I have decided to go back and mack some changes to this time line. Kaiser Karl I was determined to end the empire's involvement in the war.Secret talks had begun between the French and British with the Austrians in Spain. Karl was of the belief that the war had gone on too long and too many people had died. Perhaps both sides could come to an agreement. Already Karl had made some internal changes in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The German offensive in the east in 1915 had given the empire some breathing room.. Italy attack had not come as a total surprise and an Austro- German Offensive in 1916 had gone better than expected with heavy Italian loses and the collapse of the Italian Government. Now was the time to make peace.
Rump Austrian Empire after World War I Revised
- Thread starter chris N
- Start date
Sorry, the Italian attack was never a surprise, the Austrian had broken our code before the war, they know perfectely that we were coming
The Austrian Military had been prepared for the Italian betrayal of the alliance and despite the demands imposed on the Army by the Eastern Front and the Serbian front the Imperial forces had handled the Italians quite well. Archduke Karl had been made the heir to Emperor Franz Joseph. The Archduke had become convinced that ending the war was in the interest of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and of all the other parties in the War. With the death of the Emperor Karl became the man who had to make the decisions.
The Germans had restored the Eastern front and Karl began to use the families back channels to reach out to the allies France and Great Britain. It was important that Italy be knocked out of the war. The offensive was launched and it was the Italians that were stunned by the Austro-German Blitzkrieg. They had under estimated their opponet and ver estimated the capacity of their army to hold the line.. A series of Hammer blows blew the Italian defensive line open. The Austrians took 100,000 prisioners and gave the Italians no time to recover. The Italian government collapsed and Italy sued for peace.
The Germans had restored the Eastern front and Karl began to use the families back channels to reach out to the allies France and Great Britain. It was important that Italy be knocked out of the war. The offensive was launched and it was the Italians that were stunned by the Austro-German Blitzkrieg. They had under estimated their opponet and ver estimated the capacity of their army to hold the line.. A series of Hammer blows blew the Italian defensive line open. The Austrians took 100,000 prisioners and gave the Italians no time to recover. The Italian government collapsed and Italy sued for peace.
Britain and France were looking for a way out of the mess that was the war. !916 had brought nothing but trouble with the collapse of Italy, the Uprising in Ireland and the Battles on the Western Front. Austria was beginning to shift troops to the east to face the Russian threat. Karl knew that the war had damaged the Empire and he doubted that The empire would survive.
An agreement was reached between the British, French and Austro-Hungarian Governments calling for a cease fire while a final draft treat was completed. Bulgaria also sought to end hostilities with the allies. An Agreement would see the creation of several new states. Meanwhile a collapse on the Russian Front had also brought Russia to seek an end to the fighting and Germany had finally agreed to seek an end to the war.
The cease fire had now gone into effect on all of the fronts. The Germans had met with the British and French in Switzerland and had begun to draw up plans that would cover the withdrawal of forces. The Allies had met with the Austrians and had agreed to a plan that would see the Austro-Italian Border close to where it had been before the start of the war. Bosnia would become part of the New Yugoslavia. Karl expected that the Czech parts of the Empire would break away and Hungary would also leave . The question was would Slovkia join with the Czechs or stay with the Hungarians. The three Baltic states had declared themselves independent from Russia and there was fighting in Finland. The question was had the war ended in time that the Russian Monarchy could be saved. There was little doubt that the new Provisional Government now had a chance to stablize things without having to face fighting a war with the Germans.
Italy had been thrown into chaos with its defeat by the Austrians. The new Italian Government was fighting to survive and had appealed to the British and French for help agains the Socialist and Anarchist.
Karl meanwhile was trying to reach agreements ith the Czechs and a settlement of the borders of the Austrian Empire.
Italy had been thrown into chaos with its defeat by the Austrians. The new Italian Government was fighting to survive and had appealed to the British and French for help agains the Socialist and Anarchist.
Karl meanwhile was trying to reach agreements ith the Czechs and a settlement of the borders of the Austrian Empire.
The borders were approved at the London Meeting. Acknowledged was the creation of the Czech Republic and the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. Russia objected to recognition of an independent Ukraine and the French and British failed to press the issue
Attachments
While the dust is settling Europe is adjusting to the many changes that have taken place. Italy took a lot of effort on the part of Britain and France to stabilize itself. France and Belgium were recovering from a war that had left a lot of damage. A clean up and disposal of bombs and shells that had been dropped or fired and failed to go off. Rationing was still taking place. The new Czech Republic was trying to get its act together. Poland was attempting to organize itself. German forces continued to withdraw from the East and Russia was like the Wild West as the Provisional Government attempted to restore order. The Reds and Whites had battled each other in Finland.
The Ending of the Great War had left Europe as a mess. France, Britain, Germany, Russia, Belgium Yugoslavia and Austria all faced economic problems. But they were joined by the Czech Republic,Hungary, Poland Italy ,Greece and Turkey. The British and French had applied the brakes to the conflict between Greece and Turkey so as to prevent a wider conflict. Hungary had seen a brief civil War between the Reds and Whites. It had taken a lot of persuasion to prevent it from turning into a conflict between Hungary and Romania. None of the powers wanted to see any more conflict.
