The

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

and its predecessor, the

Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (; ) was a major Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periph ...

, was one of the most prevalent states in Europe throughout its history. The following is Austria's military history from the 18th century.

18th Century

After a series of impressive victories in the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

, Austria found itself at war with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

again along the Grand Alliance. Still, Austria and its allies managed to win impressive victories like

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

and Blenheim, plus the Austrians successfully crushed uprisings in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. However, the French victory at

Denain Denain (; ) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Denain had a population of 19,877, on a land area of 11.52 km2 (4.448 sq mi). It is the largest of 47 communes which comprise the Communauté d'agglomération de la Por ...

secured the Bourbon throne in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Still, the Austrians fought well and enjoyed great territorial gains in the

Treaty of Rastatt The Treaty of Rastatt was a peace treaty between Kingdom of France, France and Archduchy of Austria, Austria that was concluded on 7 March 1714 in the Margraviate of Baden, Baden city of Rastatt to end the War of the Spanish Succession between bo ...

. In 1716 the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

once again invaded Austria, but the military genius

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

outmatched them in the battles of

Petrovaradin Petrovaradin ( sr-Cyrl, Петроварадин, ) is a historic town in the Serbian province of Vojvodina, now a part of the city of Novi Sad. As of 2011, the urban area has 14,810 inhabitants. Lying on the right bank of the Danube, across the m ...

and

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, expanding Austria to its greatest territorial extent. Meanwhile, the Spanish wanted to recapture their lost territories, but Austria and its allies stopped them. In the 1730s the skill of Austrian soldiers & generals would temporarily decline. Crushing defeats against the French and Ottomans at

Guastalla Guastalla ( Guastallese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Reggio Emilia in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Geography Guastalla is situated in the Po Valley, and lies on the banks of the Po River. Guastalla is located at around from the citi ...

Grocka Grocka ( sr-cyr, Гроцка, ) or Grocka na Dunavu ( sr-cyr, Гроцка на Дунаву, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has 82,810 inhabitants. L ...

caused the Austrians to lose most of their previously gained territories. Worse, in 1740

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

invaded

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

to become a great power. Austria's defeat against a tiny country convinced many other countries to finally partition it. Prussia, France, Spain,

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

and

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

then created an alliance to finally wipe out Austria from the European map. At first, the invasion of Austria went well: The Franco-Bavarian armies quickly invaded

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

and then took

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

along with Saxony. Meanwhile, Maria Theresa called the Hungarians for her help and appointed

Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller, Graf von Frankenburg-Aichleberg (en: Louis Andrew of Khevenhüller, Count of Aichelberg-Frankenburg) (30 November 1683 – 26 January 1744) was a prominent Austrian field marshal. Early life Andreas was b ...

as commander-in-chief. Despite not getting help from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

or the promised 60,000 Hungarian troops (only 1/3 of them were ready for combat) yet, Khevenhüller was able to launch a massive offensive that annihilated huge parts of the Franco-Bavarian armies ( alone in Linz 10,000 French surrendered). Munich was taken. However, Prussia was still able to take Silesia and leave the war. Meanwhile, Modena was occupied, Sardinia switched sides, and Spain & Naples were unable to control entire North Italy thanks to

Otto Ferdinand von Abensperg und Traun Otto Ferdinand Graf von Abensperg und Traun (or sometimes Otto Ferdinand von Abensperg und Traun), (27 August 167718 February 1748) was an Austrian ''Generalfeldmarschall''. The current spelling of the name, and the spelling used in his time, is m ...

. Saxony switched sides as well in 1743. In 1744

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

even tried to conquer Bohemia, but Austro-Saxon forces harassed his supply lines and forced him to retreat. His victory at

Hohenfriedberg The Battle of Hohenfriedberg or Hohenfriedeberg (now Dobromierz, Poland), also known as the Battle of Striegau (now Strzegom, Poland) was one of Frederick the Great's most admired victories. Frederick's Prussian army decisively defeated an A ...

however allowed him to keep Silesia, despite the decisive Bavarian defeat. The war ended in 1748. Maria Theresa then began massive military reforms. When the Seven Years' War started, Prussia enjoyed initial success by conquering

and

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. However, the Austrians took advantage of their poor performance and defeated the Prussians at

Kolín Kolín (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monume ...

Hochkirch Hochkirch (German) or Bukecy (Upper Sorbian, ) is a municipality in the district of Bautzen, in Saxony, Germany. It is known for the 1758 Battle of Hochkirch, part of the Seven Years' War. The municipality (except Breitendorf) is part of the reco ...

. After

Kunersdorf Kunowice () is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Słubice, within Słubice County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland, near the Oder river and the German border. It lies approximately east of Słubice, south-west of Gorzów W ...

the Prussians were so close to defeat that only the

Miracle of the House of Brandenburg The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg is the name given by Frederick II of Prussia to the failure of Russia and Austria to follow up their victory over him at the Battle of Kunersdorf on 12 August 1759 during the Seven Years' War. The name i ...

saved them from certain destruction. In a last-ditch effort, Prussia beat Austria at

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies first met near ...

and so the war became an inconclusive stalemate, which was arguably still more satisfactory for Prussia. After that, Austria didn't see so many military actions. It joined the

Polish partitions The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign ...

