Eastern Legion ( Polish : Legion Wschodni ) was a Polish military formation, part of the Austro-Hungarian Army , created in Lwów , Austrian Galicia , in early August 1914. Its establishment was supported by Supreme National Committee , a quasi-government for the Poles in Galicia.
115-508: The Legion was established upon order of the Headquarters of Imperial and Royal Army , on 27 August 1914. According to the order, it consisted of two infantry regiments (each divided into two battalions with 1,000 volunteers), and two or three cavalry squadrons (150 men in each). Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen named Major Adam Pietraszkiewicz commandant of the Legion, while his chief of staff
230-772: A defensive alliance with Germany in October 1879 and in May 1882. In October 1882 Italy joined this partnership in the Triple Alliance largely because of Italy's imperial rivalries with France. Tensions between Russia and Austria–Hungary remained high, so Bismarck replaced the League of the Three Emperors with the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia to keep the Habsburgs from recklessly starting
345-519: A common holding of Cisleithania and Transleithania under the control of the Imperial & Royal finance ministry rather than attaching it to either territorial government. The annexation in 1908 led some in Vienna to contemplate combining Bosnia and Herzegovina with Croatia to form a third Slavic component of the monarchy. The deaths of Franz Joseph's brother, Maximilian (1867), and his only son, Rudolf , made
460-569: A few German built planes having been added to the Army balloon service in 1913, but was to see marked expansion during the early years of the war. The Austro-Hungarian military was a direct descendant of the military forces of the Habsburg sections Holy Roman Empire from the 13th century and the successor state that was the Austrian Empire from 1804. For 200 years, Habsburg or Austrian forces had formed
575-416: A high casualty rate, and by the army's composition of multiple ethnicities with different languages and customs. By 1918, the economic situation had deteriorated and governmental failure on the homefront ended popular support for the war. The Austro-Hungarian monarchy collapsed with dramatic speed in the autumn of 1918. Leftist and pacifist political movements organized strikes in factories, and uprisings in
690-586: A large South Slav state in the 1917 Corfu Declaration signed by members of the Yugoslav Committee . The Croatians had begun disregarding orders from Budapest earlier in October. Lansing's response was, in effect, the death certificate of Austria–Hungary. During the Italian battles, the Czechoslovaks and Southern Slavs declared their independence. With defeat in the war imminent after the Italian offensive in
805-567: A main opposing military force to a repeated Ottoman campaigns in Europe, with the Ottoman forces being stopped in battles around Vienna, which was besieged twice, in 1529 and again in 1683. Count Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg , commanding troops in the city, broke the siege in 1683 with the aid of German and Polish forces under the King of Poland , Jan Sobieski , and pushed the besieging Ottoman armies toward
920-452: A number of naval facilities in the Adriatic, most importantly that at Pola , and possessed some three modern dreadnought class battleships in 1914 as well as three modern pre-dreadnoughts and nine older battleships and a range of other craft including cruisers , destroyers and submarines in various states of combat readiness. The Austro-Hungarian air force remained embryonic in 1914 with
1035-664: A predominantly Muslim special militia known as the Schutzkorps was established and carried out the persecution of Serbs. Some members of the government, such as Minister of Foreign Affairs Count Leopold Berchtold and Army Commander Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf , had wanted to confront the resurgent Serbian nation for some years in a preventive war, but the Emperor and Hungarian prime minister István Tisza were opposed. The foreign ministry of Austro-Hungarian Empire sent ambassador László Szőgyény to Potsdam , where he inquired about
1150-464: A share in the management of their own affairs by means of a local representative assembly. In performance of this promise a constitution was promulgated in 1910. The principal players in the Bosnian Crisis of 1908-09 were the foreign ministers of Austria and Russia, Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal and Alexander Izvolsky . Both were motivated by political ambition; the first would emerge successful, and
1265-601: A single monarch who was titled both Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary . Austria-Hungary constituted the last phase in the constitutional evolution of the Habsburg monarchy : it was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War and was dissolved shortly after Hungary terminated the union with Austria on 31 October 1918. One of Europe's major powers at
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#17330854994451380-662: A small north-western portion of the former kingdom's territory. Eventually, following the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718, all former territories of the Hungarian kingdom were ceded from the Ottomans to the Habsburgs. In the revolutions of 1848 , the Kingdom of Hungary called for greater self-government and later even independence from the Austrian Empire . The ensuing Hungarian Revolution of 1848
1495-420: A ten-year reserve obligation. In practice, only about one in five of those liable to service were called up, and many were sent on leave after two years. The army of Austria-Hungary has been described as a state within a state. In an empire of ten nationalities and five religions, marked by ethnic conflict and sharp political and economic divisions, the army formed the only real bond among the emperor's subjects and
1610-610: A war over Pan-Slavism. The Sandžak-Raška / Novibazar region was under Austro-Hungarian occupation between 1878 and 1909, when it was returned to the Ottoman Empire, before being ultimately divided between kingdoms of Montenegro and Serbia . On the heels of the Great Balkan Crisis, Austro-Hungarian forces occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina in August 1878 and the monarchy eventually annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 1908 as
