Page - 16 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
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16 On the Eve
The Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, even claimed
that ‘this is more than a battle won’.9 The next day, life appeared to continue as before –
and yet, something had changed. No comparable parade of the nationalities would ever
take place again. In this regard, the jubilee parade marked the end of an era even before
it was over. However, the course already been set decades previously, and indeed from
1908 onwards, a process that had been observed over the years by contemporaries and
later generations with increasing alarm was merely accelerated.
In 1867, the disintegration of the Habsburg Monarchy began with the division of
the Empire into an Austrian and a Hungarian half, and the Imperial and Royal Mon-
archy was established. Although from then onwards, the processes of dissolution and
stabilisation would unfold in parallel, the successful attempts by Hungary to gain inde-
pendence became a model for other peoples in the Empire, resulting in periods of de
facto ungovernability. After decades of continued efforts to find a long-term solution,
the signs of resignation had become evident. Something had to change. This was not
only the view of foreign ministers and ‘pre-emptive warriors’, but many others, particu-
larly among intellectual circles. In the prevailing attitude during the July Crisis, which
is described later, the intelligentsia of Europe, with only a few exceptions, welcomed
the prospect of war not only for domestic political reasons, but also from a fundamental
sense of conviction. This mood was also strongly felt in Austria-Hungary. Philosophy,
sociology, psychology and journalism, and not least historical science, also contributed
to the notion of war as a natural and necessary measure. Since the turn of the century,
preliminary military exercises had already been conducted whenever war was used as
a measure on the international political stage. Hardly a year had passed when there
had not been a larger conflict somewhere in the world that had presented a military
challenge to the powers of the Concert of Europe. As a result, the distinct expectations
and conditions prevailed that ultimately led to the world war being unleashed with just
a flick of the hand. Austria-Hungary, which had a ‘deficit of war’, finally did what it
believed was necessary within its own territory.
The Ballhausplatz and the Deficit of War
When analysing the pre-history of the First World War, it is natural to focus on the
key role played by foreign policy. It is tempting to look ever further back into the past
to explain the causes of the war, and to take into consideration events that occurred
long before the outbreak. If one thing or the other had not happened, then this or that
event would not have taken place.10 However, among all the processes that had the
most sustained impact on the foreign policy of Austria-Hungary at the end of the 19th
and beginning of the 20th century, the loss of power of the Ottoman Empire stands
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
- Title
- THE FIRST WORLD WAR
- Subtitle
- and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
- Author
- Manfried Rauchensteiner
- Publisher
- Böhlau Verlag
- Location
- Wien
- Date
- 2014
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-205-79588-9
- Size
- 17.0 x 24.0 cm
- Pages
- 1192
- Categories
- Geschichte Vor 1918
Table of contents
- 1 On the Eve 11
- 2 Two Million Men for the War 49
- 3 Bloody Sundays 81
- 4 Unleashing the War 117
- 5 ‘Thank God, this is the Great War!’ 157
- 6 Adjusting to a Longer War 197
- 7 The End of the Euphoria 239
- 8 The First Winter of the War 283
- 9 Under Surveillance 317
- 10 ‘The King of Italy has declared war on Me’ 355
- 11 The Third Front 383
- 12 Factory War and Domestic Front, 1915 413
- 13 Summer Battle and ‘Autumn Swine’ 441
- 14 War Aims and Central Europe 469
- 15 South Tyrol : The End of an Illusion (I) 497
- 16 Lutsk :The End of an Illusion (II) 521
- 17 How is a War Financed ? 555
- 18 The Nameless 583
- 19 The Death of the Old Emperor 607
- 20 Emperor Karl 641
- 21 The Writing on the Wall 657
- 22 The Consequences of the Russian February Revolution 691
- 23 Summer 1917 713
- 24 Kerensky Offensive and Peace Efforts 743
- 25 The Pyrrhic Victory : The Breakthrough Battle of Flitsch-Tolmein 769
- 26 Camps 803
- 27 Peace Feelers in the Shadow of Brest-Litovsk 845
- 28 The Inner Front 869
- 29 The June Battle in Veneto 895
- 30 An Empire Resigns 927
- 31 The Twilight Empire 955
- 32 The War becomes History 983
- Epilogue 1011
- Afterword 1013
- Acknowledgements and Dedication 1019
- Notes 1023
- Selected Printed Sources and Literature 1115
- Index of People and Places 1155