Early Life
Frank Linke-Crawford was born in Krakau (Cracow), in what is presently Poland. His father, Major Adalbert Linke, was a Galician soldier; his mother, Lucy Crawford, was British. Despite this mixed background, he was a citizen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
He entered the Wiener-Neustadt military academy in 1910. Upon graduation, he was commissioned Leutnant and assigned to the 6th Dragoon Regiment. On July 28, a month after the assassination of Austria-Hungary's Archduke Franz Ferdinand, his country declared war on Serbia. This was the initial declaration of war that snowballed into World War I.
Linke-Crawford first saw battle on the Russian Front. In November, 1914, he was appointed commander of the infantry troop of the Sixth Dragoons. Between October 1914 and October 1915, he received several decorations; he also was hospitalized several times with malaria and dysentery.
In 1915, Linke-Crawford's fascination with the Luftfahrtruppen (Austro-Hungarian air service) led him to request a transfer for pilot training. His poor health is also mentioned as a reason for his transfer.
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