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388 The Third Front
17 May : ‘The events in Italy force us now to finally plan for war against this perfidious
state. […] I would also like to emphasise that with regard to the proclamation to be is-
sued if war were to be declared against Italy, it would be of great importance that in this
proclamation, words are chosen that expose the perfidy of Italy in scathing terms, and
that portray Italy’s actions not as war, but as cowardly, mean, treacherous buccaneering.’
21 May : ‘The Italian perfidy is now bearing the fruits that I had already foreseen
years ago, and that I wanted to nip in the bud. […] I find that we have been diplo-
matically duped [not for ‘three weeks’ as Bolfras had written, but] for 30 years already,
although with the thorough diplomatic involvement on the part of Germany. Every
member of the Gendarmerie had a clearer insight into the matter than our diplomats
[…].’
2 June : ‘Here, we are putting all our hopes into the most drastic possible success
against Russia ; – luckily, the Signori Italiani – at least until now – have not yet begun
the offensive that one should sensibly expect from them. How easy it would have been
in 1907 or even later to have given them a battering
– it makes one want to cry to think
of the shining opportunity we have missed.’917
It quite clearly failed to occur to Conrad that his repeated plea for a pre-emptive war
against Italy could be judged no differently than Italy’s policy now, which in a cold-
blooded, Machiavellian fashion was designed to achieve its own goals.
The Pre-emption
Already in January 1915, the first rumours of the Italian demands had been circu-
lated beyond the diplomatic and military channels. The reaction, particularly in Tyrol,
was accordingly vehement. However, as yet, nothing had really been divulged. Only in
March was it announced that Italy had demanded the cession of Trentino and a part
of South Tyrol, including Bolzano (Bozen).918 This news, which had not yet been fully
corroborated, went hand in hand with the fact that the War Ministry ordered the Dis-
trict Commissions for Tyrol, Carinthia and the Austrian Littoral to take preparatory
measures and to evacuate all civilians who were not absolutely needed. The military
posts also voiced the notion of deporting, detaining or arresting all Italian nationals –
regardless of whether or not they were under suspicion
– if the alarm were to be raised.
More than ever, all suspects were to be treated in this way. Ultimately, the prospect
of imposing martial law on the greater part of the Monarchy was raised, and only at
the last moment, on 27 April 1915, after an intervention by Minister Burián to the
Emperor, was it delayed.919 As was the case during the July Crisis, the trigger had been
enormous and, ultimately, unfounded doubts in the attitude among the population.
In the end, the War Surveillance Office made significant curtailments with regard to
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