Page - 631 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

The Military Chancellery of His Majesty 631 increase in its intensity.1447 On his return from the German headquarters, the heir to the throne let it be known post haste that he had been told to his face that the Austri- ans were incapable of marching. While German soldiers marched 50 km every day, for the Imperial and Royal soldiers, this was 25 km too much. Naturally, Franz Joseph was angered by statements of this nature, since if there was one thing he did not want to hear, then it was the accusation that the Imperial and Royal soldiers were worse than the Germans. In this context, he was also able to abandon overnight his basic principle that men in command positions should if possible not be dismissed. When he learned that the Imperial and Royal X Army Corps had retreated contrary to the order given by the German General von Marwitz, to whom it was subordinated, he ordered the immediate dismissal of the corps commander, General Hugo von Meixner, and also decreed that he be retired immediately.1448 This reflected not only dissatisfaction with the command of an Austrian general, however, but furthermore anger regarding the German position when it came to Italy. On 20 April 1915, Conrad was summoned to Vienna on a journey that was to be kept as confidential as possible, in order to request that he obtain from Falkenhayn specific information regarding the German position. This was an almost unique procedure : the Foreign Minister Burián, together with Bolfras and Conrad, jointly spent over two hours with the Emperor. Conrad was also requested to attend a further audience. Here, the subject was almost solely Italy. However, it was noticeable that the heir to the throne, who was also in Vienna at this time, was not included in the discussions, but instead was given separate appointments. Clearly, however, the Emperor also disliked the idea of sending his great nephew to Rome in order to a certain degree to beg for peace. Italy, as Franz Joseph later stressed, even mentioning it to the American Military Attaché at his farewell audience in 1916, was the ‘hereditary enemy’. Here, the events of 1848/49, 1859 and 1866 came full cir- cle. The decision, which was described as final, was that if an attack were to occur, the Italians should be met with resistance. During the weeks prior to the declaration of war by Italy, the Emperor was at the limit of his physical and mental capacity. At the end of January, he had already suf- fered a fainting fit. Time and again, it was noted in the Military Chancellery that the Emperor was subdued. He resisted the increasingly urgent demands for cessions with all his strength. Burián, Conrad, Marterer, Tisza, and finally also Stürgkh demanded that territories be given up. Only Montenuovo remained in disagreement, and believed steadfastly and unrealistically in a peaceful solution. When the German ambassador telegraphed from Rome on 4 May that Italy had set an ultimatum for the fulfilment of its demands, Franz Joseph now simply expressed the view that ‘In this way shall we go under.’ In the ante-chamber, it could be heard that the Emperor ‘was crying’.1449 How- ever, it was clear that Franz Joseph preferred the option of war to that of making further concessions. Whether this could be interpreted as obstinacy or adhering to principles,