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The Conflict between Count Czernin and Emperor Charles in 1918

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2009

Robert F. Hopwood
Robert F. Hopwood
Affiliation:
Queen's UniversityKingston, Ontario
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Extract

On April 14, 1918, Charles I, the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian empire, dismissed his foreign minister Count Ottokar Czernin. The immediate circumstances of Czernin's fall from power have been known for many years, and the recently opened documentary collections in the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv in Vienna add little of substance to what is already known. Since neither the Czernin nor the Habsburg families have opened their private papers to the scrutiny of scholars, our information is still based on contemporary accounts of high government and court officials. From the evidence at hand we know little more than that Czernin had often treated Charles in a high-handed manner and that the foreign minister's refusal to assume full blame for the Sixtus Affair so angered the emperor that he accepted his minister's resignation. Thus, according to the consensus of his contemporaries, the reasons for Czernin's dismissal were emotional: the wounded pride and momentary anger of Emperor Charles. Certainly few would contend that these factors were unimportant; the emperor had often rendered similar imprudent judgments earlier in his brief reign. Still, one should be cautious about accepting this reason as the only one without searching for other more complex causes.

Type
The Disintegration of the Habsburg Monarchy: Some Semi-Centennial Reappraisals
Information
Austrian History Yearbook , Volume 4 , January 1968 , pp. 28 - 43
Copyright
Copyright © Center for Austrian Studies, University of Minnesota 1968

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References

1 For a comprehensive survey of the memoirs and the secondary literature of this period and for a judicious account of the Sixtus Affair, see especially Robert, Kann, “Joseph Maria Baernreiters und Graf Ottokar Czernins fragmentarische Darstellung der Sixtus Affaire,” Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs, Vol. XVI (1963), pp. 412–452Google Scholar.

2 Czernin's belief that Austria-Hungary's future was inextricably bound up with Germany was demonstrated by his comment to Ambassador Botho Wedel in June, 1917: “Either we see it through with Germany or we are finished. There is no third way.” Private letter from Wedel to Bethmann-Hollweg, June 25, 1917, Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Abteilung A, Österreich 86, 2, Bd. 22. It is beyond the scope of this paper to prove that these were the two major aims of Czernin's foreign policy. Few historians, however, would dispute that maintenance of the alliance with Germany was the cornerstone of his policy. Beyond this, one can only assume that he was either misguided and a lackey of Germany or else that he made positive contributions to his country's position by cooperating with his ally. The bulk of the evidence, it seems to me, supports the latter view.

3 Julius Meinl and Count Michael Károlyi, both of whom exerted considerable influence on Emperor Charles, were traveling in Switzerland trying to make contacts with Entente agents. At the same time, two high level court officials, Paul Schulz and Baron Ferdinand von Marterer, were attempting to “incite His Majesty against Germany.” See Musulin to Czernin, December 3, 1917, Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv (Vienna) (hereafter cited as “Staatsarchiv [Vienna]”), Telegramme herein, No. 1108; Hohenlohe to Czernin, December 10, 1917, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. III 175; Demblin to Czernin, December 12, 1917, ibid., Fasz. XL 263, Nos. 18 and 19.

4 Práznowsky, to Czernin, , February 2, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Chiffre Telegramme Hinausbuch 144, No. 249Google Scholar; Demblin, to Czernin, , March 21, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 263, No. 73Google Scholar.

5 Demblin, to Czernin, , December 20, 1917, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 261, No. 37Google Scholar; Demblin to Czernin, January 10, 1918, ibid., Fasz. XL 57, No. 13; Demblin to Czernin, January 7, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Telegramme herein, No. 8.

6 Czernin, to Demblin, , December 21 and 22, 1917, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 262, No. 3Google Scholar; Demblin to Czernin, December 24, 1917, and January 17, 1918, ibid., Fasz. XL 263, Nos. 2, 23, and 25; Demblin to foreign ministry, March 6, 1918, ibid., No. 79.

7 Czernin, to foreign ministry, January 17, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Telegramme herein, No. 132Google Scholar. For a detailed account of this phase of relations between Czernin and Charles, see the correspondence between Demblin and Czernin, in Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 262 and XL 263.

8 Czernin, to Demblin, , n. d., Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 262, Nos. 1, 18, and 41Google Scholar; Demblin, to Czernin, , November 22, 1917, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Telegramme herein, No. 3Google Scholar.

