News from Austria Hungary

[Tanthalas]

3 June 1900
The Freighter Tijdperk Valk Departs from Roterdam with a Cargo of Humanitarian and Medical supplies, the Destination is listed as Split on all official manifests.

[Kaiser Kirk]

3 June 1900
The Freighter Tijdperk Valk Departs from Roterdam with a Cargo of Humanitarian and Medical supplies, the Destination is listed as Split on all official manifests.

Okey dokey, note that the AH/Ottoman boundaries are different, so the destination is in the Ottoman realms

[Tanthalas]

Crap... uhm well DOPH... uh ok it can still be listed as Split, it dosn't have to be actualy going there (actualy it wasnt intended to anyway)  :P

3 June 1900
The Freighter Tijdperk Valk Departs from Roterdam with a Cargo of Humanitarian and Medical supplies, the Destination is listed as Split on all official manifests.

Okey dokey, note that the AH/Ottoman boundaries are different, so the destination is in the Ottoman realms

[miketr]

Early June
Carinthia Front
Lt. General Perrucchetti, commander of the Corpo di Spedizione Italiano, was a little concerned that not all of his troops had arrived but he still had had the majority of three divisions online now.  The Austrian Commander was General der kavallerie Erzherzog Eugen and he was greatly worried about events in his home in Moravia.  Communication was starting to become difficult but the Erzherzog had mission and that was to drive out the Hungarians.  Under his command was a Division of the Tyrolean Kaiserjägers, a Brigade of mostly Slovenians that had been chewed up facing the first Hungarian attack and a second brigade of newly raised Landstrum that he didn't place much faith in.  Especially as the Landstrum was equipped with a mix of rifles dating to 1880 war with Turkey. Further units were coming up as Italian Marines relieved Austrian troops in Carinthia , but the preponderance of troops were Italian  As galling as it was Erzherzog Eugen had to defer to Perrucchetti.  So the goal of the operation was Nagykanizsa, SW of Lake Balaton, as desired by the Italians.
   
The Hungarians had two Divisions in the region so they were not badly outnumbered but the Hungarian penetration was long and not very wide.  As a result nearly half of the Hungarian strength was tied up covering their flanks to prevent an offensive  out of Styria in Austria from just cutting off the entire force.  This gave General Perrucchetti nearly 3 to 1 odds on the front lines, and the advantage in mobility as the Italian Cavalry had no Hungarian counterparts and room to maneuver on the Hungarian plain.

Lower Austrian Front
Feldmarschalleutnant Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf late assistant to the Hapsburg Chief staff had a grand vision of massive cauldron battle in western Hungary.  At the same time Vienna wanted to seize Burgenland with its majority German population as soon as possible and there was a great deal of concerns over disturbances in Bohemia and Moravia.  So some of his force was going to have to head north which meant that Hötzendorf to listen to the suggestions from the Commander of the 1st Bavarian Corps, General der Infantry Prince Arnulf of Bavaria.  The prince suggested the offensive be in South East Direction and try to coordinate with the Italians and the objective of Lake Balaton.

Cooperating with Italians wasn't something that pleased Hötzendorf but getting to some place before the Italians so he could gloat  about it did appeal.  So Hötzendorf  dispatched an infantry division to Bohemia while his Landstrum Brigades would cover the flanks of the advance by the Austro-Bavarian into the SW plans of Hungary.

Moravia Front
General der Infanterie Max von Bock und Polach found himself in a strange situation.  With the attempted murder of Kaiser Franz Ferdinand was he in friendly territory or enemy territory?  The problems with the movement of his corps pointed towards the later.  Being sorely tempted to take hostages from local civilians von Bock decided to wait on events.  What was even more worrisome is that the Austrian Commander of the nearby infantry division wasn't really coordinating his activities with him at all.  Deciding that this was a mess of a situation von Bock d would conduct only limited offensives with the Prussian Guard Corps into Slovakia to try to pin the two Hungarian divisions facing him.

If Von Bock had known that one of the 'Hungarian' Divisions facing him was really a Slovak and its members were ready to revolt he might have decided to make a harder push.

Eastern Hungary Front
General Zhilinskiy was very tired and his staff even worse off, after a hectic past few weeks things were nearly ready for the next step.  Stavka had ordered that his forces were cross into Hungary as soon as the 5th but no later than the 10th.   To try to keep this as hidden as possible St. Petersburg wasn't even going to inform Budapest that they were coming till just before he was ready to move.  Luckily the Hungarians appear to have stripped the area of everything but some militia and border guards that appeared to be more interested in terrorizing Slovak females.  So entry wouldn't be a problem but if the Hungarians decided to fight Zhilinskiy logistics would break down quickly as the entire operation was jury rigged.  His orders to get to Budapest but not too fast were the only part of his orders that Zhilinskiy liked.   

