Seite - 179 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
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Archduke ‘Fritzl’ Goes to the Front 179
Archduke Friedrich was presented with a codicil to his will, which was signed by
himself and by witnesses.426 Only then did they travel on to Chyrów, where the royal
military quarters were housed in the Jesuit convent. All kinds of people came with
them ; clearly no-one wanted, or was permitted, to be absent when there was war. For
example, the Lord Chamberlain of Archduchess Maria Theresia was also present in
Przemyśl, and despite suffering from advanced brain disease had joined the Army
High Command as a delegate of the Teutonic Knights. Archduke Leopold Salvator
came with his chamberlain, Prince August Lobkowitz, together with assigned officers,
servants and secretaries, as well as Prince Zdenko Lobkowitz, chamberlain to the heir
to the throne, Archduke Karl Franz Josef, and many others. On 23 August, after a mass
held in the Chyrów Jesuit convent, martial law was announced ‘with great ceremony’ in
three languages : German, Polish and Ruthenian. The following day, a mass was held
for Pope Pius X, who had died on 20 August, and on 25 August, a mass was finally
held for the Jesuit general who had died in Rome. ‘It starts to become boring, this
useless existence’, complained Count Herberstein, the Lord Chamberlain of the Army
Supreme Commander.427 Even so, quite a lot was happening. Military trains passed
through ceaselessly. It was noted with surprise that so many Landsturm formations
consisted of older men who were to be used on the front. The fact that Landwehr
infantry regiments were carrying old Werndl and Mauser rifles also indicated that
the war was not only to be waged with modern weapons. There were also other sights
that were uncommon in Vienna and the surrounding areas, such as a large number of
Polish Jews. They had been obliged to cut off their sidelocks, but were still recognisable
by their beards. Endlessly long processions of many hundreds of country wagons with
forage, field hospitals, sanitary facilities and ammunitions convoys drove past in the
heat and dust, and then in the rain. Sometimes, a song could be heard. Tyrolean terri-
torial infantry troops appeared somewhat out of place with their mountain equipment.
More fitting were the Hungarian Landsturm infantry brigades : ‘Older people with
large beards, smoking Hungarian pipes, usually in the old Honvéd uniform.’428 All in
all, a confusing picture.
In Przemyśl, the Army High Command of course knew how everything fitted to-
gether. However, even there, the war had clearly not yet lost much of its character as
a huge theatrical spectacle. It was also regarded as a special training ground for the
nation. This was in all likelihood the reason why the heir to the throne, Archduke Karl
Franz Josef, who since 25 July 1914 was a colonel in Hussar Regiment No. 1 and who
came to Przemyśl ‘at the disposal of the Supreme Commander’. He was then to be seen
promenading with aides-de-camp, stablemen, detectives and gentlemen of the Imperial
Guard mounted squadron, and waiting for news from the Operations Chancellery.
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
- Titel
- THE FIRST WORLD WAR
- Untertitel
- and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
- Autor
- Manfried Rauchensteiner
- Verlag
- Böhlau Verlag
- Ort
- Wien
- Datum
- 2014
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-205-79588-9
- Abmessungen
- 17.0 x 24.0 cm
- Seiten
- 1192
- Kategorien
- Geschichte Vor 1918
Inhaltsverzeichnis
- 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