Austro-Hungarian military mission in Persia
The Austro-Hungarian military mission in Persia was a
Establishment
The Austro-Hungarian Army Corps mission was part of the modernization of Persian forces, implemented with the assistance of Austrian military experts. Due to the good relations of Naser al-Din Shah's first interpreter (Armenian Mirza Davood (David) Khan), the Austrian court in Vienna, and the connections of his former personal physician, Jakob Eduard Polak, Naser al-Din Shah recruited Austrian officers to reorganize the Persian army during his second trip to Europe.
The arrival of Naser al-Din Shah in
Colonel
The Austro-Hungarian mission's objective was to reorganize the Persian army on the model of the
The high spirits of the Austrian officers were marred by the arrival in May 1879 of Russian officers to establish a
Plans for the Persian army called for a corps with the total strength of 7,000 men, organized as follows:
- 6 infantry battalions, each with 800 men
- 1 battalion of 800 men with hunters
- 3 artillery batteries with 200 men
- 1 pioneers with 200 men
- 3 music bands with 50 men
Operations
The first use of the "Austrian corps" occurred in October 1880. In
Wagner von Wetterstädt also returned to Austria that year, retiring from the Austrian army as a Major in 1885. At the request of Naser al-Din Shah, he returned to Persia with the rank of general in the Persian army the following year, reorganizing the army and given the title of 'Khan'. As army commander, he led numerous missions and accompanied the Shah to the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889. He did not return to his native Transylvania until 1901, for health reasons, passing away on 30 September 1902 in Hermannstadt.
Unofficial missions
After lengthy negotiations, Naser al-Din Shah succeeded in recruiting officers to continue Austrian army reforms. This time they arrived "of their own accord" and were no longer part of an official military mission. As a tribute to the work done up to that point by the Austrians, in January 1882 the entire army, consisting of 10,000 men, was equipped with Austrian uniforms and 8,000 new rifles. In 1883 and again in 1888, several mountain guns and 20 heavy guns were added to the artillery units.
Military exchanges
In Bremerhaven, a six-gun warship was ordered and baptized "Persepolis". Naser al-Din Shah could control the Persian Gulf with it. The ship was to sail with a German team to the Persian Gulf.
A military academy was founded in Tehran in 1885; Austrian officers stationed in the Persian army taught there, in addition to their military duties. In 1886, Persian cadets were sent to Vienna for further studies and the following year Naser al-Din Shah asked
Under
Recruitment in Persian Army
At this time, the Persian army was nominally made up of 72 infantry regiments, each with 600 men. Recruits came exclusively from rural areas, as city and town inhabitants were exempted from military service. According to the National Defence Act, each village was required to provide a certain number of soldiers. Conscription lasted between five and twenty years. However, army conscripts could leave after a few months of basic training by paying bribes to the regimental commander for an indefinite period. Those who could not afford to do so worked to earn an income, as soldiers received neither payment nor food. New uniforms were only issued every two to three years. Weapons were stored in arsenals and only issued during military exercises. Many soldiers had never fired a shot as
Approximately 100 to 500 soldiers were stationed in each garrison. The Ministry of War sent inspectors to the garrisons twice a year to verify changes on soldier payroll lists. Each time an inspection was announced, those on the payroll lists were recalled at short notice. To replace any missing personnel on inspection day, laborers were hired, equipped with weapons and uniforms, and made to line up with the regular soldiers in the ranks. Inspectors usually confirmed the presence of all listed military personnel.
In addition to the infantry, there were 16 artillery units. These were equipped with 60 Uchatius heavy guns produced in Austria and 30 Schneider-Creusot quick-firing guns, although they were stored, save for a few guns, in the arsenal, serving little purpose. Some guns were loaned to the Gendarmerie. The artillery did not possess its own horses. If an artillery exercise in Tehran was scheduled, horses were borrowed from the horse-drawn carriage depot.
Given the conditions described by
Military bandmaster Julius Gebauer, the only remaining member of the initial 1879 Austro-Hungarian military mission, stayed in Tehran until his death. His grave in the city's Doulab Cemetery reads "Here lies Julius Gebauer, general and musical director, born 18 March 1846, died on 9 July 1895."
See also
- Persian Cossack Brigade
- Swedish intervention in Persia
Notes
- The anthem is now listed under the title "Persian March"
- Reinhard Pohanka, Ingrid Thurner: The Khan of Tyrol. Vienna, 1988, p. 82
- Helmut Slaby: shield lion and sun. Academic Printing and Publishing House, 1982, 153
- Hassan Arfa: Under Five Shahs. London, 1964, pp. 50f
- Helmut Slaby: shield lion and sun. Academic Printing and Publishing House, 1982, pp. 182
References
- Helmut Slaby: shield lion and sun. Academic Printing and Publishing House, 1982, pp. 146–206.
- Reinhard Pohanka, Ingrid Thurner: The Khan of Tyrol. Austrian Federal Verlag, Vienna, 1988, ISBN 3-215-06593-2, pp. 76–90.