Hungarian Plans
Budapest had hoped that the Austrians would just collapse and appearance of not only Italian but also German troops in the front lines in strength made the situation very difficult.  Clearly the advance into Carinthia was over extended and open to being cut off all along the northern flank.  The front line in Carinthia had to be shortened at the same time there were worrying signs that Russia might be getting ready to jump into the conflict as Russian troops were massing along the northern frontier.  Many in the Hungarian Government were worried that this would be a repeat of the Russian intervention during the Revolution of 1848.   

At the same time there were hopeful signs, with the attempted assignation of the Tyrant Franz Ferdinand the Czech's appeared ready for revolt perhaps all that would be need is spark to set Bohemia and Moravia aflame.  Agents would be sent to the major Czech Cities and two of the three divisions in Slovakia would attempt an offensive.  In the meantime troops would have to be sent to the central and southern fronts to shore up the lines there.  Little could be spared to cover the frontier with Russia, all that could be done there would to move some of the newly raised militia brigades to cover the border. 

[miketr]

Lt. General Perrucchetti continued to have trouble trying to coordinate to with General der Kavallerie Erzherzog Eugen and as a result the Austro-Italian offensive got off to a late start.  The Hungarians were already well into in the process of pulling back when the preparation bombardment began.  A liaison officer from the German Army noted a lack of aggressive patrolling and scouting by both the Italian and Austrian forces.  At once Perrucchetti ordered a general pursuit to try to catch up to the Hungarians.
Things went better for the Austro-German forces in the center if for no other reason than General der Infantry Prince Arnulf of Bavaria treated the highly complex 'orders' from Feldmarschalleutnant Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf as suggestions and made his own plans.  As a result the Lower Austria offensive kicked off on schedule.  The Hungarian 3rd division had a frontage of 40 miles to cover and so didn't have much depth to speak of.  The Bavarian 1st Corps hit the Hungarians at the junction of the 3rd Hungarian Division and the 2nd Hungarian Militia Brigade near a town the Hungarians called Németújvár but its German inhabitants called Güssing.  Prince Arnulf concentrated an entire Division as a break through force with the Austrian Cavalry ready as an exploitation force.  The Hungarian 3rd Division buckled under the assault while the Militia Brigade simply shattered.  A ten mile hole was opened in the front and over 20,000 cavalry raced towards Hungary.  There were a number of strange events as Austrian Lancers with their front and back clamshell breast plates gleaming in the sun ran down fleeing Hungarian militia mixed in with attempts to charge machinegun nests that ended VERY badly.  Over all by the 3rd day of the offensive 10,000 Hungarians had been captured along with 10 guns.

Along the Moravia - Slovakia border the Germans and Hungarians opened up their offensives at almost the same time.  Fifty thousand men attacked each other over the front on June 2nd.   At once the Hungarian offensive stalled and General Von Bock surprised by the Hungarian offensive called off his own offensive.  It was like a pair of pulls charging each other head on.  Both were still standing at the end of the day but the Hungarian bull had been pushed back half a step.  Von Bock began to look for ways to flank the Hungarians.

In Bohemia the Austrian Forces started to enter the region while Ethnic German communities setup their own militia called Freikorps.  Ethnic Czech Regiments concentrated in the center near Prague.  At the same time Czech Politian's reached out to Vienna to 'discuss' the situation.  There were a number of incidents of fighting but it hadn't become general as of yet.  General Von Bock in the end had decided to not take hostages but he had told the notables of the Landtag that he would if any incidents occur plus he bluntly informed them at a 3rd German Corps would be coming and the Czechs could either let it into Prague or Prague would be reduced to smoldering ruins.

By June 7th the two offensives in the south were making excellent progress but the 1st and 2nd Hungarian Divisions were also making good effort on trying to break contact.  The Hungarians did this by just abandoning all of their heavy artillery and only holding on to their field guns and machine guns.  The Italians captured over a dozen 15cm and 18cm heavy field guns.     

At this point the Russians at least mad their move and informed the Hungarians that they were going to 'help' Hungary be free.  It became clear that the Hungarians and Russians had different ideas as to what this would involve.  The Russians disarmed the Hungarian Border Guards, with only two incidents of bloodshed and secured control of the Hungarian railroads.  Mostly the Russians marched with their rifles slung and the Hungarian civilians looked on with numb shock.  The Russians were moving towards Budapest with nearly 100,000 men. 

On June 8th Von Beck found an opening and started a new attack into Slovakia.  The Prussian guards made steady if costly progress as the Hungarians made good use of the ground and the Slovaks while not happy to fight for the Hungarians didn't want to let the Germans in either as all sorts of rumors were being spread that the Germans would shoot anyone caught under arms and level the village where the troops came from.  These rumors were caused by the Germans doing just this on June 6th in Moravia when someone snipped at a German patrol in the back areas of Moravia, the Germans didn't know it was Hungarian infiltrators.  So the Germans leveled one in ten homes in the closest village and took hostages from a dozen families.  The hostages would be shot if any other incidents occurred, on June 10th the hostages were shot when another sniper incident occurred. 

