University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 4-17-2021 Fuer Kaiser und Heimat: Svetozar Borevic, South Slav Habsburg Nationalism, and the First World War Sean Krummerich University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the History Commons Scholar Commons Citation Krummerich, Sean, "Fuer Kaiser und Heimat: Svetozar Borevic, South Slav Habsburg Nationalism, and the First World War" (2021). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/8808 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Für Kaiser und Heimat: Svetozar Boroević, South Slav Habsburg Nationalism, and the First World War by Sean Krummerich A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History College of Arts & Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Kees Boterbloem, Ph.D. Darcie Fontaine, Ph.D. J. Scott Perry, Ph.D. Golfo Alexopoulos, Ph.D. Date of Approval: March 30, 2021 Keywords: Serb, Croat, nationality, identity, Austria-Hungary Copyright © 2021, Sean Krummerich DEDICATION For continually inspiring me to press onward, I dedicate this work to my boys, John Michael and Riley. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the support of a score of individuals over more years than I would care to admit. First and foremost, my thanks go to Kees Boterbloem, Darcie Fontaine, Golfo Alexopoulos, and Scott Perry, whose invaluable feedback was crucial in shaping this work into what it is today. My deepest thanks also goes to Graydon Tunstall, who first suggested Boroević as a topic of study, and guided the early stages of this project. In addition, I would like to thank Leo Nicoll, S.J., emeritus professor at Loyola University New Orleans, who many years ago inspired a keen interest in the Habsburg Monarchy and its successor states. Also, thanks go to Vannina Wurm, who was an incredible asset in gaining access to and becoming more familiar with the Austrian State Archive in Vienna. I would also like to thank John Schindler, Sabrina Ramet, and Jože Pirjeveć, who were very helpful when I reached out to them about various aspects of the work. My thanks also go to my friends and colleagues at Auburndale High School, especially Tye Bruno, Jennifer Mills, and Aaron Bellwood. Finally, and by far most of all, words cannot express what I owe to my wife, Amanda, without whose unwavering support I never would have made it this far. Thank you for never allowing me to give up! TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1 Historiography ...................................................................................................................14 Outline of the Work ...........................................................................................................19 Chapter 1: Servant of the Monarchy ..............................................................................................27 Grenzerkind........................................................................................................................28 The Reich ...........................................................................................................................33 Serb or Croat? ....................................................................................................................36 Chapter 2: Into the Maelstrom .......................................................................................................49 Arrival at the Front.............................................................................................................51 In Command of the Third ..................................................................................................55 Chapter 3: Lion of the Isonzo ........................................................................................................65 Defending the Isonzo .........................................................................................................68 Boroević Gains Fame – and Notoriety ...............................................................................77 “The Son of a Croatian Mother” ........................................................................................83 More Plaudits – and Caporetto ..........................................................................................85 Chapter 4: From Victory to Catastrophe ........................................................................................91 The Piave Offensive ...........................................................................................................93 National and Multinational Loyalties ................................................................................96 The Unraveling ................................................................................................................104 Kaisertreu to the End .......................................................................................................108 Chapter 5: The Soldier without a Country ...................................................................................114 A Loyal Croatian..............................................................................................................124 Boroević and Memory .....................................................................................................128 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................134 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................139 Primary Sources ...............................................................................................................139 Secondary Sources ...........................................................................................................141 i LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Front view of Boroević’s tomb, Vienna Central Cemetery ........................................ 25 Figure 2: Side view of Boroević’s tomb, Vienna Central Cemetery .......................................... 26 Figure 3: Side view of Boroević’s tomb, Vienna Central Cemetery .......................................... 26 Figure 4: The Ballhausplatz, Vienna ........................................................................................... 90 Figure 5: Schönbrunn Palace, the location where Karl issued his October Manifesto and the November 11, 1918 resignation from the government of Austria ............... 113 ii ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the function of national identity and the degree to which it is a recent development, particularly in the region of the Balkan Peninsula populated by the South Slav (Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian) peoples. The study examines the question of whether in the period prior to 1918, when much of this territory was part of the multinational empire of Austria- Hungary, was it possible for individuals to be entirely loyal to both their national group and to the construct of the multinational state simultaneously. In order to answer this question, the dissertation surveys the career of Svetozar Boroević von Bojna (1856-1920), a high-ranking officer with the Habsburg Monarchy’s armed forces who was of Serb-Croatian ethnicity. The dissertation examines each stage of his career and his commands during the First World War, the Eastern (Carpathian) Front, and the Isonzo Front, as well as his fate following the war, and demonstrates how the issue of nationality and national identity impacted Boroevic’s relationship with the ruling classes of the Monarchy as well as others of South Slav nationality. A concluding section challenges the prevailing narrative about the success of the nationalization project among the South Slav peoples at the end of the First World War, and concurs with other recent scholarship about national identification among other groups of the Habsburg Monarchy. iii INTRODUCTION But special praise should be given To General Boroević, the Commandant Who so courageously led the troops And directed them with a secure hand1 Taken together, the wars originating in the Balkan Peninsula at the beginning and the end of the twentieth century appeared to signal the ultimate verdict on the viability of the multinational state as a political construct. From a standpoint of assuring peaceful, “modern” development, the ideal state construct, one might understandably argue, is for each individual ethnic group to comprise its own (preferably independent) nation-state. Paradoxically, however, nationalism and the expression of national identity have been regarded as very recent developments; save for outliers such as Philip Gorski, the majority opinion of scholars on the national