Hausner Gábor szerk.: A Hadtörténeti Múzeum Értesítője = Acta Musei Militaris in Hungaria. 8. (Budapest, 2005)

KÖZLEMÉNYEK - BACZONI TAMÁS: Övcsatok az Osztrák-Magyar Monarchiában 1888-tól 1918-ig és Magyarországon 1920-tól 1945-ig

BELT BUCKLES OF THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN MONARCHY (1888-1918) AND HUNGARY (1920-1945) The stamped belt buckles were introduced in the Imperial and Royal Army in 1888, along with the new infantry rifle (Ml888 Mannlicher) and the new equipment system. The new belt buckle, with its hook-and-hasp type locking system, was a practical improvement (because the equipment could be put on/out with the hook/unhook of the belt), and it was suitable to display imperial insignia, too. The Ml 888 enlisted belt buckle was made of brass plate, slightly curved, and stamped with the imperial eagle. There was an "extra" version of this buckle, privately purchased by one-year volunteers, NCOs and career soldiers, with a removable eagle, secured on the buckle-plate with an S-hook. Interestingly, this type was not compatible with the common belt buckle, because its hook-and-hasp system was reversed, i.e. the hook was fitted on the belt plate's backside, while in the case of the common, one-piece type, the hook was fixed on the belt end, and the hasp was on the buckle's backside. The Landwehr used the same buckle as the Army, except for the Landwehr Mountain Troops, whose buckles were made of tin-plate. After the breakout of the war, a "field-version" of the Ml 888 buckle was made, of iron-plate (sheet metal), plated with copper, or simply painted in field-grey. Theoretically, brass belt buckles had to be painted in field-grey too, but from 1915, all the belts with stamped buckles were withdrawn and replaced by the simple "Eindornschnatte" (centre bar buckle) belt. Despite the 1915 regulation, stamped belt buckles were also made with the new "double" coat of arms, but only in a very limited quantity. The officer's belt with carrying straps was first introduced in 1909, together with the new "hechtgrau" field uniform. Originally, this belt had a two-piece, rectangular, interlocking buckle, the middle-piece bore the emperor's cipher ("FJI"), and the frame bore an oak leaf and a laurel wreath. After the death of Franz Joseph I in 1916, the emperor's cipher was changed to "K" (Karl). The Imperial Navy used different equipment from that of the Army in groundoperations. The EM belt hade a snake connector buckle, made of hard metal wire. The NCO's belt had a rectangular one-piece casting buckle, decorated with the Navy insignia (the imperial crown over an anchor, encircled by a laurel wreath). The Navy officers had a buckle similar to the Army officer's belt buckle, but the middle-piece bore the Navy insignia. The Navy officer's belt was used only in ground-operations, as a complete set, with two carrying straps, revolver holster, canteen cover and map case. The Navy also had another type of belt buckle, for various belts. It was a round, hook-and-hasp type buckle, decorated with the Navy symbols. Such buckles were used by navy cadets and warrant officers. The Bosnia-Herzegovina Gendarmerie used the Ml888 belt buckle, with the coat of arms of the province, instead of the imperial eagle. The Guard Units of the Imperial Court wore special belt buckles. The parade belt of the Imperial Halberdier Life Guard was worn over the uniform. It had a double-buckle, decorated with the imperial eagle, bearing the emperor's cipher on its chest. This buckle was made of goldplated bronze. The Imperial Dismounted Life Guard Company had rectangular belt buckle, made of gold-plated brass alloy. The 1916 regulation for the Austrian Red Cross shows two types of belt buckles for RC members, both with the imperial eagle and the RC insignia. The Royal Hungarian Army was supplied with the Ml 888 equipment in the 1890s, so the belt buckle bore the 1891 coat of arms, which was changed for a new de-