Austria-Hungary's Allies: Who Fought Alongside In Wwi?

Austria-Hungary was one of the main nations involved in World War I. The country was part of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Italy, and together with Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, they formed the Central Powers. Austria-Hungary participated in some of the most significant battles of the war, including the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive, the Battles of the Isonzo, and the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. The country's alliance with Germany was particularly important, with Germany providing heavy aid and support to Austria-Hungary during the war.

The Central Powers

Austria-Hungary was a dual monarchy formed in 1867 through a compromise between Emperor Franz Joseph and Hungary. The empire was a "common monarchy" consisting of the emperor and his court, the minister for foreign affairs, and the minister of war. It was made up of the Kingdom of Hungary and the "other Imperial half", which was a collection of kingdoms and lands represented in the Reichsrat.

Austria-Hungary was one of the main nations involved in World War I. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie in 1914 was the main short-term cause of the war. This assassination led to the July Crisis, which culminated in Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia, an ally of Imperial Russia. This declaration of war brought Serbia's ally, Montenegro, into the war, and they attacked the Austrian naval base at Cattaro.

At the start of the war in 1914, Austria-Hungary joined forces with Germany, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire to form the Central Powers. Austria-Hungary had approximately 3 million soldiers at the outbreak of World War I, and by the end of the war, 7.8 million had served in its military. However, it struggled to adequately supply and prepare its military forces and had one of the least developed armies in Europe. The multi-ethnic nature of the Austro-Hungarian Army also created divisions within the ranks and made it difficult for commanders to organize and deploy troops effectively.

During the war, the Austro-Hungarian forces fought on multiple fronts, including the Italian Front (or Alpine Front), the Serbian Front, and the Eastern Front. They participated in several significant battles, including the Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive, the Battles of the Isonzo, and the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. Despite heavy aid and support from its Central Powers allies, Austria-Hungary suffered severe casualties on these fronts, and by November 1918, the Italians had broken through the Austrian defenses, leading the Austrians to accept the Armistice of Villa Giusti.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire played a relatively passive diplomatic role in the war, as it was increasingly dominated and controlled by Germany. The war took a heavy toll on the empire, with over 7.8 million Austro-Hungarian soldiers serving and approximately 900,000 dying during the conflict. The economic situation also deteriorated, with inflation rising and food shortages becoming common. The empire began to fall apart towards the end of the war, and it formally dissolved in the fall of 1918.

The Triple Alliance

Formation and Membership

Germany and Austria-Hungary had been closely allied since 1879. Italy was looking for support against France shortly after it lost North African ambitions to the French. Each member promised mutual support in the event of an attack by any other great power. The treaty provided that Germany and Austria-Hungary were to assist Italy if it was attacked by France without provocation. In turn, Italy would assist Germany if attacked by France. In the event of a war between Austria-Hungary and Russia, Italy promised to remain neutral.

Romania and Italy did not take part in World War I on the side of the Central Powers. On 18 October 1883, Carol I of Romania secretly pledged to support the Triple Alliance, but he later remained neutral in the First World War due to viewing Austria-Hungary as the aggressor.

The Balkan Question

With the decline and the failed reforms of the Ottoman Empire, Slavic discontent in the occupied Balkans grew, which both Russia and Austria-Hungary saw as an opportunity to expand in the region. In 1876, Russia offered to partition the Balkans, but the Hungarian statesman Gyula Andrássy declined because Austria-Hungary was already a "saturated" state and could not cope with additional territories. The whole empire was thus drawn into a new style of diplomatic brinkmanship, which was first conceived of by Andrássy, centering on the province of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a predominantly-Slav area that was still under the control of the Ottoman Empire.

On the heels of the Great Balkan Crisis, Austro-Hungarian forces occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina in August 1878, and Austria-Hungary eventually annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 1908 as a common holding under the control of the finance ministry, rather than attaching it to either Austria or Hungary. The occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina was a step taken in response to Russian advances into Bessarabia. Unable to mediate between the Ottoman and the Russian Empires over the control of Serbia, Austria–Hungary declared neutrality when the conflict between the empires escalated into war. To counter Russian and French interests in Europe, an alliance was concluded with Germany in October 1879 and with Italy in May 1882.

