Austria And Germany's Concern: A Country In Focus

Austria was a source of concern for Germany in the lead-up to World War I, but not because of any threat it posed. Instead, Germany was concerned about the possibility of Austria allying with Russia.

Austria-Hungary was a large, multi-ethnic empire that included modern-day Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine. In 1914, it was the second-largest state in Europe by land area, after Russia. It was also the third-largest by population, after Russia and Germany.

Austria-Hungary was ruled by the Habsburgs, who were closely related to the Romanovs of Russia. In the lead-up to World War I, the two empires were not on good terms. Austria-Hungary had annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, angering Russia, which had ambitions in the Balkans. In 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated by a Bosnian Serb nationalist. Austria-Hungary sought to punish Serbia for the assassination, but was wary of Russia's reaction.

Germany, which was allied with Austria-Hungary, gave its support to Austria-Hungary in what became known as the blank cheque. However, Germany urged Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia quickly to localise the war and avoid drawing in Russia. Ultimately, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand led to a series of diplomatic and military escalations among the major powers of Europe, resulting in the outbreak of World War I.

The Anschluss: Annexation of Austria into Germany

The Anschluss, which took place from March 11 to March 13, 1938, was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich. The term "Anschluss" means "joining" or "connection" in German. The idea of unifying Austria and Germany into a "Greater Germany" gained support after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, as many believed that Austria, stripped of its imperial land, was not economically viable.

In the early 1930s, the Austrian government withdrew from economic ties with Germany, which was now under Nazi rule. However, by 1937, rapid German rearmament increased Berlin's interest in annexing Austria, which was rich in raw materials and labour.

In February 1938, Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg met with Adolf Hitler and was forced to agree to give the Austrian Nazis a free hand. On March 9, Schuschnigg called for a national referendum on the question of Anschluss, which was scheduled for March 13. However, under pressure from Hitler, he cancelled the referendum and resigned on March 11, pleading with Austrian forces not to resist a German invasion.

On March 12, German troops crossed the border into Austria, unopposed by the Austrian military. Hitler appointed a new Nazi government, and on March 13, the annexation was proclaimed. A plebiscite held on April 10, with the ballot not kept secret and voters subjected to threats and coercion, resulted in 99.7% approval for the Anschluss. While the true opinions of the population are unknown, it is estimated that about 70% of Austrians would have voted to preserve Austrian independence.

The annexation of Austria was the first act of territorial aggression and expansion by Nazi Germany and a significant breach of the post-World War I international order. It demonstrated Nazi disdain for international treaties, as the unification of Austria and Germany was expressly forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint-Germain. The failure of other European powers to intervene or punish the Nazis for these violations emboldened Hitler to continue his expansionary policies, leading to the invasion of Czechoslovakia and the start of World War II.

Austria-Hungary's hostility towards Serbia

In the early 20th century, the Balkans region became increasingly volatile due to the weakening of the Ottoman Empire, allowing countries within it to fight for independence and greater powers to attempt to take control. Serbia's growing strength and ambition in the region, coupled with its support for Yugoslav nationalism, were seen as a threat to the unity of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which comprised multiple ethnic groups, including Hungarians, Slavs, and Croats.

The First Balkan War in 1912 further exacerbated tensions, as Serbia gained control of the Adriatic coastline and Albania. Austria-Hungary resented and feared Serbia's sudden growth, demanding that it relinquish its newly acquired territories. This led to the Treaty of London in May 1913, in which Serbia lost control of the Adriatic coast and Albania became an independent state. Serbia felt that the treaty was inadequate and blamed Austria-Hungary for its loss of land, further fuelling hostility between the two nations.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife in June 1914 by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo served as a catalyst for the escalating tensions. Austria-Hungary, with the unconditional support of its ally Germany, sought to inflict a military blow on Serbia and presented an ultimatum with harsh demands. Despite Serbia accepting most of the demands, Austria-Hungary broke off diplomatic relations and declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, marking the beginning of World War I.

Another significant factor contributing to Austria-Hungary's hostility towards Serbia was the rise of nationalism among the various ethnic groups within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Slavs, in particular, aspired to form their own homelands and unify all Slavic states, posing a threat to the unity and stability of the empire. This nationalist sentiment was further fuelled by Serbia's independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878 and its subsequent claims on regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were inhabited primarily by Serbs.

