Rising of Darkness : What if The Ottoman Empire won the Balkan war

The Balkan War
  • RISING OF DARKNESS-
    What if The Ottoman Empire won the Balkan war

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    PART I
    8 October 1912-The Balkan League invades the Ottoman Empire.The Ottoman intelligence has wrong information on the location of the Balkan league armies and this will have catastrophic consequences for the Ottomans .The bulk of Ottoman soldiers was located in Macedonia,while the biggest army of the Balkan league was in Thrace,(where Bulgaria was fighting alone.) was in Thrace(the ottomans expected only 3 divisions supported by cavalry)The Bulgarian army advances in Thrace,which is divided into three smaller armies and besieged Edirne and Kırklareli and for now the four Balkan states are winning In Thrace.In Macedonia, however the situation is different.

    The Macedonian and Vardar armies are more numerous than the Serbian and Bulgarian armies, but that will change when the Balkans allies win most of the operations on the Thracian front,as the Ottoman empire is underdeveloped and untrained,additionally,the regime of Abdulmecid has forbdidden all war games and most of the generals have no idea how to appy modern tactics on the battlefield.The Bulgarians soon manage to override the Ottoman defences and reached Thessaloniki one day after the Greeks,where the two kings met. The Ottomans had recently improved their navy by buying newer ships from the Germans and this helped them at Galipoli.
    In the middle of the war,the Balkan league is winning decisively,but the people are afraid that the Great Powers won't like the expansion of the Balkan League and they are right to be scared.The London conference between the Great powers(Russia,UK,France,A-H and Germany.The Ottoman Empire didn't take part.)The conference was about the Balkan war most of nations were for an intervention in the war,as they didn't want to lose their influence over the Balkans.UK and A-H(The two main nations which were against the San Stefano preliminary treaty)were once again against the young Balkan states and for the intervention on the Ottoman side.The austro-hungarian ambassadors talked about the effects of a Balkan victory.They said that the nations from the Balkan won't be so dependant on the Great Powers and that they will probably stay together after the end of the war and that they will attack Serbia and Montenegro.The Russian delegates ,on the other side that they shouldn't help the Ottomanss and leave the Balkan war to the Balkans and they mentioned that the Ottomans aren't Christians.The other delegates said that this doesn't mean that the Balkans states have to expand.At the end of the conference most of the ambassadors were at the same opinion-something will have to be done about the Balkans.

    A-H is ready to attack and declares war on the Balkan League on the 1 February 1913.People are scared,but they never expected that such drastic measures would be taken.The Balkan League isn't capable of fighting on two fronts.A-H invades and the battle of Belgrade is won by the Austro-hungarians(led by Arthur Arz von Straußenburg with an army of 100,000 men against the small army of 20,000,which were defending the capital)They can't leave the Ottoman front but if they don't send some units the Austrians will continue the invasion.This weakens the Ottoman front,and soon Thessaloniki is reclaimed.TheBalkan league starts peace negotiating,after a few decisive defeats,as they can't fight against the armies of two of the great Powers. and the Balkan war is won by the Ottomans.The peace treaty of Belgrade is a treaty between the Balkan League and A-H.The Ottoman Empire was not represented and later the treaty of Thessaloniki will be concluded with the Balkan states.
     
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    The Treaties
  • The Treaties
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    In the treaty of Belgrade Serbia would have to pay for the occupation of Eastern Serbia(Which would have to remain under Austrian occupation for three months),All Balkan League nations would have to reduce their army's size to 20,000(Montenegro would have to reduce it to 5,000)and would have to pay war reparations of 500,000 krones(which isn't something that the Balkan states and finally Austria-Hungary will get very little parts of northwest Serbia.Serbia,because it borders the Austrians is the most harmed nation of all of the Balkan League.

    The treaty of Thessaloniki will harm the small nations even more.
    • Bulgaria has to cede parts of South Bulgaria(namely the city of Kardzhali,a city with a lot of Turkish citizens)
    • Greece cedes Larissa and Volos,cities that are mostly populated by Greeks, and this causes unrest in the population
    • Serbia has to give Vranje
    • Montenegro(a small nation already)doesn't have to cede anything,but they have to pay 25,000 more lira
    • All countries will have to give (separately from the other treaty)150,000 lira and with both treaties together they have to pay about 700,000 which too much for the economy of the nations
    • The weapons of the Balkan armies are taken by the Ottomans(the armies had foreign equipment)The ottoman army took most of the mauser-koka rifles which were made in Serbia,Bulgaria didn't make any weapons,but they had weapons from all European countries,the Bulgarian were armed with Mannlichers(1895 models)and Smith & Wesson's revolvers ,the Greek army was reformed in 1899-1909 and the guns that the Greeks purchased from the french(75 mm Schneider-Danglis 06/09)were all taken and will from now on be used by the Ottomans and similarly to the Bulgarian they had many Mannlichers and Montnegro's army was almost completely destroyed.

    Many journalists and ambassadors agreethat until these peace treaties exist,there will be no peace on the Balkans.

    The Balkan League is disbanded officially, but the countries are still allied to each other

    The people aren't happy and there are protest in the cities,but for now they are powerless and can't do anything

    The immigration is a great problem.Thousands of people go to the Balkan states.All of the immigrants are people from one of the four Balkan countries and they don't want to be oppressed by the Ottomans(which now persecute non-muslims more after the end of the war.
     
