Austria And Hungary: Russian Territory?

Austria and Hungary are not in Russia. However, the histories of these nations are closely intertwined. During the Napoleonic Wars, the Austrian and Russian Empires were close allies, and Russia supported the Austrians during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848-1849. But in the Crimean War, Austria sided with France, Britain, and the Ottomans against Russia. This was a significant turning point in their relationship, and the two nations' interests continued to diverge in the following decades, especially regarding their competing expansionist goals in the Balkans. By the time of World War I, Austria-Hungary and Russia were on opposing sides, fighting each other in the Eastern Front.

Russia and Austria-Hungary were allies during the Napoleonic Wars

In 1804, Francis II proclaimed the Austrian Empire in response to Napoleon's declaration of the First French Empire. The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a multinational European great power from 1804 to 1867. It was created by uniting all Habsburg possessions under one central government.

The Napoleonic Wars dominated Austrian foreign policy from 1804 to 1815. The Austrian army was one of the most formidable forces the French had to face. After Prussia signed a peace treaty with France in 1795, Austria was forced to carry the main burden of the war with Napoleonic France for almost ten years. This severely overburdened the Austrian economy, making the war greatly unpopular.

Despite military defeats at the Battles of Marengo, Ulm, Austerlitz, and Wagram, and consequently lost territory throughout the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Austria played a decisive part in the overthrow of Napoleon in the campaigns of 1813-14. It participated in a second invasion of France in 1815 and put an end to Murat's regime in south Italy.

During the Napoleonic Wars, Klemens von Metternich exerted a large degree of influence over foreign policy in the Austrian Empire. Metternich initially supported an alliance with France, arranging the marriage between Napoleon and Francis I's daughter, Marie-Louise. However, by the 1812 campaign, he realized the inevitability of Napoleon's downfall and took Austria to war against France. Metternich's influence at the Congress of Vienna was remarkable, and he became not only the premier statesman in Europe but also the virtual ruler of the Empire until 1848.

The Austrian Empire was the main beneficiary of the Congress of Vienna and established an alliance with Britain, Prussia, and Russia, forming the Quadruple Alliance. The Austrian Empire also gained new territories from the Congress of Vienna, and its influence expanded to the north through the German Confederation and into Italy.

Russia supported Austria during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848

The Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire were a series of uprisings that took place from March 1848 to November 1849. These revolutions were driven by nationalist sentiments, as the ethnically diverse empire included Germans, Hungarians, Poles, Bohemians, Ruthenians, Slovenes, Slovaks, Romanians, Croats, Italians, and Serbs. The Hungarians, in particular, sought to break away from the empire and elect their own king.

Amid these nationalist movements, liberal and socialist forces also resisted the longstanding conservatism of the empire. The social and political tensions were heightened by the Industrial Revolution, which hurt small businesses and brought about poor working conditions. Additionally, the arrival of potato blight in 1845 led to food shortages and soaring prices, further fuelling discontent.

The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was a pivotal event within these broader revolutions. Hungary enacted a law for democratic parliamentary elections, transforming the feudal Estates General into a democratic representative parliament. This new suffrage law offered the widest right to vote in Europe at the time. The Hungarian Revolutionaries demanded civil and religious equality, freedom of the press, and the abolition of serfdom and aristocratic privileges.

As the Hungarian Revolution unfolded, the new Austrian monarch, Franz Joseph I, revoked the April laws that granted these democratic rights. This unconstitutional act escalated the conflict, leading to the fall of the pacifist Batthyány government and the rise of Lajos Kossuth's followers, who demanded full independence for Hungary. The Austrian military intervention in Hungary stoked strong anti-Habsburg sentiment among Hungarians, turning the revolution into a war for independence from the Habsburg dynasty.

Faced with serious Austrian defeats in 1849, Franz Joseph I called upon Russia for assistance in the name of the Holy Alliance. On May 21, 1849, he met with Nicholas I of Russia in Warsaw and requested military support. Nicholas I agreed and sent a substantial army of 200,0000 troops, along with 80,000 auxiliary forces.

The joint Russo-Austrian army ultimately defeated the Hungarian forces, restoring Habsburg power in Hungary and placing the country under martial law. This intervention marked a significant turning point in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, as it represented a decisive foreign intervention that ultimately crushed the Hungarian quest for independence.

Austria-Hungary and Russia fought each other during World War I

Austria-Hungary and Russia were two of the major players in World War I, and their conflict was a significant aspect of the Eastern Front. The two empires fought each other to the point of exhaustion, contributing to their eventual collapse and the emergence of a new world order. Here is an overview of how Austria-Hungary and Russia came to fight each other during World War I:

The Spark of War

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, on June 28, 1914, by Serbian nationalists served as the catalyst for World War I. Austria-Hungary accused Serbia of plotting and backing the assassination and demanded the right to conduct an investigation in Serbia. When Serbia only partially accepted one of Austria-Hungary's ultimatum demands, Austria-Hungary broke diplomatic relations and prepared for military action.

Alliance Systems and Mobilization

The complex web of alliances in Europe played a crucial role in escalating the conflict. Russia, a supporter of Serbia, began mobilizing its forces, while Germany assured Austria-Hungary of its full support. This prompted Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, marking the official start of World War I. In response, Russia ordered mobilization along its common front with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, leading to a series of counter-mobilizations.

Declaration of War

On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, which was Serbia's ally. This further escalated the conflict, as Russia's allies, France and Britain, became increasingly concerned about the potential outbreak of a broader European war. Despite some attempts at diplomacy, the crisis continued to escalate.

