Original Austro-Hungarian 1915 Dated Enameled Canteen With Carry Strap and Stopper by Austria Werke Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a fantastic example of a rather hard to find canteen from the Great War. The canteen itself is considerably small compared to other canteens used by their allies as well as many other countries involved in the war. It is in wonderful condition though the cork has shrunk significantly from age and no longer secures a tight seal while placed inside of the neck. The carry strap is in a great, field used condition and appears to be complete. Much of the original paint and enamel is present, but there is the expected finish loss as well as denting in the body.

All in all a wonderful example of a canteen that most definitely saw field use and service during the war. Comes more than ready for further research and display.

The Austro-Hungarian Army was under the command of Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen (1817–1895), an old-fashioned bureaucrat who opposed modernization. The military system of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy was similar in both states, and rested since 1868 upon the principle of the universal and personal obligation of the citizen to bear arms. Its military force was composed of the common army; the special armies, namely the Austrian Landwehr, and the Hungarian Honved, which were separate national institutions, and the Landsturm or levy-en masse. As stated above, the common army stood under the administration of the joint minister of war, while the special armies were under the administration of the respective ministries of national defense. The yearly contingent of recruits for the army was fixed by the military bills voted on by the Austrian and Hungarian parliaments and was generally determined on the basis of the population, according to the last census returns. It amounted in 1905 to 103,100 men, of which Austria furnished 59,211 men, and Hungary 43,889. Besides 10,000 men were annually allotted to the Austrian Landwehr, and 12,500 to the Hungarian Honved. The term of service was two years (three years in the cavalry) with the colors, seven or eight in the reserve and two in the Landwehr; in the case of men not drafted to the active army the same total period of service was spent in various special reserves.

The common minister of war was the head for the administration of all military affairs, except those of the Austrian Landwehr and of the Hungarian Honved, which were committed to the ministries for national defense of the two respective states. But the supreme command of the army was nominally vested in the monarch, who had the power to take all measures regarding the whole army. In practice, the emperor’s nephew Archduke Albrecht was his chief military advisor and made the policy decisions.

The Austro-Hungarian Navy was mainly a coast defense force, and also included a flotilla of monitors for the Danube. It was administered by the naval department of the ministry of war.