A Quartiermeistergeneralstab Field Officer in 1798 Uniform

Quartiermeistergeneralstab

re-enactment unit

Description and Aim

The QMS is a re-enactment unit dedicated to the accurate representation of the Austrian Staff of the Napoleonic Wars, focussing in the Operations Department. This is not a 'combat unit', in that there is no need for members to be equipped with firearms and take the field against the enemy, but roles allowing that option do exist.

The main role is to provide a credible living history representation and support and staff the KK army and allies during events and on other occasions. It also aims to provide a focal point for KK units through an online presence.

The reason for choosing this unit to represent is because in the UK interest is likely to be limited, events taking place overseas will mean it will be hard to take firearms and it is a stand alone role that does not need other units around.

The approach is to create a small staff that would be responsible for helping a General run a detached column or a later corps. Such organisations were usually led by an officer of field grade with at most half a dozen staff officers. The HQ may be guarded by a detachment of staff dragoons or infantry, or whatever troops happened to be at hand. Staff officers often employed batmen or civilian servants like other army officers.

Roles and duties of the Operationskanzlei

Direktor: Major Jean Friseur de Chesholme

The QMS is responsible for all the functions of the QMS officers and men, direct communication with the commanding General and co-ordinates the disparate regiments under command and manages spies. He is also responsible for briefing the commanding General each morning on events and intelligence that could inform his actions.

Major Jean de Chesholme is currently a Major in the QMS. He is a French emigre who left France in 1793 at the age of 21. After serving in the Grun-Loudon freicorps and LiB 'Bach' he transferred to GzIR6 followed by two years at the Engineer School. He is currently with the QMS.

Captaine des Guides: vacant

The Capitaine des Guides is responsible for reconnaissance and intelligence. Unlike other QMS officers, the CdeG always came from a cavalry background. The CdeG handles all intelligence reports and non-secret intelligence as well as scouting reports. He then distills this into a report for the QMS who in turn uses it to brief the commanding General.

 

Engineer Officers

Direktor des Technische Truppen: vacant

The Officer of Technical Troops was usually an engineer officer and was a key figure for the staff if there was a need to build a bridge, besiege a place or demolish something. Often the Engineer officer would have a platoon or section of Pioneers under command, and any Pontoniers and Tschaikisten would also fall under his command. Usually he would be a subaltern at corps/kolonne level, but of field grade for army HQs.

This is a good role for an individual who is keen on fortifications, engineering and drawing. Also this character may recruit his own 'men' in the guise of sappers. It is also a very nice uniform!

 

Artillery Field Officer and subaltern in 1798 uniform

Artillerie-Commandant: vacant

The Artillery commander was the other non-QMS officer directly responsible to the Chief of Staff. His role was to direct the reserve artillery of the formation and act as senior artillery officer for all artillery units. As such his advice about the quality of roads, what would and would not be passable for the formation's guns would be invaluable as well as his battlefield skill in choosing sites for the reserve guns.

I would prefer this role to be filled by someone experienced with artillery in re-enactment. I am not sure if there is a person out there who has the uniform of an officer of artillery, but given that this role is likely to be more active in terms of handling units and assigning powder I would like to approach the Czechs on this.

Stabs-Offizieren

Officers of the staff could fulfill a variety of duties. They would be employed by the Chief of Staff to fill whatever functions he felt was necessary based on their skills and talents. Some officers may be good at drawing, others at mathematics or have a good eye for ground. One officer would be detailed to maintain the war diary.

Anyone can fill these roles who wishes to take on the persona of an Austrian officer. Staff officers could really be of any age as the very young could come from combat units, the older ones from technical units.

Pioneers 1798

Technical Troops

Although there were specialist troops for Staff duties (see below) these were the responsibility of the Service Department. The Operations department had responsibility for the technical troops. The majority of these would be pioneers, often a corps or similar formation would have one or two platoons to enable the unit undertake small engineering tasks.  Other technical troops could be pontoneers for bridge building, and Tschaikisten for the management of boats on rivers and so forth.

People may undertake to represent pioneers, pontoniers or Tschaikisten and guard headquarters, although more sensibly would be a small pioneer unit under the command of the Direktor des Technische Truppen.

The Service Department

The Operations Department would be uniformed people directly under the command of the Chief of Staff. A General would also have an Adjutant Staff, known as the Service Department, which he would choose himself along with his aides de camp. These could be drawn directly from regiments and wear their regimental uniform with a green plume and sash worn over the right shoulder to mark them out as members of the adjutant staff, or they may wear the uniform of the adjutant staff, which was similar to the QMS uniform but with red collar and cuffs and paille as opposed to white small clothes.

There was often tension between the 'red' and 'black' staffs, particularly where the General distrusted, disliked or dismissed as incompetent the Chief of Staff foisted on him by the Hofkriegsrath. In such circumstances the General's adjutant staff often became an alternate source of plans and advice, relegating the 'black' staff to a purely technical role.

These roles would need the proximity of a General officer to be truly effective, as they would be more directly at his beck and call than members of the Operations Department.

 

General-Adjutant Officer in 1798 uniform

Adjutant Staff Officers

An officer may be part of the 'professional' adjutant staff attached to a General. The function of the adjutant staff was to cover things like logistics, management of the headquarters functions, the writing and transmission of orders and anything else that the commanding General felt was important. There would be an Adjutant-General, several Flugel-Adjutants and General-Adjutants falling within this group.