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    Pan-Slavism
  • Pan-Slavism
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    The three colors of pan-slavism-blue,white,red
    Pan-Slavism is an ideology concerned with the advancement of integrity and unity for the Slavic peoples.It is on the rise since the first Pan-Slavic congress in 1848 and became even more popular after the south slavs were liberated(Bulgaria was liberated in 1878 from the Ottoman Empire and was the last country to be ruled by another nation.)
    When the Balkan war ended the Russian pan-slavists weren't happy with the inactivity of Nicholas II.For now they they aren't armed and the police is trying to stop them for doing anything,but they demand changes.They decided to turn to Mikhail Rodzianko,as he is the chairman of the State Duma,however nothing happened,as the State Duma doesn't have any power.The Tsar was afraid that this might happen ever since the London Conference a few months earlier.He was to make a speech in front of the people.
    ,,Many people remember the liberation of Bulgaria and how much we helped the other Slavic nations the same year.We helped for the creation of the new Bulgarian state.And every time we want to help Slavic or orthodox nations we are always stopped by the Ottoman Empire and the other West non- Slavic countries.We could not help the Balkan League in the war,because most of the European nations would go to the Ottoman side.We can help the Balkans with their economies and the reparations.I hope the people won't forget this."​
    But he did nothing,no money were given to the Balkan state and didn't help the people From the Balkans.
    The people demand a change,not in the way in which the Tsar rules,Nicholas OK is not popular ,they want to become democracy like the western countries.Russia was an undeveloped nation and the monarchy deepens the problem,it doesn't solve it.The new Pan-Slavic party wanted democracy in Russia and Unity between the slavs.The party is led by Pavel Nikolayevich Miliukov,who has spent many years in the Balkans.The slogan of the party is Slavic peoples,unite!

    In the Balkans the situation is even worse ,the people revolt every day,because none of the countries can afford the reparations.
    Very important were the people in the Ottoman lands,they created revolutionary organizations,Many revolutionaries became popular in the free independent nations as they stood up against the Ottomans.They usually communicate with the Balkan League and tried to hurt the Ottoman State.
    The Ottomans treated the people in cruel and inhuman ways which is against the Treaty of Berlin,but for now the Great Powers don't do anything about it.
    All this led to a secret meeting between the four Balkan monarchs.
     
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    The Secret meeting
  • The secret meeting
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    The monarchs met a few weeks after the events in Russia.The biggest problem was to determine the place of the meeting.They couldn't hold it in Serbia,which was occupied by the Austro-Hungarians.Southern Serbia was not occupied,but it would be safer if they tried to hold the meeting in another nation.The Austrains were waiting for an action from the Ballkans and they saw it when the people started revolting against the government, because they can't pay the reparations.Not all Austro-Hungarian agreed to the treaty.Austria-Hungary is a multinational state and most of the people were Slavic.And even the Hungarians did not like what the Austrians did.The people that hold the power in Austria-Hungary were Austrians and they supported the Treaty.The other nations I Austria-Hungary, however didn't like the treaty,because it was too harsh on the Balkan nations.This created unrest in the multinational state,this time not because of Pan-Slavism,but because the Austrians hold too much power.
    The rulers chose Bosilegrad,Bulgaria.The Serbian ruler will be able to go there without going through Ottoman lands,The other rulers had to go through Ottoman lands.Luckily ,they ,over through their lands without any problems and they met on 12 October 1913.First they had to discuss what to do with the consequences from the treaty.The revolts that happen everyday harm the countries more than the treaty itself. The treaty of Thessaloniki was called,,Treaty of Bloodshed",because (apart from the war casualties)The ottomans killed many non-muslims after the war to punish them. The treaty of Belgrade earned the name,,Treaty of Disorder"because that is what happened inside the Balkan League.
    They have to help each other and the countries(and their monarchs) continue to be allied.
    Ferdinand of Bulgaria was from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry,which is a German house,but now that he is King of Bulgaria and has to lead the country against A-H,he is now more Bulgarian than German.
    On this meeting Peter I offered an orthodox union until they take their lands from the Ottomans.If the others accept it will change the Balkans and probably Europe
     
