Kardinální problém Rakouska-Uherska za Velké války 1914–1918: Lidský potenciál na frontě a v zázemí

According to the 1867 constitution the Habsburg Monarchy’s armed forces consisted of the common army, the navy, the Austrian Landwehr and the Landsturm. The armed forces had authority over three ministries and were themselves subject to the rule of three parliamentary institutions. From the beginning the growth of the armed forces had not kept pace with that of the population as a whole. There was a low volume of conscripts and poor training of reservists. This resulted in a relatively small army both in peace time and during war and meant that by the spring of 1918 Austria-Hungary had practically exhausted its available human resources. This was exacerbated by the high number of losses, both through death and capture. On the battlefield the number of deaths is thought to have been between 905,000 and 1,200,000 with 1.8 million injured. At the same time the number of deaths and illness in the hinterland increased while the rate of fertility dropped. In order to resolve this the government applied a number of measures: the upper age limit of conscription increased, the necessary standards for recruitment were lowered, training period was shortened, more use of weapons, factory workers were replaced with women, prisoners of war and workers from the occupied territories. However at this time the importance of the “war economy” was also growing which resulted in an increase in firms requesting the release of their employees from military service. In 1918 the Habsburg Monarchy had not only exhausted its human resources but was also on the brink of economic collapse.