98-862: The Battle of the Strait of Otranto of 1917 was the result of an Austro-Hungarian raid during the Adriatic Campaign of World War I on the Otranto Barrage , an Allied naval blockade of the Strait of Otranto . The battle took place on 15 May 1917, and was the largest surface action in the Adriatic Sea during World War I . The Otranto Barrage was a fixed barrier, composed of lightly armed naval drifters (modified fishing boats ) with anti-submarine nets coupled with minefields and supported by Allied naval patrols. The Austro-Hungarian Navy planned to raid
196-772: 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
294-519: 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
392-664: A diversionary raid off the Albanian coast in order to confuse any Allied counter-attack. Two Austro-Hungarian U-boats— U-4 and U-27 , along with the German U-boat UC-25 —were to participate in the operation as well. A supporting force composed of the armored cruiser Sankt Georg , two destroyers, and four 250t-class torpedo boats was on standby if the raiders ran into trouble. The old pre-dreadnought battleship Budapest and three more 250t-class torpedo boats were also available if necessary. An Allied destroyer patrol
490-416: 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
588-586: 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
686-664: 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
784-521: A result of the raid, the British naval command decided that unless sufficient destroyers were available to protect the barrage, the drifters would have to be withdrawn at night. After the raid, the drifters operated for less than twelve hours a day and had to leave their positions by 15:00 every day. Despite the damage received by the Austro-Hungarian cruisers during the pursuit by Dartmouth and Bristol ,
882-464: 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
980-604: A shell hit on her bow . In the meantime, Balaton attacked the three merchant ships of the convoy. Carroccio , which was carrying munitions , and Verità caught fire and their crews abandoned ship; Carroccio sank later, but Verità remained afloat and eventually reached port. Bersagliere suffered only slight damage and escaped. The clash ended at 03:45 when the two Austro-Hungarian ships withdrew. Borea ′s crew abandoned ship, and she sank at 05:20 on 15 May 1917. Her crew suffered 11 men killed and 12 wounded. The three Austro-Hungarian cruisers were able to pass through
1078-601: 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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#17330931100471176-662: 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
1274-630: A superiority both in numbers and in firepower; Dartmouth was armed with eight 6 in (152 mm) guns and Bristol had two 6 inch and ten 4 in (102 mm), compared to the nine 3.9 in (99 mm) guns on each of the Austro-Hungarian ships. Unfortunately for the Allies, their numerical superiority was quickly lost, as their destroyers were either occupied with mechanical problems, or protecting those destroyers suffering from breakdowns. The support forces of both sides—the Sankt Georg group for
1372-610: 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
1470-464: A war. For military use these signals often use colored lights or the International marine signal flags . Other uses of the signal include the police who sometimes use a recognition signal so that officers in uniform can recognize officers in normal clothing (undercover). The NYPD often use headbands , wristbands or colored clothing as recognition signals which are known as the " color of
1568-611: 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
1666-762: 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
1764-576: 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 "):
1862-518: 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,
1960-575: 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
2058-505: 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
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#17330931100472156-585: 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)
2254-506: 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
2352-585: 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
2450-570: 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
2548-451: 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
2646-682: 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
2744-504: 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
2842-566: 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
2940-419: The Austro-Hungarian cruisers at 07:00, but were heavily outgunned, and instead attempted to shadow the fleeing cruisers. At 07:45, Rear Admiral Acton's ships encountered the destroyers Csepel and Balaton . After 20 minutes, the Italian destroyers were able to close the distance to the Austro-Hungarian ships; the two groups engaged in a short artillery duel before a shot from Csepel struck Aquila and disabled
3038-558: The Austro-Hungarian forces inflicted more serious casualties on the Allied blockade. In addition to the sunk and damaged drifters, the cruiser Dartmouth was nearly sunk by the German submarine UC-25 , the French destroyer Boutefeu was mined and sunk, the Italian destroyer Borea was sunk, and a munitions convoy to Valona was interdicted. However, in a strategic sense, the battle had little effect on