By June 10th the Austro German offensive had reached their objective, Lake Balaton, 45 miles into Hungary.  The Austro-Italians had made credible progress but not as quickly.  The Hungarians faced the possibility of having the two divisions caught off and so they started a movement south of Lake Balaton while the Austro-Germans tried to close the gap.

The Russians had secured Nyíregyháza, 40 miles in from the jump of point of Chop.  With the possibility that half of the Hungarian army might be encircled. The Hungarian Government became desperate and offered to transport the Russians to Budapest.  The Russian government agreed but was being cautious and detached a Brigade of Guards Infantry to be sent to Budapest while the rest of their troops continued a foot march into Hungary.

In the meantime a political solution had been worked out between Vienna and the Czech Leadership.  The Czech Regiments would stand down and orders would be given for calm in Bohemia and Moravia.  Austro-German Friekorps would stand down also and the landstrum would pull out.  In a week the Czech Regiments would join the fighting at the front.  Some very low level fighting continued over the next week but it died out by mid month.

At last Von Beck was able to establish some measure of cooperating with his Austrian counter parts and a joint offensive into Slovakia would be launched starting on the 11th.

In SW Hungary the offensive by the Austro-German-Italian forces would continue.  The Hungarians by now were in poor shape haven been driven back up to 75 miles from their high water mark in Carinthia Front in just 10 days.  The two Hungarian divisions were at this point in very poor shape and now outnumbered roughly three to one.  Only the fact that the Italian and Austrian troops out of Carinthia were starting to have supply problems made the situation anything other than desperate.

The first of these new offensives to launch was Von Beck's Slovakian offensive and the new target was the Slovakian dominated division.  Hit from two directions at once by Austrian and German troops it didn't quiet shatter but almost at once it started to give ground. 

On the 12th the southern offensive was launched and slammed into a rear guard the Hungarians had setup to cover their attempted withdrawal south of Lake Balaton.  The worn out Hungarian troops did just shatter on the onslaught.  Ottoman Empire had over 2,000 Hungarian troops spill over the border as they fled the advancing Austrian, German and Italian troops.  These troops had little fight and were interned by the surprised Ottoman Forces which had no instructions as to what to do if anything like this happened.  The three allies captured or killed another 5,000 Hungarians while their own losses were light by comparison.  Another Brigade was trapped against the Lake and so less than a Division of Hungarians escaped by the 15th.

The led formations of the Russians had advanced another 30 miles Polgár, Hungary but their main body was 10 miles behind that and the supply columns were stretching all the way back to the border.  The Russians despite not facing any resistance were starting to have supply problems.  A brigade of Russian troops detrained in Budapest who were meet with flowers in the streets.

The German Armeekorps V was passing through Bohemia on its way to the front. 

The situation as of the June 15th is that Hungarian forces have taken several bloody hits in the last two weeks.  One regular infantry division has been effectively destroyed with the remains being weak brigade now surrounded in the south.  Two other divisions have taken heavy losses and are in poor shape.  Two brigade of militia have been moved to the front to try to stabilize the situation for Hungary.  The Italian and Russian forces are having supply problems.  All forces are starting to have munition problems as prewar stocks of artillery shells are being used up at shocking rate. The German forces are only keeping their levels adequate because they have resorted to taking supplies from un-mobilized Corps back in Germany.   Once the German Armeekorps V arrives on the front Line there will be 4 German-Italian Corps fighting in Hungary which alone outnumber the Hungarian forces.
   

[Kaiser Kirk]

Graflinden, Gottschee region, Duchy of Carinola 

Compound of the 3rd Regiment, 11th Brigade "San Marco", La Marina Divisione

Maresciallo Scaroni : "colonnello Revel !"

Colonel Revel : "Yes Sergeant?"

Master Sergeant Scaroni : "Sir, there is a German civilian at the gate, he has been injured. He says some Slovenians are shouting slogans and have been assaulting non Slovenians, shouting at them to go home and to quit hoarding wealth. The regimental surgeon is seeing to his injured arm now. "

Revel : "I thought this region had been settled by Bavarians, not Slovenians. Why has the fellow come to us, and not sought the Gendarmerie? "

Scaroni : "He is the local Gendarmerie sir. Apparently those of Bavarian blood are more prosperous than the Slovenians around them, leading to jealousy."

Revel : " Well, we can't have murder or looting. I'll go interview the fellow."

Scaroni : Sir? If I may inquire, what are we to do?

Colonel Revel : We can't have the locals come to blows on our watch. This entire region speaks the same weird German, and has a dozen or more of these towns. We'll stand two battalion to arms and dispatch a company to each. A show of bayonets and cutlasses should put the fear in them, and hopefully that show of force will be sufficient to separate them. While I talk to this man, inform Maggorio Piccio that I shall be needing him.


