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Austro-Hungarian War Aims in the Balkans during World War I This page intentionally left blank Austro-Hungarian War Aims in the Balkans during World War I Marvin Benjamin Fried Department of International History, London School of Economics © Marvin Fried 2014 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1 st edition 2014 978-1-137-35900-1 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-47143-0 ISBN 978-1-137-35901-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137359018 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India. Dedicated to my family This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Illustrations ix Preface x Acknowledgements xi List of Principal Characters xii Glossary and Abbreviations xvi Map of the Balkans, 1914 xviii 1 Introduction 1 2 War Aims and Decision-Making in Austria-Hungary 6 Decision-Making in Austria-Hungary 6 Austria-Hungary and War-Aims Research 9 3 July 1914–December 1914 23 Introduction 23 Western Balkans 24 Eastern Balkans 30 Conclusion 58 4 January 1915–September 1915 59 Introduction 59 Western Balkans 61 Eastern Balkans 71 Conclusion 105 5 October 1915–June 1916 107 Introduction 107 The Effects of Victory in the Balkans 108 Austro–German Disputes in Serbia 113 Austro-Hungarian Internal Debates Prior to the GMR 124 The Common Ministerial Council of January 7, 1916 129 Continuing Uncertainty about Montenegro and Albania 136 The Austro–Bulgarian Clash 144 Tisza Fights AOK Annexationism in Serbia 153 Burián Fights AOK Annexationism in Albania 161 Conclusion 167 6 June 1916–May 1917 169 Introduction 169 From Consolidation to Decline: June 1916–January 1917 170 viii Contents Reevaluation: New Leaders and the Quest for Peace – January 1917–May 1917 193 Conclusion 214 7 May 1917–November 1918 215 Czernin’s Offensive Aims Despite Peace Policy 215 Karl’s Meddling Undermines Czernin’s Secretive Approach 219 AOK and Hungarian Territorial Aims 220 Burián and Final AOK Annexationism 223 Final War Aims and Collapse 228 8 Conclusion 231 Notes 235 Bibliography 272 Index 287 List of Illustrations Figure 2.1 Drivers and influences on the war-aims setting process 8 Extended Illustration Section (pp. 17–22) 1 Austrian Emperor and Apostolic King of Hungary Franz Joseph I 17 2 Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Count Leopold Berchtold 17 3 Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Baron (later Count) István Burián 18 4 Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Count Ottokar Czernin 18 5 Hungarian Prime Minister Count István Tisza 19 6 Austro-Hungarian Chief of the General Staff Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf 19 7 Austro-Hungarian Chief of the General Staff Arthur Arz von Straussenburg 20 8 German High Command 20 9 German Chief of the General Staff Erich von Falkenhayn 21 10 German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg 21 11 German State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Gottlieb von Jagow 22 12 Bulgarian King (or Tsar) Ferdinand I 22 13 Bulgarian Foreign Minister Vasil Radoslavov 22 ix Preface Despite renewed scholarly interest in war aims during World War I, those of Austria-Hungary have so far been neglected. This book examines the efforts of the Monarchy’s decision-making elite to establish and achieve their war aims in the Balkans. It covers the entirety of the war but focuses particularly on the leadership of Foreign Minister István Burián (1915–16) and the forces that affected his decision-making. The book demonstrates that Austria-Hungary’s most vital political, eco- nomic, and military interests principally lay in the Balkans, where the Monarchy’s war aims were most aggressive and expansionist. Despite fac- ing enormous pressure for radicalization from the annexationist General Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf and interference from the mostly non- annexationist Hungarian Prime Minister István Tisza, the Foreign Ministry retained overarching decision-making authority in the war aims question. This stands in stark contrast to Germany, where military influence became predominant. Burián pursued coherent and consistent war aims designed to expand Austro-Hungarian power, prestige, influence, and territory in the Balkans. By emphasizing