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

Jäger were Europes first special operations forces and their success on the battlefield was legendary. Yet until now no modern account of Austrias elite Jäger 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 bookintroduces readers to Austrian Jäger arms equipment training and tactics as well as their unique role in the Habsburg Empires conflicts. Carefully illustrated with many images never before published Jäger 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 Jäger from a culture of hunting and rifled arms The place of Austrian Jäger in the evolution of European light infantryJäger in Austrias wars against Frederick the Great Napoleon Bismarcks Prussia and in the wars of Italian independenceJäger firearms and edged weaponsAuthoritative information for collectorsWithJäger 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.