Challenge: Central Powers defeated, but Austria-Hungary key anti Soviet bulwark

With a POD of 1914, how can we have the Central Powers defeated, Austria-Hungary around to meet the Soviet Union without butterflying the Soviet Union and Cold War away? Ultimately, Austria-Hungary is to be an anti Soviet bulwark for the Western allies.

ASB?
 
You can have Austria-Hungary survive, but doing so will butterfly away WWII if it isn't dismembered. The Cold War will be nothing like OTL if it happens.
 

Nietzsche

Banned
With a POD of 1914, how can we have the Central Powers defeated, Austria-Hungary around to meet the Soviet Union without butterflying the Soviet Union and Cold War away? Ultimately, Austria-Hungary is to be an anti Soviet bulwark for the Western allies.

ASB?
Not ASB, just requires a very special set of circumstances. Germany will always be the preferred choice, so you'll need to do something there first and foremost, or there's no way it'll get off the ground.

A Red Germany would be the best choice, as then you've got Communists that much closer to the Entente. That'll give the Entente reason to, at the minimum, allow Austria to retain Bohemia if not the entire Empire proper.

You'll also need to make them willing to help whatever government happens to be running (any) sort of Austrian Empire, regardless of size, keep the minorities down. In the first years, that means boots on the ground because Spartacus Germany is going to be funneling all the weapons they can to dissatisfied groups.

Oh, money too. Lots of money. Austria wasn't exactly in the best financial shape even before the war, and after it? Yeah, you're looking at sinking a massive amount of money on an area of the world with more revolts, partisans and silly nationalisms per square mile than anywhere else.

And then there's feeding these people.

In short, this isn't impossible, not even close, it's just very hard.
 
With a POD of 1914, how can we have the Central Powers defeated, Austria-Hungary around to meet the Soviet Union without butterflying the Soviet Union and Cold War away? Ultimately, Austria-Hungary is to be an anti Soviet bulwark for the Western allies.

ASB?

There is a timeline where after Austria-Hungary gets broken up, the Austrian monarchy comes back into power and takes over surrounding lands re-forming the Austrian Empire. In that timeline, it gets defeated by Hitler and his Nazis, but with the right POD in that timeline, we could have that Austrian Empire conquer Hungary, survive the Nazi onslaught, become Austria-Hungary, and be around when the Cold War starts.
 
ASB. The nationalistic ambitions of the A-H component nations would be subverted to communism by USSR and A-H dismembered or trigger a WW2 as it collapses. A-H was too unstable entity to act as any kind of bulwark in a post-WW1 environment. It is neigh impossible to make A-H able to withstand the Soviets.
 
ASB. The nationalistic ambitions of the A-H component nations would be subverted to communism by USSR and A-H dismembered or trigger a WW2 as it collapses. A-H was too unstable entity to act as any kind of bulwark in a post-WW1 environment. It is neigh impossible to make A-H able to withstand the Soviets.

Austria Hungary couldntmstand up to the Soviets by themselves, but with Western backing Austria Hungary together with perhaps Poland (assuming they solve any disputes over Galicia) could be a formidable opponent to the Soviets.
 

Nietzsche

Banned
Austria Hungary couldntmstand up to the Soviets by themselves, but with Western backing Austria Hungary together with perhaps Poland (assuming they solve any disputes over Galicia) could be a formidable opponent to the Soviets.
The problem with Poland is that the only way you'll get the Austrian bulwark against Godless Communism is if Germany has already gone Red. And that spells some very bad news for the fledgling Polish state if the Soviets won in Russia too.

Even when Germany was ran by a party whos entire reason for existence was to hate Communism, the two worked together to rip Poland into pieces. What do you think is going to happen when they've got common political ground?
 
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