1877 Soldier in the reserve until 1883
1881 Attached to the fortress construction service in Lemberg until 1884
1883 Promoted to Leutnant, active duty
1884 Attached to company office until 1886
1886 Battalion adjutant until 1890
1887 Promoted to Oberleutnant
1890 Appointed to the army planning office until 1892
1892 Fortress construction engineer at Josefstadt until 1893
1893 Army fortress inspector for the Krakau district until 1894
1893 Promoted Hauptmann, 2nd Class
1894 Teacher at the Maria Theresien Military Academy until 1898
1895 Promoted Hauptmann, 1st Class
1898 Army fortress inspector for the Przemysl district until 1900
1899 Promoted Major
1900 Teacher at the officer training school for the III. Army Corps until 1903
1903 Promoted to Oberstleutnant
1903 Part of Infantry Regiment No. 91 until 1904
1904 Planning director in Krakau until 1908
1906 Promoted to Oberst
1908 Fortress commander at Sarajevo until 1909
1909 Fortress construction manager at Sarajevo until 1911
1911 Promoted to Generalmajor
1911 Commander of Infantry Brigade No. 50 until 1914
1914 Commander of Infantry Division No. 27 until 1918
1914 Promoted to Feldmarschalleutnant
1918 Promoted to General der Infanterie
1918 Appointed commander of the I. Corps to wars’ end
Ferdinand Kosak died in Graz at the end of May 1932.
GWS, 9/02 [rev. 12/02]
Immediately preceding the Battles for the Carpathians
Army Group Woyrsch, Gen. d. Inf. Remus von Woyrsch
Öst. II. Armee, Gen. d. Kav. von Böhm-Ermolli
Gallwitz Korps, Preußisch General der Artillery von Gallwitz
27. inf. div., Feldmlt. Kosak
As of Christmas Day 1914, Kosak’s 27. Inf. div. was part of Gallwitz Corps in the 2. Army, and was located more than 10 km east of a bend in the river Pilica, and commanded a sector some 24 km southwest of Tomaszów. FML Goiginger’s 32. Infantry was to his left and FML Lütgendorf’s 31. Infantry was to the right. At this time, a big battle was raging for Tomaszów, which the Russians considered the key to recapturing Lodz. After New Year’s Day, Goiginger and the rest of the 2. Army was sent to the Carpathians, and Goiginger’s place was filled by FML Vincenz Fox and his 35. Infantry division. [rev. 4/04]
Orders of Battle: Eastern Front, May 1915
Immediately preceding the Dunajec offensive
II. Armee, Gen. d. Kav. Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli
V. Korps., Feldzeugsmeister v. Puhallo
27. inf. div., Feldmlt. Kosak (troops dispersed amongst IV. and XVIII. Korps)
Orders of Battle: Eastern Front, September 1915
Immediately following the Summer Offensive against Russia in Poland
II. Armee, Gen. d. Kav. von Böhm-Ermolli
IV. Korps, Feldmlt. Schmidt von Georgenegg
27. inf. div., Feldmlt. Kosak
Kosak’s division was now flanked on the right by 1. Kav. Div. of GM de Ruiz and bound on the left by the 51. Honved Inf. Div. of FML von Kornhaber.
Orders of Battle: Eastern Front, June 1916
Immediately preceding the Brussilov Offensive
Deutsch Südwest Armee, Gen. d. Inf. Graf von Bothmer
Böhm-Ermolli Group, Generaloberst von Böhm-Ermolli
Kosak Group, Feldmlt. Kosak
17. inf. div., Feldmlt. Kosak
4. kav. div., Feldmlt. Ostermuth
29. inf. div., Feldmlt. Schön
Kosak’s Group was bound on the left by the V. Corps of FML Goglia and on the right by the I. Army of GO Puhallo and his XVIII. Corps commanded by FML Czibulka. Kosak’s division was flanked on the left by the 31. Inf. Div. of GM Lieb and on the right by the 4. Cav. Div. of FML Ostermuth.
Orders of Battle: Eastern Front, July 1916
Immediately following the Brussilov Offensive
II. Armee, Generaloberst von Böhm-Ermolli
Kosak Group, Feldmlt. Kosak
17. inf. div., Feldmlt. Kosak
Little had changed in the command structure since the breakthrough at Lutsk by the Russians. Numerous divisions were removed from other armies and sent to reorganise the destroyed IV. Army, and this seems to have been the case with Kosak’s Group, now reduced from a Corps to a single division. The I. Army was demolished and what was left of it, Czibulka’s XVIII. Corps, added to the II. Army, and this continued to flank the left of Kosak’s group.
