The Austrian Imperial-Royal Army (Kaiserliche-Königliche Heer) 1805 – 1809: Introduction

By Enrico Acerbi

The following table explains why the year 1809 (Anno Neun in Austria) was chosen in order to present one of the most powerful armies of the Napoleonic Era. In that disgraceful year (for Austria) the Habsburg Empire launched a campaign with the greatest military contingent, of about 630.000 men. This powerful army, however, was stopped by one of the more brilliant and hazardous campaign of Napoléon, was battered and weakened till the following years.

Source: Neue Statistisch-Geographische Beschreibung des Königreichs Ungarn,

Croatien, Slavonien und der ungarischen Militär Grenze, Weygand, Leipzig 1832

The Austrian Military Reforms

Evolution of the Infantry Units 1802-1816 (source Wrede) [2]

* independent battalions - ** included two Landwehr battalions (only for Erbländer or Imperial hereditary provinces) each with 6 companies - *** Hungarian Reserve Depot (one division) had two companies (440 men in peace and 208 in war)

Authorized Strength Numbers for Regiments

* With 4 companies each – two veteran, old or Alt-Grenadiere companies (with the fur cap)  - two young or Jung Grenadiere companies (with shako)

The nominal number of the Gemeinen (common troopers) of a company was 160. After the 1809 disaster the numbers of the soldiers went down to 60 in the German regiments and 100 in the Hungarian regiments.

The nominal number of the grenadiers of a company was 120 in the German regiments and 150-160 in the Hungarian regiments

These numbers was not always rigid. In Octobere 1805,  for example, in Italy the Austrian army was noticeably reinforced. There, the Infantry regiments had 4 fusiliers battalions plus one Grenadier’s battalion, which remained by its regiment. Two Infantry regiments formed a brigade.

On October 18, 1805, as regular order of battle, every Infantry brigade had a 3 pdr battery (no artillery for cavalry brigades). The regiments moved with their own artillery and, for this, was formed a special support reserve of 180 2-horse drawn carriages (Karren) and 33 4-horse drawn ammunition wagons (Leiterwagen). The artillery park was, as in the previous campaigns, at Palmanova in Friuli.

Austrian Army 1807-1812 Schemes[3]

After 1800 and the first army reorganization, the Austrian army or K.K. Österreichisches Heer improved its organization with a new recruiting system and the widening of the duty services, created new units and enlarged the Hungarian troops (probably either for having lost a large amount of crown lands, either under the direct French threats). As said, the great test for this new army completely failed in 1809. At the end of 1807 the forces (“Stande”) of the Austrian army was the following:

Infantry: 63 Line Infantry regiments -- 1 Jäger Infantry regiment -- 17 National-Grenzregimenter or Military Border regiments.

Cavalry: 8 Cuirassier regiments -- 6 Dragoon regiments -- 6 Chevaulégers regiments -- 12 Hussars regiments -- 3 Uhlans regiments

Artillery: 4 Feldartillerie regiments.

Staff:  (see the following dictionary of army ranks for details upon Austrian names)

Engineers: (Geniedirektor or Engineers commander: Archduke John)

Engineers Corps or Ingenieur Korps: 4 FML, 5 GM, 6 colonels, 8 Lieut.colonels, 12 majors, 64 captains, 47 lieutenants

Miners or Mineur Korps: 1 Colonel, 1 Lieut.Colonel, 1 major, 4 captains, 4 lieutenants, 4 Second lieutenant, 1 adjutant, 4 companies of  100 men.

Generalquartiermeister Staff: (GM Mayer), 4 colonels, 6 lieutenant colonels, 14 majors, 23 captains, 13 lieutenants scattered in the territory, fortresses, major cities, the military border, and sometimes named when needed.

Pontooners (Battalion Czaikisten): 1 colonel, 5 captains, 6 lieutenants, 6 second lieutenant, 11 Oberbrückenmeister (a kind of sergeant major), 6 companies each with 100 men.

Military Train (Militärfuhrwesens Korps): 1 colonel, 1 lieutenant colonel, 1 major, 6 Premier-rittmeister (first captain), 9 second-rittmeister (2nd captain), 26 lieutenants, 34 second lieutenant, 11 adjutanten scattered in the train (Fuhrwesens) divisions of the major cities.

Remountierung-Beschälswesens (horse breeding and horse replacements providers): 2 colonels, 2 lieutenant colonels, 2 majors, 3 rittmeister (scattered among the stations of Mezöhegyés, Meskowitz, Brandeis, Olmütz, Kolnitz, Vienna and Wels).

