Seite - 594 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

594 The Nameless victims and losses  – had led him to change his mind. For one thing, it was precisely the setbacks that strengthened the view that the sacrifices made in the war could only be justified by corresponding results. Then Burián wanted to demonstrate confidence in victory, but above all to persuade the German Empire to adopt the cited aims as its own. Germany’s identification with the existence and the integrity of the Habsburg Mon- archy appeared to be important for foreign policy, military strategy and, above all, do- mestic policy reasons. In this respect, the Joint Supreme War Command had far more than just a purely military significance, and perhaps it is precisely the way in which the Foreign Minister wanted to help himself to the new possibilities that explains why he had been among the most committed advocates of a stronger German influence. He evidently did not share Tisza’s misgivings or those of the Hungarian opposition with regard to German preponderance. The view expressed by the authors of the ‘Position Paper from German-Austria’ had more validity for Burián : ‘Power in itself will play a much greater role in interactions between peoples than before. Therein lies an unde- niable incentive for the two empires in the middle of Europe, to establish and expand their military and economic union.’1370 With his ambitious demands and the attempt to give an impression of strength, however, Burián was unable to fool anyone. Almost at the same time as he was philosophising on war aims, a detailed report by the German ambassador in Vienna, Heinrich von Tschirschky, addressed the controversial points in all bluntness. And even if we account for a certain amount of pride, plenty remains that is worth considering.1371 Tschirschky started with the observation : ‘The longer the war lasts, the more the question imposes itself as to how long the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy will still be in a position to endure the struggle, and both in a military and in an economic respect. […] The reservoir of soldiers is nearing its exhaustion, and we must expect to see Aus- tria-Hungary at the end of its military strength next spring, if at least in the area of gun and ammunition production decisive progress should not be made by then under our leadership.’ He then addressed the economic situation and the closely related domestic policy conditions, and continued : ‘All radical organisation is lacking, and where the first beginnings have been made according to our model, these are bound to founder on the customary “sloppiness” and protectionist economy. Nowhere is there a systematic approach, ordinances are issued without subject knowledge and without consulting experts and generally only for one or the other of the crown lands, which results in an absolutely unjust distribution of foodstuffs. The people in the suburbs of Vienna are starving and exceedingly exasperated by having to “queue up” for hours in front of the food [stores], often in vain […]. To this are added the very unfavourable harvests this year in Austria and in Hungary, as well as the hapless economic relations between the two countries, which, above all in relation to Hungary, prevent a loyal mutual support of the other half of the Empire with foodstuffs. The Hungarian government, with Count