One Wrong Turn: The Rise of Austria-Hungary

As I have previously stated in the thread for my New Spain timeline, I find it curious how many impressive countries seem to be sacrificed to the Idols of AH Cliche. Among those nations who I have constantly seen devoured (Ottoman Empire, Mexico, Canada, China) is Austria-Hungary. I personally believe that the AH Empire (ironic initials, no?) suffers from a similar misconception as the Ottomans, being that the Empires' falls after WWI were due to some magical predestination for rebellion and collapse.

Here, after all of this ado, is my take on an Austria-Hungary Wank (!)
Thanks,
~Askelion
 
TL Part 1

One Wrong Turn


Being the Tale of the Rise of Austria Hungary

· June 28, 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Heir-Apparent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is assaulted by Serbian Nationalists wielding grenades. The Archduke successfully repels the only accurate grenade behind him, and his driver successfully evades the assassins. The Archduke later chastises the Local government officials, screaming “So, you greet your guests with grenades?” He and his wife Sophie later visit a hospital where the victims of the grenade blast are being treated.
· August 3, 1914: Archduke Ferdinand manages to convince Emperor Franz Joseph of the dire need for military reform in the Empire, particularly in the naval theatre.
· August 4, 1914- June 12, 1915: The Austro-Hungarian military works desperately to reform itself without drawing the attention of its neighbors. The Army works to utilize German and Hungarian as the official languages of command, and all Officers and NCO’s understand at least basic commands in both languages. The Navy is greatly expanded into an impressive Dreadnought-based force, with much of the funding for it coming directly from Archduke Ferdinand’s massive personal fortune.
· June 20, 1915: Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, Chief of Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army comes down with a bout of tuberculosis.
· July 3, 1915: The arms race rising between Great Britain and Germany escalates into a near skirmish in the seas off of the Danish coast. World powers work to soothe the matter, but antagonist powers in Italy and France increase the tension.
· July 12, 1915: After a German Dreadnought appears to be approaching British territory, British ships engage the German vessel. Relations rapidly fall between Britain and Germany, and both powers call upon their allies. France rushes to Britain’s aid, but Russia declares neutrality, citing that the war was both out of Russia’s sphere of influence and caused by British aggression. Germany’s Austrian allies, however, spring to the engagement.
· July 30, 1915-September 9, 1915: As German forces rapidly engage Franco-British Forces on the borders of the Rhine river, Austria-Hungary deploys its forces west to engage the French navy. The Italians, however, see the Austro-Hungarian Kriegsmarine’s increased naval presence as a threat to their sovereignty, and begin to discuss entrance to the war on the Entente side with Britain. The Entente promises Italy any Austro-Hungarian lands won during the war, and Italy agrees. Anglo-French forces fortify themselves with massive trench complexes in order to halt the German invasion. Meanwhile, Anglo-German navies continue to clash in the North Sea and English Channel.
· September 13, 1915: Italian forces, in a surprise to all save the Entente, deploy across the Adriatic Sea in order to engage Austria-Hungary. The Austro-Hungarian Navy, being deployed primarily in their successful conflict with the French Navy in the Mediterranean, is caught unawares.
· September 14, 1915: Chief of Staff Franz Conrad succumbs to his Tuberculosis and dies. He is succeeded
· September 15, 1915-October 4, 1915: As Italy officially joins the Entente and the Central Powers declare war against Italy, Austro-Hungarian forces under Archduke Eugen of Austria successfully repulse the initial Italian invasion, protecting Vienna and Budapest from harm. As the Austrian Navy attempts to return to the Adriatic, it is forced to engage the Italian Navy. The Austro-Hungarians, however, finds that their navy outperforms the Italian Navy. After Italian Naval forces are routed, the Austro-Hungarian Fleet arrives at the Adriatic coast, successfully eliminating the Italian Army’s avenue of retreat.
· October 5, 1915-August 10, 1915: As German forces continue to engage Britain and France, the Austro-Hungarian K.u.K. and Italian Army clash on the shores of the Adriatic. After the death of a combined 160,000 soldiers, the Italian Army surrenders.
· August 25, 1915-September 3, 1915: Austrian Forces invade Italy, and face only minor resistance from those parts of the Italian Army which were not deployed during the Austrian invasion. The K.u.K. readily reaches Rome on September 2nd, and Italy surrenders. In the surrender, Italy cedes Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia to Austria-Hungary. The victory against Italy serves to increase Austro-Hungarian cohesion and serves as a centripetal force in the Empire.
· September 10, 1915-October 12, 1915: Austro-Hungarian forces, free from their war in Italy, invade France from the south at Marseilles.
· October 13, 1915-February 5, 1916: With the fall of Marseilles to Austria, the Battle for France begins. Austro-Hungarian forces join German forces in their assault on the Entente. After months of bloody conflict and nearly 2,000,000 Casualties, the battle ends in a decent Central Powers victory. France is forced to pay reparations and Britain cedes South Africa and Sudan to Germany at the Treaty of Berlin.
· April 1, 1916: Archduke Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary dies of natural causes. Franz Ferdinand succeeds him.
· April 2, 1916-June 4, 1916: Emperor Ferdinand begins the process of federalization, addressing the needs of ethnic groups within the Empire, and attempting to curb national identity towards Imperial Culture rather than individual ethnic nationalism. His efforts, funded largely by his own fortune, are largely successful, and greatly increase the unity of the Empire. The laws that he passes during these months are known as the ‘Edicts of Coalition’.
· July 30, 1918: Emperor Ferdinand, beloved by the people and known as an excellent, if uncharismatic leader, dies during a hunting trip in Somalia after being mauled by a large elephant. He is succeeded by Franz Karl I of Austria.
· August 3, 1918: Emperor Ferdinand is mourned in a large celebration of his short reign, and is entombed at a monument in the direct center of the Empire, a large obelisk dubbed Unity Tower.
 
