Austrian Empire

**The Austrian Empire** is a Constitutional Monarchy in Central Europe, the main rump state of the fallen Austro-Hungarian Empire and, alongside the Kingdom of Italy and the United Kingdom, one of the last remaining bastions of the old world order that reigned in Europe before the Great War shattered it.

## Historical Background

### RFTL History

By the time when the Great War erupted in 1913, the pluri-national Austro-Hungarian Empire had already been troubled by ethnic and nationalistic tensions and the stresses of a long, bloody and protracted war finally became the final nail in the coffin of this struggling empire. The massive slaughter, bloodshed, destruction and failure of the Great War precipitated Austria-Hungary's collapse in 1918, only one year before the Great War itself fizzled out in 1920.

After the end of the Great War, the former empire disintegrated and fell into chaos, infighting and revolution, with only the core territories of Austria proper as well as Slovenia and Czechia holding firm. The rest of Europe followed suit, with Russia crumbling into warlordism, France's democratic government collapsing and revolutions erupting all over central Europe. A socialist revolution broke out in Hungary, leading to the formation of three councilist states in Hungary, Slovakia and Transylvania, right next to Austria. Simultaneously, revolutions in the Balkans led to the creation of the two crazy accelerationist states; Fiume and Yugoslavia. All of these revolutionary states soon begun to hungrily eye Austria, weakened as it was after the fall of its empire.

In late 1918, soldiers returning from the front had to jump into the trenches once more to stop the revolution from spreading into Austria as well. Supported by one Adolf Pölzl and his Germanische Sturmscharen (GSS) the socialists were repulsed and driven off and with the reds on the run, the accelerationists in Fiume and Yugoslavia dared not attempt any foul tricks against Austria. But the situation only got worse from there when in 1921, a socialist revolution erupted in Germany as well, leading to the fall of the German Empire and the creation of a socialist state in Germany as well. Not too long thereafter, in 1934, France experienced a revolution as well (the third one thus far), leading to the creation of Avant-Garde France.

Suddenly Austria found herself surrounded by socialists in both the north and east and by mad accelerationists in the south and west. Only the Kingdom of Italy in the south and Switzerland in the West remained reliable allies, with them also sharing Austria's fear of socialist and accelerationist aggression and being equally threatened.

However, amid all this dreadful mayhem, Austria was able to achieve some small successes; harsh crackdowns on all socialist movements and a brokered deal for loyalty with the SDAP helped to stabilise the imperial government. The proposed "United States of Greater Austria" federalisation project initiated in the 1910s was continued and with the obstructive Hungarians no longer around to block it, the remaining portions of the empire have been reformed and reorganised into a much more cohesive and functional whole. With inspiration from the United States, this has facilitated a new wave of economic growth and recovery throughout the 1920s and 1930s, helping to heal the wounds and scars of the previous war and allowing Austria to prepare itself for the next.

In spite of it all, Austria has managed to claw its way out of the disasters of 1918 and though reduced in stature, the Austrian Empire managed to steer the ship of state true and still survives on with both its sovereignty, sanity and its core territories intact, amid a world going increasingly insane and violent. A bastion of the old world order, Austria has survived two instances of revolutionary chaos before; in both 1789-1815 and 1848-1849. The Austrian Empire is the last remnant of the Holy Roman Empire and, by extension of Charlemagne, the Carolingian and Merovingian Empires of yore. And Austria still harbors the ambition of overthrowing the illegal socialist haemorepublic in Germany and restoring its former hegemony over the region that ended in 1867. Surely Austria can do a better job of ruling over Germany than what Prussia did?

While the situation is far worse now than it was in the last two revolutionary periods, if Austria can survive and weather this third revolutionary storm as well and realise its ambition of crushing the socialists in Germany and the Accelerationists in France, then the Austrian Empire and the Habsburgs will be able to finally achieve what they always have dreamt of achieving; restoring the Holy Roman Empire and establishing themselves as the undisputed hegemon of Europe. All of their previous rival royal houses such as the Bourbons of France and the Hohenzollerns of Germany, have fallen and not many kingdoms and monarchies remain so if the Habsburgs can manage to survive through the approaching storm of madness and violence and achieve their ambition, then they will have shown that while other nations, states, realms and families may come and go, Austria and the Habsburgs shall live on and remain standing, now and forever.

