Hungary's Ambition 1861-1901

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Prologue
Chapter 1 (1861-1866): Conception
Chapter 1 (1866): Trial by fire
Chapter 2 (1866-1871): Growing Stronger
Chapter 3 (1871-1881): Before the Storm *
Chapter 4 (1882): Pro Libertad
Chapter 5 (1883-1893):Great Power
Chapter 6 (1893-1901):Final decade

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* - denotes additional illustrations

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Hello, this is my first attempt in writing a more serious aar. It has been many years since my last attempt. I noticed Hungary has only one in the library that was aborted a few years ago. And all the great AARs that I have read and am reading have motivated me in giving it another go. In order to increase my chances of succesfully completing this story, I'm giving myself well-defined and limited goals!

First, I start in 1861 in order to avoid British enclaves in the Baltics as a result of the Krymean War. Romania is already formed as well, and as a direct neighbour would prove an eye soar to me in the latter years if still partitioned into Wallachia and Moldavia.

Secondly, my goal is to simply become a Great Power. I will try to arrive at this by industrial and cultural expansion, rather than blatant military conquest. Annexing militarily large swaths of territory in Europe or the wider world is out of the question. Taking my cue from the reluctance of historical Hungary to annex Bosnia due to the delicate balance of nationalities of both parts of Austria-Hungary. I will prefer to release vassal nations should I come to any larger areas of land in Europe. But I suppose that is not very likely to happen.

Thirdly, as a true Great Power I will strive to grab a piece of Africa and establish a colonial presense. Although I'm not sure it will take place.

Fourthly, I will retain positive relations with Austria. An outright break with the Habsburg house would be possible only in a general European conflagration on a Great War scale. If Austria becomes clearly weaker than me I might consider severing the vassal status.

Fifthly, I am giving myslef only 40 years for the above goals so that the game does not drag on and I will aim for decade long updates. A five year update at most.

Sixthly, I am writing this gameplay story in Notepad so any misspelling (and I am sure there will be many) I am apologizing for. Please correct me only if the meaning is unclear to you. I am not too keen to play spell-check I chose gameplay format because that is the type of aar I enjoy the most myself to read and will not tax my story telling abilities too much

And last but not least, I hope you will enjoy my work! o

 

[robou]

Hungary... i will be following especially with those big goals!

 

[Velendesril]

I'll be following this, however, as a Mediterranien Power, you will be at the mercy of the controller of the two straits, so your colonial empire might end up being an old man's dream. (No offense or anything)

 

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Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Conception and consolidation
1861 - 1866

I started the 1861 scenario as Austria. While still in July, I granted Hungary autonomy. Thus the nation of Hungary was created. Unfortunately the vassal didn't have access to the sea. Therefore I (whilst still pausing) used my second diplomat to grant Hungary 5 provinces in Croatia. This provided Hungary with a single port on the Adriatic along with some provinces along the Bosnian border. I tried to recreate as closely as possible the dualism split of 1866.

My goal is to create a liberal state with a booming economy. I only have 2 factories at the moment. One producing food and the other wine. The fastest way to industrialize is to let the capitalists build and railroad our young nation. I quickly change the ruling party to one that has laissez-faire policies. The fact that they will let me toll is a great bonus. I dont wait a moment and appoint the Deak party as the ruling one. As a monarchy (under the ruling of Franz Joseph I.) I dont have to worry about elections, although the change of parties upsets certain levels of the population. Nothing that our army will not be able to manage should things escalate a bit.

Thus I order the scattered divisions that have pledged to the Hungarian flag from the Austrian monarchy to convene on Budapest where I will rationalize their disposition. We seem to have about 8 foot and 2 horse. This should be enough for the moment. Our northern, western as well as parts of southern and eastern fronts are shared with our allies and overlords Austrians so no harm should come from there. The only other countries are Roumania to the east and Serbia to the south with a small strip of land shared with the "sick man" of Europe. Our borders are at their maximum and I plan no military expansion at the moment. We are thus surrounded by friends or far weaker nations.

I dont like to tax any group beyong 40%. Maybe its the fact that I am alreayd a tax payer myself. I need the capitalists to industrialize my nation so I tax them the least. The rich (for now) form a small part of my country and thus dont contribute into the coffers directly too much, but with the tolls the budget is balanced and we are managing a healthy surplus. Our nascent industry is only lacking glass at the moment but in a few years the capis will build a factory and we will free our selves of the dependancy on imports. We import other things, but they are not in short supply and our purchasing provides enough.

Im maxing out Education and Police. Those things are really benefitial and I never cut on education. Social spending is a luxury our economy cannot support at the moment and thus I minimized it.

Budget balanced and trade policies set we can focus on the so oft mentioned "industrialization" There are certain capitalists in the ocuntry already but I promote a 10.000 pop in the capital. Hopefully my economy will be able to support their needs but their cash reserves are growing so I think we should be ok. The results are soon visible:

The glass factory is built in Siebenburgen and our economy from then on runs at full steam. There isnt much steam but none is wasted! I also have a few giant POPs in high 80.000s, but since the AI isnt very skilled at splitting POPs I will try to avoid splitting mine. One exception I can think of is splitting 10.000 POPs off to recruit officers or something similar if there are no other more suitable POPs available in the region.

