Call it Fate, Call it Karma: An Austrian Empire TL

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Preface: Hello! Before I start this, i'd like to open up with an introduction. I've always been drawn to the Habsburgs and their Empire, and figuring out a way to save it. I've done some research and I think i've got a plausible timeline involving reforms and a rebirth of the Austrian Empire. The POD is that the assassination attempt on Franz Joseph by a Hungarian nationalist was successful, and his much more liberal brother, Ferdinand Maximilian, succeeds him as Emperor of Austria.

Prologue: Call it Fate, Call it Karma

Early one February morning, Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, was walking along one of the city bastions in Vienna. Accompanying him was one of his officers, an Irishman by the name of Maximilian O'Donnell. This particular morning, Franz had awoken with a slight fever, and although the cold of February winter still hung about in the air, he felt rather warm. The fever was not bad enough to where he could not do the day's business, however, and Franz thought it would pass before noon hit. The two were having a casual conversation when out of the shadows, János Libényi, a Hungarian nationalist, snuck up on the two of them. Before either of the men knew what was happening, the Hungarian struck at the Emperor from behind with a knife, stabbing him neck. On a normal day, the Emperor would have his collar buttoned up, and it would've helped protect him from the blow, but due to the heat of his fever, he had, for once, worn it unbuttoned. The knife managed to hit the Emperor's spinal cord, and he fell to the ground paralyzed. It all happened in a moment, but for the three men in the encounter, it seemed as if time itself was slowed down.

O'Donnell, in his panic, attempted to pull his saber out of it's sheath, but it would not budge, due to the tip of the blade being stuck on a hem. This allowed the assaulter to quickly stab O'Donnell as well - he struck him in the heart, almost instantly killing the Irishman. His work done, the Hungarian fled the scene, and his identity would not be found out until years after his death, when his wife published his memoirs. With O'Donnell dead, no one knew about the Emperor, who was slowly bleeding out from the fatal wound. By the time a patrol found him - after thirty minutes of the Emperor laying on the ground - it would be too late. Archduchess Sophia, mother of the Emperor is accompanied by two of her other sons Maximilian Ferdinand and Karl Ludwig, as well as a troupe of guards and a surgeon, who diagnoses the body. To the grief of all, Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, was dead. With a choked sob, Archduchess Sophia ordered all officers in the vicinity to hunt down the murderer, however he is not found, and would not be found. Despite the moment being one of grief, the Archduchess put on a strong face, and declared that that the late Emperor's brother Maximilian would succeed him as Emperor of Austria.
 
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Subscribed! I'm always interested in TLs where Austria is not broken up into squabbling, impotent statelets.
 
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[Map of the Austrian Empire in February, 1854, after Maximilian's first year as Emperor]

Chapter I (February 1853 - February 1854)

Maximilian was different than most members of the Habsburg family; he was very liberal compared to the rest of his yolk. It isn't known whether or not he developed these views before or after his take over as Emperor of Austria - although most say that it was his years in the Austrian Navy that did it (most nobles that had done time in the Navy leaned on the liberal side; this is because the Navy is the most social part of a country's armed forces, and you intake many cultures as a member of one). The first thing he did as Emperor of Austria was help write up and then sign the Constitution of the Empire of Austria (known by most as the Constitution of March, although it wasn't actually signed until April 3rd). This Constitution guaranteed the rights of the common man to vote in democratic election and to have a trial by jury.

This Constitution also established a two house Parliament, called the Reichstag, based off of that of the United Kingdom; the Fürstenhaus would be made up of members of the Imperial family, members of other noble families and high ranking members of the clergy. The lords of the Fürstenhaus had their seats for life, and many of the seats would be hereditary, although the Emperor had the ability to strip a family of their seat and give it to another family of their choosing. The second group would be the Unterhaus. The Unterhaus, which would have half the amount of members of the Fürstenhaus, would be open to citizens of the Empire of any nationality, and would work on a six year term basis. In order to appease the nobles, as Maximilian realized he would have to slowly introduce his reforms, he had six hundred seats of the thousand-seat Reichstag belong to the Fürstenhaus, giving them the majority. This Reichstag would hold a decent amount of power in the Empire, however, the Imperial family still wore the crown, and were the top dogs. This form of Constitutional-yet-Autocratic Monarchy would become popular in Central Europe later on. All other governing bodies, such as the Croatian Diet and the Hungarian magnates, would be dissolved, although most members of those bodies would be added to the Fürstenhaus. The Reichstag would go into affect January 1st of 1854. Maximilian knew all of this would anger the Hungarians, but did not care. He confided in his mother that the reason Austria had been so crippled as of late was due to the Emperors having to submit to the Hungarians, and that the Imperial family would do so no longer.

