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Pushing for Centralism can be a bitch. The Magyars will usually either want continuation of Dualism or Independence. Bohemia usually resent Centralism too, but sometimes cave in. Bosnia and Galizia are the two entities that can be easily convinced to give up their autonomy, while Croatia is looking towards both Vienna and Budapest for a better deal (and if the Hungarians respect their autonomy they turn against you who don't).
Don´t forget that he is using revised Ausgleich event chain.....
Yes, that's true, I'm using an updated version of the Ausgleich event series put together by coorta88 here... Two series of which were included with a little input from your humble writer 
Yes, that's true, I'm using an updated version of the Ausgleich event series put together by coorta88 here... Two series of which were included with a little input from your humble writer
Ausgleich file was in fact put together by Rainbowfire on kaiserreich forum - I just updated event file to DH standard, added few events....
Glad to see my work will be used.
CRUSH EVERYONE, THE HUNGARIANS, CZECHS, CROATS, ITALIANS, POLES, UKRAINIANS, SERBS, BULGARIANS, GREEKS, SWISS AND ESPECIALLY THE GERMANS AND ALBANIANS!
CRUSH EVERYONE, THE HUNGARIANS, CZECHS, CROATS, ITALIANS, POLES, UKRAINIANS, SERBS, BULGARIANS, GREEKS, SWISS AND ESPECIALLY THE GERMANS AND ALBANIANS!
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CRUSH EVERYONE, THE HUNGARIANS, CZECHS, CROATS, ITALIANS, POLES, UKRAINIANS, SERBS, BULGARIANS, GREEKS, SWISS AND ESPECIALLY THE GERMANS AND ALBANIANS!
Sound awfully like the checklist for playing the USSR under Stalin
Good AAR, heres hoping the AI doesn't fold like a wet paper bag so something interesting happens!
January 1937: Down to the Wire
A Federation For All
The young Kaiser sat at his desk, a folder full of reports and photographs spread out across the rich, dark wood. According to the reports, the Landwehr's reform had been completed, and its five infantry corps had been assigned the proper brigade support as laid down by Marshall Zehner in the year prior.
Otto's visitor and companion on this particular day was one Karl Renner, a parliamentary colleague of Kurt Schuschnigg and himself one of the most vocal and visible political figures in Austria.
The older man, glasses perched carefully on his nose, stood at the other end of the room as Otto examined the military reports; Renner kept himself occupied by looking over the portraits and photographs that adorned the walls of the Kaiser's office.
"You've been paying quite a great deal of attention to those military reports, my Kaiser," he spoke up, hands clasped behind his back as he strolled between pictures, "Are you fearing that you may need to use the Landwehr to enforce the Ausgleich?"
Otto's gaze did not leave the papers as he answered.
"I honestly can't tell you, Karl," he answered somberly, "Things are getting tense in the Empire. The Hungarians are getting more and more motivated by nationalist groups, and their desire for autonomy might be the highest it's ever been. And the other ethnic groups are getting restless, as well... The Bohemians are showing signs of public discontent, there's confusion in Galicia and talk of appealing to Poland... And the uncertainty of the futures of Bosnia and Croatia are creating tensions in the south."
"Mmmhh..." Renner said, a smile showing itself on his face despite the dire topic, "You still have this picture on your wall, do you?" He changed the subject, pointing to one particular frame along the eastern wall.
"It was Franz Ferdinand and his advisors that drew it up," Otto answered, looking up from the reports in front of him, "Their own solution to all of the ethnic tension in the Empire. He didn't have a bad idea about it."
"The United States of Greater Austria," Renner echoed the writing beneath the map, "A fine proposition that was. I supported it wholeheartedly, you know. It's a shame that he was killed before he ever had the chance to make a serious movement out of that little idea."
At that, Otto rose from his chair and came to stand beside Renner, looking at the map along with him.
"Do you think it would still work, Karl?" he asked, his own eyes gliding over the borders of the USGA's depiction, "Could his vision still be realistic? Or has all of the tension in the Empire, and the business with the Syndicalists, and the German Kaiser at the head of Europe... Has all of that changed things to the point that this is just a pipe dream?"
