Austria-Hungary, more formally the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was a dual-monarchy that existed from 1867-1918. The nation had around 53 million people by 1913, and was one of the largest economies in Europe. It was part of the Central Powers (German Empire, Ottoman Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Bulgaria) during World War One (1914-1918).
Formation
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was formed in 1867. For a few years before that, the Hungarian population of the Austrian Empire was experiencing lots of unrest. In 1867, the emperor of the Empire of Austria and the Hungarians signed an agreement that became known as the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. It basically made the Hungarians and Austrians have equal power in the country.
Involvement in World War 1
If you ask any random person “which country started WW1?” they would probably say Germany. That is actually wrong.
On June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand (heir to the Empire’s throne) and his wife were shot and killed by Serbian Gavrilo Princip. Princip was part of the Serbian Black Hand. One month later, on July 28, 1914, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on the Kingdom of Serbia.
Throughout August in 1914, the conflict exploded with the Serbian ally of Russia declaring war on Austria-Hungary, and the Austrian ally of Germany declaring war on Russia, France, Serbia, and Belgium. In order to honor Belgian neutrality, the British Empire declared war on Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Soon, Montenegro and Japan had joined the Triple Entente (Allies) as well. On November 5, 1914, the Ottoman Empire (modern day Turkiye, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel/Palestine, and parts of Saudi Arabia) formally joined the Central Powers. On April 25, 1915, British, French, and ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula, in what became known as the Gallipoli Campaign.
Now, what did Austria-Hungary do during this? They were primarily holding a defencive front against Russia, meaning they were trying not to let Russia into their land. However, on May 23, 1915, the Kingdom of Italy joined the Allies, thus opening another front for Austria-Hungary. However, that front was mostly stalemated the entire war.
Collapse
Eventually, the Russians managed to break the stalemate on the Eastern Front until the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. However, even with the Russian Empire’s surrender in 1917, Austria-Hungary still wasn’t doing great. The nation’s very diverse population was growing rebellious, the economy was collapsing, its people were starving, and Italy was gaining the upper hand.
On November 3, 1918, the Austrians signed the Armistice of Villa Giusti, effectively ending hostilities for Austria-Hungary.
The terms for the Treaty of Versailles, however, completely ended the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Here is how:
Italy got parts of Austria that were along the Austro-Italian border, the Allied nation of Romania got the region of Transylvania (No, there are zero vampires there), and the nations of Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia became independent, effectively ending the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Flag of Austria-Hungary. Although the nation did not have an official flag, this one is modernly accepted. They commonly used the flag of the Austrian Empire (below) as a de facto flag.
Flag of the Austrian Empire. It was a de facto flag for the Dual Monarchy.
Contact us at business.OOH@orderofhistory.com. Please wait at least 48 hours for a response.
Article written by Rio S. The Online Tank Museum Austria-Hungary article, the Britannica Timeline of WW1 article, and the Britannica Formation and Collapse of Austria-Hungary article were used for research.
See our other articles here:
More articles coming every Friday of every month! (Exceptions may apply)
© 2025, Order of History, LLC. All rights reserved.
Very clever to link back to the Gallipoli Campaign article to show how the events were connected! Both pieces were well written!
You should add map on this one to. And I do agree, this is how WWI started.