1725-560: The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 led to the dissolution of the German Confederation (of which the Habsburg emperor was the hereditary president) and the exclusion of Austria from German affairs. These twin defeats gave the Hungarians the opportunity to remove the shackles of absolutist rule. Realizing the need to compromise with Hungary in order to retain its great power status, the central government in Vienna began negotiations with
1840-724: The Balkans , ending its further engagements in Central Europe . Prince Eugene of Savoy , after a brief raid into Ottoman-held Bosnia, culminating in the sack of Sarajevo in 1697, returned to Vienna in November to a triumphal reception. In coordination with the Duke of Marlborough , Savoyard prince won a series of victories over Louis XIV in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14). Wars fought with
1955-514: The Caporetto Offensive , were German-assisted operations. Due to the fact that the empire had become more and more dependent on German assistance, the majority of its people, not of Hungarian or Austrian ethnicity, became aware of the empire's destabilization. Although performance in the initial months of the war against Serbia and Russia is often seen as poor, Austro-Hungarian forces were not helped by internal division and indecision among
2070-762: The Eastern front , the war started out equally poorly. The government accepted the Polish proposal of establishing the Supreme National Committee as the Polish central authority within the empire, responsible for the formation of the Polish Legions , an auxiliary military formation within the Austro-Hungarian Army. The Austro-Hungarian Army was defeated at the Battle of Lemberg and the great fortress city of Przemyśl
2185-503: The Habsburgs established hereditary rule over Austrian lands in the 13th century and stretches until the fall of the Habsburgs, at the end of World War I , during which time their armies were among the largest and most significant in Europe . Though not as powerful as some of its contemporaries, the military of Austria-Hungary's scale, resources, organization, technology and training were one of
2300-576: The Isonzo River, hoping to seize Ljubljana, and to eventually threaten Vienna. However, the Royal Italian Army were halted on the river, where four battles took place over five months (23 June – 2 December 1915). The fight was extremely bloody and exhausting for both sides. On 15 May 1916, Austrian Chief of Staff Conrad von Hötzendorf launched the Strafexpedition (" punitive expedition "):
2415-678: The Navy ( Kriegsmarine ). Both of them organised their own aviation branches – the Army's Aviation Troops ( K.u.K. Luftfahrtruppen ) and the Navy's Naval Aviation ( K.u.K. Seefliegerkorps ). The Army in turn consisted of its own three branches: The Common Army ( Gemeinsame Armee ), the Imperial-Royal Landwehr ( kaiserlich-königliche Landwehr ) and the Royal Hungarian Honvéd ( königlich ungarische Landwehr ). Supreme Commander of
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#17330854994452530-838: The Otranto Raid , Caporetto , the Romanian campaign and the dogged defence of the Isonzo ; and with appalling effect – the 1914 Serbian campaign , the Galicia Campaign , the Brusilov Offensive , the Battle of Monte Grappa , the two battles of the Piave River, Vittorio Veneto ; as well as at a variety of standards in between. Ultimately, and with much German support, Imperial armed forces held firm, and without much by way of large-scale defections among what were seen as 'suspect' elements of
2645-518: The Piave River. Italy, although suffering massive casualties, recovered from the blow, and a coalition government under Vittorio Emanuele Orlando was formed. Italy also enjoyed the support of the Entente: by 1918, large amounts of war materials and a few auxiliary American, British, and French divisions arrived in the Italian battle zone. Cadorna was replaced by General Armando Diaz ; under his command,
2760-618: The Prussia of Frederick the Great over Silesia in 1740–48 (the War of the Austrian Succession ) and 1756–63 were less successful, although Austria still could keep up as contesting power and did not get partitioned like Poland in 1795 nor suffered major losses like France in 1763. The monarchy's military potential during the eighteenth century was limited by the emperor's dependence on provincial Diets for recruits and tax receipts while
2875-575: The Russians ended their involvement in the war , Germans and Austrians were able to transfer much of their manpower to the Western and Southern fronts from the erstwhile Eastern fighting. On 24 October 1917, Austrians (now enjoying decisive German support) attacked at Caporetto using new infiltration tactics; although they advanced more than 100 km (62.14 mi) in the direction of Venice and gained considerable supplies, they were halted and could not cross
2990-505: The Treaty of San Stefano tried to create a large pro-Russian Bulgaria. This treaty sparked an international uproar that almost resulted in a general European war. Austria–Hungary and Britain feared that a large Bulgaria would become a Russian satellite that would enable the tsar to dominate the Balkans. British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli moved warships into position against Russia to halt
3105-522: The final campaign resulting in Napoleon's defeat in 1814. One year later Austria crushed the pro-Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples in the Neapolitan War . From 1815 to 1848 Austria experienced a rather peaceful era, only launching two successful naval expeditions ( Austrian expedition against Morocco (1829) and Oriental Crisis of 1840 ), and putting down minor rebellions. Armies displayed their loyalty to
3220-585: The war with Russia . Following the Armistice of 11 November 1918 ending the World War I, in spite of the previous initial total dependence of the kingdom on its sponsors, it ultimately served against their intentions as the cornerstone proto state of the nascent Second Polish Republic , the latter composed also of territories never intended by the Central Powers to be ceded to Poland. The Battle of Zborov (1917)
3335-506: The " German question " in favor of a Lesser German Solution . Count Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust , who was the foreign minister from 1866 to 1871, hated the Prussian chancellor, Otto von Bismarck , who had repeatedly outmaneuvered him. Beust looked to France for avenging Austria's defeat and attempted to negotiate with Emperor Napoleon III of France and Italy for an anti-Prussian alliance, but no terms could be reached. The decisive victory of
