Flags of the Imperial Austrian Army of the Napoleonic Wars

Flag sizes

The infantry flags measured 161 x 142 cm with the "flames" each 16 cm wide at the base in red, black, yellow and white, the last two replaced by gold and silver on the Leibfahne throughout the period. Cavalry regiments always carried one standard per division of two squadrons, the 1st division carrying the Leibstandarte. They measured 71 x 63 cm with the "flames" 6.5 cm wide at the base.

Ehrenbände

The multi-coloured Ehrenbände ribbons, usually presented by the Inhaber, were nailed to the top of the staff and covered by the roundel on the centre of the bow, but were only worn on the flag on ceremonial occasions. However, one captured example at the Musée de l’Empéri in France has an Ehrenbände attached. On a plate in the 'Heer & Tradition' series, the Liebfahne of IR 39 Duka is shown as having white Ehrenbände, edged and fringed in red, on an 1806 pattern flag. On the same plate, IR14 Klebek is shown as having white Ehrenbände, edged and fringed in gold on a 1792 pattern standard. A red Ehrenbände, embroidered in silver, from an 1809 Vienna Volunteer flag, presented by Empress Maria Ludovika, is displayed at the Vienna City Museum

1792 pattern

The pattern in service at the start of the wars was the 1780 pattern introduced by Joseph II to reflect his policy of moving away from reliance on the Holy Roman Empire to focusing on Habsburg Lands. The black Doppeladler eagle carried a large shield, which displayed the full Habsburg coat of arms and really expressed his policy of relying on the Austrian resources and no longer those of the Holy Roman Empire. To the sides on the wings were the Imperial Buchstaben (cipher initials), starting with 'JII' for Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1765–1790). Due to the end of the Turkish War and the ongoing Belgian rebellion, the new Emperor Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, issued a proclamation on 17 March 1790 ordering the Hofkriegsrat that for reasons of economy, all flags were to remain unchanged. His brief reign only lasted until April 1792, so, the flags only changed in 1792 when the Buchstaben (initials) received a bar through the ‘J’, so it became an ‘F’ to display the cipher of the new Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor: ‘FII’, either side of the complicated central shield (this addition of a bar through the J for existing flags distinguishes flags initially issued under Joseph from post-1792 issued flags). With its many quarterings, the shield carried all the coats of arms of the territories held or claimed by the Habsburgs: On the top line are: the arms of Old & New Hungary, Spain (made up of Castille, Leon, Aragon, Navarre), Bohemia; on the second line: Burgundy, Austria/Lorraine under the Archduke's coronet, Tuscany; on the third line: Transylvania (or Siebenbürgen) Lombardy, Mantua; on the bottom line: Habsburg, Flanders, Tyrol. Around the shield are the chains and emblems of the Orders of St. Stephen of Hungary and of Maria Theresa. Above is the red and gold crown of Austria. On the obverse of the white Leibfahne was the Madonna and Child on a cloud with rays of light streaming to the right and left.

Some of the Walloon (Belgian) infantry regiments’ Ordinärfahnen added local symbols: IR55 Murray carried an Ordinärfahne with the red diagonal Cross of Burgundy behind the Doppeladler and the arms of St. Omer below the eagle. However, IR58 Vierset (until 1794)/Beaulieu (1794–98) had a regulation 1780/92 Ordinärfahne with the bar through 'J' to create 'F'.

Cavalry flags seem to have been retained for longer than their infantry counterparts. Three standards from 3. Dragoons, which were captured at Neswiecz on 20 September 1812 by the Russian Alexandria Hussars, appear to date from the reign of Emperor Charles VI (1711–40), although the brass finial is stamped with the post-1806 'FI' cypher of Emperor Franz I. Four cavalry standards captured by the French in the 1805 campaign were of the 1769–1780 pattern as the cypher 'MT' (Empress Maria Theresa 1740–1780) is embroidered either side of the central shield on the eagle.

1804 pattern

An Imperial Patent (order) of 11 August 1804 issued a new pattern to reflect the creation of the creation of the Austrian Empire, but the production order wasn’t given until 28 March 1805. There is only one surviving 1804 Ordinarfahne in the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (Museum of Military History, Vienna), but it is not clear whether it is the restored version of the illustrated Ordinarfahne from the New York Public Library Collection, so only one is known to have been made. Two new flags were presented to IR4 Deutschmeister, the ceremonial guard line regiment based in Vienna, in June 1806 before the 1806 pattern was decreed, although one of these was a new Leibfahne to replace the one lost in 1805.

