Very interesting article. I had no idea that SIGINT played any role at all in WW I, let alone that the Austro-Hungarian Army was any good at it.
A few factual corrections though: It was not Versailles that ended the Austro-Hungarian Empire for good. The only connection Versailles had with the Austro-Hungarian Empire was that it mandated that modern day Austria remain an independent country, rather than become part of Germany. Versailles only concerned Germany.
The empire had fallen apart in October and November of 1918 already. Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia had declared independence, as had Poland. The Ukraine is a very complex story in this context, but suffice to say that the Ukrainian territories of the empire - mainly Galicia and Ruthenia - had broken away in 1918 already. Also, in November 1918 the German speaking territories of the empire had declared their own statehood as Republic of German-Austria.
The peace treaty of St. Germain - not Versailles - merely affirmed that fait accompli in 1919 for the Austrian half of the empire. It also stipulated Austrian independence (which forced Austria to rename itself Republic of Austria) and gave South Tyrol to Italy, as well Hungary's westernmost province to Austria, as this had been mainly populated by Germans. Beyond that it merely cleared some border issues with Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, but the territories concerned were not substantial in regards to the overall territory of the newly formed Austrian Republic.
What was actually broken up by a peace treaty was the Hungarian half of the empire in 1919 - in that case it was the Treaty of Trianon, as Hungary was treated as a proper political entity, which it kinda had been in the empire as well. Mind, Hungary had already lost Croatia and Vojvodina by then, as well as most of modern day Slovakia. Like in St. Germain the Treaty of Trianon merely confirmed that. In addition, Trianon awarded large territories to mainly Romania, as well as some additional territories to Czechoslovakia, and the aforementioned westernmost province of German West Hungary to Austria. It is possible that the now Serbian part of the Banat district was also given to Yugoslavia in Trianon, but that's a minor detail.
As a side note: Hungary officially remained a kingdom even after Trianon, governed by a steward called Reichsverweser (after the defeat of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, that is). That was Miklas Horthy, who had been an admiral in the kuk navy. So Hungary was a kingdom without king, governed by an admiral without a navy. Karl Habsburg, the nominal Hungarian king, was not allowed to enter the country, let alone assume any part in its government. He did attempt a coup d'etat, however, which failed as miserably as most Austrian offensives had in WW I. I suppose he relied on some of the general staff officers from the war, and had no wireless sets or stations.
Wireless and the Slow Death of Austria-Hungary (Repost)
Very interesting article. I had no idea that SIGINT played any role at all in WW I, let alone that the Austro-Hungarian Army was any good at it.
A few factual corrections though: It was not Versailles that ended the Austro-Hungarian Empire for good. The only connection Versailles had with the Austro-Hungarian Empire was that it mandated that modern day Austria remain an independent country, rather than become part of Germany. Versailles only concerned Germany.
The empire had fallen apart in October and November of 1918 already. Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia had declared independence, as had Poland. The Ukraine is a very complex story in this context, but suffice to say that the Ukrainian territories of the empire - mainly Galicia and Ruthenia - had broken away in 1918 already. Also, in November 1918 the German speaking territories of the empire had declared their own statehood as Republic of German-Austria.
The peace treaty of St. Germain - not Versailles - merely affirmed that fait accompli in 1919 for the Austrian half of the empire. It also stipulated Austrian independence (which forced Austria to rename itself Republic of Austria) and gave South Tyrol to Italy, as well Hungary's westernmost province to Austria, as this had been mainly populated by Germans. Beyond that it merely cleared some border issues with Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, but the territories concerned were not substantial in regards to the overall territory of the newly formed Austrian Republic.
What was actually broken up by a peace treaty was the Hungarian half of the empire in 1919 - in that case it was the Treaty of Trianon, as Hungary was treated as a proper political entity, which it kinda had been in the empire as well. Mind, Hungary had already lost Croatia and Vojvodina by then, as well as most of modern day Slovakia. Like in St. Germain the Treaty of Trianon merely confirmed that. In addition, Trianon awarded large territories to mainly Romania, as well as some additional territories to Czechoslovakia, and the aforementioned westernmost province of German West Hungary to Austria. It is possible that the now Serbian part of the Banat district was also given to Yugoslavia in Trianon, but that's a minor detail.
As a side note: Hungary officially remained a kingdom even after Trianon, governed by a steward called Reichsverweser (after the defeat of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, that is). That was Miklas Horthy, who had been an admiral in the kuk navy. So Hungary was a kingdom without king, governed by an admiral without a navy. Karl Habsburg, the nominal Hungarian king, was not allowed to enter the country, let alone assume any part in its government. He did attempt a coup d'etat, however, which failed as miserably as most Austrian offensives had in WW I. I suppose he relied on some of the general staff officers from the war, and had no wireless sets or stations.