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Austria-Hungary's Dreadnought Squadron: the Naval Outlay of 19111

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2009

Louis A. Gebhard Jr.
Louis A. Gebhard Jr.
Affiliation:
State University College of New York at Cortland
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Extract

On June 24, 1911, the first Austro-Hungarian dreadnought, the 20,000 ton Viribus unitis, slid down the ways of the stabilimento tecnico firm in Trieste. Towed for completion to Pola, the chief naval base of the monarchy, it joined the fleet on October 6, 1912, as the flagship of the imperial and royal navy.

Type
Nineteenth Century Diplomacy and Military Affairs
Information
Austrian History Yearbook , Volume 4 , January 1968 , pp. 245 - 258
Copyright
Copyright © Center for Austrian Studies, University of Minnesota 1968

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References

2 Report of the army committee in Austria, , Delegation des Reichsrates, Stenographisches Sitzungsprotokolle (49 vols., Vienna: Haus-, Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1868–1914), Vol. XLVI (1911–12), p. 967Google Scholar.

3 Oskar, Regele, Feldmarschall Conrad (Vienna: Herold Verlag, 1955), p. 955Google Scholar.

4 Hans, Sokol, Österreich-Ungarns Seekrieg 1914–1918 (Vienna: Amalthea Verlag, 1930), Appendix II, pp. 28–64Google Scholar. The British admiralty's concern over the Austrian fleet is reflected in Winston, Churchill, The World Crisis (4 vols., New York: Scribner's Sons, 1923), Vol. I. pp. 236–243Google Scholar and 265–275. See also Thomazi, Auguste Antoine, La marine française dans la grande guerre 1914–1918 (4 vols., Paris: Payot, 1925–1929)Google Scholar; and Corbett, Julian S. and Henry, Newbolt, History of the Great War. Based on Official Documents: Naval Operations (5 vols., New York: Longman's, Green, and Company, 1931), Vol. I, pp. 86–88Google Scholar.

5 A copy of the text of the Austrian law of December 21, 1867, which laid the basis for the compromise with Hungary, can be found in Bernatzik, Edmund (ed.), Die österreichische Verfassungsgesetze mit Erläuterungen (2nd ed., Vienna: Manzsche k. u. k. Hof-, Verlags- und Universitäts-Buchhandlung, 1911), pp. 439–440Google Scholar.

6 Walter, Wagner, Die obersten Behörden der k. u. k. Kriegsmarine 1856–1918. Supplement VI of the Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs (Horn: Ferdinand Berger, 1961), p. 58Google Scholar. A dispute between the naval commandant and the joint war minister in 1900 gave rise to an unsuccessful attempt on the part of the navy to achieve a position of greater equality with the army. The documents, including a resumé of the constitutional position of the navy and the emperor's decision in regard to the matter, are available in Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Militär Kanzlei des Kaisers, Nos. 2678 and 66–18/1 (1900)Google Scholar.

7 Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Militär Kanzlei des Kaisers, No. 66–7/5 (1912)Google Scholar; and Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Präsidial Kanzlei, Marine Sektion, Fasz. XV-7, No. 5184 (1911Google Scholar).

8 Hungarian Minister-President Károly Khuen-Hederváry to Minister of War General Moritz Auffenberg, February 23, 1912, Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Präsidial Kanzlei, Marine Sektion, Fasz. XV-7, No. 1170 (1912Google Scholar).

9 Neue Freie Presse, May 15, 1898, p. 4.

10 Ibid., May 24, 1898, p. 4.

11 Under the terms of an agreement reached in 1904 between the navy section and the Hungarian government, 34.4 percent of all expenditures for industrial products had to be spent in Hungary. If a particular product, such as armor plate, for example, was not available in Hungary, Hungary had to be “compensated” by receiving a larger percentage of the funds spent for purchasing another product. For this reason, the navy was, for example, obliged to purchase 50 percent of its shells in Hungary. Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Präsidial Kanzlei, Marine Sektion, Fasz. XV-7, No. 1782 (1904Google Scholar). A new agreement was negotiated in 1906. For an analysis of this latter agreement, see Neue Freie Presse, June 20, 1906, p. 2; and June 22, 1906, p. 15.

12 It should be noted that Austrian Minister-President Ernest von Koerber was incensed over the 1904 agreement. He was especially irritated because the Austrian government was not even informed about the progress of the negotiations. See Koerber memorandum, November 16, 1904, Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Präsidial Kanzlei, Marine Sektion, Fasz. XV-7, No. 2903 (1904Google Scholar).

