Spy of the Century: Alfred Redl and the Betrayal of Austria-HungaryPen and Sword, 2016 M11 30 - 184 pages The Redl Affair had everything: sex, espionage, betrayal, a fall from greatness and a sensational climax in which Redl went to his death like a figure of high tragedy. The New York Times A story like that is truer than history. István Szabó The army was shocked to the core. All knew that in case of war this one man might have been the cause of the death of hundreds of thousands, and of the monarchy being brought to the brink of the abyss; it was only then that we Austrians realised how breathtakingly near to the World War we already had been for that past year. Stefan Zweig, The World of Yesterday During the night of 24 to 25 May 1913 three high-ranking military officials wait for hours outside a hotel in the centre of Vienna. At around 2am they hear the shot of a Browning. They know that one of their own has just ended his life: Colonel Alfred Redl, the former deputy head of the Evidenzbüro, the Austro-Hungarian General Staff s directorate of military intelligence, and confidant of the heir to the throne. His suicide note reads: Levity and passion have destroyed me . What no one had known: for almost a decade he had betrayed significant and damaging secrets to the Italians, the French and the Russians. But what had been his motives? Redl owed everything to the army he deceived. Was he trapped into treason by blackmail? There were no definite answers for almost 100 years. The true story has only recently been reconstructed, after Austrian historians rediscovered long-lost records. A tragic story emerges of a man who was forced to hide his homosexuality and used his wealth to please his young lover. The scandal was huge, and it has never completely died down. Myths and legends have spread, and Redl s story still fascinates today. |
Contents
Chapter 1 Prelude | 1 |
Chapter 2 The Boy from Lemberg | 23 |
Chapter 3 The Last Waltz | 43 |
Chapter 4 The Game | 57 |
Chapter 5 The Evidenzbureau Intelligence Bureau | 73 |
Chapter 6 The Ace of Spies | 87 |
Chapter 7 The Betrayal | 103 |
Chapter 8 Dolce Vita | 123 |
Chapter 9 The Fall | 133 |
Chapter 10 Legacy | 141 |
Notes | 151 |
161 | |
165 | |
Other editions - View all
Spy of the Century: Alfred Redl & the Betrayal of Austro-Hungary John Sadler,Silvie Fisch Limited preview - 2016 |
Common terms and phrases
accused Aehrenthal affair agents Alfred Redl Alfred’s amongst Arbeiterzeitung Archduke arrest Asprey Austria-Hungary Austrian army Austrian Forces Austro-Hungarian Balkans became Berlin betrayal Bureau career Carina Chief Colonel Redl Conrad von Hoetzendorf corps Crankshaw Czech death defence Delegate Despite Dissolution Dreyfus Dual Monarchy Egon Erwin Kisch elite Emperor Empire enemy espionage Eulenburg Evidenzbureau film foreign powers Franz Ferdinand Franz Joseph French Galicia gentleman German Giesl homosexuality Hordliczka Horinka House of Habsburg Ibid imperial Infantry intelligence Italian Italy journalist Kaiser Klaus Maria Brandauer Klomser knew kronen later Leidinger and Moritz Lemberg lieutenant Magyars Mason military attaché Minister Ministry mobilisation plans Moltke nationalist needed never Nizetas Oberst Redl officer Panther’s Feast police Polish Pollak Prague railway Redl’s remained Ronge Russian scandal secret seems Serbia Serbs spies St Petersburg Staff Stefan story suspicion traitor treachery treason turned Urbański Vienna whole young