Page - 969 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

Austro-Hungarian Troops on the Western Front 969 that can possibly be spared elsewhere […]. From the perspective of the Supreme War Command, I therefore express my opinion that the Austro-Hungarian Army should halt its attacks in Italy and, as a result, bring all forces that are made available to the western theatre of war’, telegraphed Field Marshal Hindenburg to General Arz.2354 What for a long time had been regarded as impossible and undesirable now appeared to be a matter of course, not least under the terms of the Alliance of Arms. However, once consent was finally given to relocating troops, it was not only conformity to German wishes that emerged. To an even greater degree, the consideration was brought to bear that in this way, initiative and activity could be shown. This was important for psycho- logical reasons, since in such a manner, the defeat could be brushed aside. The soldiers had less time for reflection. And finally, the German Empire was only prepared to grant a new emergency delivery of flour to Austria once a decision had been taken to redeploy Imperial and Royal troops to the west. Shortly afterwards, the first two divisions were marched out ; two further divisions followed in September.2355 A corps command was also relocated, which was then intended to lead the Imperial and Royal troops as the XVIII Corps (under Major General Goiginger). However, at the same time, Italy also began to send troops to France. There, as everyone knew, everything was at stake. For the members of the Imperial and Royal 1st and 35th Infantry Divisions, the arrival of the first troops in the St. Mihiel area remained engraved forever on their memory. They had already collaborated with German troops many times before, and were confident of the discipline, bravery and efficient leadership of the Germans. Now, however, they were received with the reputation of being ‘war extenders’.2356 Those German intervention troops were incidentally also welcomed in a similar way who, following the tank breakthrough by the Allies between the Avre and Ancre Rivers on 8 August, had been thrown into the breach and had abusive comments shouted at them such as ‘war extenders’ and ‘strike-breakers.2357 The Imperial and Royal troops were first trained in the combat procedures that were applied in the west. They received supplementary weapons and equipment. Each divi- sion was given around 200 British machine guns that had been requisitioned. However, the physical weaknesses, the desperate failure to adjust and the impressions of the new front could not be compensated for and blurred.2358 Thus, the Austro-Hungarian divi- sions not only experienced a new theatre of war to which they were unaccustomed, but on top of that, saw that morale among the Germans was at an end, and that the soldiers were haggard and exhausted from the fighting. In some ways, the situation in the west was even worse than that in Italy, since the material superiority of the Allies was even more clearly in evidence and, in particular, the American divisions, which were skilled at fighting and fully manned, made their own inferiority blatantly obvious. On 12 September 1918, the Imperial and Royal 35th Infantry Division already suf- fered heavy losses in the battle of St. Mihiel against French and American forces. Of