One-year volunteer

Einjährig-Freiwilliger shoulder board insignia of the Imperial German Army, here in the 45th Field Artillery Regiment, 1899–1915

A one-year volunteer, short EF (de: Einjährig-Freiwilliger[1]), was, in a number of national armed forces, a conscript who agreed to pay his own costs for the procurement of equipment, food and clothing, in return for spending a shorter-than-usual term on active military service and the opportunity for promotion to Reserve Officers.[2]

The "one-year volunteer service" (de: Einjährig-Freiwilligen-Dienst) was first introduced 1814 in Prussia and was inherited by the German Empire from 1871 until 1918. It was also used by the Austro-Hungarian Army, from 1868 until 1918, and the Austro-Hungarian Navy. One-year volunteers also existed in the national armies of Bavaria, France and Russia.

  1. ^ Langenscheidt's Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English and German language: „Der Große Murat-Sander“, Part II German-English First Volume A–K, 9th edition 2002, p. 449
  2. ^ Brockhaus, The Encyclopedia in 24 volumes (1796–2001), Volume 6: 3-7653-3666-1, page 172