13 Several factors account for the revival of Austro-Italian tension after 1898. Among them were the revival of irredentism, internal strife within Italy (which strengthened the Francophiles), the Anglo-German rift, and the quarrels between Italians and Germans within Austria. The accession to the Italian throne of Victor Emmanuel III, who was much less sympathetic to the Triple Alliance than his predecessor, was also significant. See Luigi, Albertini, The Origins of the War of 1914, translated by Massey, Isabella M. (3 vols., New York: Oxford University Press, 1952), Vol. IGoogle Scholar; Fritz, Fellner, Der Dreibund: Europäische Diplomatie vor dem Weltkrieg (Vienna: Verlag für Geschichte und Politik, 1960Google Scholar); Langer, William L., The Diplomacy of Imperialism, 1890–1902 (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1952Google Scholar); and Pribram, Alfred E., The Secret Treaties of Austria-Hungary, translated by Coolidge, Archibald Gary (2 vols., Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1920), Vol. IIGoogle Scholar. An informative discussion of the impact of Italian internal politics on foreign policy is available in Margot, Hentze, Pre-Fascist Italy: the Rise and Fall of the Parliamentary Regime (London: Allen & Unwin, 1934Google Scholar). The Austro-Hungarian embassy in Rome warned Vienna of the deleterious effects of the troubles between Italians and Germans within the monarchy on Austro-Italian relations. See dispatches of September 18 and October 17, 1898, and December 2, 1904, and telegrams of September 28 and October 10, 1898, Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv (Vienna) (hereafter cited as “Staatsarchiv [Vienna]”), Berichte, Italien, Nos. 54 C, 62 D, 81 B, 74, and 78, respectively.

14 There are five important biographical studies of the archduke. The most recent is Rudolf, Kiszling, Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand von Österreich-Este (Graz: Hermann Böhlaus Nachf., 1953Google Scholar). Other studies include Maurice, Muret, L'archiduc François Ferdinand (Paris: B. Grasset, 1932Google Scholar); Theodor, Sosnosky, Der Erzherzog Thronfolger: ein Lebensbild (Munich: R. Oldenbourg, 1929Google Scholar); Georg, Franz, Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand und die Plane zur Reform der Habsburger Monarchie (Brünn: Rohrer, 1943Google Scholar); and von Chlumecky, Leopold, Erzherzog Franz Ferdinands Wirken und Wollen (Berlin: Verlag für Kulturpolitik, 1928Google Scholar).

15 In his Erzherzog Franz Ferdinands Wirken und Wollen, p. 47.

16 “Exposá betreffend die Notwendigkeit der Stärkung der k. u. k. Flotte nebst Bauprogram für die Jahre 1899–1908,” Kriegsarchiv (Vienna), Operations Kanzlei, Marine Sektion, Reichs-Kriegaministerium, Fasz. XV-5 (1898), Nos. 381 and 485.

17 On the opposition to the naval expansion program, see Staatsarchiv, (Vienna), Gemeinsame Ministerrat Protokoll, March 21, 1898Google Scholar, No. 408.

18 van Duzer, Lewis S. (ed.), “Professional Notes,” Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute, Vol. XXVIII (1902), p. 90Google Scholar. The Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute is the leading American naval journal. Various issues between 1900 and 1918 contain important data on the Austro-Hungarian navy. More useful, however, is Keltie, J. Scott and Renwick, Isaac P. A. (eds.), The Statesman's Yearbook: Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World for the Year 1902 (London: MacMillan and Co., 1902Google Scholar). See also Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.), Naval Annual 1900 (Portsmouth, England: J. Griffen, 1900Google Scholar). Other periodicals published between 1900 and 1914 which contain data on the Austrian navy are Marine Rundschau (German); Rivista Marittima (Italian); and the French Journal de la Marine: Le Yacht. See especially Vol. XVII (1899) of Le Yacht for a good discussion of the Austro-Hungarian navy. The Austrian journal Mitteilungen aus dem Gebiete des Seewesens is not very informative about the Austrian navy.

19 Austria, , Delegation des Reichsrates, Stenographisches Sitzungaprotokolle, Vol. XL (1904), pp. 30Google Scholar, 379, and 384.

20 For a biographical sketch of Admiral Montecuccoli, see Peter, Handel-Mazzetti, “Admiral Rudolf Graf Montecuccoli degli Erri,” in Bettelheim, Anton et al. (eds.), Grosse Österreicher: Neue Österreichische Biographie ab 1815, Vol. XIV (Vienna: Amalthea Verlag, 1960), pp. 89–95Google Scholar.

21 For example, in a memorandum of July 6, 1905, he proposed the adoption of a construction program of thirteen battleships, twelve cruisers, eighteen destroyers, seventy-eight torpedo boats, and six submarines. Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Präsidial Kanzlei, Marine Sektion, Fasz. XV-7, No. 863 (1906Google Scholar).

22 Ibid., No. 120 (1909).

23 Many naval enthusiasts were convinced that a larger navy would help create markets. See Austria, , Delegation des Reichsrates, Stenographisches Sitzungsprotokolle, Vol. XXIV (1898), pp. 15–74Google Scholar.

24 Memorandum from Admiral Montecuccoli to Prime Minister Khuen-Héderváry, May 30, 1910, Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Präsidial Kanzlei, Marine Sektion, Fasz. XV-7, No. 2153 (1910Google Scholar). In the above memorandum the prime-minister's attention is drawn to the emperor's note of the previous year.

25 A contemporary account of this crisis can be found in Simon, Aberdan, “La crise hongroise,” Revue politique et parlementaire, Vol. XLIII (1909), pp. 72–90Google Scholar.

