Seite - 253 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

The Fortress on the San 253 of the war. The German proposal was that the command should be given to predom- inantly German generals, with Archduke Friedrich possibly continuing to nominally hold the supreme command, while Conrad would have been permitted to command the German 9th Army. By contrast, the Chief of the General Imperial and Royal Staff could only envisage the creation of a joint command for the eastern front if the German troops were subordinate to the Austro-Hungarian Army Command. A serious conflict loomed in relation to the matter. It began on 18 October 1914 with a telegram from the German Kaiser to Emperor Franz Joseph with a request for the Imperial and Royal 1st Army to be placed under the command of Hindenburg.606 The Army High Command, which had been requested to send its response on the same day, replied immediately that a subordination of the 1st Army was out of the question. However, on 29 October, Conrad already demanded that the Military Chancellery of the Emperor approach Kaiser Wilhelm to request that further German troops be sent. The Kaiser replied promptly that aside from cavalry forces, no further German troops were any longer available. However, he repeated his recommendation that the Imperial and Royal 1st Army be put under the command of Hindenburg. Once again, the Army High Command rejected the proposal. Now, the Germans wanted to discuss the matter once and for all in detail. Conrad was invited to Berlin. He let it be known that he was otherwise engaged, but would send his adjutant, Colonel Kundmann. However, Conrad’s adjutant was only able to pass on informa- tion and to listen to suggestions ; he was not empowered to make a decision. Thus, no progress was made. Even so, among those close to Emperor Franz Joseph, there was clearly a willingness to meet the German requests. On 4 November, General Bolfras sent a telegram suggesting the creation of a joint high command for the German and Austro-Hungarian troops in Galicia and Poland.607 In so doing, Bolfras reacted directly to talks held by the Austro-Hungarian ambassador in Berlin and the son-in-law of Archduke Friedrich, Prince Gottfried Hohenlohe, with the German Foreign Minister, von Jagow. Jagow for his part had referred to the recommendations made by the Chief of the General Staff of the Eastern High Command, General Ludendorff, and his own deputy secretary, Arthur Zimmermann.608 Here, Zimmermann had a ‘big solution’ in mind. Following the failure of the Schlief- fen Plan, his strategic assessment concluded that the Central Powers would only be in a position to unhinge the European world from Turkey and the Balkans.609 During the July Crisis, he had also been a clear proponent of the war against Serbia, and now be- lieved that the opportunity had come for the German Empire to also establish a pres- ence in the Balkans. The creation of a joint high command would create the necessary framework to make this possible. The project, which had now been modified, envisaged Archduke Friedrich, with General Ludendorff as Chief of the General Staff, as having the supreme command in the east, while Conrad would lead the four Austrian armies,