Page - 491 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

The Vision of Peace with Victory 491 A separate peace with Montenegro was also discussed. But here, Burián and Conrad were in agreement that this should be not conceded. Conrad immediately demanded that Montenegro should lose its independence and attach itself completely to the Habsburg Monarchy. The Foreign Minister, however, emphatically made the case for its continued existence. Then Conrad wanted at least a reduction in the size of Mon- tenegro and the relocation of its capital city from Cetinje to Podgorica.1174 (Conrad’s demands remained unrealised until 1945. It was not until after the Second World War that Marshal Tito, who had been an NCO in the Imperial and Royal Army in 1916, though already in Russian captivity for several months, transferred the capital city of Montenegro to Podgorica, which was given the name Titograd.) Ultimately, Burián simply requested understanding for Montenegro not being robbed of its sovereignty. He wanted to concede to Conrad only the militarily most necessary territories. In foreign policy terms, however, Montenegro should be represented in the future by the Danube Monarchy. Finally, Emperor Franz Joseph also demanded that no conditions should be set that were too onerous. Cieszyn was unimpressed by the imperial volition, however, and continued to assert military necessities. On 11 January 1916, the most spectacular military success in the fight against the Montenegrin Army was achieved : the Imperial and Royal 47th Infantry Division under the command of Major General Ignaz Trollmann conquered the massif of the 1,749 m-high Mount Lovćen, which towered steeply south of the Bay of Kotor. Until May 1915 the mountain had not been attacked out of consideration for Italy, since Austria-Hungary wanted to signalise to Rome that it did not intend to make any alteration in the equilibrium on the opposing Italian coast. Later, the Imperial and Royal troops did not have sufficient forces at their disposal to conquer the mountain. But the troops of Trollmann, who was then given the noble title ‘von Lovćenberg’ (literally ‘of Mount Lovćen’), succeeded in expelling the Montenegrin garrison. The Montenegrins then offered to engage in armistice ne- gotiations. Conrad, however, promptly telegraphed the Commander of the 3rd Army, General Kövess, that the operations were to be continued : ‘Only an unconditional sur- render of the entire Royal Montenegrin Army without any sort of negotiations and the handover of all Serbian troops still on Montenegrin soil are suited to induce the Imperial and Royal AOK [Army High Command] to cease hostilities.’1175 On 13 January, Montenegrin officers delivered the Imperial and Royal XIX Corps a handwritten letter from King Nikola of Montenegro, which was addressed to Emperor Franz Joseph, in which the Montenegrin King requested a cessation of hostilities and an honourable peace. Emperor Franz Joseph, however, did not back away from the de- mand for an unconditional surrender, either. On 17 January, a telegram arrived in which Montenegro announced that it submitted to all of Austria-Hungary’s conditions and offered its surrender. But the situation remained unresolved. Some Montenegrin troops attempted on their own initiative to continue fighting, at which point a continuation of