Page - 529 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

The Brusilov Offensive 529 day, Marterer reported to the Emperor. The Monarch and the chiefs of the Military Chancellery discussed the military situation for more than three hours.1246 It was as though the Army High Command were paralysed. For days on end, it stood by and watched how the Eastern Front disintegrated in the area of two armies, and saw that nothing could be done by means of issuing orders alone. German assistance did not come, and Conrad could not yet bring himself to immediately abandon the South Tyrol offensive, since it had been more than just any campaign. It had been a ‘punitive expedition’, an attack with the strategic aim of destroying the Italian Army and punish- ing the ‘perfidious’ former ally. And yet, at the time of the start of the Brusilov Offensive the failure of the South Tyrol offensive had in any case already become clear. It was cause for the wildest speculation : was it possible to leave the Russian theatre of war and, above all, the command of the Imperial and Royal troops to the Germans, thus saddling them with the sole responsibility ? Was it possible to make another push in South Tyrol, thus showing the Germans a unique opportunity to decide the outcome of the war ? Would an immediate change at the top of the Army High Command change anything ? None of these thoughts were anything more than a mirage, however. Instead of investing additional forces in the offensive to Bassano, two divisions were rerouted to Russia. It was clear, however, that they would arrive too late. Yet,Falken- hayn stepped in after all, directed a division from the Eastern Front High Command to the Army Group Linsingen, and heralded two further divisions from the west. He wanted to know, however, what Conrad was doing to overcome the crisis. He therefore requested him on 8 June to attend an urgent meeting in Berlin. It was not by chance that Conrad had the feeling of going on a penitential pil- grimage. He had nothing more to offer and could now only make claims and requests, since divisions could not simply be pulled out of South Tyrol, either. The Italians had meanwhile been able to strengthen themselves to such an extent that they now became dangerous. Where an Austro-Hungarian division had previously been confronted by one Italian brigade, it now faced up to ten.1247 Conrad’s adjutant, Kundmann, noted on the meeting in Berlin : ‘[The] boss doesn’t have it in him to speak forcibly with Falken- hayn, always like the naughty schoolboy towards the teacher upbraiding him. I came in during the meeting and [the] boss had his head between his hands and was staring at the map.’1248 Later, Conrad was supposed to have said that he would rather be given ten slaps in the face than have to again participate in such negotiations in Berlin.1249 In spite of the miserable state of affairs and Conrad’s gestures of humility, Falkenhayn did not offer very much, and above all nothing that might endanger his own plans for Verdun and the Somme. Thus, all that was left for Conrad to do was to break off the South Tyrol offensive, since the artillery was also needed in the north-east. Both gen- eral staff chiefs still believed, however, that it was a case of limiting the damage and that Linsingen would iron things out again with a counteroffensive. In Italy, lines should