With great dismay and sadness we have the duty to announce that our comrade cavalry captain Ing. Walter H. Maier from the Reitercorps Ravensburg 1995 e.V. fell asleep surprisingly and peacefully within his family on June 6th, 2021 and passed away.
The President of the Union of European Historical Military Groups, Major General iTR Michael Blaha, the Board, the Presidium and all comrades of the UEHMG express their deep sympathy to the bereaved for this heavy loss.
The UEHMG will keep an honorable memory of its well-deserved comrade.
Under the seal of “Sub Auspiciis” Karl von Habsburg
The riding training squadron of Dragoon Regiment No. 3 in the former k.u.k. Military riding and driving training institute Schlosshof organized the 28th Marchfeld castle ride from June 3 to 6, 2021 in compliance with all corona requirements.
This ride took place under the motto “30 Years of Dragoon Regiment No. 3” under the honorary protection of former Federal Minister for State Defense Werner Fasslabend and under the patronage of Hungary’s special ambassador Archduke Georg Habsburg and with the support of Mag. Klaus Panholzer, Managing Director of Schloss Schönbrunn Betriebs- und Kulturges.m.b.H., the divisional managers of the events department Mag. FH Mario Feigl and the animal area of Schloss Hof, the Municipalities, federal forests and regional hunters.
In order to ensure that tests could still be carried out for the award ceremony during the attendance of the participants on the 4 days, the doctor taking part in the competition, Dr. Yvonne Ziegler, carried out the check and the necessary missing corona tests.
Due to the Covid 19 measures, the opening took place again on Thursday in the arcade courtyard of Schlosshof. Numerous participants and helpers were welcomed by the organizer, Hans Günter Ebetshuber. In recognition of his services to the regiment, Wtm Walter Bründl Pohl was awarded the Order of Saint George 1st Class in Gold with Imperial Crown of the Austrian Cavalry Association. Afterwards, there was the opportunity to visit the exhibition in the castle or the various obstacles on the site, such as individual jumping, group jumping, etc.
The competitions were held in two categories again this year. The competition A (total distance for both days approx. 80 km, with special stages en route) directly in the castle courtyard or during the lunch break in Eckartsau Castle. During the lunch break in Marchegg Castle, during the archery and horseshoe throwing competitions, our Colonel of Honor of Dragoon Regiment No. 3, Dr. Werner Fasslabend, convinced of the dedication and enthusiasm of the participants in the company of organizer Hans Günter Ebetshuber.
Among other things, the Haringsee shooting range was ridden, where the shooting competition with the k.u.k. Officer’s pistol Rast and Gasser was carried out. Driving through, hand horse riding, overcoming natural obstacles in a group, individual jumping over natural obstacles the next day, estimating distances, reading a plan, etc. were among the special tasks where you could collect points.
16 participants (competition A) performed positively in the special tests and completed the total distance of approx. 80 km without any mistakes. Of these, 3 participants were proud to receive the bronze cavalry badge for orientation and trail riding.
For the first time, after three placements, two participants achieved the cavalry performance badge for orientation and trail riding in silver.
The competition B with a total of approx. 50 km on both days was well received by the 30 participants and was rated extra. During the individual jumping of the natural obstacles, “Kranzelstechen” and rushing through with the hand horse, the organizer and the participants were able to warmly welcome once more the President of the Lower Austrian Equestrian Association KR Ing. Gerold Dautzenberg. Ing. Dautzenberg noticed the harmony and the familial charisma that emanated from the participants and the organization team.
In the cozy garden of the castle restaurant, people talked shop afterwards, among other things, about the possibilities of supporting and promoting popular equestrian sport.
After the gala dinner in the restaurant “Zum Weissen Pfau” – in compliance with the Corona rules – stable plank chains, stitches, certificates and placement prices were handed over by the organizer.
In recognition of his services to the traditional Dragoon Regiment No. 3, Rittmeister Mag. Martin Planko and platoon leader Günter Ringhofer were awarded the Order of Saint George 1st Class in Gold with Imperial Crown from the Austrian Cavalry Association. The gold medal with a green laurel wreath was presented to Caroline Geiger for the first time for special commitment and support around the castle ride. Due to their riding ability – also in the past – the group was able to take over the previous challenge cup permanently in 2012 with three victories.
