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By a hunter one understands an infantryman, who was trained particularly for the fight in mountain, forest and house fight in the military sense. It places one of the oldest branches of service in modern armies.

Origins of the hunter troop

In the old German army the term hunter was used for light infantry units. Their use became generally accepted particularly in the context of the Prussian army reform. In the fight against the troops and late Napoleons it had turned out revolutionary France that these were clearly superior to the conventionally proceeding line troops with their combat way in the style of the Tirailleure.

The list of the hunter troop was an attempt to copy the strengths of the opposing units. In addition the twisting, which applied to the past line troops, was less strictly used. With the hunters that did not stand if possible for "automatful" implementing of shooting and load expirations in close formations in the center. The hunters should operate rather in loose list and smaller units, which were less strongly bound at closed formations, but however in particular bewachsenes and cut through area as well as covering of all kinds better used. Hunter units operated, command hierarchies comparatively independently were flattened, decisions on lower levels shifted. The individual hunter should be able, anzuvisieren independently goals, contrary to the line troop, with whose fight it could above all around it to cover the opponent up from the close formation with a to a large extent unaimed ball hail.

This beginning settled also in the equipment: Hunters fought with rifles, which had developed from hunting weapons and a more exact aiming made than the usual infantry rifles for the time possible. Hunter units had in addition a by far smaller quantity of equipment, which made on the one hand the large renouncement possible of baggage cars and so that increased motivity in hard-to-travel areas, on the other hand problems with accommodation and supply of the troop raised.

A multiplicity of the early hunters actually recruited itself from the numbers of the forest people and hunters. Therefore they carried green uniforms and hunting horns as signal instruments.

The hunter troop in the German Federal Armed Forces

In the today's German Federal Armed Forces the tasks of the "classical" infantry federations (thus also the hunter) are transferred partly also by armored infantry, who are designed by their equipment and training however better for the fight with and against armored vehicles. The reason for it lies in the change of the battleground. The hunters were only limited as a pure infantry to the fight against armored vehicles and to the fight in the group with own armored vehicles in the situation.

Actual hunters (thus soldiers, who carry golden oak leaves as badges) place today only in three battalions in mutton castle (hunter training battalion 353), Donaueschingen (hunter battalion 292) and Marienberg (hunter battalion 371) approximately the whole of the members. The members of the hunter battalion in Donaueschingen belong to the French-German brigade and carry the brigade badge, are however hunters. The moreover one numerous hunter belongs to the safeguard units of the major units and is represented in the awake battalion.

After the present (spring 2005) planning conditions of the German Federal Armed Forces reform some these hunter units are dissolved, regrouped or transferred into other branches of service. Therefore is in the today's form only continued the hunter battalion in Donaueschingen, the safeguard units and the awake battalion secured. The list (new) of an airmobile hunter/infantry regiment in black fount is in planning. The hunter brigade 37 in Frankenberg/Sa. further this name will bear, however you will be subordinate no more actual hunter federations. In different federations in addition also further individual hunter companies will continue to exist.

Beside the hunter troop the today's German infantry exists out

Paratroopers (airmobile infantry predominantly for the fight behind the hostile lines) and
Mountain hunters (for the fight in the mountains).

In addition following branches of service and/or uses, which do not belong to the infantry, took up the term "hunter" also to their designation

Field hunter is the designation of the military police of the German Federal Armed Forces. They do not belong to the combat troops.
Tank hunter: with tank destroyers its major task the fight of hostile tanks is equipped on far distance.

Rank

Nowadays one calls a soldier without rank of the branches of service paratroopers, mountain hunters and the hunter troop in the German German Federal Armed Forces hunter (Jg). Into the 60's the name for the lowest NCO rank was upper hunter in these branches of service.

Federal Border Police

Also in the history of the Federal Border Police (today: Federal police) is well-known a "variant" of the hunter. It gave the border hunter career with the ranks to border hunters, border troop hunters, border upper hunters and border main hunters. The career belonged to the simple service and with its abolishment with the Federal Border Police in the context of the border control public service employment law reform 1976 into the middle service was transferred. All border hunters were carried independently from their previous rank to police upper being awake masters. '' See also: Ranks in the Federal Border Police.

The hunter troop in the Austrian federal army

In the Austrian federal army carries the branch of service, which fights infantry (infantry), the designation hunter. The hunter troop places most soldiers of all combat troops of the federal army with approx. 33,000 men.

Particularly to emphasize are the mountain hunters trained in the mountain service as well as the guard, that are stationed in Vienna exclusively and predominantly notice tasks of representation.