Mobilising the Habsburg Empire: Austria-Hungary and war in 1914

Austria Hungary, a patchwork empire of nationalities, saw a surprising enthusiasm for war in the summer of 1914 from non Austrian subjects. Across the empire, subject peoples who still had loyalties to the empire as a whole volunteered to fight, overwhelming the offices of military recruiters. The Habsburg empire was far more suspicious of its own population than was in any way warranted, but succeeded in squandering the opportunities for greater social harmony through the closure of the Austrian parliament, the Reichsrat. Whilst this had a limited effect in 1914, the need for cooperation and plurality later on in the war would be paramount.

More from Explaining History

  1. 31:38Black Britain 1948-89: Economic drivers of migrationApr 17, 2024
  2. 33:13Infiltrating the IRA: Terror and Espionage in Northern IrelandApr 08, 2024
  3. 34:42IRA double agents - Terror and espionage with Henry HemmingApr 06, 2024
  4. 33:27A timeline of everything - In conversation with Bruce TappingApr 04, 2024
  5. 34:24Mexico, America and NAFTA 1994-1995Mar 20, 2024
  6. 00:41Neoliberalism VS National Liberation Movements 1945-79Mar 08, 2024
  7. 42:21World War Two: The Good War?Feb 23, 2024
  8. 30:23Socialism and Fascism - what they are and are notFeb 14, 2024
  9. 31:47Resistance from the right: America's campus backlash against the counter cultureFeb 02, 2024
  10. 36:06Wilson, Jenkins and austerity 1968-70Jan 26, 2024