Austro-Hungarian General Staff

The Imperial and Royal General Staff (German: k.u.k. Generalstab; Hungarian: Cs. es K. Vezérkar) of Austria-Hungary was part of the Ministry of War. It was headed by the Chief of the General Staff for the Whole Armed Forces (Chef des Generalstabes für die gesamte bewaffnete Macht; Az egész Fegyveres Erők Vezérkari Főnöke), who had direct access to the Emperor.

Imperial and Royal General Staff
k.u.k. Generalstab
General Staff building on Ringstraße, Vienna
Active1867–1918
Country Austria-Hungary
Allegiance Armed Forces
BranchActive duty
TypeStaff
Part ofMinistry of War
Garrison/HQRingstraße, Vienna
Commanders
First ChiefFeldmarschall-Leutant Franz von John
Last ChiefGeneraloberst Arthur Arz von Straußenburg

Responsibilities

The general staff was responsible for planning and preparations, while the Armeeoberkommando (AOK) was the operational high command. In fact, since the AOK was under the direct command of the Emperor and the Chief of the General Staff was his chief adviser, in practice the AOK was under the control of the Chief of the General Staff.

List of chiefs of the general staff

† denotes people who died in office.

No. Portrait Chef des k.u.k. GeneralstabTook officeLeft officeTime in office
1
Franz von John
von John, FranzFeldmarschall-Leutant
Franz von John
(1815–1876)
20 December 186718691–2 years
2
Joseph von Gallina
von Gallina, Josef WilhelmFeldmarschall-Leutant
Joseph von Gallina
(1820–1883)
186918744–5 years
3
Franz von John
von John, FranzFeldzeugmeister
Franz von John
(1815–1876)
187425 May 1876 1–2 years
4
Anton von Schönfeld [de]
von Schönfeld, AntonFeldmarschall-Leutant
Anton von Schönfeld
(1827–1898)
4 June 187618814–5 years
5
Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky
von Beck-Rzikowsky, FriedrichFeldzeugmeister
Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky
(1830–1920)
1881190624–25 years
6
Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf
von Hötzendorf, Franz ConradGeneral der Infanterie
Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf
(1852–1925)
190619114–5 years
7
Blasius von Schemua
von Schemua, BlasiusGeneralmajor
Blasius von Schemua
(1856–1920)
3 December 191112 December 19121 year, 9 days
8
Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf
von Hötzendorf, Franz ConradGeneralfeldmarschall
Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf
(1852–1925)
12 December 19121 March 19174 years, 79 days
9
Arthur Arz von Straußenburg
von Straußenburg, Arthur ArzGeneraloberst
Arthur Arz von Straußenburg
(1857–1935)
1 March 19173 November 19181 year, 247 days

Bibliography

  • Lackey, Scott W. The Rebirth of the Habsburg Army: Friedrich Beck and the Rise of the General Staff. Greenwood Press, 1995.
  • Rothenberg, Gunther E. The Army of Francis Joseph. Purdue University Press, 1998.
  • Sondhaus, Lawrence. Franz Conrad Von Hötzendorf: Architect of the Apocalypse. Humanities Press, 2000.

See also

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