Today on Gus’ Gear I present a few Austro-Hungarian uniform examples. Austrian pre-war uniforms are very common due to several movie costume houses saving them for use in movies. Named uniform groupings are very rare, and I am lucky to have two named groupings in my collection. I have already presented them in previous posts, but will touch on them again as I cover the Austro-Hungarian corner of the collection.
The tunic is an early war example of light blue with grass green collar and cuffs. The full collar and cuffs are an indication of the beginning of the war. Shortages soon eliminated the cuffs and reduced collar colors to about 20% of the collar and then even smaller, to a very small strip of color on each side. On the left shoulder is an Achseldragoner made of gold and black lace. This is an indication of a mounted soldier’s uniform and the original purpose was to keep his cartridge belt from slipping off his shoulder. The silver buttons indicate he is from a “German” unit, not actually German, but
German speaking instead of Hungarian, Czech or one of the other ethnicities. The lanyard on the right breast is a post war addition, as the uniform was worn for ceremonies during the first Republic period. The water bottle is the standard enameled bottle with the mounted carrying strap and the ammunition pouches are the mounted style single pocket examples. The belt is also a mounted roller buckle belt but is not part of the original grouping.
This is a late war example consisting of M1915 tunic and breaches, M1917 steel helmet that is similar to the German M1916 helmet, M1916 gas mask with carrying canister slung over the left hip. The equipment consists of M1908 ammunition pouches on an M1895 belt with M1895 brass buckle and a scabbard for an M1895 bayonet over the top of a haversack on the left hip. The M1895 Steyr rifle and bayonet (as shown here) would have been the standard weapon issued to an infantryman.
An example of a Hungarian Honvéd dressed for cold weather. He lacks a head covering because that is a cap that I have yet to acquire. The overcoat is very similar to the type worn by Austrian soldiers, it is double breasted with five buttons per row as is normal for an OR’s coat. It is made of coarse wool and is dated 1916. There are slip on wool leggings rather than wrap puttees. The equipment is standard M1908 ammunition pouches on a roller buckle belt. These belts were originally used by mounted troops but they were less expensive to produce, so they replaced the M1895 belts with brass belt plates in many cases. The standard issue haversack on his left hip would carry his water bottle in a special pocket as well as his personal belongings.
This is an Austrian officer’s Mantel (overcoat) and differs from the OR’s coat in that it has six buttons per row on the double breasted front. It is also fully lined and made of better quality wool. The piping is grass green and with white buttons. It could have been from the same regiment as Ferdinad Holzner.
This is a K.u.K Kriegsmarine uniform worn by Alfons Bartsch. He was born in 1890 and entered service as a seaman in 1910 serving through the Great War and working up in the ranks. This uniform was purchased from his grandson off of a German internet auction site and over a year’s time additional items were acquired. The jumper shown here is interesting as it was at one time modified to be a child’s garment. The front was sewn together in a pleat and the sleeves were shortened by folding them into themselves mid sleeve and sewn to shorten them by about 6 inches. The insignia on the right sleeve is that of an engineer and is printed on cloth and sewn on. The collar is a separate button on example, the neck scarf and trousers are part of the grouping, the belt and pouches were added. The K.u.K. Kriegsmarine Kappe with the S.M.S. Babenberg Talley is not a part of the Bartsch grouping. Unfortunately, another grandchild acquired Alfons’ cap in the past and gave it to a theatrical group.
This is another one of Alfons Bartsch’s uniforms. The jumper has an integral collar and the trousers have the standard broad fall closure. There are paint spots on the left sleeve indicating that this uniform was used for work in civilian life.
This is a white deck jacket worn by Alfons Bartsch at some point during his time in the Kriegsmarine.
And for Joe and Sabine, a litter of coyote puppies that grew up on my farm a few years ago (and by a few years, I mean last century). There were 9 in the litter and they were born in a den a short distance from where I had to walk every day to change crop irrigation water. Their mother would shadow me and my dog as we walked along the ditch. Before I knew there were pups, I was worried that the coyote was trying to lure my dog off to attack as they are known to do. For about a week, I always carried a revolver as I thought the coyote was a threat, but when I noticed the pups, I realized that we were the threat. After several weeks of daily contact, the pups got accustom to us and we could walk within a few feet of them without alarming them. On one occasion, my dog tripped over one of the pups that was hiding in the grass. What was unusual is that the dog did not acknowledge the presence of the pup. They all grew to adults and as there was a very bad rodent infestation that year, they grew fat and saved me many thousands of dollars in rodent damage to a crop of wheat.