Page - 256 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

256 Adjusting to a Longer War a thrust by Turkey against Egypt, when Russia has in the interim achieved a decisive success in Galicia ?’ This was the first time that Conrad had thought beyond the purely continental conflict, albeit only to prove that everything would be decided in Galicia. A defeat of Russia would cause Italy and Romania to remain neutral, but would probably induce Bulgaria to unleash an attack on Serbia. None of this could ever be achieved in the west. Germany, however, ‘has run up against England in such a blind rage that it no longer takes the necessary calm consideration of all other matters, and it could happen that Germany realises too late that it has its most dangerous enemy at its back’. The opinions expressed by Conrad were more than just a reflection on the war situ- ation. This was also a response to the German efforts to now give more weight to the Balkan theatre of war after all, while at the same time also intervening more strongly in the way in which Austria-Hungary conducted the war. It is hardly surprising that his remarks revealed little optimism. The Military Chancellery of the Emperor had also spoken of a separate peace in the wake of the first severe setbacks. The lack of confi- dence in a victory was however certainly also disclosed to others, and was acknowl- edged by different sides. According to Count Franz Liechtenstein, who had become acquainted with the situation both in the German headquarters in the west in Mézières as well as with the Imperial and Royal Army High Command, and who had compared them to each other, the first difference was that the Austro-Hungarian General Staff lacked sufficient confidence. It was quite clear that the latter was greatly impressed by the Russian superiority, and that the words ‘Russian superiority’ were used repeatedly in all conversations. The only command in which confidence could be found was the 3rd Army under Boroević. His self-assurance radiated out to all those around him. The other army commanders left something to be desired in this respect. However, the body of troops was by all means intact. Some of the observations made in this assessment were correct, while others were not so accurate. The remark concerning the intact body of troops was perhaps true. However, even there, the situation could not be measured according to the same scale. Martial law had already been imposed on individual troop bodies, and the reports of inconsistent reliability were becoming more frequent. The national composition, the duration of the training and experience in battle played a role, alongside many other factors. In general, it could by no means be claimed that the regiments of the Common Army, from either the Imperial-Royal Landwehr or the Royal Hungarian Honvéd (the standing armies of Austria and Hungary respectively), were either equally outstanding or less meritorious. Examples could be provided for any possible evaluation. How- ever, it was plainly evident that the increasing pace at which the reservists were lined up and the ceaseless deployment of troop bodies from the Landsturm (reserve forces) were not particularly positive developments. When, after six weeks of training or skills refreshment, the Landsturm soldiers were formed into brigades and it then transpired