Last updated Two Uhlans of the 4th regiment (right) partaking in exercises at the Equitationsinstitut in Vienna with Uhlans from the 2nd (centre) and 5th (left) regiments.
Austro-Hungarian uhlans and hussars, mid to late 19th century
In 1813/1814, the Galician Estates set up an Uhlan regiment at the Gródek assembly point in eastern Galicia. The tribe consisted of batches and men from the other three Uhlan regiments. (Some officers also came from the Chevauxlegers Regiment O'Reilly and the Hussar Regiment Kienmayer)[4]
The regiment was initially named after Emperor Franz. It was renamed in 1835 and 1848 in honour of his successors Ferdinand and Franz Joseph.[5]
In 1860, the 4th Division had to be relinquished to supplement the Lombard Uhlan Regiment No. 11.
Since its formation, the regiment was recruited from Galicia, initially only from eastern Galicia.[7]
1853 From the district of the Infantry Regiment No. 15 (Tarnopol)
1857 From the supplementary districts of the infantry regiments No. 30 and No. 15 (Lviv and Tarnopol)
1860 from the supplementary districts of the infantry regiments No. 30 and No. 55 (Lemberg and Brezezany)
1867 from supplementary districts of infantry regiments No. 30 and No. 80 (Lviv and Zloczów)
1875–80 From the district of the Infantry Regiment No. 80
1883–89 From the district of the Infantry Regiment No. 30.
After that, with the addition, it was assigned to the area of the XI Corps (Lviv Military Territorial District).
In 1915, all honorary names were deleted without replacement. From then on, the association was only called "k.u.k. Uhlan Regiment No. 4" (However, this could not be enforced in common parlance, on the one hand because no one adhered to it, on the other hand the thrifty Austro-Hungarian military administration had decreed that all existing stamps and forms should first be used up).[8]
Peace garrisons
During the 19th century, it was Austrian government policy to quarter troops in provinces far from their homeland to prevent armed insurrections. In accordance with this, the Galician uhlan regiments were garrisoned in Italy until the 1840s.[9] In the 1890s the five Galician Uhlan regiments were garrisoned in Lviv and Jaroslaw as the general staff correctly predicted that the region would be a likely frontline conflict zone with Russia.[10]
1848: In Lombardy. At the outbreak of the revolution, three squadrons under Colonel Grawert were only able to escape from the rebellious Cremona by force of arms. Later, five squadrons were detached to the I Corps of the Main Army, one squadron belonged to the Mantua garrison, and two squadrons were assigned to the reserve in the Nugent Corps. Parts of the former fought in the battles of Santa Lucia, Curtatone, Sommacampagna, the Battle of Custozza and the Gecht of Volta.[20]
1849: In Italy without combat activity under the command of the architect and brigadier general George Heinrich Schonhals (1784–1862).[21] Transfer of the regiment to Hungary. Battles of the two Majors divisions in the Battle of Csorna, the Lieutenant Colonel Division fought a battle at Pered (Tešedíkovo). The regiment was then assembled in the I Corps Schlick and fought at Raab, Ács (Hungary), Pusztaherkály, Szőreg, Csatád and Temesvár, and took part in the pursuit of the insurgents to the Transylvanian border.[22]
1859: Transferred to Italy in June, two divisions were stationed at the lower Po, the other two in the XI Corps.[23] In the Battle of Solferino, only one 1/2 squadron was used as part of Wernhard's X Corps.[24]
1866: Five squadrons were assigned to Eugen von Schindlocker's brigade of the 1st Reserve Cavalry Division of the Northern Army.[25] The regiment fought at Wysokow, Skalitz and in the Battle of Königgrätz where they engaged Groeben's Prussian cuirassier brigade.[26][27]
World War I
In the First World War, the Uhlans initially fought as cavalrymen (whether in a regimental unit or as a squadron, divided as a divisional cavalry is currently unknown), but also as infantry in all theaters of war in the east and southeast. During the mobilization of 1914 squadrons 1 and 2 were attached to the 5th Austrian Infantry division, squadrons 3 and 4 were attached to the 12th infantry division and squadrons 5 and 6 were attached to the 46th infantry division.[28] However, the units of the 4th Cavalry Division remained mounted until the end.[29]
The 4th Uhlans fought in the First Battle of Lemberg from August to September 1914.[30] In December 1914 the commanders of the 4th Uhlan regiment reported desertions and the dissemination of pro-Russian propaganda among the enlisted Ruthenian personnel.[31]
Disbandment
After the proclamation of Poland as an independent state in October 1918, the soldiers of Ruthenian and Polish origin were called upon by the interim government to cease hostilities and return home. As a rule, this request was followed. Most of the Ruthenian soldiers also returned to their homeland without waiting for the unit to be disbanded. Thus, the unit was withdrawn from its previous high command, the Austro-Hungarian War Ministry, and could not be demobilized by it and at best theoretically disbanded. Whether, when and where such a dissolution took place is currently unknown.[32]
Status and association affiliation in 1914
II Corps – 4th Cavalry Division – 18th Cavalry Brigade
Nationalities: 65% Ruthenians – 29% Poles – 6% Diverse[33]
Regimental languages: Ukrainian and Polish
Uniforms
1813: white czapka, dark green kurtka and trousers, scarlet facings, yellow buttons[34]
1865: white tatarka, light blue ulanka and trousers, madder red facings, yellow buttons
1868: white Tatarka, light blue Ulanka, madder red trousers and facings, yellow buttons
1876: white czapka, light blue ulanka, madder red facings and boot trousers, yellow buttons[35]
1915-1918: hechtgrauulanka, trousers and czapka, red facings, yellow buttons[36]
During World War I each uhlan was equipped with a lance, 1869 or 1877 pattern pallasch, mannlicher carbine, and a semi-automatic pistol such as the Mauser C96 or 1907 pattern Roth-Steyr that replaced the Rast & Gasser M1898 revolvers.[39] All Austro-Hungarian uhlan regiments carried black and yellow pennons on their lances.
Outline
A regiment in the Austro-Hungarian cavalry usually originally consisted of three to four (in exceptional cases more) divisions. (Division was used here to describe a unit in battalion strength. The correct division was called an infantry or cavalry troop division.) Each division had three squadrons, each of which consisted of two companies. The number of riders in the individual subunits fluctuated, but was usually around 160 riders per squadron.
The Ruthenian and Polish enlisted troopers were commanded by German-speaking Austrians. Most of these officers were Roman Catholics,[40] although there were also some Protestants and Jews. There were few commissioned officers of non-Austrian ethnicity, although Poles and Ruthenians who were fluent in German could be promoted to unteroffizier.[41]
(During the army reform begun by Emperor Joseph II, the company structure within the cavalry had already been abandoned.)
The individual divisions were named after their formal leaders:[42]
The 1st Division was the Colonel Division
The 2nd Division was the Lieutenant Colonel Division
The 3rd Division was the Majors Division
The 4th Division was the 2nd Majors Division
In the course of the army reform, the cavalry regiments were reduced to two divisions from 1860 onwards.
Honours
The regiment had a golden holder's jubilee medal, awarded by the Supreme Letter of Order of 30 November 1898, to be worn on a silver trumpet of honour. On the obverse, it showed the relief portrait of the emperor in the owner's uniform, the inscription "Franz Joseph I:" and the shield of the Most High coat of arms with crown. The reverse contained the dedication: "The owner of his Uhlan regiment No. 4, 1848 - 1898". The trumpet of honour was decorated with gold relief and an embroidered gold fabric hanging.[43]
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