Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 46. (1998)

GODSEY, William D. Jr.: Officers vs. Diplomats: Bureaucracy and Foreign Policy in Austria-Hungary 1906–1914

William D. Godsey

allowances. By February 1913, no one in the General Staff had been found to take the post under such circumstances, a situation that Conrad turned to his advantage. The war ministry agreed to insert a provision for the required funds into the regular budget, allowing Conrad to post to Stockholm Lieutenant-Colonel Eugen Straub, whose candidacy he had favored from the beginning.

After the end of the Second Balkan War, plans for a greater military presence in the missions abroad continued apace. In the spring of 1914, two new posts of military attaché were under discussion in the war ministry, one for Buenos Aires and the other for Durrazzo. The proposed dispatch of an attaché to Argentina reflected economic considerations, as it was hoped that he could channel local orders for military hardware to firms in the Monarchy.75 The arrangements for the new post had taken concrete form, particularly with regard to the budget, when the July crisis decided the emperor to delay the appointment, permanently as it turned out.76 Though not as advanced, plans at the war ministry for the dispatch of an officer to Albania had also been maturing.77 In fact, the matter had been under discussion there as early as six months before the arrival of the first official representative of the Ballhausplatz in Durrazzo. What stance, if any, the foreign office took in this matter remains unclear. Most probably the project died an early death thanks to the flight from Durrazzo of the hapless William of Wied, whom the great powers had imposed as prince upon the unruly Albanians.

Pressure for a greater military presence in the embassies and legations also came from a different and somewhat surprising quarter. In late 1913, the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, who appears to have shared his friend William II’s distaste for professional diplomats, directed the foreign minister and War Minister Krobatin each to submit a report on the question of assigning kommandiert officers abroad.78 The archduke’s decision to intercede may also have been facilitated by Berchtold’s willingness to discuss with him personnel questions, in contrast to the practice of the gruff Aehrenthal.79 At any rate, the heir’s propensity for meddling in such matters had become accepted in the Ballhausplatz as well as in the war ministry. No evidence so far yet suggests that Francis Ferdinand’s interest in kommandiert officers had any direct connection to General Conrad, with whom his relations had become strained, although he was doubtlessly aware of Conrad’s frequent complaints about

KA, KM Präs. 1914, 47-45/1: Baron Karl Macchio to the war ministry, March 2, 1914,.

76 Ibidem: General Baron Arthur Bolfras (MKSM) to the war ministry, July 17, 1914.

77 Ibidem: „Präs. Nr. 2675 und 1005 von 1914.“

78 HHStA, AR, F6, carton 49, Missionen I: Colonel Carl Bardolff to Berchtold, November 12, 1913; KA, KM Präs. 1913, 47-42/1: Bardolff to Alexander von Krobatin, November 12, 1913. On Francis Ferdinand’s alleged dislike for civilian diplomats, see HHStA, Politisches Archiv [PA] I, carton 643, Kabinett des Ministers, folder IX/b-14, fols. 379-81: Baron Karl Heidler to Count Agenor Goluchowski, January 20, 1899. On numerous occasions, the archduke expressed contempt for individual diplomats in the service of the Monarchy. See Kann: Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Count Berchtold, p. 118 and 136. Williamson Jr., Samuel R.: Influence, Power, and the Policy Process: The Case of Franz Ferdinand, 1906-1914. In: The Historical Journal 17/2 (1974), p. 427.

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