I play for maybe 4 years now and rather than the beacon of democracy in Europe faithful to the ideals of 1848 Hungary is ruled by royal decree by Franz Joseph I. who rules from Vienna. Time to take another step towards more freedom and grant people the right to vote. Not everyone at the same time. Voting according to wealth should be enough for the moment.

Elections start as soon the the Prime Minister announces the new voting rights to landowners and people of wealth. Unfortunately, I realize the election predictions are completely off due to the fact that these will be the first. So instead of holding the Deak in power as I hoped, the Conservatives win! Luckily they are not too bad. They have protectionist trade policies and while not laissez-faire are at least Interventionist. At least now I can expand my factories, although I am sure the industrial growth will be slower.

The elections and some diplomatic fighting with Serbia distracts me enough to realize that I have clicked the 7 Weeks War Pop-ups away and the Prussians are deep within Bohemia! The Hungarian Army is quickly rushed to Slovakia to defend the nation and prevent the Prussians to lay waste to the country!

 

[robou]

perhaps an excuse to invade Serbia?

 

[Velendesril]

I love how you use the Sepia, but for some pictures, like the one where you move troops, it makes things awfully difficult to see.

 

[unmerged(8915)]

As North America comes online the servers are a pain

Hungary... i will be following especially with those big goals!

I only have 40 years, large scale European warfare is not what I'm after and I'm currently country #20. I think theyre just right

I'll be following this, however, as a Mediterranien Power, you will be at the mercy of the controller of the two straits, so your colonial empire might end up being an old man's dream. (No offense or anything)

None taken! The colonies are a perk I'll treat myself to if I'm doing ok. If my luck holds I'll be able to claim a single state.

perhaps an excuse to invade Serbia?

Im moving my army north but making Serbia my vassal is not such a bad idea! I do have a secret agenda of liberating the Balkans from the Ottomans. But priorities are clear: 1. economy 2. research 3. army 4. Africa

I love how you use the Sepia, but for some pictures, like the one where you move troops, it makes things awfully difficult to see.

Those are genuine Vicky event layers But since there won't be much warfare, I think we're ok with it for now.

Thanks guys for reading! I'm hoping to post the 7 weeks war today and wrap up the first 5 years.

 

[Velendesril]

I know, but I prefer a slightly lighter tone of sepia myself, in future posts in my own AAR I'll demonstrate what I mean then. I suggest taking Libya or Egypt while you can, a Hungarian Suez canal is an interesting prospect, I wish you luck.

 

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Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Trial by fire
1861 - 1866

The Prussians were now occupying almost all of Bohemia and Italy has backstabbed Austria from the south. Our army was quickly strengthened to war levels and General Bognar was given the sole command of the army.

The enemy was operating beyong the mountain range of Slovakia in Bohemia and Galizien. The army moved to Trencin in order to prevent war from coming into Hungary as well as prove to the Emperor that we are still loyal subjects.

The main army consisted of cca. 80 000 infantry. The supporting troops of 4000 dragoons in 2 divisions were not strong enough to defend any strong enemy attack and were used as a mobile reserve in case things would go really bad.

Before the 1st Corps (main army) arrived in Trencin a small detachment of Prussians took defensive positions. Their numbers were however so small (~2000) that I didnt even have time to take a screenshot of the battle These were most likely remnants of some defeated army. With Trencin secured the Hungarian army pushed into Austrian Poland to engage the retreating Prussians.

I picked my battles carefully in order to preserve my army as long as possible and only engage small enemy formations. But the Prussians abandoned their siege of Nowy Sacz and advanced onto Kosice within Hungarian borders! Our mounted reserve moved to block their advance onto Budapest and the main army began to close onto the enemy. This time I will have my screenshot of a victorious battle unti suddenly!:

The War ended with Austria loosing only a single province to Italy. Following that Prussia even declined to form a Zollverein with the North German states. Im not sure what exactly that means for the formation of Germany. In the end the war barely touched our nation and the army behaved competently. Should we however face an opponent of Prussia's standing alone, there is no question as to who the victor might be. The sheltered existence nestled into Austria's protective embrace serves our purposes best as we try to expand the economic base of Hungary.

Ours will be a long way to go yet...

 

[unmerged(8915)]

I know, but I prefer a slightly lighter tone of sepia myself, in future posts in my own AAR I'll demonstrate what I mean then. I suggest taking Libya or Egypt while you can, a Hungarian Suez canal is an interesting prospect, I wish you luck.

I am trying to play as closely to history as possible, given I made an a-historical choice right from the start Also I will stay away from wars, especially against uncivilizeds. But if I wasnt following so many house rules Id definately give your tips more thought. Cheers!

 

[robou]

you have to overcome... Hannover?

