4th Infantry Regiment (Austria-Hungary)

Battle Glory

The regiment was formed in 1696 by agreement of the Emperor of Austria Leopold I with the Grand Master of the German Order Franz Ludwig Pfalz-Neuburgsky, who became the commander and chief of the regiment. Since 1525, only the head of the Holy Roman Empire could appoint the Master of the Teutonic Order. The regiment’s official birthday is June 3, 1696 , when the regiment entered the service of the Kaiser. The regiment included immigrants from the Franconian district .

On the account of the regiment, participation in many wars: being in Transylvania , the regiment more than once fought against the Turkish troops. On September 11, 1697, he distinguished himself near Zenta , for which a thank-you letter was sent on behalf of the regiment commander, Baron Damian Hugo von Firmont zu Neerzen. In 1717, commander Damian Casimir von Dalberg distinguished himself near Belgrade , and on June 18, 1757, at the Battle of Colin (one of the battles of the Seven Years War), the regiment defeated the hitherto invincible Prussian army of Frederick the Great , after which the day of June 18 became a regimental holiday, and after the war the territory of the Vienna Forest (in the suburbs of Vienna) were erected regimental barracks. Since 1769, the regiment received the 4th number and chief in the person of the Grand Master of the German Order (its mention was abolished in 1814 after the Napoleonic Wars), and since 1806, the archduke from the Habsburg family became the patron of the regiment.

In 1799, he participated in the battle of Novi under the command of Suvorov . In a stubborn battle for many hours, the regiment lost up to 3/4 of the personnel and almost all the officers ^[5] .

The regiment also distinguished itself in the suppression of the Hungarian revolution in 1848 and participated in the Austro-Italian-Prussian war.

Structure

By August 1, 1914, the structure of the regiment was as follows:

• Subordination: 2nd Army Corps , 25th Infantry Division
• The national composition of the regiment: 95% are Germans, 5% are other nationalities ^[6]
• Headquarters: Vienna
• The deployment of battalions: 1st - Wollersdorf, 2nd and 3rd - Vienna, 4th - Konits
• Commander: Colonel Baron Ludwig von Holzhausen
• Headquarters officers:
  • Oberst Lieutenant Heinrich Vanek
  • Oberst Lieutenant Franz Hassentoifel
  • Oberst Lieutenant Hugo Fisher Thomas See
  • Major Erich Nauheimer
  • Major Baron Joseph von Waldstetten-Zipperer
  • Major Maximilian Friedinger
  • Major Oscar Mayer
• Colors:
  • uniform color: dark blue
  • lapel color: sky blue
  • button color: gold
• Language: German

Disbandment and successors

In January 1915, the regiments were deprived of patrons and honorary titles, retaining only their numbers, but only the 4th Infantry Regiment was an exception to the rule (probably due to bureaucratic confusion) ^[7] . During the so-called reforms of Konrad since June 1918 the number of battalions was reduced to three ^[8] , and the 4th battalion was disbanded ^[9] .

In 1918, the regiment was finally disbanded after the collapse of Austria-Hungary, however, the traditions and memory of the Grand Master of the German Order were transferred to a number of army units of the First Austrian Republic : thus, the 4th Infantry Regiment received this honorary name. Later, of the three divisions of the Austrian army, the German 44th Wehrmacht Infantry Division was created, renamed the Reichsgrenadier named after the Grand Master of the German Order. The 3rd Battalion of the 134th Grenadier Regiment received a special banner - the banner was created on the basis of the old coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire and the coat of arms of Austria-Hungary.

In the Austrian army, after the Second World War, the successor of the 4th Infantry Regiment was first the 21st Landwehr Regiment, later the 2nd Jäger Brigade of the 2nd Jäger Regiment, and since 2006 the regiment has been carrying the 1st Vienna Jäger Battalion.

• 1859: Colonel Johann Plough ^[10]
• 1865: Colonel Johann Tepla von Hohenfest ^[11]
• 1879–1895: Colonel Gustaf Borosini von Hohenstern ^[12]
• 1895-1900: Colonel Ferdinand Pfeiffer
• 1903-1904: Colonel Norbert Knopp von Kirchwald
• 1905-1908: Colonel Hugo Daler ^[13]
• 1908-1912: Colonel Eduard Pölz
• 1913: Colonel Adolf Sterz, edler von Ponteherra
• 1914: Colonel Baron Ludwig von Holzhausen ^[1]

• Baron Damian Hugo von Firmmont zu Neerzen (1666–1722), a nobleman
• Baron Fyodor Geismar (1798-1800) - a Russian general, a hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, foreign campaigns and Russian-Turkish wars began military service in the regiment.
• Edward Rydz-Smigly (1886–1941), Marshal of Poland, served from 1910 to 1911
• Dominic Ertle (1857–1911), composer, bandmaster of the regiment
• Wilhelm August Yurek (1870–1934), composer, served in the regimental orchestra
• Hans Moser (1880-1964), actor, served in the regiment from 1910 to 1912 and from 1914 to 1918
• Hugo Flink (1879–1947), actor
• Julius Ringel (1889-1967), General of the Mountain Forces of the Third Reich
• Robert Stolz (1880-1976), composer, bandmaster of the regiment

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  Soldiers of the 4th Regiment in 1804

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  Tunic of a soldier of the 4th regiment during the First World War

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  Infantryman of the 4th Regiment of the Seven Years War

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  Barracks 4th Regiment in Vienna

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  Monument to the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order - Monument to the 4th Regiment

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  Banner of the 3rd Battalion of the 134th Grenadier Regiment

• Tomasz Nowakowski: Armia Austro-Węgierska 1908-1918. Warszawa: Feniks, 1992. ISBN 83-900217-4-9 .
• Österreich-Ungarns bewaffnete Macht 1900 - 1914.
• Schematismus für das Kaiserliche und Königliche Heer und für das Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriege-Marine für 1900. Wiedeń: KK Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1889.
• Schematismus für das Kaiserliche und Königliche Heer und für das Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriege-Marine für 1895. Wiedeń: KK Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1884.
• Polegli na ziemiach polskich z KuK Infanterie Regiment Hoch- und Deutschmeister Nr 4 (Polish)
• Gegenwart und Geschichte der Deutschmeistervereine. Herausgegeben vom Deutschmeisterbund (Selbstverlag), Wien 1996.
• 300 Jahre Regiment Hoch- und Deutschmeister 1696-1996. Herausgegeben vom Deutschmeisterbund (Selbstverlag), Wien 1996 (2. Auflage Wien 1999).

• The Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment of the Grand Master of the German (Teutonic) Order, number 4 (Russian)
• Das Deutschmeisterdenkmal in Wien (German)
• Das Regiment im Ersten Weltkrieg (German)
• Der Deutschmeister Regimentsmarsch (German)
• Freundeskreis Hoch- und Deutschmeister Mannheim / Baden (German)
• Deutschmeister Schützenkorps (German)
• Deutschmeisterbund (German)
• Original Hoch- und Deutschmeister (German)