A person taking on this role would need to be aware that their function is more 'service based'. Command of any staff units would fall to these people if they exist. Such people would also have a firm battlefield role conducting messages and orders to units on the field.

Aides de Camp

A General would also choose his own aides de camp. These would be part of his military family, and sometimes directly members of his family as well. These would be drawn directly from their units and retain the uniform of their unit with the staff distinctions of a green plume and the sash (if worn by that unit) over the right shoulder as opposed to around the waist. They would most frequently be young, junior officers, good looking on fast horses whose job was to despatch orders on the battlefield, run errands and generally be in attendance on the commanding General.

An ADC obviously needs a general to circulate around. Like any adjutant, they would be transmitting orders and running about after the commanding General.

Staff Infantry from around 1778. Raised at the outbreak of war, uniforms seemed to differ each time

Stabs-Dragoner and Stabs-Infantrie

The Austrian army had specific troops raised on the outbreak of a campaign to guard the headquarters. These were the Stabs-Dragoner and Stabs-Infantrie. Their job was Headquarters security and to act as armed escort to officers from both staffs if they were needed. On the battlefield their primary function was to keep the commanding General safe and act as his escort.

Staff troops would have a more active field role if they wished, escorting the General or the Chief of Staff or any of the operations staff on recce or during a battle. They would also be responsible for guarding the headquarters. These would be the only troops who would need firearms licenses.

 

'Don't eat the rose this time, your honour'

Servants and Civilians

All Austrian officers would engage a servant of some sort to cook, clean and generally take on the domestic duties. These could either be military servants carried over from their previous regiments, from the Stabs-Infantrie or civilians.

Batmen

To borrow a 20th century term the servants in uniform I will call batmen. Within regiments these were drawn from semi-invalided soldiers whose inability to serve in combat had been confirmed by the regimental surgeon, though in practice the regimental surgeon could be persuaded to sign off anyone the officer wanted. These individuals were often figures of fun, think of Schweik in a later period, who were often pictured as pretty useless and quite frustrating. One advantage was that they were cheap!

Civilian Servants

If he could afford it the Austrian officer would avoid a batman and instead engage a civilian servant. These were often far more competent and knew their job well as they had prior experience of being in service.

These would be the cheapest and most relaxed options as a servant would have no battlefield role. Their 'job' would be to keep the Headquarters tidy, procure provisions, make fires and serve food.

Overview of the QMS and other staff functions

The relationship between the Chief of Staff and the commanding General could be mixed. The QMS was not chosen by the commanding General but by the Hofkriegsrath in Vienna, and was often seen as a moderating figure to make sure that the General's plans remained aligned to the strategy and leadership in Vienna. Sometimes the relationship could be very close, such as between Archduke Charles and Oberst Schmitt in 1799, and at other times the relationship was characterised by mistrust and loathing, as between General Melas and Oberst Zach in 1800. Sometimes the QMS would really be in charge of the army with the General a figurehead, as was the case with Mack and Archduke Ferdinand in 1805, after Mack had displaced Ferdinand's original Chief of Staff. But the way the relationship formed was in many ways accidental, and the inability of generals to appoint their own chiefs of staff left many openings for tension.

The QMS officer could either have come from within the peacetime QMS officers or be taken into the QMS on the outbreak of war. The role offered little in the way of heroics and glory, but lots of paperwork and drafting of orders, and as such any job within the QMS was frequently shunned by officers wanting to win their spurs. Often officers came from more technical backgrounds like the Engineers, where being able to draw, measure and think were prized assets. This often meant that 'combat' officers discounted staff officers during operations because they had no experience of a battlefield role. At other times generals showed an over-reliance on staff officers just because they were wearing a staff uniform, and saw this as a way of avoiding responsibility for any errors. Staff officers often moved between operational and staff roles during their careers, like Wimpffen. You were generally not a staff officer throughout your career unless you were in a department like topography.

The Operations staff had responsibility for all military operations and intelligence. additionally it was responsible for the maintenance of the operational journals and the war diary. The Staff also created a daily situation report (situationszeichnung) and recorded details of all military actions for entry into the war diary. 

Army Train from 1798

The most senior QMS Officer lead the Operations Department (Operationskanzlei) as director of operations (Direktor).  His department was responsible for all technical troops (Pioneers, Pontoneers and Tschaikisten), the organisation of the headquarters, arranging the order of march and management of the headquarters baggage. In the case of the baggage he was assisted by a senior and junior Quartermaster, a staff Fourier (to manage the horses), a senior and junior Wagonmaster and messengers on foot and on horseback.

In terms of organisation, in 1809 the staff of Archduke Charles was organised into 6 Buro:

• Chef Buro fur Koordinierung
• Das Buro fur Kriegsgeschichte zur Answertung der Bestande der Kriegsarchivs.
• Das trigonometrische und calcul Buro
• Das Topographische Buro
• Die Zeichnungskanzlei (drawing office)
• Das dislokations und marschrouten Buro

In 1809 when the country was at war there were 191 officers in the 'black' staff

In 1811 when the country was at peace there were 64 officers on the 'black' staff

As you can see I have been very reliant on Tranquillo Mollo for illustrations, but the uniforms will generally follow the 1807 reforms, although the difference for the QMS officers themselves is minimal.