, fought another inconclusive struggle against Prussia, and beat the Ottomans along with Russia in the Austro-Turkish War.

French Revolutionary & Napoleonic Wars

Austria entered the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

with a rough start after France had declared war on Austria. Although Austria was successfully able to defend

the ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

territories, the young

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

crushed the Austrians in

North Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four northwestern regions of Piedmont, Aosta Valley, Liguria and Lomb ...

. The 2nd Coalition War went no better, with humiliating defeats at Marengo and

Hohenlinden Hohenlinden (meaning "high linden trees"; colloquially: ''Linden''; in the Bavarian dialect: ''Hea-lin'') is a community in the Upper Bavarian district of Ebersberg. The city of Lynden, Washington is named after it, as is Linden, Alabama. Hohe ...

taking place. The

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

greatly became unpopular in Austria, but

constantly convinced Austria to join it. When Austria finally joined in 1805, its army capitulated at Ulm and was together defeated with the Russians at Austerlitz. Francis I's brother

Archduke Charles Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Lawrence of Austria, Duke of Teschen (; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian field marshal, the third son of Emperor Leopold II and his wife, Maria Luisa of Spain. He was also the youn ...

basically then tried to make reforms to make the Austrian army more effective. Although not completed yet, the Austrians, after some

early Early may refer to: Places in the United States * Early, Iowa, a city * Early, Texas, a city * Early Branch, a stream in Missouri * Early County, Georgia * Fort Early, Georgia, an early 19th century fort Music * Early B, stage name of Jamaican d ...

setbacks inflicted Napoleon's first major defeat at

Aspern-Essling In the Battle of Aspern-Essling (21–22 May 1809), Napoleon I of France, Napoleon crossed the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were attacked and forced back across the river by the Austrian Empire, Austrians under Archduke ...

. However, Napoleon was still able to defeat Archduke Charles at

Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city limits, about 15 km (9 mi) north ...

and force him to sue for peace despite the heavy French casualties. Austria then practiced in the

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the Continenta ...

with no significant fighting, but after the French disaster finally rejoined the Coalition again. The Austrians took part in the

& Italian campaigns and forced Napoleon to surrender along the other great powers. Austria played a decisive role in dethroning Murat after beating him at

Tolentino Tolentino ( Maceratese: ''Tulindì'') is a town and ''comune'' of about 19,000 inhabitants, in the province of Macerata in the Marche region of central Italy. It is located in the middle of the valley of the Chienti. History Signs of the firs ...

. Napoleon's fate was finally sealed at

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

Post-Napoleonic Wars to World War I

Austria enjoyed a quite peaceful period from 1816 and 1847. It only put down some minor rebellions and naval expeditions in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Austrian admiral Archduke Friedrich led the Anglo-Austrian-Ottoman troops ahead of all others against the Bergcastell and by 6 o'clock in the afternoon

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

was taken. 1,500 men of the crew were taken prisoner. Following the bombardment of Acre on 3-4 November 1840, he then decided to attack the citadel that night and personally led a small landing party of Austrian, British, and Ottoman troops and took the citadel of Acre after the Egyptian garrison had fled. They hoisted the Ottoman, British and Austrian flags over the citadel. In 1848 Austria faced two dangerous

revolutions In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elemen ...

and the army was once needed again. While

Joseph Radetzky von Radetz Johann Josef Wenzel Anton Franz Karl, Graf Radetzky von Radetz (2 November 1766 – 5 January 1858) was a Czech nobleman and Austrian field marshal. He served as chief of the general staff in the Habsburg monarchy during the later period of ...

beat the Italians at

Custoza Custoza (; ) is a northern Italy, Italian village and hamlet () of Sommacampagna, a municipality in the province of Verona, Veneto. As of 2011, its population was 812. History The name of the village is derived from Latin ('protection' or 'wa ...

and

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

, Austrian commanders in Hungary needed Russian help. The revolutions significantly weakened Austria, plus it became isolated after the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

in order to avoid another Hungarian revolution. Sardinia then successfully provoked Austria to declare war on them, resulting in France intervening and decisively defeating Austria at

Solferino Solferino ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a small town and municipality in the province of Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, approximately south of Lake Garda. It is best known as being close to the site of the Battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859, part ...

. Then Austria joined the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

to defeat

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. While Prussia suffered initial defeats against tiny Denmark at Mysunde and

Jasmund Jasmund is a peninsula of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is connected to the Wittow peninsula and to the Muttland main section of Rügen by the narrow land bridges Schaabe and Schmale Heide, respectively. Sassnitz ...

, Austria on the other hand beat them at

Königshügel Königshügel is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea ...

, Sankelmark,

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality (''Municipalities of De ...

and

Heligoland Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890. Since 1890, the ...

