3rd bat., BHIR 4

Undeservedly little has been said about the Bosnian troops so far. Mainly because I get relatively little information from the South Slavic states, I don’t have much contact there. However, the Bosnian regiments played an important role in the army of the Monarchy during the Great War. The subject of this entry is the badge of the 3rd Battalion of the 4th Bosnian Infantry Regiment.

The inscription on the insignia shows the diverse ethnic composition of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The inscription “svjetski rat” is in Croatian and means world war. The 4th regiment was not from Bosnia, but from Herzegovina, and most of the crew spoke Croatian. Despite this, as the insignia shows, the uniforms of the various nationalities (Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs) was identical, the most distinctive piece being the headgear, the fez. It was worn equally by all nationalities in regiments and other units in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The exact troop composition of the soldiers shown in the photo used for the post is not known. They could even be soldiers of the 4th regiment. The command of the regiment was in Mostar, the most important city of Herzegovina, inhabited by both Croats and Bosniaks. The 3rd Battalion was a detached battalion of the regiment. They were in Mostar during peacetime, while the other battalions were in Trieste. The battalion was assigned to the 13th Mountain Brigade, which was part of the 18th Division for most of the war. They were deployed first in Galicia and then on the Italian front.