IR 32

The Budapest House Regiment fought in Galicia in the first half of the Great War as part of the 31st Division. After that, he was sent to Transylvania and then to Italy. The letter seal attached to the post is interesting in that it only lists three of the stations from the period 1917-18.

The 31st Division was transferred to Transylvania to reinforce the 1st Army at the end of January 1917. They were stationed first in the Tölgyes Gorge and then at the Tatar Pass until the summer of 1917. During June-July 1917, on this section of the front, the disintegrating Russian defenses were pushed back from the Carpathians to the eastern border of Bukovina. The regiment also took part in this offensive operation.

Then, the regiment was ordered from Bukovina to the Italian front. In March 1918, they were temporarily in a high mountain position around Mt Asolone for two weeks. The biggest problem then was the bad weather. After that, they returned to the 31st division and were assigned to the Italian lowlands.

The regimental Kappenabzeichen attached to the post is the more common type, although pieces of the war metal finish have rarely survived in such good condition as the one shown in the picture. I am having trouble with the interpretation of the “battlefields” written on the letter seal, because they highlight precisely those sections where no special combat action took place…