Chapter Summaries

Baron von Berchtold told Oscar that Austria would resist rather than surrender, ending efforts to settle the conflict peacefully. As German forces rapidly advanced toward Vienna, Austrian leaders pulled their troops back to defend the city, and German army corps reached Vienna from the west and north.

• Baron von Berchtold told Oscar that Austria would fight rather than submit to Germany, and Oscar accepted that war would decide the issue.
• German forces continued advancing through the snow, aided by growing truck deliveries and almost no Austrian resistance.
• A staff officer reported that the German military had captured Amstetten after its garrison fled an artillery barrage.
• Archduke Friedrich ordered the Amstetten garrison commander arrested and executed, while Baron Marshal von Heitzenforf urged the army to withdraw its frontline troops toward Vienna.
• The Austrian military began concentrating its forces around Vienna and preparing additional troops.
• On January 25, the German 3rd and 5th Army Corps reached Vienna from the west, while the 6th and 7th Army Corps arrived from the north.

Karl I urged the assembled Austro-Hungarian forces to resist the Germans at Vienna, while secretly preparing to flee to Trieste and seek exile in the United States if the city fell. Oscar ordered the German commanders to leave an escape route open so the Austrians would be less likely to fight to the death, and demanded a swift, decisive victory.

• Baron Marshal von Heitzenforf reported that at least six hundred thousand German troops had reached Vienna, and Karl I privately resolved to escape to Trieste and then the United States if the city could not be defended.
• Archduke Friedrich asked Karl I to raise the troops’ morale, and Karl I publicly vowed that the Austro-Hungarian Empire would resist the Germans at Vienna.
• Karl I visited several military camps, and his encouragement gave some Austro-Hungarian soldiers renewed resolve to fight.
• The German military delayed its assault while transporting supplies and preparing for the battle around Vienna.
• Field Marshal Falkenhayn asked Oscar whether the Germans should completely encircle Vienna, and Oscar ordered them to leave a gap so the Austrian troops would consider fleeing.
• Oscar told Field Marshal Falkenhayn to instruct Marshal von Hausen to win the Battle of Vienna quickly, decisively, and at the lowest possible cost.

The German forces began their assault on Vienna with a massive artillery bombardment that devastated the Austrian defenses and the city. When German infantry and tanks attacked, the terrified Austrian troops fled, and the Germans captured the positions outside Vienna in a single assault.

• On January 27, Marshal von Hausen ordered the German forces to attack Vienna.
• German artillery bombarded the Austrian positions and Vienna for four hours, destroying defenses and buildings while Austrian troops endured the shelling in shelters.
• Archduke Friedrich ordered the Austrian artillery to stop firing after it suffered heavy losses against the superior German guns.
• German infantry and armored divisions attacked the outskirts of Vienna, and the Austrian soldiers routed despite the efforts of the Supervisory Squads.
• The German forces seized the Austrian positions outside Vienna in a single assault.

The German military overwhelmed Austria’s defenses and captured Vienna, forcing Archduke Friedrich to order the Austrian army to surrender. With the capital under German control, the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell.

• Archduke Friedrich, Duke Kaspar, and Baron Marshal von Heitzenforf recognized that Austrian morale had collapsed, while Karl I remained in the palace basement.
• The German military attacked Vienna’s urban districts on the 27th, using tanks to break through Austrian barricades and capturing more than one hundred thousand soldiers.
• On the 28th, German troops advanced through most of Vienna as many Austrian defenders surrendered without fighting.
• Archduke Friedrich ordered the Austrian army to stop resisting and surrender.
• Vienna fell under German control, marking the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Archduke Friedrich and the Austrian officials prepared to surrender to Germany, but discovered that Emperor Karl I had vanished. Friedrich formally surrendered the Austrian military, while Marshal von Hausen learned that Karl’s whereabouts remained unknown.

• Archduke Friedrich and Duke Kaspar discussed surrendering to Germany and sent people to find Emperor Karl I.
• An officer reported that the man in the palace was Karl’s double and that the real Emperor had disappeared.
• Duke Kaspar suggested leaving Karl’s destination for the Germans to discover, and Archduke Friedrich agreed.
• On January 28, Archduke Friedrich surrendered the Austrian military to Marshal von Hausen, and Austrian soldiers handed over their weapons.
• Marshal von Hausen asked where Emperor Karl I was, and Archduke Friedrich said they did not know.

