An Empire Best United: An Austrian TL

[Colonel Autumn]

Hello! This is a redo of my other TL, "Call it Karma, Call it Fate". It focuses on a world where the assassination attempt of Franz Josef, Emperor of Austria is successful and his brother Ferdinand Maximilian (OTL Maximilian I of Mexico) is crowned Emperor of Austria. As a sucker for minor PODs, the actual divergence is that the Emperor is bitten by a bed bug the night before the TL starts.

Prologue: An Empire Best United​

On the eighteenth of February, the Emperor of Austria, Franz Josef, was walking along one of the numerous city bastions in Vienna. Walking with him was an officer and confidante, an Irishman named Maximilian O'Donnell. The two had struck up a conversation about the state of the Austrian Navy (which had been a wreck) when a disaster struck. Although neither of them knew it, an assassin had managed to sneak up behind them. The assassin was a Hungarian nationalist by the name of János Libényi. Libényi struck Franz Josef right in the neck; while usually the Emperor would wear a protective collar, on that particular day he did not. The night before he had gotten bitten by a bed bug right on the neck, and it was itching something terrible while the Emperor was dressing himself. While it seemed like a little deal then, it revealed itself to be a grand mistake, as the knife went straight in. Maximilian quickly struck the Hungarian down, but alas, it was too late. By the time the Irishman managed to call others to help the wounded Emperor, he was already gone. The knife had been plunged right into his spinal cord, killing on contact. Within hours the Imperial family is notified. Archduchess Sophia, mother of the late Emperor Franz Josef, is plunged into grieving, while his younger brother, Ferdinand Maximilian, is proclaimed Emperor of Austria.

And so began the reign of the man who singlehandedly would save the Austrian Empire.

 

[Nivek]

Why abadoned the old one, should just keep it and keep posting but well this your call.

Again general tips with austria, even if people want more liberal goverments, the hasburg are the king of pragmatism and personal diplomacy, so they will not relish any inch of the austria empire unless loss in the battlefield, so keep that in mind, they can reorganized the furnite as they want inside their empire and keep 'etnical nations' inside it but never leave something unless can provide a major gain.

If Maximilian want to negotiated would be under austrian term and keeping integrity.

If Austria have plans about germany and not antagonized the hohenzoller-prussia, they will leave austria alone, even bismack at the time consider a pan germany under conservative(noble and royal) leadership would be good but austria chronic weakness make him going for the kleindeutchland losung.

The rest, have fun with the tl here, would be interesting.

 

[dcontreras]

Succession

I think you would have to address the actual time line and year this could have happened. It would have had to have happened earlier than 1858 say in 1857 as by the time 1858 rolled around Franz Josef already had a male heir in Salic Law Austria. That being his only son, Crown Prince Rudolf who was born in 1858.

If the premise is that Rudolf was not yet born than go for it with the Emperor Ferdinand Maximilian. But if Rudolf had already been born than maybe you should approach this as a regency for Rudolf under his Uncle. This regency would have lasted until 1876 and seen the Regent, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, ruling the Empire in his nephews name during some major historical events such as the wars with Sardinia, France, and Prussia as well as eventual Italian and German unification. Much of it at the expense of Austria. Would these events had happened or not? Would there have been an Dual-Monarchy Empire with Hungary? And would have a coming of age Emperor Rudolf III continue his uncle's policies and or would he have become the "liberal" Emperor many thought he would have become.

 

[Nivek]

I think you would have to address the actual time line and year this could have happened. It would have had to have happened earlier than 1858 say in 1857 as by the time 1858 rolled around Franz Josef already had a male heir in Salic Law Austria. That being his only son, Crown Prince Rudolf who was born in 1858.

If the premise is that Rudolf was not yet born than go for it with the Emperor Ferdinand Maximilian. But if Rudolf had already been born than maybe you should approach this as a regency for Rudolf under his Uncle. This regency would have lasted until 1876 and seen the Regent, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, ruling the Empire in his nephews name during some major historical events such as the wars with Sardinia, France, and Prussia as well as eventual Italian and German unification. Much of it at the expense of Austria. Would these events had happened or not? Would there have been an Dual-Monarchy Empire with Hungary? And would have a coming of age Emperor Rudolf III continue his uncle's policies and or would he have become the "liberal" Emperor many thought he would have become.

