Language as an obstacle to the tactical effectiveness of the Austro-Hungarian army in the First World War

Abstract

There exists a general agreement among authors that the Austro-Hungarian army, during the First World War underperformed far from what its military potential allowed for, and its ambitions demanded. Yet, the predominant reason for the lack of military effectiveness of the Austro-Hungarian army is far from being agreed upon. The goal of this paper is to present an alternative explanation to the ineffectiveness of the Austro-Hungarian army during the First World War by highlighting the plurality of languages among its solders. The main argument of the paper is that the plurality of languages of the soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army prevented adequate communication and coordination between the soldiers and officers, as well as between soldiers of different nationalities themselves, thus reducing the tactical effectiveness on the battlefield. By analyzing the concept of tactical effectiveness, tactics, and the connection between strategic, operational and tactical levels, as well as Austro-Hungary itself and its army in the wake of the First World War, the paper shows that the complex language policy of Austro-Hungarian army proved inefficient and unsustainable during the war. Thus, adequate communication and cooperation as well as officer leadership, representing the foundations of tactical effectiveness, was disabled and its effects transferred to other levels leading to the defeat of Austro-Hungary.

Keywords

• tactics
• tactical eff ectiveness
• military eff ectiveness
• language
• austro-hungary