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    Orthodox union
  • Orthodox Union
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    The orthodox union looks like an impossible idea,not only because of the difference between these four countries,but also because all four monarchs have to rule together,and all of them would have to have equal power.
    The Serbian prime minister Nikola Pašić(who had lived in Bulgaria after escaping arrest ,because of the Timok rebellion).He supported Peter I,because he was a more democratic ruler,unlike the last two king.The defeat in the Balkan War united all these nations more than any other moment in history.
    The newly elected Prime minister of Montenegro Janko Vukotić will be a defense minister and a prime minister at the same time.As a general and a defense minister,he realised the threat of A-H.Since the invasion of Serbia,people are scared of another Austrian attack,so he was willing to accept the Orthodox union.
    The Bulgarian prime minister Ivan Geshov liked the other Balkan Nations even when Bulgaria and Serbia were rivals.He has no reason not to support it.
    The Entente was formed in 1907 between Russia,Great Britain and France. However,the end of this alliance is very close.New alliances will be made.The UK doesn't want to be allied with Russia,because of the tensions with the pan-slavists.They will probably find other allies.A-H might be a valuable ally not only in the Balkans,but against Russia.
    The Triple Alliance will probably collapse too.The Austrians are interested in an alliance with the UK,who helped them at the London Conference.The The Christian Social Party,which was second in popularity after the Social Democrats backed the government's idea of an alliance with the UK. the party's leader Karl Lueger had died in 1910 and lost the 1911 elections because of that(they were the largest parliamentary group in the 1907 elctions).It is a Catholic party and it was oriented towards the clerical-Catholic;there were many priests in the party,One of the most popular people in the Party was Ignaz Seipel,an Austrian priest and when Lueger died he started leading the party.
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    The End of the old Monarchy
  • The end of the old monarchy
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    In 1910 Franz Josef told Theodore Roosevelt "You see in me the last Europeanmonarch of the old school".And the people liked him because of that.At first only the Austrians liked him ,because the Hungarians wanted power in the empire
    ,but after the Compomise(or the Ausgleich) the Magyars were given power to make their own rules and they had their own parliament and then most of theMagyarsy are started to like him too.However,they still had one monarch and common ministries for war,foreign affairs and finance.And a lot of people weren't happy with that-they want full independence.The National party of Work won the 1910 elections.The NPW is a national liberal party whose aims is to liberate the Hungarian Kingdom from the Austrians.Seeing the aftermath of the Austro-hungarian- Balkan League war,he decided to use the crisis in the Balkans to his advantage.The people in the Balkans hated the Austrians and Franz Josef more than anything.New parties were established-parties for national liberation.
    The Bulgarian Party for National Liberation is led by Atanas Burov,as he was the only politician who fought in the First Balkan War voluntarily.All people want to liberate the lands controlled by the Ottomans,but some want it more than others.The party gained massive support from the people.A big problem for the Otomans was that the lands that the Balkan League wanted were populated by Christians.The Ottomans started persecuting Christians, which was just one more reason for the rise of such Parties.
    The Serbian Nationalist party ,led by Milenko Vesnić,he was one of the delegates in the treaty of Belgrade and it is more focused against Austria-Hungary rather than the Ottoman Empire.
    Vesnić spent his life in Rome and Paris as a minister.He is praised for his book,,The Balkan League thorough and after the Balkan war"It explains the plan made by the Balkan League to distract the Ottoman army from Thrace ,how the Balkan League was formed and the battles between the Balkan League and the Ottomans.After that he talks about the Austrian intervention and the battle of Belgrade.The other is for the Balkan League after the war.He talks about the treaties,the economic crisis and the disarmament.It has been translated in many languages except German(in Austria) And Turkish,because it insults Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman empire
    The party for national liberation (The Liberal party)was established before the war in 1910 and is led by the prime minister of Greece Eleftherios Venizelos.He initiated constitutional and economic reforms that set the basis for the modernization of Greek society and also reorganized both army and navy in preparation of future conflicts.This helped the Greek army in the Balkan war.They used weapons produced in France.Now,after they,as everyone else, wanted to regain their lands.He had to reform the economy using foreign investment from other countries of the Balkan league,which led to an end of the crisis in Greece faster than in any of the other Balkan nations.
    Venizelos is known for his democratic policies,which the monarchs did not like,but the new king didn't do anything to lower his power as he helped the Greek nation recover from the economic crisis
    László Lukács started secretly sending weapons to the armies of the Balkan League and contacted the leaders of the parties to talk about the assassination of Franz Josef,Emperor of Austria-Hungary.The people in the Balkans started murdering people of Turkish and German origin and basically eliminated the turkish population in the Balkan League.
    The leader of the assassination is Dragutin Dimitrijević,a Serbian Nationalist and colonel.He was part of the attempt to assassinate the emperor in 1911 and he was ready to try again.Many Serbian anti-austrian groups have since the loss of the Balkan war.One of these groups is the Force of Salvation.
    The emperor is going to visit Budapest early next year and that was the plan-Trifun "Trifko" Grabež was going to wait in Budapest with the help of the NPW and the other parties and when the emperor comes he is going to shoot him.
    Meanwhile,revolutionaries from Turkish lands formed the Macedonian-Thracian organisation aiming to free the lands from ottoman rule.The countries from the Balkans gave them weapons and money so that the organisation can undermine the morale of the Turkish population.
    The time soon came and the emperor arrived on the 24th February 1914.The organizers of the assassination told Grabež to use cyanide and kill himself to avoid captivity.
    Grabež walked into Vaci street where the emperor was riding in the popular automobile 28/32 PS
    Grabež fired with the Rast & Gasser Model 1898.This shot will change the History of the world and Europe.
    End of Part I
     
