Bosnian-Herzegovinian Infantry

The Bosnian-Herzegovinian Infantry (Bosnisch-Hercegovinische Infanterie), commonly called the Bosniaken (German for Bosnians), were a branch of the Austro-Hungarian Army. Recruited from outside the Austrian and Hungarian regions of the Dual-Monarchy, with a significant proportion of Muslim personnel (31.4%), these regiments enjoyed a special status. They had their own distinctive uniforms and were given their own numbering sequence within the Common Army (KuK).

The units were part of the Austro-Hungarian infantry in 1914 and consisted of four infantry regiments (numbered 1-4) and a Field Rifles Battalion (Feldjägerbataillon).

The Congress of Berlin of 1878 assigned two Ottoman provinces, the Vilayet of Bosnia and the Sanjak of Novi Pazar to administration by Austro-Hungary. In July of the same year Austrian troops began the occupation of the two provinces but encountered widespread resistance from the Muslim population of Bosnia. During a campaign that lasted until October 1878 the Austrian forces suffered casualties of 946 dead and 3,980 wounded.

Although the two provinces constitutionally still belonged to the Ottoman Empire, the Austrian Imperial Administration began to build up a rudimentary administrative apparatus based on a reform of the existing systems. There was ongoing communal tension and resistance to Habsburg rule in many rural areas, especially in Herzegovina and along the eastern border with Montenegro. "The Austrians set up a special local militia force there, the 'Pandurs'; but many of these militia men became rebellious themselves, and some took to brigandage."

"In November 1881 the Austro-Hungarian government passed a Military Law (Wehrgesetz) imposing an obligation upon all Bosnians to serve in the Imperial Army." This led to widespread riots over December 1881 and throughout 1882 - which could only be defeated and suppressed by military means. The Austrians appealed to the Mufti of Sarajevo, Mustafa Hilmi Hadžiomerović (born 1816) and he soon issued a Fatwa "calling on the Bosniaks to obey military Law." Other important Muslim community leaders such as Mehmedbeg Kapetanović, later Mayor of Sarajevo, also appealed to young Muslim men to serve in the Habsburg military.

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