Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops clashed at altitudes up to 12,000 feet (3,600 meters) with temperatures as low as -22°F (-30°C) in the Guerra Bianca, or White War, named for its wintry theater.

This might be a scene from the final days of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918. In fact it is today, 100 years later. For once more the spectre of European fragmentation haunts Vienna.

Otto von Habsburg only relinquished his claim to the fallen Austro-Hungarian empire in 1961 The eldest son of the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian empire has died in Germany at the age of 98.