Deployment of k.u.k. IR 103 in Italy and Eastern Front ?

[AndrasLevente]

Greetings from Transylvania !

I'm researching the main stations of my granddad's military service in the Austro-Hungarian army during WWI.

Here is the data I have so far:

Born in 1895 in Kolozs county (Cluj, present-day Romania), he was enlisted probably in 1915, in k.u.k IR 51 (Klausenburg / Kolozsvar). He was later transferred to k.u.k. IR 103, 3rd machine gun company

According to unconfirmed sources, soon after enlisting (early 1916) he was sent to Prague, where he spent 2 months training as machine gunner.

He then served as a népfelkelô machine gun corporal on the Eastern front. According to an account (written probably by my granddad himself, but not confirmed) he was in Galicia in the summer / autumn of 1916 (several place names are mentioned in the account - Burkanow, river Strypa, Brzezany, Mykolaiv [??]..)

He was later (date unknown) transferred to the Italian front. According to (unconfirmed) oral accounts by other family members, he fought on the River Piave. While in Italy, he received the Bronze-Medaille für Tapferkeit twice - in 1917 and again in 1918.

He got wounded (still on the Italian front) and was sent to a military hospital in Linz (unconfirmed), and from there he was demobilised and he returned home, via Prague (in October 1918 he was in Prague).

I have not been able to find any information on my granddad's unit's deployments in Italy (while I did find a couple of sources that place IR 103 in several locations in Galicia). I would be very grateful for any information in this regard !

Many thanks!
Levente

[GregSingh]

IR 103 was never in Italy.
From second half of 1915 to second half of 1917 IR 103 was part of Hofmann's XXV Corps, 55th ID, 130 Brigade in Galicia (Brzezany).

Late in 1917, during A-H army reorganization, IR 103 was renamed to IR 203, and a new IR 103 created. IR 203 was kept as a HQ reserve in Bukovina and then dissolved. A new IR 103 saw action in Ukraine in 1918.

It's quite possible your granddad was moved to another unit during September-October 1917 reorganization and took part in Italian campaigns, but not in IR 103.

[AndrasLevente]

Greg: thanks for this! I actually found the story of a certain Török Imre, who was born the same year as my Granddad, was enlisted a few months later, and served as machine gunner with IR 103, following the same trail as my Granddad (Prague, Galicia, and then later the Piave front in Italy). However, the story (found here - in Hungarian - http://www.mtdaportal.extra.hu/books/ku ... dattar.pdf )
does not specify which unit he was with when in Italy !
Thanks again
Levente

[GregSingh]

I would have taken a closer look at 55th ID. It seems that around September 1917 it was disbanded and a new 55.ID created, based on 93.ID
It was on Italian front in October 1917.

Do you have any document with a geographic name on it from Italian front?

[AndrasLevente]

Sadly, I have no written or oral accounts of places in Italy. The River Piave is the only geographical name that has survived in oral accounts in the family.