    Franz Ferdinand-Emperor of Austria
  • Franz Ferdinand-Emperor of Austria
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    Part II
    25th February 1914
    The news spread like wildfire-The emperor of Austria is dead!This is the biggest event that has happened in this decade and,people,say that it will be the biggest event of the century.All newspapers covered it,even the ones in other countries covered it.Frranz Josef has ruled for 66 years and people still like him.The Empire earned a constitution,expanded the territories of the Empire and and with the Compromise he United the nation more .
    However, there were many failures in the external policies of the empire-the dissolution of the austro-russian alliance and the defeat in the Italian war for independence and later the Treaty of Disorder was a serious failure in their policies because it was too harsh on the Balkan League
    Not everything was fine inside the Empire as well-before the Compromise the Bohemians wanted the new ruler to become king of Bohemia as a sign of their autonomy.That didn't happen and the Compromise left the Czechs and their aristocracy without the recognition of Bohemian state rights.Because of this ,there were many public demonstrations.However, Franz Joseph remained immensely respected; the Emperor's patriarchal authority held the Empire together.
    And now he is dead.Franz Josef was respected by almost everyone inside the empire,even the nationalists(from the nations inside of the Empire).Outside of the empire,however,he had gained many enemies.
    The pan-slavists in Russia hate the Austrians and Franz Josef for invading the Balkans.They want to invade the Austrians and help the Slavic people.But first they wanted to turn Russia into a pan-slavic democracy.The Tsar doesn't want to support the Balkan nations and instead pursues his own interests.Peter Milyukov( leader of the pan-Slavic party)wants to rule democratically by getting seats in the State Duma and decrease the powers of the Tsar,but most of the people in the Party and the party's supporters think that is impossible.They think that making the Tsar abdicate through a revolution can actually happen and will be better for all slavs.This led to a split inside the Party between the ,,democrats'',led by Milyukov and the ,,revolutionaries'',led by Kerensky.The ,,revolutionaries" held many speeches saying that the Tsar is oppressing the people and that they should revolt and they created the newspaper,,Slavic Voice"
    Other enemies of the emperor were the Balkan parties and the nationalist parties.
    Grabež didn't die from the cyanide pill and was taken into custody after he was severely beaten by the crowd.After he was taken into custody he was tortured,so he can tell them who is he.A few days after that he told them about the Force of Salvation,along with the names of other people that were part of the assassination.He was sentenced to death by hanging.
    Franz Ferdinand wasn't respected by anyone,Franz Joseph and Franz Ferdinand hated each other.He advocated granting greater autonomy to ethnic groups within the Empire and addressing their grievances, especially the Czechs in Bohemia and the south Slavic peoples in Croatia and Bosnia, who had been left out of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and after the death of Franz Joseph he can give more rights and autonomy to the other ethnic groups.
    Revolts against the Force of Salvation started ,before they were put down by the military and after the interrogation the people saw that the National Party of Work has a part in the assassination and people wanted the Party to be banned.
    But,while the Austrians try to fight hungarian nationalism and before Ferdinand officially become the emperor,Hungarians and Bohemians decided that this moment of chaos would be the best for a revolution.
     
    The 1914 Revolution
  • The 1914 Revolution

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    The death of the Emperor Franz Joseph was perhaps the most catastrophic event to have taken Austria-Hungary in years.All European foreign royalty was invited(except the Balkan monarchs)A big parade took place in Vienna.The new emperor Franz Ferdinand attended the ceremony.As the new emperor of Austria hе had to say something about Franz Joseph.His relations with Franz Joseph were tense-the emperor's personal servant recalled in his memoirs that "thunder and lightning always raged when they had their discussions."This probably happened due to a difference in their political views.The former emperor gave power to the Hungarians because they revolted and he turned Austria-Hungary into a dual monarchy,the new emperor,however,wants has said multiple times that the the introduction of the dual system in 1867 had been disastrous and that, when he ascended the throne, he intends to re-establish strong central government: this objective, he believed, could be attained only by the simultaneous granting of far-reaching administrative autonomy to all the nationalities of the monarchy.He was against the aggressive towards the Balkan Nations and he thought that the Austrian intervention would only suppress the empire's influence over the nations and would lead to a conflict with Russia,who still officially support the Balkan nations,even when they didn't help them with weapons,money or,an idea that the old emperor didn't think might happen, direct intervention in the Balkan war.
    He ended the speech,saying that he wants to include Austria in Germany,because they were excluded from German affairs ever since the Seven Weeks' war.Franz Joseph supported the same idea.However,the emperors' desire to retain the non-German territories of the Habsburg Austrian Empire in the event of German unification proved problematic.Two ideas formed-the idea of a greater Germany(Großdeutschland),which is the idea that the lands of Austria-Hungary have to be included into the German state.The supporters of Lesser Germany(Kleindeutschland)argued against the inclusion of Austria on the grounds that it was a multi-nation state, not a German one.
    Franz Ferdinand wants to continue the friendly relations with the UK and abandon the alliance with Germany for one with the UK.In his first week as an emperor he went to London to meet the British king,George V.
    While he was in London,riots for independence broke out in Budapest and various other places within Hungary,organized by the National Party of Work.The riots grew to an armed conflict when the military stated beating people from the rioting crowds and someone killed a soldier.
    Many of the weapons which the Hungarians revolutionaries use are russian,because of the Russian pan-slavists,who supported everything that would cause instability in the empire(most of the weapons that are delivered are Mosin-Nagants,Nagant M1895 and PM M1910 or Maxim's machine gun).
    In Bohemia the clashes between the bohemians and the Habsburg loyalists are still peaceful.
    Austrians are afraid that this might be the end of Austria-Hungary.
     
