In the second year of the war, under the Habsburg monarchy, even the oldest and the very young were required to enlist for military service. In the ranks of the Standschützen, some young underage shooters were active on the Sesto/Sexten front. In a letter, Richard Heuberger, who was stationed in Sesto/Sexten in June 1915, recalls a meeting between an older and a younger rifleman (Jungschützen): “A boy, not yet sixteen, rifleman, son of the farmer Fuchsen above us and just out of the factory, went to him. Since all under 18s had to leave the front and go to the rear, he too was affected, and was rather upset and pleaded until the colonel allowed him to remain in the trenches. Then the boy’s cheeks were streaked with tears of joy.”1Feldpostbrief, 26.6.1915, in: Klub-Nachrichten des Akademisches Alpen-Klub Innsbruck, Nr. 65 (Kriegsnachrichten Nr. 13), p. 9.
In the list of the I. Marschkompagnie of the k.u.k. Standschützen Baon Innsbruck I, there are 14 names from the 1898-1900 cohort. These young men were assigned to the lighthouse section and the Sesto/Sexten barrage, but the young riflemen were also often called upon to serve at the front. In 1916, however, the shortage of soldiers became increasingly apparent, so much so that young marksmen who had already turned 17 were declared real Standschützen and had to “be enlisted as Standschützen to fulfill the duty of the Landsturm”.2Tiroler Landesarchiv, Standschützen Baon Innsbruck I 1914-1918, Faszikel V, Rayonskommando V. Res. Nr. 368/St., Einberufung der 17jährigen Standschützen zur Erfüllung der Landsturmpflicht als Standschützen, 22. April 1916.
A report dated August 2, 1915 reports progress in training young recruits in Sesto/Sexten and San Candido/Innichen for front-line service, although it was difficult to find officers for this role. Anton v. Mörl complained about the inadequate training of young riflemen in a service report dated 9 May 1916: “The young riflemen sent have not the slightest idea of a rifle, much less a repeating rifle; one man claimed to have fired once with a bolt rifle! To avoid accidents and dangerous misunderstandings, shooting drills cannot be done here. In the future, please send only people who have fired a rifle at least twice. […] We’ve already had two incidents with people like this, so once again don’t send anyone who hasn’t fired at least twice. Other training is irrelevant, what is needed immediately in the trenches is to shoot, shoot, shoot, the rest will come by itself.”3Tiroler Landesarchiv, Standschützen Baon Innsbruck I 1914-1918, Faszikel IV, Dienstzettel, Feldpost 222, am 9. Mai 1916.
A rare testimony of the life and concerns of a young rifleman during the war is provided by a letter from sixteen-year-old Rudolf Baron Wagner von Wehrborn, dated December 5, 1915, to the k.u.k. Standschützenkommando Innsbruck I, in which he made the following request: “Standschütze Rudolf Baron Wagner von Wehrborn obediently requests a leave of 14 days to take the entrance examination to the Pädagogium. I am only 16 years old, I am without parents and I have been here since May 22nd, of which 5 months in service, of which 1 month in Fischleintal [Val Fiscalina] with Lieutenant Hirn. The undersigned is certain that his request will not be refused.”4Tiroler Landesarchiv, Standschützen Baon Innsbruck I 1914-1918, Faszikel I, Brief von Rudolf Wagner von Wehrborn an das löbliche k.u.k. Standschützenkommando Innsbruck I, 5. Dezember 1915. The young gunner thought, rightly, that this request could not be denied, since a note had initially granted him a permit as “under 17 years old”, but then it was canceled. In April 1916, the young Rudolf von Wagner, who in the meantime had risen to the rank of patrol leader, was transferred to the Three Peaks Plateau. Apparently, the military leadership could not afford to do without younger riflemen.