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The next on the list is Germany’s powerful neighbour, friend, and ally on her southern frontier, Austria-Hungary.

There is in the Austro-Hungarian Army a varied assemblage of different races: the honest Austrian, the proud and fiery Hungarian, the smart Czech, the true-hearted Tyrolese, the thin onion-eating Wallachian, the hot-blooded Croat, the nomad Slowak, the homeless gipsy, etc., etc., are all represented in its ranks. All these have been welded together by the iron bands of discipline into the “Imperial and Royal” Army. The Emperor is Commander-in-Chief, and with him rests the decision for peace or war.

After the disastrous campaign of 1866 the Austrian Army was entirely reorganised. The reorganisation is now almost completed, and the Army now takes its place as one of the foremost in the world. The division of the Empire into Cis- and Trans-Leithania—i.e. this side, the Austrian, and that side, i.e. the Hungarian, of the Leitha, a tributary of the Danube, is only partially carried out in the military system.

According to the conscription law of December, 1868, universal conscription is now the rule; in the whole Austro-Hungarian Empire, and exemption by purchase, formerly allowed, is now abolished. The forces are divided into the Standing Army, the Ersatz Reserve, the Landwehr, and the Landsturm.

About 103,000 recruits are yearly admitted into the Standing Army, of which Cis-Leithania contributes 54,000. Those able-bodied young men who are not taken into the Standing or Active Army are sent for ten years to the Ersatz Reserve, which is intended, as in Germany, to provide reinforcements for the Active Army. Service in the latter is for three years with the Colours and seven years in the Active Reserve. Service in the Landwehr is for two years for those who have served ten years in the Active Army and Reserve or in the Ersatz Reserve, and for twelve years for those who have been sent straight thither, for various reasons, on conscription. After the Landwehr service, the soldier is sent for five years to the 1st Class Landsturm, and for five years more to the 2nd Class Landsturm. By this time he is forty-two years of age. The one-year Volunteers are enlisted in the same manner as in Germany (q.v.).

The whole Empire is, for military purposes, divided into fifteen Territorial Districts; these are of various sizes, so that the Austrian Army Corps are not all of the same strength. In case of war, the whole “Imperial and Royal” Army would be grouped into three armies, under one supreme command, each army consisting of three or more Army Corps. The Army Corps consists of 2 Infantry Divisions, each of 2 brigades. The division is commanded by a “field-marshal-lieutenant,” corresponding to our lieutenant-general, and the brigade by a major-general.

Each Infantry brigade has as a rule 2 regiments, and 1 battalion of Rifles. Besides the 2 Infantry brigades, each Division has in addition 2 to 4 squadrons of Cavalry, 1 battery division (2 to 3 batteries of Field Artillery), and 1 company of Engineers.

The Infantry of the Active Army comprises 102 regiments, each of 4 Field and 1 Ersatz battalions; the latter is in peace-time represented by a cadre only. The 4th Field battalions, so-called “Mobile” battalions, have mostly a stronger peace-establishment than the others, and are used to garrison Bosnia, Herzegovina, and the Sanjak of Novi-Bazar; i.e. they are completely separated from their regiments.

The Rifles comprise the Tyrolese Rifle Regiment of 10 Active and 2 Ersatz battalions, and 32 independent battalions of Rifles, each of 4 Field and 1 Ersatz companies.

The Infantry has (since 1868) laid aside its historical white uniform, and is now clothed in dark blue tunics or loose jackets, and light blue trousers, the latter in the Hungarian regiments being ornamented with embroidery and fitting like tights. The Hungarian regiments wear lace-boots, the remainder Wellingtons. The usual head-dress is the fatigue-cap, and, on great occasions, the shako. The Rifles are dressed in blue-grey.

After 1866 the Austrian Infantry was armed with an excellent breech-loader, the Werndl rifle. Since the German Infantry have attained a certain moral superiority by being armed with a magazine-rifle, the authorities have introduced a magazine-rifle for the Infantry and Rifles.

So quickly has the work of manufacturing and issuing them proceeded, that by the autumn of this year (1890) it is expected that they will all be thus armed, and will have overtaken the German Infantry. The new Austrian magazine-rifle, called after its inventor, Colonel MÄnnlicher, is of ·315-inch bore, and can fire 30 to 40 shots in the minute.

Austria possesses an excellent Rifle Regiment in the Tyrolese, the so-called Emperor Rifles, mentioned above, which is composed of men accustomed from their youth up to the use of the rifle. They are recruited in the Tyrol and Vorarlberg.

The Cavalry of the Active Army consists of—

14	Regiments of Dragoons (Austrians and Bohemians),
16	Regiments of Hussars (Hungarians), and
11	Regiments of Lancers (with Polish Reserve).

Each regiment consists of 6 squadrons and a depÔt-cadre. In case of mobilisation the latter develops into one Ersatz squadron (in which are trained the Ersatz men and the extra horses required), one Reserve squadron for supply purposes, and two sections of Staff Cavalry for service at the headquarters of Corps and at Field-Supply stores. The peace establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Cavalry accordingly comes to 246 squadrons, and the war-establishment to 246 Field, 41 Reserve, and 41 Ersatz squadrons, besides the Staff Cavalry.

The Cavalry Regiments are clothed according to their nationality. The Dragoons wear a light-blue tunic, the Uhlans their tunic of peculiar cut, and the Hussars the jacket and attila, the latter as a rule suspended by yellow cords from the shoulder. The whole Cavalry wear red breeches, tight in the Hussar regiments, and loose in the others.

