Seite - 153 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

An Empire Mobilises 153 then issued that designated him Commander-in-Chief of the Balkan Armed Forces. It follows that this was not a spontaneous decision, but had rather been carefully thought through and prepared. Two archdukes, two brothers, were available, both of whom were eligible by virtue of their age and their military experience, Eugen and Friedrich. It was immediately apparent that it would not be the new successor to the throne, Archduke Karl, who would exert supreme command. His youth and inexperience were the initial and main obstacles. He enjoyed too little authority and would have been so obviously dependent on others that not even the fiction of a personally wielded supreme com- mand could have been created. Above and beyond that, there were additional dynastic considerations. If the war were not to proceed as planned, the successor to the throne would automatically be associated with the failure and the defeat. This could have placed a huge burden on him. A further circumstance was the fact that the Supreme Commander of the Imperial and Royal Army would perhaps have had to demonstrate equality with the German supreme commander. As Kaiser Wilhelm II himself wielded supreme command over the German armed forces, Archduke Karl would not have been a real counterpart. Though, for that matter, neither would any other archduke. Of the two available archdukes, Eugen and Friedrich, both grandsons of Archduke Carl, who enjoyed legendary fame as the Victor of Aspern, and adopted sons of that son of Archduke Carl who had achieved most militarily, namely Archduke Albrecht, Victor of Custoza, it was Eugen who was militarily by far the more capable. He was, however, the younger of the two. And one final consideration played a role : The Army Supreme Commander should admittedly enjoy authority but leave the management of operations to the man who was regarded as the undisputed military expert : the Chief of the General Staff for the entire armed force of Austria-Hungary, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf. It was expected of Archduke Friedrich that he would content himself with representative duties and provide the necessary signatures but otherwise let Conrad act. The adjutant general of the Archduke and freshly selected commander-in-chief, Count Herbert Herberstein, who can certainly not be accused of lacking loyalty towards His Imperial Highness, summed up the situation as follows : ‘[…] the very passive and easily intimidated character of the great lord seems to offer a secure guarantee of a good un- derstanding with the Chief of the General Staff’.363 Nevertheless, it was not clear from the outset that Archduke Eugen would be passed over, but he removed himself from the running when he explained that he would not be available due to health reasons. Archduke Friedrich was initially envisaged only as Commander of the Balkan Armed Forces. But after mobilisation was expanded and war scenario Russia arose, Friedrich was entrusted on 31 July with the supreme command of all the Imperial and Royal armed forces at sea, on land and in the air. He was not a bad choice for the reason that he possessed the necessary composure to put up with Conrad, who was impulsive, hectic and decidedly difficult to deal with, and to provide a counterweight to