    The Hungarian Kingdom
  • The Hungarian Kingdom
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    László Lukács was the prime minister of Hungary,while it was part of Austria-Hungary and now,right after the the start of the civil war,he became a minister regent(miniszter kormányzó)of the Hungarian Kingdom,because the National Party of Work won 91% of all seats(all other popular parties promoted independence and now when Hungary is independent,no one wants other parties)some of the other seats were won by romanian and slovak nationalist parties.The high popularity and support for the party helped them to get elected twice.
    Austria and Hungary had three common ministries-The foreign ministry,the ministry of war and the ministry of finance.These were called kaiserlich und königlich(Imperial and royal).These ministries were.concerned for the common aspects of the dual monarchy, i.e. the Foreign Policy, the Austro-Hungarian Army and the Navy. The Minister of the Imperial and Royal House and of Foreign Affairs was nominated by the Emperor; he was also chairman of the Ministers' Council for Common Affairs as governing body of the Austro-Hungarian real union.The hungarians had no real power over the foreign policy of the country,even when the minister was Hungarian(he was almost never Hungarian and the people thought this was unfair and this was one more reason for the revolution.Most of Hungarians believe that the Compromise didn't make the Austrians and the other part of the empire equal.
    The emperor Franz Ferdinand and the foreign minister Count Leopold Berchtold aee in London to negotiate the Austrian-British alliance.The three common ministries still called k.u.k,because the Austrian empire doesn't recognize the Hungarian state.According to the Compromise executive powers were divided between the Emperor and King, the Minister of the Imperial and Royal House and of Foreign Affairs as chairman of the k. u. k. Ministers' Council for Common Affairs, and the Ministers-President of the Cisleithanian (Austrian) and Hungarian halves of the Empire,but because the minister and the emperor can't do anything from London,the Minister-President Karl von Stürgkh holds most of the power.He's nonpartisan,but became part of the Deutscher Nationalverband(German National Association).The Deutscher Nationalverband was a loose coalition of ethnic German national and liberal political parties in Cisleithania, a part of Austria-Hungary. It was formed to contest the 1911 election of the lower house of the Imperial Council (Reichsrat) of Cisleithania. Loose coalitions of this type were common in the Imperial Council.They won the election and ousted the previously dominant Christian Social Party.Gustav Gross(chairman of the Nationalverband)and von Stürgkh hated the Hungarians together with Franz Ferdinand who said that "The Hungarians are all rabble, regardless of whether they are minister or duke, cardinal or burgher, peasant, hussar, domestic servant, or revolutionary".However there is a big difference between the Nationalverband and the Emperor-He wants to give autonomy to everyone in the empire(including the Hungarians),so that he can re-establish the central government.The Nationalverband wants to weaken Hungary by detaching the largely Slavic-speaking kingdoms of Dalmatia and Galicia from Cisleithania.However,right nothing of these things matters right now,because of the revolution.The bad opinion of the Hungarians is getting more popular in Austria,due to the war.
    Most of the riots in Bohemia aren't suppressed by the military,as they hope that they can get an ally against the Hungarians in the war.Most of the Bohemians,however have no reason to ally the Austrians.They want independence from the Empire.The pan-slavists want to use this and liberate the bohemian slavs from the Austrians.The best way to do this js to use members of the Czech National Social Party.Some of the members started going to the riots and when that happened,the Austrians had to suppress the riots.The leader of the party(Václav Jaroslav Klofáč) went to the Pan-Slavic congress in Petrograd.Many Russian weapons were sent to the Balkans and Hungary again.
    Austria and Hungary are at war and Hungary has one very big problem-The German population in the country(Budapest has a very big German population.All of the Germans are on the Austrian side.In many places the people are fighting in the towns and and an internal conflict would be a very big obstacle for the new country and for the war.
    A new king has to be chosen for the country.Since the National Party of Work has 91% of the seats they will chose the king(other parties will vote too,but they do not have enough power to do anything)
    The choices are:
    Mihály Cseszneky(his family isn't really popular and his father was an impoverished aristocrat(and an inventor),but he is 4 years old and the party can use him as a puppet
    Mihály Károlyi(The Károlyi family were an illustrious, extremely wealthy, Roman Catholic aristocratic family who had played an important role in Hungarian life since the 17th century.)
    Gyula Andrássy the Younger( The younger Andrássy became under-secretary in the Sándor Wekerle ministry in 1892; in 1893, he became Minister of Education, and, in June 1894, he was appointed minister in attendance on the king, retiring in 1895 with Wekerle.)
    Bertalan Széchényi(He was born into a prominent noble family in Sopron on 24 October 1866)
     
