Conrad von Hötzendorf, Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff, Vienna, 1914. By the end of that year he had lost as many as one million men, much of his country's rolling stock, and the northeastern region of Galicia. His forces had also been defeated by Serbia three times.

Generalstabschef Conrad von Hötzendorf

Chief of the General Staff Conrad von Hötzendorf



Ch. Skolik jun.

Wien, 1914

I. Wallfischg. 11



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Sunday, July 12, 1914

"In my capacity as Chief of the General Staff I am only concerned with the exact terms of the decision, whether directly aiming at the outbreak of a war with Serbia or only reckoning with the possibility of war. . . . Hence it would be wise to avoid everything that might prematurely alarm our adversary and lead him to take countermeasures; in all respects a peaceable appearance should be displayed."

Quotation Context

Austro-Hungarian Chief of the General Staff Conrad writing to Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Berchtold on July 12, 1914 after a meeting earlier in the day.

Hungarian Premier Count Tisza had not yet come around to support the decision for war against Serbia taken by the Austro-Hungarian Council of Ministers for Common Affairs on July 7. Berchtold had not finalized the delivery date for the non-negotiable ultimatum from Austria to Serbia which he wanted to delay until French President Poincaré had left Russia after a state visit. Berchtold also required time to carry out 'the diplomatic preliminaries.'

Source

The Origins of the War of 1914, Volume Two: The Crisis of July 1914 from the Sarajevo outrage to the Austro-Hungarian general mobilization by Luigi Albertini, page 173, publisher: Oxford University Press, publication date: 1952

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1914-07-12, Conrad von Hötzendorf, Conrad, 1914, July