The Habsburgs' Wings 1914

This book is the story of the early years of the Austro-Hungarian air force by the Polish historian Andrej Olejko.

The Balkans delivered another first in 1911 when aeroplanes were first used in combat operations during the Italian-Turkish War. A year later air power, albeit very primitive, grabbed the attention of the world's military through its use in the First Balkan War. By 1914, most nations had some form of air force, usually under the control of their army or navy.

Not everyone agreed with this new-fangled way of waging war. The British General William Nicholson said: "Aviation is a useless and costly peculiarity, practiced by several individualists, whose views do not deserve attention."

The author charts the birth of the Austro-Hungarian air force, which also struggled to get the attention and resources from a conservative military establishment. Although the Chief of Staff, Conrad von Hotzendorf in 1910 stated that planes were the future of reconnaissance. By the following year, the army had purchased its first aircraft and began the systematic training of pilots.

Balloon units were attached to the major border fortresses in Galicia, Hungary and Montenegro. Planes were assigned to all of the field armies by 1913, although in small numbers. This was hampered by a small and diverse aircraft industry, so the army also bought planes from their German allies. These included the very elegant Taube reconnaissance aircraft, pictured on the cover.

The navy also developed its own aviation wing including Lohner seaplanes. Like most of the world's navies, they quickly identified the benefits. Naval bases near Pula and Kotor were quickly established. The modern airport at Tivat had a flying boat wharf nearby.  

Ground troops were not used to seeing aircraft and there were a number of early friendly fire incidents. This led to an early form of camouflage and national identification stripes.

At the outbreak of war, there were only 39 of the planned 90 planes available. Mostly of the Lohner and Aviatik types. The author lists all the pilots and the Fliegerkompanien, together with their bases and equipment.

The allies and enemies are also described in some detail. The Russian air force was not large in 1914 and had similar problems in deploying the planned numbers of aircraft to the field armies facing the Habsburgs in Galicia. They had around 162 combat aircraft, but these included the fronts facing the Germans. The Serbians had a few aircraft in the Balkan Wars, as well as balloon detachments. By 1914 they had an air squadron of seven French aircraft.

This is Volume 1, so I assume the author is planning to tell the story of air operations in the next volume. It is, without a doubt, an impressive piece of research. Added to which the book is extensively illustrated with period photographs. Including many from one of my favourite places in the Balkans, the Bay of Kotor, which has extensive remains of the Habsburg forts that defended the naval base.

Admittedly, this is probably not a book for the general reader, but it is likely to be the definitive work on the subject and I enjoyed it.