In Germany there was some talk of Kaiser Wilhelm II and his son being asked to give up their claim to the throne and a grandson being named. The Army had helped to restore order in the fleet. Austria seemed to be fairly stable. Karl was well liked by his people. The Royal Austrian Army was capable of defending the countries borders.Karl had been exchanging letters with King George V. The Spanish Flu was hitting Europe and eveyrone was hoping that it would soon end
Europe was showing some signs of recovery from the war. The Western Powers had secured a cease fire in the Greeco-Turkish Conflict. Bulgaria was still bitter over the loss of land to Greece. Grand Duke Michael had been convinced by the family and the Provisional Government to take the throne . Alexander Krensky had managed to stabilize things in Russia . The Russian Government had crushed the Communist. Josef Stalin had been caught by the Army and hung for Bank robberies.
In 1921 the new Fascist Party in Italy had won a majority in the parliament and would form a government In Austria the Old Imperial Navy had been reduced in size and at lest 2 of the oldest Battleships scrapped with the Guns being used in forifications along the frontier .
The Kaisers brother had been named as Regent Until the Grandson was old enough to take the throne
In 1921 the new Fascist Party in Italy had won a majority in the parliament and would form a government In Austria the Old Imperial Navy had been reduced in size and at lest 2 of the oldest Battleships scrapped with the Guns being used in forifications along the frontier .
The Kaisers brother had been named as Regent Until the Grandson was old enough to take the throne
The German Imperial Navy began scrapping a lot of the older battleships in the fleet especially those heavily damaged. A decision was also made to rid the navy of the predreadnoughts. Some of the ships that were under construction during the war would be completed but the fleets size would shrink. The German Parliament was not in the mood to fund any big military spending. German forces had completed their withdrawal from France and Belgium by the spring of 1918. Germany and Belgium were discussing compensation for damage done to Belgium.
The former Royal and Imperial Austro-Hungarian Navy had shrunk as it became th Royal Austrian Navy. It began by scrapping the Obsolete Battleships and cruisers with the guns going to fortifications. The steel would be recycled. There were some plans to build some warships new cruisers and destroyers and Mottor torpedo boatd. German shipbuilding industry was hoping to get a contract for some of the Austrian Warships but the Austrian Government was in no way able to spend much Two Battleships were undergoing overhauls in the old Imperial shipyard.
Germany had seen instability as a result of the Great War and it had taken a while to find its footing in the new world. France had seen a government on the left fall and been replaced by a government on the right. Germany had provided some compensation to Belgium for the damage caused in the Great War. Ireland had finally severed ties with Great Britain and had become and independent entity. The Great War seemed to have destroyed the Liberal Party as the public seemed to blame them for the war and the deaths of so many as well as the Mess in Ireland.
The 1920s saw The Austrian Emperor suffer from some health problems . He cam close to dying but recovered. The Empress was very concern but the Emperor seemed to rally in the homeland that he knew and loved. Crown Prince Otto filed in for his father. He visited the various parts of the much smaller Empire. He also visited Poland , the United States, Britain and Germany.
Austria entered the 1920s trying to work out the new relationships in the Empire. Karl had pushed the new Federal system to unite Austria , Slovenia and Croatia. So far there had been less problems than with the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austrian Empire had developed good relations with the Czech Republic but it was not very happy to see Italy fall under the control of the Fascist Party. Emperor Karl did not trust the Italians and he could see that Yugoslavia was a target for the Fascist ambitions.. Indeed he saw problems in Hungary with the Sloviks not happy about being part of Hungary and the Romanians also disputing the border. Poland was another problem as the Poles and Czechs had yet to resolve their borders. Also there were members of the Hapsburg family living in Poland and who had pushed during the Great War to recreate Poland.
Austria had greatly strengthen its defenses along its border with Italy. The Royal Austrian Navy was a lot smaller that the old navy but a lot of the smaller ships had been replaced. The Navy had by the late 1920s 5 modern destroyers and 1 light cruiser. Two Battleships were modernized. 15 Motor torpedo Boats were built
In Germany Louis had been designated to be the next Kaiser as his brothers had been disinherited for marrying commoners. The Bavarian Crown Prince had now assumed the Bavarian throne. He had crushed an attempted uprising by the German National Socialist Workers Party. The Bavarian Police had used lethal force and an Austrian, who had served in the Imperial Army had been shot while resisting arrest. A chicken farmer ,by the name of Heinrich Himmler, had also died in the clash.
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The Austrian Navy received funding for a Heavy cruiser, another light cruiser and 4 more destroyers. With German assistance the Austrians planed to build 5 modern submarines to help deal with the increase threat from Italy. The Fascist Government of Italy's landing of military forces in Albania caused a negative reaction in Vienna, Belgrade and Athens