Mein Kampf says that Hitler's antisemitic vision became focused in Vienna, but that account was written more than a decade later, and much had happened during those intervening years. Of crucial importance was Hitler's experience in World War I. In 1913 Hitler avoided serving in the Austrian military by leaving Vienna. He lived in Munich for a time and then returned to Austria, where he was found physically unfit for military service. Nevertheless, when World War I began in August 1914, Hitler was elated, and he volunteered enthusiastically for the German Army. He spent the next four years on the Western Front, serving in France and Belgium as a dispatch runner, an often-dangerous duty that entailed carrying orders--on foot or by bicycle--from regimental commanders to leaders at the front. Hitler received a promotion to corporal on November 3, 1914, but rose no higher for reasons that remain unclear. Some accounts indicate that he refused to be considered for promotion; others suggest that his superiors found his leadership potential wanting.