Battle of the Strait of Otranto (1917) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3136-608: The Austro-Hungarian light cruiser Novara . However, the rapid approach of the Austro-Hungarian relief force persuaded the Italian Rear Admiral Alfredo Acton , the Allied commander, to retreat. Under the command of Horthy, three Austro-Hungarian light cruisers ( Novara , Saida , and Helgoland , modified to resemble large British destroyers) were ordered to attack the drifters on the night of 14 May and attempt to destroy as many as possible before daybreak. The destroyers Csepel and Balaton were to mount
3234-479: The Austro-Hungarian naval base at Cattaro , Acton broke off the pursuit. The destroyer Giovanni Acerbi misread the signal and attempted to launch a torpedo attack, but was driven off by the combined fire of Novara , Saida , and Helgoland . At 12:05, Acton realized the dire situation Novara was in, but by this time, the Sankt Georg group was too close. The Sankt Georg group rendezvoused with Novara , Saida , and Helgoland , and Csepel and Balaton reached
3332-434: The Austro-Hungarian ships, and opened fire. A shell from Dartmouth struck Novara , at which point the Austro-Hungarian ships laid a smoke screen in order to close the distance. Dartmouth was struck several times, and by 11:00, Acton ordered the ship to reduce speed to allow Bristol to catch up. Novara was hit several more times, and her main feed pumps and starboard auxiliary steam pipe had been damaged, which caused
3430-568: The Austro-Hungarians, and the Marsala group for the Allies—were quickly dispatched to join the battle. Italian FBA seaplanes from the seaplane carrier Europa shadowed the Austro-Hungarian cruisers and eventually dropped bombs on Helgoland , only scoring a near-miss that dislodged some rivets in her rudder . Dartmouth —faster than Bristol —closed to effective engagement range with
3528-456: 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
3626-678: 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
3724-618: 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
3822-453: 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
3920-458: 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,
4018-564: 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
Battle of the Strait of Otranto (1917) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4116-402: 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
4214-582: 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
4312-589: 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
4410-555: 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
4508-420: 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
4606-428: 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
4704-622: The Italian Scouting Division—ordered Carlo Mirabello ' s group southward at 04:35, while he embarked on Dartmouth . By 06:45, Dartmouth , Bristol the Italian destroyers Rosolino Pilo , Antonio Mosto , Simone Schiaffino , and Giovanni Acerbi , and the Italian scout cruiser Aquila —were steaming north in an attempt to cut off the Austro-Hungarian cruisers. The Italian protected cruiser Marsala , flotilla leader Carlo Alberto Racchia , and destroyers Insidioso , Indomito , and Impavido were readying to get underway in support as well. The Carlo Mirabello group engaged
4802-585: The Italian convoy at 03:06 Austro-Hungarian time (which differed from Italian time) and were steering to attack it. Uncertain of their identity, Borea closed the range to around 1,000 metres (1,100 yd) and made recognition signals . In response, Csepel opened gunfire at 03:24 Austro-Hungarian time. Borea maneuvered to make a torpedo attack against Csepel , but Csepel scored a hit that burst one of Borea ′s steam pipes, immobilizing her. Csepel then hit Borea with two shells which struck near her waterline , and Borea began to list . Borea then took
4900-439: The Italians as Valona) in Albania. A support force was based in the port of Brindisi , consisting of the British Royal Navy light cruisers HMS Dartmouth and HMS Bristol and several French and Italian destroyers. At around 03:30 Italian time on 15 May, shortly after the Italian convoy turned to a heading of 310 degrees to proceed toward Vlorë, Borea sighted Csepel and Balaton , which in turn had sighted
4998-404: 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
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#17330931100475096-402: 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
5194-422: The Otranto Barrage with a force of three light cruisers and two destroyers under the command of Commander (later Admiral ) Miklós Horthy in an attempt to break the barrier to allow Austro-Hungarian and Imperial German Navy U-boats freer access to the Mediterranean Sea and Allied shipping. An Allied force composed of ships from three navies responded to the raid, and in the ensuing battle heavily damaged
5292-417: 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
5390-466: 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
5488-501: 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
5586-428: 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,
5684-430: 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
5782-551: 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
5880-405: 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
5978-464: The battle. There were 47 drifters in Barrage on the night of 14–15 May; the Austro-Hungarians managed to sink 14 drifters and damage four more. The lack of sufficient Allied escorts forced the withdrawal of the remaining blockading ships, although only for a short time. By this time, the Allied naval forces in the area were aware of the raid, and were in a position to block the Austro-Hungarian retreat. Rear Admiral Alfredo Acton—the commanding officer of
