defined areas of the Monarchy, the soldiers of the Feldjaeger battalions had been recruited from the mountainous areas of the whole Empire. The Feldjaegers were intended to form a light and mobile extension of the elite Kaiserjaeger and, in fact, Feldjaeger battalions 3, 15 and 26 were incorporated into the Kaiserjaeger establishment as ordinary battalions of those regiments.
The pre-war establishment allowed for 32 battalions, one of which had been raised from Bosnia. During the war the total of Feldjaeger battalions was raised to 42, of which eight were Bosnian and one was a composite battalion made up of the cyclist companies from four battalions.
The 1914 establishment of a Feldjaeger battalion was normally four Companies but Nos 11, 20, 24 and 29 battalions had only three field companies each and a machine gun section. The No 4 company of each of these four battalions was mounted on collapsible bicycles. Cyclist companies were made up of three platoons and a machine gun platoon. They also had two lorries, two motor-cycles and a cyclist first aid detachment on strength.
Independent rifle battalions had a peacetime strength of 24 officers and 395 other ranks exclusive of the Reserve company cadre.

ORDER OF BATTLE OF AN INFANTRY DIVISION – AUGUST 1914
> 2 Infantry Brigades, each brigade = (2x regiments of 3x battalions each) + (1x Feldjaeger battalion)
> 2 squadrons cavalry
> 1 Artillery Brigade = (5x field artillery batteries) + (2x howitzer batteries)

ORDER OF BATTLE OF AN INFANTRY DIVISION – MAY 1915
> Infantry Brigade = (1x regiments of 3x battalions) + (1x Feldjaeger battalion)
> Infantry Brigade = (1x regiments of 3x battalions) + (2x Feldjaeger battalions)
> 2 squadrons cavalry
> 1 Artillery Brigade = (5x field artillery batteries) + (2x howitzer batteries) + (2x heavy howitzer batteries) + (1x 30.5xm mortar battery) + (1x 12cm gun battery)

As of August 1918, an A/H infantry division appears to have had two infantry brigade HQs overseeing three infantry regiments and three Feldjaeger battalions.

SERVICE DRESS
Austria-Hungary had been one of the first European nations to understand the necessity for concealment and had produced a grey, combat uniform for the Jaeger regiments of its Army. This colour was adopted for the standard service dress which was introduced in 1907. Certain national and service distinctions were preserved but the uniform became general issue for all arms by the year 1915. It was also in that year that a change in colour from pike-grey to field-grey was begun.

Hope this is useful. Happy New Year.

B

Thanks guys! This is definitely helpful!

J