The Alpine Infantry Regiment No. 9 in Burgenland 1921/22

Part 1 of our series on the Burgenland deployment of the Austrian Army in 1921/22 from the perspective of Alpine Infantry Regiment No. 9 dealt with alerting (see here) and in part 2 about the deployment of troops to the Lower Austrian-Burgenland and Styrian-Burgenland border areas. In the third part we now report on the accident at Pinggau and the operations in November.

The months of September and October brought 25 days of incidents with Hungarian irregulars on Styrian territory in the section of Alpine Infantry Regiment No. 9 (AJR No. 9). All attacks were successfully repulsed without casualties. In the night from October 31 to November 1, 1921, however, the tragic accident of Pinggau occurred, which claimed a heavy toll of blood from AJR No. 9. One soldier is presented in more detail as a representative of all the victims of the accident. Enemy pressure on guard post Schäffernsteg
The Haideggendorf subsection (south of Friedberg) reports repeated attacks by irregulars on the guard post at the Schäffernsteg inn at 2.00 a.m. on November 1, with an urgent request for reinforcements. At around 4.00 a.m., the section reserve (an infantry platoon) left Hartberg by truck. Shortly afterwards, there were the first reports and rumors among the soldiers about a traffic accident involving the truck, which spoke of nine fatalities. Brigade commander Karl Plachota and his chief of staff went to the scene of the accident to get a precise picture of the situation. A detailed report from the Hartberg Border Guard Command shows the high enemy pressure on the Schäffernsteg guard post on the night of October 31st to November 1st:

The Schäffernsteg guard post thus had to fend off eight attacks by Hungarian irregulars in a single night. The short duration and frequency of the attacks show the clear purpose of not allowing the border guard troops to rest. The course of the accident
A report on the accident on November 2 describes how the section reserve (a platoon) of the 2nd Company AJR No. 9 under the command of Officer Deputy Erlinger was dispatched from Hartberg by truck to reinforce the post at 4:00 a.m. on November 1. At the railroad and road crossing in Pinggau, the drive chain of the truck broke at around 6:00 am. The steerless vehicle sped down the steep road as the brakes also failed. In a sharp bend, the car hit the road wall and then tipped downwards by around ten meters.

There were 30 men on the truck, including the driver, nine of whom died at the scene of the accident, including officer deputy Erlinger. In addition to these serious casualties, there were four very seriously injured, 14 injured and three slightly injured soldiers. Depending on the degree of injury, the wounded were taken to Wiener Neustadt or Hartberg hospitals, while the fatal casualties were transferred to Hartberg, where the military farewell ceremony took place. Two more soldiers succumbed to their serious injuries in the following days, bringing the total number of fatalities to eleven! Karl Kossi – short biography of a casualty
One of the fatal casualties was the unmarried private Karl Kossi, born on August 11, 1895 in Graz. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic and attended five years of elementary school, three classes at a secondary school (Hauptschule) and two classes at a trade school. His learned civil profession was listed as “clothes maker” in the land register. On April 28, 1914, Kossi stood before the judge as a tailor’s assistant because he was accused of having insulted his employer as a striker. The court sentenced him to “48 hours’ imprisonment” according to the workers’ will of April 29, 1914. His sense of justice was therefore already very pronounced at a young age. Kossi served with the Graz House Regiment from June 21, 1915, on which day he joined Infantry Regiment No. 27. From November 24, 1915 to January 7, 1916, he was treated in hospital for a hand injury. After the Flitsch-Tolmain offensive, he was reported sick from December 24, 1917 to April 9, 1918. After his recovery, he was briefly assigned to his regiment’s replacement squad as a clerk. From July 2, 1918 to January 31, 1919 he took part in non-commissioned officer training and was transferred to civilian status on February 1, 1919. Several awards are noted in the land register, including the Bronze Medal for Bravery on May 15, 1916. From October 16, 1920, he served with the II Battalion of AJR No. 9, and his extensive war experience may also have been the reason for his rapid promotion to Schwarmführer (= private) on December 1, 1920. The first promotion to this rank took place on September 2, 1915, just six months after his enlistment in the World War. However, the law stipulated that he had to register for the army without a rank. The Arbeiter-Zeitung printed a lengthy obituary about Kossi in its issue of November 5, 1921. In it, the soldier was described as a “comrade” who had already been organized in the Social Democratic Party for ten years and stood up for workers’ rights. The deceased described the military profession as a “hated profession”, and as an “educational confidant” and “librarian”, he was particularly committed to the further training of conscripts and the education system in the army.