It's good, but with such a decisive victory over France and Britain, the Germans would take a lot more territory from them in Africa. The Germans had designs on the Suez Canal, Morocco and the entirety of Central Africa. Personally I don't think they'd take South Africa. It had a huge English-speaking population and a growing national identity. I doubt they'd easily succumb to German conquest and annexation. The Germans are more likely to annex Bechuanaland and Southern Rhodesia, Nigeria, the British Gold Coast, Morocco and British East Africa, and probably French Congo as well.

The issue with Austro-Hungarian colonies is that they would need to agree on joint administration between Austrian and Hungarian parties. It wouldn't be nearly as easy as you make it seem. It would take a long time for the Austro-Hungarians to agree on the best way to control colonies. I think they'd be more likely to either annex or vassalise Venezia as a buffer between them and Italy. additionally, what would they hope to gain from Eritrea and Somalia? The resources are in Libya, and they didn't even know it at that point.
 
One Wrong Turn


Being the Tale of the Rise of Austria Hungary

· June 28, 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Heir-Apparent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is assaulted by Serbian Nationalists wielding grenades. The Archduke successfully repels the only accurate grenade behind him, and his driver successfully evades the assassins. The Archduke later chastises the Local government officials, screaming “So, you greet your guests with grenades?” He and his wife Sophie later visit a hospital where the victims of the grenade blast are being treated.
· August 3, 1914: Archduke Ferdinand manages to convince Emperor Franz Joseph of the dire need for military reform in the Empire, particularly in the naval theatre.
· August 4, 1914- June 12, 1915: The Austro-Hungarian military works desperately to reform itself without drawing the attention of its neighbors. The Army works to utilize German and Hungarian as the official languages of command, and all Officers and NCO’s understand at least basic commands in both languages. The Navy is greatly expanded into an impressive Dreadnought-based force, with much of the funding for it coming directly from Archduke Ferdinand’s massive personal fortune.
· June 20, 1915: Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, Chief of Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army comes down with a bout of tuberculosis.
· July 3, 1915: The arms race rising between Great Britain and Germany escalates into a near skirmish in the seas off of the Danish coast. World powers work to soothe the matter, but antagonist powers in Italy and France increase the tension.
· July 12, 1915: After a German Dreadnought appears to be approaching British territory, British ships engage the German vessel. Relations rapidly fall between Britain and Germany, and both powers call upon their allies. France rushes to Britain’s aid, but Russia declares neutrality, citing that the war was both out of Russia’s sphere of influence and caused by British aggression. Germany’s Austrian allies, however, spring to the engagement.
· July 30, 1915-September 9, 1915: As German forces rapidly engage Franco-British Forces on the borders of the Rhine river, Austria-Hungary deploys its forces west to engage the French navy. The Italians, however, see the Austro-Hungarian Kriegsmarine’s increased naval presence as a threat to their sovereignty, and begin to discuss entrance to the war on the Entente side with Britain. The Entente promises Italy any Austro-Hungarian lands won during the war, and Italy agrees. Anglo-French forces fortify themselves with massive trench complexes in order to halt the German invasion. Meanwhile, Anglo-German navies continue to clash in the North Sea and English Channel.
· September 13, 1915: Italian forces, in a surprise to all save the Entente, deploy across the Adriatic Sea in order to engage Austria-Hungary. The Austro-Hungarian Navy, being deployed primarily in their successful conflict with the French Navy in the Mediterranean, is caught unawares.
· September 14, 1915: Chief of Staff Franz Conrad succumbs to his Tuberculosis and dies. He is succeeded
· September 15, 1915-October 4, 1915: As Italy officially joins the Entente and the Central Powers declare war against Italy, Austro-Hungarian forces under Archduke Eugen of Austria successfully repulse the initial Italian invasion, protecting Vienna and Budapest from harm. As the Austrian Navy attempts to return to the Adriatic, it is forced to engage the Italian Navy. The Austro-Hungarians, however, finds that their navy outperforms the Italian Navy. After Italian Naval forces are routed, the Austro-Hungarian Fleet arrives at the Adriatic coast, successfully eliminating the Italian Army’s avenue of retreat.
