One of the great surprises of the war was the stability of the Austro-Hungarian
army. In Crankshaw's words, "The army was at first wholly loyal,
and the greater part of it was to remain loyal, in the teeth of fearful
punishment, for the next four years, justifying all the claims that had been
made for its supranational quality." i'* Together, Austro-German and Hungarian
troops—representing the two dominant ethnic groups in the empire—
composed only 26.7 and 22.3 percent, respectively, of the army's total
strength. 15 Nonetheless, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovenes, Croats, and other
nationalities fought side by side. In one famous case of desertion, the Czech
28th Infantry Regiment abandoned its position in the Carpathian Mountains
and went over to the Russians in April 1915; but it was an isolated event in
this early stage of the war. For Hungarians, traditional enmity toward the
Russians helped hold them loyally in place. For most of the south Slav
nationalities, the campaigns defending the empire against the Italians
proved a popular effort. The army likewise remained a force for stability
within the empire. In January 1918, for example, reliable troops still stood
ready to put down workers' unrest in Vienna.
The mutiny of naval crews at the Gulf of Kotor in early February 1918
was a sign of danger, "the first serious disturbance among the Austro-Hungarian
armed forces." It was in part the result of prolonged inactivity on
vessels that had been pinned to shore by the Allied blockade of the Adriatic.
But it reflected both nationalist sentiments and the sailors' awareness of the
recent revolutions in Russia. Military authorities were able to put it down
without difficulty. 16 Only in midsummer 1918 did mutinies, refusals to go
into combat, and desertion en masse become common.
World History
