How large can the Austro-Hungarian Empire get?

I had an idea in which a much stronger Austria is able to fully get its hands on the whole congress of Poland after third partition, I don't know how realistic that is though, as well as later taking and holding most of the Balkans except Greece, Albania, and southern Bulgaria and Macedonia from the Ottomans.

What would need to happen for the Austrians to take and hold so much?
 
They have to be less bothered by their continental rivals. After 1750, the Ottoman Empire is less and less of an obstacle, militarily speaking, but Prussia, France, and Russia at various times are interested in limiting Habsburg growth. Perhaps you could start with making Austrian control over Bavaria permanent. That gives them a good tax base and recruiting reservoir to defend Silesia and Bohemia with. So, nix Prussia and grab more of Poland. I'm not sure how that addresses Russia, though - maybe instead of a Polish partition, the Habsburg manage to be nominated king and then force 'modernisation' on the country, including (naturally) inherited succession.

The Balkan can follow in the course of the 19th century if you can keep a) the Russians out of it and b) Britain and/or France from supporting the Ottomans. Maybe there is some kind of crisis that leads to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire around 1790 because of the repercussions of no Peter the Great?

It'd be one helluva wank, though.
 

Valdemar II

Banned
Honestly with a Austrian succes in the War of Austrian Succession or Seven Years War you could easily see a Austrian Empire from Swabia to Thrace. If we wank it a little we could include the entire HRE and Constantinoble.
 

Susano

Banned
I dont think it would be that extreme, but yes, thats a good a PoD.

Another one would be the Spanish Habsburg line. If it doesnt die out, or if the Coalition is susccessful in the War of the Spanish Succession so that there is in any case no Bourbon Spain, then France will have less of a free hand to oppose the Habsburgs. Of course, the WotSS let Austria grow (Southern Netherlands, Sardinia [later Sicily], Naples, Milan), but it created a diplomatic situation where it simpl ycouldnt hold those territories (and indeed lost Sicily and Naples again). That might make a victory in the War of the Polish Succession (where Austria supported the Wettin candidate, not an own one) likely, which in turn results in Austria then having a freer hand against the Ottomans. And if the Wettins stay in Poland, but are embattlened, then maybe they one day withdraw in favour of a Habsburg candidate...
 
I thought it would be intersting to have as well a series of military reforms that lead to a Austrian victory in their war with France and Sardinia. Since my mind has a tendency to wander when I start thinking of PODs brain started to follow a path in which the Ottomans lose most of the Balkans to the Austrians in a conflict in the 1860's, the defeat leads to reforms in the Ottoman empire and in order to regain lost prestige they end up expanding more into Africa and centeral Asia 1870's much to the anger of colonial powers.

But back to original concept what I though would be interesting is this larger and yet more stable and powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire ends up with most of Catholic Centeral Europe with as well most of the Orthodox Christian regions in the Balkans as well as a number of Muslim majority areas.

Also is a an Austrian Switzerland possible? Maybe split between them and France?
 
Napoleon's marriage works, and Austria fights on the French side? A romance commonwealth under the Bonapartes and a larger Slav/Hungarian/Austrian empire as they join forces against Russia and England and Prussia?
 

Susano

Banned
I thought it would be intersting to have as well a series of military reforms that lead to a Austrian victory in their war with France and Sardinia. Since my mind has a tendency to wander when I start thinking of PODs brain started to follow a path in which the Ottomans lose most of the Balkans to the Austrians in a conflict in the 1860's, the defeat leads to reforms in the Ottoman empire and in order to regain lost prestige they end up expanding more into Africa and centeral Asia 1870's much to the anger of colonial powers.
Miluitary reforms only carry so far. Seeing how in all those 17th and 18th century conflicts between German states and France the French routinely had superior numbers and yet often got beaten, I think purel ythe military wasnt the problem. But France was just so much richer. Soldiers win battles, but the economy wins wars ;)

But back to original concept what I though would be interesting is this larger and yet more stable and powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire ends up with most of Catholic Centeral Europe with as well most of the Orthodox Christian regions in the Balkans as well as a number of Muslim majority areas.
Terminology nitpick: Its Austria-Hungary only after the Ausgleich in, uh, soemwher ein the 1860s. Before, it was just Austria.
 

General Zod

Banned
This does not really involve the direction of expansion proppsed by the OP, but still it is a distinct scenario by which the Habsburg Empire could swell really massive.

During the Revolution of 1848, Franz Joseph has a liberal-national change of heart, concedes a liberal constitution and federal autonomy to the various nationalities of the Empire, and accepts federal separation between Austria-Bohemia, Croatia, Lombardy-Venice-Trent, and Greater Hungary (including Galicia). Austria-Bohemia is recognized as a member kingdom of the German Confederation. As a result, the Frankfurt Parliament establishes the unitary federal German Empire under the GrossDeutchsland solution, and it offers the imperial crown to Franz Joseph, which accepts. The thorny issue of the rebellious Italian possessions are best dealt with by ceding them to Sardinia-Piedmont to create an effective buffer state in northern and central Italy (the various minor states of Central Italy soon join the new Italian state by grassroots revolution) in exchange for a treaty of alliance against France. As a result, the personal union between various domains of the Habsburg Empire stretches from Scleswig to Bozen and from the Rhine to Transylvania. Of course, the key issue here is whether Prussia accepts to enter this Empire, but the Prussian King of the time had all kinds of quirky romantic pseudo-medieval idea, he might just accept a liberal-national Empire if it lead by a progressist Habsburg, with the clout of historical legitimacy that dynasty carried from the old Empire, esp. if he is pressured by liberal nationalists within Prussia.

Schleswig-Holstein can be quickly won in war against Danemark. Russia can be won by ceding Galicia and promishing support against the Ottomans. France most likely tries to reverse the result by war in 1849, but is checked by the combined strength of the Empire and the alliance with North Italy. Britain can do little.

The result would be more or less like this, even if Italian lands and Galicia would have most likely to be ceded to make a sustainable geopolitical settlement.

gerausvu0.th.jpg



Unfortunately, no OTL Habsburg scion was nowhere farsighted enough to see that by siding with the liberal-national movement in Germany and their own lands in 1848, a window was opened to make their Empire the top great power of Europe. It's not a terribly likely scenario, but it's not wholly unplausible, either.
 
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I wonder lets say its 1875 and the Austrians have all of what was Russian controlled Poland OTL as well as most of the Balkans and Switzerland, what would that economy and military look like? Take into account the fact that lets say its actually stable and able to grow as an inudstrial power.
 
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