Viktoria Savs

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Viktoria Savs
Savs in 1917
Born	27 June 1899 Bad Reichenhall, Germany
Died	31 December 1979(1979-12-31) (aged 80) Salzburg, Austria
Occupation	Soldier
Known for	Serving in the Austro-Hungarian military disguised as a man
Parent	Peter Savs

Viktoria Savs (27 June 1899 in

Viktoria was born on 27 June 1899 in Bad Reichenhall, Upper Bavaria, Germany. Her mother died in 1904, and Viktoria was raised by her father, Peter Savs, with her three younger sisters, in Arco, Trentino, near Lake Garda. Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, her father, a master shoemaker, moved the family to Obermais (Merano).^[2]

Enlistment

Her father was called into military service as a Kaiserjäger in 1914, and was wounded in 1915 in Galicia on the Russian front. While he was at home recovering from his wounds, the sixteen-year-old Viktoria begged him to allow her to enlist. After unsuccessfully attempting to dissuade her, Peter decided to volunteer for the Austro-Hungarian Landsturm, a militia composed of troops who were too young or too old for standard military service. On 10 June 1915 she enlisted with her father as "Viktor," concealing her biological gender from all except a few superior officers. The two of them were assigned to a Standschützen battalion at Lavarone.^[1]

She served for more than a year as an unarmed trainee. Anxious to serve in combat, Viktoria wrote to the

On the front lines, she showed talent in guiding pack animals and as a messenger on skis. She was assigned as an orderly to a captain and soon after took part in combat operations at Drei Zinnen. In an attack against Italian positions in the Sexten Dolomites (Sasso di Sesto) on 11 April 1917 she led a group of 20 captured Italians behind the Austrian lines under enemy artillery fire.^[4] For bravery and exemplary leadership, she was awarded the Medal for Bravery in bronze and later in silver, and the Karl Troop Cross.^[3][5]

"Viktor" was well known for volunteering for dangerous assignments. On 27 May 1917 she volunteered to carry a message up a sheer rock face, but was injured when an exploding grenade dislodged a boulder which crushed her right leg, leaving her foot dangling by only a few tendons.^[6] She was attempting to amputate her own limb with a knife when she lost consciousness and was rescued by comrades. She was transported to the field hospital at Sillian, where her leg had to be amputated below the knee. During preparation for surgery, her biological sex was uncovered, and upon awakening she was informed that her military career was over. She then served in the Austrian Red Cross during the rest of the war, where she was decorated with the Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary) for her service. She attracted attention and was hailed as a patriotic war heroine.^[7]

Post-war activities