The Army of Francis Joseph

Rating:
Summary: Anatomy of a Dynastic Army
Review: The Army of Francis Joseph is a scholarly examination of the Hapsburg (Austrian) army during the period 1815-1918. This army was primarily designed to safeguard the stability of the Hapsburg Dynasty and during this period, the Dynasty was primarily reflected in the 68-year reign of the Emperor Francis Joseph. Gunther E. Rothenberg, a professor at Purdue University, is an acknowledged expert on the Austrian military and he has unearthed a wealth of information from Austrian archives about this heretofore-neglected army. Furthermore, the examination of Austria-Hungary's security situation from 1867-1914 is critical in understanding much of the political and military background to the First World War. Rothenberg concludes that in the end, while the Hapsburg army was never among the best armies in Europe, it fought hard and did it's professional duty to the dynasty despite difficult circumstances.

The Army of Francis Joseph consists of fourteen chapters and an epilogue. The author also provides a detailed list of sources and endnotes. However, the lack of any maps, charts or photographs does not make this a "user-friendly" book. For example, while the author provides considerable data in the text on important items like Austrian military budgets, army strengths, and ethnic composition of the military, he does not compile this information into tables or charts. Thus if the reader wants to determine how Austrian military spending changed over the 19th Century or the army demographics changed, one must be prepared to flip a great many pages and keep a notepad handy. While the author's intent was an organizational study rather than a campaign history, a few maps of the main campaign areas would have been appreciated. Professor Rothenberg went to a great deal of effort to assemble this fine study, but it is unfortunately not well packaged. Furthermore, the middle part of the book - which mostly concerns Hungarian nationalist agitation and the establishment of the Dual Monarchy - is extremely tedious and slow. Essentially, this book is not for novices and should only be read by someone with considerable background and interest in this period. That being said, this book is also indispensable for understanding Austrian participation in the First World War.

Reading Rothenberg's book, it is hard to feel sorry that the Hapsburg Dynasty and its army were consigned to the dustbin of history. The Army High Command was typically over-age and almost suicidal in its resistance to doctrinal or technological innovation. The leadership resisted the creation of an effective general staff organization despite being taught hard lessons by the Prussian General Staff in the disastrous Six Weeks War of 1866. New technologies, such as breech-loading rifles, modern artillery, and aircraft were consistently denied funds and approval. In one instance, the aged Emperor Francis Joseph stated that armored vehicles would never have any military value after a prototype spooked his horse at a demonstration. Indeed, despite the well-known construction of a handful of super-heavy artillery pieces by the Skoda firm, the Hapsburg army never relied on technological or doctrinal innovation for its combat power. Instead, the Hapsburg leadership maintained an antiquated fixation on bayonet attacks and massed cavalry charges up to the start of the First World War. The emphasis on physical bravery did produce a tough army that was able to endure a steady diet of defeats in most of its wars, but the Hapsburg army had very few victories to its credit during this period.

Rothenberg's book also sheds much light on neglected aspects of 19th Century military history, such as the suppression of the Revolutions of 1848, which hit Austria hard and required nearly two years to fully subdue. The Austrian occupation of Bosnia in 1878 was a major operation that cost the Hapsburg army over 5,000 casualties. Austrian leaders like General Conrad, Crown Prince Rudolf and the Archduke Francis Ferdinand also appear in much greater detail in these pages compared to standard accounts. After reviewing the combination of bigotry, idiocy and reactionary attitudes in Francis Ferdinand, few readers will mourn his assassination. Conrad, the Austrian Chief of Staff, is also cut down to size in this account; on the one hand, he pressed for reforms, but on the other hand his actual decisions resulted in one catastrophe after another.

The fate of the Hapsburg Dynasty was inherently tied up with the strength of its army, and this army steadily deteriorated in relation to the other great powers during the last half of the 19th Century. Rothenberg cites two primary factors for this military decline: limited budgets and an inability to fully utilize the empire's manpower resources. During the entire period 1870-1914, Austria-Hungary was spending less than half the amount on defense that the other great powers were spending; Rothenberg attributes this partly to an anemic economy, partly to parsimony by a divided legislature but primarily due to the fact that the army was intended for regime security. Indeed, during much of this period the Hapsburgs were more focused on external security missions than matching foreign enemies. Furthermore, the nationalities problem - particularly with the Hungarians - consistently undermined the effectiveness of the Hapsburg army. One of the few advantages that the Hapsburg Empire enjoyed - a large and growing population - was negated by limited conscription and lack of an effective reserve system.