The Habsburgs have held their ground through triumph and tragedy and successfully survived the onslaught of republicanism, liberalism, socialism and nationalism, and if they can survive accelerationism as well, then they will, without a doubt, be able to handle whatever horrors the human mind is capable of concocting and conjuring, and one day, the world may indeed bow to Austria once more, with the Austrians having outlasted everyone and everything else that tried to oppose them.

One last time; let the motto of Austria and the Habsburgs ring aloud.

**A.E.I.O.U** *Alles Erdreich ist Österreich untertan*/*Austriae est imperare orbi universo* (All the world is subject to Austria)

And if Austria and the Habsburgs live to see the end of this madness and insanity. then let that same motto echo through the ages; now and forever.

## Politics

### Important Parties

* **Vanguard Socialism - The Kommunistpartei Österreich (KPÖ):**

The biggest threat posed to Austria's government and sovereignty, the KPÖ is Austria's resident communist party and is made up of revolutionary and pro-Berlin socialists that advocate for the overthrow for Austria's government and unification with their German brothers. This makes them an active threat to Austria's government and sovereignty, and they are regularly and harshly repressed, to the point that the party only exists as an underground organisation.

* **Popular Socialism - The Authentische Sozialdemokratische Arbeiter Partei (ASDAP):**

Created through a split of the Social Democrats, this orthodox wing of the SDAP is opposed to the mainstream SDAP:s cooperation with the Austrian government and is instead sympathetic to the German socialists. Like the KPÖ, their pro-german and pro-socialist rhetoric makes them dangerous and has thus made them a target for suppression and persecution

* **Progressivism - The Sozialdemokratische Arbeiter Partei (SDAP):**

Led by Karl Seitz, the mainstream wing of the Social Democrats, the SDAP has, after some work, renounced any and all support for a possible annexation of Austria into Germany and has cooperated with the CSP and other moderate parties to maintain the status quo and has thus been granted permission to participate in the Reichsrat and Austrian politics. The SDAP serves to represent the workers and peasants of Austria and helps to siphon off influence from the ASDAP and KPÖ by granting the proletariat a party into which they can channel their frustrations, thus ensuring that all but the most radical of reds stay away from thinking about any more radical alternatives.

* **Liberalism (Libertarian Capitalism) - Galizischer Kreis (GK):**

Led by Ludwig von Mises, his student Friedrich August von Hayek and their clique of economists., the Calician Circle derives influence from classical liberalism and are in favour of greatly liberalising the Austrian economy and using the free market.

* **Conservatism (National Conservatism) - The Christlichsoziale Partei (CSP):**

Headed by Kaiser Franz Ferdinand, The CSP has been the leading party of Austria for many years, the Conservative party represents the moderate side of Austrian politics and the centre. It stands for tradition and democracy and opposes all forms of seditious sentiment, whether from the left or from the futurists, though its power is weakening from within and without as radical parties form and socialist agitation looms at large.

* **Right-wing Authoritarianism (Anocracy) - Alldeutsche Heimat-und Volkspartei (AHVP):**

Headed by one Adolf Pölzl, and Austrian native from Braunau am Inn, this party is an aggressive nationalist party with anti-socialist and pan-german tendencies. Critical of the Habsburg monarchy, herr Pölzl wishes to strengthen the german side of Austria and crush the socialists in Germany proper and unite both countries under one banner.

* **Despotism (Absolute Monarchy) - The Kaiserlich-Köningliche-Kreise (KKK):**

An emergency authority inaugurated by Kaiser Karl I upon the sudden death of Kaiser Franz Ferdinand, the KKK represents a centralisation of authority under the Kaiser and his imperial court through the dissolution and dismissal of the Austrian parliament and the Imperial Council. This is ostensibly done to facilitate a crackdown on any possible socialist and seditious elements and to preserve the empire from any possible threats, which there are plenty of.

## Military

### Army

The Austrian millitary is sizeable, though rather small compared to major powers such as Italy, France and Germany, but it is well-trained, professional and well equipped. It has a wide cast of good generals, both native Austrians and German Immigrants, such as Franz Bohme, Gerhard Schörner and Erwin Rommel, among others. Combined with a decent industrial base, Austria can very well punch above its weight, which is useful given that it is surrounded by hostile factions.