Austria's Exit: Why They Left Wwi

Austria-Hungary was one of the Central Powers in World War I, along with the German Empire and the Ottoman Empire. The war began when Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia in July 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Austria-Hungary's forces fought the Allies in Serbia, on the Eastern Front, in Italy, and in Romania. Despite heavy aid and support from its allies, the empire suffered severe casualties, culminating in the collapse of the Italian front, which led the Austrians to accept the Armistice of Villa Giusti on 3 November 1918.

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 the army had become commonplace. The multiethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire started to disintegrate, leaving its army alone on the battlefields. The Emperor had lost much of his power to rule, as his realm disintegrated.

On 11 November 1918, Karl I issued a carefully worded proclamation in which he recognized the Austrian people's right to determine the form of the state and relinquished every participation in Austrian state affairs. The next day, the German-Austrian National Council proclaimed the Republic of German Austria.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Princip was part of a group of six Bosnian assassins, all but one of whom were Bosnian Serbs and members of a student revolutionary group that later became known as Young Bosnia. The political objective of the assassination was to free Bosnia and Herzegovina from Austria-Hungarian rule and establish a common South Slav ("Yugoslav") state. The assassination precipitated the July Crisis, which led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia and the start of World War I.

The Assassination

On the morning of 28 June 1914, Danilo Ilić, a member of a secret revolutionary society, positioned the six assassins along the motorcade route. Ilić walked the street, exhorting the assassins to be brave. Franz Ferdinand and his party proceeded by train from Ilidža Spa to Sarajevo, where they were met by Governor Oskar Potiorek. Six automobiles were waiting for them at the station. However, due to a mix-up, three local police officers got into the first car instead of the special security officers who were supposed to accompany their chief.

The motorcade's first stop was a brief inspection of a military barracks. According to the published program, at 10:00 a.m., the motorcade was to leave the barracks for the town hall via the Appel Quay. Ilić had placed the assassins along the route, arming them with bombs and pistols. The first two assassins, Mehmedbašić and Čubrilović, failed to act as the motorcade passed. Further along the route, Nedeljko Čabrinović threw a bomb at Franz Ferdinand's car, but it bounced off and exploded under the next car, wounding several people but leaving the Archduke and his wife unharmed. Čabrinović tried to kill himself but was apprehended by the police and severely beaten by the crowd.

The procession sped away towards the Town Hall, leaving the disabled car behind. The remaining assassins, Cvjetko Popović, Gavrilo Princip, and Trifun Grabež, failed to act as the motorcade passed them at high speed. Arriving at the Town Hall, Franz Ferdinand showed signs of stress and briefly interrupted a prepared speech to protest the bombing. Duchess Sophie whispered into his ear, and he calmed down and allowed the mayor to continue his speech.

Officials and members of the Archduke's party then discussed what to do next. Governor-General Oskar Potiorek vetoed a suggestion that the couple remain at the Town Hall until troops could be brought in to line the streets, arguing that the soldiers would not have the appropriate dress uniforms. Instead, it was decided that the imperial motorcade should travel straight along the Appel Quay to the Sarajevo Hospital to avoid the crowded city centre. However, Potiorek failed to communicate his decision to the drivers, resulting in confusion.

As a result, the Archduke's driver turned onto a side street, and when he attempted to reverse back onto the Appel Quay, he stalled the engine near where Princip was standing. Princip stepped up to the car and shot Franz Ferdinand and Sophie at point-blank range. The Archduke's last words were, "Sophie, Sophie! Don't die! Live for our children!" Both were dead by 11:30 a.m.

Aftermath

Anti-Serb rioting broke out in Sarajevo and other places within Austria-Hungary in the hours following the assassination. Country-wide anti-Serb pogroms and demonstrations were organized, particularly on the territory of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Two Serbs were killed on the first day of the pogrom in Sarajevo, and around 1,000 houses, shops, schools, and institutions owned by Serbs were razed or pillaged.

The assassination triggered a rapid descent into World War I. Austria-Hungary gained German support for punitive action against Serbia and sent an ultimatum designed to make acceptance unlikely. Serbia proposed arbitration, but Austria-Hungary declared war on 28 July 1914, exactly a month after Franz Ferdinand's death. Within a week, Germany, Russia, France, Belgium, Montenegro, and Great Britain had all been drawn into the conflict, and other countries like the United States would enter later. Overall, more than 16 million people died in the fighting that lasted until 1918.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire's invasion of Serbia

The Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia was the catalyst for World War I. On June 28, 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife in Sarajevo, Bosnia. This assassination was carried out due to Serbian ambition in the Balkans region and the desire for independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In response, Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an ultimatum on July 23, 1914, which included demands to suppress anti-Austrian propaganda and allow Austria-Hungary to investigate the assassination. Serbia accepted all but one of the demands, but this was not enough to prevent Austria-Hungary from declaring war on July 28, 1914.

