The First World War E-Book

Manfried Rauchensteiner

• Herausgeber: Böhlau Wien
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Seitenzahl: 2787

Beschreibung

The well-respected historian Manfried Rauchensteiner analyses the outbreak of World War I, Emperor Franz Joseph's role in the conflict, and how the various nationalities of the Habsburg Monarchy reacted to the disintegration of this 640-yearold empire in 1918. After Archduke Franz Ferdinand"s assassination in Sarajevo in 1914, war was inevitable. Emperor Franz Joseph intended it, and everyone in Vienna expected it. How the war began and how Austria-Hungary managed to avoid capitulation only weeks later with the help of German troops reads like a thriller. Manfried Rauchensteiner"s book is based on decades of research and is a fascinating read to the very end, even though the final outcome, the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy, is already known. Originally published in German in 2013 by Böhlau, this standard work is now available in English.

Leseprobe

Published with the support from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF): PUB 168-G16

Published with the support from the Zukunftsfonds der Republik Österreich

Revised and expanded edition of The First World War and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914–1918, first published in 1993

First published in 2013 in the German language as “Der Erste Weltkrieg und das Ende der Habsburgermonarchie 1914–1918” by Böhlau Verlag Ges.m.b.H. & Co.KG., Wien – Köln –Weimar

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Cataloging-in-publication data:http://dnb.d-nb.de

Cover:Detail from: Albin Egger-Lienz, The Nameless Ones, 1914; tempera on canvas, 1916 © Vienna, Heeresgeschichtliches Museum

Other illustrations:First-page illustrations for the chapters 1, 13, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27 and 29 Österreichische Nationalbibliothek/Bildarchiv und Grafiksammlung; all other photos Österreichisches Staatsarchiv/Kriegsarchiv.

© 2014 by Böhlau Verlag Ges.m.b.H & Co. KG, Wien Köln WeimarWiesingerstraße 1, A-1010 Wien, www.boehlau-verlag.com

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any other information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Cover design: www.fuergestaltung.atEndpapers: Stefan Lechner, ViennaProofreading: Gregory Weeks, ViennaTypesetting: Michael Rauscher, ViennaPrinting and binding: Balto Print, VilniusPrinted on acid-free and chlorine-free bleached paperPrinted in the EU

ISBN 978-3-205-79588-9 (Print)

Datenkonvertierung: Datamatics Global Services, Griesheim

ISBN: 978-3-205-79370-0 (eBook)

Content

1 On the Eve (11)

The Ballhausplatz and the Deficit of War (16)

The Powder Keg (21)

The Socialisation of Violence (33)

Poor State, Wealthy Businesses (43)

2 Two Million Men for the War (49)

The ‘entire armed force’ (51)

Dual Alliance and Triple Alliance (62)

The Military Accords (67)

Pre-emptive War: Yes or No? (77)

3 Bloody Sundays (81)

The Assassination (83)

The Shock (87)

The July Crisis (90)

4 Unleashing the War (117)

Franz Joseph I (120)

The Calm before the Storm (123)

The ‘Skirmish’ near Temes-Kubin (127)

Salvation through War (136)

The First Shot (141)

An Empire Mobilises (144)

5 ‘Thank God, this is the Great War!’ (157)

Deployment in Echelons and Packets (159)

Archduke ‘Fritzl’ Goes to the Front (175)

The Mounted Engagement at Jarosławice (180)

The Initial Campaigns (183)

6 Adjusting to a Longer War (197)

The War Economy Dominates Everyday Life (200)

Wounded, Sick and Dead (215)

The Home Front Becomes a Fortress (219)

Official Announcements (223)

The Death of General Wodniansky (226)

7 The End of the Euphoria (239)

The Fortress on the San (242)

Fleet in Being (260)

In the Shadow of the Gallows (264)

Belgrade and the Failure in the Balkans (272)

8 The First Winter of the War (283)

On the War’s Objectives (286)

Death in the Carpathians (297)

Gorlice – Tarnów (311)

9 Under Surveillance (317)

Of Heroes and Cowards (320)

The Prague ‘House Regiment’ (344)

10 ‘The King of Italy has declared war on Me’ (355)

‘Sacro egoismo’ (364)

The Treaty of London (370)

The Final Offer (375)

11 The Third Front (383)

The Pre-emption (388)

On the Isonzo and in the Sette Comuni (392)

The War of Attrition (405)

12 Factory War and Domestic Front, 1915 (413)

Being a Soldier and the Burden of Work (422)

The Army High Command and Domestic Policy (426)

Soldier Games? (434)

The Attempt to Topple Stürgkh (437)

13 Summer Battle and ‘Autumn Swine’ (441)

On the Priority of the Theatres of War (443)

The ‘Black-Yellow’ Offensive (450)

The Fourth Offensive against Serbia (460)

