![]() ![]() Considered a brilliant expert in tactics, Conrad might not have been the most obvious choice for a position that required a focus on planning operations. Since neither Francis Joseph nor Franz Ferdinand made an effort to scrutinize the war plans, it would be Conrad who shaped the way in which the Austro-Hungarian armed forces were to be mobilized and deployed in 1914. After only one year, as a major war seemed imminent in late 1912, Blasius Schemua (1856–1920), his replacement was ousted and Conrad reinstated. Conrad, who constantly pleaded for an assertive foreign policy and advocated preventive war against Italy or Serbia on a regular basis, was sacked in late 1911 for overstepping his competences. In 1906, at the behest of Franz Ferdinand, Francis Joseph replaced his septuagenarian age-mate Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky (1830–1920) with fifty-four year old Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf (1852–1925) as Chief of the General Staff. Only Francis Joseph I, Emperor of Austria (1830–1916), the official commander in chief, and Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este (1863–1914), the heir apparent and since 1913 Inspector general of all armed forces, held sway over the different branches of troops. ![]() ( kaiserlich und königlich, or imperial and royal) army but also those for the Landwehr and the Honvéd, the defense forces of Austria and Hungary. But unlike the minister of war, the Chief of the General Staff would not only look after war preparations for the common k.u.k. Naval war planning was nevertheless run by the Admiralty in a rather independent fashion, since cooperation between navy and army in case of war would be limited to small-scale operations along the seaboard. The core of his assignment was to take care of all issues of mobilization, the order of battle and operational plans for Austria-Hungary’s armed forces. His brief included oversight over all aspects of war preparations, ranging from the training of officers and troops to fortifications and logistics. In theory, its chief assisted the minister of war, but his position was much stronger than this might suggest since he reported directly to the emperor and had a high degree of leverage in all questions of military policy. Responsibility for war planning in Austria-Hungary rested with the General Staff. Introduction: The General Staff and Its Chief ↑
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