Lyla Lindsey
Austria has been involved in several wars throughout its history, with its complex past seeing it ruled by the House of Habsburg and House of Habsburg-Lorraine from 1273 until the end of the First World War in 1918. In the 1900s, Austria was involved in the Bosnian crisis of 1908, which led to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 and sparked the conflict that became World War I. Prior to this, in the 1860s, Austria was involved in the Austro-Prussian War, which saw it fighting against the Kingdom of Prussia, aided by various German Confederation allies.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | 1866 |
| Combatants | Austrian Empire, Kingdom of Prussia, Kingdom of Italy |
| Cause | Dispute over administration of Schleswig-Holstein |
| Outcome | Prussian victory, abolition of German Confederation |
| Part of | Rivalry between Austria and Prussia |
| Conflict | First World War |
| Date | 1914 |
| Combatants | Austria-Hungary, Serbia |
| Cause | Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand |
| Outcome | Led to global war |
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What You'll Learn
The Austro-Prussian War (1866)
The Austro-Prussian War, also known as the Seven Weeks' War or the German Civil War, was fought in 1866 between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, with both sides aided by various allies within the German Confederation. Prussia also had an alliance with the Kingdom of Italy, linking the conflict to the Third Independence War of Italian unification. The war was part of the wider rivalry between Austria and Prussia and resulted in Prussian dominance over the German states.
The war was sparked by a dispute between Prussia and Austria over the administration of Schleswig and Holstein, which they had jointly seized from Denmark in 1864. The crisis began on 26 January 1866, when Prussia protested against the decision of the Austrian Governor of Holstein to allow the estates of the duchies to summon a united assembly, claiming it breached the principle of joint sovereignty. Austria responded, asserting that its decision did not infringe on Prussia's rights. In March, Austria reinforced its troops along the frontier with Prussia, leading to a partial mobilisation of Prussian forces in response. Prussia's Minister President, Otto von Bismarck, formed an alliance with Italy, further incentivising Prussia to enter the war.
The Prussian economy was rapidly growing, aided by the German customs union, and Prussia was able to equip its armies with advanced weaponry. In contrast, the Austrian economy was suffering from the effects of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and the Second Italian War of Independence, leaving the state heavily indebted. Despite this, historian Christopher Clark suggests that Prussia did not hold a significant economic or industrial advantage over Austria, and Austria was able to produce sophisticated weapons, such as rifled artillery.
The war ended quickly, with existing weapons and munitions playing a more significant role than economic and industrial power. Prussia's victory resulted in the Peace of Prague on 23 August 1866, which dissolved the German Confederation and led to the Prussian annexation of several territories formerly allied with Austria. Austria was permanently excluded from German affairs, and Prussia unified all the northern German states in the North German Confederation, excluding Austria and the other southern German states. This shift in power among the German states towards Prussian hegemony may have contributed to the causes of the two world wars, as Prussia developed as a military power.
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The War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748)
The war began on 16 December 1740, when Frederick II of Prussia invaded Silesia, one of the richest Habsburg provinces. His army defeated the Austrians at Mollwitz in April 1741 and overran Silesia. This victory enhanced the suspicion in Europe that the Habsburg dominions were incapable of defending themselves, leading to a wider conflict. Within a month, France’s Charles-Louis-Auguste Fouquet, comte (later marshal and duc) de Belle-Isle, constructed an alliance with Bavaria and Spain and, later, with Saxony and Prussia against Austria. The Austrian ruler Maria Theresa (daughter of Charles VI) derived her main foreign support from Britain, which feared that, if the French achieved hegemony in Europe, the British commercial and colonial empire would be untenable. Thus, the War of the Austrian Succession was, in part, one phase of the struggle between France and Britain that lasted from 1689 to 1815.
The war can be divided into three separate but connected conflicts, the first being the Silesian Wars between Prussia and Austria. Prussia occupied the Austrian province of Silesia in 1740, although Austria and Sardinia defeated Spanish attacks in Northern Italy. The First Silesian War (1740–42) and the Second Silesian War (1744–45) saw Frederick II the Great of Prussia, allied with France, wrest the province of Silesia from Austria and hold on to it. The Second Silesian War was concluded by the Treaty of Dresden in December 1745, confirming Prussian possession of Silesia.
The last major French success was Marshal Maurice de Saxe’s conquest of the Austrian Netherlands (1745–46), which followed his great victory at the Battle of Fontenoy on 11 May 1745. From 1746 to 1748, the war dragged on indecisively. The British had withdrawn their army to England to oppose the French-supported efforts of Charles Edward, the young pretender to the thrones of Scotland and England for the Stuarts. The financial burden finally pushed the powers to the conference table. The war ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), by which Maria Theresa was confirmed as Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary. The treaty reflected a stalemate since most of the commercial issues that had led to the war were left unresolved, and many of the signatories were unhappy with the terms.
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The First World War (1914)
The First World War, also known as World War I, was a global conflict that took place between 28 July 1914 and 11 November 1918. The war was fought between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente), which included France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and from 1917, the United States; and the Central Powers, which included Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. The war resulted in the deaths of about 8.5 million soldiers and 13 million civilians, with an estimated 20 million people wounded.
