Fischer, Eduard von

When World War I broke out, Eduard Fischer, who was of Jewish descent, served as commander of the Provincial Gendarmerie Command No. 13 for Bukovina (before that he worked for many years as commander of the Gendarmerie Headquarters in Černovice). Shortly after the outbreak of World War I, the Russians occupied northern Bukovina, including the provincial capital Chernivtsi. Fischer assembled an armed formation in the southern part of Bukovina, consisting of local gendarmes, members of the financial guard, called up militia members, and volunteers, including foresters and railroad workers. Many of them were also of Jewish descent. After all, the Russian occupiers treated the local Jews quite brutally - they set fire to their villages and murdered them.


Fischer's group partially carried out classical military operations, but the main focus of their activities was on diversionary (eg destruction of tracks and telegraph poles) and espionage operations. Although from a military point of view it was mostly secondary human material without heavy weapons, Fischer's men caused considerable trouble for the Russians in the occupied part of Bukovina from August to December 1914. In October they even managed to liberate the capital Chernivtsi in time, which meant rescue for other civilians who they were evacuated from the front areas to the background in the remaining parts of the monarchy. The unit, which at the beginning of the war numbered less than two thousand men, grew to a body of more than seven thousand. The Ruthenian Hucul Battalion, which numbered about 1,300 men, was later built under Fischer's command. For his services, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, which also meant promotion to aristocratic status.



Rank note:
V Seidels kleines Armeeschema Nr. 76 of August 1914, Fischer's name is given the rank of lieutenant colonel ( Oberstleutnant), however, in other sources that describe his combat activity, he is already listed as a colonel ( Oberst), and for his merits he was later promoted to Major General ( Generalmajor).



Resources:
- MACEK, Pavel - UHLÍŘ, Lubomír: Dějiny policie a četnictva I. Habsburgská monarchie (1526 - 1918), Themis, Praha 1997.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Fischer
- www.jewishgen.org

Císař Karel I. v rozhovoru s Oberstem Eduardem Fischerem, velitelem zemského četnictva Bukoviny.


Zdroj: http://hynek.domalip.sweb.cz/index.html