The Eastern Front

The Eastern Front of World War I was a 'war of movement', pitting the Central Powers (including Austria-Hungary and Germany) against the disorganized but larger forces of Russia. The Austro-Hungarian forces fought alongside their German allies on this front, facing heavy casualties and severe setbacks. The invasion of Serbia in 1914 by Austria-Hungary was a disaster, resulting in significant losses for the Austro-Hungarian Army.

The War's Impact

The conflict between Austria-Hungary and Russia had far-reaching consequences. The war efforts strained both empires economically, and the multi-ethnic composition of the Austro-Hungarian Army created internal tensions and unrest. The Brusilov Offensive in 1916, led by the Russians, inflicted heavy losses on the Austro-Hungarian forces and further weakened their position. By the end of World War I, both the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires had collapsed, leading to a significant shift in the global power structure.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed after World War I

The Austro-Hungarian Empire, also known as the Dual Monarchy, was a union of two sovereign states with a single monarch. It was a major European power, second only to Russia in geographical size and third in population. However, by the end of World War I, this empire had collapsed, and its territories were divided into several independent states.

The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the culmination of various factors, including internal social contradictions, crop failure, starvation, economic crisis, and the widening gap between Hungarian and Austrian interests. The stresses of World War I further catalysed the empire's demise. The October Revolution in Russia and the Wilsonian peace pronouncements encouraged socialism and nationalism among the peoples of the empire. The Austro-Hungarian government's proposal for a general peace was rejected by the United States, citing the Wilsonian pronouncements.

The death knell for the empire came when the United States committed to supporting the Czechoslovaks and Yugoslavs, marking the end of any possibility for autonomy within the empire. On October 18, 1918, the United States informed the Austro-Hungarian government that autonomy for the nationalities was no longer sufficient, and this effectively sealed the empire's fate. The various national councils within the empire began acting as provisional governments of independent countries. The Czechoslovak committee in Prague declared an independent state, and similar actions were taken by the South Slavs in Zagreb and the German members of the Reichsrat in Vienna.

The Austro-Hungarian monarchy collapsed rapidly in the autumn of 1918. Leftist and pacifist political movements organised strikes and uprisings, and the multiethnic empire began to disintegrate as nationalist movements gained momentum. The military breakdown of the Italian front marked the start of rebellion among the various ethnicities within the empire, as they refused to continue fighting for a cause that appeared senseless. The Emperor's power diminished as his realm disintegrated, and he eventually relinquished his right to exercise sovereign authority.

The Treaties of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Trianon formalised the collapse of the empire and established the new borders of Austria and Hungary, significantly reducing their territories and rendering them landlocked. The former Austro-Hungarian Empire gave way to the formation of several independent states, including the Republic of Austria, the Hungarian Democratic Republic, the First Czechoslovak Republic, and the Second Polish Republic.

Russia and Austria-Hungary had a history of complex diplomatic relations

16th Century to Early 1800s:

The Tsardom of Russia and the Holy Roman Emperor, which included the Habsburg domains (often referred to as "Austria"), had some contact during this period. An example of this was the embassy conducted by Sigismund von Herberstein in the 16th century. However, Russia was largely uninterested in European affairs before the reign of Peter I, who was proclaimed emperor in 1721.

Recognition Delay:

When Peter the Great became emperor, his recognition, as well as that of his successors, was delayed by the Habsburgs until 1742 during the War of the Austrian Succession. This delay set the tone for a complex dynamic between the two powers.

Alliances and Shared Rivals:

Russia's entry into European affairs created a recurring alliance between Russia and Austria, often united against common foes like the Ottoman Empire and France. They fought together in multiple conflicts, including the War of the Polish Succession (1733-1738), the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), and the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). Both countries also participated in the partitions of Poland, which further shaped the European geopolitical landscape.

French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars:

The French Revolution and the rise of Napoleonic France created ideological solidarity between the absolutist monarchies of Russia and Austria. They found common ground in their opposition to the revolutionary and Napoleonic forces, fighting together during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.

Congress of Vienna and Preserving the Status Quo:

In 1804, Austria was proclaimed an empire, and after the Congress of Vienna, it joined other reactionary powers in Europe to suppress revolutionary movements and maintain the established order. Austria and Russia, as the greatest defenders of the Vienna settlement, worked together to preserve their shared vision of European stability.

Hungarian Revolution of 1848:

The Revolutions of 1848 shook the Habsburg domains, and the Hungarian lands declared their independence. Russia intervened militarily, invading Hungary to suppress the revolutions and restore Habsburg rule. This intervention demonstrated Russia's commitment to maintaining the balance of power in Europe.

Crimean War and Strained Relations:

During the Crimean War, Austria maintained a hostile neutrality towards Russia, supporting the Anglo-French coalition without directly engaging in combat. This stance angered Tsar Nicholas I and strained Russo-Austrian relations. Despite Russia being punished by the Treaty of Paris, Austria ultimately lost the most from the war, finding itself diplomatically isolated and losing influence in German-speaking lands.

Competition in the Balkans:

With France forming an alliance with Russia after the Franco-Prussian War, the two Slavic empires now competed for influence in the Balkans, particularly as the Ottoman Empire showed signs of weakening. This competition laid the groundwork for the complex diplomatic alliances that would contribute to the outbreak of World War I.

World War I and Beyond:

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914 sparked a series of events that led to World War I, with Austria-Hungary and Russia fighting on opposing sides. The war ultimately led to the end of monarchy and the dissolution of empires in both countries, marking a significant shift in their relationship.

In summary, Russia and Austria-Hungary shared a long history of complex diplomatic relations, marked by shifting alliances, shared rivals, and competing interests. Their relationship was influenced by broader European dynamics and often shaped the course of history on the continent.

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