Yaay a victorie for the austrian navy.
In my HOI2 game I am currently fighting Japan with a carrier navy force. It is going great!
In my HOI2 game I am currently fighting Japan with a carrier navy force. It is going great!
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Athens is indeed a good chip to have on the table. Lets hope the Russians have a bad hand at cards...
I'm gathering France is a little concerned about the European balance tipping a little too much in Austria's favor. Prussia probably wants to try another stab and uniting the Germans. Good grief if you have to fight all three at once!
Divided But United - Austria 1836-1920
The Austro-Russian War IV
The Austro-Russian War IV
The war wasn't going exactly as planned. A quick victory over Russia is never possible, but this war had lasted far longer than expected and the Austrian casualties were piling up. The most concerning fact was that the war was losing popularity among the people. The planned goals of the war that had been preached by the politicians weren't fulfilled, even if Austria controlled all of Poland. The French were acting increasingly hostile, placing an embargo on Austrian products and revoking passports of Austrian businessmen in France.
The political parties were bickering about the conduct of the war and the Emperor was displeased with almost everybody. He was angry and lacked his usual enthusiasm when it came to military matters. It was obviously time for peace talks and this wasn't easy for the Emperor or the military staff to swallow. However, political realities had to be accepted. If this war would continue, Austria wouldn't probably gain anything but risked losing everything.
The peace talks were long and arduous. Austria controlled Athens and most of Poland, but Russia had advanced into southern Galicia and controlled the whole of Bukovina. The Russians were of course aware of the French sentiments towards the war, but they were worried that Britain would get involved should the war continue. The "War of the Emperors" ended on 23rd of May, 1904 when a white peace was agreed between Austria, Greece and Russia. A settlement that didn't really appease any of the parties involved, but the people of Austria and Russia were still glad that the war had ended. Austria gained a small political boon in the peace talks, as Greece was forced to pay war reparations.
The Emperor did not adress the nation, nor was he seen in public for some weeks after the end of the war. This war was closely tied to his person as the Emperor of Austria and he was admittedly ashamed of such a pointless waste of Austrian lives.
Franz Freiherr von Schönach, the former Minister of War
So a war that had so much prospect for increasing Austria's prestige is now more likely to speed the Empire on the rocky road to political, and of course the following social, turmoil.
Hah, civil war?
Wars tend to be wastes of human lives, if the Kaiser didn't yet know that.
Wars tend to be wastes of human lives, if the Kaiser didn't yet know that.
Hah, civil war?
Wars tend to be wastes of human lives, if the Kaiser didn't yet know that.
Well, it's not the waste of lives that concern him. It's the waste of Austrian lives that does.
Update is in the works, I tried to make a table of contents in the first page but Firefox went down during the process so that has to wait (losing all those hyperlinks is frustrating beyond belief )
)
Update is in the works, I tried to make a table of contents in the first page but Firefox went down during the process so that has to wait (losing all those hyperlinks is frustrating beyond belief
I do exactly know what that feels like. I hope you have better luck with your update, I'm waiting for it.
Divided But United - Austria 1836-1920
The outcome of the war caused something of an uproar in the general public. Open criticism of the government by the majority of the public and the violence that followed was something unheard of in Austria since Metternich's days. The parties slandered each other in magazines and the angry public vented their frustration in violent anti-government demonstrations. The Emperor hadn't lost his popularity (though, he probably should have, considering his very active role in the war against Russia) and the party leaders turned to him for assitance. He knew he couldn't supress the demonstrations by force, otherwise he'd risk a possible revolution. Instead, he used the democratic way. Early elections.
With early, he meant early. The Emperor announced that the elections would be held in four weeks, which gave little time for the parties to organize the huge empire-wide campaigns they've been used to in the previous years. There was also a new factor in Austrian politics. The Neo-Absolutist party, after years of being in the sidelines of the political system, disbanded and the most radical members formed the Deutscher Arbeiterpartei in Österreich (DAP). (The German Workers' Party of Austria). The party promoted Pan-Germanism (in the sense that the Austrian Empire should annex all the "lesser" states of Germany to a single great German Empire). This meant trouble for the Conservative party. The Neo-Absolutist party was something they could work with, but DAP opposed the values that were generally associated with Austrian conservatism, such as Catholicism and the junker-class. This, coupled with the fact that the Social Democratic party was in open alliance with the Federalist party, meant that the Conservative party had to win the simple majority of the seats in order to stay in the government. Considering that the Conservative party was in the government during one of the most unsuccesful and unpopular wars in Austrian history, a victory of such magnitude seemed rather theoretical.
It seemed clear that either the Social Democrats or the Federalists would win the elections and the main topic of political speculation was the relationship between the two parties and how could they redeem the faith of the general public in the government and the way things were decided in Austria. The Federalists focused on pointing the errors of the previous government and blaming only the Conservatives for them, even though the Social Democratic party was probably equally responsible of the said mistakes. The Social Democrats, on the other hand, traded blows with the DAP and some interesting "accidents" occured during the campaigning period. Prints were demolished, hammers accidentally dropped in the heads of workers who supported the wrong party in the wrong workplace and so on. The police increased patrolling in the streets of major cities and the polling stations were heavily guarded to make sure that the voting process itself went as smoothly as possible.
The results were as follows:
Federalist part:: 154
Conservative party:121
Social-Democratic party: 110
DAP: 24
Independent MPs: 1
The elections were, as expected, a defeat for the Conservative party. The Federalist party gained a major victory, but not as great as they might've hoped for. The Social Democratic party finally broke the phantom barrier of 100 seats, which was also expected considering the seemingly rapid growth from a relatively small party to the third-greatest in Austria that the Social-Democrats had experienced. The DAP didn't get even near the seats the Neo-Absolutists had held and the moderate supporters of the Neo-Absolutists had abandonded them in favour of the Conservatives.
The Federalists and the Social-Democrats formed the government and Paul Gautsh, leader of the Federalists, was appointed as the Prime Minister. Gautsh had served as the Minister of Education in the cabinets of Taaffe and Plener. He was seen as a practical man and his close connection to the late Eduard Taaffe (who was considered something of a martyr in the Federalist party) made him popular among the people. He was capable of settling issues between the two governing parties and his ability to compromise and act as the middle-man earned him the respect of the Emperor as well. It was now up to Gautsch to lead Austria out of the turmoils that followed the war, but also keep an eye out for the neighbouring countries who might use this period of weakness to their advantage.
Paul Gautsch Freiherr von Frankenthurn, Prime Minister of Austria.
With the social-democrats on the rise the political stage of the Austrian Empire is even more interesting. It will be fun to see how it turns out.
And the whole Pan-Germanism offers you lods of opportunities for the future.
And the whole Pan-Germanism offers you lods of opportunities for the future.
KanaX: ...It was now up to Gautsch to lead Austria out of the turmoils that followed the war, but also keep an eye out for the neighbouring countries who might use this period of weakness to their advantage.
awesome updates ! !
looking forward to more ! !
also, caught up.
awesome updates ! !
looking forward to more ! !
also, caught up.