Seite - 1043 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

‘Thank God, this is the Great War!’ 1043 427 Ibid., 15. 428 Ibid., 18. 429 On the issue of whether Conrad had in actual fact received agreement from von Moltke regarding an offensive beyond the Narew and to Kielce  – as he repeatedly included in his verbal and written descrip- tions after the war  – became the subject of a long and vehement controversy, which was predominantly debated by the German Imperial Archives and the Austrian War Archives. See Martin Schmitz, Verrat am Waffenbruder ? Die Siedlice-Kontroverse im Spannungsfeld von Kriegsgeschichte und Geschicht- spolitik, in : Militärgeschichtliche Zeitschrift, Vol. 67 (2008), No. 2, 385–407. 430 Moltke to Conrad 5.8.1914, cited in Schmitz, Verrat am Waffenbruder, 398. 431 Heinrich Mast, Die Aufklärungstätigkeit der österreichisch-ungarischen Kavallerie bei Kriegsbeginn 1914, in : Österreichische Militärische Zeitschrift, special issue I (1965), 12. 432 Conrad, Aus meiner Dienstzeit, Vol. IV, 877. 433 Jeřábek, Potiorek, 109. 434 The information regarding the effective strength of the Balkan forces varies significantly. Overall, the numbers given in the Austrian literature were, however, adjusted downwards very severely. The numbers given for the 5th Army are 80,000 men, and for the 6th Army 60,000 men (Peball). If one takes the war structure and figures given in Österreich-Ungarns letzter Krieg, Vol. I, 62–80, as a basis, a different picture emerges. When only the 5th and 6th Armies are counted, around 250,000 men were apparently available. When the entire 2nd Army is added, the figure totals 340,000 men. This is supplemented by the territorial forces, which remained the same. In actual fact, 275 battalions etc. remained in this theatre of war. In any case, with the 1,000 men per battalion given in the General Staff records, significantly higher totals result. The lower number levels given can as a result refer only to the pure battle numbers. On the figures (which are different again), see also Jeřábek, Potiorek, 108. 435 Peball, Der Feldzug gegen Serbien, 22. On the campaign in detail : Österreich-Ungarns letzter Krieg 1914–1918, Vol. I (Vienna, 1930) and volume of maps. 436 Jeřábek, Potiorek, 111. 437 Ibid., 114. 438 KA, Tagebuchmanuskript Böhm-Ermolli, 2. 439 Ibid., 7. 440 Mitrović, Serbia’s Great War, 67. 441 Ibid., 69. 442 On this commission : Wolfgang Doppelbauer, Zum Elend noch die Schande. Das altösterreichische Offizierskorps am Beginn der Republik (=  Militärgeschichtliche Dissertationen Österreichischer Uni- versitäten 9, Vienna, 1988). Giesl’s report in KA, Kommissionsakten B72/19. 443 KA, Tagebuch Zanantoni, 256. 444 KA, Böhm-Ermolli Tagebuchmanuskript, 16. 445 KA, Kriegspressequartier, 169. On reporting restrictions and the effectiveness of the War Press Bu- reau, see also in detail : Petronilla Ehrenpreis. Kriegs- und Friedensziele im Diskurs. Regierung und deutschsprachige Öffentlichkeit Österreich-Ungarns während des Ersten Weltkriegs (=  Wiener Schrif- ten zur Geschichte der Neuzeit, Vol. 3, Innsbruck, 2005), here esp. 68–106. 446 KA, AOK, Op. Fasz. 679, Tagebuch AOK, 23.7.–27.8.1914. 447 HHStA, PA I, Box 499, geh. XLVII, 2b, Telegr. Berchtold to Giesl No. 9, 20.8.1914. 448 Ibid., geh. XLVII, 2, Telegram from Giesl to Berchtold, 21.8.1914. 449 KA, Marterer Tagebuch, No.2, 6.8.1914. 450 KA, Manuskripte zur Geschichte des Weltkriegs, Manuskripte Regenauer : Balkan 23 und 36. 451 Ibid., 37.