Jager: Europe’s First Special Operations Forces: History, Organization, Arms & Equipment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s Elite Light Infantry to 1866

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Jager were Europe’s first special operations forces, and their success on the battlefield was legendary. Yet, until now, no modern account of Austria’s elite Jager troops in the 18th and 19th centuries has been available in either English or German.

Written by a historian and a West Pointer with thirty-three years’ service in the U.S. Army, including with paratroops, this book introduces readers to Austrian Jager arms, equipment, training and tactics, as well as their unique role in the Habsburg Empire’s conflicts. Carefully illustrated, with many images never before published, Jager transcends the standard unit history. General readers of military history as well as arms and militaria collectors will find a comprehensive treatment of its subject in rich context, including:

The emergence of the military Jager from a culture of hunting and rifled arms
The place of Austrian Jager in the evolution of European light infantry Jager in Austria’s wars against Frederick the Great, Napoleon, Bismarck’s Prussia and in the wars of Italian independence Jager firearms and edged weapons Authoritative information for collectors

With Jager, a too-long neglected chapter in European military history emerges from relative obscurity, challenging conventional academic wisdom and popular historical fancy about the origins of European elite light infantry.