At least three standards were issued to the cavalry, one for 7. Hussars and one for an unknown Hussar regiment.

Surprisingly, the flag displays the Holy Roman Empire crown above the Doppeladler eagle, whose heads had halos. The Austrian crown now sat on top of the central shield, which was surrounded by the chain of the order of the Golden Fleece. The shield displayed a simple black Doppeladler with the red-white-red barred Bindenshield of Austria on its chest and below it hung a shortened version of the chain and ribbon of the Order of Maria Theresa. The shields on the wings are : (left) Hungary, Galicia-Lodermaria, Venice, Transylvania (or Siebenbürgen), Moravia-Silesia (right) Bohemia, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria-Carithia, Tyrol

1806 pattern

The 1806 pattern, introduced under an Imperial Decree of 6 December 1806, reflected the Emperor’s new primary Austrian title and was used until the 1816 pattern was introduced. The provincial shields were moved individually to the outer edge of the eagles’ wings and the Buchstaben were abandoned. The Madonna on the Leibfahne gained a halo of stars and the style of the eagle changed: The heads lost the halos, but were crowned with the new Imperial crown in between. The ribbon running between the heads was now red, rather the previous blue. The central shield only displayed three sections, comprising the arms of Habsburg, Austria and Lorraine respectively. The shield lay over a Deutschmeister cross and was surrounded by the chains of the Orders of the Golden Fleece and Maria Theresa. The arms on the eagle wings were (left side, top to bottom) Hungary, Galicia, Styria, Transylvania (or Siebenbürgen), Moravia-Silesia, (right side, top to bottom) Bohemia, Lower Austria, Tyrol, Würzburg, Upper Austria, Carinthia.

One surviving Ordinärfahne of IR16 Lusignan unusually shows only yellow flames from the outside edge with red, black and white flames facing outwards.

The smaller cavalry standard did not display the provincial shields on its wings.

1812 campaign

A plate by the French artist, Rigo, (No.33) shows Austrian 1792 and 1806 patters with a commentary by the renowned French vexillogist Pierre Charrie, who suggested a probable distribution of these flags among the Austrian infantry units, which were part of the Auxiliary Korps attached to Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812:

1780 Muster (1792 for Franz II)

IR2 Hiller (Hungarian)

IR9 Czartoryski (German)

IR19 Alvinczy (vakat) (Hungarian)

IR30 de Ligne (German)

IR58 Beaulieu (German)

IR33 Colloredo-Mansfeld (Hungarian)

IR34 Davidovich (Hungarian)

IR48 Simbchen (Hungarian)

IR32 Esterhazy (Hungarian)

1806 Muster:

IR39 Duka (Hungarian)

IR41 Kottulinsky (German)

IR12 Lichtenstein (German)

GR 5 (Kreuz) or 6 (St. Georg) Warasdin Grenz district

However, it would seem unlikely that the former Walloon units – IRs 9, 30 & 58 – which were then recruiting in Galicia, would have retained 1792 pattern flags.

French Revolution War & 1805 War Irregular Unit Flags

The Lütticher Freiwillige (or Lüttich Volunteers) were raised in 1794 by the Bishop of Lüttich (Liege), the unit's flag was diagonally divided in each quarter in yellow and black, overlaid with a white cross and the city arms.

A single-pointed pennant bearing a black Doppeladler and an unknown coat of arms is said to have been captured in the 1796-7 Italy campaign, but it may be an earlier flag as it lacks a contemporary finial. This now hangs in the Musée de l'Armée.

Two surviving 1800 Erzherzog Karl Legion flags appear to be the flags of the senior Bohemian and Moravian battalions. The first (on the left in the reference) displays the arms of Bohemia on the obverse and the Doppeladler (which is partly visible) on the reverse against a white background with red flames at the edges. This was the flag of the 1800 Leib Battalion (Prague Students). The right-side flag displays the arms of Moravia and is now in the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (Museum of Military History, Vienna) collection, but unfortunately in poor condition now. The catalogue to the 1909 'Erzherzog Karl Ausstellung' mentions another three Bohemian and Moravian flags from the 1800 Legion survived, but gives no more detail.