2. Ljubljana, Schweizerhause pub,
Herr Franc Maček , operator for Austrian Telegraph & Telephone (or AT&T ) lifts a mug and takes a long draw, then returns to discussing matters with his friends
"I tell you Edvard, from the traffic we're receiving, our countrymen are striking for liberty throughout the Duchy, there aren't enough Austrians to stop us."
"Ahh, but Franc, we can't expect the Germans and Italians to sit idle"
"True Edvard, true, but think, the Emperor is pressed as it is, surely he may choose to grant us more autonomy in exchange for peace"

3. Ljubljana, Headquarters, La Marina Division

The players
Maggior GeneraleCarlo Caneva*
Aide, Lt Enzio Garibaldi (grandson of Guiseppi Garibaldi)
Austrian Chief Gendarmerie of Carniola : Oberst (Colonel ) Hermann Wurm


<Lt. Garibaldi opens the door, calling out in Italian "Oberst Wurm of the Gendarmerie to see you sir" >

Caneva : Oberst Wurm, a pleasure to meet you, please come in, be seated.

Oberst Wurm : General Caneva, so very kind of you to see me at this hour. Oh, and I must compliment you on your accent, your Austrian is extremely good.

Caneva : My career did not start with the Italian Marines, it started with the Austrian artillery, I was at Sadowa on that grim day. Once my country unified, I came home to serve. Now I find myself once again in service to the Austrian Crown.

Wurm : I must say I am delighted to find you of that mind. Forgive me though, I have pressing issues to bring to your attention.

Caneva : Tsk tsk, one must not rush, first some vino.

Wurm : I regretfully must decline, I have serious business I must attend to, and must keep a clear head.

Caneva : I see, well certainly you can't protest if I have some, we can chat until my aide brings some bread and cheese to go with it....

Wurm <interrupting>: Actually sir, I would like to draw your attention to an urgent matter.

Caneva (chilly) : I should hope it would be suitably important Oberst.

Wurm : Sir, you must have heard them, the people are protesting, they are on the verge of rioting.

Caneva : My dear Oberst, I have nearly a Brigade of Marines here, they will not attempt to bring us grief.

Wurm : General I wasn't suggesting that you in peril.  My Gendarmerie have been drawn down to support efforts in Hungary, we no longer have the numbers to suppress the protesters. The task falls to you, but I see no action.

Caneva : Oberst Wurm, my soldiers are Marines, not constables. The streets of Ljubljana is none of our concern so long as it does not effect our mission.

Wurm : General I protest, you have been sent here to replace the Austrian Garrison now in Hungary, It is them I would normally turn to in order to suppress these protestors, in their absence you MUST take their place.

Caneva : Herr Wurm, my Division is here at the behest of your Emperor for the explicit purpose of subduing the Hungarian rabble and securing your southern border from Ottoman opportunism. So long as they are merely protesting, and not committing mayhem, they are not a threat to our mission or our communications. So unless they turn to violence, we shall have nothing to do with rounding up your Slovenian protestors for you. You must simply request your Gendarmerie returned.

Wurm (stunned): General Caneva, I must protest, what sort of idiocy is this ?! You are here to aid your allies in securing their territory, what matters if Carinola is threated by the Ottomans or by rebels, It is YOUR DUTY TO AID US.

Caneva (offended) : Oberst Wurm, I do not suffer any calling me an idiot to my face.  Nor do I need advice on my duty, I have served for nearly 40 years and I believe I know it better than you.  We shall protect imperial property and those facilities essential to the war effort. We shall have nothing to do with the protesters, that is entirely a matter for the Austrian Government.

Wurm (furious) : This is unacceptable ! My Gendarmeries are committed to Hungary, you are here to aid us,  I demand action !!

Caneva (chilly) : My dear Oberst you may demand the moon, but I suggest you direct your efforts towards Vienna. Should they prevail on the King and General Saletta**, and those esteemed personages chose to change my orders, I will most happily remove the burden of policing this region from you. Until then, I shall deign to post some guards about Imperial property, but nothing further.

Wurm : I see, Vienna will hear of this ! <Storms out>

Garibaldi :  Sir, if I may, my Grandfather Guiseppi**** would be proud of your bold stroke in favor of Liberty !

Caneva : Young man, I did no such thing, I am merely following the King's orders, and those rather specifically indicate we are only concerned with Hungarian Rebels, these slovenian ones are none of our business so long as they do not disturb our mission. If the King, or General Perrucchetti*** choose to change my orders, I shall deal with the rabble. In the mean time I have no desire to wind up like General Bava-Beccaris***** .  I trust you understand my orders on this matter? Fine, write them up and run along to the telegraph and send a message to remind the rest of the division.

Garibaldi : Yes sir. I'll relay your position on these matters to all regimental commanders.

Lt. Garibaldi leaves for the telegraph station to send the General's message.

Later, at the Telegraph station, operator Franc Maček solemnly took the missives from the Italian Marine Lieutenant and the Gendarmerie Lieutenant, promising to send them quick.
Once the officers left, he sat down and read them carefully. Thoughfully, he took the stamp marked "Sent" and stamped the Gendarmerie message and carefully buried in the "Out" stack, then proceeded to hammer out the Marine's message, as well as some additional ones.


