Photograph of Mounted Austro-Hungarian Medic

Photograph of Mounted Austro-Hungarian Medic

Unknown

There appears to be one star on the collar of this mounted Austro-Hungarian soldier, which would indicate that he holds the rank of private first class. However, since it is impossible to tell the color of the facing on his collar, his outfit (cavalry, infantry, artillery) cannot be determined, at least by me. Perhaps someone can tell from his sword.

The white armband with the cross on it, would seem to indicate that he is a medic, or perhaps with the Red Cross. I don't know if the Austrians worked with the Red Cross during WWI or not.

He is wearing the pike grey field service Kappe (cap), as prescribed by Austrian military regulations of the time.

His medical bag is affixed to the front of his saddle. If you look closely, you will see that a long leather strap is hooked onto the bag at one end and then onto a ring suspended from the noseband underneath the horse's bridle. That way, should the bag fall off, it would still be connected to the horse and (hopefully) not lost in the heat of battle.

There are no leaves on the trees, and the soldier wears a heavy overcoat, so it is obvious that it is winter. There is a well in the background and some rustic-looking buildings, so perhaps the soldier's unit has stopped to water their mounts at a farmstead or village. There is a wheeled vehicle of some sort in the in the background, but I can't see enough of it to determine if it is military or civilian.

1914 - 1918

Unknown

Photograph

Photographic paper

Photograph

Richard Marshall

GWA_4606_WWI_Mounted_Austro-Hungarian_Medic.jpg

The Great War Archive, University of Oxford / Primary Contributor

The Great War Archive, University of Oxford

Rebecca Libby