created dismounted sections, and these in time became the basis of
Schiitzen divisionen of cavalry, analogous to infantry battalions.
In the winter 1917-8 a thorough reorganization was carried out. The regiment which at the outset had comprised 6 squadrons of 150 sabres each, one pioneer section, and one telegraph patrol, was re- constituted on the basis of 2 half-regiments each of 4 squadrons dis- mounted ; 2 machine-gun squadrons (8 guns each), 2 hand machine- gun sections and a technical squadron, besides an infantry gun section comprising 2 trench mortar squads, 2 bombthrower squads, one searchlight squad, and one cavalry telephone squad. The equip- ment of the individual man was assimilated to that of the infantry soldier. In each infantry and cavalry division there only remained mounted one squadron of divisional cavalry.
The cav. div., which had originally comprised 2 brigades, 4 regi- ments, 1-2 machine-gun detachments, and a horse artillery divi- sion (three 4-gun batteries), consisted on the new basis of one (or 2) brigade headquarters, 4 dismounted regiments, one storm regiment, one sapper section, one telegraph company (if required, one radio company) and one mounted squadron. From the available horse artillery were formed " mounted field artillery " regts., each of 2 gun, 4 howitzer, and I trench mortar batteries. In 1918 it was planned to create brigades of horse art.illery for the cavalry divisions, each consisting of one of the horse regts. and a heavy artillery regiment.
In March 1918 a I2th (mounted Schiitzen) Div. was created out of 4 regiments of that category.
Artillery. No arm in any .army was so completely transformed in the war as the Austro-Hungarian artillery. Though worthy of its ancient reputation in point of science and training, it suffered at the outset from inferior material. Whereas Russia and Serbia taking to heart the lessons of Manchuria had modernized their guns, in Austria-Hungary these necessities were burked on political and financial grounds.
It is true that the gun introduced in 1905 was a. modern Q.F. equipment, equivalent to Russian and Serbian weapons of the same class. But the field and heavy howitzers, dating from 1880 and 1899 were, like the mountain guns and howitzers, obsolete and ineffective. Inadequate, too, was the fortress artillery. Apart from some 3O-5-cm. mortar batteries, sent at the outbreak of war to the western front, and some 24-cm. mortar batteries, only quite obsolete guns were available.
In the years preceding the war, indeed, the most urgently neces- sary steps had been taken towards modernizing of the artillery. In the first place numerical increase was necessary. As against the 7254 guns per division of other powers Austria-Hungary had only 42.
After various augmentations in the last two years the artillery consisted at the outbreak of war of 42 army, 8 Landwehr and 8 Honved field-gun regiments, each of 5 batteries (4 in the Landwehr and Honved divisions) ; 28 army and 8 Landwehr field howitzer divisions (each of 2 batteries) ; 9 army and one Honved horse artil- lery divisions (each 3 batteries) ; 14 heavy artillery divisions (each 2 batteries) ; 10 mountain artillery regiments (each of 4 gun and 2 howitzer batteries), and one independent mountain division 1 ; 6 regiments and 7 battalions of fortress artillery.
During the war the development of the artillery was naturally ceaseless. It began with the replacement of old-pattern guns and increases in the available numbers of field guns. At the beginning of 1915 the old field and heavy howitzers were replaced by Q.F. 10- cm. and 15-cm. weapons, and a modern io-4-cm. long gun ranging to 12 km. was brought out. Further, two completely modern mountain equipments (7'5-cm. gun and lo-cm. howitzer models 1915, ranging to 7 and 8 km.) gradually supplanted the older types.
In the course of the war the former ratio of howitzers to guns was greatly modified, till finally the former preponderated. In succession, batteries were taken from the field-gun regiments and re-formed in new howitzer regiments. The heavy howitzer divisions were aug- mented and in part armed with the new 15-cm. equipment, and, further, II io-4-cm. heavy-gun batteries, as well as some heavy howitzer divisions in both Landwehrs, were created.
By the end of 1915 the proportion of howitzers had come to be about 50 %, and at the end of the war there were three times as many howitzers as there were guns.
Up to the end of 1915 the mountain artillery had been augmented by 5 regiments, the fortress artillery by one battalion, while the number of 3O-5-cm. batteries increased to 20. At that date the for- mation was in progress of motorized batteries of 15-cm. guns and howitzers (ranging to 18 and 12 km. respectively). At the beginning of 1916 all K.K. and Hungarian Landwehr howitzer divisions were grouped, by fours in the case of the light, by threes in that of the heavy, into regiments. At the same time greater attention was paid to the anti-aircraft artillery, which received modern as well as im- provised weapons.
