Together with the
Dragoons and
Uhlans, the Imperial and Royal Hussars (
German: k.u.k. Husaren), made up the
cavalry of the
Austro-Hungarian Army from 1867 to 1918, both in the
Common Army and in the Hungarian
Landwehr, where they were known as the Royal Hungarian Hussars (k.u. Husaren).
Following the signing of the Compromise, the
Austrian half of the Empire also started to build an army, the
Imperial-Royal Landwehr (German: k.k. Landwehr). The two new Landwehr forces thus existed alongside the
Common Army (Gemeinsame Armee), the imperial army of the whole Empire. In effect this meant that
Austria-Hungary had three separate armies at the same time.
Organisation
The Common Army had 16 hussar regiments and the Royal Hungarian Landwehr had ten. By tradition, the majority of the hussars were recruited from the
Hungarian lands (modern-day
Hungary,
Slovakia and parts of
Romania,
Serbia,
Croatia,
Austria and
Poland). The
regiments, with a few exceptions, were all stationed there.
The Imperial and Royal
Cavalry regiments each had two divisions (
battalions) each of three
squadrons (Eskadronen)
The Imperial and Royal Hussars in 1914
A list of the Imperial and Royal Hussars regiments in 1914 is given below by short title (i.e. "1st Hussars" as opposed to "1st Regiment of Hussars").
The regiments listed below were part of the Royal Hungarian Hussars, also known as the Royal Hungarian Honved Hussars (k.u. Husaren), Honvéd being Hungarian for "Home-defender". English sources usually refer to regiments simply as e.g. the "1st Hussars" or "1st Honved Hussars".:
Johann C. Allmayer-Beck, Erich Lessing: Die K.u.k. Armee. 1848-1918. Verlag Bertelsmann, München 1974,
ISBN3-570-07287-8.
Stefan Rest: Des Kaisers Rock im ersten Weltkrieg. Verlag Militaria, Wien 2002,
ISBN3-9501642-0-0
Das k.u.k. Heer im Jahre 1895 Schriften des Heeresgeschichtlichen Museums in Wien - Stocker Verlag, Graz 1997
k.u.k. Kriegsministerium „Dislokation und Einteilung des k.u.k Heeres, der k.u.k. Kriegsmarine, der k.k. Landwehr und der k.u. Landwehr“ in: Seidels kleines Armeeschema - Herausg.: Seidel & Sohn Wien 1914
k.u.k. Kriegsministerium „Adjustierungsvorschrift für das k.u.k. Heer, die k.k. Landwehr, die k.u. Landwehr, die verbundenen Einrichtungen und das Korps der Militärbeamten“ Wien 1911/1912