Given the inherent weaknesses in the Hapsburg military system, it is a wonder that Austria-Hungary pursued such aggressive policies in the decades prior to the First World War. The empire was constantly confronted with real or imagined threats of war with Italy, Russia and Serbia after 1870 and Austrian leaders frequently beat the drum for pre-emptive attacks. Germany was enticed into supporting aggressive Austrian Balkan policies well before 1914 and this only further emboldened the regime. Essentially, Rothenberg asserts that the monarchy's leadership sensed that the dynasty's days were numbered and sought to utilize their dwindling military resources to stave off disintegration, although it was this preference for active measures that brought about the conditions for a general European war.

Rating:
Summary: Anatomy of a Dynastic Army
Review: The Army of Francis Joseph is a scholarly examination of the Hapsburg (Austrian) army during the period 1815-1918. This army was primarily designed to safeguard the stability of the Hapsburg Dynasty and during this period, the Dynasty was primarily reflected in the 68-year reign of the Emperor Francis Joseph. Gunther E. Rothenberg, a professor at Purdue University, is an acknowledged expert on the Austrian military and he has unearthed a wealth of information from Austrian archives about this heretofore-neglected army. Furthermore, the examination of Austria-Hungary's security situation from 1867-1914 is critical in understanding much of the political and military background to the First World War. Rothenberg concludes that in the end, while the Hapsburg army was never among the best armies in Europe, it fought hard and did it's professional duty to the dynasty despite difficult circumstances.

The Army of Francis Joseph consists of fourteen chapters and an epilogue. The author also provides a detailed list of sources and endnotes. However, the lack of any maps, charts or photographs does not make this a "user-friendly" book. For example, while the author provides considerable data in the text on important items like Austrian military budgets, army strengths, and ethnic composition of the military, he does not compile this information into tables or charts. Thus if the reader wants to determine how Austrian military spending changed over the 19th Century or the army demographics changed, one must be prepared to flip a great many pages and keep a notepad handy. While the author's intent was an organizational study rather than a campaign history, a few maps of the main campaign areas would have been appreciated. Professor Rothenberg went to a great deal of effort to assemble this fine study, but it is unfortunately not well packaged. Furthermore, the middle part of the book - which mostly concerns Hungarian nationalist agitation and the establishment of the Dual Monarchy - is extremely tedious and slow. Essentially, this book is not for novices and should only be read by someone with considerable background and interest in this period. That being said, this book is also indispensable for understanding Austrian participation in the First World War.

Reading Rothenberg's book, it is hard to feel sorry that the Hapsburg Dynasty and its army were consigned to the dustbin of history. The Army High Command was typically over-age and almost suicidal in its resistance to doctrinal or technological innovation. The leadership resisted the creation of an effective general staff organization despite being taught hard lessons by the Prussian General Staff in the disastrous Six Weeks War of 1866. New technologies, such as breech-loading rifles, modern artillery, and aircraft were consistently denied funds and approval. In one instance, the aged Emperor Francis Joseph stated that armored vehicles would never have any military value after a prototype spooked his horse at a demonstration. Indeed, despite the well-known construction of a handful of super-heavy artillery pieces by the Skoda firm, the Hapsburg army never relied on technological or doctrinal innovation for its combat power. Instead, the Hapsburg leadership maintained an antiquated fixation on bayonet attacks and massed cavalry charges up to the start of the First World War. The emphasis on physical bravery did produce a tough army that was able to endure a steady diet of defeats in most of its wars, but the Hapsburg army had very few victories to its credit during this period.

