![]() ![]() Soon afterwards, he supported diplomatic efforts to keep Italy out of the war by means of territorial concessions. It was in spring 1915 that the archduke proposed, for the first time, to deliver Alsace-Lorraine to France. The most famous of these secret negotiations for a peace compromise is known as the Sixtus Affair, which – finally brought into focus by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ottokar Graf Czernin (1872-1932) - caused the disastrous decline of independent Austro-Hungarian foreign politics and warfare. During the two years of his regency, he was occupied with various attempts to conclude a peace treaty, even accepting serious sacrifices concerning the territorial integrity of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, like ceding parts of Tyrol to Italy. Thus, he was obliged to accept the political system of dualism, but, on the other hand, this system enabled him to demand universal suffrage in the Hungarian kingdom. He and his wife, Zita, consort of Charles I, Emperor of Austria (1892-1989), were crowned King and Queen of Hungary on 30 December 1916. When Franz Joseph died on 21 November 1916, Charles succeeded to the Austrian and Hungarian thrones and immediately assumed the title of supreme commander of the Empire’s forces, in an attempt to diminish the overwhelming German influence in their joint warfare. In summer 1916, Charles became general of cavalry and on 1 November 1916, three weeks before ascending the throne of the Empire, he was promoted to the ranks of colonel general and great admiral. Contemporaries, but also historians, had already criticized Charles’ role when it came to the use of gas, in particular, that he did nothing to stop it. In June 1916, the Austrian army decided to use this rather new weapon, too, on the Italian Front. In spring 1915, the German army used gas on the Western Front, which proved to guarantee quick advancement with a minimum of German casualties. In spring 1916, he took part in the successful Austrian offensive in South Tyrol. In July 1915, he was promoted to the rank of major general, and in March 1916, to field marshal lieutenant. After some training in the general staff and after 28 June 1914, the new successor to the throne, now a colonel, served as liaison officer to the German army in Galicia. 39), became a major, and, on, a lieutenant colonel. Then he transferred to the infantry (Regiment Nr. 7 in 1905, he advanced to the rank of First Lieutenant in 1906, and Captain in 1909. 1 having transferred to the Dragoons (Dragoner-Regiment) Nr. Military Career and Engagement during World War One ↑Ĭharles’ career as an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army started in 1903, when he became a Lieutenant in the Regiment of Lancers (Ulanen-Regiment) Nr. Additionally, Charles was sent to the famous Viennese secondary school “ Schottengymnasium” to acquire some expertise in scientific subjects. ![]() These were based to a certain extent on federalism, but also on the strengthening of conservative monarchic principles. ![]() Moreover, in 1906, the successor to the throne, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este (1863-1914), became Charles’ guardian and succeeded in inspiring him with enthusiasm for his own ideas for profound reform of the constitution. Therefore, Godfried Marschall (1840-1911), later suffragan bishop, was selected as the teacher for religious education, and Onno Klopp (1822-1903), a conservative Catholic refugee from Prussian-occupied Hannover, who continually published writings against Prussian expansionism, became Charles’ teacher of history. His father, Otto Franz, Archduke of Austria (1865-1906), had married Maria Josepha, Princess of Saxony (1867-1944), in 1877, who was strongly committed to the Catholic education of her children. His grandfather, Charles Louis, Archduke of Austria (1833-1896) was the brother of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria (1830-1916). Archduke Karl Franz Joseph (1887-1922) was born on 17 August 1887 in the Castle of Persenbeug.
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