Chapter 2 Prussia's Fall
"Damn you Bismarck! Goddamn you to hell!"- King Wihelm I 1866
"For the past century our Empire has come to stagnation under the watch of our idiotic anscestors. Ever since Maria Theresa we've been afraid of a bunch of upstart Protestants. No longer! Austria shall lead as it was always meant to be."- Emperor Franz Joseph 1866
"Let the Germans squabble among themselves. We've got the world to claim."- Emperor Napoleon III 1866
After the Battle of Koniggratz the Prussian front at Bohemia collapsed entirely. Unlike Austria who could focus entirely on one front (two counting the Italians) the Prussian Army was one that had to be spread out all throughout Northern Germany in order to provide for the defense of both the Rhineland and Prussia Proper while beginning intrusions into other areas such as Hanover, Saxony, and Bavaria. The 221,000 Prussians who were sent to Koniggratz were all that was stationed in Silesia in Bohemia, the rest of the Prussian Army either in Hanover, the Rhineland, or supporting their allies. While the losses at Koniggratz were only a sixth of the total army, the sheer number of casualties taken along with the high number of officers taken (especially the two Princes) turned the Prussian Army into a mess with whole units deserting and thousands surrendering before the advancing Austrians en masse. With high morale and a large number of Prussian weaponry captured, General Ludgwig von Benedeck gave chase and forced the Prussians outside of Austrian territory entirety on July 9th. On July 11th Benedeck led the combined Austrian and Saxon armies to invade Silesia so that it could be reclaimed for Austria after its loss in the Seven Years War. Within the following month a series of clashes took place between the Austrian Northern Army and the Prussian Silesian Army Group. Almost all of the battles went in the favor of Austria with thousands of Prussians either captured, deserting, or dead following each engagement. With Prussia scrambling to call up its reserves, Benedeck was able to steamroll his way through Silesia with the Army reaching Breslau by July 23rd and the whole province begin secured on August 4th with plans being made to either attack Berlin or Posen.
Austrian invasion of Silesia
Meanwhile within the Rhineland the combined armies of Wurttemburg, Hesse, and Baden were making their way across the country with little opposition. The reason for this being due to a rather hastily written order by Prussian Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke to withdraw forces to Berlin so that the capitol could be defended from the impending Austrian threat. What units remained in the region were split between moving against the South Germans and tending to the border where French troops were gathered for the possibility of an intervention later on. In Central Germany the minuscule allies of Prussia were being overrun by a coalition of Bavarian and Hessian troops thanks in large part to Prussia refusing to come to their aid and focusing on their own borders. This allowed Hanoverian divisions to invade and overrun Brunswick which forced a cutoff between West and East Prussia. The only front that the Prussians found relative success on was the Hanoverian and Schleswig-Holstein fronts with Holstein occupied by Prussian troops along with the eastern 1/4th of Hanover. Unfortunately with the Austrians in Silesia the Prussian homefront turned volatile with Berliners taking to the streets in mass protests against Bismarck and the war demanding peace. meanwhile the Prussian Diet had to be dissolved by Wilhelm due to the Liberal majority refusing to cooperate with the government due to the war's losses, something that only angered the people even further.
On the Italian front the situation was a dreadful one for the Italian military. On June 24th the Battle of Custoza took place with Archduke Albrecht leading 75,000 Austrians against the far numerically superior Italian army. While on paper the Italians appeared to have the advantage, in reality they were far weaker than the Austrian forces due to a reliance on old weaponry from the days of the First War of Independence while the Italian command structure was even more fractured than the Austrians due to constant conflicts between the Piedmontese and Sicilian leadership and regiments. At 7 AM the battle started off with a charge of Austrian cavalry to the Italian I corps. The attack in the end was a failure with the Austrian cavalry being decimated, though it caused a significant strategic advantage with three of the Italian divisions being immobilized due to a combination of poor leadership and lack of clear communication which forced more than half the Italian Army to sit out the battle and refuse to cross the Minio river. With the forces numbering even, Albrecht was able to mount a strong defense and beat back the Italians after several attacks with only a few holes being opened in the Austrian ranks which were quickly filled in. Seeing the battle as lost, Italian General Alfonso La Morra ordered a hasty retreat across the Minio River in order to regroup with the divisions who were left behind. This was a major tactical error as the fight was still ongoing and all that was accomplished was the opening of major holes in the Italian line which Albrech exploited to the fullest with a encirclement of the Govone division. With the Italians in full retreat, Albrecht ordered his infantry to capture the strategically important bridges on the Minio river which the Italians had not fortified due to a major lack in oversight. With the bridges captured and only around 15,000 having escaped across the river, La Morra was forced to surrender the remainder of the Italian I corps in shame. The Battle of Castoza was a catastrophic defeat for Italy with 3,720 killed, 2,785 wounded, and 34,682 captured. Among the dead was the Prince Amadeo who was mortally wounded while leading a counterattack. The Austrians suffered more moderate casualties in comparison with 920 killed and 3,029 wounded. The Battle of Castoza was the essential climax of the Third and final war for Italian Independence as it decimated any chance of a successful Italian invasion of Venetia and forced the Italians onto the defensive for the remainder of the war as Giuseppe Garibaldi scrambled to find a replacement army while the Austrians slowly marched into Lombardy. The Austrians main lack of a full thrust due to the focus on Prussia and the uncertainty of repercussions from French Empire.
