According to the military strategy of the 19th century, the Monarchy created large fortress systems in the priority defense districts. They were equipped with heavy artillery specially designed for the defense of fortresses. 6 fortress artillery regiments were created to protect six prominent forts. In addition, there were also 8 smaller fortress artillery units and battalions. The latter mainly played a role in the protection of the smaller fortresses sealing off the Tyrolean valleys.
After the outbreak of the Great War, the previously built fortress system quickly became obsolete. The siege and fall of Przemysl, the largest Austro-Hungarian fortress, showed that in a large-scale armed conflict, fortresses can only be of secondary importance. Of course, the analysts do not forget to mention that the siege of Przemysl tied up a hundred thousand Russian forces, which, if they were released to the line of the Carpathians at the end of 1914, might have been able to break through the front line on the Hungarian border.
This post will discuss the insignia of the 4th Fort Artillery Regiment. This regiment protected the military port of Pola primarily from expected attacks from the sea. The armament of the fortress artillery consisted partly of fixed guns and partly of mobile devices. Mobile ordnance was withdrawn from the forts during the Great War and sent to the fronts to reinforce the heavy artillery. The fixed gun emplacements obviously remained in their place. As the text of the attached insignia postcard shows, their operators were probably doomed to inactivity and bored.
The badge shows one of the built-in 30.5 cm coastal defense guns of the Pola fortress next to Barbariga, in the Fort Forno area. This fort protected the entrance to the port from the sea. The ruins of the fort can still be visited today. Of course, the gun no longer exists, it could only be identified based on a contemporary photo.