"Well, think about it, my Kaiser," said Renner, turning to his leader with a wise smirk, "The crux of all the present instability in the Empire is the desire of each ethnic group to govern itself -- Hungarians ruling Croatians, Austrians ruling Slovaks, it all gets to be terribly upsetting after awhile. People want to govern themselves, and if you make them wait long enough, they get quite violent about it."
His finger reached up to trace over the outlines of the various states of the USGA. "Each region, divided by its ethnicity, seeing to its own affairs..." His finger traced its way over Austria proper, "But all ultimately accepting the overall administrative and military guidance of Vienna. A delightful compromise, don't you think?"
"A federation of all the peoples of the Danube," said Otto, a smile just barely cracking onto his face, "It is a wonderful idea... My own admiration for democratic systems is not unknown, after all. But it remains to be seen if the necessary support for something like this would be possible..."
"In one month, my Kaiser... Perhaps we will see."
A Federation For All
The young Kaiser sat at his desk, a folder full of reports and photographs spread out across the rich, dark wood. According to the reports, the Landwehr's reform had been completed, and its five infantry corps had been assigned the proper brigade support as laid down by Marshall Zehner in the year prior.
Otto's visitor and companion on this particular day was one Karl Renner, a parliamentary colleague of Kurt Schuschnigg and himself one of the most vocal and visible political figures in Austria.
Karl Renner, a member of the Austrian parliament, an outspoken proponent of a decentralized federal structure for the Empire.
The older man, glasses perched carefully on his nose, stood at the other end of the room as Otto examined the military reports; Renner kept himself occupied by looking over the portraits and photographs that adorned the walls of the Kaiser's office.
"You've been paying quite a great deal of attention to those military reports, my Kaiser," he spoke up, hands clasped behind his back as he strolled between pictures, "Are you fearing that you may need to use the Landwehr to enforce the Ausgleich?"
Otto's gaze did not leave the papers as he answered.
"I honestly can't tell you, Karl," he answered somberly, "Things are getting tense in the Empire. The Hungarians are getting more and more motivated by nationalist groups, and their desire for autonomy might be the highest it's ever been. And the other ethnic groups are getting restless, as well... The Bohemians are showing signs of public discontent, there's confusion in Galicia and talk of appealing to Poland... And the uncertainty of the futures of Bosnia and Croatia are creating tensions in the south."
"Mmmhh..." Renner said, a smile showing itself on his face despite the dire topic, "You still have this picture on your wall, do you?" He changed the subject, pointing to one particular frame along the eastern wall.
Map of the United States of Greater Austria, as proposed by Franz Ferdinand and scholars close to him.
"It was Franz Ferdinand and his advisors that drew it up," Otto answered, looking up from the reports in front of him, "Their own solution to all of the ethnic tension in the Empire. He didn't have a bad idea about it."
"The United States of Greater Austria," Renner echoed the writing beneath the map, "A fine proposition that was. I supported it wholeheartedly, you know. It's a shame that he was killed before he ever had the chance to make a serious movement out of that little idea."
At that, Otto rose from his chair and came to stand beside Renner, looking at the map along with him.
"Do you think it would still work, Karl?" he asked, his own eyes gliding over the borders of the USGA's depiction, "Could his vision still be realistic? Or has all of the tension in the Empire, and the business with the Syndicalists, and the German Kaiser at the head of Europe... Has all of that changed things to the point that this is just a pipe dream?"
"Well, think about it, my Kaiser," said Renner, turning to his leader with a wise smirk, "The crux of all the present instability in the Empire is the desire of each ethnic group to govern itself -- Hungarians ruling Croatians, Austrians ruling Slovaks, it all gets to be terribly upsetting after awhile. People want to govern themselves, and if you make them wait long enough, they get quite violent about it."
His finger reached up to trace over the outlines of the various states of the USGA. "Each region, divided by its ethnicity, seeing to its own affairs..." His finger traced its way over Austria proper, "But all ultimately accepting the overall administrative and military guidance of Vienna. A delightful compromise, don't you think?"
"A federation of all the peoples of the Danube," said Otto, a smile just barely cracking onto his face, "It is a wonderful idea... My own admiration for democratic systems is not unknown, after all. But it remains to be seen if the necessary support for something like this would be possible..."