Battle of Custoza (Left) Death of Amadeus (Right)
On the sea the only actions took place within the Mediterranean as the Hapsburgs did not have a presence in the Baltic and North Sea while both Hanover and Prussia had little to combat each other with. During the whole war the Adriatic was heavily contested for full control, but in a majority of skirmishes the Austrian Navy won with the Austrians winning a decisive victory at the Battle of Lissa with the sinking of 3 ironclads and a cruiser in return for a single ironclad. The reason for the Austrians continued victories within the Adriatic was hardly a testament to their naval prowess, rather one due to the massive mismanagement the Regina Marina suffered thanks to the fierce rivarly between Piedmontese and Sicilian sailors that was so bad that both sides would refuse to cooperate with each other in engagements.
With Austria reigning supreme on the battlefield, the time soon came for peace to be decided. While it was likely, though presumably costly, that Austria could manage to reconquer Lombardy and perhaps march on Berlin; this was a sentiment that was dashed as foreign pressure from both France and Russia to prevent a total decimation of Prussia and Italy to occur, lest Austria become a European superpower. In the month of August operations continued by Austria as while they had achieved a decisive victory against Prussia and Italy, Franz Joseph wanted to make sure that he would achieve every demand that he desired. On September 10th the Peace of Prague was signed.
August 23rd, 1866. Vienna, Austria.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!! I will not sign a damned peace agreement that sees us give up land when the Italian incompetents could not win a single victory against our glorious Empire!" Yelled an enraged Emperor Franz Joseph for the suggestion that had just been given to him, slaming his fists on the table and prodcuing a small dent in the wood for effect. The Emperor was currently within the Imperial palace in Vienna, more specifically a meeting room among the dozens where plans were currently being made for Austria's victory and peace in the war. The room was filled with maps and globes while toy soldiers dotted the table to show movements and locations of the many armies within both Germany and Italy.
Within the room were the Emperor's brother Archduke Maximilian, his second cousin Archduke Albrecht who was made Commander in-chief after his victory at Costeza, and the non-Hapsburg in the room Foreign Minister Frederich Ferdinand Graf von Beust. Beust was an odd mix in the room not only for him not being in the Royal family, but being a Saxon Protestant. The man was invited into the court late last year to become Foreign Minister after Franz Joseph sacked the previous one, Count Rohtenlowen for his staunch views of a necessary alliance with Prussia. Beust in contrast was very anti-Prussian with an intense hatred of Bismarck, making him favorable in the Emperor's eye along with his distinguished service in the Saxon state.
For the past hour the four men got to work on building the peace deal with relative cohesion and agreement towards Prussia. However when the issue of Italy came up, Franz Joseph became livid at the suggestion that his younger brother made which was for Austria to give up Venetia.
"Venice was won by Metternich at the Congress of Vienna and is one of the most valuable ports in all of Europe, yet you would seek to throw that all away simply to appease the minorities!? Do you have any idea how embarrassing this would look on the world stage?' Mighty Austria is able to decimate the Italians yet they reward them for their aggression'. We would be the laughingstock of all of Europe after our great triumph. And you cousin, how can you support him when it was your victory that allowed us to dominate Italy. I shall not capitulate. Venice is ours and the Italians shall pay heavy reparations, lest they want Lombardy to be taken back from them." Franz Joseph finished with a humph. Maximilian sighed as his brother's stubbornness for the proposal. It wasn't like he was a defeatist in any regards, it was just that Maximilian looked towards the greater picture.