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    Secret Rearmament
  • Secret Rearmament
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    While the war was going in Austria-Hungary, the emperor and foreign minister went to London to discuss the British-Austrian alliance and relations.The Austrians Empire was falling and the threat of Bohemia joining the war on the Hungarian side is getting bigger every day
    In the first day of their visit they discussed the British position on the war.The Austrians expected that he will support them and he will keep the peace on the continent.The king,however,had no intention of supporting them,even when he invited them to London.The Hungarians are winning,because no one from the non-Austrian provinces wants to fight.Most people think that they do not get enough power inside the Empire.The new emperor wants to create a federation(All parts will have a viceroy,similarly to the Croatian ban),but apart from the nobility,no one wants this.They want to rule themselves.Bohemia is a very big part of the empire.They are not a kingdom like Hungary or Croatia,but are very different from the Germans.
    In the Balkans,most of the problems inside the cointrues were resolved.Many volunteers have joined the Hungarian army(About 20,000 from all countries)and every day tthere mor people joining.These soldiers formed the Balkan Divisions.They were united by their hate of the Austrians-This strengthened the soldiers' morale.The war is going for a few weeks,but there aren't many changes in the frontlines.
    Many people helped the Balkan countries-mainly Hungarians and pan-Salvists,but many people agreed that the treaty was too harsh on the Balkan nations.The Austrians wanted to do this to keep their influence in the Balkans,but they lost it.
    The new governments in the Balkans started the secret rearmament with weapons from Hungary,US and many other European countries.
    Local production was promoted by the government,which helped the economy of Balkan nations to grow.Many of the things that are produced are used in other countries
    The Ottoman lands in the Balkans have more Europeans than Ottomans.This,however,isn't a problem for the Ottomans to keep a big part of their army in there.Nazım Pasha-Turkish Chief of Staff of the military of the Ottoman Empire during the Balkan War has been replaced withbEnver Pasha,the minister of War and the reason for that was that Nazım Pasha lost almost all the battles in the war. The position of a coomander of troops stationed in the Balkans was given to Mehmed Esad Pasha.After fighting in the war and he wanted to punish them for the war.The Grand Vizier Said Halim Pasha and the Sultan reestablished the Jizya(is a per capita yearly tax historically levied by Islamic states on certain non-Muslim subjects—dhimmis—permanently residing in Muslim lands under Islamic law),which was almost gone by the 20th century.This time,however,it is monthly tax.The people don't like this,but most of them aren't rebelling,because of fear.Sometimes Ottoman soldiers execute people in the towns,but they try to do it secretly from the other countries.
    In Russia,nothing has changed,but the pan-slavist movement is becoming more popular in the Slavic parts of Austria-Hungary.There were many Marxist revolutionaries in Russia and many of them took part in the first revolution of 1905.The pan-slavists aren't Marxist and they don't want any revolutionaries.The pan-slavic party's ideology is social democracy,like the The Labour Group(Trudoviks)party,which wasn't one of the big parties anymore,as the leaders(Kerensky and Aladin) formed the pan-slavic party.
    The Bohemian problem is growing,but they haven't joined the revolution yet.
     
    Bohemia-Moravia
  • Bohemia-Moravia
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    The negotiations between the emperor and the king continue. On the next day the king decided to give weapons to the Austrian army. Both of the countries are constitutional monarchies and while the monarchs have absolute power in theory their power was limited in practice. The Westminster system is a ceremonial figurehead who is the theoretical, nominal or de jure source of executive power within the system.This system is quite different from the Austrian system. The ministers of war,the foreign minister and the finance minister ultimately answer only to the monarch, and he had the final decision on matters of foreign and military policy and this means that Franz Ferdiand has more executive power than George That isn't good for the Austrians,because Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon,the Secretary of State for Foreign thinks that the Anglo-Russian Alliance is better for the empire than an alliance with the Austrian empire.Even with the new army law of 1912 and the population of the country,the Austrian army(without the Hungarians)was only 200,000 men,very small compared to the Russian army,which has almost two million men(115 infantry and 38 cavalry divisions),but has outdated equipment and many generals want to reform the army,while the Austrian army is one of the more modern armies in Europe. Neither of the two countries is very aggressive,but Austria's intervention in the Balkan war happened two years ago.The UK,however,(secretly)supported it.Grey was part of the London Conference and he knows that an alliance with Austria will help Britain than analliance with Russia,which didn't agree with the decision of the other Great Powers.He decided that he will strengthen the relations between the two empires.
    1st June 1914
    The Hungarian Képviselőház(House of Representatives)offered Mihály Károlyi to become the 48th King of Hungary(The Austrian rulers aren't recognized as Hungarian kings).The Kàrolyi family is one of the most popular noble families who had played an important role in Hungarian life since the 17th century.He accepted and this created a very big problem in the Hungarian nobility,because Gyula Andrássy the Younger was part of a big noble family,which is as important as the Károlyi family.Some people support Andrássy and others think that Kàrolyi should be the king.None of the dynasties before the Habsburgs have survived and now both of them have a claim to the throne.

    Ministers of the Kingdom of Hungary:
    • Minister-Regent:Gyula Károlyi
    • Minister of Finance:Janos Teleszky(National Party of Work)
    • Minister of Agriculture:Imre Ghillány(National Party of Work)-Ban of Croatia in the late nineteenth century.
    • Minister of War:Samu Hazai(National Party of Work)-Military officer
    • Minister of religion and education:Béla Jankovich(National Party of Work)
    • Interior Minister:János Sándor(National Party of Work)
    • Foreign Minister:Gyula Andrássy The Younger(In 1912, he represented Austria-Hungary in the diplomatic endeavor to prevent the outbreak of the Balkan War.)
    • Minister of Justice:Jenő Balogh
    The Hungarians don't want the Romanians to join the war on Austria's side and they created one new ministry:
    • Minstry of Romanian affairs of Hungary:Iuliu Maniu(Romanian National Party)-One of the only Romanians that support the the federalist solution
    While the emperor is in Britain and the Hungarians are organizing the new country,the war is still going on.The hungarian army is poorly organized,even when most of the Hungarian officers chose to defend Hungary from Austria.The army was split in two parts-Hungarian and Romanian.The Romanian Part is led by Gheorghe Flondor,because there aren't many Romanian military officers in Hungary.The Hungarian army's commander-in-chief is the Minister of War.The main army(1.hadsereg)is led by Karl Tersztyánszky von Nádas,who(as many other Hungarians),decided to return to Hungary.The 1st army attacked the city of Sopron and after a few days of fighting they will take it.This is the start of the war.
    The people from Bohemia and Moravia decided that it would be better if they were independent from Austria,because they didn't give them any special rights.On the 15th of June,a few days agter the Battle of Sopron,Bohemia-Moravia is formed.
     
