Page - 648 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

648 Emperor Karl page as well, although the letters were ½ cm big. Then came the third and fourth pages, which were overcome without further ado. The transition to the 2 page was very diffi- cult and time-consuming, however, due to the gloves that the Archduke had forgotten to remove and that disturbed him. And so it continued until it was over.’ The removal of Archduke Friedrich was self-evident and necessary. After the changes that had already been made, the Army High Command had be- come worried and curious as to who would be entrusted with which function. Captain Glaise von Horstenau noted : ‘We in Cieszyn were naturally very nervous. The new master hated the AOK [Army High Command], and we knew it.’1474 Karl assured Conrad and his deputy, the Chief of the Operations Division Major General Metzger, of his trust. In most cases, the Monarch then stuck to this : he initially let the people remain in office and exchanged them only somewhat later. Karl also sought to take the edge off the intended changes by showering people with nominations, honours and military decorations. As early as 23 November, he had appointed Archduke Eugen field marshal and, two days later, the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa was conferred on Archduke Friedrich. On the same day, Conrad was promoted to field marshal. It was intended that he also receive the Knight’s Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, but Conrad requested the Monarch to refrain from conferring it on him. Karl had a completely different decoration up his sleeve : all officers who had served for at least six weeks at the front were to receive the Karl Troop Cross. The endowment of this award contained a sting, however, since it was least of all the General Staff officers, and espe- cially those who served in the Army High Command, who would enjoy the bestowal of the Karl Troop Cross, since they could not attest to the required period of service at the front. Karl was subsequently persuaded to make a few alterations to the desig- nated provisions, but they remained for the most part as they were  – and the General Staff had understood the underlying message. In the same way as he did not stint with decorations and titles in the military sector, in order to bind people to him, the young Monarch also acted in the civilian sector and, in so doing, earned the nickname ‘optic ennobler’ (Sehadler, a play on the German word Seeadler, meaning ‘sea eagle’), because  – the joke went  – he only had to see someone to ennoble them. In Cieszyn, however, it was not just a question of titles, decorations and intrigues, but also substantial matters of a different kind. Karl first of all surprised everyone with his desire to relocate the Army High Command. He wanted to get the Army High Command out of Cieszyn and have it transferred as close as possible to Vienna. In do- ing this, however, he was not only demanding a change that resulted in a substitution of people and places, but it was far more a deep incision in the military leadership. Conrad presented every counterargument that occurred to him, but it was no good : with the takeover of the Army High Command, Karl made clear his claim on the personal lead-