Evening star., 1918-02-03

But bearing in mind all the neceS-
sary cautions which history imposes. 1t
is equally wise to recognize that the
Austro- Hungarian situation has become
one of the most interesting and i'm
portant in the whole war field. ana
that. Enthusiastically. Austrian policy
(partly induced by domestic oiscontent
and suffering. partly by the change OF
the external situation. so far as Aus
trian interests are at stake. IS taxing
a new form.
Austria's War Aims in 1914.
In a word, to make the whole situa-
ton clear, it is useful now to recall
what were Austrian war aims Wheh lhe
struggle was precipitated by an AUS
trian ultimatum to Serbia. Anose an
else, Austria having engaged 1of mote
than a century in strife with RUSSIA
over the Balkan questions. saw IN tne
rise OF Serbia under Russian lnsplra-
tieE and protection a peril 70 her IN IN
ternal safety and barrier 70 nef
southwark expansion. The new SERBIA
not merely beckoned to i.oOe,0eo Aus
trian Serbs and Croats. urging them 70
leave Austria. for Serbia; nut a, !. 'a.So aro
rival in Saloniki. And Saicniki hao
been The goal CT Austrian ampl'ion
since the struggle of 1866 with rus
sia. which turned the Hapspufes ou' VI
Germany.
II is thus essential to keep in mird
the distinction between German ana
Austrian war purposes. derHla1! - >
dream of grandiose MitteieuIopa
frankly suspicious. Only Austrlas ne
cessities as the war proceeded com,
PEELED Vienna to submit to Berlin ano
of the Hohenzollern. Austria was not
seeking to be swallowed up by Ger
many or play minor part IN srea.
new confederacy. in which germany
should be the majority stockhoiae. tne anu
Austria, Bulgaria. Turkey mere paWns-
Jealousy between Berlin and Vienna
was always notorious, and the con-
tempt of the Viennese for the Beriinefs
is familiar to every traveller
Austria's Three Problems.
Austria.s war policy and her peace
nolicv before the war were limited to
fhree problems: To defend herself
against Russian attacks from the east,
in her Galician lands: to protect -hef-
self against pan-Slavic agitations car
ried on by her own populations uhdef
Russian guidance. and to realize the
ambition to reach the Aegean and pos
sess herself of Saloniki. the gateway 10
the near east. But against Russia she
was powerless without German AID. as
the first campaigns of the war proved:
Bucharest enlarged and strengthened
Austrian hope of reaching Salon2ki was
doomed provided Serbia We're permitted
to hold for long what she had con-
|quered.
In this situation Austria first pro-
cured the Bulgarian attack upon Serbia
in 1913. turning to advantage the fact
that the Car of Bulgaria was an Aus
trian prince and that Russia supported
Serb claims in the Serbo-Bulgar dis
pute over Macedonia. But Serbia. with
Greece and Rumania, overwhelmed Bull
garia, and Austria was left with no
other remedy than a direct attack upon
Serbia at once. an attack which meant
the appearance of Russia as Serbia's
protector. Moreover, when. in 1913,
such a step was suggested to Austria's $
Italian ally, Italy refused to hear of
it The assassination of the archduke
gave Austria a moral issue for doing
what her policy demanded she should
do. but the policy had been resolved
over long months.
Austrian Freedom Lost to Germany.
Now. in the first stages of the world
war Austria was concerned with saw