Additionally, the idea of uniting all Germans into a single nation-state, known as "Greater Germany" or "Anschluss," gained support among Austrians and Germans, particularly after World War I. This proposal, which was an integral part of Nazi ideology, sought to incorporate ethnic Germans outside of Germany, including Austrian Germans, into a unified state. The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938, known as the Anschluss, further heightened tensions and demonstrated Hitler's aggressive territorial ambitions.

The Balkan question

• Most of the Balkan parts were under the control of the Ottoman Empire. The people of the Balkans demanded their freedom and political rights.
• The Balkans wanted to capture more territories, which led to the power of rivalry.
• European powers were conflicted as other countries such as England, Russia, Germany, and Austro-Hungary wanted to capture the Balkans.

The Eastern Question emerged as the power of the Ottoman Empire began to decline during the 18th century. The Ottomans were at the height of their power in 1683 when they lost the Battle of Vienna to the combined forces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Austria. Peace was made much later, in 1699, with the Treaty of Karlowitz, which forced the Ottoman Empire to cede many of its Central European possessions, including those portions of Hungary it had occupied. Its westward expansion arrested, the Ottoman Empire never again posed a serious threat to Austria, which became the dominant power in its region of Europe.

The Eastern Question did not truly develop until the Russo-Turkish Wars of the 18th century. The Napoleonic era (1799–1815) brought some relief to the faltering Ottoman Empire. It distracted Russia from further advances. However, the Napoleonic scheme threatened not only the Sultan but also Britain, Austria and Prussia, which were almost powerless in the face of such a potent alliance. The alliance naturally proved accommodating to the Austrians, who hoped that a joint Franco-Russian attack, which would probably have utterly devastated the Ottoman Empire, could be prevented by diplomacy.

The Eastern Question was internationally prominent during the Greek revolution of the 1820s, the Crimean conflict (1853–56), the Balkan crisis of 1875–78, the Bosnian crisis of 1908, and the Balkan Wars of 1912–13. The eventual distribution of the Ottoman territories was as follows: the Balkan provinces emerged in the course of the century as independent states, often under the influence of Russia or one of the other great powers; Britain occupied Cyprus in 1878 and Egypt in 1882 and acquired Palestine and Iraq as mandates after World War I; and France took over Syria and Lebanon in 1920. Turkey, the heart of the Ottoman state, won recognition as an independent republic in 1923.

The League of the Three Emperors

The first League of the Three Emperors was formed on 22 October 1873, with an agreement between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Germany. This initial phase is sometimes referred to as the Three Emperors' Treaty. The alliance sought to resurrect the Holy Alliance of 1815 and act as a bulwark against radical sentiments that the rulers found unsettling. It was preceded by the Schönbrunn Convention, signed by Russia and Austria-Hungary on 6 June 1873. The first league was in effect until 1878, when it disbanded due to territorial disputes in the Balkans.

The second League of the Three Emperors was established on 18 June 1881 and lasted until 1887. This league was more formal and secret than the first and included the same signatories for Prussia and Austria-Hungary, but with a new tsar, Alexander III, representing Russia. The second league also provided that no territorial changes should take place in the Balkans without prior agreement and that Austria could annex Bosnia and Herzegovina when it wished. Like the first league, the second also aimed to maintain friendly neutrality in the event of a conflict with a fourth great power. However, both iterations of the league ultimately ended due to continued strong conflicts of interest between Austria-Hungary and Russia in the Balkans.

Bismarck was able to temporarily preserve ties with Russia through the Reinsurance Treaty of 1887. However, after his dismissal, this treaty was not renewed, and a Franco-Russian alliance developed, bringing Europe a step closer to World War I.

The Russo-Japanese War

The war began when Japan attacked the Russian Pacific Fleet at Port Arthur on February 8, 1904. The attack was designed to neutralize the Russians, who had been pursuing an expansionist policy in Siberia and the Far East since the reign of Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century. Japan, meanwhile, had been concerned about Russian influence in the region since the First Sino-Japanese War of 1895, in which Russia had provided military support to the Qing Dynasty in China.

The major land battles of the war were fought on the Liaodong Peninsula and near Mukden in Southern Manchuria, with naval battles taking place in the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. The war concluded with the Treaty of Portsmouth, which was signed on September 5, 1905. The treaty recognized Japanese interests in Korea and awarded to Japan Russia's lease on the Liaodong Peninsula, control of the Russian-built South Manchuria Railway, and the southern half of the island of Sakhalin.

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