Alexander von Krobatin
| Alexander von Krobatin | |
|---|---|
Krobatin in 1914
|
|
| Born |
September 12, 1849 Olomouc, Moravia, Austrian Empire |
| Died | September 28, 1933 (aged 84) Vienna, Austria |
| Allegiance |
Austrian Empire Austria-Hungary |
| Service/branch | Army |
| Years of service | 1869 – 1918 |
| Rank | Field Marshal |
| Unit | Tenth Army |
| Commands held | Tenth Army Eleventh Army Tyrol Front |
| Battles/wars |
Caporetto Vittorio Veneto Piave Offensive |
| Other work | War Academcy Instructor |
Alexander Freiherr von Krobatin (12 September 1849 – 28 September 1933) was an Austrian Field Marshal and Imperial Minister for War between 1912 and 1917.
Born in Olmütz (Olomouc),Moravia, Krobatin graduated from the Artillery Academy in 1869 before spending a number of years studying the place of artillery in late 19th century warfare. He served as an instructor at the Technical Military Academy from 1877 to 1882 and recognized as an expert in munitions, he was appointed to the War Ministry in 1896 where he successful worked as a head of department and as chief of a section while also promoted to the rank of Major General in 1900.
A close associate of the army chief of staff Conrad Hötzendorf, Krobatin was appointed Imperial Minister for War in 1912 and as an integral member of the "war party" gave his full backing to the hawkish element in the military in their calls for an immediate attack on Serbia following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and the July Ultimatum. With the outbreak of war, Krobatin was responsible for the task of harnessing the economies of industrial Austria and agrarian Hungary to ensure the now mobilised military was supplied with vital arms and munitions as well as increasing industrial efficiency to meet the needs of a state with a large cohort of its industrial population no longer available for industrial and food production given their enlistment for war. According to a number of sources, Krobatin struggled in his task for the first two years of the war, and although he never really threatened to harness the economy efficiently, he succeeded in tripling the level of artillery available at divisional level.
One of the first commanders to be raised to the newly created rank of Generaloberst in February 1916, Krobatin was responsible for dealing with the crisis caused by Romania's entry into the war on the side of the Entente and the sudden cutting off of resources (particularly grain and petroleum) that Romania's declaration of war brought. In Crown council on September 9, 1916, Krobatin sought backing for a proposal which would have allowed the army unrestricted powers to seize foodstuffs and punish hoarders, but this was vetoed by Chancellor Karl Stürgkh and Premier Istvan Tisza. Though occupied Serbia was eventually to produce more grain than Romania, food supplies to soldiers in the field remained a persistent and crucial worry to those at the higher echelons of the War Ministry.
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