Post by Republic of Austria on Jul 15, 2006 10:41:24 GMT -5
After the ceasefire of the War of the Slavs, Austria-Hungary had to go through a lot of restructuring. The treaty stripped Austria-Hungary of much of its land, limited its armed forces, forced it to scuttle its current navy, and restructured its government.
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The new government would consist of a President and Prime Minister, a Senate of 50 individuals, a House of Representatives of 45 individuals, and a Supreme Court.
Emperor Franz Joseph I, by the terms of the treaty, would become the first Prime Minister of Austria-Hungary as Franz Joseph Hapsburg.
In the wake of the dual monarchy's abolition, political parties sprung up in Austria-Hungary like flies converging on a dung heap.
The first of these new political parties was the Federalist party, which wanted the government to focus on rebuilding the economy of Austria-Hungary. The Pacifist party wanted simply to avoid another war and expand Austria-Hungary's diplomatic institutions. Its antithesis, the War Party, wanted to regain Austria-Hungary's national pride with expansionism against weaker powers. The Populists wanted to focus on improving the rights of the common people and construct amenities to please the people; the Progressive Party wanted to eliminate social classes and develop Austria-Hungary's art and culture. The Mercantile Party wanted to increase foreign trade and build up the merchant marine, the Industrialists wanted the government to subsidize industry. The Technologists wanted to look to the future with the creation of new and advanced technology, and the Universalists simply wanted a balance of different programs.
All nine of these new parties had candidates run for the Senate. The election, however, produced a balance of power, with no one party in the majority. The results were as follows: Populists, 15 seats; Federalists, 13 seats; War Party, 12 seats; Universalists, 6 seats; Pacifists, 2 seats; Technologists, 1 seat; and Mercantile Party, 1 seat.
All of the parties with the exception of the Industrialists and Progressive Party also ran candidates for the 45-member House of Representatives. The results were similary even: Federalists, 16 seats; War Party, 12 seats; Populists, 12 seats; Technologists, 3 seats; Pacifists, 1 seat; and Mercantile Party, 1 seat.
The Presidential race was also very closely contested. Six different parties (not the Universalists, Industrialists, or Mercantile Party) put forward candidates. The result was extremely close, with Progressive Party candidate Erik Dietrich taking the election.
Dietrich, using his power as president, filled the 12-member Supreme Court with liberals.
Prime Minister Hapsburg, however, has announced his adoption of the War Party as his official party.
With a legislature with no clear majority, a Progressive president, War Party prime minister, and liberal Supreme Court, it looks as if the political situation in Austria-Hungary is going to be a muddled morass.
The government has passed its first bill, renaming Austria-Hungary the Republic of Austria, and a bill to move the capital to Prague was narrowly defeated.
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The Austro-Hungarian Army was officially disbanded today. In its place was established the Austrian Republican Army. This newly army will be much smaller than the previous Austro-Hungarian Army, with only 200,000 men active and 800,000 men in reserve. However, the Austrian Republican Army is designed to be far more efficient than the previous army.
First of all, a new training camp has been established in Klagenfurt. This new training camp has been staffed with the best army trainers in Austria, and they will provide high-quality training to the troops.
Secondly, because this new army is less than half the size of the previous army, there are fewer troops to feed, and thus the rations have been nearly doubled. There is also less need for space, so barracks will be more comfortable and less crowded.
Thirdly, the Austrian Republican Army is to be re-equipped with the newer G-1 rifle and G-6 machine gun.
Fourthly, the old army was handicapped by poor communication due to the proliferation of languages used by army personnel. Because of the loss of territory, there are now fewer languages spoken in the army, which will be communication much easier.
Finally, the salary of the troops will be increased to compensate for their lower number. The combination of increased salary, better rations, and more comfortable living quarters should provide a great boost to Army morale.
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Grand Admiral Radetsky watched on sadly as one by one the great ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were scuttled. Much of the submarine fleet was also destroyed, with the exception of the sixteen most modern submarines in Austria-Hungary, or more correctly, the Republic of Austria's arsenal.
However, the terms of the treaty provided a new oppportunity to the Austrian Republican Navy. Many of the old ships were obsolete and badly in need of replacement. The new ships would be ultramodern vessels, making the new Austrian navy far more powerful than the old.
In addition, Radetsky had thought of one more way to secretly strengthen the Austrian Republican Navy: armed merchant ships. The treaty placed no limits on the merchant ships other than a 15,000-ton limit, which was in fact higher than the limit on battleships.
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Millions of ethnic Germans and Hungarians began a mass exodus from the lost provinces of Galicia, Silesia, Bukovina, Dalmatia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Tyrol, and Oberosstereich fled for what was left of Austria-Hungary.
