Seite - 180 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

180 ‘Thank God, this is the Great War!’ The Mounted Engagement at Jarosławice According to the longer-term plans, the Austro-Hungarian armies were to provide backing for the German Empire until the Imperial Army was able to arrive in the east in force following their planned victory in the west. However, the main problem was the numerical inferiority of the Danube Monarchy. To compensate for this, attacks should be made, and the law of action be used by the Imperial and Royal armies right from the beginning. However, no-one could claim that this strategy had been born from the emergency of the hour, and that the Austro-Hungarian troops would perhaps have waited with their attack had they been of anything like the same number as the Russians. Then, they certainly would have pursued an offensive approach. The three Imperial and Royal armies that were deployed on the Weichsel and San Rivers, east of Lviv, on the Dniester River and at Chernivtsi were to be ready for operation between 23 and 26 August. Even so, there were of course only three armies available, along with two army groups (Army Group Kummer from the 1st, 4th and 3rd Armies, and Army Group Kövess). Only when the Imperial and Royal 2nd Army, which was initially de- ployed in Slavonia, could be inserted on the southern wing of the eastern front would all the designated forces be gathered. Overall, the Army High Command in the east had more than double the number of battalions of the Balkan High Command, with the majority of the cavalry and around 2,000 pieces of artillery, and approximately 1.2 million men overall. However, in the face of the anticipated Russian forces, with an estimated 1.8 million men, no-one could fail to recognise the disadvantage. Even so, Conrad reasoned that once the Germans had first brought down France, the situation on the eastern front would instantly change. From the first hour onwards, however, it became evident that in all the years, it had not been possible for the general staffs to reach an even halfway clear understanding in their agreements of how operations should be initiated. As late as July 1914, Conrad had still envisaged that the Imperial and Royal armies would begin their advance to Russian Poland between the Weichsel and Bug Rivers in the general direction of Lub- lin and Chełm, while the Germans would push forward from East Prussia towards the south, so that in a large encirclement battle, planned to take place in the Kielce area, the large Russian army units in Poland could be destroyed.429 The plan looked good on paper. However, Moltke informed his Austrian counterpart on 3 August that the German troops under General Maximilian von Prittwitz and Gaffron would remain in defensive positions in East Prussia. Conrad appeared unaffected by the news, although one could in fact have been forgiven for assuming that such matters should have been agreed upon earlier. The Imperial and Royal troops were nonetheless to push forward in the direction of Lublin and Chelm. Quite clearly, the Chief of the Imperial and Royal General Staff was inclined to put his faith in hope. Two days later, Moltke sought to