Civilians waving farewell to Austro-Hungarian troops on board trains about to depart for war service.
War of Movement
The Austro-Hungarian Army entered the battles of 1914 with its forces drawn up in the same way as they had been every year for general manoeuvres. The conviction that an offensive was absolutely essential to defeat the enemy in the east before they could fully deploy meant, for the troops, a massive push forward. This was to be either a direct engagement or “an attack on a fortified position”. Direct engagement was preferable for practical reasons. For the troops gradually deploying at the beginning of the war this meant that, after leaving their rail transport and being integrated in a brigade or division, they marched off towards the enemy. The infantry apparently took no interest in reconnaissance, except to a limited extent in the immediate vicinity. Reconnaissance was the responsibility of the cavalry, assembled in divisions and employed by higher commands (corps and upwards).
