Page - 505 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

The ‘Punitive Expedition’ is Prepared 505 promising, since it was known that most of the Italian fighting capacity was bound up on the Isonzo River and on the border with Carinthia, and a wide-sweeping advance into the rear of the Italians would envelop the mass of their army in the Julian March. This was to bring the decisive outcome. The Italy specialist in the Operations Division of the Army High Command, Lieu- tenant Colonel Karl Schneller, continued to work on his memoranda and operational plans, with the intention of using sometimes more, sometimes fewer German forces. Finally, from July 1915, when the German Empire had made it clear that it did not wish to involve itself on the Italian front, Schneller stated that it would be better if the Germans were to assume the main burden in Russia, while Austria-Hungary would ‘shrug off Italy’.1193 Schneller could take his time. The summer battle in Russia, followed by the transition to the ‘entrenched position’ and finally the Balkan campaign had en- gaged all available armed forces, so that for a long time, he had to leave his operational plans as they were. However, at some point, the hour of the Italian Group would also come. In the interim, the Army High Command was confident that the front on the Isonzo River would hold out. And even if the Italians were to succeed in penetrating somewhat deeper into Austrian territory, this would have no impact on the situation. Schneller’s studies were presented to the Chief of the Operations Division. Colonel Metzger added his comments before sending it back. Some of these comments are of significant interest. Metzger had wanted to transfer the command of the planned offensive from Tyrol not to the Commander of the South-Western Front, Archduke Eugen, but to the Na- tional Defence Commander for Tyrol, Baron von Dankl. This was felt by Schneller to be a sideswipe against the Chief of Staff of the South-Western Front, Major General Krauß, who  – according to Metzger  – ‘is unable to be subordinate’.1194 However, there was an unwillingness to allow Archduke Eugen to become too powerful, since this would not be welcomed at the ‘palace’. The ‘palace’ was a reference to Archduke Frie- drich, who lived in the palace at Cieszyn (Teschen). Dankl, by turn, enjoyed the confi- dence of Conrad. Finally, however, the supreme command was transferred to Archduke Eugen. However, at this point, it was by no means the issue of the command that was the subject of discussion. First, the German-Austrian relationship had to be clarified ; the re- lationship that the ‘Central Europeans’ regarded in such an idealistic light, but which in many aspects was merely a façade, and in which the dispute was veiled by outward signs of friendship, daily evocations of loyalty to the alliance and the repeatedly acknowledged necessity for cooperation in this war. The fact that the general staff chiefs had resumed their functional communication was irrelevant. Quite the opposite : it would have been an outright scandal if they had carried on pursuing their ‘private war’. However, the facade continued to crumble further. The records of the German plenipotentiary at the