Austria-Hungary: Tale of a Duel Monarchy

[Azale]

The year is 1868. The United States is still recovering from a disastrous civil war, the Italian City States have recently merged to from Italy, and the German states have followed suit. Probably most important to this story though, it was also the year Austria and Hungary formed the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary.

Chapter 1: Ferdinand’s Diplomacy and the Italian War

When Ferdinand ascended the throne of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the military was under funded and in shambles, the economy was backwards, and the country was continuously threatened by their neighbors the Germans, Russians, and Ottomans. Ferdinand would soon change this supposedly impossible situation.

Ferdinand’s first act as king was to improve relations with other nations. Showing iron determination, Ferdinand himself traveled to Berlin, Moscow, Paris, Constantinople, Rome, London, Madrid, Lisbon and Washington. Relations around the world were improved and three nations, Germany, Russia, and France, joined an alliance that would be known as the “Continental Alliance” offered by Ferdinand.

Next, Ferdinand turned to improving the military. He knew from his trade advisors that the monarchy was abundant in resources. He could wage a war and not be dependant on a foreign country for the saltpeter, horses, iron, and coal he would need.

Ferdinand began selling excess resources to other nations for a large sum of money. With the money, Ferdinand re-built the military. Over 15 regiments of cavalry, 7 regiments of riflemen and 25 batteries of artillery, were produced from the extra funds.
Now, with a sizeable army and navy, Ferdinand took a step to increase Austrian-Hungarian prominence.

On Thursday, November 8, 1875, a declaration of war was signed by Ferdinand against Italy. As he was signing, he made a speech akin to the American “Manifest Destiny” speech,” This is just one step that will be taken to ensure the Austrians Inevitable Fate”.

A few weeks into the war, it was clear who had the upper hand. Austrian troops had surprised the Italians and captured Venice. With the Venetian port captured, then Italian Fleet of the Adriatic was easily surrounded and quickly destroyed.

German and French forces had destroyed all defenses of the Italians in the Alps and had made a destructive arch into Milan, then Turin, and began the siege Rome. They attempted three assaults, each failing. By the time the Austrians arrived, most of the French and German troops had retreated to Turin for reinforcements.

Luckily for Ferdinand and the Austrians, the defenders surrendered, to hungry and tired to fight.

With the capital captured, Austrian cavalry routed the demoralized Italians at the Battle of Naples, and again at Veii. Now the only Italian stronghold that remained was Sicily.

Since the Italian navy was virtually gone, the Austrians made a huge landing in the Sicilian Mountains. As the Austrians encroached upon Palermo, the Italian Monarch, Emmanuel, walked to the Commander of the 6th Cavalry Division of Budapest. Wanting a peaceful solution to the war, he requested an audience with Ferdinand.

In Vienna, after painstaking hours dissecting a plan, one was finally devised. Sicily and all of Italy were to officially be given to Austria-Hungary. In return, Italian Somaliland would become the new center of Italy and Italy would become a second Switzerland, neutral in all armed conflict. With the official signing of the document, the Italian War ended.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This story is based on an experiance I had playing Austria-Hungary in KittenOFChaos's improved Impreza's 1850-1900 scenario.

 

[Azale]

Did you like it? Feedback?

 

[Kennelly]

Yeah,another great story about this wonderful scenario.As you read,in my game Torino culture flipped after a few turns to Austria,but Austria is really backwards in my game.This is why I'll soon invade them,I think.
Your Ferdinand and my Mehmet would give a good fight,I think

 

[Azale]

Your Memhet's goin' down!!

Seriously though, in my next chapter, Austria invades the hapless Ottomans.

 

[Azale]

Chapter 2: End of an Empire

The year is now 1877. The Italian War was over and it had had great payoffs for Austria-Hungary. Now, the only task left in Italy was to quell would-be rebellions.

To do this, Ferdinand doubled the number of riflemen garrisoned in Italian cities. At first, the Italians fiercely resisted the soldier, even making riots in the streets to protest their presence. This was not the United States, though, and the riots were crushed, often killing dozens. This still did not fully quiet the populace, so Ferdinand tried a more peaceful solution.

He ordered his top engineers to begin an important project, which was named “the Forbidden Palace Project”. The palace would be located in Rome, where the provincial governor would reside. The project would take many years to complete, but Ferdinand was sure that once the Palace was finished, the Italians would become loyal Austrians.

Just as he resolved that problem, another arose.

During the Italian War, while the Austrian forces were occupying Rome, two small Ottoman divisions had been spotted on the Austrian side of the Austro-Ottoman border. The Sultan, Muhmet II had labeled the incident an accident, and recalled the soldiers. Nobody had thought much else about it.

Just a few days ago though, it happened again, with the Ottomans marching as far as Sarajevo before being caught. The actions deeply worried Ferdinand. He couldn’t let them scout his territory, then attack using that information!

To counter the threat, Ferdinand swung first by declaring war on the Ottoman Empire, citing their numerous incursions on Austrian sovereignty as reason enough. Russia, Britain, France, Germany, Brazil, and China soon followed with declarations of their own.
On the humid, dry summer day of June 25, 1880, Austrian cavalry backed by rifleman and artillery, swarmed the ottoman capital of Constantinople by the tens of thousands.
T
he Ottoman defenders were not caught off guard and the held out the first wave with resilient effort. By the end of the day, though, half the city lay in Austrian hands (including the Sultan’s Palace, now a charred rubble pit) and the defenders had fled to the inner city.

The next morning came, and as artillery shells fell on the heads of the Ottoman riflemen, the Second Siege of Constantinople began.

With the siege of the capital tying up the Austrian Army, Russian Commanders adjusted their plans to include more soldiers to make up for the unexpected loss of the Austrian reinforcement. Their attack plan was not very complex. Part one was to take Crimea, the area of conflict that had caused several wars with the Ottoman Empire.

Part two was to use the fleet stationed at Odessa to destroy the Ottoman fleet of the Black Sea. With Austrian Ironclads having already pummeled the Ottoman Fleet of the Aegean, and Mediterranean, the Russian Commanders saw no difficulty in that.

Part three was a three-pronged land invasion from the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, and Afghanistan. The Afghanistan force would merge with the Kazakhstan force as they neared Persia, while the Caucasus force swiped Iraq.

The plan fell right in place. Crimea was overrun shortly and the Ottoman Fleet of the Black Sea soon folded. The land invasion was a perfect success, as the Russians soon reached the Indian Ocean and were knocking of Ur’s door.

The British also helped. Even though they had the least military presence of the three main attackers (Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Britain), they managed to capture half the country, using brilliant tactics and their technological superiority to their advantage.

With the British and the Russians carving up the Empire at such a rapid rate, Ferdinand worried there might be little spoils of war for his kingdom. Those worries were soon put to rest, as the Austrians broke the siege and captured the city.

The only land that remained now of the Ottoman Realm was central Turkey. Austrian cavalry advanced speedily toward Ankara, but met a wall of resistance on the outskirts. Ottoman riflemen, apparently just drafted, were outmatched and quickly beaten. That had been the Ottoman’s last stand, as the cavalry entered Ankara without fighting.

The war ended on February, 1883. Austria-Hungary stretched from Rome to Ankara, from Vienna to Adana. It was also the newest world power.

 

[West German]

Very good story. Please continue. Go Austria!!

 

[Azale]

Thank you. The next chapter is humongous, so it might take a day or two before I type it up and post it.