Page - 385 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

F or some people  – and not only for the population of Austria-Hungary  – Italy’s declaration of war was utterly unexpected. Not even Italy’s new allies were im- mune to a sense of shock, in particular not the Serbs, who like the Croats and Slovenes had become aware of the fact that, ultimately, they would bear the cost of the Italian aspirations, which could destroy their dreams of a new southern Slav kingdom. In the Military Chancellery of the Emperor in Vienna, Major General Marterer therefore re- marked with a certain sense of satisfaction that the Serbian troops positioned opposite the Imperial and Royal troops near Bjeljina and Zvornik had held up white flags and called out ‘Živio Franz Josef’.913 By its nature, Italy was closer in the minds of the German lands of the Monarchy than other theatres of war such as those in Galicia or Serbia. Events in the areas around Limanowa, Przemyśl and in the Carpathians had been followed with a gradually de- creasing degree of concern. From the beginning of 1915 however, Italy increasingly be- came the focus of interest. Finally, the consternation took a leap in terms of emotional intensity and something became clear that had already been felt earlier by others due to their proximity to a theatre of war. Now, it also became clear to the western crown lands for the first time how close they were to the action, as well as the high extent to which the danger threatened to spread. As was the case with Serbia at the time, the notion of revenge played a role to a certain degree. More important was the shock over behaviour that was judged as trea- sonable and as a breach of fidelity. The calculating nature of Italian politics was ignored. However, a type of disdain also came into play, since Italy was ranked below Russia in terms of its antagonism and dangerousness, and perhaps even below Serbia, which had forced the Imperial and Royal Army to take it more seriously during 1914. Naturally, forces could also be mobilised against Italy that were not available else- where. In Tyrol, for example, there appeared to be nothing that might restrict the will- ingness of the people to perform their duty and to make sacrifices. It was as though the mood of the July Crisis and of August 1914 had come alive again. While there had always been an interest and emotional participation in the departure of replacement formations for the regiments in the east or in the Balkans, now something of the en- thusiasm for war again re-surfaced. As had previously been the case with the Czechs, the authorities noted with a certain degree of surprise that the Italian-speaking pop- ulation in the southern parts of Tyrol also maintained the friendly attitude towards Austria that had been observed since the summer of 1914, and at least did not abandon