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The Initial Campaigns 189
also not on the side of the Army High Command, Conrad’s determination to elimi-
nate all sources of resistance grew. And in Archduke Friedrich he found a very willing
assistant. Even so, for the time being, this was not sufficient to solve the problems with
the Balkan High Command.
After a vehement argument with Conrad on 21 August, Potiorek succeeded in per-
suading the Chief of the Military Chancellery of the Emperor, Bolfras, to give a letter
of command to the Emperor for signature, which specified that from that point on,
Potiorek would be able to take command independently. This may have been a gratifi-
cation for Potiorek, but was also objectively correct, since under the leadership remits
at that time, intervention by the Army High Command and the rapid reaction to de-
velopments in the Balkan theatre of war was not possible from Przemyśl. However, it is
equally true that from this moment on, consistency in terms of the conduct of the war
was lost, at least for a certain period of time.
Potiorek’s complaints regarding the Army High Command and, above all, the Chief
of the General Staff not only fell on sympathetic ears in the Military Chancellery of the
Emperor. He was also fully supported by Berchtold and Tisza, who attempted to ensure
that the mass of the troops of the Imperial and Royal 2nd Army could continue to be
used in the Balkans, and not only in parts. Tisza had a natural interest in keeping both
the Serbs and the Russians away from Hungary, and if necessary, in also having forces
available against Romania. However, Berchtold brought the mesh of foreign policy
issues into play and instructed his representative in Przemyśl, Baron Giesl, to inform
the Army High Command of the following stance on the matter : ‘It is very far from my
intention’, Berchtold wrote to Giesl on 20 August, ‘to wish to influence military opera-
tions even indirectly. From the perspective of my area of responsibility, I must however
point out that, should the operations currently being conducted by the 5th and 6th Ar-
mies even merely come to a standstill as a result of the departure of the troops assigned,
and were this to become known abroad, then there is reason to believe that this would
have a most adverse effect on the conduct of all Balkan states – including possibly that
of Italy – and that I would be obliged to decline to bear the responsibility for the oc-
currence of such a change, which has unforeseeable consequences.’447 Giesl faithfully
informed the Chief of the General Staff, who felt, however, that it would be ‘irrespon-
sible’ to leave more forces in the Balkans than was absolutely necessary. However, Giesl
remained dissatisfied with this response, and also went to Archduke Friedrich. He did
so because, as he then telegraphed to Berchtold, he was not sure ‘whether his Highness
is being properly informed by the General Staff’. However, Archduke Friedrich was not
able to agree to any proposal, and only raised the prospect of either assigning respon-
sibility to the Commander of the 5th Army, General Frank, or relieving him of it.448
Conrad was torn one way and the other. He knew that he needed the 2nd Army for
the Russian theatre of war. It was to march on to the south flank of the front, to the
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