The Imperial-Royal Landwehr ( or k.k. Landwehr), also called the Austrian Landwehr, was the territorial army of the Cisleithanian or Austrian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1869 to 1918. Its counterpart was the Royal Hungarian Landwehr (k.u. Landwehr). The two Landwehrs, together with the Common Army and the Imperial and Royal Navy, made up the armed forces (Bewaffnete Macht or Wehrmacht) of Austria-Hungary. While the name, "Imperial-Royal", might seem to suggest a link between the "Imperial" (Cisleithanian) and "Royal" (Transleithanian or Hungarian) halves of the Empire, in this context "Royal" actually refers to the Kingdom of Bohemia (Königreich Böhmen or České království) - not a sovereign kingdom on par with the Kingdom of Hungary, but a crownland of Cisleithanian Austria-Hungary and possession of the Habsburgs, who remained formally entitled to kingship. In this sense, the Kingdom of Bohemia was comparable in status to the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria and the Kingdom of Dalmatia.
Unlike the German Empire, where the Landwehr mainly comprised reservists and volunteers, the Imperial-Royal Landwehr consisted of regular units. It was fully established with regular troops and not partly mobilized or cadred. The Landwehr should not be confused with the Landsturm which was a volunteer militia.In 1917 the term Landwehr was replaced in the infantry by Schützen, for example "Landwehr Infantry Regiment" = "Schützen Regiment" i.e. "Rifle Regiment"
History
The roots of the Landwehr go back to the 16th century when there were calls on all able-bodied men to defend their country.
During the Napoleonic Wars a Landwehr was established by imperial decree dated 9 June 1808 as a standing and common institution to complement the regular Austrian army. This army was used in 1809 and in 1813/14. In 1859, the Landwehr was abolished.
After the Austrian Empire had lost the war against Prussia, the Austro-Hungarian Compromise put an end of the unitary Austrian rule over Hungary and established the Dual Monarchy. Hungary now wanted its own forces under command of the Hungarian government alongside the existing Imperial and Royal Army and Navy, which were commanded by the Emperor and Austro-Hungarian Minister of War. So the Compromise included the right of Hungary to establish the Royal Hungarian Landwehr (Magyar Királyi Honvédség), often colloquially known as the Honved or Honvéd (Honvédség).
As a consequence, the Cisleithanian counterpart of the Honved, known as the Imperial-Royal Landwehr, was established in the "kingdoms and lands represented in the Reichsrat", i.e. the remaining Empire of Austria. Its tasks were finally confirmed in 1889 in the Austrian Defence Act (RGBl. 41/1889) as follows:
§ 4. The Landwehr is tasked in time of war to support the Army and to defend the homeland; in peacetime, and by exception, also to maintain law and order and security of the homeland.
In § 14 Wehrgesetz 1889 the annual recruiting quota for the Landwehr was set at 10,000 men.
Conscription in the Landwehr was from age 21 up to 32 and included two or three years on active duty. The one-year volunteer served just one year, but received no wages and had to pay for their own equipment. After age 32, conscripted Landwehr soldiers were transferred to the Landsturm militia. As there were more conscripts available than were needed, a lot decided who was assigned to the army, who to the militia and who to the reserve.
The monarch became the supreme warlord, holding all authority over the structure, organization, and administration of the army. He appointed the senior officials, had the right to declare war, and was the commander-in-chief of the army.
The Landwehr's "March No. 1", which Beethoven composed in 1808, as the "March of the Bohemian Landwehr" (Marsch der böhmischen Landwehr), is known nowadays as the Yorck March (Yorckscher Marsch). As an element of the Grand Tattoo, performed e.g. by the Bundeswehr, it is now one of the best known German military marches.
