Page:Diplomacy and the War (Andrassy 1921).djvu/248

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INTERNAL CRISIS AND COLLAPSE
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The national opposition which appeared to relax in the early days of the war under the influence of patriotism, increased more and more, especially in Austria. The treachery of Czeckish and Ruthenian regiments excited glowing hatred against them. Many a German or Hungarian died or was captured or wounded simply because his brother in arms had broken his oath and had gone over to the enemy. Even in Hungary the situation was not controlled as much as in Austria on account of the opposition in national questions. The majority of the Roumanian intelligentsia proved faithless where the enemy broke in, and a considerable portion of the Serbs and certain Ruthenes did the same; but the conflict of the nationalities had not paralysed our power as yet. The majority of the nationalities justified themselves and fulfilled their duties faithfully as citizens. Serious revolutionary attempts were not to be found anywhere.

In view of such chronic internal suffering, we had to prepare to fight the infection of revolution, which was a product of this long war, and for which there was only one cure, namely, victory, and that never fell to our lot.

War, and especially a long war, renders the people wild and embittered, and these feelings are natural hothouses for revolution. Wild abandonment was brought about by the fact that the soldiers daily saw and caused violent destruction, that they learnt to place a low value on human life, and because they became hardened to the sufferings of others, and therefore