The summer was rather uneventful; the people who revolted just a few years before were pleased with the new Emperor, and happy with their rights being secured by a constitution. The Hungarians were heavily angered by the constitution, as Maximilian predicted, and continuously lobbied for a meeting with the Emperor, who likewise continuously rejected the meeting, telling them to schedule the meeting in advance, because he was very, very busy. From July to August he arranged meetings with many different diplomats, angling for alliances with France and Britain, as well as reaffirming those with the southern German states. August was also important due to a few guests who had traveled to Vienna with the Bavarian diplomat; two of Maximilian's cousins, along with their mother. Archduchess Sophia had arranged for the visit, hoping to marry the older cousin to the Emperor. That cousin, Duchess Helene was hopeful that she would catch the eye of Maximilian, and she did. The two began courting in September, and it seemed as if they were a perfect match. The two had similar political views, and Maximilian admired how pious she was. The Archduchess war more than pleased.

Early November finally brought the funeral of the late Emperor Franz Joseph. It was a sad affair, with the Imperial Family each giving a short speech. The funeral was held in Vienna; thousands of nobles, politicians and citizens showed up to pay their respects to the young Emperor. It was here that Maximilian announced the building of a church on the site of the late Emperor's death. This church was to be in memorial of him. The ceremony wasn't yet over when, in what was seen as a move of total disrespect, a group of Hungarian politicians, led by Lajos Kossuth, stepped up to him in the middle of his speech and demanded the Constitution be rewritten. They give him an ultimatum: rewrite it, this time including the traditional power of the Hungarian magnates, or else the Hungarians split. Emperor Maximilian, despite Archduchess Sophia telling him not to, calls their bluff and gives the group an ultimatum of his own. The Kingdom of Hungary can have it's independence, but they wouldn't take Croatia nor Galicia with them. In the end, the Hungarians leave the Empire, and the Apostolic Kingdom of Hungary gains it's independence, with Kossuth as Regent. Although Archduchess Sophia freaks out, Maximilian tells her that they won't last a month without the Austrians, and will come crawling back soon enough. Maximilian would be proven wrong, when in December, the young Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern, would be elected as King of Hungary. Nonetheless, it would later be realized that the Kingdom of Hungary was one of two major stumbling blocks to the Austrian Empire, and that the Austrians were, in the long run, much better off without them.

The new year looked optimistic, with the Austrian Empire relatively stable, if slightly smaller. A marriage between Maximilian and Helene had been arranged for later in the year ('A summertime marriage, Maxy! Oh, can't we?'), bringing new joy to Imperial family, joy that had been lost with the murder of their dearest Franz Joseph. Austria's new French-aligned military policies would later be shown to be a smart move later that year as well, when the treaties are enacted and Maximilian enters the first major conflict of his reign - the Crimean War.
 
More Austrian timelines,excellent.Although,wouldn't the Austrian Empire be drastically weakened without Hungary(given the army does have a large force of Hungarians)?
 
More Austrian timelines,excellent.Although,wouldn't the Austrian Empire be drastically weakened without Hungary(given the army does have a large force of Hungarians)?

It would be weakened, but I wouldn't say too drastically. They still have the Austrians, the Slovenes, the Italians the Croats, the Poles and the Czechs and Slovaks. A large part of the army is Hungarian, but if shedding that is what it takes to keep the empire together, then it'll have to be done. And in the long run, isn't the empire minus Hungary still better than no empire at all?
 
So that end hungary crisis, just let it go away? well....history have been more insane.

So crimea come next...umm liberating poland would be nice :D

So how will be the dick measuring contest with prussia about germany? if handled with care, they would accept the 'constituional yet authoritarian' empire with the austrias, even if bismarck wanted a small deutchland he is not full to start a war he can not win, a fait accompli would keep the army prussia dominated(and navy and civil service austria dominated).

hey, don't ever dare Lombardo-Venetia, that is the home Austria-Venetian navy unless hasburg start a new dynasty in italy ;)
 
So crimea come next...umm liberating poland would be nice :D
But then Austria will have to deal with the Poles somehow within it's own borders....
So how will be the dick measuring contest with prussia about germany? if handled with care, they would accept the 'constituional yet authoritarian' empire with the austrias, even if bismarck wanted a small deutchland he is not full to start a war he can not win, a fait accompli would keep the army prussia dominated(and navy and civil service austria dominated).
Genuinely curious,why couldn't Prussia beat a smaller Austria?Another problem is that unless Prussia is somehow cut down in size,I'd imagine the rivalry between Austria and Prussia is going to be continued within a more centralized Germany.
 