Colours The Imperial-Royal Landwehr initially had no colours. However, in September 1915, Emperor Franz Joseph I granted the authority for the "M 1915" colours in recognition of "exceptionally meritorious achievements" by the Imperial Landwehr, which was then manufactured under the supervision of the Army Museum in 1916. These were to be handed over to the various regiments after the war. The process was regulated by the ordinances of the Imperial-Royal Landwehr, Standard Regulations, Part 22, dated 8 September 1915, in which the procedure for the award of colours was laid down by Special Order (Zirkularverordnung) 4 Sep 1915, Presentation No. 14,256. For this, the following letter was issued:"His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, in gracious recognition of late of the exceptionally meritorious achievements by the Imperial Royal Landwehr, which fought throughout the recent war alongside troops of the Imperial and Royal Army, demonstrating stalwart and faithful discharge of duty before the enemy, and repeatedly earning the very highest tribute, graciously condescends to permit the Imperial Royal Landwehr troops to bear colours. In view of the design and material requirements of these colours, as well as their production and ceremonial presentation, they will only be available after the end of the war. This very highest act of grace is intended to spur the troops of the Imperial Royal Landwehr further to new deeds of heroism and, of course by further brilliant performance against the enemy, will prove they are worthy, time and again, of this most high honour!"
Freiherr von Georgi m.p.
General of InfantryThe colours were not issued during the period of the monarchy, but only later to traditional units. How many of these colours were made is not known. Records show that at least the colours of the 2nd Linz Landwehr Infantry Regiment were transferred to the Kameradschaftsbund ehemaliger Zweierschützen ("2nd Rifles Old Comrades Association") in Linz on 8 June 1924. Also the existence of the colours of the 1st Vienna Imperial Royal Landwehr Infantry Regiment are known to have existed.
Structure The Austrian Landwehr reported to the Imperial-Royal Ministry of Defence (likewise the Hungarian Honvéd reported to the Royal Hungarian Ministry of Defence - both independent of the joint Ministry of War).
The k.k. State Ministry of Defence was located in Vienna at Babenbergerstraße 5. The Landwehr high command was housed on the first floor of the former Imperial Department of Justice at Schillerplatz 4. Landwehr staffs and the Landwehr Base Command were quartered in private homes. During the First World War, the k.k. Ministry of Defence was responsible under the War Office for homeland defence.
The Landwehr had its own barracks, depots and officer training establishments. The training of Landwehr officers took place in the Imperial-Royal Franz Joseph Military Academy in Boerhaavegasse in Vienna, one of five military academies in Austria-Hungary. In addition, there was a military upper school in Vienna and a military lower school in Bruck an der Leitha.
The Landwehr barracks in Vienna were the Kaiserebersdorf Landwehr Artillery Barracks, the Emperor Franz Josef Landwehr Barracks and Siebenbrunnengasse Landwehr Barracks. Next to the last-named barracks was the Landwehr Equipment Depot. The Imperial-Royal Landwehr Arms Depot was the Arsenal in Vienna.
The Imperial-Royal Landwehr (k.k. or kaiserlich österreichisch/königlich böhmisch) was the standing army of Austria responsible for the defence of Austria itself. Its order of battle at the outbreak of the First World War was as follows:The Austro-Hungarian Forces in World War I (1) Osprey Men-at-Arms 392 by Peter Jung p.23, 2001 37 infantry regiments - each of 3 battalions (4th with 5 bns, 23rd with 2 bns, and 27th with 4 bns) 6 regiments of lancers (uhlans) 8 field artillery battalions (Feldkanonen-Divisionen) 8 field howitzer battalions (Feldhaubitz-Divisionen)
The mountain infantry had the following units: 2 mountain infantry regiments, the 4th and 27th 4 Tyrolian rifle regiments (Tiroler Landesschützen Regimenter) (1st, 2nd and 4th with three battalions and the 3rd with 4 battalions) - from January 1917 named "imperial rifles" (Kaiserschützen) 1 mounted Tyrolian rifle battalion (Reitende Tiroler Landesschützen) 1 mounted Dalmatian rifle battalion (Reitende Dalmatiner Landesschützen)
Although the Landwehr infantry regiments were weaker in personnel than Imperial and Royal Infantry regiments (Landwehr regiments had just three battalions instead of the usual four in the Common Army - exceptions were the 1st and 3rd State Rifle Regiments who also had four battalions), they were often superior in terms of equipment. The parliaments of Cisleithania and Transleithania were rather more willing, to support "their" troops with financial resources than the common army.
