Austrian Battery (k.u.k.)

[stevebecker]

Mate,

Thankyou

Cheers

S.B

[James A Pratt III]

For more information on the KUK artillery in Palestine ect see the online Austria-Hungary's last war 1914-1918. Also see the Osprey books on the A-H army of WW I. The site landships.com has information on the artillery pieces used by them and pictures of the 10.4cm gun of battery 20 that was captured by the Australian light Horse and is currently on display in Australia.

[stevebecker]

Mate,

I surpose you are talking about the 10.4cm Skoda M15 guns were with Nr 20 Battery?

What was interesting in these aussie photos were the 10cm skoda M14 guns which were possibly Austrian guns with another battery?

cheers

S.B

[stevebecker]

Mates,

What was interesting was going through the on line book "Austria-Hungary's Last War, 1914-1918" In English

Vol 7 pages 598-

Mentions these KUK batteries in Palestine

1st FH Batty
2nd FH Batty
1st Mountin Can Batty

in the Order of Battle area we show these formations in Turkey;

Art Kmdo FHbB 1, 2 GbKnBt. 1, 2 10.4cm KnBt, 15cm HbBt, 5 Autokolonnen

These must transpose with the known numbered Austrian Batteries in that area

Of cause what Batteries were these as the known shows two mountain batteries and one FH Batty?

Kononenbatterie No 20 (2x10.4cm Skoda M15 guns) under Capt Kodar von Thurnwerth

1/4th Bty + 2/6th Bty (KUK) (each 6x 10cm Skoda Mountain guns)

Any ideas what is going on?

S.B

[Skarpskytten]

Mates,

Any ideas what is going on?

S.B

Yes, partly at least.

Towards the end of 1917, the two mountain howitzer units gave up their mountain equipment and re-equiped with 10-cm-Feldhaubitzen Mod. 14. Thus, the 1st and 2nd FH are certainly the old 1/4 and 2/6 renamed after recieving "field howitzers". (I cheked the original text in Österreich-Ungarns letzter Krieg 1914-1918; the first battery is called FHbBt 1, so it is not a translation error).

My soruce? This: http://www.wintersonnenwende.com/script ... r0549.html.

The mountainbattery is a bit mysterious, but it's in the original: GbKnBt 1.

XXX

As for the last information, it is clearly (in the original):

Artillery commando
- 1st and 2nd field howitzer batteries
- 1st and 2nd mountain gun batteries
- 10,4cm gun battery
- 15 cm howitzer battery
- 5 "car columns"

Which pretty much adds up; though there are two "mystery" mountain batteries.

[stevebecker]

Mate,

Thank you for clearing some of this up.

Even if we now have an extra Bty?

The book "Austria-Hungary's Last War, 1914-1918 also mentions that the 1st Mountin Can Batty was the only Batty to come out of the Sept-Oct 1918 operations with all its guns.

I did wondered what battery now had the 15cm How and not the 10.4cm guns.

Were these the newer 150cm How or the older types?

Also the 10-cm-Feldhaubitzen Mod. 14 what was the difference between these and the No 20 Bty who had 10.4cm M15.

Cheers

S.B

[Skarpskytten]

Mate,

Thank you for clearing some of this up.

Even if we now have an extra Bty?

Happy to oblige!

Well, it seems like that two new mountian batteries were added some time after 1/4 and 2/6 were converted.

Also the 10-cm-Feldhaubitzen Mod. 14 what was the difference between these and the No 20 Bty who had 10.4cm

According to the english and italian wikipedia-articles:

Mod 14 is a 100 mm caliber "dual-purpose field and mountain gun" weighing 1350 kg and firing a 11,45-13,8 kg shell 8,2 km.

Mod 15 is a 104 caliber gun wieghing 3030 kg (3300 in italian) and firing 15,2-17,5 kg shell 16,2 km (or 12,7 if we are to belive the italian version).

Mod 15 fires a heavier shell 50-100% longer from a much heavier piece of euqipment; despite the small difference in caliber, Mod 14 is a light gun and Mod 15 is a medium gun.

[stevebecker]

Mate,

I did read that British reports makes these Btys as Mountain

1/4th Bty + 2/6th Bty (KUK) shown in Allied reports as Von Marno's Mountain Btys

While can find no KUK officer named Von Marno ?

Cheers

S.B

[Tosun Saral]

(k.u.k Gebirgshaubitzdivision v. Marno)
On Jan. 1st 1916 a new artillery battalion was astablished to take part at the 2nd Canal Expetition by the 1st battery of 4th Mountain artillery Regiment stationed at Budapest and 2nd battery of 6th Mountain artillery Regiment stationed at Kassa / Kosice.

Artillery major Adolf Wilhelm Marno von Eichenhorst who spend mostly of his military carrier at the ranks of 8th artillery regiment was appointed as commander of the battalion. When he was appointed he was serving at 12nd Mountain Artillery Regiment. The new battalion was named k.u.k Gebirgshaubitzdivision v. Marno.
He was fat, huge, having a monocle glass, simpatic but he was a man who loved showing off. He was borned in Graz in Jan.25th 1877. His last rank in KuK army was artillery colonel. On July 1st 1915 he wa made major. On March 1917 he was transferred to 3rd Infantry Mountin Regiment at Italian Front. Wladislaw Ritter von Truszkowskiwas made commender of Battalion. The battalion got the name k.u.k Gebirgshaubitzdivizion in der Türkei)

source:Tosun Saral





Source: Tosun saral

[CharlieC]

An image is worth at least a few words. I've attached images of the 10cm Feldhaubitze M1914 and 10.4cm Feldkanone M1915. There is a surviving
part of the KuK 10.4cm gun battery - one of the barrels on its rohrwagen was captured by the Australian Light Horse and returned to Australia as a war trophy after WW1. It has been at Brisbane Boys Grammar school since 1921.

Regards,

Charlie

Skoda_M14_1_3.jpg (214.28 KiB) Viewed 1482 times

[Tosun Saral]

what type is the 3rd gun?

[CharlieC]

It's not a gun but a 10.4cm barrel loaded on its rohrwagen ("barrel wagon"). I've attached an image of the breech ring to prove it really
is a 10.4cm Skoda gun. The adjuster attached to the barrel is used to move the barrel so the rohrwagen can be balanced.

Regards,

Charlie

rohr_skoda_5.jpg (46.44 KiB) Viewed 1477 times

[Skarpskytten]

@stevebecker: there is actually an old thread about major von Marno on this forum: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=118198

@CharlieC: thanks for the pictures, really telling!

[stevebecker]

Mates,

Thanks must have forgot getting old I surpose?

Cheers

S.B

[Tosun Saral]

Halt for a moment Steve my friend, When ı was going to military service you were asking your mother "Mother, mother, where are those uncles going? "