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    Tension in the Balkans
  • Tension in the Balkans
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    A few hours after Bohemia-Moravia was created,the Austrian Empire declared war on them.Becuase this is very similar to the 1848 revolutions,the Hungarians the Hungarians use it in their propaganda against the Austrians.The flag for Bohemia-Moravia was chosen after the pan-slavic(red,white,blue)flag was rejected.Bohemia-Moravia is now split two sides vying for power in B-M-The pan-slavists and the nationalists,led by the National Liberal Party,their name was changed to the Bohemo-Moravian party,becuase of their ideology-national liberalism.The B-M party is more popular,because the pan-slavic idea still isn't very influential outsie of Russia party's leader is Alois Rašín,who revived the party after it was almost almost dissolved,because of the party's leaders had died.The pan-slavic side is led by Czech National Social Party,they changed their name to the Bohemian pan-slavic party.The pan-slavic flag was proposed by them and was by the Bohemo-Moravian diet because it doesn't represent the nation.

    Both nations(Hungary and B-M)are fighting with the Austrians,but none of them wanted to ally the other country,because the Bohemians and the Hungarians don't like each other. Hungary which was the force behind many of the empire's minorities grievances.No one wanted to recognise the other country,but they had a common enemy and even though their governments don't want to help each other the people are in a favor of an alliance.

    The Bohemo-Moravian army with one main(general) leadership and two smaller ones stationed in Brno and Prague.The Bohemians and Moravians are the same people and they don't have problems with other ethnicities.Apart from the regular armed force,as with other countries,there are many volunteers from Bohemia-Moravia and some ftom other countries(mainly the Balkans and Russia),but even without the volunteers,they still a have a large army,because the Bohemo-Moravian command wants to conscript as many people as possible.For now the morale is high,as they are fighting against their oppressors(this is what the government says to get more people into the army),but if the war continues,the people might start to rebel.Jan Syrový is the commander of the B-M armed force.He is young,but he has spend some years in the military as a volunteer in the A-H army.

    Croatia-Slavonia now has a choice-to join the war Austria's side or on Hungary's side.They can try to stay neutral,but that won't be good when the war ends.Both countries will try to influence the country after the war.The previous ban,Slavko Cuvaj,was appointed when anti-Habsburg sentiments were on the rise in Croatia, often manifesting in sympathies for Serbia and calls for creation of Yugoslavia.Cuvaj tried to curb those trends by series of decrees directed at curbing press freedom, limiting rights of assembly and local autonomy. This created backlash in the form of strikes and demonstrations, while some young radicals engaged in terrorism. Cuvaj himself was target of two assassination attempts in 1912.The newly appointed ban,Iván Skerlecz,is a Hungarian too,but he has plans to give more autonomy to the Hungarians and make them join Hungary.Alongside the 8 elected deputies (in 1888), 44 ex officio members were Croatian and Slavonian high nobility.They are against C-S joining(they don't hold any real power,but the ban wants to have the nobility on his side).They officially joined the war on the 1st of August with the annexation of Dalmatia.

    Germany's foreign minister,von Jagow,is trying to keep the friendly relations with Austria,but Wilhelm,the Kaiser,thinks that Austria's recent attempts to ally Britain act against the will of the German people(including the Austrians).They saw that they are not going to get any belp from the German Empire.The Kaiser's decision split the nation-some of the people want to help their Austrian friend and others think that Austria didn't want the German Empire as their ally before the revolution and that they shouldn't help them now.

    The Ottomans continue to control a big part of the Balkans and the organized resistance grows every day.More people join the Internal Thracian-Macedonian revolutionary organization(ITMRO).The idea of this organization is to unite people from all Balkan countries andall existing organizations.The organization has three main leaders(one Bulgarian,Serbian and Greek)-Hristo Tatarchev,Jovan Babunski and Michael Sionidis.
     
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    A New War
  • A New War
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    Winter may be coming ,but no one can see the end of this brutal war.Actually,it seems that it is only going to grow as more countries enter the war.South Germans are rallying to the Bavarian banner.The rebellion is still ongoing, and the rebels even managed to stop the Prussian advance at Hesselberg on the 23rd of September ,where a small South German force had fortified itself.Most of the Bavarian army decided to side with the Kingdom and protect the South German ideals.The few generals that stood by the Empire fleed to the northern parts of Germany.The Bavarian government didn't wait to call them traitors and Prussian puppets.The main Bavarian forces,led by Prince Alfons,quickly moved north,hoping to slow the Prussians down until help comes from somewhere.However,it looks like no one wants to help this failed cause.In Munich,anarchy reigns as some people think that this rebellion was a mistake and small street fight are occuring in the city in the last few days and no one does anything,because all Bavarians are divided on this issue.This effectively paralyzes the government,which knows that the Prussians will soon break through thir defenses,if no on one comes to help
    The Bohemians and the Hungarians are starting two offensive,named by the outside world as the,,20 day offensive",because their plan is to reach Vienna in 20 days.The young and disorganized Bohemian army lost a battle to the experienced Austrian army near Krumau.The Hungarian front turned into a stalemate,after both armies tried to secure higher points,even though the Hungarian army scored a few victories in the south.Archduke Joseph(who was promoted to Feldmarschall)said that something new will have to be developed in order to break the stalemate on the front.The Austrian General Staff reported that work has been started on new and more modern rifles and artillery.The people rally behind the Kaiser like never before.The war support is incredibly high and new recruits come to the army every day.
    The French government stated that a peaceful solution should be found.However, everyone knows that the French will not just stay and watch without doing anything.The French Prime minister,René Viviani,is known for protecting the socialists and the trade union workers.
    On the next day,the Bulgarian government announces these shocking news to the public-the Tzar was killed by people who hated him for creating the first National Catastrophe.His son,Boris,acceded to the throne of an already unstable country,and to make evrything worse,the Prime minister resigned.
     
