Munich
power on the borders of the Empire, a power whose attitude toward Germany was bound sooner or later to be quite different from that of Russia, for example. At the same time, the Alliance itself was bound to grow hollower and weaker from year to year, to just the degree that the sole supporters of the idea lost influence in the Monarchy, and were crowded out of the most influential positions.
By the turn of the century the alliance with Austria had reached the same stage as Austria’s alliance with Italy.
Here again there were but two possibilities: either the Hapsburg Monarchy was an ally, or objection must be made to the ousting of Germanity. But a matter of this sort, once begun, usually ends in open battle.
Even psychologically the Triple Alliance had but a modest value, since the solidity of an alliance declines as soon as it begins to limit itself to preserving an existing situation. Conversely, an alliance increases in strength as it offers the separate parties hope of attaining tangible goals of expansion. Here as everywhere, strength is not in defense, but in attack.
This was recognized even then in various quarters, but unfortunately not in the so-called “competent” ones. The then Colonel Ludendorff, Officer on the Great General Staff, in particular, pointed to these weaknesses in a paper written in 1912. Of course the “statesmen” attached no value or importance to the matter; clear common sense apparently is needed for ordinary mortals only, while it can always be dispensed with in the case of “diplomats.”
It was lucky for Germany that in 1914 the war broke out by way of Austria, so that the Hapsburgs were compelled to take part; if it had come the other way about, Germany would have been alone. The Hapsburg State could never have taken part, or even wished to take part, in a struggle begun by Germany. Austria in that case would have done what Italy was later so loudly condemned for: it would have remained “neutral,” in order thus at least to protect the State from a revolution at the very outset. The Austrian Slavs would rather have broken up the
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