Franz Ferdinand
Archduke of Austria
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Following the death of Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889 and the death of Karl Ludwig in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His courtship of Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting, caused conflict within the imperial household, and their morganatic marriage in 1900 was only allowed after he renounced his descendants' rights to the throne. Franz Ferdinand held significant influence over the military, and in 1913 he was appointed inspector general of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces. On 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo by the 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia. Franz Ferdinand's assassination led to the July Crisis and precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia, which in turn triggered a series of events that eventually led – four weeks after his death – to Austria-Hungary's allies and Serbia's allies declaring war on each other, starting World War I.
The Kaiserjäger (officially designated by the Imperial and Royal (k.u.k.) military administration as the Tiroler Jäger-Regimenter or "Tyrolean Rifle Regiments"), were formed in 1895 as four normal infantry regiments within the Common Army of Austria-Hungary. Despite the name "Tirol" in its title its members were not just recruited from the crown land of Tyrol (including Vorarlberg) but also from other parts of the monarchy. The word Jäger (meaning "hunter" or "huntsman") is a characteristic term used for light infantry or light infantrymen in a German-speaking context. The first standing troops in the Tyrol were the native Tyrolese soldiers of the Tyrolean State Battalion (Tiroler Landbataillon) formed in 1703. This was superseded in 1745 by the Tyrolean Field and State Regiment (Tiroler Feld- und Landregiment), which was given the status and prerogatives of an imperial regiment and went under the regimental number 46. Due to the political situation during the Napoleonic era, the regiment was permanently stationed in Veneto – still Austrian at that time – in 1801, which is why it lost its original name. As its successor in Tyrol, the 64th Tyrolean Rifles (Tiroler Jägerregiment Nr. 64) was established, based on a Tyrolean rifle corps and the battalion of Kurz'schen Jäger ("Kurz's Rifles"). When Tyrol fell to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1805, the name Tyrolean Rifles was withdrawn. After the return of Tyrol to the Austrian Empire in 1814, the reorganization of a Tyrolean rifle corps was immediately begun. Initially it consisted of one battalion, but was later expanded to three. The inhaber of the Rifles was Feldmarschall-Leutnant Franz Philipp Fenner von Fenneberg (1762–1824), which resulted in the contemporary title of Fennerjäger. In spring 1815,
Emperor Francis I directed the establishment of a Kaiser-Jäger-Regiment of four battalions and 16 companies. The formation of this regiment began on 16 Jan 1816. By contrast with the Jäger troops of Old Austria that were organized into independent Feldjäger battalions (k.u.k. Feldjäger), this new regiment was the only (Imperial and Royal) Jäger regiment of the Empire of Austria until 1895 (when the "Great Regiment of Tyrolean Emperor Rifles", or Großen Regiments der Tiroler Kaiserjäger, was split up.
The House of Habsburg-Este (Italian: Casa d'Asburgo-Este), also known as the House of Austria-Este (German: Haus Österreich-Este) and holder of the title of Archduke of Austria-Este (Italian: Arciduca d'Austria-Este; German: Erzherzog von Österreich-Este), is a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and also descends from the House of Este in the cognatic line. It was created in 1771 with the marriage between Ferdinand of Habsburg-Lorraine and Maria Beatrice d'Este, only daughter of the Duke of Modena, Ercole III d'Este. After the death of Ercole III in 1803, the Modena ruling branch of the Este family's male line ended, and the Habsburg-Este line subsequently inherited his possessions in what is now Italy. The Duchy of Modena and Reggio (Italian: Ducato di Modena e Reggio) was an Italian state created in 1452 located in Northwestern Italy, in the present day region of Emilia-Romagna. It was ruled since its establishment by the noble House of Este, and since 1814 by the Austria-Este branch of the family. The Este dynasty was a great sponsor of the arts, making the Duchy a cultural reference during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Awards: Cross, sash and star of the Order of the Eagle of Este, Collar of the Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece, Stars of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary and the Military Order of Maria Theresa.