After German forces captured Vienna and ended organized Austrian resistance, Oscar ordered preparations to annex Austria while warning the army to maintain discipline and win over its people. Karl I remained missing as Germany declared Austria its Eastern Province and prepared to make other former Austro-Hungarian states protectorates.

• Marshal von Hausen ordered a search for Karl I after German troops captured Vienna, but Archduke Friedrich believed the emperor had escaped long ago.
• The Austrian army's resistance ended, and Germans in Berlin celebrated the destruction of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• Oscar praised the troops and ordered them to maintain discipline while the Cabinet planned Austria's annexation.
• After learning Karl I was missing, Oscar ordered the Intelligence Bureau to try to capture him.
• Oscar announced that Bohemia, Hungary, and other constituent states could become independent as Imperial protectorates, while Austria would become the Empire's Eastern Province and its people German citizens.
• The German government announced the annexation of Austria the day after Vienna fell.

After Germany annexed Austria, Karl I learned that the Austro-Hungarian Empire had fallen and prepared to flee to the United States with the remaining navy. He left Trieste vowing to return and restore his empire.

• Admiral Anton Haus told Karl I that Vienna had fallen and Archduke Friedrich and the others had surrendered.
• Karl I learned that the Empress and the Prince had secretly left for the United States aboard a Swedish freighter.
• Admiral Anton Haus reported that Austria had been annexed and that several constituent states planned to become German Protectorates.
• Karl I condemned the constituent states for betraying the Austro-Hungarian Empire and vowed to govern them directly if he restored it.
• On January 31, Karl I boarded the battleship Austro-Hungarian Monarch as the navy departed Trieste for the United States, and he vowed to return.

Karl I feared the German Navy would destroy the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy as it tried to escape to the United States. He rejected the planned route through the Strait of Gibraltar and ordered the fleet to sail east through the Suez Canal instead.

• Admiral Anton Haus warned Karl I that the fleet would soon leave the Adriatic Sea and enter the Mediterranean Sea.
• Karl I worried that Germany would intercept the fleet and asked whether it could break out of the Mediterranean Sea.
• Admiral Anton Haus promised to get Karl I to the United States, even if the fleet had to sacrifice itself, and hoped to rendezvous with the American Navy.
• Karl I judged the route through the Strait of Gibraltar too dangerous because of German naval forces and fortress guns.
• Karl I ordered the fleet to turn east after leaving the Adriatic Sea, pass through the Suez Canal, and reach the Atlantic by way of the Cape of Good Hope.

Karl I ordered the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy to escape toward the United States by way of the Indian Ocean, while German forces prepared to intercept it. The Germans discovered the fleet had fled overnight and sent their combined fleet toward the Adriatic Sea to destroy it.

• Karl I ordered Admiral Anton Haus to seek supplies from the Americans and take a longer route if German forces threatened the fleet.
• Admiral Anton Haus agreed to Karl I’s plan as the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy sailed toward the Indian Ocean.
• A German spy discovered the Trieste harbor empty at dawn and sent a Telegram to Germany.
• Admiral Reinhard Scheer ordered the German Navy’s Mediterranean force to intercept the Austro-Hungarian fleet.
• Admiral Hipper ordered the three-fleet Combined Fleet to set out and wipe out the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy.

Oscar ordered the German Combined Fleet to destroy or capture the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy and Karl I as the fleets moved toward a confrontation in the Mediterranean. The Austro-Hungarian fleet entered the Mediterranean and sailed east instead of west, alerting the German destroyers that its plans had changed.

• Admiral Scheer reported that the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy had left Trieste, and Oscar ordered Admiral Hipper to force its surrender or destroy it, with Karl I captured or killed.
• Admiral Scheer assured Oscar that the Combined Fleet could defeat the Austro-Hungarian fleet without carrier support.
• Admiral Hipper sent scouts and used light warships, submarines, and seaplanes to track the Austro-Hungarian fleet as the German fleet advanced toward the Adriatic Sea.
• On February 1, Admiral Hipper learned the Austro-Hungarian fleet was nearing the Mediterranean while the German fleet remained near the Balearic Islands.
• The Austro-Hungarian fleet entered the Mediterranean at eleven that night and sailed east, prompting two German destroyers to report the unexpected course to their flagship.

