Military of Austria–Hungary

Military of Austria-Hungary
Österreichisch-Ungarisches Militärwesen
Arms of the Dual Monarchy
Founded	1867
Disbanded	1918
Service branches	k. u. k. Armee k.k. Landwehr k.u. Landwehr Royal Croatian Home Guard k. u. k. Luftfahrtruppen k.u.k. Kriegsmarine
Headquarters	Vienna
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	Emperor Charles I (final)
Minister of War	Rudolf Stöger-Steiner von Steinstätten (final)
Chief of Defense	Hermann Kövess von Kövessháza (final)
Manpower
Military age	17 years of age
Available for military service	13,402,788 (1914 est.), age 15–49
Fit for military service	9,031,046 (1914 est.), age 15–49
Reaching military age annually	423,809 (1914 est.)
Active personnel	2,500,000 (1914)
Deployed personnel	7,800,000 (1914–1918)
Industry
Domestic suppliers	Skoda Steyr Mannlicher
Related articles
History	Austrian Empire Austrian Army Military history of Austria Imperial and Royal Army during the Napoleonic Wars

The Military of Austria-Hungary, comprising the Armed Forces, War Office, and intelligence organisations of the Dual Monarchy served as one of the Empire's core unifying institutions and primary instruments for defence as well as external power projection. The history of the Austro-Hungarian military begins when the Habsburgs established hereditary rule over Austrian lands in the 13th century and stretches until the fall of the Habsburgs, at the end of World War I, during which time their armies were among the largest and most significant in Europe. Though not as powerful as some of its contemporaries, the military of Austria-Hungary's scale, resources, organization, technology and training were one of the central factors determining conferral of 'great power' status on the empire for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Military of Austria-Hungary was divided primarily into three primary service branches, with the navy sitting entirely independently of the other two, which to one extent or the other remained interlinked for the duration of their existence but all three of which fell within the ultimate remit of the Minister for War:

The war ministry itself served as one of the few 'common' ministries with jurisdiction throughout the Empire and over which the Imperial, as opposed to Austrian or Hungarian governments had local control. Command over large 'home' forces – the Landwehr units, which served functions analogous to National Guard forces in the United States were however controlled by local Ministries of Defence in both Austria and Hungary. Within the War Ministry, the Navy enjoyed considerable autonomy through the Naval Section with its own staff and headquarters, while the Ministry itself concentrated more on quarter master and administrative functions that close operational control of its respective services.

While nominal, the umbrella organisation managing the Empire's Military capabilities, the War Ministry was not responsible for not only large state militia forces during peacetime but also an array of organisations such as the Evidenzbureau, who's remit fell within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The organisation of units and forces among a plethora of different commands and bodies had the effect of instilling a number of organisational cultures, diffusing responsibility, creating competition between agencies, failing to develop inter-organisational efficiencies and meaning that no one body had overall control of all military forces below the Emperor in preparing for war.