Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 52. (2007)

FRIED, Marvin Benjamin: Feldmarschall Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf: A Memoir Analysis

the Germans “where [they] would have been, if at the time of their defeat at the Marne and afterwards, they would not have had the Austro-Hungarian help and were alone against the Russian advance.”87 Nevertheless, particularly about the Marne, Conrad felt that “in the decades before the war the German policies - [and] in the battle of the Marne the German leadership - had failed.”88 He believed that in the German OHL an element of “inertness, intemperance, and aimlessness”89 arose, while the German force commanders developed “disobedience.”90 Interestingly, such comments are usually associated with OHL criticisms of the AOK and the Austro-Hungarian armies.91 Additionally, Conrad states scornfully that the behavior of the Germans in the east shows that they were more interested in the “cover of their favorite province East Prussia,”92 and argues proudly that “the fact of the matter is that the Imperial army and the small German eastern army managed to delay and to throw back the Russian masses.”93 While this cannot be discounted, it is clear that reminiscence of these sorts of facts serve to restore for Conrad Austria- Hungary’s obviously quite damaged reputation as a fighting force.

(ii) It does not come as a surprise that Conrad gives much thought to the Entente’s role in the destruction of his beloved Empire. However, he seems unsure who the primary culprit is, France or Russia. It is interesting to note that in several instances in his documents Conrad points to the premeditated nature of the war, implying that if the Entente had “purposefully [...] prepared for the devastating blow against Germany and Austria-Hungary,”94 which he firmly believes, then no one on the side of the Central Powers can be held responsible. He feels that the Entente “agreed to precipitate the war [...] to also destroy the German race”95 while the Central Powers were “surprised”96 by it, “proving who had the Great War in mind and who did not.”97 Conrad believes that it was “a victory of English and French diplomacy over German and Austro-Hungarian diplomacy,”98 such that the Entente powers could “encircle, and at the convenient moment [...] crush”99 Austria-Hungary and Germany. Conrad, overlooking that France was in fact

Feldmarschall Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf

87 Conrad von Hötzendorf, Franz: Private Aufzeichnungen, Pg. 79.

88 Ibid, Pg. 65.

89 Ibid, Pg. 215.

90 Ibid, Pg. 215.

91 Armeeoberkommando or AOK., the Austro-Hungarian General Staff.

92 Conrad von Hötzendorf, Franz. Private Aufzeichnungen, Pg. 107-108.

93 Ibid, Pg. 101.

94 Ibid, Pg. 168.

95 Ibid, Pg. 205.

96 Ibid, Pg. 78.

97 Ibid, Pg. 78.

98 Ibid, Pg. 205.

99 Ibid, Pg. 195.

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