Karl Magerl von Kouffheim

He was member of an old Graz family, who added several military officers to the Army and Fleet of the Monarchy. He was the commander of the 12th Infantry Regiment since 1914. In 1917, he was promoted to colonel and charged with lead of the 66th Infantry brigade. His name can be read several times in the description of the battles of the 12th Infantry Regiment. For example, on August 27, 1914, the day of the regiment’s baptism of fire, in the Lublin area, when the high ground of 262 was occupied. The photo attached to the post and the description of the aforementioned action can be found on page 341 of the volume “Unteilbar und Untrennbar” published in Vienna in 1919.

In the attached picture, he is a colonel and a brigade commander. On his officer’s hat, we see two badges on the left. The first, rectangular, is the IV Corps’ badge. Behind this there is the triangular badge of the 33rd Division. One of the two brigades in this division was the 66th Brigade, led by Magerl. The 12th Infantry Regiment was assigned to this brigade. I’ve been able to get another information on Karl Magerl von Kouffheim. On November 16, 1918, after the colonel returned from the front line he became commander of the insurgent unit formed in Zólyom. The unit attacked the Czech troops who had since enlisted in Zsolna and Ruttka and retook the cities from them.

Concerning the two badges it is worth noting that they correspond to the tactical signals used on military maps. The corps were marked on a square basis with Roman numerals. The divisions were marked with Arabic numerals written in triangular shape colored with black-and-yellow bands on the badge. Some of the brigades also had badges. The division badges were cut in half in the middle and the brigade badge showed the upper part of it. They were just wearing black bars on top. The brigade’s military number was also written in Arabic. Brigade 66 didn’t have its own hat badge. The colonel must have worn the division’s badge instead.