Austro-Hungarian Mountain Infantry Uniform (c. 1917) 

I would certainly be inclined to agree!

They didn’t use the stahlhelm as extensive as the Germans. I always see them in soft hats just regular patrol caps.

I agree to disagree

@@juliusdream2683 After 1916, they started to use helmets.

@@juliusdream2683it really depended on the front, Italian front very few helmets where used in Italy because of the high elevation and fear of the helmet acting like a lightening rod, although if you had the money or you where willing to risk it you could get a helmet Now on the eastern front the helmets were used a fair bit more, although it was a mix of Russian Adrian (mainly in the reserves) and German imported stahlhelms.

I'm American, I had a few ancestors who served in the first world war.

My great uncle was a Bosnian conscript that fought on the side of Nazis during WW2 he didn’t make it but I herd he fought well, good man. My father was in Bosnian special forces and fought against the Serbs during Yugoslav collapse im so proud of him for fighting. I think my great great grandfather fought in ww1 im not completely sure but I am certain since he would have been a Muslim and of course Bosnian during the time of Austria-hungry so chances are he would’ve been deeply loyal to the duel monarchy and probably would’ve volunteered at outset of the war. And now it’s my turn, when I turn 20 I’m planing on joining special forces(my family immigrated to America in the late 90s before I was born) to become a green berate

Yes

Thank you so much! I feel terrible as I have not gotten around to making content as often as I have promised. My next impression hasn't been completed as planned, and I am unhappy with the editing software I am currently using. In the next few days I am actually collaborating with another reenactor to do some filming for a new, large video. We will going on a kit hike in the mountains, filming in my studio and more. Hopefully all goes as planned, as if it does I expect this next video to be a minimum of 15 minutes, likely closer to 25-30. Will be very edited so hopefully I can make good time on the production side. Besides that, I still have smaller content planned, and I am making good progress putting together the uniform of a Mountain Infantry Officer. I look forward to having you around and enjoying future content, thanks for the support!

That is high praise. Thank you very much! I look forward to you enjoying future content. I apologize about not having a new video out yet, between college finals and a new job I've been swamped. I have several filmed already. A new uniform / impression showcase should also be out within the next 2-3 weeks I'd say. Waiting on one last order and it will be complete. This one will probably be very surprising.

@@postcardsofhistory1914 You're welcome, I will wait patiently so take your time

Im from Austria too

Why don’t you start? You already have the background and interest all you need now is the time and interest

Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed. I hope you stick around for future content.

I purchased my mountain rifle sling from Jarda Rezac at Militarie-Repliky.cz

You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed.

Do you know where i can buy them ?

UmlaufShoes in the Czech Republic. Thank you!

Still brand new! I also have been slow on content. Just started a new job and my college finals have been eating up the past few weeks. I have two or three videos filmed that need editing right now, and I plan on getting them out in the next week. Once summer begins content should become more regular. Current upcoming videos: - Several Postcard Reviews - 2-3 Long form history videos - New Impression / Uniform Showcase Thanks for watching, and I hope you stick around!

I will likely do this as a combination with my armistice day video, since I think it correlates with why I got into this hobby. Thanks for watching!

@@postcardsofhistory1914 do you habe an Instagram or social media, I’m Also putting together a Bulgarian infantryman kit and I can help you out with where to get things

This impression, with just the gear in this video (if you include rifle) will run you about 2.5k-3K said and done, and this is really only the surface level of this impression. Officer’s uniform and kit could easily run you 4K-5K or more depending on what branch you are portraying and how much repro vs original items you are using. The system is even more complex than you state, as Austro-Hungarian actually had 3 separate armies. You had the KuK (common army) commanded by both Austria and Hungary. The kk (Austrian Landwehr) and the ku (Hungarian Honved). Each had separate command structures but they often found themselves working together. The many languages and bureaucracy only hindered combat efficiency even more on top of this complex web of administration.

@@postcardsofhistory1914 Depending on how authentic you want to be, a Federal [Union] reenactor can expect to pay roughly $1500 [cheap gear] to $2500 [high quality gear] to 4500 [top end 'campaigner' authentic]. That's for: shirt, braces, trousers, sack coat, kepi, waist belt and buckle, cartridge box w/ strap and chest plate, canteen and strap, and musket. Other stuff adds to this cost [brogans, haversack, etc. etc.]

Cap was from Jarda Rezac of Militarie-Repliky. He added on the internal feather pocket at my request. The feathers were sourced from someone in Sweden. They are tail feathers from the Black Grouse. I had to actually buy a tail and cut out the feathers to make mine.

