alternatehistory.com

In 1882 the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I survived two assassination attempts by the Italian irredentists Guglielmo Oberdan and Donato Ragosa while visiting Trieste.

See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guglielmo_Oberdan

What would have happened had they succeeded? Would that have meant war between Austria-Hungary and Italy? How did the two armies compare at the time? How would the other great powers react?

On the other hand, neither of the aspiring assassins had official Italian backing and both were originally from Habsburg lands. Was this really enough of a casus belli, even with a dead Emperor? I find this especially interesting when compared to the later case of Franz Ferdinand.

Furthermore, what do you think this means for Crown Prince Rudolf? The reasons for his later suicide can of course not be fully known, but I always understood that being kept away from government by his father at least played some part. So I would assume his suicide would be butterflied away. How does he adapt to ruling at a young age?

How do Rudolf's rather liberal and reformist opinions play out once he's Emperor? He was also pretty anti-German, which could cause all kinds of chaos in the European alliance system of the late 19th century.
Top