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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.
Peoples of Austria-Hungary in 1914 from Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd. The empire's population included Germans, Magyars, Romanians, Italians, and Slavs including Croats, Serbians, Ruthenians, Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, and Slovenes.
Map of the Ottoman Empire showing the travels of Rafael De Nogales, Inspector-General of the Turkish Forces in Armenia and Military Governor of Egyptian Sinai during the World War, from his book Four Years Beneath the Crescent.
Postcard celebrating the independence of Czechoslovakia from Austria-Hungary, proclaimed in its capital Prague on October 28, 1918. The lion, a symbol of Bohemia dating to the 12th or 13th century, became part of the coat of arms of, and a symbol for, Czechoslovakia. The lion holds in its mouth remnants of a Habsburg banner, while looking at part of the Prague skyline.
The Allied tortoise climbs the victory podium ahead of the German hare. A postcard by F. Sancha from between March 1916 when Portugal entered the war, and April 1917, when the United States (not included) did. The card was printed in England for a Portuguese audience. Sancha produced other war postcards based on Aesop's fables. The German officer bears containers including poison (veneno) and inflammables. The Allied tortoise bears carries conventional weapons for Japan, Belgium, England, France, Russia, Italy, Serbia, and Portugal. Allied productive capacity, including that of poison gas, would eventually far outpace that of the Central Powers. © London
"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.'" ((1), more)
"Arz informed the Germans within 48 hours of the start of the Italian offensive that half his Army, 30 divisions, was in revolt. The Austrian official history of the war gives a long litany of divisions affected by dissolution between 26 and 27 October: the list included the 67th and 27th divisions at Asiago, the 34th and the 25th at Portule, the 16th at Sisemola, and the 5th in Borgo. Recent studies suggest that the Czech 13th and 26th, the Bohemian 29th and 43rd, the Croatian 42nd and 57th divisions, and even units of the elite Austrian 3rd (Edelweiss) Division were also in rebellion.On 24 October Hungarian leaders appealed to Honvéd soldiers to lay down their arms and head home. Field Marshal von Krobatin called for an end to hostilities already the next day; Archduke Joseph followed with a similar plea on 26 October." ((2), more)
"[Vice-Admiral Sir Somerset Gough-Calthorpe, Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet was] authorised to negotiate an armistice — not a surrender, because that would require the consultation of those of the allies who were also at war with Turkey — based on the Turks giving up control of the Dardanelles and allowing the Royal Navy free passage through the Straits and into the Black Sea. When the French government learned of this there was uproar, not just because Lloyd George had given Calthorpe the go-ahead to negotiate without consulting it, but out of a creeping belief that the British were now seeking to go back on the Sykes-Picot Agreement for the distribution of spoils. . . .The armistice negotiations began at 0930 on 27 October, Turkey being represented by Rauf Bey, an army officer named Sadullah, who was Chief of Staff of the Eighth Army, and a senior functionary from the Foreign Ministry. By the evening of 30 October negotiations were over." ((3), more)
"At 9 a.m. on the morning of 28 October Field Marshal von Boroević demanded that the AOK conclude an armistice at any price to head off the 'anarchy' that would surely spell 'catastrophe for Monarchy and Army'. Arz followed this advice within 4 hours. At 4:45 p.m. the AOK dispatched a military delegation to Triente to discuss term with the Italians.That same day, 28 October, Prague politicians proclaimed a Czecho-Slovak state; Slovak leaders concurred within 3 days. Austrian Galicia also announced on 28 October that it would join a new Polish state. One day later Croatia, Slovenia, and Dalmatia seceded from the Dual Monarchy. . . .By 28 October, in a last-ditch attempt to save what could be saved by placating the Great Idealist in Washington, they had put the finishing touches on the first major revision of the Bismarckian constitution since 1871. Henceforth, the Chancellor would be responsible to the Reichstag. International treaties, the declaration of war as well as the conclusion of peace, and the appointment, promotion, and dismissal of officers would require the consent of both the Reichstag and the Federal Chamber. The Ministers of War likewise would have to answer to both federal houses. In short, the German parliament gained control over foreign and military affairs." ((4), more)
"— The 29th. Since last evening there has been a rumour that Austria is begging for a separate and unconditional peace. This time, people are displaying a certain lively satisfaction. No doubt the idea of Austria throwing herself on our mercy has carried people away. And likewise the reflection that Germany will be isolated. Officers in billets are drinking champagne. The troops wear a permanent grin ; the delight of waking up in the morning with the thought that they will not be killed within six months. . . . A headline of the Œuvre for the 29th : 'Ah ! If they had made only half the efforts to prevent war that they are now making to delay peace !'— The 29th. Some people refuse to recognize the prevalence of influenza. To hear them, you would think that they applied the term influenza to any disease which proves fatal. They also declare : 'It is not so severe as the influenza of 1889.' This attitude is regarded as heroic.— In Paris, during the present crisis, burials are conducted as late as midnight." ((5), more)
(1) 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.