3450-634: The Allies and Germany . The Austro-Hungarian Empire conscripted 7.8 million soldiers during the war. General von Hötzendorf was the Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff. Franz Joseph I, who was much too old to command the army, appointed Archduke Friedrich von Österreich-Teschen as Supreme Army Commander (Armeeoberkommandant), but asked him to give Von Hötzendorf freedom to take any decisions. Von Hötzendorf remained in effective command of
3565-507: The Allies and attacked Austria-Hungary. The bloody fighting on the Italian front would last for the next three and a half years, ending with a decisive defeat of the Habsburg forces and leading to the collapse of the empire. The Austrians often proved effective in this front, managing to hold back the numerically superior Italian armies in the Alps thanks to superior artillery and terrain advantage. In
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3680-570: The Allies, but his initiatives were vetoed by Italy. The heavily rural empire did have a small industrial base, but its major contributions were manpower and food. Nevertheless, Austria–Hungary was more urbanized (25%) than some of its opponents in the war, like the Russian Empire (13.4%), Serbia (13.2%) or Romania (18.8%). Furthermore, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had also more industrialized economy and higher GDP per capita than
3795-451: The Allies, whereby the entire war could be ended by compromise, or perhaps Austria would make a separate peace from Germany. The main effort was vetoed by Italy, which had been promised large slices of Austria for joining the Allies in 1915. Austria was only willing to turn over the Trentino region but nothing more. Karl was seen as a defeatist, which weakened his standing at home and with both
3910-782: The Armed Forces was the Emperor-King , the professional leader was the Chief of the General Staff and the head of the joint Ministry for military affairs was the Minister of War . The Armed Forces served as one of the Empire's core unifying institutions and the principal instrument for the national defense as well as external power projection . The history of the Austro-Hungarian military begins when
4025-682: The Austrians broke through the front and occupied the Asiago plateau . The Italians managed to resist and in a counteroffensive seized Gorizia on 9 August. Nonetheless, they had to stop on the Carso , a few kilometres away from the border. At this point, several months of indecisive trench warfare ensued (analogous to the Western front ). As the Russian Empire collapsed as a result of the Bolshevik Revolution and
4140-449: The Austro-Hungarian Army had taken no territory, but had lost 227,000 out of a total force of 450,000 men. However, in the autumn of 1915, the Serbian Army was defeated by the Central Powers, which led to the occupation of Serbia. Near the end of 1915, in a massive rescue operation involving more than 1,000 trips made by Italian, French and British steamers, 260,000 Serb soldiers were transported to Brindisi and Corfu , where they waited for
4255-405: The Austro-Hungarian Army, under a unified command with the Germans, participated in the successful Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive. From June 1916, the Russians focused their attacks on the Austro-Hungarian Army in the Brusilov Offensive , recognizing the latter's numerical inferiority. By the end of September 1916, Austria–Hungary mobilized and concentrated new divisions, and the successful Russian advance
4370-428: The Austro-Hungarian Army. The Austrian armies took massive losses (losing about 600,000 men) and never recovered. The huge losses of men and material inflicted on the Russians during the offensive contributed greatly to the causes of their Communist revolution of 1917. The Austro-Hungarian war effort became more and more subordinate to the direction of German planners, as it did with the standard soldiers. The Austrians saw
4485-407: The Balkan rebels and so pressured the tsar's government to declare war on the Ottoman Empire in 1877 in the name of protecting Orthodox Christians. Unable to mediate between the Ottoman Empire and Russia over the control of Serbia, Austria–Hungary declared neutrality when the conflict between the two powers escalated into a war . With help from Romania and Greece, Russia defeated the Ottomans and with
4600-435: The Battle of Vittorio Veneto on 24 October, Czech politicians peacefully took over command in Prague on 28 October (later declared the birth of Czechoslovakia) and followed up in other major cities in the next few days. On 30 October, the Slovaks did the same. On 29 October, the Slavs in both portions of what remained of Austria–Hungary proclaimed the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and declared that their ultimate intention
4715-516: The Bulgarians, who turned instead to Russia and Serbia. Although Austria had no intention to embark on additional expansion to the south, Aehrenthal encouraged speculation to that effect, expecting that it would paralyze the Balkan states. Instead, it incited them to feverish activity to create a defensive block to stop Austria. A series of grave miscalculations at the highest level thus significantly strengthened Austria's enemies. In 1914, Slavic militants in Bosnia rejected Austria's plan to fully absorb
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4830-430: The Bundesheer carry on traditions of the famous Austro-Hungarian regiments like " Kaiserjäger ", "Rainer", etc. Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary , also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy , was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consisted of two sovereign states with
4945-402: The Congress of Berlin in 1878 Gyula Andrássy (Minister of Foreign Affairs) managed to force Russia to retreat from further demands in the Balkans. As a result, Greater Bulgaria was broken up and Serbian independence was guaranteed. In that year, with Britain's support, Austria–Hungary stationed troops in Bosnia to prevent the Russians from expanding into nearby Serbia. In another measure to keep
