Military camp Milovice
1904 – 1918

For military manoeuvres, regiments from all around of Bohemia came to Milovice. Marching norm in full field equipment was 40 kilometres daily.

At the Military Training Area near Nové Benátky, units belonging to the 8th and 9th Corps of the Austro-Hungarian Army rotated from spring to autumn. They conducted out combat training involving live ammunition, which also involved artillery. The first training here was conducted on the 3^rd of August, 1904. In big manoeuvres, usually 5000 soldiers were involved, which were housed in surrounding villages or in the former village of Mladá. The tax paid rent to the local residents for each housed soldier and stabled horse.

Overall view onto the military camp of Milovice. The standardized houses were located along contour lines towards the east.

In October 1905, the Imperial and Royal War Ministry of War approved the construction of a new military camp east of the village of Milovice. There were 45 single-story brick buildings built here until the year 1908. Asides from buildings for housing soldiers and officers, horse stables, offices and a garrison hospital were located here. The camp, nicknamed “the Stone Camp”, had to accommodate two infantry regiments and one battalion of field hunters (a total of 3,300 soldiers) during peacetime. The entire area was landscaped with avenues of plane trees along the roads. The costs of the stone camp’s construction reached 1,500,000 Austria-Hungarian Crowns.

For the needs of the army and the local civilian population, a post office was established in Milovice in the year 1905. Pictured is a postcard from 1908.

The newly established training grounds also served as a shooting range for artillery. Practice targets were often placed in close proximity of the former village of Mladá, leading to its gradual disappearance. In 1908, the Alexandrov School Infantry Shooting Range began operating. It was equipped for shooting training with small arms and heavy machine guns. For citizens of Milovice, the Alexandrov Shooting Range became a popular destinations to visit on Sundays trips. During free time, military bands played here and amateur groups performed theatre.

Commander of the 8th Corps of the Austro-Hungarian Army, General Albert von Koller, inspecting the training ground in 1910.

The area around the military training ground experienced unprecedented economic prosperity and a boom in trade. The army purchased food, feed, and equipment from local suppliers. Local craftsmen and workers were hired for the construction work. In Milovice, 7 pubs and 5 shops gradually sprung up, where soldiers spent their wages. Social and cultural life flourished, attracting new residents to Milovice.

Did you know that…? During the manoeuvres, two infantry regiments, supported by cavalry and artillery, usually faced off in a simulated battle. The soldiers of one of the training sides were distinguished by a white ribbon attached to their headdress.

The space between the barracks in the Stone camp was used by soldiers as a resting ground.