He reffer this incident: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Karl_Lamoral_O'Donnell#Fame_as_life-saver

so this techically pre rudolf and just jump directly to Maximiliam

 

[dcontreras]

Then his TL would work. But still, it might be interesting if a Regency and then followed by a reign of an Emperor Rudolf would come up with. After all, that would result in three different rulers, Franz Josef I 1848-1858?, the regent Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian from 1858?-1876 lets say, and then an Emperor Rudolf III ruling on his own from 1876-?, versus the sole rule of Franz Josef from 1848-1916.

What alternate TL would have occurred?

 

[Avrorrange]

Then his TL would work. But still, it might be interesting if a Regency and then followed by a reign of an Emperor Rudolf would come up with. After all, that would result in three different rulers, Franz Josef I 1848-1858?, the regent Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian from 1858?-1876 lets say, and then an Emperor Rudolf III ruling on his own from 1876-?, versus the sole rule of Franz Josef from 1848-1916.

What alternate TL would have occurred?

His previous timeline didn't work because it featured the Austrians granting the Hungarians independence wthout a single shot after the revolt has been crushed.

 

[dcontreras]

His previous timeline didn't work because it featured the Austrians granting the Hungarans independence wthout a single shot after the revolt has been crushed.

That would have surely brought about the ire of Russia who had invaded and put down the Hungarian Revolution in 1848-49 and then gave it back to the Austrians. Also, as Ferdinand Maximilian was a navy man, it should be noted much of the Empires coast line was also part of the Hungarian part of the Empire. That would not have sat well with Ferdinand, AKA, Maximilian of Mexico, in the above AH TL as he was prior to going to Mexico, Commander of the Imperial Navy. If anything it might have been totally out of character.

 

[Colonel Autumn]

Why abadoned the old one, should just keep it and keep posting but well this your call.

Again general tips with austria, even if people want more liberal goverments, the hasburg are the king of pragmatism and personal diplomacy, so they will not relish any inch of the austria empire unless loss in the battlefield, so keep that in mind, they can reorganized the furnite as they want inside their empire and keep 'etnical nations' inside it but never leave something unless can provide a major gain.

If Maximilian want to negotiated would be under austrian term and keeping integrity.

If Austria have plans about germany and not antagonized the hohenzoller-prussia, they will leave austria alone, even bismack at the time consider a pan germany under conservative(noble and royal) leadership would be good but austria chronic weakness make him going for the kleindeutchland losung.

The rest, have fun with the tl here, would be interesting.

I suppose I could've edited the posts, but... it would've totally messed with my OCD, since there were like three pages of negative posts, lel.

It'll be a lot better than last time, promise.

His previous timeline didn't work because it featured the Austrians granting the Hungarans independence wthout a single shot after the revolt has been crushed.

Well, last time was last time, and i've done more research this time around. Please don't base opinions on this based on the former TL.

That would have surely brought about the ire of Russia who had invaded and put down the Hungarian Revolution in 1848-49 and then gave it back to the Austrians. Also, as Ferdinand Maximilian was a navy man, it should be noted much of the Empires coast line was also part of the Hungarian part of the Empire. That would not have sat well with Ferdinand, AKA, Maximilian of Mexico, in the above AH TL as he was prior to going to Mexico, Commander of the Imperial Navy. If anything it might have been totally out of character.

Look at above. I realize that was foolish; in my eyes it was a smart idea since the Hungarians were screwing up the Empire, and keeping Austria/Bohemia/Slovakia/Carnolia/Dalmatia together would be better than the rump Austria that we have IOTL. Too much hindsight, lol.

However in that TL they kept the coastline, it was the ethnic Hungarian land that broke off. Either way, it was a fail.

 

[Colonel Autumn]

Part I: A Fork in the Road
(February 1853 - February 1854)​

The future of the Austrian Empire was largely unclear in the first few weeks of Emperor Maximilian's reign. Unlike the rest of his yolk, who were staunch reactionaries, Maximilian had very heavy liberal leanings. This is usually attributed to his time in the Navy; naval forces are widely known to be the most liberal minded of the military. Indeed, almost immediately he plunged himself into reforming the decaying state he had inherited. 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 (somewhat) 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. Altogether Maximilian planned not to federalize the Empire, as some had proposed, but to centralize it. Instead of the unequal centralization that had Austrians as first class citizens among the others, however, it was an equal centralization in which all were equal.

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 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. Within days Austrian soldiers entered Hungary and began the November Purge. For two weeks Hungary was placed under martial law as Maximilian broke the power of the Magnates. Soldiers loyal to Vienna marched through their estates and arrested them for 'involvement in the conspiracy of the murder of Emperor Franz Josef'. In quick succession, the opposition lost their power; their estates, titles and riches were handed to Hungarians that were loyal to the Empire.

