There was another reason Count Latour had been transferred out of Vienna: to prepare for the coming war, Franz planned to seize the opportunity to establish the General Staff.
The Austrian Empire was still in an age when the emperor and the Minister of War could decide how to command the army on a whim. At the front, generals handled everything from military affairs to logistics and finance, and had to spend a great deal of energy on trivial matters even as they marched and fought.
The military abilities of the emperor, Minister of War, and generals varied widely. That was precisely why enemy nations could often work miracles when fighting Austria.
Even when a few generals won victories in certain regions, they rarely managed to turn their advantage into a decisive one.
There were other reasons for establishing the General Staff, though their effects would not be immediately apparent.
For example, conscription and the selection of officers. The volunteer system was about to fall behind the times, and the scale of future wars would only grow.
The volunteer system would saddle the country with a heavy economic burden. By contrast, conscripts influenced by nationalism and patriotism were cheaper, and more enthusiastic—in other words, they had greater initiative.
It could also solve the problem of loyalty that had plagued rulers for thousands of years. Mercenaries who fought for pay had never been strangers to treachery.
Moreover, thanks to advances in weaponry, the gap between so-called professional soldiers and conscripts on the battlefield was narrowing.
This was especially true at a time when the tactic of line infantry exchanging volleys was prevalent. Apart from the rare elite army, victory usually went to the side with more men, or the side with greater courage.
As for the selection of officers, Austrian officers