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Here is my new TL about the death of Conrad von Hötzendorff, the head of the Austro-Hungarian army just before the start of WW1. All feed back is welcome, especially praise ;).
Constructive criticism is also welcome, as I would like to make this a somewhat realistic story.


Multiple tragedies befell the Habsburg Empire within the period of six weeks, enough to seem as though a pox had fallen upon the ancient austrian house. The deaths of the Chief-of-Staff of their armies and the heir to the throne were heavy blows, but the European tragedy, which then followed, overshadowed these deaths. The three events are inextricably linked and determined the course of the war for the Habsburg Empire.

When Conrad von Hötzendorff died in mid-June 1914, the Habsburg army mourned the passing of “their genius”, none more than Franz Ferdinand, the inspector general of the army who had championed the fallen general as the revitalizing force needed to save the military. There was another “genius” waiting in the wings, working as governor of Bosnia. Appearing as though he was the only choice to assume the top post in the army in 1906, Oskar Potiorek was denied what he felt was his rightful promotion. Having been the previous chief’s aid (Friedrich Beck), Potiorek by all rights should have been appointed his successor, but the intervention of Ferdinand raised the junior officer Conrad to the top slot. Bitter and locked into his position, Potiorek felt that he was doomed to a life of undistinguished service. When given the military governorship over the newly annexed province of Bosnia-Herzogovina, he took up his task of suppressing dissent with a gusto. The civilian governor had let the natives run wild in his opinion, which led him to brutal repressive measures to reduce disloyalty.

When informed of the death of Conrad in a riding accident and his appointment to the head of the army (mainly thanks to his contacts at the imperial court) Potiorek was overjoyed. Aware that Ferdinand was not an ally, having been Conrad’s benefactor instead, Oskar extended an olive branch to demonstrate his good work to the Archduke. He invited the royal couple to Sarajevo to tour the city and see the order that was imposed on the rebellious populace. However, the trip proved disastrous as the royal couple was killed along with the mayor of the city when a bomb was thrown into their car while on parade through the streets. Fury filled the empire at the dastardly deed, which soon was channeled at the small nation of Serbia. It became apparent that the assassins were armed and directed by members of the Black Hand, an organization made up of radical members of the Serbian military. As the politicians debated and accused, the continent found itself at the brink of war. Potiorek demanded immediate war with the Serbs in revenge (Stafexpedition), some say out of intense guilt at having put the heir to the throne in the situation that led to his death. Regardless of his motivation, he was given the opportunity to lead a war against Serbia on the 28th of June when war was declared.

However, the alliance system of Europe took hold, as Russia mobilized for war against the Austrians against the demands of the Germans, which in turn prompted their declaration of war on both Russia and France, Russia’s ally. War soon came to much of the rest of the continent as Belgium was invaded and Britain joined in. Back in the Habsburg Empire Potiorek was left with several options, none of which were particularly safe. The entry of Russia into the war left the Empire with a very vulnerable flank and too few forces to decisively fight in both theaters of battle. Conrad’s pre-war plans called for concentrating three armies against Serbia or sending all armies into Galicia, but no plans for fighting in both areas. This would leave adaptation, something that the Austrians did not prove especially adept with, as the Germans would come to realize and denigrate with the world Schlamperei, or sloppiness.

There was much confusion in the AOK, the Austrian General Staff, about the path to take. The Russian threat was enormous and the battleground, the province of Galicia, produced 1/3 of the grain the empire consumed, meaning it would have to be defended for economic reasons. At the same time the Serbian theater was also vulnerable, as there were fears, mainly by Potiorek, that the Bosnian would revolt if the Serbs were allowed to attack. Furthermore there were also the Potiorek’s feelings of revenge and the will of the nation to crush Serbia. Ultimately Conrad’s Serbian plan was activated, which would send the 5th, 6th, and 2nd armies to the Serbian theater where they would be reinforced by Landsturm brigades. The remainder of the army, the 1st, 3rd, and 4th armies, would be sent to Galicia where they would join with the Germans to strike into Poland and encircle the protruding province. Mobilization orders were sent out and men collected. The first hiccup came on August 3rd when Moltke notified Potiorek that the Germans were sending the bulk of their armies West and would only reinforce the East in 40 days.
Stunned by this revelation and realizing that the Habsburg armies in Galicia were nowhere near as strong as they needed to be to fight the Russians themselves, Potiorek panicked. Troops were starting to stream into Galicia, preparing for an offensive that couldn’t be supported. Frantically AOK moved to halt the deployment of troops beyond the San and Dniester rivers. If the Germans were not going to help fight the Russians, than it was every man for himself. Potiorek sent Moltke a telegram stating that Serbia was to be the main focus of the Habsburg armies and that the remaining troops would stand on the defensive in the East until German troops were available to take the offensive. AOK realized that defending Galicia with three armies against what looked like would be four Russian would not be anywhere near enough. As it was, a Russian division was half again as large as the Austro-Hungarian equivalent and a Russian corps possessed a 90% advantage in light artillery and 260% advantage in heavy howitzers. Additionally the Russians would have at least ten more divisions in the theatre than the Austro-Hungarians. There was simply no way that the vast area of Galicia could be defended with such as weak force as was available. Given the disadvantageous strategic situation AOK decided the only way to survive was to quickly assault and conquer Serbia with the necessary forces and transfer the victorious armies to Galicia to reinforce the forces there tasked with defending the empire’s flank. Coupled with this, diplomatic overtures were to be made to Bulgaria to coax that nation to invade Serbia from the south, hopefully shortening the campaign and freeing up more troops for Galicia. Playing his cards close to his chest, Potiorek passed his request to the diplomatic corps with the strongest possible suggestions that any demand Bulgaria made should be fulfilled. For the moment the Imperial court and the civilian administration was kept in the dark regarding AOK’s gamble to finish Serbia before Russia could overrun the Carpathians. Even though Archduke Friedrich was ostensibly the head of the army in wartime, he was oblivious to the strategic debate, as he was more concerned with hunting, riding, and carousing to do any real work. For the moment this kept politics from interfering with war planning, but that was soon to change.
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