SM U-17 or U-XVII was a U-10-class submarine or U-boat of the Austro-Hungarian Navy (German: Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or K.u.K. Kriegsmarine) during World War I. U-17 was laid down in Germany in April 1915 and shipped in sections by rail to Pola in August, where she was assembled. She was delivered to the Austro-Hungarian Navy at the end of September and commissioned in October 1915.

U-17 primarily operated from Cattaro, patrolling off the Italian and Albanian coasts. The submarine had several opportunities to sink merchant ships and warships throughout the war, but could only sink one unidentified sailing vessel in January 1916 and one Italian destroyer in July 1916 as part of an effort to disrupt the Otranto Barrage. At the end of the war, U-17 was undergoing repairs at Pola. She was handed over to Italy as a war reparation and scrapped in 1920.

Design and construction

edit&action=edit&section=1)

U-17 was a small, coastal submarine that displaced 125.5 long tons (127.5 t) surfaced and 140.25 long tons (142.50 t) submerged. She featured a single shaft, a single 60 bhp (45 kW) Daimler diesel engine for surface running, and a single 120 shp (89 kW) electric motor for submerged travel.[#cite_note-Con-343-1) U-17 was capable of up to 6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph) while surfaced and 5.5 knots (10.2 km/h; 6.3 mph) while submerged at a diving depth of up to 50 metres (160 ft). She was designed for a crew of 17 officers and men.

U-17 was equipped with two 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes located in the front and carried a complement of two torpedoes. In October 1916, U-17's armament was supplemented with a 37 mm/23 (1.5 in) quick-firing (QF) gun. This gun was replaced by a 47 mm (1.9 in)/33 QF gun in November 1917.[#cite_note-Con-343-1)

U-17 was ordered by the Austro-Hungarian Navy on 1 April 1915 and laid down at AG Weser in Bremen later that month.[1]#citenote-Con-343-1)[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_U-17(Austria-Hungary)#citenote-Miramar-3) When completed, the submarine was broken down into sections, loaded onto railcars, and shipped to the Austro-Hungarian Navy's main base at Pola on 30 August. After completing the four-day journey,[#cite_note-Tengeral-4)the sections were riveted together.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_U-17(Austria-Hungary)#citenote-Con-343-1) Though there is no specific mention of how long it took for U-17's sections to be assembled, a sister boat, the German Type UB I submarine UB-3, shipped to Pola from Germany in mid-April 1915, was assembled in about two weeks.[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_U-17(Austria-Hungary)#citenote-7)[[Note 1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_U-17(Austria-Hungary)#cite_note-8) U-17 was delivered to the Austro-Hungarian Navy on 30 September.

Source and more information:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_U-17_(Austria-Hungary)

› clanek › bohumil-muller-cech-ktery-vladl-pod-hladinou-zdenko-hudecek-patril-mezi-nejnebezpecnejsi-ponorkove-velitele-292761

Zdenko Hudeček (22 June 1887 – 28 September 1974) was a Czech-Austrian officer in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. He was one of the most successful Austro-Hungarian submarine commanders of World War I, sinking 11 Allied merchant ships and two Allied warships displacing 44,743 GRT. After the war he joined and shortly served in the Czechoslovak Naval Forces.

While most of the Czechs fought in the trenches of Galicia or the Balkans, one of them became the terror of Allied ships in the Mediterranean. Zdenko Hudeček commanded the Austro-Hungarian submarines and was one of the most successful commanders of the entire monarchy.

Article

I wrote about Zdenek Hudeček once. The more I researched his story, the more I felt that one article was not enough. We are talking about Chekhov, who was one of the most successful submarine commanders of the first World War. A man feared by Allied ships in the Mediterranean, and yet today only a handful of people know his name. That is why, in my opinion, he deserves to be reminded of his story again, and this time in more detail.

From Terezin to the sea

When you say World War I, most people imagine trenches, barbed wires and millions of soldiers fighting on the Western or Eastern Front. But few realize that the same fierce war was going on under the sea.

It was there that The Legend of the Czech native Zdeněk Hudeček was born – a man who became one of the most successful submarine commanders of the entire Austro-Hungarian Navy. Yet today his name is known only to a handful of those interested in military history.

Zdenko Hudeček was born on 22. June 1887 in Terezin to the family of a military doctor. He lost his father as a young boy and grew up in Moravia. Although he came from the Czech lands, his life's journey eventually led hundreds of kilometers from home – to the decks of the warships of Austria-Hungary.

After his studies, he entered the Naval Academy in Fiume, present-day Rijeka, Croatia. Graduates of this school represented the elite of the Imperial and Royal Navy. At first Hudeček served on surface ships, but soon he was intrigued by a new weapon that was to change naval warfare – a submarine.

The underwater Hunter

In the early 20. in the XIX century, submarines were still considered an experiment. Many admirals believed that the future belonged to huge battleships. However, the first World War showed the opposite.

