Page - 994 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

994 The War becomes History tria-Hungary, and the Czecho-Slovakian national council is a de facto belligerent gov- ernment, equipped with the highest authority to decide on the military and political affairs of Czecho-Slovakia. The American government has also acknowledged to the full extent the right to freedom of the national aspirations of the southern Slavs. The President is, therefore, no longer in a position to accept the mere autonomy of these peoples as the basis for peace.’2452 In this way, the USA once more demonstrated its solidarity with the stance of the Entente powers and only wanted to end the war with Austria-Hungary when this state no longer existed. Not everything that subsequently happened, however, was intended by the Allies. But who was able to foresee the end of a process of disintegration and re- structuring ? Perhaps the Allies still assumed that Austria and Hungary would establish a real union. But this notion also became obsolete during these days. The former and now recalled Hungarian Prime Minister Wekerle attempted for a short time to obtain support for the retention of dualism with very far-reaching Hungarian rights. He even argued the case for a mere personal union. The leader of the opposition, Count Károlyi, however, called into question the credibility of the Prime Minister and also the ability of the government to conclude peace.2453 He trusted himself at least to obtain consider- ably better conditions from the Allies. The radicals therefore wanted to go even further. With this, it had not only become evident that Hungary had revoked the real union but also that there was hardly any chance of a personal union. Such an arrangement had been under consideration for a long time, though in a very different form. On the basis of a Polish state, an Illyrian and an Austrian state, which were to be created each for itself as Habsburg kingdoms, four kings would have stood above an emperor, who was to bear this title without a constitutional status.2454 A lovely, Habsburg dream ! Emperor Karl wanted to reassure the Hungarians and in the process take the first step towards creating these Habsburg empires. He decreed that his cousin, Archduke Joseph, who was very popular in Hungary, was to assume command of the Balkan front, namely Army Group Kövess. In his stead, Field Marshal Baron Kövess became commander of the army group in Tyrol. Karl himself travelled to Hungary. The nom- inal occasion was the opening of the university in Debrecen.2455 Primarily, however, it concerned the attempt to salvage Hungary for the Habsburg Monarchy. Shortly before, it had been possible to assume that Austria and Hungary would at least pursue a joint foreign policy in post-war Europe. Now, however, it was actually only heard that both lands were to have a common monarch.2456 The fact that Poles, Czechs, southern Slavs and Italians could no longer be retained was already accepted as self-evident. And what was the situation with the Germans of the Dual Monarchy ? The German deputies of Austria gathered on 21 October in the parliament of Lower Austria in Vienna and constituted themselves as the people’s representation of the country German-Austria.