The Story of the Great War, Volume 2: History of the European War from Official Sources
History
The Story of the Great War, Volume 2: History of the European War from Official Sources
World War, 1914-1918
The Austrian infantrymen, as they met their Russian antagonists, carried
a small-bore magazine rifle, in use in the army since 1895, and known
after its inventor as the Maennlicher. It had a caliber of .315 inch and
fired a pointed bullet. It was loaded by means of a charger which
contained five cartridges, and it was equipped with a bayonet. The
cavalry carbine was shorter but took the same bullet. One hundred and
twenty rounds were carried by the infantry soldier, and there were
forty rounds in the company ammunition wagon, and 160 in the infantry
ammunition columns, in addition. The machine gun in use was of the same
caliber and took the same ammunition as the infantry rifle. It was
composed of few parts, and was a simple and highly effective instrument.
On these first days of August, 1914, the cavalry of Austria--the
hussars, uhlans, and dragoons, but really all of one type--light
cavalry--was equipped uniformly with saber and carbine. The
noncommissioned officers and others who did not carry a carbine rode
forth equipped with an automatic pistol. There were forty-two cavalry
regiments in the entire Austrian army, consisting of six squadrons, each
of which had a fighting strength of 150 sabers, not counting the pioneer
troops. Every cavalry regiment had four machine guns with 40,000 rounds
of ammunition. The pioneer troops of the cavalry, which first were
introduced in Austria, were composed of an officer and twenty-five men,
equipped with tools and explosives needed by an advance force to clear
obstacles, destroy railways, etc. Besides the pioneer troops, eight men
in each squadron were equipped with similar tools. The telegraph
section, consisting of eight men, carried about seven miles of light
wire.
The artillery of Austria-Hungary had been greatly modified in recent
years. The gun used for horse and field batteries was known as M5--that
is, the pattern of 1905. It was of 3-inch caliber, a quick firer,
throwing a shrapnel shell which weighed 14.7 pounds. High-explosive
shells also were carried in the proportion of two to five of shrapnel.
The gun had a long recoil on its carriage, which absorbed the shock and
the gun returned to its place. This made rapid fire possible.
Like the other powers, Austria-Hungary had adopted a howitzer for its
heavy batteries. It fired a shell of 38.132 pounds. There was also a
heavy gun in use, a 10.5 centimeter, corresponding to a 4.1-inch gun.
The ammunition was like that of a howitzer--a shell weighing 38.132
pounds, which contained a high-explosive bursting charge and shrapnel
with 700 bullets, fifty to the pound. On the march the carriage was
separated from the gun, and each was drawn by six horses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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