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    The Ceasefire
  • The Ceasefire
    The Austrian army,now desperate, after losing most of their empire to revolts decided to take back the lands that Hungary had earned during the start of the 20 day Offensive, as the Hungarian army is exhausted after marching tirelessly through Austrian territory. However,as the Austrian generals will soon learn, this is not enough to achieve victory, when they are so outnumbered by the inexperienced, but ambitious Hungarian army.As the shocked officers watch the battle, thousands of soldiers fall to the revolt.The rebels withstood the poorly planned Austrian attack.The officers have to call the attack back,and soon the rebellion will be able to march into Vienna unopposed.

    A total victory will be disastrous for Austria,which leads to some of the diplomats to start plans for a ceasefire and a peace treaty.The Germans welcomed the idea,as this would allow them to lay hold of Austria and turn the Austrians into a de facto puppet of the Empire.
    The preparations for the treaty begin. The German Foreign Minister, Gottlieb von Jagow, pressures Hungary to halt their military actions by threatening with a German entry into the war. This is an obvious victory for the rebellions, so they won their independence, however, the Germans secretly adopt the Großdeutschland once again,much to the Great Powers' contempt,which means that Austria's integrity will be preserved and new continues won't expand.

    Countrywide celebrations are organized in Hungary,B-M and Croatia after the end of the war to show that Austrian oppression is finally over.Some people even form groups to attack Austrian suburbs in major cities,and the still unorganized and nationalist governments do nothing about this new division of locals and the forner oppressors. The day of the ceasefire(13 October 1914)is declared a national holiday in the new countries.Hungary looked back to the ideals of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.

    But despite all that,the war is far from over,as no treaty is signed yet.The arrangements for this eventful and significant treaty finally came to a halt on the 20th and the delegates gathered in Berlin to decide the fates of their nations.
     
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    A Fallen Eagle
  • A Fallen Eagle
    Treaty of Berlin :
    • The former lands of the Bohemian-Moravian crown(with the exception of the German-speaking regions of South Bohemia)will form the new state of Bohemia-Moravia
    • The lands with Slovenian majority will be given to the kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia,considering the simillar ethnicities of the Croatian and Slovenian peoples
    • The Austrian Empire will recognize the independence of the Hungarian Kingdom
    • A new state will be established from the lands that the Habsburgs had annexed in the First Partition of Poland,the Kingdom of Galicia-Lodomeria
    • The Free Imperial city of Trieste and the March of Istria will be granted to the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
    • The Austrian Empire will recognise the independence of the newly established states of Croatia-Slavonia and Galicia-Lodomeria
    • The adjacent Bukovina in the east will pass to the Hungarian Kingdom

    Signatories
    The Kingdom of Galicia-Lodomeria
    The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
    The Republic of Bohemia-Moravia
    The Hungarian Kingdom
    The Austrian Empire

    With pressure from the German Empire,no limitations were put on the Austrian Empire,which isn't a very popular decision in newly-established states,since they still see the Austrians as a threat,especially when they have the support of the Germans.The only overseas possession remained with Austria,which is once again seen as a weakness in the eyes of the Hungarian people. Should this government stay in power, if they can't force their will upon the defeated power.

    The end of this war shows the start of a new age.The former serfs have finally freed themselves from their Austrian overlords,because we put our differences aside and united our efforts with a single purpose - to end foreign rule, which made us strong and we won a great victory today! With the end of the Fallen Eagle(in reference to the Austrian Empire), a new age begins.The Modern Age. - László Lukács, Hungarian delegate,after the treaty was signed.


    The war may be over,but the problems are just starting. The anti-Austrian groups (which are essentially becoming paramilitary forces) are growing and hierarchies are forming, which will help them to enforce their ideas on the still unstable and mostly nationalist government.They want absolute rule for the Hungarians,with no autonomous regions for the minorities(Austrians,Slovaks and Romanians)One of the people that are rising to prominence as leaders of the groups is Mikloś Horthy,a patriot who was ready to ally with ultraationalists to protect his country from the internal enemies.This leads to the rise of the chauvinist "Army of the Magyars".Horthy,was not popular in Hungary,as he was just a corvette captain, but his anti-Austrian speeches gather the most fervent nationalists and patriots in the country.
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    Mikloś Horthy in his uniform after the creation of the Army,1914​
    Pro-democratic circles,which promise equality for everyone,are trying to sway the public opinion to their cause with non-violent methods,they're in a good position to win the power struggle, as they have the king on their side,who was a social-democrats.They want to give more rights to the workers and regulate the economy for the good of the people

    Hungary shall not fall to extremist and nationalist movements, who want to establish absolute rule! Democracy will be victorious! - excerpt from the liberal newspaper "12 Points" (named after the demands of the revolutionaries in 1848).

    The volunteers that formed the Hungarian "army" during the war were now turning on each other.
     
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