K.u.K Infantrie Regiment Browne Nr. 36

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Orok
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K.u.K Infantrie Regiment Browne Nr. 36

#1

Post by Orok » 02 Jan 2004, 04:31

I would appreciate if anyone can provide information on the incidents leading to the disbandment of K.u.K Infantrie Regiment Browne Nr. 36. There is not much information out there in English, so I am hoping that our Austrian and Czech friends can post something here.

Thanks and Best Regards!

Happy New Year!

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IR. 36

#2

Post by Glenn2438 » 02 Jan 2004, 10:26

Orok,

as related in the official Austrian history of WW1, Infanterieregiment Reichsgraf Browne Nr.36 as part of the 10th Infantry Division of 4th Army was deployed in late May 1915 in the Sieniawa bridgehead on the easten bank of the river San during the advance towards Lemberg following the major success at Gorlice earlier in the month.

On the morning of the 27th of May, the Russian III Caucasian corps assaulted the bridgehead and took the positions on the heights north of Sieniawa held by IR. 36. The later investigation found that the Russians had been able to enter the positions of the predominantly Czech regiment without serious resistance and continue advancing to the west with IR. 36 streaming to the rear in a state of complete dissolution.

A few days later on the orders of the Kaiser Franz Joseph the regiment was removed from the rolls of the k.u.k. Army.

Regards
Glenn


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Orok
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#3

Post by Orok » 02 Jan 2004, 16:48

Thank you Glenn for the interesting information.

I am pretty sure that this was not the first time that a K.u.K. unit performed substantially below the bar and expectation, and it was certainly not the last time. Some serious penalty and disciplinary measures might be warranted, but hardly the drastic move of the permanent removal of the regiment's name and number from the K.u.K. rolls. Is there something the official records are not dare to print? Did the whole regiment defect to the Russian side?

Any more information is appreciated!

Thank you and Best Regards!

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#4

Post by Glenn2438 » 02 Jan 2004, 18:27

Orok,

when one takes into account that this incident occured during one of the most spectacular Austro-German offensives of the war and not during a period when the central powers were on the defensive makes it more difficult to explain away.

The official history comments that although a total of 9120 men were lost in the group affected by the Russian break-in - Gruppe Szende, the Russians only claimed 1000 prisoners of war. They therefore concluded that there was probably no pre-planned collusion between the defending Czechs and the Russian attackers or massed defections.

Although the performance of the regiment was rightly considered utterly inadequate at the time, there is no proof of a mass defection and the regiment's troubles put down the the insidious influence of newly joined replacements from the homeland.

Regards
Glenn

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#5

Post by Orok » 02 Jan 2004, 18:58

Thanks Glenn for your quick reply.

Do you know what happened to the officers of the regiment? Were they put on trial or otherwise discharged?

Also can you give us some information on Infantrieregiment Nr. 28, which was disbanded at about the same time but later reinstituted on the Italian Front?

Thanks a lot and have a nice weekend!

Best Regards!

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Officers

#6

Post by Glenn2438 » 02 Jan 2004, 20:21

Orok,

a comparison of the 1914 and 1916 Army Lists would indicate that by and large the surviving officers were reassigned just like the other personnel of the regiment that succeeded in escaping Russian captivity. The commander of IR. 36 at the time of the Sieniawa disaster, Oberstleutnant Alois Hajek was transfered to IR. 61, became a full colonel and was enobled taking the predicate Hajek von Grimmershausen.

In the case of IR.28, the regiment was re-established within a year after the good performance of elements of the regiment on the Isonzo front and many of the original officers of that regiment were re-assigned to their parent regiment. Similar to Oberst Hajek above, the Commanding Officer of IR. 28, Oberstleutnant Florian Schaumeier was also transferred and eventually promoted to full colonel.

Infantry Regiment 28, the so called Prague House Regiment had disintegrated "without hardly an enemy shot" at Zboró in the Carpathians on the 3rd of April 1915 and was ejected from it's positions. Consequently at the request of 3rd Army Headquarters it was disbanded and the remaining troops distributed amongst other III. Corps units.

Regards
Glenn

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#7

Post by Orok » 03 Jan 2004, 15:46

Thanks Glenn for the very interesting info.

Best Regards!

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