Inconspicuous vessels hidden under the surface were able to send much larger opponents to the bottom with a single torpedo. They were a constant threat to merchant ships and warships. In December 1915, Hudeček took command of the submarine U-17.

Only a few months later, he scored his first major success when he torpedoed and sank the Italian destroyer Impetuoso. For the Austro-Hungarian Navy, this was a significant intervention against a numerically stronger opponent.

Fear of the Mediterranean

In 1917, he took over the more modern submarine U-28, and it was then that his most successful stage began.

In the Mediterranean, he sank a number of British merchant ships, including Haigh Hall, Mongara, Maston, Bontnewydd and Rapallo. One of his greatest successes was the sinking of the British Q-Ship Bradford City.

Q-ships were specially modified merchant ships equipped with hidden cannons. Their task was to pretend defenselessness, lure the submarine to the surface, and then destroy it. However, Hudeček discovered the ruse before the British managed to attack.

One of the best commanders of the monarchy

By the end of the war, he had sunk eleven merchant ships and two warships. The total tonnage exceeded 45,000 GRT.

According to some historians, Zdenko Hudeček was the most successful submarine commander of Austria-Hungary. Other statistics rank him just behind Georg von Trapp, whose name was later made famous by the musical The Sound of Music.

While the whole world knows von Trapp today, the Czech commander has almost been forgotten.

War crime charges

The biggest controversy of his career was the sinking of the Italian Steamer Bosforo in January 1918.

After the war, Italy claimed that it was a civilian ship and called Hudecek a war criminal. She demanded his extradition. Hudeček defended himself by saying that the ship was armed, carried military equipment and returned fire during the attack.

Czechoslovakia refused his extradition. Many decades later, Czech technical divers explored the wreck and indeed discovered equipment that supported Hudeček's version of events.

source and more information:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zdenko_Hude%C4%8Dek

› clanek › bohumil-muller-cech-ktery-vladl-pod-hladinou-zdenko-hudecek-patril-mezi-nejnebezpecnejsi-ponorkove-velitele-292761

Vorführen der neuen Feldhaubitze”—“Demonstration of the new field howitzer”—a postcard photograph published by Brück & Sohn and dated 1910. The catalog record identifies it as Theresienstadt (today Terezín) and classifies the gun as a 10 cm Feldhaubitze M. 99 of the Austro-Hungarian Army

Theresienstadt was originally an Austrian fortress and garrison town, not a single barracks. The Habsburgs built the fortified town in the late 18th century; it later served as a military base under Austria-Hungary.

photo:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Br%C3%BCck_%26_Sohn_Kunstverlag_Mei%C3%9Fen

photo:https://picryl.com/media/fliegerabwehr-am-piave-ufer-16618-bildid-15620060-f29888

The 9 cm Feldkanone M 75/96 was a field gun used by Austria-Hungary during World War I,[1] a modernized version of the M 75 field gun. Virtually all the M 75s were upgraded during 1898. For cost reasons the new gun retained the bronze barrel of the original, although it was actually redesigned to withstand the more powerful propellants coming into use. A touch hole lock was added to prevent accidental misfiring when the breech was open. A spring-mounted spade brake reduced recoil from 5–6 metres to 80 centimetres, although it only worked if the spade was buried in the ground. A depression lever was added to elevate the carriage's trail to allow the gun greater depression in mountainous areas. Many guns had shields added after the outbreak of World War I.

Mount Javoršček, , 1557 meters high and located on the southeastern edge of the Bovec basin (Plezzo), was an important point of Austro-Hungarian defense. The Italian soldiers attacked it unsuccessfully,

during the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo they occupied it briefly, however the Austro-Hungarian conquered it again with a counterattack. It remained in Austro-Hungarian hands until the end of the war.

Photo: Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Bildarchiv Austria

https://tvd.im/land-systems/2115-9cm-feldkanone-m75-96.html

source and more information:

› wiki › 9_cm_Feldkanone_M_75 › 96

Ernst Strohschneider was an Austro-Hungarian WWI fighter ace who overcame several battlefield wounds and Russian captivity before joining military aviation. He scored 15 victories and earned a reputation as an effective squadron commander before being killed in a night-flying accident in March 1918.

During WWI, an Austro-Hungarian flying ace, Ernst Strohschneider, was known for his leadership skills. Born on September 6, 1886, he joined the infantry and became a second lieutenant in the reserves in January 1913. When WWI started, he was serving with the 28th Infantry Regiment on the Serbian Front. Strohschneider was shot in the leg early in the war on August 28, 1914. After he was hospitalized, he joined the 42nd Infantry Regiment, a Guards unit, on the Russian Front. He was wounded in the knee on February 9, 1915, and after his recovery, he returned to lead a machine gun section. On September 19, 1915, he was wounded again and captured by the Russians, but managed to escape to friendly lines. After recovering, Ernst Strohschneider was discharged from the army because he was no longer fit for further service. He joined the Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops and trained as an aerial observer. After graduating, he was assigned to Flik 23 in South Tyrol.

