DBWI: No Austrian Betrayal

One of the greatest diplomatic coups of the Great War was the "Austrian betrayal" of 1916.

With Vienna already on the ropes and facing collapse,he Kaiser sufficiently alienated the Austrians to the point that they acquiesced to Entente demands and gave large territorial cessions. Russia gained Galicia-Lodomeria. Romania gained Bukovina and Southern Transylvania. Serbia gained Bosnia, Kotor, and eastern Syrmia. Italy gained Trentino, Gorizia, and Gradisca. Dalmatia was partitioned between Serbia and Italy. Austria meanwhile retained Trieste and was promised gains at Germany's expense - Silesia and Sorbia.

What if Austria hadn't betrayed Germany? Would Germany develop different without the "Stab in the Back" ideology? Without the Hungarian revolt, would the recentralization of the Austrian state still have occurred?
 
Well, it's not that the A-H goverment had many choices, the Brusilov Offensive really break the K.u.K and the option were a conditional surrender while still have bargain power or resist 3 or 4 months more and being dismantled; had A-H not come to terms (thing extremely possible, as was needed a coup d'etat and the 'seclusion for protection' of the emperor to make that move) we had seen a Hapsburg civil war being added at the war, with the Hungarian on the Russian side, the Croats at the serbian side and probably fighting Austrians and Hungarians, Germany occupy the Austria and the other ethnically germans lands and Czech and Polish in the middle trying to understand what's the better option.

It will have been probably a blessing in disguise for the German Empire, no more need to support a corpse and a solid defensible territory to make the enemy bleed but on the other side, Ottoman and Bulgarian are toasted and they will probably do as OTL and quickly surrender in exchange of more lenient terms.

No Stab in the back mythos depend on how the war will end, if there is something that never changes it's the fact that the losing side always found scapegoat to put the blame of the defeat.

Regarding the recentrilization of the empire, well that was the last attempt to save the all enchiladas, it will have happen with or without the Hungarian rebelling and frankly from the memoirs of the people involved and the documents of the times everybody expected that sooner or later Hungary revolt; with a little of historic irony the empire was saved in some form by the communist revolution caused by the war and the internal tension, sure Austria-Hungary was no more but at least for 3 more decades it's legacy, for good or bad, was in the People Federation of Danubia.
 
Eh.

In the long run the backstab was probably in Germany's favour; sure, it had to surrender, but as the state of Austria-Hungary showed, the Central Powers were losing already (A-H didn't stab Germany's back for the fun of it.). Best to cut its losses right then and come back for the round two that annihilated Danubia and firmly put Austria into the lesser-power camp.
 

The Avenger

Banned
One of the greatest diplomatic coups of the Great War was the "Austrian betrayal" of 1916.

With Vienna already on the ropes and facing collapse,he Kaiser sufficiently alienated the Austrians to the point that they acquiesced to Entente demands and gave large territorial cessions. Russia gained Galicia-Lodomeria. Romania gained Bukovina and Southern Transylvania. Serbia gained Bosnia, Kotor, and eastern Syrmia. Italy gained Trentino, Gorizia, and Gradisca. Dalmatia was partitioned between Serbia and Italy. Austria meanwhile retained Trieste and was promised gains at Germany's expense - Silesia and Sorbia.

What if Austria hadn't betrayed Germany? Would Germany develop different without the "Stab in the Back" ideology? Without the Hungarian revolt, would the recentralization of the Austrian state still have occurred?
For one, Kaiser Karl might live longer in this TL. After failing in his quest to become Germany's Chancellor, Adolf Hitler went on a "vacation" to Austria and ended up assassinating Kaiser Karl. Hitler was furious at the Hapsburgs for stabbing Germany in the back and believed that all Hapsburgs should be thrown into the gas chambers! :(
 
For one, Kaiser Karl might live longer in this TL. After failing in his quest to become Germany's Chancellor, Adolf Hitler went on a "vacation" to Austria and ended up assassinating Kaiser Karl. Hitler was furious at the Hapsburgs for stabbing Germany in the back and believed that all Hapsburgs should be thrown into the gas chambers! :(
Karl was by most accounts something of a wet blanket. It's good IMO that Otto succeeded when he did.
 
It would've been best had Kaiser Karl abdicated instead of being assassinated by Adolf Hitler, though.
Karl I would never have abdicated. Otto, at least, was smart enough to cut his losses when the Reds came knocking. Karl had a bunch of options and took none of them - why else do you think there was a coup? Karl would never have been allowed any actual power in the first place; Otto represented a new start for the country, and enough people remembered him after the PRD fell to welcome the Habsburgs back. Karl... not so much. Not just for his own personal traits but because he was too closely linked to the old Austria of FJ.

If Hitler hadn't been shut away, besides, he would have been free to spread his views to his heart's content. The Nazis were still very powerful at that point, remember.
 
Germany would have eventually lost in 1918. A stab in the back myth would still form, this time blaming Jews, leading to the rise of a genocidal dictatorship which would attempt to conquer the entire world.
 
Germany would have eventually lost in 1918. A stab in the back myth would still form, this time blaming Jews, leading to the rise of a genocidal dictatorship which would attempt to conquer the entire world.
Bold of you to transplant the rough scheme of French history in the 20th century onto German history.
 
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