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
(2) Austro-Hungarian Emperor Karl had appointed General Arthur Arz von Straussenburg Chief of the General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army in February, 1917, replacing Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf. The 'Italian offensive' was the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, launched by Italian Commander General Armando Diaz on October 24, 1918. The Honvéd was the Hungarian equivalent of Austria's Landwehr, the territorial or national guard.
The First World War: Germany and Austria Hungary 1914-1918 by Holger H. Herwig, page 437, copyright © 1997 Holger H. Herwig, publisher: Arnold, publication date: 1997
(3) The Cabinet of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George authorized Calthorpe to negotiate an armistice with a Turkey that was under pressure on all fronts. The Young Turk triumvirate that ruled Turkey and the Ottoman Empire throughout the war — War Minister Enver Pasha, Minister of the Interior Mehmed Talaat, and Naval Minister Ahmed Djemal Pasha — resigned on October 13, 1918. Through the month British forces pushed north through Syria and Mesopotamia and Allied forces threatened Constantinople from defeated Bulgaria. The Sykes-Picot Agreement between France and the United Kingdom carved out great swaths of the Ottoman Empire for the two victors and helped lay the groundwork for the contemporary Middle East.
Eden to Armageddon: World War I in the Middle East by Roger Ford, pp. 397–398, copyright © Roger Ford 2010, publisher: Pegasus Books, publication date: 2010
(4) The 'Great Idealist in Washington' was President Woodrow Wilson. Number Ten of his Fourteen Points called for 'Assuring the freest opportunity of autonomous development to the peoples of Austria-Hungary.' (Quoted in King's Complete History of the World War, page 371.) The peoples of Austria-Hungary were taking his advice and breaking the Empire apart. Wilson had grown more implacable towards Germany where politicians in Berlin were hoping a new constitution and government would lead to peace. At the beginning of the war, Austro-Hungarian General Svetozar Boroević served on the Russian Front, where he lifted the first siege of Przemyśl, until Italy entered the war when he was transferred to the Italian Front. There he commanded Austro-Hungarian forces through the eleven Italian offensives on the Isonzo River and in the Austro-Hungarian-German offensive of Twelfth Isonzo, the Battle of Caporetto. AOK — Armee Oberkommando — the Army Higher Command — was the command center for all land and naval forces of Austria-Hungary. General Arthur Arz von Straussenburg was Chief of the General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army, appointed by Austro-Hungarian Emperor Karl had appointed in February, 1917, replacing Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf.
The First World War: Germany and Austria Hungary 1914-1918 by Holger H. Herwig, pp. 437, 442–443, copyright © 1997 Holger H. Herwig, publisher: Arnold, publication date: 1997
(5) Entry from the diary of Michel Corday, a senior civil servant in the French government writing in Paris on October 29, 1918. Austria-Hungary had requested an armistice on the 27th. Corday had long supported negotiating peace with Germany, and opposed carrying on the war to victory regardless of cost. Those who would 'delay peace,' such as French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, would not negotiate while the Allied advance of 1918 continued. Influenza struck during the spring and summer of 1918 as a three-day fever, but returned in the autumn in a more deadly form.
The Paris Front: an Unpublished Diary: 1914-1918 by Michel Corday, page 382, copyright © 1934, by E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publisher: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publication date: 1934
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