The Hungarian Hussars, on their small but swift horses, are a peculiarly national institution. These Hussars (from a Magyar word “husz,” meaning “twenty,” from the fact that every twenty houses in Hungary had to provide one horseman in days gone by) have always been particularly prominent in the Austrian Army and were long held to be pre-eminent in their mode of fighting, until Frederick II. formed some regiments after their pattern. These were afterwards increased to ten in number, and, under celebrated leaders like Zieten, soon won for themselves renown equal to that of their Hungarian cousins.

The whole of the Cavalry is armed alike, with sword and Werndl carbine. The Uhlans’ lances have been done away with since 1884, but there is a question of the re-introduction of this old Polish weapon. After the Infantry has been fully armed with the magazine-rifle, the Cavalry will, it is said, be armed with repeating-carbines, which will have been served out by next spring (1891). This is an example which, it is to be hoped, other armies will soon follow.[18]

The Artillery comprises Field and Garrison Artillery. The Field Artillery consists of 14 regiments of Corps Artillery, numbered according to their Army Corps and each of 5 batteries; and of 28 independent Heavy Battery Divisions, each of 3 batteries. Several Corps Artillery Regiments have in addition a couple of Horse Artillery Batteries, or a Mountain Battery.

The batteries have each in peace-time 4, and in war-time 8, fully-horsed guns. An exception to this are the Horse Artillery batteries, which always have 6 guns in the battery.

The Mountain Batteries, which have been found most useful in campaigns in Dalmatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, are a peculiar feature of the Austrian Artillery. Their guns can be dismounted and packed on the backs of mules, and in this way they can be transported along narrow mountain-paths.

The Corps Artillery Regiments are to have their number of batteries increased by one each, but this will barely be completed before 1892.

The Austrian Field Artillery has an excellent weapon in the shape of the 2·95-inch Uchatius steel bronze gun, and also that of the 3·43-inch bronze gun for the heavy batteries, both equal in worth to the Krupp gun. The shells are of the German pattern, but the shrapnel have fewer bullets than the German ones. Besides these projectiles, case-shot, fire-shells, and so-called high-angle shells, for bursting among troops behind cover, are carried with the battery.

The Garrison Artillery numbers 12 battalions, each of 5 Field and 1 DepÔt-cadre companies. Eighteen more battalions have been projected, and will be formed in the course of the next few years according to the amount of money in hand.

The uniform of the Artillery is dark-brown. The men are armed with sword and revolver, those of the Garrison Artillery carrying the Werndl rifle instead.

The Corps of Engineers is composed of the Engineer Staff and Engineer troops. The former is exclusively composed of officers; the latter of 2 regiments of 5 battalions each. Each battalion has 4 Field, 1 Reserve, and 1 DepÔt-cadre companies. The Pioneer Regiment, not considered as Engineers, consists of 5 battalions, similarly constituted to the Engineer battalions.

The Railway and Telegraph Regiment, which has but recently been formed, after the German model, consists of 2 Field and 1 DepÔt-cadre battalions.

The Train consists of 3 regiments of 5 squadrons each and a DepÔt-cadre.

There is no Guard Corps in the Austrian Army, so several bodies of troops have been formed for the honour of protecting the Emperor person and guarding his palaces. These are the Arcieren squadron of Life-Guards, the Hungarian Body-Guard, the Trabanten Body-Guard, the squadron of Horse-Guards, and the Infantry Company of the Guard. These troops are richly dressed in peculiar uniforms.

The Landwehr is formed into two distinct bodies, which are also quite distinct from the Active Army; each Landwehr is under its own ministry of defence. In peace-time only the cadres exist; that is to say, that of 92 Infantry battalions and 6 Cavalry regiments (24 squadrons) of Cis-Leithanian Landwehr, only 1 strong company per battalion and 1 strong squadron per Cavalry Regiment are kept up.

The Native Rifles (LandesschÜtzen) of the Tyrol and Vorarlberg consist of 10 battalions in time of peace, which are in war-time increased by ten Reserve battalions.

In Trans-Leithania the Landwehr forms a peculiar national Hungarian Army, the so-called HonvÉd Army, which is subject in war-time only to the commander-in-chief, and in peace-time only to the Royal Hungarian jurisdiction, i.e. the Ministry of Defence and the Landwehr Ministry. It forms in peace-time the Cadres for 92 battalions of Infantry and 15 regiments of HonvÉd Hussars (60 squadrons). The officers of this force are trained in the HonvÉd Ludovica Academy at Buda Pesth. It is on this Army, whose standards and badges are of the Hungarian colours, and which in time of war reaches nearly 200,000 men, that the pride of Hungary rests. It is this Army whose predecessors saved the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy from destruction a century and a half ago. On the 21st of September, 1741, the Empress Queen, Maria Theresa, came to her Parliament at Presburg in dire distress. Dressed in the national Hungarian dress, with her newly born son (destined to become Joseph II.) in her arms, pain and courage depicted on her noble countenance, she advanced towards the Hungarian nobles, and in a powerful Latin speech asked for the National Army to be called out, to protect her and her country from her many foes. Then the Hungarian magnates tore their crooked swords from their scabbards, clashed them wildly together, and shouted: “Moriamur pro rege nostro Maria Theresa!” With the help of her brave Hungarians, Maria Theresa, after making peace with Frederick II. of Prussia, succeeded in beating off her numerous enemies.

If we consider that the total strength (on a war establishment) of the Austro-Hungarian Army, Line and Landwehr included, exceeds one million of trained men, of which 778,889 belong to the 1st Line, and we remember that the Cis-Leithanians are in no way inferior in warlike spirit, that inheritance of their forefathers, to their brethren on the far side of the Leitha, we shall come to the conclusion that in the Austrian Army, with its excellent Corps of officers and excellent material in the shape of men and horses, any State in Europe would find either a powerful adversary or a most desirable ally.

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