The campaign to establish Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina lasted from 29 July to 20 October 1878 against the local resistance fighters supported by the Ottoman Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Army entered the country in two large movements: one from the north into Bosnia, and another from the south into Herzegovina. A series of battles in August culminated in the fall of Sarajevo on the 19th after a day of street-to-street fighting. In the hilly countryside a guerrilla campaign continued until the last rebel stronghold fell after their leader was captured.

The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army, was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army, the Imperial-Royal Landwehr and the Royal Hungarian Honvéd.