5060-407: The Croatian political leadership was focused on creating a new state (Yugoslavia) and worked with the advancing Serbian army to impose control and end the uprisings. At the start of the war, the army was divided into two: the smaller part attacked Serbia, while the larger part fought against the formidable Imperial Russian Army . The invasion of Serbia in 1914 was a disaster: by the end of the year,
5175-409: The Emperor's formal coronation as King of Hungary on 8 June had to have taken place in order for the laws to be enacted within the lands of the Holy Crown of Hungary . On 28 July, Franz Joseph, in his new capacity as King of Hungary, approved and promulgated the new laws, which officially gave birth to the Dual Monarchy. The Austro-Prussian War was ended by the Peace of Prague (1866) which settled
5290-402: The Emperor's nephew, Franz Ferdinand , heir to the throne. The Archduke was rumoured to have been an advocate for this trialism as a means to limit the power of the Hungarian aristocracy. A proclamation issued on the occasion of its annexation to the Habsburg monarchy in October 1908 promised these lands constitutional institutions, which should secure to their inhabitants full civil rights and
5405-414: The Emperors Wilhelm II of Germany and Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary. This act promised the creation of the Kingdom of Poland out of the territory of Congress Poland , envisioned by its authors as a puppet state controlled by the Central Powers, with the nominal authority vested in the Regency Council . The origin of that document was the dire need to draft new recruits from German-occupied Poland for
5520-488: The Entente powers. However, this failed as Britain and France no longer had any regard for the integrity of the monarchy because of Austro-Hungarian support for Germany. The setbacks that the Austrian army suffered in 1914 and 1915 can be attributed to a large extent by the incompetence of the Austrian high command. After attacking Serbia, its forces soon had to be withdrawn to protect its eastern frontier against Russia's invasion, while German units were engaged in fighting on
5635-404: The German army positively, but by 1916 the general belief in Germany was that they were "shackled to a corpse". Supply shortages, low morale, and the high casualty rate seriously affected the operational abilities of the army, as well as the fact the army was of multiple ethnicity, all with different race, language and customs. The last two successes for the Austrians: the Conquest of Romania and
5750-457: The German emperor was given full control of all the armed forces of the Central Powers and Austria-Hungary effectively became a satellite of Germany. The Austrians viewed the German army favorably; on the other hand, by 1916 the general belief in Germany was that Germany, in its alliance with Austria–Hungary, was "shackled to a corpse". The operational capability of the Austro-Hungarian army was seriously affected by supply shortages, low morale and
5865-420: The Hungarian half provided sufficient supplies for the military to continue to wage war. This was shown in a transition of power after which the Hungarian prime minister, Count István Tisza, and foreign minister, Count István Burián , had decisive influence over the internal and external affairs of the monarchy. By late 1916, food supply from Hungary became intermittent and the government sought an armistice with
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#17330854994455980-428: The Hungarian political leaders, led by Ferenc Deák . The Hungarians maintained that the April Laws were still valid, but conceded that under the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 , foreign affairs and defence were "common" to Austria and Hungary. On 20 March 1867, the newly re-established Hungarian parliament at Pest started to negotiate the new laws to be accepted on 30 March. However, Hungarian leaders received word that
6095-439: The Imperial, as opposed to Austrian or Hungarian governments had local control. Command over large 'home' forces – the Landwehr units, which served functions analogous to National Guard forces in the United States were however controlled by local Ministries of Defence in both Austria and Hungary. Within the War Ministry, the Navy enjoyed considerable autonomy through the Naval Section with its own staff and headquarters, while
6210-404: The Italians retook the initiative and won the decisive Second Battle of the Piave River (15–23 June 1918), in which some 60,000 Austrian and 43,000 Italian soldiers were killed. The final battle at Vittorio Veneto was lost by 31 October 1918 and the armistice was signed at Villa Giusti on 3 November. On 27 August 1916, Romania declared war against Austria–Hungary. The Romanian Army crossed
6325-402: The Kingdom of Italy, which was economically the far most developed actual opponent of the Empire. On the home front, food grew scarcer and scarcer, as did heating fuel. Hungary, with its heavy agricultural base, was somewhat better fed. The army conquered productive agricultural areas in Romania and elsewhere, but refused to allow food shipments to civilians back home. Morale fell every year, and
6440-409: The Minister for War, separate staffs and commanders-in-chief oversaw the training, planning, and operations responsibilities of their respective service branches. In terms of the Army, by 1914 it was divided among 16 Military Districts and comprising 325,000 active troops at all levels as well as 40,000 Austrian Landwehr and 30,000 troops of the Hungarian Honved . The Austro-Hungarian Navy maintained
6555-413: The Ministry itself concentrated more on quarter master and administrative functions that close operational control of its respective services. While nominal, the umbrella organisation managing the Empire's Military capabilities, the War Ministry was not responsible for not only large state militia forces during peacetime but also an array of organisations such as the Evidenzbureau , whose remit fell within
6670-425: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The organisation of units and forces among a plethora of different commands and bodies had the effect of instilling a number of organisational cultures, diffusing responsibility, creating competition between agencies, failing to develop inter-organisational efficiencies and meaning that no one body had overall control of all military forces below the Emperor in preparing for war. Below
