This book examines the Habsburg Army's occupation of Serbia between 1914 and 1918. It argues that it was radically different from other great power colonial occupations during the 20th century in that it sought to denationalise the area, reduce the occupation's violence and fully integrate the country into the Empire.

Introduction. Vanishing Serbia, vanishing East --The war at home, the war abroad -- The autonomy of war -- Chapter outline -- Facing a Serb levée en masse: the Hapsburg army and war on civilians in 1914. The army of 1848 in 1914 -- War with Serbia: at home -- At war with Serbia: in Serbia -- Eradicating national politics in occupied Serbia. Asserting gerechtigkeit and denationalizing the future -- The volk "led astray" -- Security over gerechtigkeit on the road from moods to mass internment -- Legal severity, international law, and the tottering empire in occupied Serbia. The domestic origins of military justice in Serbia -- Everyday crimes, exceptional punishments -- Impartiality and legal particularity -- The fall of legal severity -- Food as salvation: food supply, the monarchy, and Serbia, 1916-1918. A famine averted -- The farm called Serbia -- The new Serbia -- The scramble for food -- A levée en masse nation no more? Guerrilla war in Hapsburg Serbia. The uprising -- 1917: year of the komitadji? -- A new strategy? A new Serbia? -- Conclusion.