Isonzo Army and 15th Mountain Brigade

We have already seen the Kappenabzeichen of the Isonzo army several times among the posts. It was one of the most common and popular badges during the Great War. Judging by the number of copies that can still be found today, the Hermann company in Vienna could have produced tens of thousands of them during 1917 and 1918 (the time, when the former 5th army was named the Isonzó army). Presumably, its capacity was limited to this badge, since we don’t know much about other badges from this manufacturer.

The repeated discussion is not only justified by the large number of pieces, although the frequent appearance on photos and postcards was also related to this. Now I present a nice wearing photo, where we can see three badges on the field cap. The picture is dated 1918, so the insignia of the Isonzo army may be the most recent piece of the three. There is also the “Balkanstreitkräfte” insignia with a portrait of the ruler looking to the right. The fifth army fought on the Balkan front until the middle of 1915. From there it was transferred to the Italian front.

The third badge is a pair of weeds. It is difficult to make out what kind of additional shield is attached to the lower right part of the weed. This base was used to serve as a template for several badges. It looks to me like the 15th Mountain Brigade has a shield-shaped plate there, but I’m not sure. Just in case, I’ll show you what I mean.