. However, Prussia managed to secure a decisive victory against Denmark at

Dybbøl Dybbøl is a small town with a population of 2,357 (1 January 2024)Königgrätz. Although Austria was successful against Italy, they were unable to stop the Prussian advance. This war not only caused Austria to lose German leadership, but it was also the beginning of Austria's permanent military decline. From 1867 to 1918, the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

was the ground force of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. It was composed of the

common army The Common Army (, ) as it was officially designated by the Imperial and Royal Military Administration, was the largest part of the Austro-Hungarian land forces from 1867 to 1914, the other two elements being the Imperial-Royal Landwehr (of Au ...

(recruited from anywhere), the Austrian Landwehr (recruited only from

Cisleithania Cisleithania, officially The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council (), was the northern and western part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in the Compromise of 1867—as distinguished from ''Transleithania'' (i.e., ...

), and the

Hungarian Honvéd Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians/Magyars, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the ...

(recruited only from

Transleithania The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River), were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire existence (30 March 1867 – 16 ...

). These are official names in

: *Regiments of the common army were "Imperial and Royal" - ''

kaiserlich und königlich The phrase Imperial and Royal (, ) refers to the court/government of the Habsburgs in a broader historical perspective. Some modern authors restrict its use to the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. During that period, it ind ...

'' (k.u.k.) *The Austrian Landwehr regiments were "Imperial Royal" - '' kaiserlich-königlich'' (k.k.). *The Hungarian Honvéd regiments were "Royal Hungarian" - ''königlich ungarisch'' (k.u.) The

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...

was the naval force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its official name in German was the ''Kaiserlich und königliche Kriegsmarine'' ("Imperial and Royal Navy", also known by the acronym k.u.k.). This army existed from the establishment of the Dual Monarchy in 1867 until the end of World War I in 1918. The army first saw action in the

Austro-Hungarian campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878 The campaign to establish Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina lasted from 29 July to 20 October 1878 against the local resistance fighters, Muslims and orthodox Serbs, supported unofficially by troops of the Ottoman Empire. The Austro ...

and

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

World War I

In 1914

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fran ...

was assassinated by a Serbo-Bosnian student named

Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip ( sr-Cyrl, Гаврило Принцип, ; 25 July 189428 April 1918) was a Bosnian Serb student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess von ...

. The Austro-Hungarian military leader

Conrad von Hötzendorf Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) * Saint Conrad (disambiguation) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington Elsewher ...

saw it finally as a chance to attack

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. When Serbia failed to accept all ultimatum terms, Austria-Hungary struck. Serbian Front: Although Austria-Hungary had slightly more troops and significant technological advances, the Serbs had more experienced generals and highly motivated troops. The whole

Serbian campaign The Serbian campaign was a series of military expeditions launched in 1914 and 1915 by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Serbia during the First World War. The first campaign began after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 ...

ended in failure for Austria-Hungary and German & Bulgarian help was required in 1915. However, Austria-Hungary successfully took Montenegro in 1916. Despite early victories at

Kraśnik Kraśnik is a town in southeastern Poland with 35,602 inhabitants (2012), situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, historic Lesser Poland. It is the seat of Kraśnik County. The town of Kraśnik as it is known today was created in 1975, after the mer ...

& Komarów, the Austro-Hungarians quickly lost the entirety of Galicia. With German help, the Russians were repelled in from most of the region. However, the Brusilov offensive utterly mauled the Austro-Hungarian army, becoming completely dependent on the Germans for the rest of the war. Italian Front: This was probably the only front where the Austro-Hungarians were partially effective by holding back multiple Isonzo offensives for over 2 years. In 1917 Austro-German forces finally broke the stalemate at

Caporetto Kobarid (; ; ; ) is a settlement in Slovenia, the administrative centre of the Municipality of Kobarid. Kobarid is known for the 1917 Battle of Caporetto, where the Italian retreat was documented by Ernest Hemingway in his novel ''A Farewell to A ...

until they were stopped at the

Piave River The Piave (; ) is a river in Northeast Italy. It begins in the Alps and flows southeast for into the Adriatic Sea near the city of Venice. One of its tributaries is the Boite. In 1809 it was the scene of a battle during the Napoleonic Wars, in ...

. The Danube Monarchy finally collapsed at

Vittorio Veneto Vittorio Veneto is a city and ''comune'' situated in the Province of Treviso, in the region of Veneto, Italy, in the Cardinal direction, northeast of Italy, between the Piave and the Livenza rivers, borders with the following municipalities: Alpa ...

After World War I

Between 1918 and 1921, the military forces were known as ''Volkswehr'' (people's defense). From 1921 to the present (except World War II, (1938–1945)), the name of the

military of Austria The Austrian Armed Forces () are the combined military forces of Austria. The military consists of 16,000 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 1.0% of national GDP (including pensions) or €3.317 billion (202 ...

is ''Bundesheer'' ("Federal Army"). The branches are Land Forces (KdoLdSK) and Air Forces (KdoLuSK). In 1955, Austria declared its neutrality and made neutrality a constitutional law. The main purpose of the Austrian military, since then, has been the protection of Austria's neutrality.

References