4th September
After the horrors of the weekend, Tiso and Tuka returned to the Slovak Army Command Redoubt Incorporating Logistically Embedded Group Expertise. Tiso was trying to work out the acronym, but was interrupted by a junior officer running in with news.
"Banska Bystrica has been conquered!" The officer announced.
"Don't you mean liberated?" Malar asked.
"We don't use that sort of language around here." Tuka interrupted
"Indeed, if we start talking about liberty the next thing you know people start complaining about the police state or the lack of elections." Justice Minister Fritz explained. "It would be like trying to use a Polyvinyl Acetate solution to pre-bind an underlay, utterly unacceptable!"
Fritz spat in the floor in disgust at the thought of such poor carpet bonding technique. A few of the more impressionable junior staff officers joined in the spitting out of force of habit.
"But we can't conqueror our own territory, it just sounds silly. How about we have returned?" Malar asked.
There were nods around the table.
"Let's hear the correct version then." Malar asked the junior officer.
"Banska Bystrica has been conquered!" The officer said, slightly nervously.
Tiso reached for his hipflask as Tuka began warming up his vocal chords. They were interrupted by Fritz, who had actually bothered to read the message.
"No he's right." Fritz said. "We didn't return, Banska Bystrica been conquered and occupied by the Hungarians."
The heroes of the Hungarian army took the mighty forest fortress of Banska Bystrica without impressively low casualties. Because it was empty as the Czechs were all in Zlate Moravce. But given how badly the war had gone for Hungary they needed whatever victories they could take.
"The Hungarians are now moving to support Augustin and our troops in the final attack on the Czech traitors in Zlate Moravce." Malar gestured on the map.
The Hungarian 7th Unpronounceable Collection of Consonants Division, waiting for the optimum moment to join the attack on Zlate Moravce. And not in any way waiting for the last minute before rushing in to grab the glory.
"Are the Hungarians going to give us control of Banska Bystrica back again?" Pruzinksy asked the important question.
"They said they would, when the war is over." Fritz read from the message.
"The Sub-Civil Total War Civil War War War, or the bigger massive world war?" Pruzinksy asked.
"They didn't specify." Fritz said.
On this ominous note Tiso thought back to the First Vienna Award, sighed and reached for his hipflask.
---
The Hungarian AI took the Civil War very seriously, which was a surprise. Then the dodgy HOI3 core/owner/controller mechanics kicked in and got things wrong, which was much less of a surprise.
The First Vienna Award saw Germany 'mediate' a decision to give a chunk of Southern Slovakia to Hungary, unsurprisingly Slovak-Hungarian relations got quite nasty after that; riots, torched buildings and various other things that can't be discussed.
