The Feldjäger were established in 1808 as Jäger infantry in the Empire of Austria and later formed part of the regular infantry of the Common Army, only their peacetime uniform distinguishing them. The designation Jäger for the soldiers and Feldjäger for their units had purely historical reasons, as light infantry and skirmisher units had been abolished in 1866.
Uniform
Emperor Franz Joseph I in the parade uniform of the Jäger infantryRanking list of FJB No. 6 from 1909Barracks of the 10th Jäger Battalion in Vigo del Fassa
The hat made of matte black, waterproof felt served as the parade headgear for the Jäger and k.k. Landwehr. It had a crown and brim and was decorated with a circular green cord, the Jäger hat badge and a hackle of black cock feathers. The chinstrap was made of sheep's wool, had a button and an acorn covered with green wool at each end. The two acorns were attached to the rear of the crown. The cord for officers was made of black interwoven gold thread.
The crown was in the shape of an oval cone, with a moderately bulbous base at the top. The brim was level at the back and front, but turned up on both sides. The edge of the brim was edged with black, lacquered calfskin.
On the left side of the brim was a rearward sloping pocket made of hat felt for attaching the hackle. The hat badge - made of gilt metal - depicted a hunting horn. In the space within the coil, a Tyrolean eagle (heraldic animal) was attached in the case of the Kaiserjäger, or the battalion number in the case of the Feldjäger. They were made of silver-coloured nickel silver. The badge was attached above the hackle pocket, so that the eagle or the number slanted in the same direction as the pocket. The plume was in the shape of a cock's tail tied to a 1.5-mm-thick piece of steel wire. The length of the plume was 29 cm. The plume was inserted into the pocket on the hat, so that the feathers hung down in an arc towards the back.
The tunic of the Jäger - for soldiers and officers - corresponded in cut to that of the infantry. The soldiers' coat of pike-grey cloth had epaulettes, shoulder patches, collar and cuffs of grass-green colour. The buttons of all Jäger units were yellow[a] and marked with the battalion number.
The Jäger jackets were the same colour as the coat. Their arm of service was indicated by their grass-green parolis. The rest of their equipment was no different from that of the line infantry.
Units
War memorial in Leitmeritz to Feldjäger Battalion No. 1 (1911)
Reinforcement company cadre with augmentation magazine (training)
War establishment
26 officers, 1,100 men, 70 horse
Battalion staff
4 field companies
1 Jäger machine gun division
Wagon train
Reinforcement companies (in the home garrison)
Sources
Austrian State Archives / War Archives in Vienna
Footnotes
^The buttons were not actually yellow, but were made of zinc sheet covered with tombac - so they were actually gold coloured
Literature
Peter Fichtenbauer, Christian Ortner: Die Geschichte der österreichischen Armee von Maria Theresia bis zur Gegenwart in Essays und bildlichen Darstellungen, Verlag Militaria, Vienna, 2015, ISBN978-3-902526-71-7
Johann C. Allmayer-Beck, Erich Lessing: Die K.u.k. Armee. 1848–1914. Verlag Bertelsmann, Munich, 1974, ISBN3-570-07287-8.
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 – Publisher: Seidel & Sohn Vienna, 1914
Hauptmann V. Pech: Heerwesen-Tabellen Lehr- und Lernbehelf für Militärerziehungs- und Bildungsanstalten sowie Reserveoffiziersschulen, Prague, 1915
Stefan Rest: Des Kaisers Rock im ersten Weltkrieg. Verlag Militaria, Vienna, 2002, ISBN3-9501642-0-0
