Judenburg mutiny
| Judenburg mutiny | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War I | |||||
 The convicted mutiny leaders being led to the execution site, 16 May 1918. | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
|
Imperial-Royal 17th infantry regiment ("kranjski Janezi") |
 Austria-Hungary | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Anton Hafner | Anton Kosel[citation needed] | ||||
| Strength | |||||
| 1,300 rebels of the 40th infantry battalion | unknown | ||||
The Judenburg mutiny was an
Background
By 1918, the Austro-Hungarian position in the war was difficult. The armed conflict was already in its fourth year, with the
Rebellion
Soldiers of the largely Slovene Imperial-Royal 17th infantry regiment, also known as "Carniolian Janezes" (Slovene: kranjski Janezi), began the rebellion in Judenburg on 12 May. The event involved 1,300 soldiers of the 40th infantry battalion, later also parts of 41st and 42nd infantry battalions. The mutiny came as a result of unwillingness of the military personnel to return to the front because they were the designated replacement on the battlefield. The week before the rebellion was also dubbed "Emperor Charles Week" (Slovene: teden cesarja Karla), when soldiers were traditionally supposed to receive treats for their meals, which were not made available in this instance. Among other reasons for this mutiny was the demand of demobilisation, striving for peace and for national liberation. On the evening of 12 May, Anton Hafner, corporal of the regiment, held a speech in front of the unit, proposing to resist the authorities' order on going back to the front. Many soldiers complied and began breaking in the military granaries to steal food. Afterwards many of them went into the urban districts, armed. The officers in command fled and reported the mutiny to the military administration outside the settlement, while many of the rebels looted the town and celebrated their rebellion in local pubs.[3] Other soldiers not involved in the looting reorganised and successfully took control of many of the key points in the area in minor clashes which resulted in an unknown number of casualties.[4]
Aftermath
Soldiers involved in the rebellion largely went home unorganised after taking control of Judenburg.[4] The state authorities managed to catch many of the military personnel involved, including the leaders of the revolt, Anton Hafner, Alojzij Rogelj, Alojz Štefanič, Karel Možina and Joso Dautović. All of them were subsequently sentenced to death in a military trial. The executions took place on May 16. All of the others involved were given prison sentences.[5]
See also
- Cattaro Mutiny
References
- ^ "Kranjski Janezi položili cvetje".
- ^ "NATO - Slovenians at war" (PDF). Retrieved 25 Oct 2014.
- ^ "Spomin na kranjske Janeze". Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ a b "Slovesnost spomina na upor Slovencev v Judenburgu s polaganjem venca". Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ Geocaching. "GC39K11 Kranjski Janezi (Traditional Cache) in Slovenia created by lynx.attentus". Retrieved 17 February 2016.
| Authority control databases: National |
|---|
