Austria's Foreign Relations: Impact On The Referendum

In the game Hearts of Iron IV by Paradox Development Studio, players can attempt to peacefully annex Austria and Czechoslovakia to reform Austria-Hungary. This can be done through a referendum, which has a higher chance of success if the player has high positive relations with Austria and has completed the Reintegrate the Railroads focus. However, even with these conditions met, there is still a small chance that Austria will refuse the referendum, which has led some players to opt for invading them instead.

Improving relations with Austria

• Boost non-aligned party support in Austria from the beginning of the game. This can increase the chances of a successful referendum.
• Use spies to exert diplomatic pressure on Austria. This can also be done with Czechoslovakia to increase the chances of a non-aggression pact.
• Improve relations with Czechoslovakia as well. Having high relations with both countries can increase the chances of a successful referendum.
• Complete the Bled Agreement and infrastructure-related focuses to increase relations with Austria and Czechoslovakia.
• Park your troops on Austria's borders to make them feel threatened. This may influence their decision to accept the referendum.
• Time your referendum focus with Germany's Sudetenland focus. This can help secure Czechoslovakia as a puppet.
• Increase your military size and position your troops on Austria's borders. This can make you appear more threatening and influence their decision.
• Send a spy with a diplomatic pressure mission to increase your chances.
• Improve relations to above 80, preferably 100, before attempting the referendum. This seems to be a key factor in getting Austria to accept.
• Reload saves if necessary. Sometimes, the outcome of the referendum is predetermined, and reloading can change the RNG and improve your chances.

Reintegrate the railroads focus

The "Reintegrate the Railroads" focus is part of the strategy to reform the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Hearts of Iron IV. The focus is part of the industry branch of the focus tree and is recommended to be completed early on. Completing the focus, along with having a positive relationship with Austria, will increase the chance of a successful referendum to annex Austria. The referendum is part of the "Demand a Referendum" focus, which has an 80% chance of success if Austria's opinion of Hungary is over 75 and/or the "Reintegrate the Railroads" focus has been completed. The chance of success increases to 95% if both conditions are met.

However, the outcome of the referendum is predetermined at the start of the game, so reloading a save will not change the result. To change the outcome, the player must change the day the focus finishes by either cancelling and reselecting the focus or waiting at least 11 days before picking the focus.

Using spies for diplomatic pressure

In the Hearts of Iron IV strategy game, spies can be used for diplomatic pressure to make a nation more accepting of your diplomacy while also making it harder for other nations to engage in diplomacy with them. This can be used to get nations to join your faction or accept non-aggression pacts. It can also lower the World Tension requirement when inviting a nation to a faction.

To exert diplomatic pressure, you will need to build a spy network in the target country. The larger the network, the more effective your spies will be. Once you have a sufficient network, you can assign a spy to carry out a diplomatic pressure mission. This will give you up to 20 positive diplomatic pressure points, which will also count as 20 negative diplomatic pressure points for other nations.

Diplomatic pressure can be particularly useful if you are competing with AI nations over potential faction members. It can also be used to gain more time to prepare for an impending war. For example, you can use diplomatic pressure to get Japan to sign a non-aggression pact with China, or Germany to do the same with Poland.

In the case of Austria, using spies for diplomatic pressure can increase the chances of them accepting a referendum to rejoin with Hungary. Improving relations and completing the "Reintegrate the Railroads" focus will also increase the likelihood of a successful referendum. However, it's important to note that the outcome of the referendum is predetermined at the start of the game, so reloading a save will not change the result.

Restarting the game

If you are playing Hearts of Iron IV and Austria refuses the referendum, you may need to restart the game. This is because the outcome of the referendum is predetermined, so reloading the same save won't help as they will pick the same outcome every time.

However, there are some things you can do to increase your chances of a successful referendum. Firstly, make sure you have improved relations with Austria. Completing the "Reintegrate the Railroads" National Focus will also make it more likely that Austria will accept. You can also try to boost non-aligned party support in Austria and Czechoslovakia, as this can make them more inclined to accept annexation.

If you are playing in Ironman mode, you will have to restart as you cannot go back to previous saves.

Invading Austria

If you're playing as Hungary in Hearts of Iron IV and want to invade Austria, it's best to do it early in the game. This will allow you to change your conscription and economic laws sooner. Invading Austria is also a good way to gain experience for your generals and army.

However, if your goal is to reform the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it's important to note that invading Austria will not give you their troops. You will also need to improve relations with Czechoslovakia to have a chance of annexing them peacefully.

To increase your chances of a successful invasion, you can try improving relations with Austria, completing the "Reintegrate the Railroads" focus, and increasing your army size.

Frequently asked questions