Thedor Zeynek. Das Leben eines österreichischen Generalstaboffiziers

Theodor Ritter von Zeyneks autobiography depicts the life of an officer of the Austrian-Hungarian army. It describes his origin, his education and his service as an Army officer and later an officer of the General Staff. It finishes with the service as an officer at the Russian front line from 1914 to 1916 and within the Army Supreme Command in the vicinity of Vienna from 1916 to 1918. The Zeyneks emanated from the bourgeois upper classes of Troppau, todays Opava, the capital of the province of Austrian-Silesia (Österreich-Schlesien). After graduation from high school in his home town, Theodor (born in 1873) attended the military academy and was later educated as an officer of the General Staff. In 1908/09 Zeynek witnessed the Bosnia crisis from within the central offices of the Austrian-Hungarian General Staff as well as the growing opposition of the Danube monarchy versus Russia. He was also concerned with the crisis of Hungarian state within the monarchy. He describes the rise of Archduke-Crown Prince Franz-Ferdinand von Österreich-Este as General Army Inspector in 1913 and the crisis in June/July 1914 after the Archdukes murder in Sarajewo, Bosnia as well as the outbreak of World War I. Zeynek wittnessed the defeats and successes of 1914/15 in high military positions at the Russian front, in particular as Chief of the General Staff of the 7th Army Pflanzer-Baltin. After the political-military catastrophe of the Russian Brussilowo push (June 1916), Zeynek was recalled from his post, but frum autumn 1916 was used with great success for the negotiations on the installation of a Polish Army. In spring 1917, Colonel Zeynek war put in charge as a Chief of the Quartermaster Department of the Army Supreme Command, thus holding one of the most responsible posts within the warfare of the Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy. The service included also a highly responsible advisory function for Emperor Charles himself, and therefore also critical insight of the political and military downfall of the monarchy right up to its collapse in 1918. Zeynek war retired and lived, together with his wife, in Prague and later in Mondsee. He concerned himself with literary works (Shakespeare translations, history of the Austrian-Hungarian General Staff, poetry, works on Goethe, autobiography) until his death at a Salzburg hospital in 1948. His widow handed over his military inheritance to the Austrian Military Archives and his printed literary works to the Austrian National Library.