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#17330931100476076-414: 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
6174-469: 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
6272-405: 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
6370-457: 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
6468-507: 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
6566-494: 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
6664-428: The line of drifters, and at 03:30 began attacking the small barrage ships. The Austro-Hungarians frequently gave the drifter crews warning to abandon ship before opening fire. In some instances, the drifter crews chose to fight: Gowan Lee returned the Austro-Hungarian ships' fire. Gowan Lee was heavily damaged, but remained afloat; her captain — Joseph Watt —was later awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during
6762-447: 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
6860-411: 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
6958-540: The most modern ships of the Austro-Hungarian fleet on an operation that offered minimal strategic returns. 40°13′10″N 18°55′32″E / 40.21944°N 18.92556°E / 40.21944; 18.92556 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
7056-434: 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
7154-442: 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
7252-476: 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
7350-437: The scene as well. The entire group returned to Cattaro together. At 13:30, the submarine UC-25 torpedoed Dartmouth , causing serious damage. The escorting destroyers drove off UC-25 , but Dartmouth had to be abandoned for a period of time before she could be towed back to port. The French destroyer Boutefeu attempted to pursue the German submarine, but struck a mine laid by UC-25 that morning and sank rapidly. As
7448-512: The ship to begin losing speed. At 11:05, Acton turned away in an attempt to separate Saida from Novara and Helgoland . At this point, Sankt Georg was approaching the scene, which prompted Acton to temporarily withdraw to consolidate his forces. This break in the action was enough time for the Austro-Hungarians to save the crippled Novara ; Saida took the ship under tow while Helgoland covered them. Unaware that Novara had been disabled, and fearing that his ships would be drawn too close to
7546-461: The ship's boilers . By this time, the Austro-Hungarian destroyers were under the cover of the coastal batteries at Durrës (known to the Italians as Durazzo), and were able to make good their escape. At 09:00, Bristol ' s lookouts spotted the smoke from the Austro-Hungarian cruisers to the south of her position. The Allied ships turned to engage the Austro-Hungarian ships; the British ships had
7644-544: 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
7742-537: 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
7840-645: 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
7938-441: 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
8036-484: 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
8134-462: 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
8232-477: The war. The barrage was never particularly effective at preventing the U-boat operations of the German empire and Austria-Hungary in the first place. The drifters could cover approximately 0.5 nautical miles (0.9 km; 0.6 mi) apiece of the Strait of Otranto, which is 40 nautical miles (74 km; 46 mi) wide, and the barrage covered only slightly more than half of the strait . The raid had risked some of
8330-442: 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,
8428-750: 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
8526-522: 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,
8624-635: 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
8722-563: 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
8820-691: 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
8918-512: 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
9016-572: Was in the area on the night of 14 May, to the north of the Barrage. The Italian flotilla leader Carlo Mirabello was accompanied by the French Navy destroyers Commandant Rivière , Bisson and Cimeterre . The Italian destroyer Borea was also in the area, escorting a small Italian convoy consisting of the steamers Bersagliere , Carroccio , and Verità which had departed Gallipoli on 14 May 1917 bound for Vlorë (known to
9114-519: 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
9212-509: 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
9310-429: 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
9408-578: 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
9506-569: Was to unite with Serbia and Montenegro in a large South Slav state . On the same day, the Czechs and Slovaks formally proclaimed the establishment of Czechoslovakia as an independent state. Recognition signal A recognition signal is a signal whereby a person, a ship , an airplane or something else is recognized . They can be used during war or can be used to help the police recognize each other during undercover operations . These signals are often used to recognize friends and enemies in
9604-728: 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
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