"In one month, my Kaiser... Perhaps we will see."
And now we've gotten to meet the main representatives of all the political pushers in Austria:
Albert Mendsdorff-Pouilly, the Austrian Minister-President and former member of Otto's regency council, who wants to keep Austria close to Germany and maintain the status quo as best as possible (status quo / regular Austria option in the event chain)
Kurt Schuschnigg, a young and strong conservative and proponent of a strong center of power in Vienna (the Dual-Monarchy option in the event chain)
Karl Renner, an elder politician who still holds on to Franz Ferdinand's image of a federated government, which Franz proposed as the United States of Greater Austria (Danubian Federation option in the event chain)
and in the military...
Wilhelm Zehner, the current Austrian Chief of Staff and a believer in mobile, combined-arms warfare (Superior Firepower doctrine path)
Heinrich Gleissner, the Chief of the Army, taken to large infantry and artillery formations reminiscent of Weltkrieg warfare (Grand Battle Plan doctrine path)
Eugen Beyer, Field Marshall attached to the K.K. Landwehr Central HQ and the ground-level commander of the Austrian army, who supports a highly mobile form of warfare and would likely support a heavy armored force, were the industrial resources to create it made available (Spearhead doctrine path)
The players are on the table, and now the fun begins... Which of the Austrian politicians gets to see his version of the future of Austria proposed and lived out? And if and when the smoke clears with Austria as the victor, whose military agenda will dictate the future of the Landwehr?
Albert Mendsdorff-Pouilly, the Austrian Minister-President and former member of Otto's regency council, who wants to keep Austria close to Germany and maintain the status quo as best as possible (status quo / regular Austria option in the event chain)
Kurt Schuschnigg, a young and strong conservative and proponent of a strong center of power in Vienna (the Dual-Monarchy option in the event chain)
Karl Renner, an elder politician who still holds on to Franz Ferdinand's image of a federated government, which Franz proposed as the United States of Greater Austria (Danubian Federation option in the event chain)
and in the military...
Wilhelm Zehner, the current Austrian Chief of Staff and a believer in mobile, combined-arms warfare (Superior Firepower doctrine path)
Heinrich Gleissner, the Chief of the Army, taken to large infantry and artillery formations reminiscent of Weltkrieg warfare (Grand Battle Plan doctrine path)
Eugen Beyer, Field Marshall attached to the K.K. Landwehr Central HQ and the ground-level commander of the Austrian army, who supports a highly mobile form of warfare and would likely support a heavy armored force, were the industrial resources to create it made available (Spearhead doctrine path)
The players are on the table, and now the fun begins... Which of the Austrian politicians gets to see his version of the future of Austria proposed and lived out? And if and when the smoke clears with Austria as the victor, whose military agenda will dictate the future of the Landwehr?
Karl Renner and Eugen Beyer seems like the best choice for Austria....
And less formal...
I WANT TO SEE BLOOD ! I WANT TO SEE MY EVENTS IN ACTION !
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I'm definitely for Renner (he led us Austrians to freedom after regular WWII!), because Schuschnigg is a not only a fascist but an inefficient fascist, and the Mensdorff-Pouilly family (no d there, by the way) is composed of aristocratic inbred corrupt fools. They still try to meddle in politics and business in today's Austria, which resulted in the current family head, Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, being investigated several times for fraud and bribery in weapon manufacture-related lobbying cases. The family is well connected, so nothing permanent came of it, but I still hate their cowardly guts.
Also, Venetia/Istria is missing from that very nice map.
Also, Venetia/Istria is missing from that very nice map.
My oops on the spelling -- I was using the way it's spelled in-game, which I guess is off. I'll be sure to edit that
And as for the map of the USGA, that was taken straight off Wikipedia, so don't go giving me any credit there A lot of love for Karl Renner and the Federation... Seems like Beyer and his tanks are pretty popular right now, too. If I do use the DF, though, I'll need to go over to the graphics request forum and see if I can't get a new set of counters made for them... The bright color they are by default is a bit of an eyesore compared to regular Austrian and A-H counters.