Are you saying the Frommer is CGI? 😂

@@postcardsofhistory1914 yep

You don't typically find them on their own. Mine came tailored with my uniform. You could perhaps ask Jarda Rezac to sell you just a shoulder roll.

Various places. If you head to my website kukreenactment.net/, it has a pretty extensive breakdown of kit vendors.

@@postcardsofhistory1914 Hey btw I found on your website from photo of your grandather in Austro-Hungarian Army that he was in Nr. 45 regiment that was from Galicia (Przemyśl exactly), am I right? Or he was in the other regiment

I apologize for taking so long to get back. As of right now, Militarie-Repliky is the best source I know of, especially as far as cost goes. Textiler.cz makes some nice custom stuff, but its very expensive. There are other independent tailors I know make Austro-Hungarian pattern uniforms, but I cannot remember their names, they sell mostly through facebook.

I personally would not accept German low boots as an alternative in my unit, and I do not know of any who do. My perspective is this, if you are creating these AH impressions you should be prepared to spend more than you would with some of the more popular impressions like WW1/2 German. You can get KuK Lowboots for around $300-$350, and I would accept those as alternatives to the mountain boots which will run you $450+. Additionally, in doing reenactment, you should prioritize authenticity over cutting costs. This isn’t to say I don’t cut corners, but I would not use a clearly incorrect piece. Hope this helps.

@@postcardsofhistory1914 I would say depends more what kind of unit and what kind of period of the war you're trying to depict. In special during 1918 shortages got really bad because the regional authorities of the empire really started to do what they wanted and started to ignore the imperial level institutions. And regions who produced a lot (like bohemia) started to cut down on shipments of goods, and other regions who didn't had much started to forcefully capture shipments of good (like that vienna grain shipment incident). In an account of my great-great grandfather, who was a royal hungarian artillery captain during that time, he described how he had to allow his men to source civilian clothing, because he was utterly unable to secure any kind of military clothing for his men. (probably that little military grade clothing there was went straight to frontline infantry units).

@@BaDitO2 This is true, but German Boots would just not be acceptable from my view. Unless there were fringe cases where they were looted from dead German Comrades, there is just no evidence for it from what I have seen. Germany did contribute large quantities of wartime material to Austro-Hungary, but boots and other clothing are not one of the goods I am aware of. Their support was largely in the form of advanced equipment such as gas masks, explosives, aircraft, etc. I have seen plenty of photos from the 1917-1918 period, and while much of the fancy dress regulations of the army had been ditched either for practicality or necessity, the items used in uniform itself (universal M1916) remained largely intact.

I am sure there are examples of frontline infantry using M1888/95s due to shortages. On the Italian front especially, there are plenty of examples of soldiers ditching M95s for Carcanos simply due to lack of supply. Although if you were really interested in AH reenacting I would just say make the investment for a long M95. It can be used with almost any impression and they are not expensive if you know where to look.

They had their own canteens, I imagine he just didn’t have the canteen at the moment. Some units were issued a semi y strap but not what you will imagine, they KUK also used whatever they could since some soldiers didn’t really care since later in the war lots of stuff weren’t produced anymore

Helmets you have two choices: an original shell, which will be a minimum of $350-$400, possibly more. Or a repro, which you can find for anywhere from $90-$150. You could also do a berndorfer, but a berndorfer shell is $1k or more. There’s also one guy who makes reproduction berndorfers for $500.

You're correct! Some of the Italian WW1 stuff is a little bit harder to come by, but both are pretty niche impressions in the USA. My group, Kaiserschutzen Regiment No. I is actually partnered with an Italian WW1 reenactment unit. You can find them here: facebook.com/salernoww1

Check links in description. Those sites will have all the info you need to get started.

You can acquire originals from ebay.at, but they can be quite expensive. I bought the Black Grouse feathers from www.trappern.se/. The price was abt $70. He ships you the tail and you'll need to cut it up for the individual feathers. I had enough from the tail to make 2 Spielhahnstößes. I may make a tutorial on this in the future.

@@postcardsofhistory1914 sweet thanks, I’m planning on doing an early war Hechtgrau impression of the Gebirgsjäger, slowly putting it together. I have the rifle and bayonet along with an original trench knife that in the future I’m going to use with a later war impression as well as the original m17 I own:)

@@darrionsloan923 No problem! I plan to have my unit eventually do some early war impressions, but if you are considering doing late war I hope you consider joining! (assuming you're on the East Coast or can make it out to events :) )

@@postcardsofhistory1914 Where on his website can you find said feathers?

