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Kaisers Wilhelm II and Franz Joseph with Sultan Mohammed and their generals over some of their conquests: Lüttich — Liege, Belgium, Warschau — Warsaw, Russia, and Przemysl, Austria-Hungary, recaptured from the Russians. In the top left, Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of Germany from 1871 to 1890, points to the dawn of the German Empire. In the top right, Helmut Moltke (the Elder), who led Germany to victory in the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian Wars, discusses his plans with the future Emperor Wilhelm I. Text: Die Helden des Ostens, des Südens, des Westens, ein festes Band, schlugen mit eiserner Faust die Feinde in den Sand. The heroes of the East, the South, the West, a solid band, beat the enemy into the sand with an iron fist. At the top, Bismarck? von Moltke 1? At the bottom, German and Austrian victories at Liege, Warsaw and Przemysl. The Kaisers and Sultan surrounded first by the royal commanders Crown Princes Karl of Austria-Hungary and Wilhelm of Germany, archdukes Eugen, Friedrich, and Joseph Ferdinand, Duke Albrecht, Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, German generals von Falkenhayn, von Kluck, von Beseler, von Woyrsch, von Ludendorff, von Hindenburg, von Emmich, von Linsingen, von Mackensen, von der Goltz, Austro-Hungarian generals von Böhm-Ermolli, von Pflanzer, Count von Bothmer, von Hötzendorf, Ex. von Höfer, and Turkish Minister of War Enver Pascha.

Kaisers Wilhelm II and Franz Joseph with Sultan Mohammed and their generals over some of their conquests: Lüttich — Liege, Belgium, Warschau — Warsaw, Russia, and Przemysl, Austria-Hungary, recaptured from the Russians.
In the top left, Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of Germany from 1871 to 1890, points to the dawn of the German Empire. In the top right, Helmut Moltke (the Elder), who led Germany to victory in the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian Wars, discusses his plans with the future Emperor Wilhelm I.

Image text

Die Helden des Ostens, des Südens, des Westens, ein festes Band, schlugen mit eiserner Faust die Feinde in den Sand.



The heroes of the East, the South, the West, a solid band, beat the enemy into the sand with an iron fist.



Cities: Lüttich (Liege, [Belgium]), Warschau (Warsaw), Przemysl.

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Friday, October 25, 1918

"The King received me in the large corner salon of the [Gödöllö] castle. . . . It was already growing dark and the chandeliers were lit. Charles IV, in his field uniform and gaiters, was standing near his writing table, smoking a cigarette and seemed to be suffering from great nervous strain. I could not help feeling deep sympathy for him.

The King said pointedly, 'I have always been warned that you want a republic. Is that true?' 'I do not want a republic, I want an independent democratic Hungary.'" Then the ruler indicated that he approved of Károlyi's program and that he intended to make him prime minister. "'He dismissed me with the air of a man whose heart had been relieved of a heavy burden.'"

Quotation Context

Mihály Károlyi, who had organized an Hungarian national council on October 25, 1918, describing his meeting later that evening with Kaiser Karl, Emperor of Austria-Hungary and Apostolic King, Karl IV, of Hungary. The previous day, October 24, Italian Commander-in-Chief Armando Diaz had launched the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. On the 25th, the Austro-Hungarian defenders were holding, but would collapse the next day.

Source

The Passing of the Hapsburg Monarchy, 1914-1918 2 Volumes by Arthur James May, page 787, copyright © 1966 by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, publication date: 1966

Tags

1918-10-25, 1918, October, Karl, Kaiser Karl, Karl I