· October 5, 1915-August 10, 1915: As German forces continue to engage Britain and France, the Austro-Hungarian K.u.K. and Italian Army clash on the shores of the Adriatic. After the death of a combined 160,000 soldiers, the Italian Army surrenders.
· August 25, 1915-September 3, 1915: Austrian Forces invade Italy, and face only minor resistance from those parts of the Italian Army which were not deployed during the Austrian invasion. The K.u.K. readily reaches Rome on September 2nd, and Italy surrenders. In the surrender, Italy cedes Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia to Austria-Hungary. The victory against Italy serves to increase Austro-Hungarian cohesion and serves as a centripetal force in the Empire.
· September 10, 1915-October 12, 1915: Austro-Hungarian forces, free from their war in Italy, invade France from the south at Marseilles.
· October 13, 1915-February 5, 1916: With the fall of Marseilles to Austria, the Battle for France begins. Austro-Hungarian forces join German forces in their assault on the Entente. After months of bloody conflict and nearly 2,000,000 Casualties, the battle ends in a decent Central Powers victory. France is forced to pay reparations and Britain cedes South Africa and Sudan to Germany at the Treaty of Berlin.
· April 1, 1916: Archduke Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary dies of natural causes. Franz Ferdinand succeeds him.
· April 2, 1916-June 4, 1916: Emperor Ferdinand begins the process of federalization, addressing the needs of ethnic groups within the Empire, and attempting to curb national identity towards Imperial Culture rather than individual ethnic nationalism. His efforts, funded largely by his own fortune, are largely successful, and greatly increase the unity of the Empire. The laws that he passes during these months are known as the ‘Edicts of Coalition’.
· July 30, 1918: Emperor Ferdinand, beloved by the people and known as an excellent, if uncharismatic leader, dies during a hunting trip in Somalia after being mauled by a large elephant. He is succeeded by Franz Karl I of Austria.
· August 3, 1918: Emperor Ferdinand is mourned in a large celebration of his short reign, and is entombed at a monument in the direct center of the Empire, a large obelisk dubbed Unity Tower.

Some Questions:

1) Why did France go to war with Germany, over a naval engagement with the UK? The Entente Cordiale wasn't a real binding military alliance, was there another treaty after 1914?

2) The Franco-Russian Alliance said that if any member of the Triple Alliance mobilized then France and Russia would mobilize their forces. What caused the diplomatic chill that would make Russia stay neutral against IG and AH.

3) With no Russians why wouldn't the German master plan work? No Serbian front and no Lemberg would let AH completely support Germany's march through Belgium onto Paris. How does France stay in the war after Paris falls?

4)Why in the world would Italy attack AH if they didn't have any other fronts going? In OTL they attacked them because they were busy in Serbia/Balkan Front and with Russia.

5) The Ottoman Empire had a secret treaty with Germany and where upgrading their fleet. If this was going to be mainly a naval war, why didn't they throw their fleet into the Mediterranean fighting?
 

mowque

Banned
· August 3, 1914: Archduke Ferdinand manages to convince Emperor Franz Joseph of the dire need for military reform in the Empire, particularly in the naval theatre.
· August 4, 1914- June 12, 1915: The Austro-Hungarian military works desperately to reform itself without drawing the attention of its neighbors. The Army works to utilize German and Hungarian as the official languages of command, and all Officers and NCO’s understand at least basic commands in both languages. The Navy is greatly expanded into an impressive Dreadnought-based force, with much of the funding for it coming directly from Archduke Ferdinand’s massive personal fortune.

Man, I wish I had been bold enough to re-form the Empire that way for my TL. It took me pages and pages...
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
You got the German claims in Africa all wrong. Germany was never interrested in Sudan or South Africa, they wanted a Mittelsafrika, annexing French, Belgian and some British colonies in Central Africa.
 
