The Austro-Hungarian Fifth Army was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

field army that fought during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Actions

First Serbian Campaign

The Fifth Army was formed in 1914 as part of

mobilisation following its declaration of war on

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The Fifth Army was under the command of Gen.

Liborius Ritter von Frank Liborius Ritter von Frank (5 October 1848 – 26 February 1935) was an Austro-Hungarian general in World War I. He commanded the Austro-Hungarian Fifth Army in 1914 at the start of the war, and fought at the Battle of Cer The Battle of Cer ...

. Its headquarter was in the Bosnian town of Brčko. Together with Sixth Army it was a formation of ''Minimalgruppe Balkan'' and was assigned to the Balkan Front as part of

Balkanstreitkräfte The Balkanstreitkräfte (German for "Balkan Armed Forces"), also known as the Balkan Army, was a military formation of the Austro-Hungarian Army created for operations against the Kingdom of Serbia at the onset of World War I. Formed in August ...

(Balkan Armed Forces) under the command of Lieutenant General

Oskar Potiorek Oskar Potiorek (20 November 1853 – 17 December 1933) was an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army, who served as Governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1911 to 1914. He was a passenger in the car carrying Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria an ...

. The Fifth Army comprised the VIII Corps from

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, under with two infantry divisions (9th ''K.u.k.'' and 21st ''Landwehr''), and the XIII Corps from

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

(''Agram'') in Croatia with two infantry divisions (36th ''K.u.k.'' and 42nd ''Honved'' Divisions). The Fifth Army represented approximately 93,000 rifles and included a large proportion of

South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic people who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...

from the Empire. Between August and December 1914, it fought in the First Serbian Campaign and suffered such enormous casualties fighting the

Serbian Army The Serbian Army () is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. Its organization, composition, weapons and equipment are adapted to the assigned missions and tasks of the Serbian Armed Forces, primarily for operatio ...

that it was disbanded on 27 December 1914 and the commander of the ''Balkanstreitkräfte'' was forced to resign.

Italian Front

The Fifth Army was reestablished in May 1915 on the Italian Front, where it remained active until the end of the War.
On 24 May 1917, it was renamed the Isonzo Army.
On 23 August 1917, the Isonzo Army was upgraded to Army Group Boroević (Heeresgruppe "Boroević") which was composed of 2 armies: * First Isonzo Army, under command of

Wenzel von Wurm Wenzel Freiherr von Wurm (Karlín (Prague), 27 February 1859 – Vienna, 21 March 1921) was a Colonel General in the Austro-Hungarian Army. Biography He was born on 27 February 1859 as son of an Oberleutnant in the Austro-Hungarian Army. He ent ...

. * Second Isonzo Army, under command of Johann Ritter von Henriquez. In January 1918 the Army Group was composed of * Isonzo Army, under command of

. * Sixth Army, under command of

Archduke Joseph August of Austria Archduke Joseph August Viktor Klemens Maria of Austria, Prince of Hungary and Bohemia (9 August 1872 – 6 July 1962) was a '' Feldmarschall'' (field marshal) of the Austro-Hungarian Army and for a short period head of state of Hungary. He w ...

Commanders

: 14 August – 27 December 1914 *

Svetozar Boroević Svetozar Boroević von Bojna (or Borojević) (13 December 1856 – 23 May 1920) was an Austro-Hungarian field marshal who was described as one of the finest defensive strategists of the First World War. He commanded Austro-Hungarian forces i ...

: 27 May 1915 – 3 November 1918

Sources

Austro-Hungarian Army, Higher Commands and Commanders
* {{Austro-Hungarian forces during World War I Field armies of Austria-Hungary 1914 establishments in Austria-Hungary 1915 establishments in Austria-Hungary Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1914 Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations disestablished in 1918