Austria-Hungary Karl Truppen Kreuz ?

[Bayoswede]

Hi all collector Friends,

I am now working with a "BIG" project. Listing all Swedish officers with foreign awards

at this moment I am lsiting Austrian awards and found a interesting fact.

A Swedish officer who had been awarded with the Karl Truppen Kreuz among other awards.

What was the rules for KTK ? I thought it only whent to Austian citizens ??

Anyone has any info

Christer

[Guest Rick Research]

German officers on long term temporary assignment in K.u.k. units also got it.

Generally, being in one big battle, or 12 weeks at the front. Air crew had to have made 10 flights over enemy lines. Support troops had to have served longer near the front, but I don't have their exact requirements. Being wounded in action eliminated time requirements.

Prisoners of war were specifically excluded (to punish ethnic minorities who deserted) though the 1st Austrian Republic seems to have done away with that punishment for "blameless" personnel.

This also allowed holders to vote immediately instead of having to wait until they were 24-- but that privilege didn't mean much after 1918!

But the absolute requirement was to have served IN an Austro-Hungarian unit for the requisite service.

Your Swede could NOT have received one--at least not properly--for touring through as an attach?. He had to have been carried on the rolls as a member of a combatant unit-- which would have made for some interesting Geneva Convention problems had he been captured.

(My neutral Swedish great-uncle was killed in the Australian army in France in 1918, of all places.)

[Bayoswede]

Aha, Thanks Rick !

This Leutnant Goesta Nils Arvid Bruzelius had in the rang list of 1923

following awards:

Austria Military MeritCross 3 cl with war decoration and swords

Military merit medal in Silver w swords

Military Merit medal in Bronce w swords

Mobilization Cross 1912/13

He was born July 24th 1885 and had no swedish awards in 1923, he must have had joined the Austrian Army and fought in WW1 . An interesting story

I?ll see if I can find out some more of this fighter in a foreign Army.

He was at a Cavalry regiment nr 2 in the south of Sweden, died 1970.

Christer

Edited August 15, 2008 by Bayoswede

[Guest Rick Research]

VERY strange indeed!

MMC3wWDX (?M3K) =

Military Merit Medals Silver (higher) and Gold are aka "Signum Laudis" Medals-- his were probably the Franz Joseph versions

Troop Cross =

If he was a Swede born/living in Austria and in the Hapsburg army by 1912, I'd have also expected him to have been commissioned (from his age) circa 1906, so he would have had the 1908 Military Jubilee Cross. maybe that wasn't listed?

[Glenn J]

Christer, Rick,

Rittmeister G?sta Bruzelius spent his entire career with the k.u.k. Heer in k.u.k. Dragoner-Regiment Erzherzog Joseph Nr. 15. According to the regimental history "Wei?e Dragoner im Weltkrieg", he was a former Swedish Army officer aspirant. He entered DR. 15 as a Kadett in 1911 and was commissioned as a Leutnant on 1.11.13. He was apparently a well liked and dashing comrade whose German was less than perfect.

Promoted to Oberleutnant on 1.7.15 and to Rittmeister some time after May/June 1918.

The extract from the 1918 Rangliste shows then Oberleutnant Bruzelius's decorations.

Regards

Glenn

[Guest Rick Research]

:Cat-Scratch: Commissioned at age 28!!! Well, that explains the lack of a 1908!

I didn't know there WAS a 1918 Austro-Hungarian Rank List showing all awards. (They were obviously far more efficient at entering Brand New Things like the Troop Cross than the Imperial German Navy was! )

It would be very interesting to see Bruzelius wearing his Austro-Hungarian awards on straight ribbons, Swedish-style!

[Glenn J]

I didn't know there WAS a 1918 Austro-Hungarian Rank List showing all awards. (They were obviously far more efficient at entering Brand New Things like the Troop Cross than the Imperial German Navy was! )

Rick,

the 1918 list is monumental.....2286 pages and everyone with a first name (including reservists). Those pesky Prussians could learn a few things from this!

Regards

Glenn

[Guest Rick Research]

:Cat-Scratch: Sounds like... they had NO idea The End was coming!

[christerd]

Wow !

Great Info Glenn, I have never heard of the 1918 K U K ranglist , Fantastic

G?sta Bruzelius was in the Army reserve in 1949 and he had two daughters what I found out so far, one of them is still alive 84 years old.

I will try to get more info about this Swedish Austrian fighter.

Thanks for all help

Christer

[Bayern]

Reviving a theme : The Austro Hungarian Army was something not current , Bruzelius was not the only foreigner serving . In the list showed appeared two brothers of Empress Zita , technically enemies as Italian born , other two brothers were officers serving in the Belgian Army, A duke of Braganza was cavalry general , Slatin Pasha , Rudolf von Slatin , was an Anglo Austrian officer and administrator when the WW1 broke out he was in Egypt serving as inspector of the Sudan with military rank of british general . he resigned his high position an returned to Austria and worked into the Red Cross . 

[Trooper_D]

13 hours ago, Bayern said:

Reviving a theme : The Austro Hungarian Army was something not current , Bruzelius was not the only foreigner serving . In the list showed appeared two brothers of Empress Zita , technically enemies as Italian born , other two brothers were officers serving in the Belgian Army, A duke of Braganza was cavalry general , Slatin Pasha , Rudolf von Slatin , was an Anglo Austrian officer and administrator when the WW1 broke out he was in Egypt serving as inspector of the Sudan with military rank of british general . he resigned his high position an returned to Austria and worked into the Red Cross . 

Bayern

I love anomalies like these (I hadn't come across Slatin Pasha, before) as they are amongst the things which make military history interesting for me, so thank you for posting them. 

[Bayern]

Trooper : My pleasure , Rudolf von Slatin was a very interesting figure , I advise you to search about his life .