Translated by Stan Hanna
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AUSTRIA-HUNGARY’S LAST WAR, 1914-1918 (ÖSTERREICH-UNGARNS LETZTER KRIEG, 1914-1918) EDITED BY THE AUSTRIAN FEDERAL MINISTRY OF THE ARMY AND WAR ARCHIVE Under the Direction of Edmund Glaise-Horstenau Edited by Eduard Czegka, Maximilian Hoen, Rudolf Kiszling, Viktor Meduna-Riedburg, Eduard Steinitz, and Ernst Wisshaupt Translated by Stan Hanna Vol 1 (1914) OUTBREAK OF WAR TO THE OUTCOME OF THE BATTLE OF LIMANOWA- LAPANOW With 27 leaflets and 56 sketches 1930 Publisher of Military Science Releases Vienna © 2005 Stan Hanna. All Rights Reserved. Austria-Hungary’s Last War, 1914-1918 Vol 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS TO THE FIRST VOLUME (1914) I. Arming for the Great Trial of Arms........................................................................................................................1 A. Preparations in Peacetime.....................................................................................................................................1 1. Measures taken for the various war possibilities..............................................................................................1 2. Deployment and Operational Plans...................................................................................................................8 B. Mobilization and the March to the Front - 1914.................................................................................................15 1. The initial deployment against Serbia and Montenegro..................................................................................15 2. The Danger of War With Russia - General Mobilization...............................................................................17 C. The Armed Forces in 1914..................................................................................................................................26 1. Structure and training......................................................................................................................................26 2. The Peoples of Austria-Hungary Under Arms................................................................................................36 3. The Austro-Hungarian Officers......................................................................................................................45 4. The Army High Command (Armee Ober Kommando)..................................................................................53 5. Insert - National Casualty Statistics................................................................................................................57 6. Initial Orders of Battle.....................................................................................................................................64 7. The Fortification Systems.............................................................................................................................115 8. Technical Information about the Railroads...................................................................................................119 II. The August Campaign against Serbia and Montenegro..................................................................................123 A. Events Leading Up to the Austrian Offensive..................................................................................................123 1. The Austrian deployment in the Balkans......................................................................................................123 2. The High Command and the Problem of a Two-Front War.........................................................................125 3. The preparations of the two Serbian kingdoms.............................................................................................129 a. Serbia's military system............................................................................................................................129 b. Montenegro...............................................................................................................................................135 4. The Orders for the Attacks by 5th and 6th Armies.......................................................................................138 5. Counter-Measures of the Enemy...................................................................................................................144 B. Actions through 20 August................................................................................................................................146 1. 5th Army crosses the Drina (12-15 August).................................................................................................146 2. The Offensive against the Montenegrins (14 to 17 August)........................................................................155 3. Opening Naval Operations in the Adriatic....................................................................................................156 4. The Battle of the Jadar River (16-19 August)..............................................................................................157 C. The Austrian Offensive Ebbs............................................................................................................................171 1. Command disputes regarding Sabac, and the retreat of 5th Army (20-21 August)......................................171 2. Actions by Visegrad and Priboj (20-21 August)...........................................................................................175 3. The last actions around Sabac (21-24 August).............................................................................................177 4. Expulsion of the Montenegrins from Herzegovina (18 August-2 September).............................................182 D. Results and Evaluations of the First Balkan Campaign....................................................................................183 III. The Campaign against Russia in Summer 1914..............................................................................................190 A. Deployment and Border Actions.......................................................................................................................190 1. Preliminary measures of the k.u.k. high command.......................................................................................190 2. Assembly of the Austrian Northern Armies..................................................................................................197 a. Preparing the positions; reconnaissance operations.................................................................................197 b. The last decisions before the great battles................................................................................................202 c. The Russian Army - war preparations, plans and mobilization................................................................207 B. The Northern Attack of the Austro-Hungarians................................................................................................219 1. The Victory at Krasnik (23-25 August)........................................................................................................219 2. Opening of the Battle of Komarow (26 August)..........................................................................................229 3. Opening of the battle in front of Lublin (26-28 August)..............................................................................231 4. Continuation of the Battle of Komarow (27-28 August: the fighting by Zamosc and Tomaszow)..............236 5. The Battle of Zloczow...................................................................................................................................244 ii Austria-Hungary’s Last War, 1914-1918 Vol 1 6. Further Decisions of the Opposing High Commands...................................................................................258 C. The Austrian Offensive at High Tide................................................................................................................264 1. The encirclement of the Russians at Komarow (29-30 August)...................................................................264 2. The culmination of Dankl's attack toward Lublin, and the capture of Krasnostaw (30 August-1 September) ...........................................................................................................................................................................270 3. The victory at Komarow (31 August-2 September)......................................................................................274 4. The Battle of the Gnila Lipa (29-30 August)................................................................................................282 5. The Loss of Lemberg....................................................................................................................................289 D. The Austrians Shift their Attention to the Lemberg Area (first week of September).......................................299 1. The Russians start to counterattack at Lublin...............................................................................................299 2. The center and east wing of the Austrian front on 3 September...................................................................302 3. Dankl's defensive actions south of Lublin (4-6 September).........................................................................305 E. The Battle of Rawa Russka-Lemberg (6-11 September)...................................................................................310