Page - 791 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

Operation ‘Loyalty to Arms’ 791 the Adriatic coast. This forced the Italian 3rd Army to beat a hasty retreat. At the Tag- liamento River, the armies of the Central Powers briefly came to a halt. While the allied Central Powers were still approaching the Tagliamento, Ludendorff informed the Imperial and Royal Army High Command that they should make pro- visions for an imminent withdrawal by the Germans. However, Ludendorff was then clearly enthused by the reports of success in Friuli and agreed to continue operations through to the Piave River, and to leave the 14th Army in Italy. Over the coming days, it was envisaged that the Brenta and Adige Rivers could be reached, and Ludendorff considered whether a German army corps headquarters should not also be sent to Army Group Conrad, which was not making the progress that had been hoped for during its advance southwards from the Sette Comuni. Ludendorff wanted to drive the Italians far enough in order to enable Imperial and Royal troops to be released for a major offensive in the West.1842 In this way, the demand for gratitude for the aid of the German troops against Italy could also be made. Following the tank battle at Cambrai, no doubt remained that more forces were needed in northern France and Flanders. However, the first task was to make the most of the triumph in Italy. For six weeks on end, the Austrian newspapers in particular outdid themselves with reports on the success of the allied troops. As Karl Kraus described it in Die letzten Tage der Menschheit (‘The Last Days of Mankind’ ; Act 4, Scene 1), in a not entirely exaggerated way : ‘Extra edition  – ! Devaastating Difeet of the Italianos […]. Daily nooz ! Our Troops Advaance with no Rezistans […]. The Suxess of the Offeensif !’ However, even those who had already cultivated a type of professional reticence, such as the Reichsrat (Imperial Assembly) representative Josef Redlich, could hardly find sufficient opportunity to express their almost unbelievable joy : ‘Here, we are hoping for a “Sedan-isation” of part of the Italian troops. Until now, 75,000 prisoners and 800 cannon have been seized. The Emperor spends his time in Ljubljana and has the supreme command over our and the German troops. What can England and America do with the broken-winged Italians ? For us, however, it is wonderful that after 3½ years of war, naturally with German support  – it would not be possible otherwise  – we are in a position to decisively beat Italy on the only front on which it is fighting, and in four days to reap the rewards from eleven Battles of the Isonzo.’1843 And as fate would have it, in November 1917, the seventh war bond was issued. In light of the Austrian victory, the amount subscribed was an extraordinary success. Ultimately, even bishops such as the prince-archbishop of Bressanone (Brixen), Franziskus Egger, called for subscriptions to be made, and even blatantly linked the war and victory with the bond, as Egger wrote in a pastoral letter in November 1917 : ‘Our glorious armies have in recent days opened a shining offensive against our hereditary enemy, and have not only torn away from him fully the fruits of his 11 Isonzo battles within just a few days, but have beaten him back deep into his own territory. Heaven is clearly on our side […].