6785-417: The Ottomans. The Congress of Berlin in 1878 let Austria occupy (but not annex) the province of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a predominantly Slavic area. Austria occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina as a way of gaining power in the Balkans. Serbia, Montenegro and Romania became fully independent. Nonetheless, the Balkans remained a site of political unrest with teeming ambition for independence and great power rivalries. At
6900-466: The Prusso-German armies in the Franco-Prussian war and the subsequent founding of the German Empire ended all hope of re-establishing Austrian influence in Germany, and Beust retired. After being forced out of Germany and Italy, the Dual Monarchy turned to the Balkans, which were in tumult as nationalistic movements were gaining strength and demanding independence. Both Russia and Austria–Hungary saw an opportunity to expand in this region. Russia took on
7015-501: The Russians out of the Balkans, Austria–Hungary formed an alliance, the Mediterranean Entente, with Britain and Italy in 1887 and concluded mutual defence pacts with Germany in 1879 and Romania in 1883 against a possible Russian attack. Following the Congress of Berlin the European powers attempted to guarantee stability through a complex series of alliances and treaties. Anxious about Balkan instability and Russian aggression, and to counter French interests in Europe, Austria–Hungary forged
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#17330854994457130-428: The Western Front. This resulted in a greater than expected loss of men in the invasion of Serbia. Furthermore, it became evident that the Austrian high command had had no plans for possible continental war and that the army and navy were also ill-equipped to handle such a conflict. In the last two years of the war the Austro-Hungarian armed forces lost all ability to act independently of Germany. As of 7 September 1916,
7245-430: The advance of Russian influence in the eastern Mediterranean so close to Britain's route through the Suez Canal . The Treaty of San Stefano was seen in Austria as much too favourable for Russia and its Orthodox-Slavic goals. The Congress of Berlin rolled back the Russian victory by partitioning the large Bulgarian state that Russia had carved out of Ottoman territory and denying any part of Bulgaria full independence from
7360-551: The area; they assassinated the Austrian heir and precipitated World War I. The 28 June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo , excessively intensified the existing traditional religion-based ethnic hostilities in Bosnia. However, in Sarajevo itself, Austrian authorities encouraged violence against the Serb residents, which resulted in anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo , in which Catholic Croats and Bosnian Muslims killed two and damaged numerous Serb-owned buildings. Writer Ivo Andrić referred to
7475-405: The army had become commonplace. As the war went on, the ethnic unity declined; the Allies encouraged breakaway demands from minorities and the Empire faced disintegration. With apparent Allied victory approaching, nationalist movements seized ethnic resentment to erode social unity. The military breakdown of the Italian front marked the start of the rebellion for the numerous ethnicities who made up
7590-465: The army high command and possession by Serbian and Russian forces of highly detailed versions of Austro-Hungarian war plans. Overall during the Military's greatest deployment – World War I – and despite persistent fears of disloyalty and division among the Empire's many nationalities, the forces of Austria-Hungary must be seen as having performing largely competently until political demise in late 1918. Imperial forces performed with both great proficiency –
7705-414: The borders of eastern Hungary (Transylvania), but despite initial successes, by November 1916, the Austro-Hungarian, German, Bulgarian, and Ottoman armies had defeated the Romanian and Russian armies, and occupied the southern part of Romania (including Oltenia , Muntenia and Dobruja ). Within three months of the war, the Central Powers approached Bucharest , the Romanian capital. On 6 December, Bucharest
7820-400: The central factors determining conferral of ' great power ' status on the empire for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Military of Austria-Hungary was divided primarily into two primary services. They fell within the ultimate remit of the Minister for War : The war ministry itself served as one of the few 'common' ministries with jurisdiction throughout the Empire and over which
7935-469: The chance of the victory of Allied powers to reclaim their country. Corfu hosted the Serbian government in exile after the collapse of Serbia and served as a supply base for the Greek front. In April 1916 a large number of Serbian troops were transported in British and French naval vessels from Corfu to mainland Greece. The contingent numbering over 120,000 relieved a much smaller army at the Macedonian front and fought alongside British and French troops. On
8050-410: The commission of a number of new units, and specifically three up-to-date battleships delivered by 1914. The army too underwent gradual and constant modernisation but maintained an unhealthy commitment to fortress-warfare as evidenced by concentration on giant artillery pieces and fortification building along the empire's eastern frontier. Although sometimes dismissed as fanciful and lacking touch with
8165-405: The diverse nationalities gave up on the empire and looked for ways to establish their own nation states. Inflation soared, from an index of 129 in 1914 to 1589 in 1918, wiping out the cash savings of the middle class. In terms of war damage to the economy, the war consumed about 20 percent of the gross domestic product . The dead soldiers amounted to about four percent of the 1914 labor force, and
8280-516: The empire exhibited no colonial aspirations, forays abroad including the military occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina , the Novi Pazar , the expedition to Crete and involvement in the Boxer Rebellion . At the start of the war, the army was divided in two, the smaller part attacked Serbia while the larger part fought against the massive Russian army. The 1914 invasion of Serbia was a disaster. By
8395-515: The empire into a federal union to give ethnic groups decentralization and representation. However, on 18 October, United States Secretary of State Robert Lansing replied that autonomy for the nationalities – the tenth of the Fourteen Points – was no longer enough. In fact, a Czechoslovak provisional government had joined the Allies on 14 October. The South Slavs in both halves of the monarchy had already declared in favor of uniting with Serbia in
