The Case of Alfred Redl and the Situation of Austro-Hungarian Military Intelligence on the Eve of World War I

The “Redl Case” was a cause célèbre in 1913.² For a brief moment on the eve of the World War, the people living in a time marked by disturbing events did not pay attention to the rivalries between the great powers, the fight over colonial territory, and the bitter struggles on the Balkans. In the midst of all the crises and the expectations of new and possibly even greater armed conflicts, the public briefly focused on the “monstrous deeds” of a “black sheep” that symbolized the monarchy’s moral decay. Along with other scandals in civil administration and the army, Redl’s