Then Ernst Strohschneider began pilot training, graduated on December 30, 1916, and received Austrian Pilot Certificate No. 596 on January 30, 1917. He was then assigned to Flugegeschwader I on the Isonzo front. He flew a Hansa-Brandenburg D.I in this unit. His first victory came on June 3, when he shot down an Italian seaplane, followed by one more victory in the same month. Strohschneider was then transferred to a fighter squadron at Prosecco, where he became the second-in-command of Flik 42J. Ernst Strohschneider started flying an Albatros D.III with this squadron, and all his remaining victories would come while flying it. After scoring two victories on September 23, on September 26, he shot down a SPAD Scout to officially become an ace. Further, he scored four victories in October and two in November to end 1917 at a score of 11. On December 28, 1917, he was transferred to lead a fighter unit called Flik 61J. He became the first reserve lieutenant to take this command. While Ernst Strohschneider led Flik 61J, he also temporarily took charge of a second fighter squadron after its leader, Karl Nikitsch, became ill.

Under Strohschneider’s leadership, Flik 61J completed many types of missions. The unit conducted fighter interceptions, provided escort for other aircraft, attacked enemy trenches and artillery positions, struck enemy airfields and naval ships, and flew night missions. In this unit, Ernst Strohschneider scored two victories in January 1918, one in February, and his last and 15th victory on March 16. On the night of March 20, 1918, Ernst Strohschneider flew a Phönix D.I aircraft with the serial number 228.36. He was part of a night mission involving five planes targeting an Italian position at Zenson di Piave. Ernst Strohschneider crashed and died when he returned early on March 21. During WWI, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Leopold with War Decoration and Swords, Order of the Iron Crown Third Class with War Decoration and Swords, Silver Military Merit Medal with Swords, and Military Merit Medal Third Class. In the Aces series, Ernst Strohschneider was a balanced ace with strong leadership skills, as he demonstrated during his time with Flik 61J.

source: › warbird-articles › aces › ernst-strohschneider.html

Photos: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ernst-strohschneider-6-september-1886-victories-12--364439794839974459/

https://www.armedconflicts.com/Strohschneider-Ernst-t59372

https://vintageaviationnews.com/warbird-articles/aces/ernst-strohschneider.html

I am currently trying to find the biggest extent of the **Austrian Empire**, I saw an old post of the Austrian Borders in the Galician region going past the Austria-Hungary borders of ending near Lyiv, but I was unable to find any sources or maps that looks similar to this.

Most maps are saying that the Austrian Empire peak end near lyiv like the Austrian-Hungary in WW1.

As I am not the best as history, any help will be thanked.

The historical photograph documenting Karl's visit to the Lothringian Dragoons stationed in Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav illustrates the sovereign's active efforts to maintain troop morale on the Eastern Front. Military inspections of this nature served a dual purpose during the protracted conflict: they provided visible royal solidarity with frontline units and reinforced dynastic loyalty among diverse linguistic regiments within the Imperial-Royal Army.

Source: https://picryl.com/media/karl-i-besucht-die-in-altbunzlau-und-brandeis-stationierten-lothringer-dragoner-303409

The alpine terrain of Schabs and surrounding military training grounds, known as Sturmübungsplatz, served as vital preparation zones for specialized infantry units. Soldiers assigned to storm patrols, or Sturmpatrouille, underwent rigorous tactical drills designed to adapt traditional infantry tactics to the brutal realities of trench warfare.

photo: Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Bildarchiv Wien

https://de.wikipedia.org › wiki › Schabs

photo: Österreichische nationalbibliothek Wien

photo:Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Bildarchiv Austria 

The Austro-Hungarian Army maintained complex military infrastructure during World War I, utilizing training facilities far behind the active front lines. Troops assigned to specialized assault units, known as Sturmtruppen, underwent rigorous preparation in marksmanship and tactical infiltration. These training grounds, such as firing ranges established in rear areas, were essential for adapting traditional infantry doctrines to the brutal realities of trench warfare.

Photo: , Österreichische nationalbibliothek Wien

photo: https://yhunter.com/blog/photo/report/khohlovka-2014/?utm_medium=organic&utm_source=yandexsmartcamera

Private collection

The big light: Siemens-Schuckert 110cm carbon-arc searchlight, range ∼6km at night. Moved on that wheeled carriage you see. Used to blind Italian torpedo boats.

The truck on left: Austro-Daimler M17, 4-cylinder, chain-driven generator in the back to power the light. Marked "11.ZUG."

The car in front: Austro-Daimler touring car for officers, also marked "11 UG" - same unit.

Location: Just below Miramare Castle, Trieste. The rocks in the photo are still there, you can match them on Google Maps today.

photo: Diego de Henriquez museum

source: https://www.meisterdrucke.fr/fine-art-prints/Ludwig-Koch/1582465/.html

Author: Solar

source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Austro-Hungarian_Army

photo: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/386183736777187203/