The Imperial-Royal Mountain Troops (German: Kaiserlich-königliche Gebirgstruppe) were founded in 1906 as part of the Austrian Landwehr, the territorial army of the Cisleithanian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As a result, the abbreviation "k.k." (for kaiserlich österreichisch, königlich böhmisch or "Imperial Austrian, Royal Bohemian") was used and not "k.u.k." ("Imperial and Royal") which would have implied a connexion with the Hungarian half of the Empire.
Proposed in a memorandum by Conrad von Hötzendorf, in February 1906 the War MinistryinVienna convened a session on Alpine border security. Field Marshal Tunk, agreed with him and put forward a concept, the fundamentals of which were then carried out.
The existing state rifle regiments were to be trained as mountain troops and, together with the Landsturmborder patrol companies and gendarmerie departments were to form the backbone of a territorial defence force with local knowledge on the border of Tyrol.
The Commander-in-Chief from 1916, Emperor Charles I
On 1 May 1906 the two state rifle regiments with their HQs stationed in Bozen and Trient (now Bolzano and Trento, both in Italy) and the 4th Landwehr Infantry (Klagenfurt) were nominated as "high mountain troops" (Hochgebirgstruppe) and, in 1909, a third state rifle regiment, with its HQ stationed in Candido, was added. In 1911, the fifth regiment followed: the 27th Imperial-Royal Landwehr Infantry (Laibach).[1]
The area of the Carnic ridgeinCarinthia and the Julian Alps was assigned to the 4th Landwehr Infantry (Klagenfurt) and the 27th Landwehr Infantry (Ljubljana). These two, hitherto standard infantry regiments were given the new uniform of the mountain troops. From 11 April 1917 they bore the names 1st and 2nd Mountain Rifles.
The regiments began with high alpine training and moved into so-called summer stations in mountain inns, Alpine Club huts and tented camps, where they carried out intense training. The winter stations were naturally located in the valleys, but this did prevent there being a comprehensive programme of winter exercises, alpine skiing course and skiing training in the mountains.
In 1907, the gamecock spray of white and black feathers that had been worn on the cap until 1887 by the state rifles was re-introduced.
Together with the edelweiss on the collar, it formed the badge of the Imperial-Royal Mountain Troops. Otherwise the uniform was the same as that of the Jäger infantry. What was new was the pike gray mountain dress: mountain boots, mountain socks, britches, heavy jacket, cap, coat, cape. Officers continued to wear their previous Landwehr uniform as individual (i.e. not in squads) on parade.
Officers' cap badge after 1916State rifleman in mountain dress after 1908
Battalions and companies were given pack animals. The rifle was replaced by the (shorter) 8mm Mannlicher M 95carbine. They were issued with additional equipment adapted to the requirements of mountain warfare; including skis, ropes, crampons and ice axes. Regiments were reinforced by a mountain machine gun section of four machine guns which, to improve mobility, could be carried by pack animals or in manportable packs at the highest altitudes. The same applied to the take-apart mountain guns. Portable field stoves (Schwarmöfen) and heated tents assisted troops to operate in inhospitable conditions.
When skiing the two-stick approach had replaced the single-stick method. The Bilgeri binding was a touring binding that could be used with the normal hiking boot.
Extract from the pamphlet "Mountain Warfare in Winter" (Gebirgskrieg im Winter)
Produced by the k.u.k. State Defence Command in Tyrol o.J.
Alpine equipment as follows:
A. General mountain equipment which is allocated to every soldier in combat units; it comprises:
1 rucksack with 2 breast pockets
1 climbing stick
1 pair of snow shoes (Schneereifen)
1 pair of snow glasses
1 pair of four-toothed crampons
B. Equipment of the high Alpine sections: the above equipment and, in addition:
The rank stars and the edelweiss badge of the officers were made of metal thread. The stars of the other ranks were made of celluloid, the edelweiss of metal. From 1914, cadets and Staffsoberjäger wore stars of white silk.
Hubert Fankhauser: Freiwillige an Kärntens Grenzen. Die Regimentsgeschichte der K. K. Kärntner freiwilligen Schützen 1915 bis 1918th Vehling Verlag. ISBN978-3-85333-150-7