26 Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Präsidial Kanzlei, Marine Sektion, Fasz. XV-7, No. 2153 (1910Google Scholar); Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Militärkanzlei des Erzherzogea Franz Ferdinand, No. M/192 (1909Google Scholar).

27 Staatsarchiv, (Vienna), Gemeinsame Ministerrat Protokoll, October 6, 1910, No. 482Google Scholar.

28 Ibid., May 17, 1910, No. 480. The imperial and royal minister of war complained that the large sums spent on the navy were depriving the army of badly needed infantry.

29 Staatsarchiv, (Vienna), Gemeinsame Ministerrat Protokoll, October 6, 1910, No. 482Google Scholar.

30 See Austria, , Delegation des Reichsrates, Stenographisches Sitzungsprotokolle, Vol. XLIV (1910), pp. 839–840Google Scholar.

31 Ibid., p. 844.

32 Ibid.

33 Neue Freie Presse, November 11, 1910, p. 6.

34 Ibid., May 19, 1898, p. 8.

35 Ibid., October 21, 1910, p. 5.

36 Most of the program was actually completed by 1914.

37 At a meeting between Hungarian leaders and officers representing the naval section, the Hungarians were also promised that a 2,200,000 crown contract would be awarded to a Hungarian gun factory after its construction was completed. Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Präsidial Kanzlei, Marine Sektion, Fasz. XV-7, No. 960 (1911Google Scholar). On the reaction of the Hungarian delegation to the naval program, see Neue Freie Presse, March 1, 1911, p. 7.

38 Neue Freie Presse, October 22, 1908, p. 7.

39 Ibid., November 30, 1907, p. 16.

40 Ibid., January 5, 1907, p. 4.

41 For the British reaction to the Austrian naval construction program, see SirFairfax, Cartwright's dispatch of April 27, 1909, in Gooch, George P. and Temperley, Harold (eds.), British Documents on the Origins of the War, 1898–1914 (11 vols., London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1927), Vol. VI, p. 270Google Scholar. See also the dispatches of Henry G. O. Bax-Ironside of November 15, 1909, ibid., Vol. V, p. 813; of Sir Arthur Nicolson of April 14, 1909, ibid., p. 784; and of Sir William Edward Goschen of April 17, 1909, ibid., Vol. VI, p. 267. Cartwright was the British ambassador in Vienna between 1905 and 1908 and in Berlin between 1908 and 1914. Bax-Ironside was British minister to Switzerland. Nicolson waa the British ambassador at St. Petersburg, and Goschen was British ambassador in Berlin. Sir Edward Grey, British foreign secretary, made the following notation on Goschen's dispatch: “In any case we have to keep equal to any two European powers, and if Austria builds dreadnoughts, we must build more.” Ibid., Vol. VI, p. 267. On the Italian reaction, see von Fuchs, Fregattenkapitan (German naval attaché in Rome) to von Tirpitz, Admiral, November 7, 1910, in Johannes, Lepsius, Albrecht, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, and Friedrich, Thimme (eds.), Die Grosse Politik der europäischen Kabinette 1871–1914: Sammlung des Auswärtigen Amtes 1871–1914 (40 vols., Berlin: Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft für Politik und Geschichte, 1922–1926), Vol. XXVII, Pt. 1, pp. 375–379Google Scholar. See also the dispatches of Count Heinrich Liitzow (Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Italy) of April 17 and May 26, 1909, Staatsarchiv, (Vienna), Berichte, ItalienGoogle Scholar, Nos. 17C and 34C. Baron Ambrósy von Seden's dispatch of October 27, 1910, echoed Lützow's concern. See ibid., No. 47C. Lützow's successor Cajetan von Mérey also warned Vienna in the same vein.

42 de Lafajole, Faramond, Souvenirs d'un attaché navale en Allemagne et en Autriche (Paris: Librairie Plon, 1932), p. 30Google Scholar. Heinrich Kanner, former editor of Die Zeit, says that both the Austrian and Hungarian treasuries were exhausted by 1913. See his Katastrophen Politik (Leipzig: E. P. Tal, 1922), p. 55. The difficulty in borrowing was also mentioned in the joint ministers' conference of July 9, 1912, Staatsarchiv, (Vienna), Gemeinsame Miniaterrat Protokoll, No. 491Google Scholar.

43 Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Präsidial Kanzlei, Marine Sektion, Fasz. XV-7, Nos. 4985 (1910)Google Scholar, 26 (1911), 91 (1911), and 3073 (1912).

44 Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Militärkanzlei des Kaisers, No. 51–1/3–1 ex March 2, 1912Google Scholar.

45 Ibid.

46 Regele, Feldmarschall Conrad, p. 455.

47 Austria, , Delegation des Reichsrates, Stenographisches Sitzungsprotokolle, Vol. XLIX (1914), pp. 531–546Google Scholar; Kriegsarchiv, (Vienna), Präsidial Kanzlei, Marine Sektion, Fasz. XV-7, No. 2338 (1914Google Scholar). This program was cancelled shortly after the outbreak of war in 1914.