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II Sessione: ZONE DI GUERRA 187

the statistics of the 11 army on 1 October 1917 that the vast majority of female au-
th
xiliaries were assigned to medical-service facilities, with nurses on top. The majority of
low qualified female auxiliaries was employed in military enterprises and workshops in
the zone of communications, e.g. in the manufacture of cloths and other equipment.
The number of women applying for service in the armed forces differed con-
siderably according to the areas and branches of service. While in urban areas the
armaments industries turned out to be a serious competitor for auxiliary service in the
armed forces, due to the high wages paid there, military institutions in Galicia, Buko-
vina or on the Balkans were quite attractive and popular as employers.
Despite the rapidly rising number of female auxiliaries it was not generally evalua-
ted positively. Apart from social reservations towards the employment of women in
military establishments there were also reproaches that women were physically not ca-
pable and not reliable enough. Female auxiliaries had to face frequent allegations that
they would be morally inferior. Reservations against female auxiliary staff may also be
explained with the discontent of those male soldiers, who were now “replaced” and
released for front service. Moreover, the women employed were said to lack morale;
occasional prostitution and the utilization of sexual favours for material gains were
often overstated and therefore harmed the overall image of female auxiliaries.
Interestingly, ‘female auxiliaries’ were not subordinate to the military judiciary even
when assigned to military commands. They were just cautioned or reprimanded in case
of misconduct. Severe offence, however, could also result in immediate dismissal. 16
As to the social background of the female auxiliaries there is no overall statistics
th
yet for the Austro-Hungarian armed forces in general. Only for the 11 army de-
ployed at the Austro-Italian frontline in Tyrol such analyses have been carried out. On
th
grounds of the still preserved personal files of female auxiliaries in the 11 army the
following conclusions may be drawn: Only seven percent of the auxiliaries belonged
to the upper class, roughly 31 percent to the middle class and 45 percent to the lower
class. The remaining 17 percent could not be clearly assigned to any social group. As
17
to the age of the women the average amounted to about 28 years in 1918, while the
majority of female auxiliaries were aged 18 to 27. 80 percent of them were not married
compared to 13 percent, who were married.

16 Hois A., ‘Weibliche Hilfskräfte’ in der österreichisch-ungarischen Armee im Ersten Weltkrieg, Mas-
ter Thesis University of Vienna 2012.
17 Ibid., p. 137.

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