14 War Aims and Central Europe (469)

The Salonika Problem (471)

Winter War in Russia and Montenegro (475)

The Central Powers and Central Europe (479)

The Vision of Peace with Victory (487)

15 South Tyrol: The End of an Illusion (I) (497)

The Easter Demands (500)

The ‘Punitive Expedition’ is Prepared (504)

The Attack (515)

16 Lutsk: The End of an Illusion (II) (521)

The Brusilov Offensive (523)

The Hindenburg Front (533)

Poison Gas (541)

The ‘Joint Supreme War Command’ (545)

17 How is a War Financed? (555)

The Search for the Nervus Rerum (557)

The War Bonds (565)

The Raging of the Banknote Presses (578)

18 The Nameless (583)

The Peace Campaign of the Central Powers (590)

Hohenzollern against Habsburg (593)

On the Convention of the Austrian Parliament (599)

Count Karl Stürgkh (1859–1916) (603)

19 The Death of the Old Emperor (607)

Obituary for the Father Figure (615)

The Geriatric Circle (622)

The Military Chancellery of His Majesty (628)

The Heir to the Throne (633)

The Will (636)

20 Emperor Karl (641)

The Master’s New Servants (645)

The Hindenburg Programme (651)

From Koerber to Clam-Martinic (653)

Famine and Coronation (657)

21 The Writing on the Wall (657)

The Victory over Romania (667)

Steps towards Peace (669)

The Unrestricted Submarine War (675)

The Conrad Crisis (684)

22 The Consequences of the Russian February Revolution (691)

Strategic Harmony (693)

The Fall of the Tsar (695)

Peace without Annexations and Contributions (700)

Workers of the world, unite! (705)

The Reopening of the Reichsrat (709)

23 Summer 1917 (713)

Clam-Martinic Faces Defeat (715)

The System Eats its Own Children (722)

The Military Administration in the Occupied Territories (729)

Tisza’s Fall (738)

24 Kerensky Offensive and Peace Efforts (743)

The Naval Victory in the Strait of Otranto (745)

The ‘Hand of the Child’ (749)

The Czech Legion (753)

A German General on the Danube Monarchy (760)

Peace Feelers (764)

25 The Pyrrhic Victory: The Breakthrough Battle of Flitsch-Tolmein (769)

The Fortress Syndrome (771)

Operation ‘Loyalty to Arms’ (777)

War against the USA (798)

26 Camps (803)

Strangers in the Homeland (806) – )

The Internees (819)

On Ivans, Serbs and Wops (822)

Siberian Clarity (833)

Italy (841)

27 Peace Feelers in the Shadow of Brest-Litovsk (845)

The Russian October Revolution (847)

New Discussions in Switzerland (851)

Poland Again (854)

The Turn of the Year, 1918 (856)

The Negotiations in Brest (863)

Wilson’s Fourteen Points (866)

28 The Inner Front (869)

The January Strikes (871)

Continuation in Brest (875)

The ‘Bread Peace’ (880)

Mutiny (885)

29 The June Battle in Veneto (895)

The ‘Parma Conspiracy’ (897)

The Collapse of the Armaments Industry (906)

The Idea for a Final Offensive (910)

The Alliance of Arms (913)

The Attack (917)

30 An Empire Resigns (927)

Brigadier von Bolzano is Missing (929)

Four Million Heroes (936)

The Army Disintegrates (944)

31 The Twilight Empire (955)

The Judgement of Austria-Hungary’s Final Offensive (957)

The Penultimate Cabinet of Habsburg Austria (961)

The Radicals Set the Agenda (964)

Austro-Hungarian Troops on the Western Front (968)

D’Annunzio over Vienna (971)

The Sinking of the Szent István (975)

Front and Hinterland (978)

32 The War becomes History (983)

The Emperor’s Manifesto (987)

The Dissolution Begins (992)

The Attack by the Allies (998)

The Armistice of Villa Giusti (1002)

The Last Army Supreme Commander (1006)

Te Deum Laudamus (1008)

Epilogue (1011)

Afterword (1013)

Acknowledgements and Dedication (1019)

Notes (1023)

Selected Printed Sources and Literature (1155)

Index of People and Places (1155)

1 On the Eve

[<<11||12>>]

The centenary celebrations of the Battle of the Nations in Vienna, 16 October 1913. Emperor Franz Joseph in front of the flag deputations on the Ringstrasse. To his right is the heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and the archdukes with military ranks. In the second row,furthest to the right, is Archduke Friedrich. [<<12||13>>]