At the end of the award ceremony, the organizer Colonel of Cavalry, Hans Günter Ebetshuber, presented a work of art made of stone pine from the participants Danny Schäfer and Otto Buchheit. In hours of loving work, Danny created and worked on his portrait and that of his horse of life AKORD, which had to be put to sleep on October 13th after a severe colic in the University of Veterinary Medicine. With a personal dedication and on the occasion of 30 years of Dragoon Regiment No. 3, which was generally approved by applause and touched emotionally.
Competition A
1st place
2nd place
3rd place
1st place: Carla Hartberger, Finian Geiger, Sophie Mikula, Felicitas Geiger
2nd place: Dr. Yvonne Stark-Ziegler, Marlene Tucek, Carmen Merwald, Eva Müller
3rd place: Vanessa Mitterer, Marie Theres Tomasich, Andrea Höld, Danny Schäfer, Otto Buchheit
Competition B
1st place
2nd place
3rd place
1st place: Michaela Pinisch, Julia Wöhrleitner, Jennifer Schirk, Julia Kistner
2nd place: Rttm Mag. Martin Planko DR 3, Fhr. Erich Mugli DR 3, Fhr. Gerhard Kubu DR 3, Michael Zobel
3rd place: Caroline Geiger, Finian Geiger, Barbara Linsbichler
For the first time, after three placements, two participants achieved the cavalry performance badge for orientation and trail riding in silver: Finian Geiger and Sophie Mikula.
With great dismay and sadness we have the duty to announce that our comrade Vzlt i.R. Peter Bärnthaler, commander of Traditionsverbandes k.u.k. Feldjägerbataillon Nr. 9 fell asleep peacefully on May 15, 2021 in Wagna near Leibnitz and passed away.
The President of the Union of European Historical Military Groups, Major General iTR Michael Blaha, the Board, the Presidium and all comrades of the UEHMG express their deep sympathy to the bereaved for this heavy loss.
The UEHMG will keep an honorable memory of its well-deserved comrade.
War and Love in Times of Cholera and Typhoid Fever, Georg Reichlin-Meldegg, Language: German
This novel reports on the extraordinary fate of the town and fortress of Przemyśl, which at the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was located in the northeastern part of the crown land of Galicia, hard on the border with Russia, and had to withstand and survive fierce sieges three times in the period from September 1914 to June 1915. These were the fiercest battles for a city fortress in the 1st World War.
What was probably unique about these first assaults was that the civilian population of initially about 50,000 people was directly involved in the fighting – at least through heavy artillery and infantry fire as well as bombing from aeroplanes. The immediacy of life in mortal danger meant that, as the fighting intensified, the cholera and typhus pandemics and the famine began, the morality and strict separation of the sexes that had hitherto been upheld in the monarchy before a church wedding also began to erode.
The coming together in the confines of the city of more than a hundred thousand soldiers with the female youth of all classes, was not to be controlled by parental home and the church institutions, especially since also with the near collapse of industrial production, the activity of small trades and tourism for so many women survival was made possible partly only through prostitution. This is testified by many letters and writings of civilians and soldiers of all ranks, which the author had insight into.
But the “fortress” was also “stormed” by the love of an officer for the daughter of the commander: The author singled out a passionate relationship from all the misery and narratively showed that only the circumstances of war and violence led this love into the abyss. But their love went its own way and brought germinating hope to a world already sinking.
A novelistic, but historically verifiable document of the times, which could not be brought closer to today’s generation in a more impressive way.
About the author: Mag. phil. Georg (Freiherr von) Reichlin-Meldegg, born 1948 in Bad Ischl, Upper Austria. Managing director of a PR agency until December 2019. Historian, publicist, book author of numerous biographies on military historical personalities. Bearer of the “Golden Decoration of Merit” of the Republic of Austria. Three-time laureate of the “Silver Pen” of the Association of Austrian Industrialists (VÖI), Vienna. Major iTR of the Riding Artillery Division No. 2 in Vienna.
>> If you are interested, the book can be obtained from bookshops or directly from Weishaupt Verlag. >> Comrades will receive a 20 % author’s discount if they place a collective order directly with the author.
