Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 52. (2007)
FRIED, Marvin Benjamin: Feldmarschall Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf: A Memoir Analysis
Marvin Fried many as almost directly responsible for the outbreak of the war, acted the way he did. Using his personal documents, his thinking behind his actions will be examined to portray the man behind the uniform. We hope to gain a clearer understanding of whether he was indeed the “Architect of the Apocalypse” as Lawrence Sondhaus5 believes or whether his defense in his documents and memoirs that he was acting in the best interest of the Dual Monarchy are justified by his subsequent actions. The essay is divided into three general themes: (A) the internal, (B) the external, and (C) the global. To gain an understanding of the accusations directed against Conrad, a short introduction of his activities at the outbreak of the war will be given. The first section of the article will then discuss the internal Austro- Hungarian situation, both (i) how Conrad viewed himself in all of this and (ii) which nationalities and other forces he lays the blame of failure on. In the second section, the external guilt as it is described by Conrad will be analyzed, discussing first (i) Germany’s, then (ii) the Entente’s, and finally (iii) Austria-Hungary’s shortcomings internationally, both politically and militarily. In the final section, Conrad’s global ‘Weltanschauung’ will be reviewed, which will shed more light on his thinking regarding the first two themes. In this global section, (i) Conrad’s social Darwinist ideas, (ii) his racism and near-fascism, and finally (iii) his views on the League of Nations and Europe’s future will be discussed. All primary sources, unless otherwise stated, are currently located in the War Archives section of the Austrian State Archives in Vienna. Introduction Conrad was seen by many of his contemporaries as one of the most capable men in Austria-Hungary, able to bring the army back up to speed. He was an “exquisite royal officer” with “outstanding abilities,”6 particularly in battlefield tactics. Having written extensively on tactics during his tenure at the military academy, his abilities came to the attention of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who elevated him to Chief of Staff. Conrad, like many of the military leaders of the Great Powers of the time, believed in the value of the offense over the defense, having once written that the soldier “if he moves back is lost, because he is not shooting.”7 The belief that “the bravest [soldiers] are those who jump up first and rush ahead”8 to attack the enemy was paramount among all militaries of Europe. However, even bravery would not be able to save the Austro-Hungarians against the Russian army, against which it “would have to undertake a large part of the work in the east, until German troops 5 Sondhaus, Lawrence: Franz Conrad von Hoetzendorf: Architect of the Apocalypse. 2000, Boston and Cologne. 6 Personalevidenzen [File], 7 Box B/1450: 10-20, Programm für die Ausbildung der Compagnie zum Gefecht [Program for the training of the company for battle], 8 Ibid. 228