The new year looked optimistic, with the Austrian Empire relatively stable. 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.

 

[Nivek]

well that is more managable, breaking hungary magnates and remplacing for more loyals one, with those terms, the common hungarian will support the emperor, yeah some more radical would feels cheated but better not rock the boat for a while.

Yeah this one feels more better, more organic and better explained in major fronts.

Now come germans affair...maybe austria now supporting a more peaceful kleindetuclhand in exchange support for austria own internal plans(a good idea would keep the zollverein even with a more central austria) the rest hohenzollern will not care.

 

[Avrorrange]

well that is more managable, breaking hungary magnates and remplacing for more loyals one, with those terms, the common hungarian will support the emperor, yeah some more radical would feels cheated but better not rock the boat for a while.

Yeah this one feels more better, more organic and better explained in major fronts.

Now come germans affair...maybe austria now supporting a more peaceful kleindetuclhand in exchange support for austria own internal plans(a good idea would keep the zollverein even with a more central austria) the rest hohenzollern will not care.

That would mean a Germany under the Wittelsbachs as opposed to the Hohenzollerns right?I really can't see the Habsburgs trying to benefit the Hohenzollerns of all people.Would that mean Prussia losing quite a lot of German territory and then become a member of the new Germany Empire or would Prussia just lose a lot of territory but then not permitted to enter the German Empire?

 

[Nivek]

That would mean a Germany under the Wittelsbachs as opposed to the Hohenzollerns right?I really can't see the Habsburgs trying to benefit the Hohenzollerns of all people.Would that mean Prussia losing quite a lot of German territory and then become a member of the new Germany Empire or would Prussia just lose a lot of territory but then not permitted to enter the German Empire?

You hate prussia right? even them, this is post 1848 and even both prussia and austria try to do a more conservative union with erfurt but failed. if nothing else, germany will keep desunited for time beign.

 

[Avrorrange]

You hate prussia right? even them, this is post 1848 and even both prussia and austria try to do a more conservative union with erfurt but failed. if nothing else, germany will keep desunited for time beign.

If it comes down to a military solution and Austria won,I don't think Prussia will be the leader of Germany.Besides that,Prussia is militaristic.

 

[Nivek]

If it comes down to a military solution and Austria won,I don't think Prussia will be the leader of Germany.Besides that,Prussia is militaristic.

OTL was Franz Joseph lack of focus and bullheadness who make military solution he loss, why would maximilan care about germany when now have to reform austria? he would be more happy keep austria one piece and if austria want to push for a solution to germany question, as long not curtain prussia power, the hohenzollern will not care, prussia and austria are equals anda figth now will only benefits their enemies(russia, france, sardinia,etc).

Think alternative, bismarck would be happy a stable austria is more easy to manage that otl mess.

 

[Richter von Manthofen]

MAximilians reign will face a few challenges soon.

in 1848/49 both the Hungarian and North Italian parts of the had revolted with the implicit aim to split from the Empire. I think the "contitution" could be in power "only" in the Habsburg "Erbländer" and NOT in Hungary or Lombardo-Venetia (both 1848 consitution actually worked this way). This could trigger the Hungarian reaction you describe.

In any way Maximilian should Keep teh Croatians outside Hungarian influence. (I sense a South-Slav Habsburg Kronland in the future - makes a fine counterweight to Hungary)

THE Crimean War - Austria did act the wort way possible OTL, so any other reaction would improve the situation.

I think aiding Russia would be the best reaction (with hindsight), but Maxl (and not Maxy ) could use his (1854) marriage to "host" a peace conference. He could even gain Walachia (as Protectorate ?) - and Russia with Austrian Support Moldova.

This would secure a Austro-Russian alliance for the near (far?) future and greatly change the italian unification.

In the mid run Maximilian could be the godfather of a BAvarian led German Federation without both Austria and Prussia.

 

[plenka]

With the breaking of Hungarian power Maximilian has insured the loyalty of other smaller nations in Austria. Croats are rather unlikely to fall into the Hungarian sphere of influence, but they could also oppose some of the Maximilians reforms, especially the abolishment of Croatian Diet. But as long as the taxes are not too high, there are no costly wars and nobody bothers them Croats will be quiet and happy. At least as I see it as a Croat.

 

[Richter von Manthofen]

I think ist a mistake to dissolve all regional "parlaments" (ITTL). It would be betttr to keep them but defacto limit their power.

ITTL I assume Jelacics "declaration of Independence from Hungary" will stand - and Croatia not reattached to Hungary like OTL 1867. In my former post I decribed OTLS Situation between Croats and Hungarians