8510-588: The end of the Seven Weeks' War, Austria experienced fifty years of peace until World War I broke out in 1914. The creation of Austria-Hungary under the Compromise (Ausgleich) of 1867 separated the Empire into independent Austrian and Hungarian governments . Only the army, foreign affairs, and related budgetary matters remained with the emperor, who held supreme command of all forces in time of war. A new army law decreed universal three-year conscription followed by
8625-570: The end of the year the Austro-Hungarian Army had taken no territory and had lost 227,000 men (out of a total force of 450,000 men); see Serbian Campaign (World War I) . On the Eastern front, things started out equally badly. The Austro-Hungarian Army was defeated at the Battle of Lemberg and the mighty fort city of Przemysl was besieged (it would fall in March 1915). In May 1915, Italy joined
8740-565: The evacuation, which was organized by Count Aleksander Skarbek , the number of its soldiers grew to over 6200. For unknown reasons, Adam Pietraszkiewicz did not become commandant of the Legion, so his post was offered to Captain Dionizy Jasienicki. Count Skarbek, who was a very influential person in Galicia, opposed this promotion, and as a result, on 14 September Captain Józef Haller became
8855-788: The independence of the First Czechoslovak Republic , the Second Polish Republic , and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia , respectively, and most of the territorial demands of the Kingdom of Romania and the Kingdom of Italy were also recognized by the victorious powers in 1920. The realm's official name was in German : Österreichisch-Ungarische Monarchie and in Hungarian : Osztrák–Magyar Monarchia (English: Austro-Hungarian Monarchy ), though in international relations Austria–Hungary
8970-646: The latter would be broken by the crisis. Along the way, they would drag Europe to the brink of war in 1909. They would also divide Europe into the two armed camps that would go to war in July 1914. Aehrenthal had started with the assumption that the Slavic minorities could never come together, and the Balkan League would never cause any damage to Austria. He turned down an Ottoman proposal for an alliance that would include Austria, Turkey, and Romania. However, his policies alienated
9085-447: The military forces until Emperor Karl I took supreme command himself in late 1916 and dismissed Conrad von Hötzendorf in 1917. Meanwhile, economic conditions on the home front deteriorated rapidly. The empire depended on agriculture, and agriculture depended on the heavy labor of millions of men who were now in the army. Food production fell, the transportation system became overcrowded, and industrial production could not successfully handle
9200-482: The monarch's direct authority, as was a third finance ministry responsible only for financing the two "common" portfolios. A third component of the union was the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia , an autonomous region under the Hungarian crown, which negotiated the Croatian–Hungarian Settlement in 1868. After 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina came under Austro-Hungarian joint military and civilian rule until it
9315-466: The monarchy in 1848 and 1849, suppressing the revolutionary regimes that had swept into power in Vienna, Budapest , Milan , and Prague . In 1859 Austria was provoked into war with Piedmont and its supporter, the France of Napoleon III . The Austro-Piedmontese War lasted only three months, but both sides mobilized large armies. The Austrians were defeated after bitter fighting at Magenta and Solferino ,
9430-434: The multiethnic Empire, as they refused to keep on fighting for a cause that now appeared senseless. The Emperor had lost much of his power to rule, as his realm disintegrated. On 14 October 1918, Foreign Minister Baron István Burián von Rajecz asked for an armistice based on President Woodrow Wilson 's Fourteen Points and two days later Emperor Karl I issued a proclamation ("Imperial Manifesto of 16 October 1918") altering
9545-580: The new commandant of Eastern Legion. Five days later, the Legion arrived at Mszana Dolna. Eastern Legion was dissolved on 21 September 1914. Most of its volunteers refused to swear allegiance and obedience to the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria : only 800 soldiers, most of whom came from Podhale and the Duchy of Teschen , led by Józef Haller and Jan Kozicki , agreed to swear allegiance to Franz Joseph. Out of these soldiers, 3rd Legions' Infantry Regiment
9660-510: The nobles of the imperial lands who controlled the enserfed peasantry had no fixed obligation to provide soldiers to the Habsburg. Austria was prominent in the coalitions that tried to contain Napoleon but was defeated in 1800, again in 1805 when Napoleon occupied Vienna after the Battle of Austerlitz , and finally after the bloody Battle of Wagram in 1809, despite inflicting Napoleon's first major defeat at Aspern-Essling . Austria still joined
9775-467: The officer corps or their regular promotion. Hungarians, Croats, Serbs, Poles, Italians, Czechs, Slovenes, and Romanians could be found in senior positions. In the more prestigious units, most field-grade officers owed their ranks to birth or wealth. In 1900, a majority of the officer corps in the Austro-Hungarian army were native German speakers, although only one-fourth of the empire's total population
9890-502: The officers, so magnificent on the parade ground, "shrank ... from the arbitrament of arms as from an unholy abyss". In reality, Austro-Hungarian military spending remained the lowest among the Great Powers. More of its GDP went to wine, beer and tobacco than to the armed forces. Regiments were organized along linguistic lines, although German was the language of command. Ethnic factors did not prevent recruitment of non-German speakers to
10005-442: The overwhelming need for munitions. Germany provided a great deal of help, but it was not enough. Furthermore, the political instability of the multiple ethnic groups within the empire now ripped apart any hope for national consensus in support of the war. Increasingly there was a demand for breaking up the empire and setting up autonomous national states based on historic, language-based cultures. The new emperor sought peace terms from