An 1801 flag presented to the Požega County Jäger battalion of the Croatian Insurrection has a black Doppeladler bearing a square shield with the arms of the Kingdom of Slavonia and the Emperor's cypher "F II" on the reverse; on the obverse is the Madonna with the infant Christ. At the top on both sides is the motto: PRO DEO REGE ET LEGE (For God, King and Law).

Although the Order of Battle claims the 1805 Wiener Scharfschützen (Vienna Sharpshooters or Geramb after their battalion commander) were at Austerlitz, there is doubt over their presence. However, their flag was white with a black Doppeladler carrying the red-white-red barred Bindenschild. There is a photograph of an 1805 Trieste militia flag.

The Szeckler Hussars from the border districts of Siebenbürgen (Transylvania) were regularised in 1798 as 11. Husaren and so, it would appear that their original 1765 pattern standard was carried after 1798 as the surviving example in the Budapest Military Museum has clearly been embroidered with 'HR' and 'N 11'.

1809 Irregular Unit Flags

A large number of Landwehr (secondary militia) and Freiwillige (volunteer) battalions were formed for the 1809 War. Of the Freiwillige, Bohemia provided the six battalions of the Erzherzog Karl Legion and Moravia supplied three battalions of Moravian Freiwillige. As there were 22 Legion battalions in 1800, there was probably no shortage of flags for the 1809 battalions and possibly some Landwehr units. The two 1800 flags mentioned and illustrated were carried at Wagram: 1st EKL Battalion probably carried the Bohemian flag and the Moravian flag was presumably carried by one of the Moravian Freiwillige battalions. 2nd EKL Battalion’s flag was a 5-barred flag in yellow over blue with a black Doppeladler on each side. The six battalions of Wiener Freiwillige (Vienna Volunteers) were presented with three 1806 pattern and three 1792 pattern Ordinärfahnen, although it is only known that the 4th battalion had a 1792 pattern.

Although a January 1809 order specified that the Landwehr battalions carried an Ordinärfahne with the provincial arms on the reverse, it is unclear how far this was implemented. However, after the reduction to one flag per Line battalion in 1808, there would have been a surplus of Ordinärfahnen, which were probably issued to the Landwehr battalions. Two known Landwehr flags were plain Ordinarfahnen: The 1st Viertel unter Manhartsberg Battalion (Lower Austria) has an identifier in the top corner nearest the staff 1es VUMB; the Prachin Battalion (Bohemia) is just a plain 1806 pattern. Many Landwehr flags were probably quite simple, especially those reused from the 1800 Legion. A rather plain flag, probably red with local arms is the 1809 Saaz Landwehr flag. However, the Graz battalions carried variations on a local saint (obverse) and the Styrian panther (reverse) in green and white, as was the edging. An 1808 design for the flags shows a white flag edged with green flames

Hungarian and Croatian Insurrection flags displayed a mix of national and local coats of arms. Documented Hussar examples are all tailed pennants:

Neugrad: White edged in gold with a roundel showing an armoured cavalryman with a shield displaying the arms of Hungary. Above is 'Neograd-Vannegye' and below is 'Kiralert s hazaert'

Pest (1797): Green with gold edging and decoration with a roundel displaying the arms of Hungary above those of Pest

Zemplin: Red with a gold border and the slogan 'Pro Rege Lege et Patria'

Raab (Gyor): Red over white with the arms of Hungary on the obverse and the arms of Raab on the reverse

Surviving examples

In addition to the Museum of Military History, Vienna and Musée de l'Armée, flags captured in the 1805 War are held in the Musée de l’Empéri in Salon, France The 1801 Požega flag is in the Croatian History Museum in Zagreb. A fragment of the top of an 1806 pattern Ordinärfahne with a blue ribbon is on display in Burg Forchtenstein, Austria and the 1800 Erzherzog Karl Legion Leib Battalion flag is now in the Prague Castle Museum. The flag of the 1809 2nd Battalion Erzherzog Karl Legion was recorded as being in Marburg (Maribor) in 1909. The 1765 pattern standard of 11. Szeckler Husaren is in the Budapest Military Museum.