9 See the files in Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 262 and 263 for this period. In addition to these files, the minutes of the crown council of January 22, 1918, are particularly useful. They can be found in ibid., Fasz. XL 315.

10 Demblin to Czernin, December 25 and 26, 1917, ibid., Fasz. XL 263, Nos. 5 and 8; Demblin, to Czernin, , December 27, 1917, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Telegramme herein, No. 11Google Scholar.

11 Demblin, to Czernin, , December 7, 1917, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Telegramme herein, No. 17Google Scholar; Demblin to Czernin, December 9, 1917, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 263, No. 27; Czernin to Demblin, December 10, 1917, ibid., Fasz. I 1052; Czernin to Demblin, December 24, 1917, ibid., Fasz. I 504, No. 91.

12 Czernin, to Demblin, , December 24, 1917, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. I 504, No. 91Google Scholar.

13 Hohenlohe, to Czernin, , March 12, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Telegramme herein, No. 151Google Scholar; Demblin, to Czernin, , February 23, 24, and 26, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 263, Nos. 4, 66, and 11, respectivelyGoogle Scholar; Miiller, to Czernin, , February 24, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Chiffre Telegramme Hinausbuch 144, No. 25Google Scholar; Grünau report of the conference between William, and Charles, , February 22, 1918, Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Weltkrieg 15 geh., Bd. 5Google Scholar.

14 Czernin, to Demblin, , February 11, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 262, No. 23Google Scholar.

15 Demblin to Czernin, February 18, 1918, ibid., Fasz. XL 263; Czernin to Demblin, February 24, 1918, ibid., Fasz. XL 262, No. 2; Czernin, to Hohenlohe, , February 18, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Telegramme hinaus, No. 76Google Scholar.

16 Demblin, to Czernin, , February 22 and 24 (two different letters), 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 263, Nos. 3, 64, and 6, respectivelyGoogle Scholar; Czernin to Demblin, February 21, 1918, ibid., Fasz. XL 262, No. 30.

17 The head of the German occupation forces, General Wilhelm Groener, admitted the justice of Austria-Hungary's position and vainly tried to alter Germany's policy in the Ukraine. See Wilhelm, Groener, Lebenaserinnerungen, edited by von Gaertringen, Friedrich Hiller (Göttingen: Vanderhoeck and Ruprecht, 1957), p. 567Google Scholar.

18 Czernin, to Demblin, , March 7, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 262, No. 28Google Scholar; Demblin, to Czernin, , March 7, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Telegramme herein, No. 29Google Scholar; Czernin to foreign ministry, March 3, 1918, ibid., No. 62.

19 Although the German general staff had assumed supreme command of the combined German and Austro-Hungarian military forces in September, 1916, Emperor Charles argued that, since the Ukrainian issue involved occupation policy and not the conduct of the war, the September, 1916, agreement should not apply.

20 Lersner to foreign office, March 19, 1918, Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Abteilung A, Österreich 95, Bd. 23, No. 593; Demblin, to Czernin, , March 16, 18, and 20, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 263, Nos. 58, 64, and 69Google Scholar; Czernin to Demblin, March 18, 1918, ibid., Fasz. XL 262, No. 69; Demblin to Czernin, March 18, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Telegramme herein, No. 94.

21 Czernin, to Demblin, , January 30 and February 11, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 262, Nos. 16 and 24Google Scholar; Müller to Demblin, February 25, 1918, ibid., No. 42; Demblin to Czernin, February 6, 1918, ibid., Fasz. XL 263, No. 39.

22 Kühlmann, to Hertling, , February 25, 1918, Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Abteilung A, Öaterreich 86, 2, Bd. 23, No. 933Google Scholar. See also the documents in Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 262 and XL 263 for the period between February 25 and February 28, 1918.

23 On March 1, 1918, Wedel wrote Hertling that Emperor Charles was no longer as fresh and confident as he had been a year earlier. “A striking transformation in outlook” has taken place, the German ambassador reported, and recently his personality has been marked by “a nervous despondency and irresoluteness.” Wedel attributed this change in personality partly to the emperor's illness and partly to the bad humor of his pregnant wife. See Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Abteilung A, Österreich 86, 1, Bd. 22, No. 85.

24 Czernin, to Demblin, , March 1, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 262, Nos. 15 and 16Google Scholar; Kühlmann, to the imperial chancellor, March 1, 1918, Deutsches Zentralarchiv (Postdam), Reichskanzlei, Fasz. 2458/3, Nos. 33 and 34Google Scholar.