Italy's Motives for Joining the Alliance

The Italian government at the time was controlled by conservatives, who sympathized ideologically with the two monarchies. Also, Catholic Austria was a traditional protector of the Papacy, which Italy had poor relations with. However, perhaps most importantly, Italy was seeking potential allies against France. The Kingdom of Italy, like most of the other European powers, wanted to set up colonies and build up an overseas empire. Although France had supported Italian unification, Italy's colonial ambitions in Africa quickly brought it into a rivalry with France. That was reflected in anger at the French conquest of Tunisia in 1881, the so-called Slap of Tunis by the Italian press, which many Italians had seen as a potential colony. By joining the Alliance, Italy hoped to guarantee itself support in case of foreign aggression.

The Alliance in World War I

When the war began in 1914, the Central Powers were opposed by the Triple Entente, formed in 1907 when the agreement between the United Kingdom and Russia complemented existing agreements between the three powers.

Fighting commenced when Austria invaded Serbia on 28 July 1914, purportedly in response to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Emperor Franz Joseph I; this brought Serbia's ally Montenegro into the war on 8 August, and it attacked the Austrian naval base at Cattaro, modern Kotor. At the same time, German troops carried out the Schlieffen Plan, entering neutral Belgium and Luxembourg.

The End of the Alliance

The 1882 Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy was renewed at regular intervals, but was compromised by conflicting objectives between Italy and Austria in the Adriatic and Aegean seas. Italian nationalists referred to Austrian-held Istria (including Trieste and Fiume) and Trento as 'the lost territories', making the Alliance so controversial that the terms were kept secret until it expired in 1915.

The Eastern Front

The Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive

The Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive was a major military offensive carried out by the Central Powers against Russia. The offensive took place from May 2 to June 22, 1915, along the eastern border of Austria-Hungary. It was a major victory for the Central Powers, as they were able to push through the Russian defenses and cause the Russian Army to fall back in retreat. This offensive led to what historians refer to as the 'Great Retreat', where the Russian Army retreated out of the territory they had previously captured.

The Battle of Galicia

The Battle of Galicia, also known as the Battle of Lemberg, was a conflict between Austria-Hungary and Russia that took place during the early weeks and months of World War I, from August 23 to September 11, 1914. It is considered one of the most significant battles of World War I along the Eastern Front. During the battle, the Austro-Hungarian First, Second, and Fourth Armies faced off against the Russian Third, Fourth, and Eighth Armies. The Austro-Hungarian forces were forced to retreat, and the Russians captured significant amounts of territory around the city of Lemberg.

The Brusilov Offensive

From June 1916, the Russians focused their attacks on the Austro-Hungarian army in the Brusilov Offensive, recognizing their numerical inferiority. By the end of September 1916, Austria-Hungary had mobilized and concentrated new divisions, and the successful Russian advance was halted and slowly repelled. However, the Austrian armies suffered heavy losses (about 1 million men) and never fully recovered. The huge losses inflicted on the Russians during the offensive contributed greatly to the revolutions of 1917 and caused an economic crash in the Russian Empire.

The Romanian Campaign

The Kingdom of Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary on August 27, 1916. Initially, the Romanian Army successfully crossed the borders of Eastern Hungary (Transylvania). However, the campaign quickly turned into a military disaster for Romania as German, Austrian, and Hungarian forces counter-attacked and quickly advanced into Wallachia. By January 1917, the military campaign was over, and the Romanian government and royal court retreated to Moldavia.

The Serbian Campaign

The Serbian Campaign, carried out by Austria-Hungary, began on July 28, 1914, when Austria-Hungary declared war against Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian forces made three failed invasion attempts and suffered a humiliating defeat, as Serbia's smaller and less-capable military was able to hold them off. By the end of 1914, the fighting between Austria-Hungary and Serbia had resulted in heavy losses for both sides but little territorial change. In 1915, with support from German and Bulgarian forces, the Central Powers were able to defeat and occupy Serbia.

