Seite - 775 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

The Fortress Syndrome 775 On 2 October 1917, Count Czernin gave a long since prepared speech in Budapest. If the Entente were to force it to do so, he said, the Monarchy would continue the war, revise the ‘pacifically modified programme’ and demand war reparations for its part. The vast majority of states in the world wished for peace, while only a few were hin- dering it. ‘With cold blood and calm nerves, we shall pursue our path in this case. We know that we can hold out ; we can hold out in the field and in the hinterland.’ Czernin made reference to another notion : Pope Benedict XV had issued a message of peace on 1 August 1917, in which he had made calls for a peace that would lead to a new order in Europe, to an effective international court of arbitration and to overall disarmament, to which Czernin also agreed. This was met with great disapproval from those in au- thority in Berlin, in particular the German Kaiser, in whose view the statements made by Czernin were ‘incredible’.1810 In the eyes of Kaiser Wilhelm, Czernin had gone too far even with these cautious words, which indicated a continued openness towards peace, while at the same time intending to demonstrate a determination to continue the war. This word ‘incredible’ at the same time anticipated the German response to the Pope, which was in essence that for their part, the Germans would make no substantial promises, but would however do everything they could to exploit the effect of the Papal message to fuel pacifism among the Entente powers and to use the peace movement as a propaganda weapon.1811 Germany and Austria each acted for themselves. Both had been told the price of peace and, for both, this price was too high. Conversely, for the Allies, the peace with victory that they had been expected to accept was out of the question. And so, the war had to go on. Czernin continued to use his chosen means. He did not want to break off the con- tacts with the enemy powers entirely and, at the same time, hoped to influence the German domestic policy scene. The new German Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Richard von Kühlmann, who was now the third in office during the course of the war, following Gottlieb von Jagow and Arthur Zimmermann, showed as little in- clination to make concessions as Imperial Chancellor Michaelis, who was the successor to Bethmann Hollweg, or at least to compromise on the issue of the reinstatement of the full sovereignty of Belgium. For this reason, Czernin both openly and discreetly did everything possible to influence the German position. In October, one subject of discussion among representative circles in Germany were the records made by the Ger- man representative Haussmann of conversations with a mysterious ‘Count X’. In the records, it was claimed that Great Britain would only conclude a peace if Belgium were to become fully neutral. The Austrians had apparently become irritated by the lack of clarity in the statements being made by the Germans. ‘Tell everyone that this is a highly critical hour, that the majority of the Reichstag holds peace and the future of Germany in its hands, and that what is needed now is all hands on deck.’1812 There is almost no doubt that ‘Count X’ was none other than Czernin. Wilhelm II then had Emperor