Austro-Hungarian military mission in Persia
The Austro-Hungarian Army Corps mission was part of the modernization of Persian forces, implemented with the assistance of Austrian military experts.
Due to the good relations of Naser al-Din Shah's first interpreter (Armenian Mirza Davood (David) Khan), the Austrian court in Vienna, and the connections of his former personal physician, Jakob Eduard Polak, Naser al-Din Shah recruited Austrian officers to reorganize the Persian army during his second trip to Europe.
Johann Strauss II was commissioned by the Viennese court to compose a Persian national anthem to honor the royal guest.
Naser al-Din Shah first visited the Viennese Arsenal to witness a demonstration of the guns developed by Major General Uchatius, the ordnance expert and master artillery specialist, member of the Viennese Academy of Sciences, Knight Commander and recipient of the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen.
Colonel Adalbert Schönowsky von Schönwies, serving as head of mission, departed with 30 other officers for Tehran on 29 October 1878.
Ultimately, the Cossack Brigade outdid the Austrians Corps and later formed the nucleus of the Imperial Iranian Army.
In January 1880, the head of mission and Schönowsky were dismissed by Colonel Schemel von Kühnritt, a former commander of the "Friedrich Leopold of Prussia" Hussars regiment No.
Wagner von Wetterstädt also returned to Austria that year, retiring from the Austrian army as a Major in 1885.
As army commander, he led numerous missions and accompanied the Shah to the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889.
After lengthy negotiations, Naser al-Din Shah succeeded in recruiting officers to continue Austrian army reforms.
In 1886, Persian cadets were sent to Vienna for further studies and the following year Naser al-Din Shah asked Emperor Franz Josef for additional support of his military reforms.
On 7 August 1906, the shah met Captain Artur Kostersitz von Marenhorst and Major Conrad Emil Padowetz in Tehran.
Recruits came exclusively from rural areas, as city and town inhabitants were exempted from military service.
However, army conscripts could leave after a few months of basic training by paying bribes to the regimental commander for an indefinite period.
To replace any missing personnel on inspection day, laborers were hired, equipped with weapons and uniforms, and made to line up with the regular soldiers in the ranks.
Even during conflicts between the central government and separatist movements in western and northern Iran after World War I, the army played no significant role.
The Persian army remained unchanged, with only minor reforms in uniforms worn by some generals until after World War I and the yellow paint of the Persian army barracks, until its dissolution by the measures implemented by Reza Khan, later Reza Shah Pahlavi, in 1921.
His grave in the city's Doulab Cemetery reads "Here lies Julius Gebauer, general and musical director, born 18 March 1846, died on 9 July 1895."
