Page - 881 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

The ‘Bread Peace’ 881 Powers in order that they did not lose again what they had acquired, yet they stub- bornly refused to sell supplies to the protecting powers.2102 The Imperial and Royal 2nd Army was unable, therefore, to obtain large quantities to send to the Danube Monarchy. On 25 March, the Army High Command telegraphed the Commander of the 2nd Army, as Emperor Karl ultimately also did himself, on 1 April : ‘The seizure [of food] in Ukraine is insufficient. The continuation of the war will be called into question if the results of the requisitioning do not soon improve. The most important task of the troops sent to Ukraine is the capture and dispatch of foodstuffs. It is not only a ques- tion of supplying the army but also, first and foremost, of alleviating the food famine on the home front.’2103 After that, no attention was paid any more to the export bans issued by the Ukrainian government, but instead the occupation zone was divided into two seizure territories in each of which an army corps was responsible. Thereafter, the grain transportation offices were to commence with the evacuation. Inspectors and buyers from the cartels fanned out in order to seize, buy and shunt off as much as possible in Podolia and Kherson. In return, agricultural machinery and equipment, but also textiles, leather goods and paper, were to be brought to Ukraine. However, there was a shortage of the latter items in the Danube Monarchy itself, so that a degree of equilibrium in this exchange only gradually emerged. For a short time, Vienna was satisfied with the deliveries from Ukraine. On 5 May, the Army High Command even commended Böhm-Ermolli for the ‘satisfying seizure and the evacuation of foodstuffs from Ukraine’.2104 Shortly thereafter, however, it became critical again. Austria-Hun- gary and the German Empire wanted to divide up the Ukrainian grain deliveries at a ratio of 1 :1 and the deliveries of other foodstuffs at a ratio of 4 :6 in favour of Germany. However, the evacuations resulted in no more than a tenth of the expected and agreed amounts. The matter became a squaring of the circle, since not one single German or Austro-Hungarian department took the management of the flow of goods in hand, but instead the most manifold jurisdictions resulted. The Foreign Ministry regarded itself as responsible, since fundamental questions of post-war relations had been negotiated in Brest-Litovsk. As a result of Austria-Hungary’s two-way division, both the Austrian and the Hungarian Finance Minister came forward, as did the respective trade min- isters of Austria and Hungary. The Joint Food Committee appointed by the Emperor also responded. After that came the representatives of the various ‘Central Offices’, above all those for bread grain, wool, pharmaceuticals, coal, rubber and skins. If all the departments were added together that claimed jurisdiction over Ukraine, the total number came to over 200 departments that wanted to concern themselves with trade relations and the exploitation of the occupied territories. This was, furthermore, in a country in which at least temporary chaos reigned. The situation became even more confusing when a Habsburg archduke interfered in the matter. The 23-year-old Archduke Wilhelm had arrived in Kiev and demon-