Orders of Battle: Eastern Front, August 1916
Immediately preceding Roumania’s declaration of war on Austria-Hungary
Deutsch Südwest Armee, Gen. d. Inf. von Bothmer
II. Armee, Generaloberst von Böhm-Ermolli
Kosak Group, Feldmlt. Kosak
106. Landsturm inf. div., Genmj. Kratky
As the counteroffensive of late summer won back most of what the Russians had taken in the early summer, Kosak’s strength was reduced still further. By August, his largest formation was a second-rate Landsturm division. His position on the front was little changed from the month before.
Orders of Battle: Eastern Front, November 1916
Immediately following the campaign against Roumania
Southern Front, Prinz Leopold von Bayern
Böhm-Ermolli Army Group
II. Armee, Generaloberst von Böhm-Ermolli
Eben Group, Gen. d. Inf. von Eben
V. Korps, Feldmlt. von Goglia
31. inf. div., Genmj. Lieb
27. inf. div., Genmj. Kosak
4. kav. div., Genmj. Berndt
During the autumn campaign against Roumania by the Quadruple Alliance, the Russians were attempting to drive into the Bukovina and force themselves behind the armies advancing on Bucharest. Kosak’s Group by this time had been eliminated and his sole division was attached to his neighbouring Corps of FML Ferdinand Goglia, which attacked the northern flank of the Russian salient into the Bukovina.
Orders of Battle: Eastern Front, mid-July 1917
Immediately following the Kerensky Offensive
Prinz Leopold von Bayern Front, Generalfeldmarschal Prinz Leopold
Böhm-Ermolli Group
II. Armee, Generaloberst von Böhm-Ermolli
V. Korps, Feldz. von Goglia
12. Deutsch Landswehr div., Genmj. Drabich-Wächter
17. inf. div., Feldmlt. Kosak
4. kav. div., Genmj. Berndt
The High Command decided to watch-and-wait on the Eastern Front, thus refusing any summer offensives. However, the Russians launched their own offensive against the Austrians, led by Brussilov. Almost no gain was made in Kosak’s sector, as his was among the strongest fortifications on the Eastern Front.
Italian Front, November 1917
Immediately following the Caporetto offensive
Erzherzog Eugen Armee Front, Feldmarschal Erzherzog Eugen
Boroevic Armee Group, Generaloberst von Boroevic
II. Isonzo Armee, Gen. d. Inf. von Henriquez
Group Kosak, Feldmlt. Kosak
55. inf. div., Feldmlt. von Goiginger
35. inf. div., Feldmlt. von Podhoranszky
57. inf. div., Genmj. von Hrozny
Additional forces were moved to Italy after the breakthrough at Caporetto, for the Russian front was all but silenced by the bolshevik revolution. Kosak was among the commanders moved to Italy and given a Corps strength force on the Piave. Kosak’s Group was flanked on the right by FML Scotti and his Group, and on the left by the XXIV. Corps of GdI Lukas.
Southwest/Italian Front, mid-June 1918
Immediately preceding the Piave Offensive
Army Group Conrad, Feldmarchal Conrad von Hötzendorf
XI. Armee, Generaloberst Scheuchensteuel
I. Korps, Gen. d. Inf. Kosak
60. inf. div., Feldmlt. Bardolff
55. inf. div., Feldmlt. von le Beau
Kosak was granted a regular Corps command in a sector where the mountains meet the Venetian plain. He was bound on the right by GdI Horsetzky’s XXVI. Corps and on the left by GdI Scotti’s XV. Corps.
Italian Front, mid-October 1918
Immediately preceding the Battle of Vittorio Veneto
Boroevic Army Group, Feldmarschal Boroevic von Bojna
I. Korps, Gen. d. Inf. Kosak
48. Feldmlt. von Karstwehr
13. Schützen div., Feldmlt. Kindl
17. inf. div., Feldmlt. Ströher
Kosak’s Corps (and his neighbours) was shfited to Boroevic’s command in October and Kosak was still flanked on the right by the XXVI. Corps of GdI Horsetzky and on the left by the XV. Corps of GdI Karl Scotti.
