29 July 1914
Although a formal state of war has existed between Austria–Hungary and Serbia since only yesterday, both nations began mobilising their military forces three days previously, on 25 July.
However, yesterday’s declaration of war co-incided with the mobilisation of one of the very latest advances in military technology, in the form of Austria–Hungary’s k.u.k. Luftfahrtruppen (Imperial and Royal aviation troops, LFT for short) and k.u.k. Seeflieger (Imperial and Royal sea-fliers).
Austria is no stranger to bringing war to the skies: sixty-five years ago, Austrian forces attempted to bombard Venice via balloons. Today’s Austro–Hungarian army still fields balloons as part of the equipment of its artillery regiments, but the Luftfahrtruppen go aloft in an entirely different apparatus: the aeroplane.
In the ten years since American brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright demonstrated that such machines are practical, the armies and navies of the world have been exploring the usefulness of the aeroplane over a battlefield. In recent years, aeroplanes have provided reconnaissance during the Italo–Turkish War and the two Balkan Wars. In the former conflict, an Italian airman even threw bombs down onto a Turkish position (to no great effect, it must be said).
The units that Austria–Hungary is fielding today are larger, more numerous, and more organised. The army has nine Fliegerkompanien (flying companies, FliK for short), each of which is intended to have six aeroplanes ready at all times, plus another two in reserve. Additionally, the navy has a single division of flying boats that operates from stations on the Dalmatian coast.
Yesterday, in Újvidék, the first FLiK mobilised: FLiK 5, under the command of Oberleutnant Waldemar Kenese. The unit is destined for Serbia,
|
|
||||
|
|||||
| |||||
No comments:
Post a Comment