@@darrionsloan923 email him directly about “black grouse” feathers. You can mention my name or reenactment and he should know what you need.

I apologize for not getting back sooner, this is a very low quality photo but should get the point across: www.warhats.com/uploads/5/7/1/5/5715187/s733876465344419401_p1161_i53_w1010.jpeg. I have seen more than just this, but this is most readily available to show to you.

@@postcardsofhistory1914 I think this is short mannlicher(on the photo), not long one(that you have)

@@kacpertarnowski81 yes it most likely is. The Kaiserschutzen used both carbine and long rifle.

Mid east coast right now, but we may expand further out as membership grows. The main tacticals will be taking place in Virginia, and living history events across SC, NC, VA, etc.

@@postcardsofhistory1914 any in NJ or PA

@@diedonau9843 As far as Kaiserschutzen, no, my unit is the only one in the USA. If you’re near PA, there is a common army unit, KuK IR63 which does events in Newville.

@@postcardsofhistory1914 I was definitely thinking about joining them as they do infantry. Their website says for shoes just low boots so I was assuming they would except German ones

@@diedonau9843 I would ensure with them first. They may be referring to any KuK low boot style. Their regulations through GWA are pretty strict, certainly more so than mine.

So long as they are field grey, yes.

@@postcardsofhistory1914 ok, thank you

Personally, I would say no and no. Carbines were very rare outside of the M95 Stutzens and some captured carcanos (I am actually not aware of any other carbine models in use). They were only issued to four groups primarily: Mountain Infantry (KS), Cavalry, Stormtroops, and some machine gun crews. I am not aware of any Chilean Mauser 1912s being used in the carbine version. (which may not have even existed yet, a lot of the carbines were post war conversions as full size rifles were still the mainstay in WW1). As far as the M95/30 carbines go, I say no assuming you have one with a ring sight. If you have a ring sight, I would certainly refuse it if you were in my unit. If does not have a ring sight, you could use it for a temporary basis, but it is not accurate to WW1 either. Stutzens were actually several inches shorter than the 95/30 post war conversions. I always say it is best to get a M88 or M95 long rifle for AH impressions. (M88 only for early war or rear echelon). They are not as pricey as you may think especially if you watch for a deal.

@@postcardsofhistory1914 thank you. I understand not wanting to just throw your email out there but I have photos of the rifles I’m talking about if you want to see them for yourself. It would be easier to describe what I’m talking about too. Thank you for replying

@@IkeThemage Sure, send it to me at nathanweisskopf@kukreenactment.net

@@postcardsofhistory1914 hey, I’m sorry this is so late. I just got an original ww1 m1895 long rifle and I wanted to know if I can do that with the mountain kit. I want to do a 1915 austro Hungarian impression

@@postcardsofhistory1914 I am open to all year of the war though

If you include the rifle, I’d put a conservative estimate of $2-$3k. $2000 is about right for basic uniform and kit (tunic, trousers, effects, boots, puttees, belt, pouches, etc). $3000 is if you start throwing stuff like the greatcoat or cloak, hiking stock, and more on there. Like any impression, if you go in depth it could easily go $5k or more

Don't worry about your English it's perfectly understandable. The unfortunate thing about this impression (and Austro-Hungarian Impressions in general) is that they are very pricey. You either do it right, or you don't do it at all. The only alternative to make the uniform yourself would be sourcing the wool and recreating the uniform from scratch, but doing so without a pattern would be next to impossible, and it probably would not look very good. If you just want cheap, your best bet would be to find reenactment buy-sell groups on facebook and hope an Austro-Hungarian reenactor is getting rid of some stuff they no longer need. Otherwise, you're out of luck. Sorry.

find yourself a good tailor that can make something accurate, the costs will probably be 30-40% of what you can buy online

Kaiserjäger were still mountain infantry but under the command of the Common Army rather than the Austrian Landwehr, this also means their recruitment was not done exclusively in the mountainous regions of Austria and could be from other lands in the Empire. Landesschützen and Kaiserschützen are the same thing at different points in the time. From their creation until 1917, they were called Landesschützen. In 1917, by decree of Emperor Karl, they were renamed Kaiserschützen to honor their fierce and elite fighting in the war up until that point.

@@postcardsofhistory1914 thank you for your reply and this information is useful to find austro-hungarian army uniform 👍

@@postcardsofhistory1914 : There had been , starting in 1915 ( italian attack on austrian territory) also the ,Standschützen'. Literally ,Schooting Range Shooters'. When the italian attack started, for reason of ,Dreibund' ( Germany, Austria, Italy) there had been nearly no austrian troops next to austrian/italian border. Only the border Forts had been manned by elderly austrian artillty reservists. So in case of emergency, Gendarmes, customs service and forrestry officials , Marschbattailone formed of garrison soldiers, soldiers on holliday etc. and the ( more civilian ) Standschützen , formed of old men, to young men and not really serviceable men did first resistance.