Admiral Hipper learned that the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy had abandoned its westward route and was heading for the Suez Canal, complicating the German fleet’s pursuit. He ordered the fleet to chase them by speed and prepare supplies, leaving the commanders determined not to lose track of their enemy.

• Brigadier Barod reported to Admiral Hipper that the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy had entered the Mediterranean Sea and was heading east.
• Lieutenant General Richter Field assessed that the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy intended to force its way through the Suez Canal into the Indian Ocean.
• Admiral Hipper rejected the idea of using the Suez Canal garrison to stop the enemy and noted that the fleet had missed its chance to block them in the Red Sea.
• Admiral Hipper ordered the Combined Fleet to pursue the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy using its speed advantage and directed bases in Egypt and the Gulf of Aden to prepare supplies.
• Admiral Hipper warned the commanders that they must keep the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy in sight, especially if it reached the Indian Ocean.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy turned east toward the Suez Canal to escape the German Navy, while the German Combined Fleet accelerated in pursuit. After the Austro-Hungarian fleet forced its way through the canal, Admiral Anton Haus proposed sacrificing several Capital Ships to delay the Germans, but Karl I hesitated.

• Admiral Scheer told Oscar that the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy had turned east and that Admiral Hipper was speeding up the Combined Fleet to catch it.
• Karl I dismissed the German pursuit as a distant threat and ordered ships to drive away the German destroyers tailing his fleet.
• The Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy evaded the pursuing destroyers and entered the Suez Canal three days later.
• The Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy passed through the canal despite resistance, firing on and destroying the security forces' barracks after the personnel had withdrawn.
• The German Combined Fleet closed the distance by more than six hundred kilometers, and Admiral Anton Haus proposed leaving Capital Ships to delay it while Karl I hesitated over the losses.

Karl I refused to sacrifice his strongest ships to delay the German fleet, hoping instead to outrun it through the Red Sea. After German forces destroyed the Austro-Hungarian rearguard, the fleet faced an imminent battle as it approached the Indian Ocean.

• Admiral Anton Haus proposed leaving four Capital Ships at the Suez Canal entrance to block the Germans, but Karl I refused to abandon a quarter of his fleet.
• Haus chose the four Kaiser-class Battleships for the rearguard, and Karl I pointed out that they could not stop the Germans’ heavily armored New Kaiser-class Battleships.
• Karl I ordered the fleet to increase its speed, while Haus sent two Light Cruisers and two destroyers to intercept German destroyers.
• A day later, the German advance force sank the Austro-Hungarian rearguard and passed through the Suez Canal as the main fleet began its passage.
• Haus told Karl I that German light warships would likely catch them near the Gulf of Aden, leaving their escape to the United States and their hope of restoring their country in doubt.

As the German Navy pursued the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy, Admiral Anton Haus secretly sent Karl I toward the United States so the emperor could survive and support a future restoration. The fleets met east of Socotra Island on February 9, and their showdown began.

• Karl I ordered the fleet to keep moving and prepare to fight the Germans, while Admiral Anton Haus decided to send him to safety.
• Admiral Anton Haus drugged Karl I and had him carried onto a Light Cruiser, ordering its captain to take him to the United States and ignore any orders to turn back.
• Karl I awoke in the Indian Ocean, demanded to rejoin the fleet, and accepted that he had to continue to the United States after the captain refused.
• Admiral Anton Haus led the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy through the Strait of Mandeb as Admiral Hipper’s German Navy Combined Fleet closed in.
• On February 9, the German Navy Combined Fleet caught up with the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy east of Socotra Island, beginning the showdown.

Admiral Anton Haus prepared the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy to face Germany’s superior fleet, hoping to exact a heavy price and preserve a chance for the navy’s survival. As the German fleet caught up, Admiral Hipper ordered it to destroy the Austro-Hungarian fleet.

• A staff officer warned Admiral Anton Haus that the Germans would overtake the Austro-Hungarian fleet within an hour.
• Admiral Anton Haus ordered his sailors to prepare for battle and fight the Germans for their nation’s future.
• The Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy assembled its sixteen Capital Ships and other warships in battle formation.
• Admiral Hipper and Lieutenant General Richter Fiers discussed the Austro-Hungarian fleet and Germany’s reasons for destroying it.
• Admiral Hipper ordered the German fleet to strike with everything it had and eliminate the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy.

