Austria-Hungary: 1914'S Complex Dual Monarchy Explained

Austria-Hungary was a constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed by a merger of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary and was ruled by a single monarch. It was also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy.

Austria-Hungary was geographically the second-largest country in Europe and the third-most populous. It was a multi-ethnic state with 11 major ethno-language groups, including Germans, Hungarians, Poles, Czechs, Ukrainians, Slovaks, Slovenes, Croatians, Serbs, Italians and Romanians.

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.

Austria-Hungary was a relatively young nation-state containing a rich mix of people and cultures. It was a major European power and had one of the most powerful armies in the world. However, it was also a politically and ethnically divided nation, with jealousies, grievances and disagreements between the two older kingdoms.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a dual monarchy, formed by a merger of the two older states in 1867. It was ruled by Emperor Franz Joseph, who was both head of state and government. The empire was overseen by a central government responsible for matters of foreign policy, military command and joint finance. The two kingdoms continued to exist with a degree of autonomy, with their own parliament, prime ministers, cabinet and domestic self-government.

The Dual Monarchy

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. It was a military and diplomatic alliance consisting of two sovereign states with a single monarch, who was titled both Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. The two kingdoms were the Empire of Austria ("Lands Represented in the Imperial Council", or Cisleithania) in the western and northern half and the Kingdom of Hungary ("Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen", or Transleithania) in the eastern half. The two kingdoms were joined together by a common ruler, a common ministry for foreign affairs, a joint military, a common currency, and a common trade policy.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire's military

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe. It was a military and diplomatic alliance consisting of two sovereign states with a single monarch, who was titled both Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. The two countries conducted unified diplomatic and defence policies, and the common army changed its label from k.k. to k.u.k. only in 1889 at the request of the Hungarian government.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire 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. The Empire conscripted 7.8 million soldiers during the war. The Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff was General von Hötzendorf. The Empire's military was divided into two at the start of the war: 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, with the Austro-Hungarian Army taking no territory and losing 227,000 out of a total force of 450,000 men. The Austro-Hungarian campaign against Serbia was equally unsuccessful, with the military wreaking cruel havoc on civilians.

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 the Allies, but 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 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 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 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, 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 operational capability of the Austro-Hungarian army was seriously affected by supply shortages, low morale and 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 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 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.

The Eastern Front

• Operations in Galicia (August-September 1914)
• The first and second invasions of Poland (1914)
• The Austro-Hungarian-German advance into Russia (1915)
• The Brusilov offensive (1916)
• The Romanian campaign (August-December 1916)
• The Russian Revolution (1917)

The Italian Front

The Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, also known as the Battle of Gorizia, began on 6 August 1916 and was the first real Italian success of the war. The Italians gained a footing on the Carso plateau, took the town of Gorizia, and secured a bridgehead on the river. This victory was a great boost to Italian morale, both civilian and military.

In October and November 1917, a joint Austro-German attack at Caporetto inflicted a massive defeat on Italy, but the Central Powers were unable to capitalise on their victory. Italy recovered well and emerged victorious after the final battle of Vittorio Veneto.

The armistice with Austria was signed on 3 November 1918 and came into effect at 3pm on 4 November 1918. Italy could claim she had conquered Trieste and the Trentino to finally complete the long process of Italian unification.

The Serbian Campaign

After the failure of the first invasion, Austria-Hungary regrouped and launched a second invasion in September 1914, at the Battle of the Drina. The Serbs pushed the 5th Army back into Bosnia while forcing the remains of the Balkanstreitkräfte to retreat to avoid encirclement. On 24 October, the Valjevo Offensive saw Potiorek launching a third invasion, this time reaching deep into northern Serbia, capturing Belgrade, the Serbian capital, on 2 December 1914. Following a successful counter-offensive at the Battle of Kolubara, the Serbian Army managed to expel the Central Powers forces again from its territory before the end of December, consequently ending the campaign.

Potiorek was relieved of his command after the three invasions had achieved none of their objectives. The Campaign cost the Habsburg forces 28,000 dead and 122,000 wounded. Serbian losses were also heavy, with 22,000 dead, 91,000 wounded, and 19,000 captured or missing. Less than a year later, after combining the armies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria, the Central Powers returned for a massive offensive during the Serbian Campaign of 1915.

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