A special feature was the title of the Landwehr regiments, which bore the name of the garrison location of their regimental staff (e.g. 6th Eger Landwehr Infantry Regiment - k. k. Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment "Eger" Nr. 6). The same was true of the state's rifle units, which also belonged to the Landwehr (3rd Innichen State Rifle Regiment - k.k. Landesschützen-Regiment „Innichen“ Nr. III). In this way, the closeness of each regiment with its garrison was emphasized.
Infantry On 11 April 1917 the infantry units of the Landwehr were renamed. The title "Landwehr" was replaced by "Schützen" ("Rifles"). The changes were as follows:
Landwehr Infantry Division (Landwehr Infanterietruppen Division) = Imperial-Royal Rifle Division (k.k. Schützendivision) The word Truppen which was commonly used as in Landwehr Infanterie-Truppendivision and Infanterie-Truppendivision, was discontinued. Landwehr Infantry Brigade (Landwehrinfanteriebrigade) = Imperial-Royal Rifle Brigade (k.k. Schützenbrigade) 5th (Pola) Imperial-Royal Landwehr Infantry Regiment (k.k. Landwehr Infanterie Regiment "Pola" Nr. 5) = 5th (Pola) Imperial-Royal Rifle Regiment (k.k. Schützenregiment "Pola" Nr. 5)The names in brackets were also dropped in 1918, but no-one stopped using them, especially as the existing letterheads and stamps had to be used up first.
Landwehr Infantry Divisions
13th Landwehr Infantry Division Vienna VIII. Bez. Albertgasse 24 (Commander: Feldmarschalleutnant (FML) Eduard Edler von Kreysa, Chief of Staff (CoS): Captain (General Staff Corps) Heinrich Mazanee Edler von Engelhardswall) (Landwehr Command in Vienna)
25th Landwehr Infantry Brigade (Vienna VII Bez. 28) (Commander: Generalmajor (GM) Karl Englert) 1st Landwehr Infantry Regiment 24th Landwehr Infantry Regiment
26th Landwehr Infantry Brigade (Brno) (GM Emil Lischka) 14th Landwehr Infantry Regiment 25th Landwehr Infantry Regiment
21st Landwehr Infantry Division (Prague) (FML , CoS: Lieutenant Colonel (General Staff Corps) Josef Ritter von Hiltl) (Landwehr Command in Prague)
41st Landwehr Infantry Brigade (Plzeň) (GM Otmar Panesch) 6th Landwehr Infantry Regiment 7th Landwehr Infantry Regiment
42nd Landwehr Brigade (Prague) (GM Alois Podhajský) 8th Landwehr Infantry Regiment 28th Landwehr Infantry Regiment 29th Landwehr Infantry Regiment
22nd Landwehr Infantry Division (Graz) (FML , CoS: Major (General Staff Corps) Karl Plachota) (Landwehr Command in Graz)
43rd Landwehr Infantry Brigade (Graz) (GM Josef Nemeczek) 3rd Landwehr Infantry Regiment 26th Landwehr Infantry Regiment 31st/1st Landwehr Infantry Regiment
44th Landwehr Infantry Brigade (Pola) (GM Ignaz Schmidt Edler von Fussina) 4th Landwehr Infantry Regiment 5th Landwehr Infantry Regiment 27th/2nd Landwehr Infantry Regiment
26th Landwehr Infantry Division (Litoměřice) (FML Karl von Křitek, CoS: Lieutenant Colonel (General Staff Corps) Wilhelm Klingkigt) (Landwehr Command in Litoměřice)
51st Landwehr Infantry Brigade (Vysoké Mýto) (GM Viktor Seidler)