Austria-Hungary
Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf
1852–1925 Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff, 1906–1911 and 1912–1917
Born in Penzing, Conrad was commissioned in 1871 and taught tactics at the Vienna war college. At the urging of Archduke Franz Ferdinand he became Chief of the General Staff in 1906. A Social Darwinist, he pressed for preventive wars against Serbia and Italy; clashes with Foreign Minister Aehrenthal ended his tenure in 1911, and he was reappointed in December 1912. After Sarajevo he saw the chance for the war on Serbia he had long urged. His 1914 offensives against Serbia and Russia ended in heavy defeats. Made a field marshal in 1916, he was replaced as chief in 1917 and commanded an army group in Tyrol until July 1918. Older works praised his strategy; recent ones hold him responsible for the 1914 defeats. He died on 25 August 1925.