mainly military reasons (there were also political ones) the capitulation of Austria-Hungary was not followed by any Allied military occupation. On the one hand there was considerable war-weariness among the Allies also, and then they took the views that after the revolution in all parts of the Empire, together with the capitulation of Germany, there was no need for any military occupation. After the Armistice with Germany I discussed the question of the food supply almost exclusively with Mr. Hoover and the American Government. The schemes for economic co-operation and financial help were gradually carried out, at least to a certain extent, during these negotiations.
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The Armistice with Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Turkey formed the agenda at the eighth meeting of the Supreme Military Council between October 31st and November 4th. Full minutes of all these meetings were handed to me for my approval as the representative of Czechoslovakia. The text of the Armistice terms was placed before the Central Powers by Marshal Foch and the other military leaders also on behalf of the provisional Czechoslovak Government.
Of the new States, Czechoslovakia was the only one which participated in the Armistice negotiations. Poland was not admitted, and Rumania, although she had resumed hostilities, was also not invited. The Jugoslavs of Austria-Hungary had not yet been recognized as Allies by Italy and the other Great Powers, so that Serbia alone was represented at the Conference. At the meeting on October 31st M. Vesnić raised the question of the recognition of the Austrian Jugoslavs, but in spite of this the Conference took no steps in the matter.
From the above account it is clear that we were represented at the Conference on the basis of our juridical recognition and the treaties with the Allies which were signed before the collapse of the Empire. In the interests of historical truth I wish to point out that the events within the Empire and the coup d’état at Prague had no influence on this question. This is shown by the examples of the other Austro-Hungarian nationalities, quite apart from the fact that the Allied Governments at that time had no exact information as to the extent of the various upheavals within the Empire, and, from this juridical point of view, did not take them into account. At the meetings themselves not a word was said about the revolutions in Austria-