Seite - 636 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

636 The Death of the Old Emperor XX Army Corps as part of the South Tyrol offensive in 1916 that Karl did not visit for several months. Then, on 2 July 1916, he reported the events of the previous weeks to the Emperor. During the following months, the heir to the throne had enough on his hands with his field army and finally army group command, so that by 25 September 1916, he only paid one more visit to his Emperor. Suggestions to bring Archduke Karl to Vienna in order to relieve the Emperor and enable the Archduke to slowly familiarise himself with the tasks of a ruler had been categorically rejected by the Monarch until September 1916. ‘The old gentleman, who overall felt well until the beginning of November, did not wish to admit the necessity of receiving assistance’, as Foreign Minister Count Burián wrote in his memoirs.1455 It was only on 18 November 1916 that Franz Joseph agreed to the constant presence of his great nephew. Three days later, he died. The heir to the throne had therefore only experienced the final physical decline of his great uncle from a distance. Since his wife, Zita, lived at Schönbrunn Palace, however, he was certainly informed as to the Monarch’s state of health, as Zita was conversely informed with regard to conditions at the front and the state of affairs at the Army High Command. When the Adjutant General of the Emperor, the now 80-year-old Count Paar, went to Zita at the request of the Emperor in order to inform her regarding military developments, she replied that this was not necessary ; ‘she travels daily to the Archduchess Isabella, from whom she learns everything’.1456 The Will Naturally, Franz Joseph was also occupied with thoughts of his final hour. He wanted to be prepared  – and he was equipped. The attendance of Sunday Mass, the daily prayers, confessions and communion were an integral part of his daily and weekly routine. In principle, these arrangements remained unchanged by the war. Neither more nor fewer masses were held. The deeply religious Catholic Monarch did not miss a single Sunday Mass and arranged for additional masses to be held in the Chapel of Schönbrunn Palace on special occasions. On 9 August 1914, the Prince-Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Piffl, celebrated a silent mass ‘for our arms’, as the aide-de-camp then noted. On the anniversary of Empress Elisabeth’s death, a mass was read, al- though the procedure was not followed to mark the day of death or any other anni- versary of Crown Prince Rudolf. These were silent affairs, since the times when High Mass was held were long gone. If one looks back on what was of importance in the Emperor’s mind during his final war years other than the daily business and numerous appointments with the army leadership and individual officers, then one single issue comes to the fore, and