*General Caneva has been described in various ways by his contemparies. He has been described as lacking initiative and passive in the military operations. Another felt Caneva lacked initiative and did not understand the implications of his conduct for international politics. Another described him as "On my word of honour, I did not know if he was worth the table (as they say) for the most complete example of stupidity".  Makes him the perfect choice for this storyline.
** General Saletta is Chief of Staff.
*** General Perrucchetti is normally Commander, Venetian Front, and currently Commander of the Italian Expeditionary Corps the La Marina Division is part of.
**** Senator Bava-Beccaris (Ret) recently came under a Court of Inquiry for his 1998 massacre of protesters in Milan. Which eventually led to two anarchists shooting Kings of Italy and Belgium.
***** General Giuseppe Garibaldi was an internationally famed patriot, and Italian Hero.  General Garibaldi's redshirt rebels armies were a key in the Italian unification. Clashing with Monarchists, he accepted them, but always maintained hostility towards the Papacy. At times jailed, he and his sons fought in several revolutionary wars.

[Kaiser Kirk]

Duchy of Carinola 

In the days following Major General Caneva's refusal, the depleted ranks of the Austrian Gendarmerie find it increasingly difficult to maintain order.
Protesters, regardless of if they clamor for more autonomy or complete independence, are increasingly met with violence by Gendarmeries frantic to maintain order.
The efforts of appointed legislators of the Slovenian diet to calm either group fails. Protests turn to riots. Gendarmeries meet the public with cudgels, bayonets and pistols.  Raids scoop up both politicians espousing this course and suspected ringleaders among commoners.  Cordons of Italian troops do appear at City hall and the Railyards, but they make no effort to alter events- except in the German enclave of Gottschee, where the 11th Brigade's commander Brigadier Luigi Capello interpreted his mandate to secure the Ottoman Border as ensuring the towns on his section of the border remained peaceful.

Oberst Wurm, furious at Vienna's supposed indifference to his first message,  and then, after another day with no answer, uses the telephone to call the central office, where a poor clerk's ears were soundly chewed on. The Oberst's message finally delivered, it percolated up through the chain of command, and then the upset Austrians communicated the situation to Rome, where Caneva's blithe indifference to the Austrian situation and blind adherence to a limited order set is viewed poorly,

Lt. General Perrucchetti finds himself in the bothersome position of being required to dispatch staff to investigate the situation and identify a solution.
So, a little over a week Major General Caneva grandly declared "streets of Ljubljana is none of our concern" , General Caneva found himself relieved of command by a newly brevetted General Capello, who's orders now specified he was "to take command of civil policing efforts in the Duchy of Carinola, to enforce the laws and keep the peace".

General Capello moved quickly, gathering senior officers and outlining his expectations.
Protests were to be allowed, albeit under a watchful eye.  Riots were not. Prisoners taken in the past week would asked to sign a parole to forswear rioting or violence, and if agreed they shall be released.  The Gendarmerie would be stripped of weapons and serve as advisers to the Marines stationed in their towns. Company Commanders were to be required to meet daily with village leaders. Troops on patrol were to ensure there were no rounds chambered, or bare blades showing. Lieutenants were made responsible with ensuring that the men under their command resorted to bloodshed as a last resort.  Arrangements were made in Trieste, and applications were taken for Italian/Slovenian speakers to serve as translators, and men rapidly shipped to towns.

It was not long before many of those in Trieste who considered Italian to be their ancestral tongue began to agitate for change as well. Many chanted the name "Oberdan, a reference to Guglielmo Oberdan, dead these 18 years, hung by the Austrians with the cry "Viva l'Italia!" his last. The elder statesman of the irredentist movement, Matteo Imbriani found himself taking a long train ride from Naples to be once again in Trieste, encouraging the locals. There, reinforced by members of the Austrian navy, the Gendarmerie found it far easier to keep matters civil, and were made the exception to the disarmament command.

[miketr]

OOC Sorry for the delay on this and lack of map.  Been very busy with stuff.

A number of rumors of Russian troops crossing the border into Hungary had reached Berlin, Rome and Vienna.  The lack of official statement from the Tsar's government was most worrisome.  None of the powers had any idea as to what the Russians objectives might be.  One school of diplomatic thought had the Russian involvement an act of war as they had crossed into Hungary without permission of Kaiser Franz Ferdinand's government.  Of course the Hungarian rebels could have invited the Russians in but it would be assumed that this would be linked to an official announcement, especially one recognizing the Rebel government.  Instead it was just silence, the most popular conclusion is that the Russians didn't want to make an official statement they would have to back away from.  The recommendation was to push full speed ahead to end the war as quickly as possible before Russia decided to make an official stance that might set off a general war. 

Some in the German government favored a general war right now, viewing a fight verse Russia in isolation a perfect opening to order the balance in European affairs to the Reich's favor. 

For now the instructions to the troops were to keep moving forward.

