The Vienna Event of 1908

What if the meteor/comet/UFO that hit Tunguska,Siberia on June 30, 1908 instead hits Vienna? In addition to hopefully killing Adolf Hitler what are the broader political effects,if any, of the destruction of the capital city of the ailing Austro-Hungarian empire? Any and all ideas appreciated.
 

Diamond

Banned
Well, all the crazy-quilt nationalities that made up A-H would probably take it as a sign :) and declare independence. Some of those in the south - the Serbs, etc - might form defensive alliances or confederacies to offset the possibility of the Ottomans making a land-grab.

A-H, already ailing, won't survive I don't think, especially with its governmental head decapitated in Vienna. I'd imagine Italy might look to gnaw pieces away in Tyrol, etc. The Russians might get a little eager.

The whole thing might precipitate WWI 6 years early.
 

Xen

Banned
Germany marches south and takes Austria, Russia takes Austrian Poland, Italy takes pieces of Italian speaking Austria and Hungary takes the lead to the bulk of the Empire.
 
Before anyone starts marching...

...there will be large scale fear worldwide. A major city was just destroyed by causes unknown. Was it some super-weapon, either one that A/H was working on and malfuncioned, or an enemy's. Could it be the wrath of a diety? Could it possibly be something from space? There will be worldwide panic, and possibly a depression.
Even if the scientists determine what happened with some condifence, the general public might not be reassured. For that matter, some may say that the meteor was still divine vengance for one thing or other.
If it was a meteor, are there more on the way? The scientists will have no way of knowing.
Einstien published his theory of relativity in 1905--thus showing that mass and energy can be changed into each other. Perhaps the explosion such a conversion.
In short, althought the Empire is probably in deep trouble, I doubt that anyone will be marching anywhere very soon. The last thing to do is kick off a major war when your own future is uncertain.
Longer term, the loss of a major city will make some want to make sure that this doesn't happen again. Once the conclusion "meteorite" is reached, I espect to see a lot if interest in asteroid hunting. In addition expect that, as soon as it's realized that there's a way to get up there, there will be attempts.
Perhaps, in 1945 or so, the rocket ship "Vienna's Ghost" takes the first man into space.
Sadly, there will also be a desire to posess the means of destroying a city on demand--another reason to get into space--until someone splits tha atom, and discovers that it may be possible to make big explosions wothout moving really big rocks.
Just a few random musings...
 
Hungarians hated

Nobody liked the Hungarians in the AH empire. Hungary would fight a bunch of wars with the Slovaks, the Rumanians, and the Serbs, all at once. Not the Germans, though, since Germany would be too strong to fight. Probably the Russians would grab Ruthenia.
 
I would expect a lot more interest in using telescopes to scan the sky for any signs of new comets or asteroids that had even the slightest chance of colliding with earth. Scanning the entire sky is no easy task, so the world will end up with many more (and better-funded) telescopes than in OTL. There will also be a great interest in rockets much earlier than OTL. By 1912, early tests of small rockets are being done. By the early 1920s, suborbital flights are achieved. In 1929, the most powerful rocket yet built succeeds in getting a payload into very low earth orbit, where it is tracked by telescopes as it orbits several dozen times before plunging back into the atmosphere and burning up. Since satellites will be practically useless without the ability to send signals back to earth, expect research into radio transmission and electronics to be accelerated. In the 1930s, radar is developed to track satellites.
 

Grey Wolf

Gone Fishin'
Donor
Hmm, the Ausgleich was just renewed in October 1907 - one wonders whether the eradication of Vienna could be used by the Hungarian Nationalist coalition to break free. Consider that there is little point in having agreed an 'as is' continuation if the 'as is' no longer applies to the other side.

The Habsburg DYNASTY isn't in trouble - even Franz Ferdinand has probably survived this. I seem to recall that he spent a fair amount of time away from the emperor, though I also seem to recall he did have a powerbase in Vienna...so it really depends where he is on this fateful day. If he has survived he would probably not be too sad to see Hungary go

In fact, it could be done at this stage with some less serious complications. If we assume that as Austrian emperor Franz Ferdinand can get his renunciation of the rights of his heirs overturned by the Papacy (he was often secretly hopeful that he could), and thus he rules in Austria whilst Karl could be acclaimed king in Budapest

Its quite possible that the Poles are going to create trouble amidst all this chaos so the Russians coming in to Galicia would be in response to this, rather than an overt land-grab. Conversely, Italy cannot claim any legitimate right to invade the Trentino &c and any move to do so would quite likely precipitate war.

It has to be remembered that there is a whopping great ruin in the middle of Austria, and that rebuilding of Vienna on the site of Vienna may not actually be possible. This is going to bankrupt the Habsburg treasury - aid for the survivors, rebuilding the organs of government etc

I think even if Bosnia-Hercegovina has been annexed there may well be moves to turn it over to some sort of international control with the aim of independence - i.e. not letting the Serbs get it.

Grey Wolf
 
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