FJB 8

The Klagenfurt-based Jäger battalion was stationed in Villach, next to the Italian border. Its nationality was mostly German-speaking. As part of the III. Corps, they fought first in Galicia in 1914, then in the Carpathians, in the endangered Dukla Pass. After the Gorlice breakthrough, it was attached to the German Southern Army. In October 1915, it was ordered to the Italian front. In the 4th Battle of the Isonzo, they were deployed on the blood-soaked Mt. San Michele. Later, they were sent to Carinthia. After the Caporetto breakthrough in 1917, they reached the Grappa and fought on this front until the end of the war, suffering heavy losses.

The photo attached to the post shows Colonel Julius Lustig-Prean von Preansfeld, who was the unit’s designated commander until December 1915. He was wounded in September 1914. After a lengthy recovery, he was assigned not to the 8th Fighter Squadron, but to the German Southern Army as a liaison officer. According to sources, Major Wünsch took over the unit’s command from December 1915.

The attached photo shows Colonel Lustig-Prean, whose cap has the small horn of the 8th Jäger on the front side. He later became a brigade commander and was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Leopold. At the end of the war, he rose to the rank of lieutenant general. The other photo shows the monument to the 8th Jäger in Klagenfurt.