The Italian Front

The Italian Front, also known as the Alpine Front, was located along the border between Italy and Austria-Hungary. Italy officially joined World War I on the side of the Allied nations on May 23, 1915, and fighting between the two nations commenced. The Italian Chief of Staff, Luigi Cadorna, devised a plan to push through the Austro-Hungarian defenses and siege Vienna. However, the attack failed, and the Italian Front resulted in a stalemate similar to the other fronts of World War I.

The End of the War

In 1917, the Eastern Front of the Entente Powers collapsed. Despite this, the Austro-Hungarian Empire withdrew from all defeated countries due to its dire economic condition and signs of impending disintegration. The Armistice of Villa Giusti was signed on November 3, 1918, ending the conflict between Italy and Austria-Hungary on the Italian Front. By this time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was already dissolving, and Emperor Charles I issued a proclamation renouncing his right to participate in Austrian state affairs on November 11, effectively ending the monarchy.

The Italian Front

The Road to War

In the 19th century, Italy was a collection of small kingdoms, duchies, and city-states. A nationalist push for unification emerged in the 1820s, intensifying in the mid-19th century due to the endeavours of men like Guiseppe Garibaldi and Guiseppe Mazzini, as well as the European revolutions of 1848. The Kingdom of Italy, based in Turin, was formed in 1861, and Italian independence and unification were largely completed when the new nation obtained control of Venice (1866, from Austria) and Rome (1870, from the Vatican).

In the 1870s, Germany emerged as the dominant power in Central Europe, and the unification of Italy was achieved despite Austrian efforts to prevent it. This quashed the immediate territorial aspirations of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary on the Italian peninsula and in the Balkans. However, portions of Austria-Hungary and Germany shared a common language, and mutual cultural and economic interests were recognised. By 1880, the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires had begun to formalise their relationship.

In 1882, Italy became a signatory to the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. This surprised many, as Italians and Austro-Hungarians had been traditional foes for most of the 19th century due to territorial disputes. Vienna continued to occupy and claim sovereignty over the Tyrol and Trieste, areas mainly populated by Italian-speaking peoples. The Austrians had objected to and worked to undermine Italian unification. As a consequence, many thought Italy's membership of the Triple Alliance was insincere or fragile. It allowed Italy some breathing space while she consolidated her national power and military capacity, but was unlikely to last.

In the spring of 1915, Italy was lured to the side of the Allies by the promise of significant territorial gains from a defeated Austro-Hungarian Empire. The British, recognising the Italian desire for expansion, promised Rome significant territorial rewards, to be carved from the Austro-Hungarian empire once it was defeated. Among these promises were the Tyrol, Trieste, the Austrian Littoral, parts of the Dalmatian coast, the protectorate of Albania and a share of Germany's African and Asian colonies.

On May 23, 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary. The Italian Front stretched from the Stelvio Pass along the Tyrolean, Carinthian, and Littoral borders to the Isonzo, totalling around 600 kilometres. The front touched very different geographical areas, from mountainous terrain to the harsh, sparsely populated, and craggy karst landscape around the Isonzo valley.

The topographical characteristics of the front area had a concrete impact on the conduct of the war. The rocky ground, for example, made it difficult to dig trenches, and the karst rock in the Isonzo Valley turned out to be an additional danger for the soldiers. If grenades exploded on the porous surface, fragments of the exploding rock acted as additional shrapnel.

The Italian armed forces were numerically superior, but things initially remained quiet on the southwestern front. No attempt was made to break through on the Tyrolean front, and there was no major offensive on the Isonzo either. Due to the hesitant implementation of Italian attack plans, the chance to score a decisive blow at the beginning was lost.

Between June 1915 and March 1916, Italian forces launched five separate assaults against Austrian positions in the Isonzo region. But while the Austrian defenders were heavily outnumbered, they had the advantage of elevated positions. In contrast, the Italians were led by inexperienced and overly aggressive officers who wasted men with fruitless offensives. By the end of 1915, more than 60,000 Italians – or one-quarter of their army – had been killed. The struggle for the Isonzo continued for almost two years, with numerous counter-offensives and fallbacks. In total, there were 11 different battles in the region, costing more than 130,000 Italian lives.

