Page - 992 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
Image of the Page - 992 -
Text of the Page - 992 -
992 The War becomes History
changes promised in the manifesto were to take place ‘without prejudice to the rights
of the Hungarian Crown’.2446 Many things remained unaddressed in the manifesto
and others were half-baked. The Bohemian problem could not be solved on the basis
of national self-determination ; the passages referring to Hungary qualified the state-
ments that concerned the southern Slavs ; as a result of an objection by the Austrian
Romanians, the special treatment of Bukovina had to be removed from the text during
the final editing. The expert on international law Heinrich Lammasch, who had just
negotiated his entry into the government, wanted to give the closing sentences a tone
that particularly stressed the peaceful intentions. Since the manifesto was conceived
first and foremost as an instrument of armistice and peace politics, the request was
met.2447 The manifesto thus read :
‘To my faithful Austrian peoples ! Since I ascended the throne, I have constantly
strived to achieve the peace so desired by all My peoples, and to show the peoples of
Austria the ways in which they can develop the power of their national identity to their
benefit and successfully exploit it for their spiritual and economic welfare, unimpaired
by barriers and frictions. The terrible struggles of the World War have thus far re-
stricted the work for peace. […] Now we must without hesitation begin to rebuild the
Fatherland […]. […] Austria must, in accordance with the will of its people, become
a federal state […].’ The integrity of the lands of the Hungarian Crown would not be
affected by the reorganisation, and the solution of the Polish question would not be
anticipated. Trieste was earmarked for a special status. According to the manifesto, all
forces should be united and a reconstruction of Austria and Hungary immediately be-
gun. ‘So may our Fatherland, consolidated by the harmony of the nations that surround
it, emerge from the storms of war as a federation of free peoples. The blessing of the
Almighty be on our work, so that the great work of peace that we construct may mean
happiness for all My peoples.’2448
The Dissolution Begins
Whilst the Manifesto to the Peoples was undergoing the final editing process, a meet-
ing of all army chiefs of staff took place in Baden.2449 There was a rare consensus : the
armistice would come before the winter. Two prerequisites would have to be created,
however : withdrawal from the occupied territories as far as the pre-war borders and
measures for an immediate demobilisation of the soldiers. Subsequently, the chiefs
of staff debated about where the Monarchy would have its borders after the right to
self-determination had come into force. Evidently, no-one had any doubt that the state
they spoke of would still exist. Whilst the chiefs of staff consulted in Baden, Army
Group Boroević began transporting the ammunition to the rear. The fears that this
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
- Title
- THE FIRST WORLD WAR
- Subtitle
- and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
- Author
- Manfried Rauchensteiner
- Publisher
- Böhlau Verlag
- Location
- Wien
- Date
- 2014
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-205-79588-9
- Size
- 17.0 x 24.0 cm
- Pages
- 1192
- Categories
- Geschichte Vor 1918
Table of contents
- 1 On the Eve 11
- 2 Two Million Men for the War 49
- 3 Bloody Sundays 81
- 4 Unleashing the War 117
- 5 ‘Thank God, this is the Great War!’ 157
- 6 Adjusting to a Longer War 197
- 7 The End of the Euphoria 239
- 8 The First Winter of the War 283
- 9 Under Surveillance 317
- 10 ‘The King of Italy has declared war on Me’ 355
- 11 The Third Front 383
- 12 Factory War and Domestic Front, 1915 413
- 13 Summer Battle and ‘Autumn Swine’ 441
- 14 War Aims and Central Europe 469
- 15 South Tyrol : The End of an Illusion (I) 497
- 16 Lutsk :The End of an Illusion (II) 521
- 17 How is a War Financed ? 555
- 18 The Nameless 583
- 19 The Death of the Old Emperor 607
- 20 Emperor Karl 641
- 21 The Writing on the Wall 657
- 22 The Consequences of the Russian February Revolution 691
- 23 Summer 1917 713
- 24 Kerensky Offensive and Peace Efforts 743
- 25 The Pyrrhic Victory : The Breakthrough Battle of Flitsch-Tolmein 769
- 26 Camps 803
- 27 Peace Feelers in the Shadow of Brest-Litovsk 845
- 28 The Inner Front 869
- 29 The June Battle in Veneto 895
- 30 An Empire Resigns 927
- 31 The Twilight Empire 955
- 32 The War becomes History 983
- Epilogue 1011
- Afterword 1013
- Acknowledgements and Dedication 1019
- Notes 1023
- Selected Printed Sources and Literature 1115
- Index of People and Places 1155