 He was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the 91st Infantry Regiment “Ritter von Fröhlich” on May 1, 1884, and promoted to 1st Lieutenant on November 1, 1888.A year later he was assigned to the 9th Infantry Brigade staff in Olomutz and on November 24, 1891, he was a staff Officer of the 2nd Mountain Brigade in Trebinjie (now Bosnia and Herzegovina).During this assignment he was to become familiar with the Istria, Kraina, Carinthia and Styria regions, and also improved his knowledge on south-west Hungary and Turkey, while attached to military missions.