Austria-Hungary

World War I

On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, heir presumptive to his uncle the Emperor Franz Josef (Franz Josef's only son had died under still-mysterious circumstances, and Mexican republicans had executed the Emperor's brother), visited the Bosnian capital Sarajevo where Bosnian Serb militants of the nationalist group The Black Hand assassinated him. See: Assassination in Sarajevo

Related Topics:
June 28 - 1914 - Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria - Franz Josef - Only son - Emperor's brother - Sarajevo - The Black Hand - Assassination in Sarajevo

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After the Congress of Berlin the Empire's military spending didn't even double, while that of Germany rose fivefold, British, Russian and French rose threefold. The Empire had previously lost ethnically Italian areas to Piedmont due to nationalist movements sweeping through Italy, and many Austro-Hungarians felt the threat of losing the southern territories inhabited by Slavs to Serbia as imminent. Serbia had recently gained a significant amount of territory in the Second Balkan War of 1913, causing much distress in government circles in Vienna and Budapest. Some members of the government, such as Conrad von Hötzendorf had wanted to confront the resurgent Serbian nation for some years. The leadership of Austria-Hungary, backed by its ally Germany, decided to confront Serbia militarily before it could incite a revolt: using the assassination as an excuse, they presented a list of ten demands they expected Serbia would never accept. When Serbia accepted nine of the ten demands but only partially accepted the remaining one, Austria-Hungary declared war.

Related Topics:
Congress of Berlin - Piedmont - Serbia - Second Balkan War - Conrad von Hötzendorf - Germany

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These events brought the Empire into conflict with Serbia and over the course of July and August 1914, caused the start of World War I, as Russia mobilized in support of Serbia, setting off a series of counter-mobilizations.

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Italy initially remained neutral, although it had an alliance with Austria-Hungary. In 1915 it switched to the side of the Entente powers, hoping to gain territory from Austria-Hungary.

Related Topics:
Italy - Entente powers

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Austro-Hungarian troops initially crushed Serbia, defended the routes into Hungary and repulsed Italian advances in Gorizia. The Austro-Hungarian Army suffered very serious casualties throughout the war, especially in 1914. However, they had considerable successes (albeit with German aid and direction) even advancing into enemy territory following German-led victories in Galicia (May 1915) and at Caporetto on the Italian front (October 1917). Throughout the war, the Austro-Hungarian war effort had become more and more subordinate to the direction of German planners. Supply shortages, low morale, and the high casualty rate began to seriously affect the operational abilities of the army by the last years of the war.

Related Topics:
Gorizia - Austro-Hungarian Army - Caporetto

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