The German and Austro-Hungarian fleets formed battle lines for an unavoidable clash, with Admiral Hipper assigning German ships to engage specific enemies and concentrate on the Radetzky-class battleships. The battle began at 9:25 a.m., leaving the two immense fleets exchanging fire in the largest naval collision in history.

• The German and Austro-Hungarian fleets formed parallel battle lines as their smaller warships withdrew.
• Admiral Hipper assigned German capital ships to engage their Austro-Hungarian counterparts and ordered a concentrated attack on the four Radetzky-class battleships.
• Admiral Hipper ordered his fleet to fight at fifteen kilometers and prevent the Austro-Hungarian ships from closing within twelve kilometers.
• Admiral Anton Haus ordered his ships to prepare for battle and urged the Radetzky-class captains to hold out as long as possible.
• The battle began at 9:25 a.m., as the two fleets' capital ships opened the largest naval clash in history.

The German Navy Combined Fleet and the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy began a major naval battle, with Admiral Hipper exploiting the enemy’s weaker rear sector. The Austro-Hungarian ships fought fiercely, but German fire control and superior numbers left their four Radetzky-class Battleships in grave danger.

• The Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy opened fire at sixteen thousand meters, but its shells fell harmlessly short of the German fleet.
• Admiral Hipper ordered the German Navy to wait until the fleets closed to fifteen thousand meters, then the Battleship Kaiser and the other German battleships opened fire.
• German ships encircled the four Austro-Hungarian Radetzky-class Battleships, leaving them badly outnumbered and under heavy attack.
• Admiral Anton Haus ordered the Radetzky-class Battleships to hold out and told the rest of the fleet that their sacrifice was buying time to defeat the Germans.
• Both fleets continued firing, but German shells landed closer to their targets while Austro-Hungarian shots often fell hundreds of meters away.

The German Navy overwhelmed the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy's Radetzky-class Battleships during the battle, sinking Szent István and then Tegetthoff. The two remaining Radetzky-class Battleships were left in an even more dangerous encirclement.

• Tegetthoff was hit by a 380mm shell from Westfalen, but its crew fought the resulting fire and returned fire against Nassau.
• Tegetthoff's 305mm shell failed to penetrate Nassau's waterline armor, and Nassau and Westfalen concentrated their fire on Tegetthoff.
• Blücher destroyed Szent István's aft steering gear and propellers, after which Blücher, Von der Tann, and Lothringen hit it repeatedly until it sank.
• Nassau and Westfalen sank Tegetthoff, leaving the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy's two remaining Radetzky-class Battleships surrounded.

The German Navy sank the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy’s four Radetzky-class Battleships and widened its overwhelming advantage. Admiral Anton Haus refused to surrender and ordered his remaining ships to fight to the death.

• Admiral Hipper ordered the German fleet to sink the remaining Radetzky-class Battleships and destroy the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy’s Capital Ships before sunset.
• German Capital Ships encircled Viribus Unitis and Prince Eugen after Saint Istvan and Tegetthoff had been sunk.
• Viribus Unitis was battered by German shells, split in two, and sank with nearly all its crew; Prince Eugen was sunk shortly afterward.
• An adjutant reported that the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy had twelve Capital Ships left against Germany’s twenty-two.
• Admiral Anton Haus ordered every ship to stand and fight rather than retreat or surrender.

The German Navy Combined Fleet overwhelmed the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy, sinking its remaining battleships after Admiral Anton Haus rejected an offer to surrender. Haus went down with his flagship, and the entire Austro-Hungarian capital-ship force was destroyed.

• Admiral Hipper reassigned targets so German capital ships outnumbered most Austro-Hungarian ships two to one.
• Admiral Anton Haus accepted that defeat was inevitable but ordered his navy to fight to the bitter end.
• German 410mm shells sank the Ferdinand I and Karl I, followed by the Francis I, Joseph II, and Leopold II.
• Haus refused Hipper's surrender offer and replied that his fleet would fight to the death for honor.
• The Monarch of Austria-Hungary was sunk at 11:26, and Haus chose to go down with his flagship.
• The German fleet sank every remaining Austro-Hungarian capital ship.