At the end of 1916 there were: 28 army, 8 Landwehr, 8 Honved, 14 army reserve, 3 Honved reserve field-gun regiments, 9 horse artillery divisions; 28 army, 8 Landwehr, 8 Honved, 14 army reserve, 4 Landwehr reserve, 3 Honved reserve field howitzer regiments; 45 anti-aircraft batteries; 30 army, 8 Landwehr, 8 Honved, 3 army
1 Each of the 10 regiments formed an additional battery of guns on mobilization.
reserve, one Honved reserve heavy field artillery regiments; 28 army, 4 Landwehr, 3 Honved mountain artillery regiments.
At this period the introduction of 2i-cm. mortars, of 38- and 42- cm. mortars and of 24- and 35-cm. long guns into the armament of the fortress artillery was in progress. These were completely modern guns, were motorized, and ranged to 15 km. in the case of the mortans and to 26-32 km. in that of the guns. Twelve trench mortar batteries were also added to the fortress artillery.
This organization remained substantially unaltered during 1917, the only noteworthy change being the transformation of the horse artillery already alluded to (summer 1917), the steady augmentation in the number of fortress batteries and the increased employment of heavy naval guns.
In connexion with the reorganization of the infantry divisions at the end of 1917 the artillery was of course recast also. In peace-time the artillery regiments, etc., had been so arranged that in each corps area an artillery brigadier commanded all units of the arm in that area. In war each infantry division had originally a brigade of artillery (one regiment field guns, one division howitzers 2 ). In Feb. 1918 the organization took up its final form. The artillery regiments were uniformly reorganized with gun and howitzer batterie^ in each ; and the designation " Field Artillery " was adopted by all. Each artillery brigade (one per division, i.e. 66) henceforth consisted of 2 field artillery regiments, one heavy field artillery regiment and one mountain artillery group. The field regiments had 2 gun and 3 howitzer batteries, and either a trench mortar or an anti-aircraft battery. The heavy field artillery regiment had 45 batteries, one only being armed with io-4-cm. guns and the others with 15-cm. howitzers. The mountain artillery group had 2 gun and one howitzer battery.
The artillery, with cavalry divisions, was similarly reorganized and gradually provided with heavy artillery units.
After providing for the above-mentioned mountain groups, there remained 14 independent regiments of that branch. These were con- stituted as a G.H.Q. reserve, and each consisted of 6 gun and 3 howitzer batteries.
At the end of the war the field and mountain artillery of the Austro- Hungarian army amounted to a total of 864 light, 328 heavy, and 324 mountain batteries, as against 369 light, 28 heavy and 74 moun- tain at the outset.
The fortress artillery was also reorganized, and renamed " heavy artillery." Hitherto its organization had varied according to its- allocation to fortresses, but thenceforward it was formed in 14 regi- ments each of 4 groups at 4 batteries. On the verge of the Armistice 4 independent groups were created at Trieste, in Dalmatia, and in Montenegro.
Technical Troops. In 1893 the previously existing engineer and pioneer corps were reconstituted as a single pioneer corps carrying out all engineer duties; this corps consisted of 15 battalions. In 1912 a new subdivision was introduced. " Pioneers " were allocated to water work and " Sappers " to land and fortress work as had been the case before 1893. The pioneer corps then consisted of 8 four- company battalions and the sapper corps of 14 three-company bat- talions. At the same time a special bridging battalion (for semi- permanent work) and a river-mining company were created. Both corps did their work well in the war, but they were far too small.
At the beginning of the war a o,th Pioneer Battalion was in exis- tence, and the number of companies in each battalion had risen to 5 in the pioneer, 6 in the sapper battalions. The army was accom- panied in the field by a variety of technical formations such as tool columns and mobile parks. The bridging equipment consisted of 126 units, each capable of 53. miles of bridging.
The inadequacy of numbers was made good immediately after the outbreak of war by creating Landsturm sapper companies and numerous works detachments.
In the middle of 1915 a second bridging battalion was raised, and by the end of that year trench mortar, bombthrower and electro- technical units were in existence. The pioneer battalions had now up to six companies and the sapper battalions up to ten. In 1917 a special battalion was formed for offensive gas warfare. Other tech- nical branches were created to deal with close-combat means (air- mining, powder-mining, bombthrower sections, compressed air, oxygen and air-liquifying stations); electro-technical matters (searchlights, live-wire obstacles, accumulators, drinking water and pumping machinery, ventilators, boring tools) and other things, and these were constantly augmented.
The thoroughgoing reorganization of winter 1917-8 affected also the technical troops. The pioneers were abolished, and all technical services placed in the hands of the sappers while close-combat means and searchlights were transferred to infantry, cavalry and artillery formations. Thenceforward the sapper corps consisted of 60 three- company battalions (l per division and the remainder to corps, etc.), I flamethrower battalion, and numerous bridging tool and other units. To the sappers now belonged also the well-boring and the electro
1 In the 8 K.K. Landwehr divisions an army gun regiment of 4 batteries, a Landwehr gun division of 2, and a Landwehr howitzer division of 2. In the 8 Honved divisions, 1-2 divisions of an army gun regiment and one Honved gun regiment.
