Franz Conrad
| Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf | |
|---|---|
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1915 portrait, Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna
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| Nickname(s) | Baron Van Dorf |
| Born |
11 November 1852 Penzing (Vienna), Austrian Empire |
| Died | 25 August 1925 (aged 72) Mergentheim, Germany |
| Allegiance |
 Austria-Hungary
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| Service/ |
Austro-Hungarian Army |
| Years of service | 1871–1918 |
| Rank | Feldmarschall |
| Battles/wars | First World War |
| Awards | see below |
K.u.k. Feldmarschall Franz Xaver Joseph Conrad Graf von Hötzendorf German: Franz Xaver Josef Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf (11 November 1852 – 25 August 1925), sometimes anglicised as Hoetzendorf, was an Austrian Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the military of the Austro-Hungarian Army and Navy 1906–1917. He was Chief of Staff during the July Crisis of 1914 that caused World War I. He effectively claimed that preemptive war against Serbia was crucial in strengthening the multiethnic Habsburg Empire, which was nearing disintegration. Later on, he came to believe that the Dual Monarchy had taken action at the eleventh hour. The Army was also unprepared and he had resorted to politics to further his goals. He was unaware that Germany would relocate the majority of his forces to the East, rather in the Balkans. Conrad was anxious of invading Russia and when the Tsar's armies had captured the Carpathian mountain passes and were on the verge of invading Hungary Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies. Nevertheless, the Austro-Germans cleared Galicia and Poland during the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive in the summer of 1915 and later conquered Serbia in October. From 1915 his troops were increasingly reliant on German support and command. Without support from his Germanic allies the Austro-Hungarian Army was an exhausted force. In March 1917, Charles I of Austria dismissed him as Chief of Staff after Emperor Franz Joseph died and Conrad's Trentino Offensive had failed to achieve its objective; he then commanded an army group on the Italian Front until he retired in summer 1918. He died in 1925.
Titled Freiherr (usually translated as Baron) since 1910; from 1918 until April 1919 raised to the title of Graf, usually translated as Count; from April 1919 Conrad's official name was Franz Conrad-Hötzendorf, since the First Republic of Austria abolished nobility for its citizens by law.
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