June 16th
German Armeekorps V was to move to the front along the Austrian – Hungarian Border.  General der Infanterie Ferdinand von Stülpnagel was ordered to drive towards Budapest. 

The Guard Korps would continue its offensive into Slovakia in the north.  Berlin instructed the Guards to advance east as much as possible in the hope of threatening the supply lines of any Russian troops and perhaps get them to pull out of Hungary.

In the south Lt. General Perrucchetti, General der Kavallerie Erzherzog Eugen and General der Infantry Prince Arnulf of Bavaria would continue their battle near Lake Balaton.

Feldmarschalleutnant Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf would also begin a drive towards Budapest once reinforced with troops from Bohemia, especially Czech regiments that had till a few days before been refusing orders but it would take several days to move and assemble the troops.  Which of course angered Feldmarschalleutnant von Hötzendorf all the more, the Italian liaison officer noted a long rant about the Czechs dragging their feet and that once Budapest was in ruins they should just line the Czechs up and shoot them too.

The Hungarians were greatly worried as the last two weeks had seen problems on many fronts while their new allies were not doing much.  From reports of the number of troops involved there were major commitments of German and Italian troops helping the Austrians.  All that could be done was to order a fighting withdrawal, as long as there was a Hungarian army there was a Hungarian Nation.
   
June 17th
Germans Troops assigned the I Bavarian Corps had been fired on by snipers in Hungarian villages with no sign of Hungarian troops.  With reluctance General der Infantry Prince Arnulf of Bavaria concluded the snipers to be civilians in arms or Hungarian troops that had discarded their uniforms.  Hostages were taken in the German zone and warnings that additional incidents would see swift retaliation.

In the meantime the remains of the 2nd Hungarian division attempted to escape on small boats across the lake but it was difficult with Austrian and Italian pressure continuing.   

June 18th

At last Feldmarschalleutnant von Hötzendorf begins his own offensive in the center.  The Hungarians in front of him had been pulling troops back to try to deal with the offensive by German Armeekorps V.  As a result the Austrians, now that the Czech's and other troops from Bohemia arrived, had up to a 4 or 5 to advantage in numbers at the points of attack along the front.  The elements of the Hungarian 3rd division being attacked under best of circumstances would have had trouble dealing with such lopsided numbers.  This was hardly the best of circumstances and 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Division attempt to do a fighting withdrawal turned into a route.  This was the first instance in the camp of Hungarian regulars collapsing like this. Feldmarschalleutnant von Hötzendorf told anyone that would listen that this was the result of his brilliant planning. 

June 19th
The last of the 2nd Hungarian division surrenders with less than 4,000 escaping with little more than their side arms and sometimes not even that.  Twice that number have been captured or killed.

With more sniper attacks on German troops General der Infantry Prince Arnulf of Bavaria orders reprisals.  A half dozen villages have the hostages shot by firing squad and three other villages that didn't have hostages taken have homes of leading citizens destroyed.  More hostages are taken and demand for the sniper attacks to end is repeated.  The result is panic as what exactly the Germans are doing is blown out of proportion and mixed together with reports of activities by ethnic Germans looking for retribution from activities by Hungarian militia before the fighting started.  At first hundreds and later thousands of civilians start to flee the area.  Soon Ottoman Empire Border guards report ethnic Hungarians cross the border and seeking refuge.

June 21st
The situation in the center has become desperate as the collapse of the 3rd Hungarian Division has opened up the entire front.  The Austro-German forces are now moving ten miles a day and are less than 60 miles from Budapest.  Feldmarschalleutnant von Hötzendorf reports he will be in Budapest before the month is out and while the German commander of V Corps, General der Infanterie  Ferdinand von Stülpnagel, thinks Conrad is being a little over optimistic agrees that the Hungarians ARE in collapse along the entire front.

Kaiser Franz Ferdinand decides to use the good news to announce that he will change the succession laws of the monarchy as part of the settlement agreement.  In particular that his marriage will be declared as DYNASTIC and that any children of his will be heirs to throne.  This sets off protests in the Austrian Senate as many in royal court view the Empress Consort Sophie or The Countess Sophie as her detractors call her as being unworthy of being Empress.  In other words Vienna has yet another political crises.   


In the South the 1st Hungarian division is slowly being pushed back by the Austro-Italian forces and the Germans are tied up trying dealing with the partisan problem.  Currently fighting is around the town of Nagybajom south of Lake Balaton

The Austro-Germans in Slovakia have captured Zilna roughly 20 miles from the Moravian border.  The Hungarians pull out the 4th Division and leave the Slovak troops to delay the Austro Germans.  The 4th Division and the various militia units are to be part of a defense line to the west of Budapest.  This defense line is to be created with a Brigade of Russian infantry that has setup west of the city.  The Hungarian leadership had at last pressured the Russians to move west of the city after a couple of incidents of misconduct of Russian troops in the city itself and reports of more east of the city.  The main body of the Russian army continues to move slowly towards Budapest.