But then Austria will have to deal with the Poles somehow within it's own borders....
Genuinely curious,why couldn't Prussia beat a smaller Austria?Another problem is that unless Prussia is somehow cut down in size,I'd imagine the rivalry between Austria and Prussia is going to be continued within a more centralized Germany.

Depend, just an idea, but austria seems more able to compromise, ruling with a iron fist in a velvet glove and more cautious that otl(when franz joseph make more blunder that sucess)

The issue is besides the 60's war, Bismarck was always warry his movement, the thougt austria war was too much but still anything can happen, the most would be two fighting and the unify if france(aka napoleon III) do something stupid.

Still waiting how thing will unfold.
 
So that end hungary crisis, just let it go away? well....history have been more insane.

So crimea come next...umm liberating poland would be nice :D

So how will be the dick measuring contest with prussia about germany? if handled with care, they would accept the 'constituional yet authoritarian' empire with the austrias, even if bismarck wanted a small deutchland he is not full to start a war he can not win, a fait accompli would keep the army prussia dominated(and navy and civil service austria dominated).

hey, don't ever dare Lombardo-Venetia, that is the home Austria-Venetian navy unless hasburg start a new dynasty in italy ;)

Mhm! Things will not be super happy for the Hungarians, who are now landlocked and surrounded by enemies. But things will be better for the Habsburgs, now that Austria's inner government can now begin to centralize and stabilize. :D

The Crimean War will have some interesting results, however the Duchy of Warsaw will not gain independence. Too early for that, methinks.

Germany will be a fun beast to tackle, but that's farther away from what i'm doing right now. Conservative Prussia and Liberal Austria are bound to get into shenanigans sometime soon.

Lombardy-Venetia is one of the next things i'm going to talk about. I've got a different approach to that beast as well.

Genuinely curious,why couldn't Prussia beat a smaller Austria?Another problem is that unless Prussia is somehow cut down in size,I'd imagine the rivalry between Austria and Prussia is going to be continued within a more centralized Germany.

Well, Prussia beat a larger Austria, so i'd say they probably could beat a smaller one. The Austrian-Prussian rivalry is going to be more of a cold war than a hot one ITTL, with a 'least' solution to German unification taken when that time comes.
 
OK I wasn't aware that Maximilian was a complete idiot with no real idea of how his government worked. First off, Kossuth was in exile in 1853/1854 for his crimes during the 1848-49 uprising and would remain there for life. So no chance that he could be back in the Empire, let alone elected to the new Parliament. Second, Hungary was under martial law and military occupation in the early 1850s, again thanks to the 1848-49 revolution. So the Hungarians could bitch all they want, they have no choice at this point.

Third, Maximilian would have completely lost the support of the army with his actions. Giving Hungary independence would be spitting in the face of every soldier who fought and died for the Habsburgs in the '48-49 war and revolution. Finally, the constitution is both to liberal and to absolutist. It implies universal suffrage, something that was nonexistent in Europe at the time, and by dissolving the various provincial assemblies ignores the multi-national makeup of the Empire.

In all if your serious about a Maximilian of Austria TL, you need to do a lot of research of the subject, like Austrian politics, policies and the all around situation in Europe at the time. At this point it reads like a half-researched ASB of what you want to happen, not whats likely to happen.
 
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[Austrian and British Calvary work together against Russia in the 'Charge of the Light Brigade']

Chapter II (February 1854 - February 1855)

The opening months of Maximilian's second year as Emperor of Austria were some of the most hectic he would face in his entire reign.

It all came down to the true beginning of what would later be called the Crimean War. The Ottoman Empire had been in decline for quite some time, and the Russian Empire was ready to feast upon it's slowly dying carcass. The Great Powers had decided that a stronger Russia was not something they wanted; and after attempts at a peace failed, In March, the United Kingdom and the Second French Empire declared war on Tsardom of Russia. Treaties that Maximilian and Napoleon III had written up obligated Austria to join in on France's side during any conflict caused by Russian aggression; while Maximilian felt guilty about betraying his former ally, Tsar Nicolas I, he felt worse about not doing his duty - and a stronger Russia in the Balkans would be bad for Austrian business. So in April, the Austrian Empire officially declared war on Russia, joining the ranks of the Ottomans, the British and the French. This war quickly showed itself to be a naval war, with the allies deciding that if the Crimea could be taken, Russia could be forced into a peace (hence the name of the war). Maximilian, a former naval officer himself, realized this was his chance to begin rapidly modernizing the navy. He placed his cousin Leopold Ludwig as Minister and Chief Admiral of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). Leopold and Maximilian had been rivals when they were younger, but after the death of Maximilian's brother, the two had reconciled. They worked together to turn the Imperial Navy into one of the premier Navies of Europe. And while the Imperial Navy featured their shiny new ships in the Black Sea alongside the Royal and French Navies, the Austrian Army invaded the Russian-held Danubian Principalities alongside regiments of the French Army.

