My grandfather was born and raised in Trembowla (then part of Austria, I believe, now part of Ukraine). He would have been 21 when World War I broke out. It was rarely spoken of, and never in detail, in our family, that he was conscripted into the armies fighting on the German side in World War I, and had been exposed to mustard gas (he had lifelong respiratory problems, so the mention almost always came as part of discussions of his health). After the war, he emigrated to the United States, and felt deeply betrayed, I was told, that after fighting for the German side, many members of our family were murdered in the Holocaust.
I'm interested in learning the possible details of his conscription, military service, and exposure to chemical agents; and also, potentially, in what the years following the war—up until his arrival in the U.S. around 1923—would have been like for a disabled Jewish veteran of the losing side. I understand that we're talking speculative generalities here, but I'd appreciate any context at all.
Hey there, I meant to get to answering your question yesterday but class got in the way! Anyway, unfortunately I won't be able to give you any information on the second and third parts of the question (dealing with mustard gas and Jewish veterans in America), but I can shed a little bit of light on what the recruiting situation was for the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1914. I hope that gives you a sense of what your grandfather would have gone through in order to make it to the front.
The first thing to realize about the Austro-Hungarian army is that it was actually made up of three armies. Without going into too much detail, Austria-Hungary from 1867 to its fall in 1918 was actually two separate countries. On this map you can see the two halves (Red for Austria, Green for Hungary). Both Austria and Hungary had a separate government, separate cabinet ministers, etc. Your Grandfather was from at town near what was then called Tarnopol (today, Ternopil), which was in the Austrian half of the monarchy, meaning he was an Austrian citizen (as opposed to a Hungarian citizen). Now, the majority of Austro-Hungarian soldiers were drafted into the Common Army, which took soldiers from both halves of the Monarchy. In 1914 there were 102 infantry regiments in the Common Army. However both Austria and Hungary had their own armies, the Hungarian one called the Honvéd and the Austrian one called the Landwehr. If you're familiar with the United States military at all, think of these two armies as National Guards. Just like the National Guard of, say, North Carolina is made up of only North Carolinians and receives some funding from the state of North Carolina. The Landwehr and Honved in 1914 comprised 37 and 32 infantry regiments each. Thus, they were much smaller than the Common Army, but were very important for maintaining the size of the Austro-Hungarian military as a whole. By 1914, the Landwehr and Honved units were used just like Common Army units on the battlefield.
So the primary difficulty in figuring out how your grandfather's military service came about starts with determining which army he served in. As a citizen of the Austrian half of the Monarchy, he would have been eligible for conscription into either the Common Army or the Landwehr. The other really important piece of information we would need is when he was conscripted.
On their 19th birthdays, Austrian citizens became eligible for conscription. Local authorities drew up lists of men coming of age each year; these men were required to present themselvs for the draft Selection Board. The Board would determine whether a recruit was medically fit for service, then determine which of the services he would enter (Common Army or Landwehr). After receiving his assignment, the recruit was to report to their unit, complete training, and then serve for two years of active service. After two years had passed since his conscription, the soldier became a part of the Reserve. The reserve forces meant you could live at home, have your regular civilian job, and raise a family, but you had to report to your unit once a year for refresher training and you would be called up for active service if and when a war broke out. This is what happened in July 1914 when the First World War broke out. All the reservists (roughly two-thirds of the army) had to report to their unit headquarters where they were outfitted with weapons, uniforms, etc.
If your grandfather served in the Common Army, it'd be fairly easy to determine which unit he served with. As you can see in this map here, where you lived determined your unit. Your grandfather lived in the 11th Corps Recruiting District (top right of the map, colored green) representing eastern Galicia. If you find the name of the town Tarnopol on the map, you'll see that there's a red "15" under it. This gives us the number of the regiment he would have served with. So if he had entered the Common Army, he would've served in the 15th Regiment, which had been founded all the way back in 1701 and received the honorary title "Freiherr von Georgi" (many of the older regiments bore the name of a famous Austrian general or monarch). His regiment would have been attached to 11. Divison in the XI Corps. However, if he served in the Landwehr, he likely would have been attached to the 19th or 35th infantry regiments.
This is all assuming that your grandfather served in the infantry. If he didn't, and was in the cavalry or artillery, all of this would be different. Your grandfather may have left behind some documentation or photographs. A military service book (containing the details of his service and unit, etc) would be incredibly helpful. If he didn't leave behind any documentation of his time in the army, then we can really only make educated guesses. Let me know if you'd like me to elaborate on any of this or if you want some further reading recommendations for the Austro-Hungarian army!
Thank you! I'm going to go into the family documents and see if I can find any more specific info - but that's a terrific start and much appreciated.
