Alois Schönburg-Hartenstein

Who is Alois Schönburg-Hartenstein?

Alois Schönburg-Hartenstein, was a military officer in the Austro-Hungarian army and as a Prince of Schönburg-Hartenstein, a member of the Austrian nobility. He briefly served from March to July 1934 as the minister of defense in the First Austrian Republic.

From 1899 to 1913 he was president of the Austrian Red Cross. Following the outbreak of the First World War, he commanded several units, including the 6th Division and the XX Corps.

According to Baron Ferdinand Marterer, Schönburg-Hartenstein was suggested as a candidate for imperial minister of defense by chief of the general staff Arz von Straussenberg in April 1917. In early 1918, as domestic unrest over the war and continuing shortages of food increased within Austria-Hungary, he was appointed to command troops to maintain security within the empire by Emperor Karl I. In this capacity, he arrested strike leaders and 44,000 military deserters. In the summer of 1918, he again took combat command, leading the 6th Army in Northern Italy during the Battle of the Piave River, in which he was wounded in the leg.