AUSTRIAN ARMED FORCES
Museum of Military History
1030 Wien, Arsenal
Tel: +43 1 79561-0
Fax: +43 1 79561 10-17707
Internet: www.hgm.at
The First World War and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy
Historical Background
From the Austro-Hungarian perspective it was Serbia in particular, which bore the political responsibility for the assassination of the heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his spouse Sophie von Hohenberg in Sarajevo. A diplomatic-political solution to the conflict with Serbia did not seem possible any more for the Habsburg Monarchy following the assassination. As early as at the beginning of July, the decision in favour of a war with Serbia had been made in Vienna. The ultimatum of 23 July 1914 could and would not be fulfilled entirely by the Serbian government; consequently, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 July. Owing to the political alliances, this local conflict became a European war with numerous fronts. The Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, the German and Ottoman Empires [as of October 1914]) faced off against the Entente states (Russian Empire, Great Britain and Serbia). A number of other countries entered into the war during the following years and turned the European war into a world war (with a total of 36 warring states).
Austria-Hungary placed the focus of its military operations in 1914 on both the Balkans and against the Russian Empire in Galicia. In turn, the German Empire tried to defeat France in the West and thus to reach an overall decision. Austria-Hungary was given the task of repelling the Russians in the East. Giving way to the superior material strength, large areas in the east of the Monarchy had to be vacated. The losses were catastrophic. Tensions only eased after the successful offensive at Gorlice-Tarnow in May 1915. In the same month Italy declared war on the Habsburg Monarchy, thus forming a new front in the southwest of the Empire. The ensuing fights were not only concentrated in the mountain massifs of the Dolomite Alps and Tirol. The Italians were defeated in eleven costly battles of attrition (until the end of 1917) at the Isonzo. An Austro-Hungarian offensive in South Tirol was also defeated in 1916. Jointly with Bulgaria and the German Empire the Imperial forces succeeded in occupying Serbia in the autumn of 1915 and to establish an overland route to the Ottoman Empire. Russian offensives in 1916 (Brussilov) and 1917 (Kerensky) as well as Romania’s entry into the war did not lead to a decisive result.
The October Revolution erupting in 1917 resulted in a ceasefire agreement with Russia and subsequently in the Peace of Brest-Litovsk. This development, as well as the Central powers’ military victories, also forced Romania to end the war. An offensive at the Isonzo (Caporetto), which was undertaken together with German units, almost led to the collapse of the Italian Army in 1917.
Opposed to this positive military development were serious domestic political and economic problems in Austria-Hungary. On the one hand the food crisis reached cataclysmic proportions in the last war year and led to wide-ranging strikes; on the other hand the nationalist problems already existing before 1914 intensified. Reform plans of Emperor Karl I, the successor of Franz Joseph (who had died in 1916), also remained as unsuccessful as his efforts to reach a fast peace agreement.
The attempt of the High Command of the German Armed Forces to resolve the war before the US military intervention by several offensives in the West failed as did an Austro-Hungarian offensive at the Piave, which had started on 15 June 1918. In autumn the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy could no longer be held off, since the collapse of the Army was accelerated by a successful Italian offensive in Northern Italy. On 3 November 1918 Austria-Hungary signed the ceasefire in Villa Giusti near Padua. By this time a number of successor nation states had formed, which were to give Europe a new appearance.
(Lower floor – room 1) After leaving the room dedicated to the assassination of Sarajevo, including an automobile and the heir to the throne’s uniform, displays document the military and political situation of the year 1914 as well as the immediate outbreak of the war. The showcases on the ramps (1) demonstrate how the Imperial Army marched out to the front in the general war fever, followed immediately by a picture of Austria-Hungary’s military enemies at the outset of the war.
The limited employment of Austro-Hungarian artillery in the West is illustrated by the battlement of the fort Pocket of Antwerp (3). The following displays are dedicated to the theatres on the Balkans (4) as well as in the north-east (5).
(Lower floor – room 2) Immediately after the passageway the exhibition addresses the effects of the war on the civilian population, who was equally affected by rigorous exceptional decrees and direct combat actions. Both the roof of the Austro-Hungarian fortress Przemysl (7) and the following display (8) are dedicated to the history of events of the north-eastern theatre and illustrate the battle of Gorlice-Tarnow, the noticeable easing of tensions on the eastern front, as well as the consequences following Italy’s entry into the war in May 1915. After that, aviation is represented in greater depth, whereby both the issues of air combat and air defence (9) are broached. The often very little-noticed aspect of the volunteer units in the world war (10) with the employment of Albanian, Polish and Ukrainian “legionaries” fighting alongside the Imperial forces is also displayed. The military events on the Western Balkans in 1915/16 (11), the entry into the war of Romania, and the Brusilov offensive (12) emphasize the lasting importance of the alliance policy for the Central Powers. The passage through the entrenched position (13), which at the same time presents the emplacement of the 38cm howitzer, opens up the way to the themes of injury, death and religion (14), omnipresent for the soldiers. The most exotic theatres of the Austro-Hungarian troops are given another subject area (15). Disgressions dedicate themselves to the employment of animals in the war and the introduction of new uniforms in the Imperial Army planned for 1916 (16/near the elevator). Emperor Karl I's succession to the throne and the consequent changes within the highest military leadership are shown on a separate display (17). The “Ortler gun” hovering above the visitors’ heads connects the topics war industry (19) and mountain war (18); the latter is primarily presented on the upper floor, which can be accessed via the stairs or the elevator.
(Upper floor – room 2) Beside the highest echelons (20) this presentation illustrates high mountain combat (18, 21) as well as the front in ice and snow. Via a connecting corridor, which opens up the view to the entrenched position as well as to the 38cm howitzer, the visitors return to the Imperial Air Force (22, 23).
(Upper floor – room 1) After the destroyed tank cupola of Przemysl the exhibition displays the Austrian wartime welfare for soldiers (24, 25) and its activities in view of the ever more pressing shortage of food. A central subject here, however, is also the fate of the prisoners of war, both in Austria-Hungary and the Entente states (26). The view to the Egger-Lienz painting ”Den Namenlosen 1914” [The Unnamed 1914] further leads to the presentation of the Imperial War Press Office. The fateful peace treaties with Russia and Romania are documented along the exit via the ramp display (27), as is the role of the Imperial Danube Flotilla, in particular in the context of the “Bread Peace” with Ukraine as well as the failed Piave offensive in 1918. The Italian offensive supported by the British, French and Americans in October 1918 then leads over to the presentation of the collapse and ceasefire of Villa Giusti. The last section with its topics “Invalidity” and “Memory” refers to the consequences of the war in the post-war period.
(Sarajevo-room) This event, which indirectly triggered the war by leaving two persons murdered, in contrast to the bloody outcome of the war with approximately 9,500,000 casualties, concludes the exhibition.