Page - 858 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

858 Peace Feelers in the Shadow of Brest-Litovsk information from Brigadier Waldstätten regarding the defensive stamina and strike capability of the army even before the offensive had come to an end, the Chief of the Operations Division sent him almost effusive information : ‘a) Own strike capability in spring 1918 : as the current results prove, our army con- tinues to maintain full strike capability. In the spring of 1918, its morale will be raised further by the current successes. By then, animal power will have been replaced by engine power to a further degree than to date. b) Defensive stamina against enemy offensives will not be lower in spring 1918 than it is now. Troop levels are likely to remain similar to current ones, 10,000 additional m[achine] g[uns] will be deployed, and allocation of mortars will be incomparably greater. c) Holding out without attacking : this is also guaranteed in spring 1918, so long as all this peace nonsense in the press etc., which acts like a poison on the spirit of the army, does not undermine the armed forces. When the last bleat about peace has died down, and the people and the army are convinced of the urgent necessity to continue in the fight that has been forced upon us (a matter for a sensible press policy, education, etc.), then the brave army will hold out in positional warfare !’2035 An anonymous letter of 17 November 1917 filed in the archives of the Military Chancellery of the Emperor described the situation in a very different and far harsher light. However, the subject here was not the future attitude among the troops on the south-western front, but the tristesse of everyday life in war away from the fighting troops. ‘The general mood is low ; no, it is miserable ! And it is not only miserable among the workers, but is also evident among the middle classes, even among the mil- itary in the hinterland. All the signs of desolate resignation can be seen ; the smallest trigger, an accidental interruption in the supply of coal or potatoes, can cause the bot- tom to be knocked out of the barrel and generate a blaze that cannot be brought under control even by violence, since violence leads to counter-violence […]. The victories of the army are hardly noticed, an incomprehensible state of affairs, which can also partially be explained by the fact that absolutely nothing is done in order to improve the mood in the hinterland […]. Matters have come so far that an increase in the number of prisoners directly infuriates the population ; the people regard them simply as increasing the number of eaters ; they view the expansion of the enemy territory occupied by us as no more than a restriction on our anyway no longer adequate railway stock ; to them, progress in our offensives merely means more people to feed in the occupied territories. Now, the only thing that anyone thinks about is their belly, and about peace, since it is hoped that it will bring an improvement in the food situation. This even takes precedence over domestic policy conditions. Most of the population has no interest in parliament […]. The people see that instead of occupying itself with how to improve the supply of food, parliament is discussing constitutional declarations