10120-614: The population until the dying days of the war when political dissent at home led to large-scale defeats both on the front and at Sea as the war came to a close. Some of the traditions of the old Austro-Hungarian Army continue to be carried on in the modern Austrian Army . For example, the most famous regiment in the Bundesheer is the " Hoch und Deutschmeister Regiment [ de ] ", now known as Jägerregiment Wien [ de ] based in "Maria Theresien Kaserne", named after Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. Many other regiments of
10235-501: The realities confronting the forces at his disposal, as a chief of General Staff Conrad had ensured the army had remained vigilant and planning for war was at an advanced stage by 1914, although it has been argued that reorganisation and redeployment should have been sweeping in the aftermath of the Redl affair. During the period of 1867–1914, Austro-Hungarian forces were stationed on a number of national and international assignments. Although
10350-476: The role of protector of Slavs and Orthodox Christians. Austria envisioned a multi-ethnic, religiously diverse empire under Vienna's control. Count Gyula Andrássy, a Hungarian who was Foreign Minister (1871–1879), made the centerpiece of his policy one of opposition to Russian expansion in the Balkans and blocking Serbian ambitions to dominate a new South Slav federation. He wanted Germany to ally with Austria, not Russia. Russian Pan-Slavic organizations sent aid to
10465-495: The side of the Entente powers , hoping to gain territory from its former ally. The Austro-Hungarian Empire played a relatively passive diplomatic role in the war, as it was increasingly dominated and controlled by Germany. The only goal was to punish Serbia and try to stop the ethnic breakup of the Empire, and it completely failed. Starting in late 1916 the new Emperor Karl removed the pro-German officials and opened peace overtures to
10580-421: The sole instrument through which loyalty to him could find expression. Nevertheless, Austria-Hungary gave the impression of being a highly militarized nation. According to British historian Edward Crankshaw who noted that not only the emperor but most males in high society never wore civilian clothes except when hunting. Select regiments of the army were splendidly outfitted, but, with a few dedicated exceptions,
10695-586: The standpoint of the German emperor, Wilhelm II , on 5 July and received a supportive response. His Majesty authorized me to report to [Franz Joseph] that in this case, too, we could count on Germany's full support. As mentioned, he first had to consult with the Chancellor, but he did not have the slightest doubt that Herr von Bethmann Hollweg would fully agree with him, particularly with regard to action on our part against Serbia. In his [Wilhelm's] opinion, though, there
10810-508: The summer, the Austro-Hungarian Army, working under a unified command with the Germans, participated in the successful Gorlice–Tarnow Offensive . Later in 1915, the Austro-Hungarian Army, in conjunction with the German and Bulgarian armies, conquered Serbia. In 1916, the Russians focused their attacks on the Austro-Hungarian Army in the Brusilov Offensive , recognizing the numerical inferiority of
10925-596: The time, Austria-Hungary was geographically the second-largest country in Europe and the third-most populous (after Russia and the German Empire ), while being among the ten most populous countries worldwide. The Empire built up the fourth-largest machine-building industry in the world. With the exception of the territory of the Bosnian Condominium , the Empire of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary were separate sovereign countries in international law. At its core
11040-441: The urgent counsel of his top advisers. Over the course of July and August 1914, these events caused the start of World War I, as Russia mobilized in support of Serbia, setting off a series of counter-mobilizations. In support of his German ally, on Thursday, 6 August 1914, Emperor Franz Joseph signed the declaration of war on Russia. Italy initially remained neutral, despite its alliance with Austria–Hungary. In 1915, it switched to
11155-533: The violence as the "Sarajevo frenzy of hate." Violent actions against ethnic Serbs were organized not only in Sarajevo but also in many other larger Austro-Hungarian cities in modern-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Austro-Hungarian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina imprisoned and extradited approximately 5,500 prominent Serbs, 700 to 2,200 of whom died in prison. Four hundred sixty Serbs were sentenced to death and
11270-462: The war. Although the Kingdom of Hungary comprised only 42% of the population of Austria–Hungary, the thin majority – more than 3.8 million soldiers – of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces were conscripted from the Kingdom of Hungary during the First World War. Roughly 600,000 soldiers were killed in action, and 700,000 soldiers were wounded in the war. Austria–Hungary held on for years, as
11385-442: The wounded ones to another six percent. Compared to the major countries in the war, the death and casualty rates were toward the high end regarding the present-day territory of Austria. By summer 1918, " Green Cadres " of army deserters formed armed bands in the hills of Croatia-Slavonia, and civil authority disintegrated. By late October, violence and massive looting erupted, and there were efforts to form peasant republics. However,
11500-543: The young Emperor Franz Joseph assuming personal command during the Battle of Solferino . The following Second Schleswig War with Prussia against Denmark was more successful, winning the battles of Königshügel , Sankelmark and Vejle , thus breaking the Danish blockade . However, Prussia established its domination over other German states by its victory over Austria in the Seven Weeks' War in 1866. The critical battle
11615-750: Was The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen . From 1867 onwards, the abbreviations heading the names of official institutions in Austria–Hungary reflected their responsibility: Following a decision of Franz Joseph I in 1868, the realm bore the official name Austro-Hungarian Monarchy/Realm ( German : Österreichisch-Ungarische Monarchie/Reich ; Hungarian : Osztrák–Magyar Monarchia/Birodalom ) in its international relations. It