Rothenberg's book also sheds much light on neglected aspects of 19th Century military history, such as the suppression of the Revolutions of 1848, which hit Austria hard and required nearly two years to fully subdue. The Austrian occupation of Bosnia in 1878 was a major operation that cost the Hapsburg army over 5,000 casualties. Austrian leaders like General Conrad, Crown Prince Rudolf and the Archduke Francis Ferdinand also appear in much greater detail in these pages compared to standard accounts. After reviewing the combination of bigotry, idiocy and reactionary attitudes in Francis Ferdinand, few readers will mourn his assassination. Conrad, the Austrian Chief of Staff, is also cut down to size in this account; on the one hand, he pressed for reforms, but on the other hand his actual decisions resulted in one catastrophe after another.

The fate of the Hapsburg Dynasty was inherently tied up with the strength of its army, and this army steadily deteriorated in relation to the other great powers during the last half of the 19th Century. Rothenberg cites two primary factors for this military decline: limited budgets and an inability to fully utilize the empire's manpower resources. During the entire period 1870-1914, Austria-Hungary was spending less than half the amount on defense that the other great powers were spending; Rothenberg attributes this partly to an anemic economy, partly to parsimony by a divided legislature but primarily due to the fact that the army was intended for regime security. Indeed, during much of this period the Hapsburgs were more focused on external security missions than matching foreign enemies. Furthermore, the nationalities problem - particularly with the Hungarians - consistently undermined the effectiveness of the Hapsburg army. One of the few advantages that the Hapsburg Empire enjoyed - a large and growing population - was negated by limited conscription and lack of an effective reserve system.

Given the inherent weaknesses in the Hapsburg military system, it is a wonder that Austria-Hungary pursued such aggressive policies in the decades prior to the First World War. The empire was constantly confronted with real or imagined threats of war with Italy, Russia and Serbia after 1870 and Austrian leaders frequently beat the drum for pre-emptive attacks. Germany was enticed into supporting aggressive Austrian Balkan policies well before 1914 and this only further emboldened the regime. Essentially, Rothenberg asserts that the monarchy's leadership sensed that the dynasty's days were numbered and sought to utilize their dwindling military resources to stave off disintegration, although it was this preference for active measures that brought about the conditions for a general European war.

Rating:
Summary: highly recommended
Review: this is a truly wonderful book that will appeal to two types of readers. those who want to understand the decline and fall of the hapsburg monarchy will treasure a detailed and lucid explanation of the political and social role played by the army. against the rising tide of nationalism in the 19th century, the army was a source of unity for two reasons. one, the army used force to keep the empire intact. two, the army was a symbol of unity and an institution in which, generally, the various ethnic groups of the hapsburg lands were treated equally. rothenburg does a very good job of explaining how this symbol was able to keep the empire intact, despite loosing major wars, yet how it ultimately succumbed to separatist sentiments, especially those of the magyars.

those who want to understand why the hapsburgs lost three consecutive majors wars (austro-italian, austro-prussian, ww1) will also be enlightened. the hapsburg role in these three struggles makes little sense unless one understands the political role of the army, a point that rothenburg stresses. the hapsburgs were a declining power hopelessly trying to hang on to great power status and this was reflected in the army. the army's failure to modernize and to learn from past mistakes were clearly noted by rothenburg. this failure ultimately led to final defeat in ww1, after which the empire was in such disarray that it could not prevent its dismemberment at the hands of its enemies.

this book is not an account of the campaigns of the hapsburg army. it is, however, a detailed study of its operation, structure, funding, recruiting, and role in the life of the empire during its decline. i highly recommend this book for students of 19th century military history and general central european history.

Rating:
Summary: A must buy
Review: This is probably the best available treatment of the last seventy years of the Hapsburg Army. Rothenburg has in essence waded through an immense amount of material that would otherwise have remained undigested in unreadable regimental histories or official studies, and the result straddles the line between popular historical entertainment and readability. Few books that try to do this succeed, but Rothenburg manages it pretty well, particularly when you stop to consider what a truly esoteric subject he's covering. The real value of the work is, however, not so much in the style- M1A1 military-political history- as it it in the fact that Rothenburg is almost the only modern scholar to study it. While the book itself is a good general guide and outline to the politics and (to a lesser degree) the doctrinal and technical development of the kUk Army, it is an essential starting point for the more serious scholar. The bibliography and endnotes are a goldmine of references, not only memoirs but some archival information that will be useful to the researcher interested in doing work in the field.