Page - 444 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

444 Factory War and Domestic Front, 1915 and not least the increasing problems of conducting joint warfare against Russia did not remain without consequences. And since it was also prestige that was at stake here, almost everything mattered. Naturally, the Army High Command was also frustrated that some troop bodies were still inclined to desert, despite the fact that a major success was becoming evident. One example was again the case of Infantry Regiment No. 36 (‘Jungbunzlau’). This led not only to the regiment being disbanded as punishment, as mentioned above, a measure which was wrested from the Emperor by the Army High Command, but also to the order that unreliable troops in the defences were no longer to be entrusted with important sections of the front on their own, but were instead to be mixed with reliable troops.1052 When Alpine, Silesian or even Hungarian troops failed in their duty, the measures taken were not nearly as harsh. This naturally did not go unnoticed, and was ultimately merely an expression of a latent tension that was hidden somewhere behind the successes. And what was happening at the front had an immediate effect on the hinterland. It was no coincidence that it was again Bohemia where the effects were felt most strongly. There had certainly been opportunities to take counteraction, but they were favoured least of all. One option that was considered was to involve the heir to the throne, Arch- duke Karl Franz Josef, to a greater extent. In June 1915, he was relieved of his post in the Army High Command and was from now on to visit the troops. This was then presented in such a way that, in so doing, he was to become intimately acquainted with ‘the theatres of war, the leaders and weapons, the technical and base facilities of the great Austro-Hungarian, and in some cases also the allied German Army’. ‘He brought to all the greetings and gratitude of the Supreme Commander ; however, he also listened with untiring interest to the words of every individual man’, according to the ‘hagiographical’ literature.1053 Even so, Archduke Karl Franz Josef was later able to put his voice to a record for the benefit of the military, widows’ and orphans’ fund, and with all honesty begin with the words : ‘I was at all the fronts […]’ However, whether he was able even at a minimum level to compensate for all the errors in leadership that had been made, must remain open to doubt. The setbacks of the spring were compensated by the aforementioned occupation of Przemyśl on 3 and 4 June 1915, a victory in which only one note of bitterness remained in the Austrian state of mind, namely that the greater share of this success was enjoyed by German troops. Even so, the joy was felt by all, bells were rung in the Monarchy and flags were hoisted. And the willingness to make further advances in the east and, in so doing, to reap further successes, increased significantly. Nonetheless, it was precisely during these days that Falkenhayn suggested agreeing a peace with the Russians on the basis that the territorial status quo be maintained. This proposal, which was connected to the forwarding of Conrad’s memorandum, which was already known, led to numer- ous controversies in German historiography.1054 Was the leadership of the German