Page - 514 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

514 South Tyrol : The End of an Illusion (I) Emperor with new uniform designs at Schönbrunn Palace, which did not appeal to the Monarch, however. So much appeared to be more appropriate for a cabaret than for an army that had become used to war. The Chief of the General Staff discussed the issue of a new national anthem, which he recommended should be referred to as a hymn to the sovereign, since the Hungarians had objected to the words ‘Emperor’ and ‘Austria’. Also, each state could have its own text. And it must have looked like a re-ignition of the debate surrounding Prime Minister Stürgkh when on 2 May, Conrad, after negotiating the issue of the national anthem and coats of arms, continued : ‘In general, I see the mo- ment approaching when we must look towards the future constitutional organisation of the Monarchy ; it is of no use to try to slip past this issue unnoticed and to shield our eyes against it. For this purpose, the Austrian half of the Empire most urgently needs a prime minister who is a real man, who knows how to act decisively and energetically and, in so doing, place the good of the entire Monarchy, in other words, the dynasty that belongs to us all, above his own separate interests, and who thus also has the power and the will to ruthlessly tackle the latter whenever they press forward to the detriment of the Monarchy as a whole. The fact that the full retention of a dynastic armed force is a fundamental requirement here, is clear.’1211 All these questions occupied the mind of the Chief of the General Staff during this period, but he avoided saying even a single word, or a single sentence, about South Tyrol ! Finally, the Army High Command began to doubt whether Dankl and Krauss wanted to attack at all. Bitter disputes broke out, including within the Army High Command itself, in which the tone was full of hatred. On 8 May, the troops began to be moved again. This was not least a reaction to the fact that the Italians had got wind of the Austrian intention to attack. Since the end of April, they had continuously brought in reinforcements, a measure that presented far fewer difficulties for them than it did to the Austrian side, which was disadvantaged by the deep snow and poorer connections. However, the Chief of the Italian General Staff, Cadorna, could still not quite believe that the Austrians really intended to begin an offensive from the area around Folgaria and Lavarone through to Mount Pasubio. The Germans again made their presence felt and the German plenipotentiary at the Army High Command, Cramon, was again given the task of informing Conrad that perhaps the dubious enterprise should be brought to a halt and that the Imperial and Royal troops who would then be released should be sent to the German western front. Conrad rudely rejected the proposal, although, as Cramon reported, there were ‘younger gentlemen’ in the Army High Command who fully shared the opinion of the German Supreme Army Command.1212 It was not before 9 May that Conrad officially informed Cra- mon about the planned operation, allowing him to look at the situation maps and deployment plans. A brief discussion followed regarding possibilities for diversionary offensives. However, at Verdun, 21 German divisions had already become stuck fast