Page - 89 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
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The Shock 89
not the work of an individual fanatic, but the result of a well-organised attack ; it was
a declaration of war by Serbia on Austria-Hungary. It can only be answered by war.’185
No mention was made of the fact that Conrad would have known how far-reaching
the effects of the murder of Franz Ferdinand would be. No mention that Austria-Hun-
gary suddenly had no prospects. No further reference to the fact that a reorganisation
at state level could have reshaped the Monarchy from its foundations upwards and
made it viable. At a single stroke, everything that Franz Ferdinand had planned and
prepared with the aim of reforming the Empire was no longer of interest. And the fact
that in the shorter or longer term, this would have brought about an end to dualism was
also in effect considered irrelevant. After all, the alternative to reform of the Empire
was collapse. No mention was made of the plan to seek an understanding with Russia.
Suddenly, the ‘secondary rule’ by the Archduke, which had been the subject of repeated
criticism, also no longer existed.
The murder in Sarajevo strengthened the position of the Emperor. Not that this was
what Franz Joseph had wanted, since it had been clear to him, too, that preparations
must be made for the transition to his successor. Yet now, suddenly, the entire structure,
so laboriously assembled, had become obsolete. The words ascribed to Franz Joseph on
hearing of the double murder in Sarajevo are : ‘A superior power has restored that order
which I unfortunately was unable to maintain.’ In this context, they took on a stark
double meaning. As it quickly transpired, Franz Joseph was not of a mind to experi-
ment with ‘secondary rule’ a second time. The next in line, Archduke Karl Franz Josef,
who automatically adopted the mantle of heir to the throne, was neither to take over
the Military Chancellery run by his murdered uncle, nor inherit control of the staff of
civilian advisors that Franz Ferdinand had sought. Now, there could also be no mention
of the fact that Conrad von Hötzendorf had been due to be replaced half a year later.
The Chief of the General Staff was the man who in terms of military matters had the
fullest confidence of the Emperor, and who had the final say. He would also certainly be
needed in the very near future. Domestic policy experiments were frowned upon, and
not only that : the new heir to the throne was initially to be involved as little as possible
and be given the role of observer at best. Just how thoroughly this was put into practice
already became evident during the weeks that followed. This was by no means due to
negligence, but was entirely deliberate : Emperor Franz Joseph was making one more
attempt at a neo-absolutist about-turn. The hidden reality behind this apparent fierce
determination and show of power was a terrible dilemma : at the top of the Habsburg
Empire, a huge power vacuum began to spread – slowly, but surely.
Even after the news of the murder in Sarajevo had lost its novelty, and attention had
turned to the new heir to the throne and above all the position taken by Austria im-
mediately following the assassination, a certain degree of international goodwill could
still be felt. It is also certainly not incorrect, as has been repeatedly remarked, to say that
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