"Brother, I know how it may seem, it is just that we must think of the Empire. ever since 1848, the Italians have been restless for independence and later unification, causing a multitude of unrest and hundreds of thousands of Vereinsthalers with the constant presence of the Army. Had this been the only source of unrest then I would not consider withdrawing, but we have even more troublesome minorities with the Hungarians, Czechs, Poles, Croatians, Ukrainians, etc. Germans are only a fraction of this empire and if we want to maintain it then we either need to give into their demands or kick some out. There will only be constant revolts in Venice going forward along with endless wars with Italy. Let us prevent all this future bloodshed and focus on leading Germany. Italy has been lost ever since five years ago, its high time we accept it."
"On a more important note to the rightful concerns of continued unrest, there is the possibility of intervention that we should worry about. If all of our terms for Prussia are to go through then we shall be left as the sole power within Central Europe and our standing among the world will increase dramatically. This isn't something I am against mind you, its just that the other powers will take notice. We should be thankful to God that the United States somehow managed to achieve the impossable and conquer Britain, if Victoria were still on the throne then they would've intervened by now with our 'esteemed guests' marriage to her daughter, something that is now useless politically. However that leaves Russia and France.
Ever since you have refused to intervene in Crimea," Albrecht said with Franz looking to retort before he continued "Our relations with the Tsar are strained at best to non-existent at worst. They have no love lost for the Prussians but that does not mean that they would wish a ressurection of the Holy Roman Empire. We were lucky to have Poland between us before, now however with a border hundreds of miles long there will be conflict. What's extremely troubling is the fact that Nicholas just a few weeks ago declared the Treaty of Paris to be null and void due to Victoria's abdication. The fact that Napoleon has not publicly commented on the matter or made any moves against Russia, shows that he is in support of Russia's moves and will not inhibit their policies against the near future. Their conference in Coopenhagen and our spies in the French court seem to affirm all of this is rather true.
Then there is Napoleon himself who is demanding that some form of compensation with Italy happen. He may be in support of His Holiness' defense, but that does not mean he wants Italy weak or destroyed. If we are to take Silesia and dissolve West Prussia, then Venice is the way to go or else we face war. We can handle Prussia and Italy at the same time, but not with Russia and France coming to their respective aids. An intervention of any kind would be death for Austria."
Franz Joseph seemed to calm down at the logic, but he still appeared to be trying to fight the idea. "And what of you? Do you agree with my relatives?" Franz Joseph asked Beust in a relatively demanding tone.
The non-Hapsburg shifted his tie in a bit of nervousness and then proceeded to respond. "Mein Kaiser, both Archduke's here make relatively good points for the move due to both the defiance of our Italian subjects and the possibility of intervention from the Bonaparte or the Tsar. However I do not see it necessary to surrender the entirety of Venice as that would be far too merciful to the Italians for the good Archduke here continuously beating their forces. What I suggest instead is a compromise that would be satisfactory to Napoleon where of the Kingdom of Venetia, we give up all but the provinces of Udine and Venice itself. That way we get rid of a majority of the Italians but keep the most vital part of Venice, its shipyards and trade hub, within the Empire."
Franz Joseph relaxed a little in assurance while both Albrecht and Maximilian nodded their heads silently in approval. It was a sound plan on paper. Give the Italians a majority of the land and people to make them think they won, yet keep the valuable parts for the Empire. However Franz Joseph was still uncertain. "Yet in this scenario we are still giving land to Italy for winning, I want other ways to ruin them."
"Well Mein Kaiser, there are two methods that we can use to make the peace a total victory for us against the Italians. The first is economics. In the peace deal we force Italy to give us 16 million Vereinsthalers for the acquisition of Venetia. An adequate price in peacetime with a strong economy, but a terrible one for Italy with the unification of several economies in only a few years and the large economic disparity between the north and south. This isn't even mentioning the burden of funding several large armies to quell revolts and the wars against our nation in recent years. With Venice being kept in our hands, Italy will gain little of economic value within the deal and will force higher taxation rates. This along with the inevitable unemployment to come thanks to our rising industries and that of France and America, will lead to a recession sometime within the near future. Of course Italy can reject the price tag and allow us to keep Venice. This is a total win as it allows us for territorial integrity while the Italian people lambast Victor Emmanuel for being a cheapskate and not allowing the Venetians to unify with them.
Then there is the one term of peace that we bring up which will not only insure the prevention of an intervention by the French, but completely offset any territorial gains by the Italians. We go towards the Pope angle."
