February 1937: Friends Lost, Friends Gained
The departure of the Hungarian delegation from the Ausgleich and the rebellion of the Magyar people against the Osterreich was only the beginning of a cascading series of events catapulting the whole of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into chaos.
It began with the Hungarian uprising on February 21st, when Arrow Cross militia forces stormed the K.u.K. garrison in Budapest and took full control of the city, before turning to join the Honved in preparing for what Istvan Bethlen had dubbed "The War of Hungarian Restoration," or simply "The Restoration" for short.
Feb 22 - The Pola Mutiny
The following day, a massive mutiny paralyzed the K.u.K. Navy docked at Pola. Hungarian sailors, attempted to sabotage or take control of several vessels in the navy, resulting in bloody deck-to-deck fighting on board several of the fleet's major battleships. Several ships were damaged as artillery guns were turned on other ships in the bay, and the crews of several vessels were thinned dramatically when their Hungarian staff was thinned by the rebellion.
A large-scale naval mutiny in Pola cripples the K.u.K. navy.
While the mutiny was not fully successful, it did manage to do enough damage to the ships and crews of the navy to effectively make the fleet a non-factor in the coming civil war.
Feb 23: The Flight of Bosnia and Montenegro
With Austria and Hungary now turned against each other, the Bosnian government found itself in the undesirable position of needing to declare its loyalty. A small nation with little to contribute in terms of any real armed force, Bosnia, rather than commit to either Hungary or Austria, chose a third way -- seeking asylum outside the Empire. Bosnia turned to Serbia, and was absorbed into the neighboring nation to gain security against retaliation by either side of the civil war. The Montenegrians followed close suit, declaring independence from Austria and entering into a protective military alliance with Serbia while maintaining its sovereignty.
Feb 24: Neutrality to the North
Not long after Bosnia and Montenegro separated from the Empire, Bohemia made its own declaration. Neighboring both Austria and Hungary to the south, Bohemia would have found itself poorly positioned for a proper war against either. To that end, Bohemia declared its neutrality in the civil war, choosing to remain entirely aloof from the conflict, but without fleeing to the protection of any outside power as Bosnia and Montenegro had done.
Feb 26: New Allies For a New Era
In the span of less than a week, Austria had been wholly abandoned by nearly its entire Empire. Bosnia and Montenegro had fled to Serbia, Bohemia had declared its neutrality, and by February 26th only Galicia and Croatia remained undeclared as to their position in the war. Many within Galicia clamored for the small state to merge into Poland, but the Polish regency government was hesitant to provoke Austria, who it saw as a potential necessity for supporting the legitimacy of an eventual attempt to crown a King of Poland.
Austria, on the other hand, was sorely in need of allies after the flight of its subordinate constituents. In a compromise, Otto agreed to recognize Poland's rule over Galicia and provide future support for a Polish King, and Poland would promise in return its cooperation against Hungary.
Hopeful for gains in the future, Poland agrees to assist an embattled Austria in exchange for Galicia and the future support of its king.
With the addition of Poland, Austria would no longer have to fight its war alone -- and as the rest of the landscape fell into place around the war, Otto would need all the help he could get. This move also had some negative backlash, as well -- not all Poles were content to continue relying on Austria, and a significant number of volunteers fled southward to Hungary, where they joined the Honved as militia.
Disgruntled Poles flee their country to help the Honved conquer Austria.
Feb 27: German Aid
Kaiser Wilhelm had been clear in voicing his support of Austria's cause in the civil war. But due to the tensions between Germany and Syndicalist France, the German Kaiser could not offer his direct assistance in the war. Not willing to leave Otto unaided, however, he arranged for a stockpile of supplies to be sent to the Landwehr, and provided two divisions of volunteer infantry to aid in the fight.
In a gesture of support for Otto, Wilhelm sends army volunteers to Austria to reinforce the Landwehr.
The troops were equipped to Germany's standard, and as such outclassed most of the Landwehr in quality, save for the 1st Corps, which had been the only corps to receive upgraded equipment before the war's outbreak. Though small in number, they would provide a much needed potency to Austria's offensive capabilities.
Feb 28: The Militia Arrives
Austria's answer to Hungary's large-scale mobilization of Arrow Cross Militia units was to raise Militia forces of its own. Marshall Gleissner had been in contact with nationalist militia groups for some time, albeit illicitly, and his efforts, legality aside, bore fruit near the end of February as the first of his summoned militia forces became available.
Two divisions of volunteers from a nationalist paramilitary group called the Heimwehr reported for duty in Gyor, bearing Austrian-provided equipment and trained by borrowed officers from the Landwehr.
Volunteers from the nationalist Heimwehr paramilitary organization under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Kritek.
To the south, an additional two divisions composed of Slovenian civilian volunteers was deployed in Capodistria, providing additional security along the Croatian border.
Lt. Gen. Rendulic in command of two divisions of volunteers from loyal Slovenia.
With the Austrian army's resources growing, there only remained the question of Croatia...
Feb 29: Croatia Sides With Hungary
The addition of Poland to the fray might have tipped the scales in Austria's favor, but it was not long before Croatia declared its loyalty to Hungary, and joined the Bethlen government in declaring war on Austria.
This decision marked the final drawing of the battle lines: Austria and Poland pitted against Hungary and Croatia.
Feb 29: Volunteers from Slovakia
Adding to the flood of volunteers joining the Landwehr in its fight, two divisions of fighting men from Slovakia reported to Hollabrun on the 29th to pledge themselves to the fight against hungary.