June 23rd
A border violation occurs into Ottoman Croatia across the Hungarian border as German troops chase after 'partisans.'   By now well over ten thousand refugees have crossed the border into the Ottoman Empire. 

With half the troops now gone from Slovakia the Austro-German forces are now moving forward at about 5 miles a day and are approaching Martin.

June 25th
Contact occurs between German and Russian Forces 15 miles west of Budapest at the town of Biscke.  The Russian troops are clearly flying White, Blue and Red Flag of Russia.  The Germans not interested in setting off a general war without clear orders from Berlin stop.  Pleasantries are exchanged with demands for each other to leave Hungary.  The Germans and Austrians attempt to find a way around the Russians; however, the Hungarians are also flying Russian flags and a number of Hungarians that speak Russian come forward to talk to the Austro-German forces wearing Russian uniforms.  It appears a Russian supply sergeant was willing to sell officer uniforms to the Hungarians.  The Hungarian gambit isn't totally successful as the uniforms of the troopers behind the fake Russians are clearly Hungarians.

June 26th
Over the night the Germans launch raids to figure out the identity of units in front of them.  While attempting to avoid the positions the Germans are certain have Russians one of the raids does end up attacking a Russian held trench.  Several Russians are captured and killed.  The Austro-Germans use the pause to rest up and regroup while plans for the offensive to get to Budapest are made.

June 27th

The Russian troops have switched positions and once again confusion reigns as to where exactly the Russians are.  With reluctance Berlin authorizes General der Infanterie  Ferdinand von Stülpnagel to make his best judgment.  Vienna is now gripped by confusion as the Franz Ferdinand and the succession crises has paralyzed Austrian Government for the moment so Feldmarschalleutnant von Hötzendorf refuses to attack but will fire artillery to pin the forces in front of his forces.

The Germans attack in afternoon and while they had a fairly good idea of the Russians locations it's not perfect.   Especially as a Battalion of Russian guards just moved again.  The result is pitched battle between Russian and German infantry.  When the Russian Brigade commander receives word of the attack he immediately opens fire in support, which draws German and Austrian counter battery fire down on the Russian artillery.  Hundreds of Russians are killed and wounded in the fighting that follows.  Foreign Military Observers and News Correspondents soon send word out that German and Russian forces are in battle.

Elsewhere in the center front the Germans didn't make very good progress as the Hungarians had now several days to entrench and even the Hungarian Militia proves capable of determined effort when they have no flanks.  So while the Germans breached the Hungarian trench line in two places the effort so disorganized the attack that the Hungarians were able to rush reinforcements and start to dig in a new line before the Germans could follow up.

In the mean time in the South along the Ottoman Border refugees continue to cross the border and Austrian force exchanges fire with Ottoman Border guards when there is confusion on the location of the border. 

General der Infanterie  Ferdinand von Stülpnagel asks Berlin for additional troops, in particular more artillery to blast open a hole through the Hungarian defenses. 

[Kaiser Kirk]

July 1st, Rome

The Regio Esercito  puts active duty troops on 48 hour mobilization alert. Reserve Formations are instructed to take inventory and notify their reservists to make arrangements for mobilization on one weeks notice.  Proclamations are duly printed in the Newspapers and posted outside Chuches for Sunday Mass.

In Rome, Ambassadors of various nations are informed that Italia will participate in the Constantinople conference on the Hungarian Issue.

July 2nd  County of Tyrol

Protesters shouting "Viva l'Italia!" were met with cudgels by the Austrian Gendarmerie, unimpressed for their calls for seccession.

[miketr]

Vienna
July 1st,

"Your majesty for the good of the Monarchy you need to step down."  Announced Archduke Otto, the oldest brother of the Kaiser, Franz Ferdinand.  Behind Otto were a number of notables of the  Monarchy, including most of Franz Ferdinand's other brothers and the German Ambassador Philip, Prince of Eulenburg.

Propped up by pillows on his bed Franz Ferdinand had an almost white pallor to his skin but it was better than just a week ago when a burning fever caused many to fear that his wound would prove fatal.  "I think we are past that point Otto..."  Then the Hapsburg Kaiser was wracked by coughing fit.

The Empress Sophie glared daggers at everyone else in the room but her husband, "Don't listen to them Franz!  They are a bunch of traitors, all of them!"

"Peace my darling... Peace..."  Franz Ferdinand looked to have aged 10 years in the past half year.  "Otto, Baron von Frankenthurnl and Prince Eulenburg are to stay, everyone else is dismissed."

Once the four men were alone Franz Ferdinand looked at his brother, "I understand what prompted you in this but what I am curious is what does the ambassador from Berlin have to say?"

"My government has instructed me to inform your majesty that if you feel it is necessary to step down that Germany wishes to offer you the Ducal Throne of Elsass-Lothringen.  I am sure I do not have explain to your Majesty the connection of that region to your House."

