This is a definitive account of the Austro-Hungarian Royal and Imperial Army during the First World War. Graydon A. Tunstall shows how Austria-Hungary entered the war woefully unprepared for the ordeal it would endure. When the war commenced, the Habsburg Army proved grossly under strengthen relative to trained officers and manpower, possessing obsolete weapons and equipment, and with the vast majority of its troops proved inadequately trained for modern warfare. Well over one million Habsburg troops mobilized creating an enormous logistical challenge of forging an army from the diverse cultures, languages, economic and educational backgrounds of the Empire's peoples. Graydon A. Tunstall shows how the army suffered from poor strategic direction and outdated tactics and facing a two-front offensive against both Russia and Serbia. He charts the army's performance on the battlefields of Galicia, Serbia, Romania, the Middle East and Italy through to its ultimate collapse in 1918.

Co-winner of the Norman B. Tomlinson, Jr. Prize, World War One Historical Association

‘Instead of focusing on an individual front, campaign or battle, Tunstall deals with the travails of the Austro-Hungarian army on every front in which it fought, and across the entire course of the war. Steeped in archival research and measured in its judgements, Tunstall's work is indispensable for both students of the Great War and the Austro-Hungarian army.'

Richard L. DiNardo - author of Breakthrough: The Gorlice-Tarnow Campaign, 1915

‘This is a superb analysis of a still underappreciated aspect of the First World War by an eminent historian of the Habsburg military. Crisp analysis of both the military and the home fronts give the work breathtaking depth. Tunstall rights many of the still prevalent myths and misconceptions of Conrad and his paladins 1914-1918.'

Holger H. Herwig - author of The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918

‘The Austro-Hungarian Army and the First World War, a volume in the Cambridge series 'Armies of the Great War', which received a NYMAS Special Award, is a very useful book for anyone interested in the Great War.’

A. A. Nofi Source: StrategyPage

‘The Austro-Hungarian Army and the First World War is a good opportunity to gain an overview of these fronts which are not forgotten in Western European publications, but are often marginally treated, and the armies deployed there.’

Wolfgang Etschmann Source: International Journal of Military History and Historiography

‘… a very useful book for anyone interested in the Great War.’

A. A. Nofi Source: The NYMAS Review