Plausibility: the Franco - Austrian secret alliance of 1871

So I've seen a lot of threads where Austria comes to France's rescue in the Franco - Prussian War (or vice versa). Now in the OTL, the compromise with Hungary pretty much left Austria neutered and hanging around Germany as Prussia's junior partner. But what if France and Austria decided they had a common enemy?

Could the French republic quietly funnel money into upgrading the Austrian army enough to break Hungary and then work together to cut Prussia down to size? Would they? And would Russia and Britain let it slide as long as neither Austria nor France gained too much from Prussia's defeat? (I'm thinking a free Hanover, a French Rhine, and Austrian Silesia ).

For that matter, if everything goes smoothly with the conspiracy, can they get it past Prussia? And Hungary? Would it look suspicious if the Hapsburgs were personally funding the army (using French money to fill their coffers )? Or can Austria lie its way back to the top?
 
So I've seen a lot of threads where Austria comes to France's rescue in the Franco - Prussian War (or vice versa). Now in the OTL, the compromise with Hungary pretty much left Austria neutered and hanging around Germany as Prussia's junior partner. But what if France and Austria decided they had a common enemy?

Could the French republic quietly funnel money into upgrading the Austrian army enough to break Hungary and then work together to cut Prussia down to size? Would they? And would Russia and Britain let it slide as long as neither Austria nor France gained too much from Prussia's defeat? (I'm thinking a free Hanover, a French Rhine, and Austrian Silesia ).

For that matter, if everything goes smoothly with the conspiracy, can they get it past Prussia? And Hungary? Would it look suspicious if the Hapsburgs were personally funding the army (using French money to fill their coffers )? Or can Austria lie its way back to the top?

No offense, but it sounds rather like a Europa Universalis game report.
Since you name the French Republic and 1871, I assume you mean the time after the French defeat and the capture of Napoleon III.

France has to pay Germany first, to get the German army off its soil. Meanwhile the monarchists have a majority, but cannot agree on the terms of succession and the flag. I cannot even imagine a secret French-Austrian alliance before this is settled.
(Actually, the legitimist pretender, Henry (V.), was married to Maria Theresia of Habsburg-Este and lived in Frohsdorf near Wiener Neustadt. If he became King, he might be interested in a French-Austrian alliance.)

But secret funding? i don't think that would work. France can, of course, create financial conditionsn that would easen the burden on the Austrian coffers, by granting favorable circumstances for trade, and investment by French banks in austrian infrastructure, but that could not be done in secret.
The main problem: By the mid-1870s, when France would have regained complete freedom of action , the Russian ambitions on the Balkans would have become completely onvious. It is not only a problem for Austrian plans, but the Danube is important for Austrian trade. If the Tsar controls Romania and Bulgaria, he can hurt Austria a lot.
Germany has become a kind of protector of Austrian interests vis-a-vis Russia. Breaking Germany will not help. France can not adopt Germany's role here. After 1878, Austria will only act against Germany when France can guarantee Russia`s favorable neutrality.

One far-fetched possibilty: When vying for control over Tunisia, Italy and France come to a clash. France is willing to sacrifice Italy and see Austrian rule over big parts of it restored. Austria might by willing to give up all territorial and economic ambitions in the Balkans to Russia if political, military and financial control over the much richer Italy were guaranteed.
 
I think he meant Napoleon III's French Empire since he's talking about Austrian intervention during the Franco-Prussian War.
 
I think he meant Napoleon III's French Empire since he's talking about Austrian intervention during the Franco-Prussian War.

Oh.
Well, that seems impossible. After all, it would have to happen between very late 1866 and very early 1870, that's practically three years.
In this time, Austria has to "break Hungary", whatever that means, as they are not rebelling. They just boycot taxes, keep the Reichsrat disfunctional by not sending delegates and so on. There is not much an army can do unless we talk about police/occupation duties. Making the Magyars comply by force will be probably more expensive than the money you can raise this way.
Then, instead of being tied up in a Carpathian quagmire, the Austrian army is ready and eager to "cut Prussia down to size". You cannot strengthen/reform an army without the neighbors not noticing, after all, people have to be recruited/conscripted, trained, new weapons/horses must be bought. Looking at agricultural news/rumors for the rising price of draft horses is a very old way to control whether a country is preparing for war. There was no internet, but neither was there the apparatus for a thorough black-out. News traveled.

Berlin would have known. Probably, an international congress for talking the obvious Austrian Crisis with the shooting war in Hungary would already be planned.
 
A big problem was that Napoleon III had views over southern Germany, which couldn't go well with Bavaria and Austria. So you'd have to butterfly those views, or have Bismarck not disclose them (which seems more complicated).

If France supports Austria/Bavaria then an alliance might come through. However, due to the brievity of that war, this seems hard to pull off.
 
I think he meant Napoleon III's French Empire since he's talking about Austrian intervention during the Franco-Prussian War.
No, I meant afterwards. I've already seen the difficulty in intervening in the Franco - Prussian War.
You cannot strengthen/reform an army without the neighbors not noticing, after all, people have to be recruited/conscripted, trained, new weapons/horses must be bought. Looking at agricultural news/rumors for the rising price of draft horses is a very old way to control whether a country is preparing for war. There was no internet, but neither was there the apparatus for a thorough black-out. News traveled.

Berlin would have known. Probably, an international congress for talking the obvious Austrian Crisis with the shooting war in Hungary would already be planned.
This was my biggest concern in this idea. Though I didn't know about draft horse prices being a war indicator. That's very interesting.
 
BigDestiny said:
No, I meant afterwards. I've already seen the difficulty in intervening in the Franco - Prussian War.

Then it's absolutely impossible, France was physically occupied by Prussia. Also there was no time for it, the political minds of the day were completely busy repressing the budding civil war and after that trying to ward off the monarchist (or the Republicans depending which side you were on)
 
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