 

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you have to overcome... Hannover?

yes. Japan will join the top 8 once they recevie the Meiji restoration. If I play my cards right I cold maybe even take on Sweden. What actually worries me that if Germany doesnt form there will be some semi-large german minors to take over (exactly like Hannover, or Bavaria). Still a dozen countries between me and success.

 

[unmerged(87106)]

Fast updates!

Great start!



asd

 

[unmerged(8915)]

Fast updates!

Great start!

asd

Well, there wasnt much to cock up yet so I suppose it is a good start Small warning, Im going on a trip for 6 days so prolly not many updates from Wednesday on

Has anyone noticed theres a typo in the event screen!!!

I must have seen that pop up a million times but I never really saw it before

 

[stnylan]

Got out of the 1866 war with very light losses. All in all that should place you well to achieve your aims.

 

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Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Growing Stronger
1866 - 1871

The trial by fire through the Prussian War proved to be not much of a trial in the end. But that does not take away from the relative weakness of Hungary. Upon creation, Hungary was rated the 30th most powerful nation in the world. Now that Hungary has been given far reaching autonomy, it is time for it to build up its power. The rail network is key to progress and as such with the capitalists lightly taxed construction begins on a comprehensive network. Hopefully we will cover the entire country. What keeps us back are the nationalities:

Or rather, the governing party that is not harnessing fully the potential of the nation. With over 80% of Hungary a "minority"! But the ruling party is a good mixture of economic and traqde policies so I decide to keep them in power until a certain level of industrialization is achieved. Once we have the rails and factories, we shall alter the policies and more efficiently include all the nationalities of Hungary. I for one think that the census data used in this scenario is a little off, but we'll have to work with what we have.

And in order to preserve the for the moment ideal conditions I ban the main conservative party. In the screen above, you can see that I may "allow them" again. Which is not my intention at the moment. Every Pound that travels into industry is worth a lot. Especially after the economical landscape in Hungary takes a somewhat negative turn/

Oh well. Not all is gloomy. Hungary's number one expense is actually education! In order to compete with larger countries research is vital. I have focused on Economic and Industrial technologies, with a sprinkling of cultural ones.

Hungary has exchanged blueprints with its Imperial master in order to further the lagging military research. During the negotiations I have realized we are ahead of Austria in research and have added a small province near the Croation corridor into the deal. Austria was willing to hand over 6000,- for the privilige as well.

This bodes well as Hungary grows in strength. We have advanced to #17 in the ladder of most powerful nations in the world. Some of it is due the expansion of industry. Hungary is a large country of 23.000.000 and ample resources within its borders: Farms, Cattle, Coal, Wool, Fruit and Lumber. What Hungary lacks it imports through the world market.

It grows in strength and the rapidly expanding rail network are the best sign of industrial progress.

Hungary is strong enough that it can indulge its populace to a certain extent. Due to banning of the most popular party, the wealthy (only voters) are upset, but lowering of taxes should placate the masses. Our exports are 130 times larger than our imports. Our industry is the 12th most impressive in the world. It is caused to a certain extent by the unification of Germany, but considering what short a time has transpired it is still a step in the right direction.

With our growing strength it is time to start looking beyond our borders to claim Hungary's place under the sun. Serbia is still a vassal nation of the Ottomans that have plagued Hungary for centuries. And Bosnia, an ancient fief of the Hungarian crown is directly under their heel right across the border with Hungary. Wresting control of the Balkans from Turkey by liberating the ancinet kingdoms of the region is a mission worthy of the growing confidence of Hungary. Alas, as a subject nation we are prevented from waging aggressive war. A dilemma arises. Could the Turul soar even higher if it would loosen the shackles that lead to Vienna?

I do not feel confident enough yet to challenge Austria..

 

[unmerged(8915)]

Got out of the 1866 war with very light losses. All in all that should place you well to achieve your aims.

I expect going from #30 to #14 was easy compared to going from #14 to #8. But we shall see. I guess due to restrictions in foreign policy I will not be able to avoid a civil war with Austria. Only then will I be able to swing my weight around more. I expect a decade or so might transpire before I face off with FJ

 

[stnylan]

Heh, I find the idea of a more liberal minded Hungary banning a conservative part to be slightly ironic

Still, economic development is provided a good base. And yes, at some point the showdown with Austria will come, and you want to make sure it is successful.

 

[robou]

perhaps waiting a little longer is in order before you take on the Hapsburgs...

 

[unmerged(8915)]

perhaps waiting a little longer is in order before you take on the Hapsburgs...

Breechloaded rifles will be issued to the units in 1882, which is the tentative date for attack. With still about a year to go to improve relations with Russia and Germany in order to find new friends in case Hungary should become a bitter enemy. Currently our relations are stellar and the AI keeps on improving them too. But liberty is too sweet.

Heh, I find the idea of a more liberal minded Hungary banning a conservative part to be slightly ironic

Still, economic development is provided a good base. And yes, at some point the showdown with Austria will come, and you want to make sure it is successful.

It would be ideal to become allies with Austria at a later stage as equal partners. But we'll see how the war (next update) develops. At the moment I see the Russians as potential anti-Ottoman partners too.