Habsburga la vista, baby!
A 1914 Austro-Hungarian AAR
HoI2 1914 mod version 0.42
Hard/Furious
Some cheating to prevent rapid Central Powers victory
No military control of allies
Some slight modifications: province names; Thorn is a German province
This is my first AAR, so please bear with me
There won't be much in the way of story-telling; this just represents my attempt to play Austria-Hungary and lead the Dual Monarchy to victory in the Great War.
Contents Page
Part One: The Great War
Introduction
The great revolutions wrought by the nineteenth century have not been kind to the Habsburg Empire. The Dual Monarchy has been unable to keep up with the pace of technological and industrial change and is lagging behind the great manufacturing nations. The greatest challenge, however, comes from nationalism and democracy. The thousand nations of the Habsburg Empire* are increasingly demanding autonomy, representation, even independence. Can a multi-national empire survive in the strange and frightening modern age?
The nationalities of Austria-Hungary
The demands of national self-determination are tugging at the Empire from all directions. Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Romanians, Croatians, Bosnians, Italians, even Germans and Magyars are less loyal to the crown than one might desire. It is, however, Serbia that constitutes the greatest threat. The existence of an independent Slavic state - backed by Russia, no less - is not conducive to the loyalty of the Empire's Slavic populations. If Serbia continues to thrive, the Slavs of the Dual Monarchy may eventually rise up.
Austria-Hungary is a state beset by foes on all sides:
Austria-Hungary and her potential enemies
The only reliable ally that Austria-Hungary has left may well be the German Empire. But the complex system of alliances may well mean that an attack on Serbia, backed by Germany, will cause an international conflagration...
*I couldn't help it, I've seen '300' too many times.