clergy accompanied military units long before national armies came into existence. In the nineteenth century when Jews began to serve as soldiers, rabbinic services were usually provided by local rabbis on an informal basis. Soldiers often organized minyanim and looked after other needs as well. As many 19" and early 20™ century wars were fought close to their home community, local rabbis could be helpful. Although the total number of Jews in an army was substantial, the number in a specific unit was too small to demand a full time rabbi. However by the middle of the nineteenth century the need for rabbinic services began to be felt and efforts were made to appoint part or full time chaplains.
The Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph made provisions for Jewish military chaplains in 1866, some thirty years after Protestant chaplains had been provided in his predominantly Catholic nation. By 1914 ten chaplains with the rank of captain had been appointed; that number grew to fifty-six toward the end of World War I while local rabbis augmented their efforts. Small permanent synagogues were built in the larger installations. The chaplains provided religious services, kosher food, etc. and in some instances also conducted religious services for Russian Jewish prisoners of war. They also censored Hebrew letters. Eventually the Austrian army also provided Muslim chaplains.
It took much longer in Germany as the famous picture of Rosh Hashanah services in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 showed. That service, attended by hundreds of Jewish soldiers, was led by a civilian rabbi. Requests for Jewish chaplains did not succeed in Germany until the beginning of World War I. In contrast to the Christian chaplains, they received neither military rank, nor payment by the government. That remained an obligation of the Jewish community. In German occupied Poland these Jewish chaplains also aided the civilian population as vividly described by Emanuel Carlebach . They also provided for the religious needs of Russian Jewish prisoners of war.”” The political split between the Liberal and Orthodox German community limited cooperation and meant that fewer Orthodox chaplains were appointed. A field prayer book was published in Berlin in 1916 and another in Vilna in 1918.”