Austria-Hungary’s pre-eminence there, its leaders incurred serious German and Bulgarian opposition. Despite facing grave military setbacks and the risk of slipping into vas- salage to Germany, throughout the war the Monarchy’s highest echelons refused to seriously entertain peace options until their Balkan war aims had been met. As this book demonstrates, their preoccupation with expansion in the Balkans persisted right up to the closing stages of the war, and was an important factor prolonging – eventually with fatal consequences for the Monarchy itself – the world conflagration. The book addresses one of the most significant gaps in the literature on Austria-Hungary, and draws on formerly secret Austrian and Hungarian materials in Budapest, and on national and military archives in Austria, Hungary, Germany, the UK, and the United States. x Acknowledgements The completion of this book would not have been possible without the kind and patient assistance of a number of people, and it is a pleasure to thank them here. First and foremost I wish to offer my heartfelt thanks to my doctoral supervisor at the LSE, Professor David Stevenson, for his encourage- ment, support, and indeed tireless efforts to help me formulate and realize this project. Without his wisdom, guidance, and extraordinary patience, my efforts would not have reached this point. I am also grateful to Drs Antony Best and Alan Sked for their support, insight, and suggestions. I would also like to thank my mentors at Boston University, Professors Erik Goldstein, Cathal Nolan, William Keylor, Michael Corgan, and Vivien Schmidt for encouraging me to pursue this project. Throughout this work, I have relied on the love and support of my family, to which this book is also dedicated. I am profoundly grateful to my mother and father, Stella and Tomy Fried, for helping me reach my goals through their boundless and unconditional love, support, advice, and assistance. I also wish to thank my grandmother, Gyöngyi Fried, for her constant loving support. Of those who have supported me here in London, I am exceptionally indebted to Karen Blunden, whose encouragement, patience, and optimism helped make this work a reality. I would also like to thank all my friends and colleagues at the LSE, particularly Drs Robert Barnes and Jan Lemnitzer, for their gracious help and encouragement. I also would like to thank those institutions that offered me the finan- cial support necessary to complete this book. I am grateful for the gener- ous grants from the LSE Department of International History Research Studentship Scheme, the Department’s Travel Bursary, the LSE Postgraduate Travel Fund, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and the University of London Central Research Fund (CRF). I am also grateful to the friendly assistance of the archivists throughout Europe and the United States who have offered me guidance and support during my research, particularly those in Budapest and Vienna. Finally, I wish to thank the editors and staff at Palgrave Macmillan for their help in making this book possible. Marvin B. Fried xi List of Principal Characters Name Rank/Position Dates of Service in WWI Andrian zu Werburg, MdÄ representative 16 Dec 1915–Jan 1917 Leopold Frh. v. in Warsaw Arz von Chief of the 2 Mar 1917–31 Oct 1918 Straussenburg, General Staff, AOK Arthur v. Avarna di Gualtieri, Italian Ambassador 17 Feb 1912–13 Jan 1915 Guiseppe Duke de in Vienna Berchtold, Austro-Hungarian 17 Feb 1912–13 Jan 1915 Leopold Graf Foreign Minister Bethmann Hollweg, German 14 Jul 1909–14 Jul 1917 Theobald v. Reichskanzler Bolfras, Arthur Generaladjutant of 1889–1916 Frh. v. Kaiser Franz Josef, Chief of the Kabinettskanzlei Burián v. Rajecz, 1. Hungarian Minister 1. 1913–15 István Baron a latere (later Graf) 2. Austro-Hungarian 2. 13 Jan 1915–22 Dec 1916 Foreign Minister 3. Common k.u.k. 3. 25 Oct 1916–22 Dec 1916 Finance Minister 4. Austro-Hungarian 4. 16 Apr 1918–24 Oct 1918 Foreign Minister Clam-Martinic, Austrian 20 Dec 1916–23 Jun 1917 Heinrich Graf Prime Minister Conrad von Chief of the 12 Dec 1912–1 Mar 1917 Hötzendorf, General Staff, AOK Franz Freiherr (later Graf) Cramon, German Military throughout General August Liaison Officer to Friedrich Wilhelm v.

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