Kriegskommissariat (War Commissioner): 22 Oberkriegskommissäre, 72 Feldkriegskommissäre, 74 Kriegskommissariat officers (scattered in countryland, provinces).

Militär-Ökonomie-Commissionen and Depots (Commissioners for Military Economy and Depots): at Stockerau, Prague, Alt-Ofen (now Budapest), Brünn, Podgorze, Jaroslaw, Marburg, Karlsburg and Vienna (each with 1 Staff officer, 1 captain and 2 lieutenants).

Invalidenhäuser (Hospitals for Invalids): Vienna, Prague, Turnau, Pettau (each with a commander, a Staff officer, 1 Auditor, 1 Rechnungsführer, 1 adjutant, 1 arzt (surgeon), 1 kaplan (priest), 1 Kriegscommissär).

Military academies: Vienna (Engineers), Wiener-Neustadt (Cadets), Joseph-Akademie of Vienna (medical service), Thierarznei-und Thierspital-Institutof Vienna (veterinary).

Military Police (Wiener Militär-Polizeiwache): at Vienna. Mounted and foot “gendarmes”. (2 captains, 1 lieutenant and 1 second lieutenant, 1 adjutant and 300 policemen.

Imperial Guard (Leibgarde)

The German Line Infantry [4]

The line infantry had regiments with 2 grenadier  companies and 16 fusilier  companies. The regiment was split in three battalions: the 1st or Leibbattalion, the 2nd or Oberstbattalion (both with 6 companies), the 3rd or Oberstlieutenantsbattalion with 4 companies.

An Infantry company had:

German Infantry Grenadier Company (end of 1807)

The German regiments or “Deutsch infanterie Regiments”- (those from the Erbländer or hereditary lands and regions) in peacetime: as under August 7, 1810, Emperor Franz Order, diffused by Hofkriegsrat compared with the new layout of August 10, 1811. The German Infantry regiments of the Austrian army had: 2 grenadier companies and 12 fusilier companies. Each fusilier company could have roughly 180 men (160 after 1805 and only 60 after the disaster of 1809).

Each battalion had one flag, which remained in the middle or in the wing (first line) of an attacking platoon. It was carried by a Führer, who was at his officers side. Companies had four platoons (Züge) and no sections. In peacetime there were 7 Vize-Korporalen, who were helped, in campaign, by 1 Feldwebel and 6 Korporalen.

The Hungarian and the Siebenbürgisches (Transylvania) Line Infantry regiments of the Austrian army had: 2 grenadier companies and 16 fusilier companies.  Hungarian companies could have around 200 men. The situation of the Hungarian Infantry regiments will be described in the Hungarian section.

After the 1809 disaster this was the evolution of the Austrian “German” units:

German Infantry Regiments after 1811

German Infantry Company after 1811

Wishing to present the Austrian army in detail, I decided to order the various units in branch of services, leaving only Infantry in a recruitment areas form, in an attempt to explain the Austrian system of raising regiments by areas (Werbergänzung) or regions of the same nationality. The following table is a numerical index of the infantry regiments with the appropriate section to look for them. Finally I enclosed a small dictionary of the Austrian ranks, for people who wants to enter more details.

Notes:

[1] Including Landwehr, Insurrectio (40000) and volunteers.

[2] Wrede Alphons Frhr. von: “Geschichte der K. und K. Wehrmacht”, I. Band, Wien 1898.

[3] Source: Carl Edler von Bundschuh bearb.v. „Uibersicht (sic) der bey der k.k. Oesterreichischen Armee bestehenden Militär-Oekonomie-Systems und allen dahin Bezug nehmenden Gesetze“, Erster Band, Prag 1812. Some numbers are very hard to read in the tables, so my apologies if few mistakes could have occurred.

[4] In addition to what previously explained we can say that, in 1807, the term “german”, according to the original language of people, is quite unappropriate. In effect among the so called “german” units (which wore white trousers) there were bohemian, moravian, silesian, galician units. Otherwise among the “hungarian” infantry there were the Transilvanian (Siebenbürgische) and Banater units, some of which actually spoke German.

[5] Soldiers who served as personal waiters (orderly).

[6] Music band NCOs with the Feldwebel’s rank.

[7] Three in the case of the presence of a Fähnrich.

[8] Archduke John Nepomuk died on February 19, 1909. The regiment was taken by graf Eugen Argenteau.

Placed on the Napoleon Series: February 2010 - February 2011; updated January 2013