Nodding in understanding as Hapsburgs traced their line back to the Dukes of Upper Lorraine who once had their seat in Metz.  "That is a interesting offer but the more pressing question to ask is there a Monarchy to save at all at this point?  Gentlemen let us be frank... cough... the... cough... Hungarian... revolt... cough... is the 3rd such in the last 50 years.  They Magyars always chaffed under our control and look at the history of our house over the last...  cough... century or so.  Once we rules from Flanders to Italy and east into Poland now all that is left a rump of a once great dynasty."

Otto and the Minister-President looked down at the floor, both knew what the Kaiser was saying was true and the last half century had been nothing less than a disaster for the Empire.  Defeat in 1866 had seen ejection from Italy and affairs of Germany and then defeat again in 1882 saw ejection from Balkans and Poland. 

Franz Ferdinand continued, "I have been informed that Germany and Italy are prepared to fight Russia over this issue, that is correct Ambassador?"

"Yes your majesty but the Chancellor regrets... that it has come to this."

A weak small crossed the Kaisers face, "I am sure the Chancellor had other things to say.  No.. My attempt to reform the monarchy has failed.  The Czechs nearly revolted also and the Landtag of the Carniola was in talks with the Italians.  I will not plunge Europe into a General War over trying to save this rotting edifice.  Instead I will correct the mistake of Bismarck."

Everyone else in the room was confused as to where or what the Austrian Kaiser was talking about.

"When Bismarck created the German Empire he deliberately left out Austria and later following our defeat in 1882 at the hands of the Turks he again declined despite many on both sides of the border demanding just that.  Austria shall join the German Empire."

It took all of the Princes' diplomatic training to keep the shock he felt off of his face.  Otto was stunned and Baron von Frankenthurnl lot out of cry of protest. 


Franz Ferdinand raised his hand, "If we will not fight over Hungary what remains is too weak to stand alone.  Austria will have to join the German Empire."

At once a heated argument followed among the four men.  The German ambassador had thought that when he came to the palace tonight he would be helping to shore up the tottering Hapsburg Empire but instead he found himself negotiating for its final dismemberment.

The rough outline of the deal worked out by the four men.

The Ottoman Offer to a conference would be accepted but in advance the Russians were to be contacted.  In exchange for Vienna accepting the Independence of Hungary the Russians would back the annexation of the remaining Austrian State to Germany.  Italy would be given the Italian lands in Tirol and Küstenland along with the Slovenians of Carniola.   The Tsar should accept, especially when it was that or face a General War. Franz Ferdinand would step down as the last Hapsburg Emperor to become Grand Duke of  Elsass-Lothringen while his brother Otto became King of Austria within the expanded German Empire.

[miketr]

July 2nd, 1900

Pending Final Talks a cease fire in place has been agreed to for all parties fighting in Austria Hungary.  Cease Fire to go into effect 12:00 Local Time.

[miketr]

Austrian Imperial Parliament.
July 15th
 
155 members of the lower house met in special session to consider the bill put before them.  The bill called for the annexation of Austria into the German Empire.  Most representatives were shocked at what they were summoned to vote on.  In effect they were to vote to end their nation or not.  From the start there were problems.

An ethnic Italian from the Princely County of Tirol demanded that the Italian lands be turned over to Italy at once.  The real difficulties were the representatives from the Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia or rather the Czechs.  While not all Czechs were making the call for independence a large number were. Calls of 'Czech State' were shouted out with some Germans answering with cries of 'Traitors' and 'Assassins'.  Lastly there was a small but vocal minority of Germans that didn't want to see the end of Austria as an independent state.

Once the vote was called the Yes for Annexation quickly jumped out into the lead.  At this point a number of Czech's  decided to walkout.  The final total was 115 yes, 20 no, 5 present and 15 walking out in protest.  A small number of Czechs, 8, voted in favor of annexation.

Diets of Bohemia and Moravia
July 16th

Czech nationalists called for a vote on independence.  German delegates attempted to delay the vote with parliamentary maneuvers.  Such as walking out to remove quorum; which was quickly dealt with by the Sergeant at Arms locking the doors and keeping the delegates in the hall. In the Moravian Diet calls of 'remember Mušov' a village subjected to reprisals by the Prussian Guard during the fighting with Hungarians when someone attacked German Troops.

A small minority suggested waiting.  One Czech went so far as to call his fellow s fools.  As there is no way the Germans were going to accept this vote or Czech independence and it would just make things harder in the end.

No German delegate voted yes and a few Czechs didn't either but the Majority did vote for independence.

[miketr]

July 17th and 18th
Ethnic Germans Secede from Czech Lands.

Ethnic Germans in the cities of Eger, Krummau and Troppau along the outer edges of Bohemia and Morovia along with ethnic Germans in the cities of  Brünn, Iglau and Olmütz in the interior of Moravia have proclaimed their union with Austria and their secession from Bohemia and Moravia.  These moves claim the German majority lands of Bohemia and Moravia which are about 1/3 of the population of these two provinces of the Austrian Empire.