For the Austrians, the war had an interlude in the later days of May, where Spring and Summer intertwine. On the thirtieth, the wedding of Emperor Maximilian I and Duchess Helene was held, and indeed it was a grand affair. Similar to the funeral of his brother less than a year ago, the entire population of Vienna was invited, alongside nobles from the rest of the Empire. Notable figures who showed up included Emperor Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, and even King Frederick William IV (whose belief that Austria was supposed to dominate German had started to falter based on Maximilian's liberal policies). This marked the beginning of a long and happy marriage, and the celebrations were only increased when the Austrians successfully liberated the Danubian provinces in by late June. When August hit, the battle was changed by the entrance of Sweden into the war. The Swedes had considered joining the war before, but with the success of the Austrians in storming Moldavia and Wallachia, the camel's back had been broken. The Swedes took advantage of the lack of Russian armies in the north, and alongside the Royal Navy detachments in the Baltic, began an invasion of Finland. Russian troops began to be spread quite thin.

Back at home, the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia (who would later be Austria's ally in the Crimean War) began to make it clear that they had ambitions on Austrian territory, more specifically the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. Emperor Maximilian was an Italian romantic, and had, over the past few years, silently supported Sardinia's growing influence over the other Italian states. However, he was still a practical man, and Venice was the main base of the Imperial Navy - the same Imperial Navy that he adored. The same Imperial Navy that he had just recently reformed and turned into a force to be reckoned with. He wouldn't let it go without a fight, but that didn't mean some compromise or peace couldn't be made with the Italians. And the Sardinians knew that, due to the growing relations between Austria and France, that a war for Venice and Milan would be devastating. Turin didn't start wars without permission from Paris first. And so the early months of 1855 would show an increasing amount of communication from Austrian and Sardinian diplomats. In January, Prime Minister Rainier Ferdinand (younger brother of Chief Admiral Leopold) began advising the Emperor on seeking a treaty with the Russians to consolidate the gains in the Danubian principalities. Maximilian refused to raise a white flag of peace, however, he did follow Rainier's advice on consolidating his gains. He began working on plans for a 'Kingdom of Dacia'. This Kingdom would unite the Danubian principalities under one flag, and Maximilian would place his younger brother Karl Ludwig as the King. An ally in the east would help surround the Hohenzollerns in Hungary, and make them think twice about making any moves. Finally, the second year of Maximilian's reign closes when on February 15th, 1855, it was announced that Empress Helene had gotten pregnant!
 
OK I wasn't aware that Maximilian was a complete idiot with no real idea of how his government worked. First off, Kossuth was in exile in 1853/1854 for his crimes during the 1848-49 uprising and would remain there for life. So no chance that he could be back in the Empire, let alone elected to the new Parliament. Second, Hungary was under martial law and military occupation in the early 1850s, again thanks to the 1848-49 revolution. So the Hungarians could bitch all they want, they have no choice at this point.

Third, Maximilian would have completely lost the support of the army with his actions. Giving Hungary independence would be spitting in the face of every soldier who fought and died for the Habsburgs in the '48-49 war and revolution. Finally, the constitution is both to liberal and to absolutist. It implies universal suffrage, something that was nonexistent in Europe at the time, and by dissolving the various provincial assemblies ignores the multi-national makeup of the Empire.

In all if your serious about a Maximilian of Austria TL, you need to do a lot of research of the subject, like Austrian politics, policies and the all around situation in Europe at the time. At this point it reads like a half-researched ASB of what you want to happen, not whats likely to happen.

No need to be so hostile, wow.

Kossuth made a return IOTL. Maximilian isn't an idiot for letting the Hungarians go, the magnates were literally killing the empire. There isn't universal suffrage in the constitution, I didn't say or have anything of the sort, i'm not too sure where that came from? This Constitution is playing into the hands of the revolutionaries. Whether or not you think it is right, these reforms (including the centralized parliament) are things the empire needed to survive. I have done plenty of research, and while I appreciate criticisms or people telling me things I could change to make it a better TL, this wasn't constructive at all, it mostly just came off on the rude side.
 
No need to be so hostile, wow.