Several decades ago, a semantic debate surrounded the Second World War and the power politics of National Socialist Germany. Did the war break out of its own accord, or was it deliberately unleashed? The almost unanimous conclusion was that the war was unleashed. In the case of the First World War, the answer is not so obvious. It is likely that while to a certain extent the war did break out, it was at also precipitated and unleashed to an equal degree. In general, however, precisely who was responsible for precipitating, triggering or unleashing the war, and who simply failed to prevent it, is portrayed differently according to subjective evaluation and emphasis. Each point of view has been convincingly presented and supported by documentary evidence.1 In the interim, the definition of the war by the American diplomat George F. Kennan as ‘The grand seminal catastrophe of this century’ has become a kind of unofficial truism.2

Long before 1914, numerous publications already referred to any future war in highly generalised terms as a ‘World War’, as if to find words to capture its scale and to act as a deterrent. Then, war broke out. In English, French and Italian literature, the phrase ‘Great War’ (Grande guerre, Grande guerra) became established, while after the war, the German Imperial Archives opted for the term ‘World War’.3 In Austria, the war was referred to in nostalgic terms both verbally and in writing as ‘Austro-Hungary’s final war’.

However, there is something to be said for the use of the term ‘seminal catastrophe’, since the first major war of the 20th century, while largely limited to Europe and the adjacent regions, set in motion most of the events which would lead to the second, real world war, particularly the establishment of totalitarian regimes in Russia and Germany and the involvement of countries from all six continents and all the world’s seas. To a certain degree, the First World War was not fought to the end until a quarter of a century later, albeit within the lifespan of the same generation. However, while most of the powers that had already been termed the ‘main warring parties’ in the First World War played an even greater role in the second major war of the 20th century, there was one empire to which this did not apply: Austria-Hungary. In contrast to the German Empire, to Russia, which had become the Soviet Union, and indeed to Turkey, which by then was a neutral power, Austria-Hungary was irretrievably lost. The Danube Monarchy under Habsburg rule had been destroyed as a result of the ‘seminal catastrophe’. From that point on, it became one of a number of failed states.

Many aspects have been considered in the debate surrounding the causes of the first great conflict, not least the obvious fact that an important determining factor for most of the great powers that deliberately began the war in 1914 was their strength, perhaps [<<13||14>>] simply their apparent strength and a desire to expand their territory, or merely their aspirations to attain greater power. Germany sought to increase its dominance and influence, or at least not to lose it. It has been postulated that Germany ‘fled towards war’.4 For France, prestige and a not insignificant desire for revenge have been cited, while recently, it has again been claimed that for Russia, the attempt to find a way through to Constantinople by the indirect means of victory in war was a key issue.5 Ultimately, Italy hoped by joining the coalition of the British, French and Russians that it could expand the regions inhabited by Italians, thus fulfilling its national ambitions. However, like Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, elegantly described as a ‘stagnating major power’6, saw an opportunity to maintain the prevailing European order. This stemmed not from inner conviction, but from a position of evident weakness. While war may not have been a specific aim, it was this weakness, more than anything else, that led to war being regarded as a potential means of resolving problems.

The failure by the Habsburg Monarchy to pursue its state goals more resolutely has been explained by its peculiar structural features, the complex dualistic division of the multiracial empire into an Austrian and a Hungarian half, the particular problems that were primarily triggered by nationality issues, by the alliances that had been formed, and finally by the individuals who held positions of power. However, these are just some aspects of the generally unreflected opinion that the Monarchy was doomed. It may have been destroyed by its ‘absolutism’, which the Austrian Social Democrat Viktor Adler regarded as being ‘mitigated only by sloppiness’. Long before 1914, commentators remarked that state visitors to the Danube Monarchy were travelling there to take one more look at Austria ‘before it falls apart’.7

However, one further aspect must be taken into account in any attempt to explain the flight to war by the Habsburg Monarchy. The ‘Fin de siècle’, the mood that was being increasingly expressed, not least in the arts, was probably less one of gloom than an impatient crossing of a threshold into a new era. This sense of defiance not only reached its limits in the arts, however, but was equally reflected in the economy and above all in politics. The peoples living in the Empire were dominated by centrifugal forces. It was a later version of Biedermeier and the Vormärz except that it was kept under control by the forces of convention rather than the state. Ultimately, certain forces had been kept in check over several decades until finally, a single event triggered a chain reaction.

The view was increasingly voiced that the upcoming problems could only be solved by means of war. Naturally, this opinion was not only held by Austria-Hungary, nor was it an expression of intensified warmongering. Countries such as Great Britain, France and Russia, as well as Italy, the Ottoman Empire and the countries in the Balkan region had time and again used war as a means of settling conflicts. However, the Habsburg Monarchy appeared to be so preoccupied with its own affairs that it refrained from participating in the socialisation of violence, and was neither willing nor in a position to use war as a political means – until it did finally join in with the European mood. Perhaps, in the view of those who were willing to mobilise their armies far more quickly, this hesitation in waging war was the reason why Austria-Hungary had no prospect of survival. Yet the death of the double-headed eagle was a gradual process.