If you are referring to the “knickerbockers” I am aware they used them. There is plenty of evidence for the Kaiserschtuzen using M16 universal trousers, however.

Yes K.u.K had greatcoats, I just didn't show mine off for this video. Kaiserschutzen also had cloaks which they often preferred over greatcoats, but I do not yet own one.

@@postcardsofhistory1914 I’ve seen the cloaks but I know nothing about them got any info on them?

@@gladiatordude3723 To my know knowledge they were mainly issued to the Kaiserschutzen. The idea was that unlike the greatcoat, which regulations stated you wore your gear on top of, a cloak you would wear over the standard uniform and gear. This way you could have greater freedom of movement if necessary, and it would also be easier take off if you no longer needed the warmth. Both of these were advantages for warfare in the Alps and Dolomites.

Not from me, although, if my schedule goes to plan, I should have a video showing one off soon. It will either be part of a larger video or its own thing, I haven't decided yet.

The German and Austro-Hungarian cloth helmet covers were quite similar. Is it possible? Yes. Have I seen evidence for it? No. Hope that helps!

Could you possibly show us your proof of evidence of this? For example period photos showing various Austro-Hungarian soldiers wearing them? Would like to have an actual reference before purchasing one for my impression. Thanks,

@@justinjemas1677 Sure, so if you want some photos and references I've uploaded this PDF on google drive of some various pictures and illustrations from my reference books: drive.google.com/file/d/14TKaZMtQMnppjWMCwW33ClMwXDjZ1qkr/view?usp=sharing I'll also include this from Feldkappe by Brian Calkins: "The solution for France, Italy, Germany, and Austria-Hungary was only the issuing of cloth helmet covers... The Austrian War Ministry deemed it unnecessary that all soldiers needed this extra protection, so production was limited to approximately 10 percent of helmet orders. These cloth covers, known as uberzug, were manufactured under contract and delivered to various depots for eventual distribution. Covers were also made in the field by either company tailors or troops themselves. Helmet covers were made from various shades of tan or natural colored canvas, unlike their German counterpart that used the original metal hook system of the spike helmet cover, the Austrian covers used a simple drawstring to secure them to the helmet shell." I'll also say that it appears that I'm using the wrong style of cover (I'll update in description). Austrian covers appear to exclusively secured to the helmet by the use of a drawstring, not metal loops. Not sure how I missed that, but I'm glad this was able to bring my attention to it. Hope this helps!

@@postcardsofhistory1914 world war supply sells a good drawstring cover for German stahl helms for ww1, but doesn’t have the vent lug openings Guess you could use the excuse of being one of the crafted ones.

Kaiserjäger and Kaiserschützen are two diffrent things😅

Old comment, but I'll clarify for anyone reading. Kaiserjäger were mountain infantry that were a part of the common army. They were recruited from many different places. Kaiserschützen were exclusively recruited in Austria / Austrian-half of the Empire and were under the command of the Landwehr, not the common army. Kaiserjäger did not wear the Edelweiss or the feathers in their caps.

I’d love for you to point out any mistakes. To directly answer some of your concerns: I did not mention the Berndorfer for two reasons 1) I do not have one to showcase and 2) there were less Berndorfers used than German-Style Stalhelm shells. If you look at any period photo, M17s and other German Shells are more prevalent than Berndorfers. Domestically alone, Austria-Hungary produced over 3x more M17s than they did Berndorfers (around 510k M17s vs 140k Berndorfers. This also does not take into account the 400k+ German Shells which were imported). You are also incorrect in saying it was issued prior to the M17, both began domestic production in May of 1917 and before that they were issuing the imported German Shells. The paint color is also admittedly, not anywhere close to perfect. There is a reason I opt to use my helmet with a cover if and when I choose to wear it. There are limited resources on helmet colors and the only source I found online for repainting said Isonzo Brown was roughly RAL 9000 I believe. Feel free to mention any other issues but the only other major issue I am aware of is the helmet cover being more a German style than Austrian.

Naja bei der Farbe kann man ihn Kritisieren aber auch verteidigen, da es zu dem Zeitpunkt ja keine RAL gab also war da durchaus ein kleiner Spielraum. Aber für isonzobraun ist es zu dunkelbraun das stimmt schon, und berndorfer helme gabs nicht so viele