The stalemate in the Isonzo caused morale and support for the war to plummet. In June 1916, the failure of Italy's military campaigns forced prime minister Salandra to resign; he was replaced by 78-year-old Paolo Boselli, a politician of no obvious talent or initiative. Pope Benedict XV was an outspoken critic of the war, calling it a "useless massacre" and a "horrible carnage that dishonours Europe". Affected by the high death rate and the words of the Pope, Italy's peasants shunned the war, refusing to enlist or abide by conscription orders. Desertions in the Italian army steadily increased, peaking at 60,000 in 1917.

The Battle of Caporetto

The situation worsened after the 1917 revolutions in Russia, which allowed Austro-Hungarian forces to relocate from the Eastern Front to the Italian border regions. They were joined by some German units, Rome having declared war on Berlin in August 1916. In October 1917, some 400,000 German and Austro-Hungarian troops attacked the Italian army at Caporetto, 60 miles north of Trieste. Despite outnumbering their attackers by more than two to one, the Italian lines were penetrated almost immediately. The Germans and Austro-Hungarians moved rapidly, outflanking and encircling much of the Italian army. When the battle had run its course by mid-November, 11,000 Italians were dead, and more than a quarter of a million had been taken prisoner; a great number of these surrendered voluntarily. Caporetto was an unmitigated disaster, one of the war's worst military defeats. The government again collapsed, and the prime minister and several military commanders were replaced.

The Balkan Front

The First Balkan War began on October 8, 1912, when Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Soon after, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece joined the conflict. The main theater of the war was Thrace, with Bulgarian armies besieging the Ottoman fortress at Adrianople (Edirne) and achieving major victories at Kirk Kilisse (Lozengrad) and Buni Hisar/Lule Burgas. The Serbian army broke the western Ottoman army at Kumanovo on October 23 and proceeded into Macedonia, Kosovo, and Albania, reaching the Adriatic coast in December. The Greek navy played a crucial role in preventing Ottoman reinforcements from reaching the Balkans and occupied the Aegean Islands.

The First Balkan War ended with an armistice signed on December 3, 1912, followed by the Treaty of London on May 30, 1913, which significantly reduced the Ottoman Empire's presence in Europe. However, tensions among the Balkan allies escalated due to competing claims, particularly over the disposition of Macedonia. This led to the Second Balkan War, also known as the Interallied War, which began on June 29, 1913, with Bulgarian attacks on Greek and Serbian positions. Romanian and Ottoman units also invaded Bulgaria, seeking territorial gains. The Second Balkan War resulted in significant changes to the map of southeastern Europe, with Bulgaria losing most of Macedonia and southern Dobrudzha, while Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro gained territories.

The Balkan Wars had far-reaching consequences and set the stage for the July Crisis of 1914, which ultimately triggered World War I. The conflicts in the Balkans also contributed to the complex web of alliances and rivalries among the Great Powers, with Russia supporting Serbia and Austria-Hungary concerned about the growth of Serbian power and nationalist aspirations in the region. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Bosnian Serb in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, served as a catalyst for the outbreak of World War I, with Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia and mobilizing its forces.

During World War I, the Balkan Front encompassed the Serbian Front, the Eastern Front, and the Italian Front (also known as the Alpine Front). The Serbian Campaign, which began on July 28, 1914, with Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Serbia, proved to be a challenging and humiliating defeat for the Austro-Hungarian forces, who failed to defeat the Serbian Army despite their larger and more capable military. The Eastern Front, which included the Battle of Galicia, saw intense fighting between Austria-Hungary and Russia, with significant casualties on both sides. The Italian Front, which became active in 1915 when Italy joined the war, involved a series of battles along the border between Italy and Austria-Hungary, including the Battles of the Isonzo and the Battle of Vittorio Veneto.

Throughout World War I, the Balkan Front witnessed intense fighting, complex alliances, and shifting borders. The outcomes of the Balkan Wars influenced the course of the conflict, and the region remained a critical theater of operations until the war's conclusion in 1918.

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