Page - 628 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

628 The Death of the Old Emperor The Military Chancellery of His Majesty The connection that Franz Joseph maintained to the outside world from July 1914 consisted of audiences, reports and visits. Here, the Military Chancellery increasingly became a control element, which due to the lack of other functioning institutions and above all in the light of the physical absence of the Emperor gained in importance among the general public and in the theatres of war. The area of authority of the Military Chancellery had been regulated in 1910, and accordingly it was to be consid- ered as being independent of the constitution, was placed solely at the disposal of the Monarch and did not have to account for its actions to anyone else.1438 The Chief of the Military Chancellery, Baron General Artur von Bolfras, had the unlimited trust of Franz Joseph and could allow himself to feel flattered that of all the people surround- ing the Emperor, it was he who spent the most time with the Monarch. Far more than the Deputy Chief of the Military Chancellery was Brigadier, then Major Generall Baron Friedrich von Marterer.1439 However, both worked together to ‘translate’ the will of the Monarch and already dominated merely by virtue of the intensity of the contact they had with the ruler. The insights that the heads of the Military Chancellery of Emperor Franz Joseph gained into the progress of the war and important political is- sues were however usually only reported second hand, since they were based primarily on correspondence and conversations, and only rarely resulted from visits to the front and direct impressions of the events of the war. Even so, the information that Bolfras and Marterer received was then to a large extent passed on to the Emperor. Ultimately, the two generals decided what was to be presented to His Majesty, and how. Here, the Military Chancellery was fed from different sources, which were by no means only military ones. As a result, the heads of the Military Chancellery also became involved in foreign and domestic policy issues. Marterer in particular was repeatedly sent on diplomatic missions, and was to meet with Kaiser Wilhelm, the German Imperial Chancellor and, naturally, the military leadership. Issues relating to the delegation of responsibility were discussed, as were the joint supreme command or, in discussions with Tisza, state symbols, the extension of emergency decrees to Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, and much more. Several times, Bolfras and Marterer addressed the issue of whether Stürgkh should not be removed from office. And when they were reluc- tant to introduce a topic themselves, they arranged to send the Lord Chamberlain or First Adjutant General ahead. Bolfras conducted more or less regular correspondence with Conrad von Hötzendorf, and ultimately passed on his views, while Marterer was initially in contact with Potiorek, before effortlessly changing sides and leading the calls for Potiorek’s dismissal. Shortly afterwards, Archduke Eugen claimed that he was ‘brilliant’ and at least on some occasions, he became his mouthpiece.1440 For a short time, Bolfras feared that the Emperor might use the Military Chancellery as the