The First World War began after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife on 28 June 1914 by a Serbian-backed terrorist. This assassination led to a series of political, diplomatic, and military decisions that turned a localised conflict in southeast Europe into a global war. Austria-Hungary, with German encouragement, declared war on Serbia on 28 July, bringing Russia, France, and Germany into the conflict. Germany's invasion of Belgium and violation of Belgian neutrality, along with British fears of German domination in Europe, led to Britain's entry into the war on 4 August.
The war was characterised by trench warfare, the widespread use of artillery, machine guns, chemical weapons, and the introduction of tanks and aircraft. It was fought mainly in Europe and the Middle East but also in parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The causes of World War I included the rise of Germany, the decline of the Ottoman Empire, and increasing economic competition between nations driven by industrialisation. The war also reflected the growing nationalism, increased militarism, imperial rivalry, and competition for power and influence among European powers.
By 1914, Europe was divided into two rival alliance systems, with Germany at the heart of a power bloc in central Europe, having formed an alliance with Austria-Hungary in 1879. This alliance strengthened further when Italy joined in 1882, and the fear of Germany's growing strength led Russia and France to enter into an alliance in 1893. Germany's ambitions to build a battle fleet initiated a naval arms race with Britain, straining their relations.
The First World War saw the first use of aircraft carriers in combat, with HMS Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a raid against the Zeppelin hangars at Tondern in 1918. The war also had a significant impact on civilian populations, with food shortages, malnutrition, and the spread of diseases, including the Spanish flu pandemic, which caused a large number of deaths. The movement of soldiers and refugees during the war accelerated the spread of the influenza epidemic worldwide.
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The Austrian-Serbian conflict
On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian-backed terrorist, Gavrilo Princip. This assassination was the spark that ignited the First World War.
Austria-Hungary had long seen Serbia as a threat to the stability of its multi-ethnic empire. Serbian ambitions to unify southeast Europe's Slavic people and Austria's annexation of Bosnia in 1908 further strained relations. Following the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, Serbia emerged as a larger and more assertive presence in southeast Europe. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand stoked old tensions beyond the Balkans, and the crisis spread as other powers pledged support for either Austria or Serbia. Austria knew that conflict with Serbia would likely involve Russia, which saw itself as Serbia's protector.
Austria-Hungary, with German encouragement, declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914. Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an ultimatum on 23 July 1914, demanding, among other things, that all anti-Austrian propaganda within Serbia be suppressed and that Austria-Hungary be allowed to conduct its investigation into the archduke's killing. Serbia effectively accepted all of Austria's demands except for one, but the Austrian government broke diplomatic relations on 25 July and continued with military preparedness.
Russia's support of Serbia brought France into the conflict. Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August and France on 3 August. Germany's violation of Belgian neutrality and British fears of German domination in Europe brought Britain and its empire into the war on 4 August.
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Austria in the Second World War
Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, with the support of the majority of the Austrian population. This annexation, known as the Anschluss, was preceded by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in 1914, which led to the start of World War I. The assassination strained relations between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, with Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia, bringing other European powers into the conflict.
During World War II, hundreds of thousands of Austrians fought as German soldiers, and a substantial number served in the SS, the elite military corps of the Nazi Party. Austrian soldiers were responsible for Nazi atrocities on the Eastern Front. By the end of the war, approximately 250,000 Austrian soldiers were killed or missing in action, and many more were held as prisoners of war, some for years in Soviet camps. Austrian cities, including Vienna, suffered extensive damage, and the country emerged from the war as one of the poorest in Europe.
While most Austrians were not Nazis, many supported Germany's wartime policies until the later phases of the war. A small but active Austrian resistance movement opposed the Nazis, with an estimated 100,000 opponents to the regime being convicted and imprisoned. The resistance was hampered by political divisions, but some Austrians fought as Allied soldiers against the German army.
After the war, memorials were built to commemorate Austrian soldiers who fought and died, and the slogan "Austria – the Nazis' first victim" was used to shape the ideological basis for the Second Austrian Republic. However, this slogan has been criticized as denying responsibility for the crimes committed by Austrians during the Nazi regime, and many Austrians were complicit in the persecution of Jews and other Nazi atrocities.
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Frequently asked questions
Austria fought in World War I, which started in 1914. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, which was supported by Russia, bringing France into the conflict.
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife was the catalyst for World War I. However, tensions had been building in Europe for years, with complex alliances and rivalries between nations.
Yes, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was a significant force in World War I, and its collapse after the war reduced Austria to a much smaller, mostly German-speaking area, leading to the creation of the First Austrian Republic.
The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 involved Austria and its allies within the German Confederation against the Kingdom of Prussia and its allies, including Italy. This war was part of the rivalry between Austria and Prussia and resulted in a shift of power towards Prussia.
Yes, the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) were both conflicts involving Austria and other European powers. The War of the Austrian Succession centred around the right of Maria Theresa to rule the Habsburg monarchy, while the War of the Spanish Succession was over the inheritance of the Spanish Habsburgs' territories.