The loss of these territories, however, came with a bonus: there would be no more troublesome revolts from ethnic minorities in the provinces.
********************************************************
The new government would consist of a President and Prime Minister, a Senate of 50 individuals, a House of Representatives of 45 individuals, and a Supreme Court.
Emperor Franz Joseph I, by the terms of the treaty, would become the first Prime Minister of Austria-Hungary as Franz Joseph Hapsburg.
In the wake of the dual monarchy's abolition, political parties sprung up in Austria-Hungary like flies converging on a dung heap.
The first of these new political parties was the Federalist party, which wanted the government to focus on rebuilding the economy of Austria-Hungary. The Pacifist party wanted simply to avoid another war and expand Austria-Hungary's diplomatic institutions. Its antithesis, the War Party, wanted to regain Austria-Hungary's national pride with expansionism against weaker powers. The Populists wanted to focus on improving the rights of the common people and construct amenities to please the people; the Progressive Party wanted to eliminate social classes and develop Austria-Hungary's art and culture. The Mercantile Party wanted to increase foreign trade and build up the merchant marine, the Industrialists wanted the government to subsidize industry. The Technologists wanted to look to the future with the creation of new and advanced technology, and the Universalists simply wanted a balance of different programs.
All nine of these new parties had candidates run for the Senate. The election, however, produced a balance of power, with no one party in the majority. The results were as follows: Populists, 15 seats; Federalists, 13 seats; War Party, 12 seats; Universalists, 6 seats; Pacifists, 2 seats; Technologists, 1 seat; and Mercantile Party, 1 seat.
All of the parties with the exception of the Industrialists and Progressive Party also ran candidates for the 45-member House of Representatives. The results were similary even: Federalists, 16 seats; War Party, 12 seats; Populists, 12 seats; Technologists, 3 seats; Pacifists, 1 seat; and Mercantile Party, 1 seat.
The Presidential race was also very closely contested. Six different parties (not the Universalists, Industrialists, or Mercantile Party) put forward candidates. The result was extremely close, with Progressive Party candidate Erik Dietrich taking the election.
Dietrich, using his power as president, filled the 12-member Supreme Court with liberals.
Prime Minister Hapsburg, however, has announced his adoption of the War Party as his official party.
With a legislature with no clear majority, a Progressive president, War Party prime minister, and liberal Supreme Court, it looks as if the political situation in Austria-Hungary is going to be a muddled morass.
The government has passed its first bill, renaming Austria-Hungary the Republic of Austria, and a bill to move the capital to Prague was narrowly defeated.
******************************************************
The Austro-Hungarian Army was officially disbanded today. In its place was established the Austrian Republican Army. This newly army will be much smaller than the previous Austro-Hungarian Army, with only 200,000 men active and 800,000 men in reserve. However, the Austrian Republican Army is designed to be far more efficient than the previous army.
First of all, a new training camp has been established in Klagenfurt. This new training camp has been staffed with the best army trainers in Austria, and they will provide high-quality training to the troops.
Secondly, because this new army is less than half the size of the previous army, there are fewer troops to feed, and thus the rations have been nearly doubled. There is also less need for space, so barracks will be more comfortable and less crowded.
Thirdly, the Austrian Republican Army is to be re-equipped with the newer G-1 rifle and G-6 machine gun.
Fourthly, the old army was handicapped by poor communication due to the proliferation of languages used by army personnel. Because of the loss of territory, there are now fewer languages spoken in the army, which will be communication much easier.
Finally, the salary of the troops will be increased to compensate for their lower number. The combination of increased salary, better rations, and more comfortable living quarters should provide a great boost to Army morale.
******************************************************
Grand Admiral Radetsky watched on sadly as one by one the great ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were scuttled. Much of the submarine fleet was also destroyed, with the exception of the sixteen most modern submarines in Austria-Hungary, or more correctly, the Republic of Austria's arsenal.
However, the terms of the treaty provided a new oppportunity to the Austrian Republican Navy. Many of the old ships were obsolete and badly in need of replacement. The new ships would be ultramodern vessels, making the new Austrian navy far more powerful than the old.
In addition, Radetsky had thought of one more way to secretly strengthen the Austrian Republican Navy: armed merchant ships. The treaty placed no limits on the merchant ships other than a 15,000-ton limit, which was in fact higher than the limit on battleships.
******************************************************
Millions of ethnic Germans and Hungarians began a mass exodus from the lost provinces of Galicia, Silesia, Bukovina, Dalmatia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Tyrol, and Oberosstereich fled for what was left of Austria-Hungary.
The loss of these territories, however, came with a bonus: there would be no more troublesome revolts from ethnic minorities in the provinces.