Consequences and consequences of the accident
In order to prevent such accidents caused by the drive chain breaking in the future, it was decreed that the trucks had to be checked every evening. These inspections were carried out by the brigade’s driving officer in Hartberg. In addition, the drivers were increasingly ordered to adapt their speeds to the local road and weather conditions and to drive particularly carefully on tight bends. In order to be able to quickly support the families and relatives of the victims, the army administration initiated a collection of donations for the bereaved. The provincial governor and the mayor of Graz made large sums of money available, and the soldiers of the 5th Brigade were also encouraged to make a financial contribution. The members of AJR No. 9 created two memorial stones to commemorate the fallen comrades. Both memorial stones can still be seen today at the cemeteries in Hartberg and Graz Central Cemetery. According to an article in the Grazer Tagblatt the following day, numerous guests from politics and the military attended the unveiling ceremony in Graz on May 29, 1924: Governor Rintelen and his deputy Pongratz, Brigade Pastor Allmer, the traditional associations as well as the two regimental commanders of the Graz Alpine Infantry Regiments No. 9 and 10. At the ceremony, the course of the accident was described and the memorial was intended to be “a testimony to the faithful fulfillment of duty until death”. The memorial consists of a 10,000 kilogram block of marble, which is topped by a replica of a steel helmet. On the front surface is the inscription: “Defending their homeland on the occasion of the annexation of Burgenland, the following soldiers of the Styrian Alpine Infantry Regiment No. 9 died for the fatherland on November 1, 1921 near Pinggau: Deputy Officer Lorenz Erlinger, Private Karl Kossi, the soldiers Florian Haiden, Anton Achtner, Franz Lehnert, Karl Lötsch, Heinrich Klecknert, Hans Kern, Josef Hamperl, Josef Senger, Rudolf Ternovec. Glory to these comrades!”

Further military activities in November
October was used by the two states Austria and Hungary for diplomatic negotiations under Italian mediation. The so-called Protocol of Venice increased the pressure on Hungary to stop the guerrilla activities. Together with another event, Emperor Charles’ attempt at restoration in Hungary, these activities accelerated the resolution of the Burgenland question. After the Hungarian attacks on the Schäffernsteg guard post and the tragic deaths associated with the Friedberg-Pinggau accident, the irregulars’ activities ebbed noticeably. The political pressure exerted on Hungary by the victorious Allied powers had an effect and the irregulars withdrew from the Hungarian-Austrian border region. On November 2, an insignificant and inconsequential exchange of fire took place between a guard post near Burgau and irregulars, but in the following days several civilian and military authorities reported the withdrawal of the irregulars. Despite the noticeable calm in the border area, the 5th Brigade Command felt compelled to point out that it was still forbidden to cross the border. The troops of the Federal Army were not yet allowed to enter Burgenland territory. Furthermore, the service had to continue to be carried out with vigilance, as the brigade could not rule out the possibility of attacks. However, the withdrawal of the irregulars also led to some relief in the border guard service. More security and patrol exercises were now to be carried out in the vicinity of their own accommodation, without neglecting border security. Conclusion
The Pinggau accident was the tragic climax of AJR No. 9’s border protection mission, especially as the Hungarian irregulars withdrew from the border area immediately afterwards. The federal army troops in Styria were now ordered to take preparatory measures for the invasion of Burgenland. The weak forces of the Austrian Armed Forces made an invasion in two phases necessary. The northern part of Burgenland was occupied until November 17th and significant forces were then deployed to Styria. The advance into southern Burgenland was to begin here on November 25 – but more on this in our next part.

Click here for the first part of our serieswhich deals with the alerting of the armed forces and here to the second part about the redeployment of troops to the Lower Austrian-Burgenland and Styrian-Burgenland border areas. The fourth part deals with the invasion of Burgenland and the renewed border protection.