Austro-Hungarian Military Intelligence and Russia, 1867-1914

More than 30 years ago historians have described intelligence as the missing dimension in historical inquiry. But, in the meanwhile intelligence history has faced a rapid upswing. Notwithstanding the evident progress in historiography with regard to intelligence related issues, there is still an evident gap referring to the study of the evolution of permanent intelligence bureaucracies in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In fact, the significance of a close examination of the development of institutionalized and professionalized intelligence in the second half of the 19th century in the wake of the emergence of modern states, mass media, democratization, changing international relations, new standards and requirements of secrecy, communication developments and technological (armament) innovation is striking. Professionalism of the secret services meant establishing permanency and regularity of intelligence regardless of whether the state was at war or peace. Secret services became permanent partners of governance/policy, and as professionalised intelligence sprung predominantly from the army, their expertises in regard of potential enemies earned special significance. Irrespective of a great number of archival source available the history of Austria-Hungarys military secret service (Evidenzbureau) and its influence on political and military decision-making in the era prior to the First World War is widely underresearched. The planned project aims to fill this gap. In the light of shifting international relations at the end of the 19th century and a growing rivalry between Russia and the Danube monarchy it is rather plausible to concentrate on the Evidenzbureaus activities against the Tsarist Empire. An examination of the Evidenzbureaus work (18671914) with respect to the Tsarist Empire can highlight not only the history of Austro-Hungarian secret service itself or give reason for revisiting the ups and increasing downs in the relationship between Vienna and St. Petersburg, but also will shed light on military and civilian interactions or will make comprehensible the development of public opinion on the Tsarist Empire in the context of its espionage against the Habsburg state. The planned project comprises intelligence and military history as well as the history of bilateral relation between Austria-Hungary and Russia and an examination of the shaping of views on Russia considering the endeavour of spying on the Tsarist Empire and the factum of being spied by Russian agents. Furthermore, it is intended to examine the (supposed) success story of espionage issues in Austria- Hungary. Eventually, it is also the aim is to filter out in which context newspapers and journals reported on espionage, especially in connection with Russian issues and images.

The research project examined the development of the Austro-Hungarian military intelligence service with the aim of compiling a comprehensive history of intelligence in the late Habsburg Monarchy. The focus was on the difficult relations with Russia. In order to understand the development of the Austro-Hungarian military intelligence service, it was also necessary to outline the framework and preconditions for the establishment of such an institution. For this reason, the research project also focused on the various efforts to permanently incorporate intelligence agendas into the army even before the emergence of the dual monarchy. Consideration was given not only to various positions within the armed forces on intelligence as a whole, but also to voices outside the rapidly developing field of military journalism in the 19th century. In this context, it became clear how much perceptions of the relevant services with their multifaceted tasks were narrowed down to sometimes vague ideas of espionage. Nevertheless, popular views on espionage, which in the primary period under investigation from the mid-19th century onwards were initially fed by reminiscences of the Napoleonic Wars, helped the intelligence service to gain acceptance, especially in non-military spheres. This went hand in hand with a socialization of secrecy, a consolidation of statehood, a multitude of technological innovations, and, beyond that, an explosion of knowledge. At the same time, increasingly pessimistic assessments were made about the military capability of the dual monarchy. National turmoil and growing conflicts of interest in the Balkans, which began to make a conflict between the Tsarist Empire and Austria-Hungary seem inevitable, stimulated the need to defend against potential dangers. Against the backdrop of growing mistrust between the Habsburg and Romanov empires and in view of specific security concerns that the two multinational empires formulated, particularly with regard to the population in the border regions, the intelligence services gained in importance both as staff branches and as seismographs for threats in general. Without a doubt, the Russian Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy, as multi-ethnic states, shared the specific characteristic of an almost inseparable connection between external threats and perceived security gaps within their borders. In this context, army and diplomacy were both partners and adversaries. Meanwhile, the crises in the Balkans triggered several boosts in security measures on the Austro-Hungarian side. In Russia the desastrous defeat against Japan in 1904/05 led to an enormous strengthening of the intelligence forces, with a main thrust agasinst the Habsburg Monarchy. Nevertheless, the decade before 1914 can only be seen as final culmination phase of the intelligence war. In addition, the project's findings support the unease already expressed in historiography regarding an Anglo-Saxon paradigm in the historicization of intelligence, which has tended to overlook its genesis on the European continent.