The Balkans--their cultures, languages, religion and history

[Janet Ashton]

Did the 'Bosnian' regiments fight on the Serbian or Russian fronts, or only against the Italians?

Ann

They were on all fronts. The Bosnians (i.e. Muslims) themselves and the Croats were considered by the Austrians to be among the best and most loyal of the empire's troops, but they didn't trust the Austro-Hungarian Serbs. In a project of mine I have been using a diary written by a Serbian woman who lived through the War, as well as the Balkan Wars, and her greatest horror in 1915 when the Kingdom of Serbia fell was to see that the soldiers who were sent to occupy it were "all Serbs from Herzegovina."

[Janet Ashton]

On this page is an image of the mosque on the Italian Front (Slovenia) at Log pod Mangartom, built for the Bosnians (and demolished in 1923): -

http://www.logpodmangartom.si/Vojasko_pokopalisce.php

There are others, but people might enjoy the website! (in particular the Gallery pages...:-) http://www.logpodmangartom.si/Poletje.php )

[Kalafrana]

Very interesting. In Britain there were concerns about Muslim Indian troops when fighting against the Turks, since the Ottoman Sultan was the Caliph of Islam, but the concerns were very largely unfounded.

Ann