^Thanks Everyone!^

Well...I knew going into this TL that I was going to be fighting an uphill battle. I know very little of the situation outside the basics, save for AH, the US, and Russia(which I'm pretty sharp on in the time period).

Unfortunately for all of us, I am working against a very strict timeline, as I'm leaving the country tomorrow. Unlike Espadas y Mariposas, which I let simmer in my hard drive for about a week, I tried to rush this out before I leave tomorrow (for around two weeks without internet access).

Thanks to your very well-researched posts,however, I now see what I did wrong, and I will work to remedy it after work today.

Thanks, everyone, for the support and info. I will expect you to act similarly throughout this Timeline :D

Best Regards,
-Ash
 
Timeframes seem unrealistic too - seems to be that Austria reforms its army and massively expands the big shiny bits of the navy in a year, the latter so much so that they can beat the Italian navy. Now it may be that the Italian - Austrian naval balance was OTL pretty close (I really don't know) so even minor improvements could be sufficient to tip the balance. But it seems that a year or so isn't enough time to do anything when it comes to designing, building and getting operational a bunch of battleships
 
"· July 12, 1915: After a German Dreadnought appears to be approaching British territory, British ships engage the German vessel. Relations rapidly fall between Britain and Germany, and both powers call upon their allies. France rushes to Britain’s aid, but Russia declares neutrality, citing that the war was both out of Russia’s sphere of influence and caused by British aggression. Germany’s Austrian allies, however, spring to the engagement."

This does not start a war! It can't even be considered a rightful caus bellum. Is this a German dreadnought traveling thru the English Channel or even visiting Britain?
 

The Vulture

Banned
Can you maybe elaborate on the overhaul and refitting of the AH military? I have no doubts it was possible with enough grit and money, I'm just curious as to the specifics.
 
While the posted timeline contains more than it's share of WTF? moments, this...

September 10, 1915-October 12, 1915: Austro-Hungarian forces, free from their war in Italy, invade France from the south at Marseilles.

... is where I stopped reading out of disgust.

An amphibious assault? Of southern France? In 1915?

Please.


Bill
 

Deleted member 1487

Can you maybe elaborate on the overhaul and refitting of the AH military? I have no doubts it was possible with enough grit and money, I'm just curious as to the specifics.

Politically it was impossible. The Hungarians would only allow it if given their own independent army, which the Austrians would never allow, and the Hungarians would never stand for a stronger Combined army. It is a pipe-dream unless the Hungarians are crushed in a civil war, which frankly pushes back the entire idea behind this until at least 1917 when the Ausgleich was up for renewal and Franz Ferdinand would be Kaiser with a strong desire to crush Hungarian separatism.
 
I read through it.....

while the basic idea of a stronger A-H is an intresting, the exicution of this is not very good.
maybe an Earlier POD might help.....
 
Well everyone, thanks for the support...but I'm going to have to put this TL to rest until I know enough about the situation to do it justice.

I'm going to be honest and apologize for the OP and the timeline that followed. As a writer, I have several rules:

-What seems like a good idea after 9:00pm is NEVER a good idea.
-When you think you're finished with a piece, wait a week before posting the beginning.
-Don't write until you know what you're talking about.

Unfortunately, as I'm sure many of you have discerned, I did not follow any of my rules whilst writing and posting this timeline. Quite honestly, I'd like this TL to disappear, and will not be pursuing the extension of its miserable and embarassing life.

If you'd like to read what my actual writing is like, please head over to Espadas y Mariposas in the pre-1900 forum if you'd like.
Otherwise, please don't tarry here, and let the thread die.

You all have my thanks and humblest apologies,
Sincerely,
~Ash
 
QUOTE: The Navy is greatly expanded into an impressive Dreadnought-based force, with much of the funding for it coming directly from Archduke Ferdinand’s massive personal fortune.

It is true that Franz Ferdinand was immensely rich when compared to the other archdukes due to the Este-heritage. BUT, it didn't come in the form of money lying around - FF was not allowed to sell these estates. He could only extract the revenues from them.

I doubt that these would have been sufficient to build a fleet of dreadnoughts.
 

Deleted member 1487

I read through it.....

while the basic idea of a stronger A-H is an intresting, the exicution of this is not very good.
maybe an Earlier POD might help.....

1906-7 was the "best" bet, as the Ausgleich was being renegotiated. If the Hungarians and Austrians were willing to compromise and the Hungarians recognized the need to upgrade the military (which they belatedly did in 1912-13), then things could have been significantly better for the AH empire. Mainly in the artillery branch, with a modern and expanded series of systems and a much more extensive shell supply. There may well have been several more divisions too, but the handicap of poor leadership at all levels would remain.
 
Top