The first invasion of Serbia was led by Austrian General Oskar Potiorek and consisted of three armies on Serbia's western and northern borders. However, due to the Russian mobilization, one of the armies was diverted to the Eastern Front, reducing the number of troops available for the invasion. Despite this setback, the Austro-Hungarian Army still outnumbered the Serbian Army, which was exhausted from previous conflicts and poorly equipped. The invasion was commanded by Radomir Putnik and saw victories for the Serbs at the Battle of Cer Mountain and Šabac. However, the Austrians launched a second offensive against Serbia's western front on the Drina River, followed by a third offensive, which forced the Serbs to evacuate Belgrade on November 30. Nonetheless, the Serbs mounted a successful counterattack and retook Belgrade by December 15.

The conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia escalated into a wider war, drawing in Russia, Germany, France, and the British Empire. The Serbian Campaign, as it became known, consisted of two campaigns by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Serbia. The first campaign ended after three unsuccessful invasion attempts were repelled by the Serbs and their Montenegrin allies. The second campaign, launched under German command, saw Bulgarian, Austro-Hungarian, and German forces successfully invade Serbia, resulting in the Great Retreat and the evacuation of Serbian forces to Greece. Serbia was then occupied and divided between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Bulgaria. However, the Allies launched the Vardar Offensive in September 1918, which broke through the Macedonian front and ultimately led to the liberation of Serbia, Albania, and Montenegro.

The Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia had far-reaching consequences, with Serbia suffering devastating casualties and economic losses. The invasion also precipitated the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was unable to withstand the pressures of the war and the rise of nationalist movements within its borders.

The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Internal Social Contradictions and Separation:

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a dual monarchy with a complex structure, comprising the Austrian Empire (Cisleithania) and the Kingdom of Hungary (Transleithania), jointly controlling Bosnia and Herzegovina. Over time, the gap between Hungarian and Austrian interests widened, creating tensions within the empire. Additionally, the empire encompassed multiple ethnicities, including Germans, Czechs, Hungarians, Romanians, Slovaks, and Croats, which fueled nationalist sentiments and desires for independence.

Impact of World War I:

World War I dealt a significant blow to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The war efforts strained the empire's economy, leading to a severe economic crisis, crop failures, and widespread starvation by 1918. The military faced low morale and struggled to maintain its lines. The 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the Wilsonian peace pronouncements encouraged socialism and nationalism among the peoples of the empire. The Allies' encouragement of breakaway demands from minorities further contributed to the empire's disintegration.

The Final Stages:

In September 1918, the Austro-Hungarian government proposed a general peace conference, but this was rejected by the United States, citing the Wilsonian pronouncements. On October 4, after Bulgaria's collapse, the empire appealed for an armistice based on the Fourteen Points. However, the U.S. response on October 18 signaled support for the Czechoslovaks and Yugoslavs, indicating that autonomy would not suffice. Emperor Charles granted autonomy to the peoples of the Austrian Empire on October 16, but this concession was too little too late and only accelerated the empire's disintegration.

The final dissolution occurred rapidly. On October 24, a Hungarian National Council was established in Budapest, seeking peace and separation from Austria. Czechoslovak and South Slav committees in Prague and Zagreb, respectively, declared their intentions to form independent states. On October 29, the Croats in Zagreb declared their independence, and on October 30, German members of the Reichsrat proclaimed an independent state of German Austria.

The armistice between the Allies and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was signed on November 3, 1918, and became effective on November 4. Emperor Charles renounced his right to participate in Austrian and Hungarian affairs on November 11 and 13, respectively. The empire's territories were incorporated into existing or newly formed states, formalized by the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye with Austria in 1919 and the Treaty of Trianon with Hungary in 1920.

The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye

The treaty officially dissolved the Austro-Hungarian Empire and recognised the independence of several new states, including Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia). It also ceded eastern Galicia, Trento, southern Tirol, Trieste, and Istria to Italy.

The treaty included provisions for war reparations to be paid by Austria to the Allies, although no exact amount was ever defined or collected. It also limited the Austrian Army to 30,000 volunteers and prohibited Austria from uniting with Germany without the consent of the Council of the League of Nations.

Austrian officials protested the treaty, citing the violation of the principle of self-determination and the placement of many ethnic Germans under foreign rule. The new Austrian state was significantly smaller and weaker than its imperial predecessor, and its economic struggles, particularly in Vienna, raised questions about its long-term viability.

The Republic of German-Austria

On October 21, 1918, the elected German members of the Reichsrat (parliament of Imperial Austria) met in Vienna as the Provisional National Assembly for German Austria. On October 30, the assembly founded the Republic of German-Austria by appointing a government called the Staatsrat. The Staatsrat was invited by the Emperor to take part in the decision on the planned armistice with Italy, but they refrained from doing so. This left the responsibility for ending the war solely to the Emperor and his government.

On November 11, 1918, the Emperor, advised by ministers of the old and new governments, declared that he would no longer participate in state affairs. The following day, German-Austria declared itself a democratic republic and part of the new German republic. The constitution, renaming the Staatsrat as the Bundesregierung (federal government) and the Nationalversammlung as the Nationalrat (national council), was passed on November 10, 1919.

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