IR 103

There are times when the author’s job is easier. The badge speaks. This is also the case with the Kappenabzeichen of the 103rd Infantry Regiment. All the information necessary for its interpretation is on the badge. It should be known that at the outbreak of the war there were 102 “joint” infantry regiments. As the war dragged on, the Monarchy established new infantry regiments with the development of the army. Such was the case of the 103rd Infantry Regiment, which was the first newly formed regiment according to the numbering. This is also indicated by the year 1915: that’s when the regiment was founded.

In peacetime, each regiment had recruitment territories, which covered the entire territory of the Monarchy. The crew were from roughly the same region, they were all relatives and friends. Family and kinship relationships mattered a lot in terms of the unity and cohesion of the regiments. With the new regiments, it was no longer possible to designate new areas that had not been “occupied” until then, so the new regiments received crews from the staff of several other units that already existed. Later, the marching battalions sent to replace the losses showed a completely random territorial arrangement.

The badge of the 103rd regiment also nicely presents the mother regiments. The number of these can be read in the fields around the central round disc. As you can see, the “founders” were mostly Transylvanian regiments (2, 51, 62, 63, 64). But the district of the 85th regiment the county of Máramaros also borders Transylvania. In the wearing photo, the badge is clearly visible on the field cap, in the middle.