Kossuth made a return IOTL. Maximilian isn't an idiot for letting the Hungarians go, the magnates were literally killing the empire. There isn't universal suffrage in the constitution, I didn't say or have anything of the sort, i'm not too sure where that came from? This Constitution is playing into the hands of the revolutionaries. Whether or not you think it is right, these reforms (including the centralized parliament) are things the empire needed to survive. I have done plenty of research, and while I appreciate criticisms, this wasn't constructive at all, it mostly just came off on the rude side.
Although he is right in that the empire can probably crush the magnates right now with Hungary in full martial law.
 
Galicia and through the Black Sea, like the French.
Wouldn't it make sense for Austria to fight a war with Russia only in the area bordering Galicia?It hardly makes sense to go to the Danubian principalities and even less to send a separate force through naval convoy to attack the Danubian principalities.
 
Wouldn't it make sense for Austria to fight a war with Russia only in the area bordering Galicia?It hardly makes sense to go to the Danubian principalities and even less to send a separate force through naval convoy to attack the Danubian principalities.

The Danubian principalities were the casus belli of the allies to declare war on Russia, so it made sense that they would try and 'liberate' them.

The area bordering Galicia was part of the war too, but remember I haven't described every detail of the war, and it's still going on ITTL, and it will be for a few years, so I will further describe it in the next few updates.
 
The Danubian principalities were the casus belli of the allies to declare war on Russia, so it made sense that they would try and 'liberate' them.

The area bordering Galicia was part of the war too, but remember I haven't described every detail of the war, and it's still going on ITTL, and it will be for a few years, so I will further describe it in the next few updates.
But the Russians will most likely concentrate a large number of their forces along Galicia.Is it feasible at all to detach troops from the Galician border?Another thing is that to get from Galicia to the Danubian provinces,you will first have to conquer a sizable part of Ukraine and Moldova from Russia to do so first.
 
No need to be so hostile, wow.

Kossuth made a return IOTL. Maximilian isn't an idiot for letting the Hungarians go, the magnates were literally killing the empire. There isn't universal suffrage in the constitution, I didn't say or have anything of the sort, i'm not too sure where that came from? This Constitution is playing into the hands of the revolutionaries. Whether or not you think it is right, these reforms (including the centralized parliament) are things the empire needed to survive. I have done plenty of research, and while I appreciate criticisms or people telling me things I could change to make it a better TL, this wasn't constructive at all, it mostly just came off on the rude side.

I'm not being hostile I'm being blunt. First off, Kossuth never made a return to Hungary after 1849. Franz Josef would have never granted him amnesty. Second, Max giving up Hungary is tantamount to Lincoln letting the south go. The government in Vienna would be venomously opposed, as would the army and surrounding nations like Russia, who wouldn't want a revolutionary state on their borders. Third, it encourages further rebellion; the other minorities of the empire are shown that if they complain loud enough they to could gain independence. The Italians in Milan and Venice are definitely going to follow Hungary's lead.

Forth, there's a reason Austria didn't sign on with the allies during the Crimean war: the empire's finances were still in chaos and Vienna couldn't afford a full scale campaign. The only thing they did was to garrison the Principalities after Russia pulled out of the region.

Really if you want to deal with Hungary and the magnates in a constructive way the 1850s were the best time. Max should instead give rights to the various minorities within the Kingdom of Hungary, rewarding the loyalists who supported the Habsburgs during the rebellion/civil war. Second, break up the Magnate's estates. If a magnate sided against his/her King, seize the estate, break it up and give parts to various loyalists.

Give more rights to ordinary Hungarians, whatever the rest of the empire's commoners had, to further weaken the magnates powers. The mistake the Habsburgs made was a failure to properly deal with the rebels; instead of treating them as they were, they later negotiated with them and created a millstone around the empire's neck.

Finally, as to full centralization, that was tried OTL by Franz Josef and more or less failed and continued to fail as time went on, creating deadlock in the Parliament that meant that the Empire had to be governed by imperial decree. Austria needed a successful federal system, one that allowed "home rule" while preserving central authority. Without a careful balance, similar to Germany or the US, Austria will end up paralyzed, its Parliament turning into a squabbling yelling match that entertained the Viennese, not a functioning legislative branch.
 
But the Russians will most likely concentrate a large number of their forces along Galicia.Is it feasible at all to detach troops from the Galician border?Another thing is that to get from Galicia to the Danubian provinces,you will first have to conquer a sizable part of Ukraine and Moldova from Russia to do so first.

Also this. Austria OTL was able to keep a large Russian force pinned down by stationing forces in Galicia. If most of those troops are sent to the Danubian Principalities it leaves Austria proper open to invasion. Not to mention the probable alliance Russia would offer Hungary; Russian support for Hungary to reclaim Croatia. In other words, Austria has a lot more to lose here than in OTL for little gain.
 
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