11730-495: Was Captain Dionizy Jasienicki . Eastern Legion was based on volunteers, most of whom were members of different Polish paramilitary organizations, such as Sokół , Bartosz Brigades [ pl ] , and Polish Rifle Squads from the area of Lwów. Due to rapid Russian advance into Galicia (see Battle of Galicia ), the Legion was on 29 August evacuated to Mszana Dolna , via Sambor , Chyrów , Sanok and Jasło . During
11845-511: Was German speaking. During the late 19th and early 20th century leading up to World War One, the Austro-Hungarian Military underwent a process of modernisation in all service branches in terms of training, equipment and doctrine, although many traditions and old practices remained in force. As a result of the efforts chief-of-staff Montecuccoli and heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand the navy underwent considerable modernisation with
11960-534: Was besieged and fell in March 1915. The Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive started as a minor German offensive to relieve the pressure of the Russian numerical superiority on the Austro-Hungarians, but the cooperation of the Central Powers resulted in huge Russian losses and the total collapse of the Russian lines and their 100 km (62 mi) long retreat into Russia. The Russian Third Army disintegrated. In summer 1915,
12075-635: Was captured, and part of the population moved to the unoccupied Romanian territory, in Moldavia , together with the Romanian government, royal court and public authorities, which relocated to Iași . In 1917, after several defensive victories (managing to stop the German-Austro-Hungarian advance), with Russia's withdrawal from the war following the October Revolution, Romania was forced to drop out of
12190-410: Was created. The regiment swore the oath on 26 September. Military of Austria-Hungary [REDACTED] Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces ( German : Bewaffnete Macht or Wehrmacht ; Hungarian : Fegyveres Erő ) or Imperial and Royal Armed Forces were the military forces of Austria-Hungary . It comprised two main branches: The Army ( Landstreitkräfte ) and
12305-614: Was crushed by the Austrian military with Russian military assistance, and the level of autonomy that the Hungarian state had enjoyed was replaced with absolutist rule from Vienna. This further increased Hungarian resentment of the Habsburg dominion. In the 1860s, the Empire faced two severe defeats: its loss in the Second Italian War of Independence broke its dominion over a large part of Northern Italy ( Lombardy, Veneto , Modena, Reggio , Tuscany , Parma and Piacenza ) while defeat in
12420-691: Was fully annexed in 1908, provoking the Bosnian crisis . Austria-Hungary was one of the Central Powers in World War I , which began with an Austro-Hungarian war declaration on the Kingdom of Serbia on 28 July 1914. It was already effectively dissolved by the time the military authorities signed the armistice of Villa Giusti on 3 November 1918. The Kingdom of Hungary and the First Austrian Republic were treated as its successors de jure , whereas
12535-512: Was halted and slowly repelled; but the Austrian armies took heavy losses (about 1 million men) and never recovered. Nevertheless, the huge losses in men and materiel inflicted on the Russians during the offensive contributed greatly to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and caused an economic crash in the Russian Empire. The Act of 5 November 1916 was then proclaimed to the Poles jointly by
12650-519: Was no need to wait patiently before taking action... The leaders of Austria–Hungary therefore decided to confront Serbia militarily before it could incite a revolt; using the assassination as an excuse, they presented a list of ten demands called the July Ultimatum , expecting Serbia would never accept. When Serbia accepted nine of the ten demands but only partially accepted the remaining one, Austria–Hungary declared war. Franz Joseph I finally followed
12765-509: Was often contracted to the "Dual Monarchy" in English or simply referred to as Austria . Timeline Following Hungary's defeat against the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Mohács of 1526, the Habsburg Empire became more involved in the Kingdom of Hungary, and subsequently assumed the Hungarian throne. However, as the Ottomans expanded further into Hungary, the Habsburgs came to control only
12880-429: Was the dual monarchy , which was a real union between Cisleithania , the northern and western parts of the former Austrian Empire , and Transleithania (Kingdom of Hungary) . Following the 1867 reforms, the Austrian and Hungarian states were co-equal in power. The two countries conducted unified diplomatic and defence policies. For these purposes, "common" ministries of foreign affairs and defence were maintained under
12995-578: Was the first significant action of the Czechoslovak Legions , which fought for the independence of Czechoslovakia against the Austro-Hungarian Army. In May 1915, Italy attacked Austria–Hungary. Italy was the only military opponent of Austria–Hungary which had a similar degree of industrialization and economic level; moreover, her army was numerous (≈1,000,000 men were immediately fielded), but suffered from poor leadership, training and organization. Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorna marched his army towards
13110-728: Was used (German: Österreich-Ungarn ; Hungarian: Ausztria-Magyarország ). The Austrians also used the names k. u. k. Monarchie (English: k. u. k. monarchy ) (in detail German: Kaiserliche und königliche Monarchie Österreich-Ungarn ; Hungarian: Császári és Királyi Osztrák–Magyar Monarchia ) and Danubian Monarchy (German: Donaumonarchie ; Hungarian: Dunai Monarchia ) or Dual Monarchy (German: Doppel-Monarchie ; Hungarian: Dual-Monarchia ) and The Double Eagle (German: Der Doppel-Adler ; Hungarian: Kétsas ), but none of these became widespread either in Hungary or elsewhere. The realm's full name used in internal administration
13225-533: Was waged at Königgrätz ( Hradec Králové in the present-day Czech Republic ). The Austrians armed with muzzle-loading rifles sustained 20,000 casualties and 20,000 prisoners. The battle overshadowed Austria's victories over Prussia's Italian allies at Custoza and in the naval Battle of Lissa (Vis) off the Dalmatian coast in which a smaller Austrian fleet of ironclads overcame the Italians by ramming them. Following
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