Far from Armageddon: Austria-Hungary’s officers and their visions of a general European War before 1914

Abstract

In the historiography on the origins of the First World War, the visions of war among European elites remain controversial. This article examines how Austria-Hungary’s military officers imagined the character and outcome of a general European war before 1914. It argues that Habsburg officers writing in military journals adhered to the idea of a short war with only limited impact on economy and society. They were optimistic about winning a major European war alongside their ally Germany. Their belief in a limited war was based on the experiences of the modern cabinet wars fought in Europe in the middle of the nineteenth century.