The Hapsburgs being all staunch Catholics, were surprised and intrigued by the Saxons mention of their spirtual leader. "What exactly do you have in mind for His Holiness?" Questioned Maximilian.
"I'm honestly surprised that you as Catholics did not consider this in the first place. At the moment Pius is trapped within Rome due to Italian Armies surrounding the Papal State, only being protected by a French garrison. For five years Victor has been feeding his people dreams of a Reborn Roman Empire that will come to dominate the Mediterranean. To do that he will need to capture Rome which will complete unification and centralize his rule. Yet Napoleon does not want Rome to fall thanks to pressure from Conservatives and his wife. All we have to do is include a portion in the treaty before the terms of Venice, that Italy has to respect Rome's sovereignty and not attempt to violate its borders. If Italy refuses then they will not receive a single mile of Venice. If they agree but invade in the near future, then we shall come to the Pope's aid and go to war with Venice, possibly reclaiming Lombardy. This is an absolute perfect scenario. If Italy refused to give up its claims on Rome then we keep Venice and the Venetians shall feel betrayed while the Italians attack their King for their failure. If Italy agrees to respect Rome, then our Catholic population will adore you Mein Kaiser as the Defender of the Faith. Napoleon gets what he wants by finally settling the matter with the Conservatives. The Church will forever be in the debt of the Hapsburg family. Most importantly the Italian Unification movement will collapse without its precious Rome in the new kingdom. With this clause of the deal all should be settled. As for the Russians, I'll commence negotiations with St. Petersburg over the Ottomans. I believe it would be in our best interest if we do not oppose them in the second war against the Turk that Nicholas is gearing up for."
Franz Joseph smiled at the plan in satisfaction. Deny Rome would utterly screw the Italian Unification movement and be the final death nail in the coffin which would force Italy to stop its wars with Austria, lest they want to commit suicide. Franz Joseph would be warmly regarded among Austria, even among the Hungarians and Poles for fighting for the Church. Napoleon will be satisfied and Franz Joseph will forever have a free hand in Germany. "Brilliant plan, yes I can surely see that bastard Victor crying on his throne over the loss of Rome. I believe these terms are satisfactory. This meeting is adjourned." With the Emperor's approval the other three proceeded to head out the door, Beust heading back towards the Foreign Ministry while both the Archdukes retreated inward towards the palace.
Albrecht turned towards Maximilian as they were walking, the gardens in sight. "I want to thank you Maxi for all that you have done within this past year. I know you wanted to become Emperor of Mexico, but your doing a lot of good for the Empire. We need more men like you within our government."
Maximilian sighed at Albrecht's kind words. While it is true that he had found a new purpose upon his return with Franz Joseph giving into his reforms for the Navy and Maximilian playing a large part in the war decisions, the man was struck with melancholy over his lost throne. "Franz only listens to what we say because he is scared of the possibility of a Prussian victory. It was only Ireland that woke him up to the deficiencies within our army, an organization that you've done a wonderful job leading with its numerous faults. Yet the man refuses to listen to a word a breath on how to run a proper government. The only reason he even complied back there was because of Napoleon's threats and that he'll still get what he wants with Germany. The man refuses to do something about Hungary and he is reluctant to unify Germany when its what started this war in the first place. We were blessed to have won at Koniggratz for certain, but what if the Prussians won?"
Albrecht nodded sympathetically. "I understand you. A large reason we won at all upon analysis was due to the performance of our American weaponry. I love my Colt revolver, however I would much rather have my sidearm be named in German like Wagner instead. I do hope that Franz does not get too drunk off of victory and refuse to continue the reforms. I still have a decade at least to finish and just because the Prussians lost it does not mean that they do not have elements to copy. As for the government and nation, we can only pray for its safety. We have managed to get off fine in worse times, I'm sure we will continue to do so in the future. For now let's celebrate our victory today, and solve the problems of the present tomorrow. Auf Wiedersehen cousin! Do give my regards to Charlotte and the twins."
"Will do cousin, Auf Wiedersehen!" Maximilian replied as he left to once more be in the company of his wife and sons. While Mexico had been a rather embarrassing fiasco, the trip had yielded fruits with Maximilian finding out on his return to Austria that his wife was three months pregnant. The couple were blessed last year with the birth of two healthy twin boys, who they named Karl and Leopold von Hapsburg. Though Maximilian may not have been an Emperor, he had a good life with his family and was serving his nation proud. Little did Maximilian know of coming events within the next year that would propel him to the center of the Empire and change the destiny of Austria forever.
