Austria - Hungary in the War
Unlike its ally Germany, Austria - Hungary was a multinational state that comprised of many different nations united under one leader. The two biggest nations were Austria and Hungary (hence the name). German and Hungarian were the dominant languages, but there were other official languages. Ethnicity and religion was also widely varied. The aforementioned factors often caused clashes between different groups within the empire. Many group groups even wanted independence from the empire. Therefore, although its population was the third greatest in Europe and its area was the second greatest, the empire was relatively weak and domestically unstable.
The empire's neighbour, Serbia, has doubled its size in the past decade, while Austria - Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908. These acts had upset both nations. Serbia wanted to annex Bosnia instead, while Austria - Hungary was afraid Serbia will stir up ethnic tensions and encourage Serbians living in Austria - Hungary to cede from the empire. The tension between the two nations was seen as a powder keg waiting for a spark. The "spark" came in 1914 when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a group that allegedly received support from the Serbian government. The assassination provided the Austro - Hungarians the perfect excuse to start a war with Serbia and annex it. Backed by their German ally, Austria - Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28th.
Austro - Hungary had two war plans - Plan B and Plan R. Plan B was for fighting in the Balkans while defending against potential Russian attacks. It called for have three armies to invade Serbia and three more to hold off the Russians (think of it as B for Balkans). Plan R was for fighting a two front war with Russia and Serbia. In this scenario two armies would invade Serbia while four others will fight against Russia. It also called for Austria - Hungary to launch a quick offensive into Russian Poland to divert Russian attention away from invading Germany, buying the latter more time to win on the Western Front.
The empire's neighbour, Serbia, has doubled its size in the past decade, while Austria - Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908. These acts had upset both nations. Serbia wanted to annex Bosnia instead, while Austria - Hungary was afraid Serbia will stir up ethnic tensions and encourage Serbians living in Austria - Hungary to cede from the empire. The tension between the two nations was seen as a powder keg waiting for a spark. The "spark" came in 1914 when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a group that allegedly received support from the Serbian government. The assassination provided the Austro - Hungarians the perfect excuse to start a war with Serbia and annex it. Backed by their German ally, Austria - Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28th.
Austro - Hungary had two war plans - Plan B and Plan R. Plan B was for fighting in the Balkans while defending against potential Russian attacks. It called for have three armies to invade Serbia and three more to hold off the Russians (think of it as B for Balkans). Plan R was for fighting a two front war with Russia and Serbia. In this scenario two armies would invade Serbia while four others will fight against Russia. It also called for Austria - Hungary to launch a quick offensive into Russian Poland to divert Russian attention away from invading Germany, buying the latter more time to win on the Western Front.
In 1914 at the outbreak of war, Austro - Hungarian generals and politicians expected Serbia to be a pushover. However, this underestimation was soon proven wrong as the Serbian army inflicted several defeats on the Austro - Hungarians. In the north, the Russian army quickly invaded the Austro - Hungarian army of Galicia. Soon the Russian army occupied nearly all of Galicia. In short, Austria - Hungary's early progress in the war was nothing short of disastrous. Its pre - war plans of advancing into Poland were also thwarted. Although they managed to occupy the Serbian capitol - Belgrade for a short period of time, by the end of the year they were driven out of Serbia.
The Austro - Hungarians saw little success in early 1915. But by April increasing German presence on the Eastern Front halted Russian advances. In the upcoming months the Austro - Hungarian army would recapture some of its lost territory with German aid. However, on May 23rd Italy declared war on Austria - Hungary. For the next three years Austria - Hungary and Italy would fight a series of indecisive battles on the Italian Front. In summer 1915 the Russian army had mostly withdrawn from its newly occupied territory and the front was now deeper in Russian heartland. On another note, Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and declared war on Serbia on October 14th. Soon a combined force of German, Austro - Hungarian, and Bulgarian forces would overrun Serbia by the end of the year.
In spring 1916 the Russians launched the Brusilov Offensive against the Central Powers. It was timed to coincide with British, French, and Italian offensives. The Austro - Hungarian army had to fall back on the Eastern Front and temporarily give up ground on the Italian Front. Soon the Italian gains were recaptured. However, the Russian offensive had devastated the Austro - Hungarian army, which would limp on German support from now on. Further, growing Entente military presence in the Balkans would prove detrimental to Austro - Hungarian morale.
In 1917 the Eastern Front was decided in the Central Powers' favour. Russian morale had collapsed and their last major offensive - the Kerensky Offensive had failed. Revolution in Russia had brought it political and social turmoil. Romania, Russia's only geographically close ally, would later ask for peace. On the Italian Front, the Austro - Hungarians held off the Italians until significant German aid would turn the tide. At the Battle of Caporetto the Austro - Hungarians and Germans defeated the Italians and pushed the front back to the Piave River; now the fighting along the Italian Front was in Italian territory.
The Austro - Hungarians saw little success in early 1915. But by April increasing German presence on the Eastern Front halted Russian advances. In the upcoming months the Austro - Hungarian army would recapture some of its lost territory with German aid. However, on May 23rd Italy declared war on Austria - Hungary. For the next three years Austria - Hungary and Italy would fight a series of indecisive battles on the Italian Front. In summer 1915 the Russian army had mostly withdrawn from its newly occupied territory and the front was now deeper in Russian heartland. On another note, Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and declared war on Serbia on October 14th. Soon a combined force of German, Austro - Hungarian, and Bulgarian forces would overrun Serbia by the end of the year.
In spring 1916 the Russians launched the Brusilov Offensive against the Central Powers. It was timed to coincide with British, French, and Italian offensives. The Austro - Hungarian army had to fall back on the Eastern Front and temporarily give up ground on the Italian Front. Soon the Italian gains were recaptured. However, the Russian offensive had devastated the Austro - Hungarian army, which would limp on German support from now on. Further, growing Entente military presence in the Balkans would prove detrimental to Austro - Hungarian morale.
In 1917 the Eastern Front was decided in the Central Powers' favour. Russian morale had collapsed and their last major offensive - the Kerensky Offensive had failed. Revolution in Russia had brought it political and social turmoil. Romania, Russia's only geographically close ally, would later ask for peace. On the Italian Front, the Austro - Hungarians held off the Italians until significant German aid would turn the tide. At the Battle of Caporetto the Austro - Hungarians and Germans defeated the Italians and pushed the front back to the Piave River; now the fighting along the Italian Front was in Italian territory.
In 1918, with the Eastern Front finished, the Austro - Hungarians turned their attention to the Italian Front. They attempted to break through Italian lines to little avail. As the war turned against Germany on the Western Front, the chances of a Central Power victory diminished. At the battle of Vittorio Veneto the Austro - Hungarians were decisively routed by a combined force of Italians, British, French, and Americans. The crumbling empire signed an armistice with the Italians on November 3rd. The Austro - Hungarian Empire then started to disintegrate as nations within it subsequently declared independence.
The new states of Austria and Hungary signed the Treaty of Saint - Germain - en - Lave and the Treaty of Trianon in 1919 and 1920 respectively.
The new states of Austria and Hungary signed the Treaty of Saint - Germain - en - Lave and the Treaty of Trianon in 1919 and 1920 respectively.