IR 71

After the occupation of Bosnia in 1878, the Monarchy stationed a significant occupying army of 40,000 in the country. This was necessary, the Bosnians were reluctant to see Austro-Hungarian rule. In 1881, recruitment into the army of the Monarchy began. Although they tried to take Muslim customs into account to a great extent, the constraints of the new army provoked resistance among the population, which was not accustomed to rule and law-abiding.

Resistance first manifested itself in a boycott of the lineup. In January 1882, however, an armed conflict took place. At that time, gunmen stormed the gendarme barracks in Ulok. After a 30-hour siege, the building was abandoned by defenders in exchange for a free retreat. In other parts of the south-east of the province, significant insurgent free troops camped and disturbed public safety.

At this time, the 71st Infantry Regiment was stationed in Hercegovina and was assigned to the 18th Division and the 4th Mountain Brigade. The number of troops stationed Hercegovina was approximately 25,000. The center of the insurgents in Zagorje was attacked by the Monarchy in February 1882 from several directions. From the township, the insurgents retreated to the region of the river Neretva to the border with Montenegro.

The letter seal shown in this post and the postcard attached date an event that occurred on February 26th. On that day, troops marching from Hercegovina, including one battalion of the 71st Regiment, reached Ulok after a week of heavy march in the great cold blowing snow. In addition to the harsh weather, there was also a conflict with the insurgents in Morinje. A group of few hundreds of insurgents occupying the settlement was defeated in a clash that lasted from noon to evening that day. The attacking teams lost 8 dead and 15 wounded. The last gunmen from Ulok were finally expelled two days later only. The success of the action against Zagorje, in view of the extraordinary weather conditions, earned the recognition of the ruler, which the troop commanders announced to the crews in a daily command.

A general description of the 71st Regiment can be found in an earlier post here. There is also one of the regiment’s cap badges on show. In this post, I will now present the badge of the regiment flag.