Bosnian - Herzegovinian Infantry The Bosnian - Herzegovinian Infantry ( " Bosnisch - Hercegovinische Infanterie " ) , commonly called the Bosniaken ( German for Bosniaks ) , was a branch of the Austro - Hungarian Army . As Muslim units , they were granted some special and unique privileges . They had their own uniforms and units were given its own number sequence within the common army . The units were part of the Austro - Hungarian infantry in 1914 and consisted of four infantry regiments ( numbered 1 - 4 ) and a Field Rifles Battalion ( " Feldjägerbataillon " ) . History . Between July and 20 October 1878 , two Ottoman provinces , the Vilayet of Bosnia and the Sanjak of Novi Pazar , were taken over by the army of Austria - Hungary . " The Austrians ' total losses came to 946 dead and 3980 wounded . " Although the two provinces constitutionally still belonged to the Ottoman Empire , the Austrian Imperial Administration began to build up a rudimentary administrative apparatus based on a reform of the existing systems . There was ongoing communal rension and resistance to Habsburg rule in many rural areas , especially in Hercegovina and along the eastern border with Serbia . " The Austrians set up a special local militia force there , the ' Pandurs ' ; but many of these militia men became rebellious themselves , and some took to brigandage . " " In November 1881 the Austro - Hungarian government passed a Military Law ( " Wehrgesetz " ) imposing an obligation upon all Bosnians to serve in the Imperial Army . " This led to widespread riots over December 1881 and throughout 1882 - which could only be defeated and suppressed by military means . The Austrians appealed to the Mufti of Sarajevo , Mustafa Hilmi Hadžiomerović ( born 1816 ) and he soon issued a Fatwa " calling on the Bosniaks to obey military Law . " Other important Muslim community leaders such as Mehmedbeg Kapetanović , later Mayor of Sarajevo , also appealed to young Muslim men to serve in the Habsburg military . Infantry formations were first set up in 1882 in each of the four main areas of Sarajevo , Banja Luka , Tuzla and Mostar . Initially each was composed of one infantry company which was enlarged in subsequent years by a company each . By 1889 there were eight independent battalions . In 1892 three more battalions were established . In 1894 the military administration set up the Bosnian Herzegovinian Infantry Regiment Association ( " Bosnisch - Hercegowinische Infanterie den Regimentsverband " ) in order to integrate them into the rest of the Imperial Austrian army . On 1 January 1894 a " Most High Resolution " ( " Allerhöchste Entschließung " ) formalised this measure but it proved to be difficult and was not completed until 1897 . The Field Rifles Battalion ( " Feldjägerbataillon " ) was established in 1903 . In 1916 Austria - Hungary occupied Albania and about 5000 Albanian men were recruited " to serve in a militia with Bosnian Muslim officers . " Captain Gojkomir Glogovac was awarded Austria - Hungary ' s highest military honour , the Military Order of Maria Theresa , for extreme bravery in 1917 ; he was subsequently ennobled as " Baron Glogovac " . Another prominent Bosnian officer to rise the ranks was Colonel Hussein Biscevic ( Husein Biščević or Biščević - beg ) who later served in the Waffen SS . Muhamed Hadžiefendić ( 1898 – 1943 ) served as a lieutenant in this formation during World War I . Uniform . Bosnian infantry regiments differed from all other units of the Austro - Hungarian army in their uniforms . The most distinctive characteristic garment of this European military force was the Oriental fez , which was worn on parade and for field uniform . The Fez was made of reddish - brown felt and equipped with a tassel of black sheep ' s wool . This tassel was 18 . 5 cm long and mounted on a rosette fringes . The fez had to be worn such that the tassel was at the back . Officers and cadets often wore alternate Austrian military infantry caps . If the officers were Muslims , they could also wear the fez . If the officer was not Bosnian then he wore a standard Austro - Hungarian officer ' s beret instead . Tunics and blouses were consistent with those of the standard German line infantry . The buttons were yellow with the respective regimental number . Officers ' uniforms consisted of blue coats with red collar and yellow buttons , and from 1894 the uniform featured the regiments ' numbers . Ordinary soldiers had a light blue uniform with trouser pants bearing so - called knee breeches after the oriental models . They consisted of the two leg parts and the leg pieces ( like the German V - away or breeches of the armed forces - but instead issued after the front side ) that were each composed of a front and back . At the front were two diagonally cut pockets . The leg parts were kept far below the knee and narrowed from there . The running down Wade pieces were connected by a 3 . 5 cm wide alliance of double pleated fabric with the leg parts . The Field Rifles Battalion ( " Feldjägerbataillon " ) had a different uniform . The officers and cadets wore the same uniform as the Tyrolean " Jägerbataillon " , while the ordinary soldiers wore grey uniforms with a grey fez . The " žandamerijskom " Corps is particularly striking as the men wore the hat with black feathers . Weaponry . For most of its existence the formation was equipped with the Austrian " Gewehr Mannlicher M 1890 " rifle . The religious requirements of Muslim soldiers were meticulously observed and respected . Junior officers and NCOs came up the ranks during the first phase of training . Within the German - speaking Habsburg army these five units were considered equal to other components , and brave enough to warrant a special separate numbering system ( within the line infantry ) . Legacy . In 1895 Eduard Wagner wrote the " " Die Bosniaken Kommen " " march to honour the k . u . k . Bosnian soldiers , the second Infantry Regiment in particular . Many Bosnian soldiers from the Second Regiment were killed over 1916 and 1917 in fighting in north Italy during World War I and were subsequently buried in the small village of Lebring - Sankt Margarethen , near Graz , Austria . Since 1917 locals have held a modest memorial service to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Monte Meletti in South Tyrol , only interrupted briefly during the Nazi period . Currently there is a Memorial plaque and a street named " " Zweierbosniakengasse " " ( " Second Bosnian Street " ) in Graz . The Italians and the Austrians have also erected a Memorial plaque to the role of the Bosnian soldiers in the biggest Italian military defeat of the war . An impassable ridge defended by Bosnian soldiers four kilometers north of Gorizia is now called the " " Posso del Bosniako " " ( Pass of the Bosnians ) . In honour of the Fourth regiment a monument has been erected on the eastern slope of Rombon mountain in Slovenia . Two Bosnian soldiers wearing fez are carved on granite , which takes into account the Rombon . The monument was made by Ladislav Kofranek , a sculptor from Prague . In 1929 the Army History Museum in Vienna erected a Memorial Plaque to the Bosnian veterans .