25 Czernin, to Demblin, , March 7, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 262, No. 28Google Scholar.

26 Czernin, to foreign ministry, March 15, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Telegramme herein, No. 20Google Scholar.

27 Demblin, to Czernin, , March 25, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches ArchivGoogle Scholar, Fasz. XL 263, Nos. 84 and 88; Czernin to Demblin, March 23 and 25 and April 2, 1918, ibid., Fasz. XL 262, Nos. 69 and 71; Demblin to Czernin, April 4, 1918, ibid., Fasz. XL 57, No. 116; Kühlmann, to foreign office, March 25, 1918, Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Weltkrieg 20h geh., Bd. 7, No. 216Google Scholar.

28 de Sauvigny, G. de Bertier, Metternich and His Times, translated by Peter Ryde (London: Darton, Longman, and Todd, 1962), p. 160Google Scholar.

29 Wedel, to Hertling, , January 21, 1918, Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Abteilung A, Österreich 70, Bd. 52, No. 21Google Scholar. The reports describing the economic situation in Austria-Hungary are too numerous to list. The messages from Wedel to the German consul at Budapest contain considerable economic data. Most of the reports sent to Czernin from Vienna also give detailed information about the domestic situation in the Dual Monarchy. In particular see the Müller reports in Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. I 1081.

30 Czernin, to Demblin, , March 8, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches Archiv, Fasz. XL 262, No. 32Google Scholar.

31 Demblin to Czernin, January 19 and 20, 1918, ibid., Fasz. XL 263, Nos. 27, 29, and 30; Czernin, Count Ottokar, In the World War (London: Cassell and Co., 1919), pp. 298–311Google Scholar; Tucher to Staatsministerium, January 26, 1918, Geheimes Staatsarchiv (Munich), Diplomatische Berichte, Fasz. MA III, No. 2481/6Google Scholar.

32 Demblin, to Czernin, , February 8 and March 27, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches ArchivGoogle Scholar, Fasz. XL 263, Nos. 44 and 97. In alluding to the timidity of Austrian leaders other than Czernin, Wedel remarked that “one cannot ride with full pants.” See Wedel, to Hertling, , February 10, 1918, Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Abteilung A, Österreich 70, Bd. 53, No. 56Google Scholar.

33 Demblin, to Müller, , February 9 and March 14, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches ArchivGoogle Scholar, Fasz. XL 262, Nos. 21 and 50; Demblin to foreign ministry, February 12, 1918, ibid., Fasz. XL 263, No. 54; Wedel, to Hertling, , March 11, 1918, Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Abteilung A, Österreich 86, Bd. 13, No. 96Google Scholar.

34 Czernin, to Demblin, , February 5, 1918, Staatsarchiv (Vienna), Politisches ArchivGoogle Scholar, Fasz. XL 262; Demblin to Czernin, February 6, 1918, ibid., Fasz. XL 263, No. 40; Müller to Czernin, March 13, 1918 (three different telegrams), ibid., Fasz. XL 261, Nos. 215, 222, 229, and 230; Czernin to foreign ministry, March 12, 1918, ibid., No. 170.

35 See Kann, “Joseph Maria Baernreiter und Graf Ottokar Czernins fragmentarische Darstellung der Sixtus Affaire,” p. 427. See also information report, April 19, 1918, Geheimes Staatsarchiv (Munich), Diplomatische Berichte, Fasz. MA III 2691/17, No. 44; information report, March 1, 1918, ibid., 2691/16, No. 24; Wedel to Hertling, April 15, 1918, Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Weltkrieg 2 geh., Bd. 59, No. 127; Wedel to foreign office, February 13, 1918, Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Abteilung A, Österreich 86, 2, Bd. 23, No. 127; Wedel to Hertling, March 2, 1918, Österreich 70, Bd. 53, No. 86; Wedel to Hertling, February 18, 1918, ibid., Österreich 86, Bd. 22, No. 67; and Wedel to foreign office, February 28, 1918, ibid., Österreich 95, Bd. 23, No. 183.

36 Wedel, to foreign office, April 11, 1918, Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Abteilung A, Österreich 86, 2, Bd. 23, No. 259Google Scholar; Bussche, to Berckheim, , April 15, 1918, Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Grosses Hauptquartier Österreich 23, Fasz. IV, No. 650Google Scholar; Wedel, to Hertling, , Vienna, April 15, 1918, Auswärtiges Amt (Bonn), Weltkrieg 2 geh., Bd. 59, No. 127Google Scholar.