The Bosnians were among the elite units of the Monarchy. This was probably due to their warrior past and their experience and skills with the armed lifestyle of Bosnian men. As is known, Bosnia and Herzegovina came under the authority of the Monarchy only three decades before the Great War. Despite this, Bosnians were extremely loyal and faithful soldiers of the Austrian ruler during the Great War.
Four Bosnian infantry regiments were raised before the war, but this number increased significantly with additional regiments during the war. From the several suitable Kappenabzeichen, I chose the most well-known, perhaps the most common insignia, the 3rd Bosnian Infantry Regiment. The deployment area of this regiment was in and around Tuzla. The headquarters and two battalions were stationed in Budapest.
In the Great War, the regiment was assigned to the 31st Division in the 62nd Infantry Brigade. Their brigade partner was the 44th “Rosseb” infantry regiment. They fought in Galicia in the first phase of the war, in the IV. corps area, later around Zloczów area. In January 1917, the division was transferred to Bukovina, where they were part of the German Karpathenkorps for a while, and then they were assigned to the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army. From January 1918, they fought on the Italian front on the Po plain in the II. corps.
The insignia of the 3rd Bosnian Infantry Regiment is based on the usual Muslim symbolism. The shape of the badge depicts the crescent moon and the star. In this frame, we see the Bosnian warrior fighting with his opponent.