Victoria II Kingdom of Hungary AAR - Part II - The Slavonian War

The 1 July Diet meeting of Pest was done to debate the new leader of Hungary. The upper classes of the Kingdom were severely divided - many argued in favor of a democratic, American-esque republic. Arguments came in for Prussian noble Karl von Preussen, a son of the late Prussian king Frederick Wilhelm III. Some argued for a Bourbon pretender to the Kingdom of France, some argued for a Saxe-Coburg and Gotha noble, and some even argued that Regent-President Kossuth Lajos seize power and become a King or a President for life. After a lot of debate and anger, the Diet finally voted in favor of having Karl von Preussen becoming the new King of Hungary.

The Diet also voted, near unanimously, that Kossuth should become the newly-created Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary. Despite this, however, the decision could become nullified soon, as the King could remove Kossuth from power and put in power someone more favorable to him.

The decision to not form a Republic itself quickly caused a lot of unrest in the Kingdom, leading to massive protests in cities that included Poszony, Ujdivek, Pest, Temesvar, and Resicabanya. Many of these protests came from non-Hungarians who were angered at the fact that they weren't going to be treated better under Magyar rule, but rather the fact that their new boss was going to encourge the usage of Slovak, Romanian, German, and Serbo-Croatian less than the Habsburgs did.

To prepare for Charles' coronation, Hungarian diplomats go to Berlin to improve relations with King Frederick Wilhelm IV of Prussia.

Shortly before Charles' arrival, however, our ally, Montenegro, goes bankrupt. Not wanting to lose an ally, we don't punish them for their mistake.

On 20 July 1847, Charles of Prussia - now known as Charles IV of Hungary - is coronated in Buda Castle, nearby Pest. A week after his grandidose coronation as the first independent King of Hungary ever since the sixteenth century, Charles IV starts his policy changes quickly. He puts in a more conservative government in power in the Kingdom, and Kossuth agrees to leave his position as Prime Minister. Charles IV appoints war hero Artur Gorgei as the new Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary.

On 31 August 1847, the Hungarian Victory Parade was officially held in Pest. Many veterans, nobles, and politicians - including King Charles IV - took part in the parade. Radicals who considered assassinating a participant were detained by the police.

Despite Charles IV's blood relations to the King of Prussia, the Prussians see the Hungarians as radicals who messed up the balance of power in Europe.

Meanwhile, perhaps due to Metternich resigning, a large-scale war that the Congress of Vienna was designed to prevent started. The Orleanist dynasty of France and the Romanovs of Russia went to war against the United Kingdom and Prussia.

To appease upstart liberals, the Diet agreed to allow the press to no longer be banned in Hungary. It was to be heavily censored to support Charles IV's viewpoint, but it was still the revolution many liberals were promised.

In 1848 February, a new tax plan was approved by Charles IV, where taxes overall were lowered for everyone - including the aristocracy and capitalists, who no longer had to pay taxes, to the ire of radicals.

Ironically, relations between the Ottoman Empire and Hungary started to improve under Charles IV. Much of the Diet had been considering insulting the Ottomans, as they were the reason Hungary vanished off the map back in the sixteenth century.

This didn't matter to Charles IV, however.

In 1 September 1848, the Caparthian Alliance (also known as the Turkish-Hungarian Alliance) was formed, to the anger of many a Hungarian. However, Charles IV and the other Hungarian conservatives did not mind an alliance with their mortal enemy, as the Kingdom had no powerful allies, and we needed one to prevent the possibility of Austria attempting to reassert their authority.

Painting of the Turkish-Hungarian Alliance being signed in Konstantinyye, 1 September 1848

Soon following the Alliance, Free Press was signed into law, allowing Hungary to become one of the most liberal nations east of the Elbe River. Charles IV paid no mind to the idea of it, nor did Prime Minister Gorgei.

In the midst of the Concert-ending War, France attempts to claim the Rhine River as France's natural eastern borders, despite the ethnicity of the west Rhine being mainly German. The Rhine Prussians, realizing this potential reality of being annexed into the aggressive French monarchy during the French occupation, become angered and militant. A poet from the area - Max Schreckenburger - decided to write a secret poem while the Rhineland is occupied. It quickly became immensely popular throughout all of the German speaking areas - including the Rhineland, of course.

In the middle of 1849, Russia sends diplomats to Pest to request an alliance with Charles IV. Nikolai I, Tsar and Autocrat of All the Russias, was concerned about Prussian military expansion during the War, and decides that Russia needed another ally. In this case, he decided on Hungary.

As such, the Russo-Hungarian Alliance was formed.

A true believer in Romanticist art, Charles IV commissions the University of Pest to focus on spreading romantic art and literature throughout Caparthia.

On 1 January 1850, the Poles of the Kingdom of Poland in Russia attempt an uprising.

The goal of what was later called the January Uprising was to re-establish the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with its territories having been partitioned between Prussia, Austria and Russia during the end of the 18th century.

Hungarian nobles wished to support the Poles, and the Diet considered officially support Poland's attempt to gain independence. However, Gorgei and Charles IV decided that possible war against Russia would be fatal to the newborn Hungarian monarchy, so they remain neutral in the Uprising.

Inspired by the Poles, Ruthenians in Ungvar attempt an uprising as well, ending in failure.

Controversially, in early March of 1851, the Diet passes the "West Banat Magyar Act", allowing ethnic Hungarians free settlement in the West Banatian cities of Novi Sad, Pancevo and Mitrovica. Furthermore, Serbs, Croats, and any non-Hungarians that live in West Banatia are encouraged by the government to become Hungarian. This was controversial for many reasons, and it caused a massive increase in tensions between Hungarians and non-Hungarians.

A year later, another uprising starts, only in China.

Tensions between the corrupt, Manchu-dominated, and inefficient Qing administration led to Hong Xiuquan, a Chinese man, to become immensely popular throughout East China. Claiming that he was the brother of Jesus Christ, he declares the Heavenly Taiping Kingdom in Taiping.

The end of our truce with Austria means we could go to war yet again, but it'd be difficult unless Austria was at war with another nation. Austria can't directly declare war on us, as we are allied with Russia and the Ottomans, and they would end up devastated. We must take matters into our own hands.

The Taiping Rebellion is crushed by the Qing Empire, and they decide to give the Chinese the same rights as the Manchu. However, the rebellion results in millions dead in East China.

Angered by the unfufilled liberal promises and the Magyarization of West Banatia, the Transylvanian Romanians rise up under Lucian Samsonovici.

Samsonvici desires to form an independent, united Romania comprising of Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia, combined with other Romanian-majority territories that include Sillistre, Bukovina and Bessarabia. However, his troops comprise mainly of irregulars, while the Hungarian Royal Army are all Independence War veterans.

The revolt is crushed quickly, and Samsonovici is imprisoned and later executed by the Hungarian government.

Shortly after Samsonovici's execution, Slovak nationalists led by a young general named Andras Malovec rose up in rebellion to demand a newly independent Slovakia.

These troops comprise mainly of irregulars, unsurprisingly, but they are in a better defensive position and have more troops.

Eventually, Malovec is imprisoned and executed, like his Transylvanian counterpart.

To restore order to the rebelling lands, Charles IV and Gorgei decide to give landowners more of a voice. Although this isn't exactly "democracy", it's the first steps into democracy for Hungary. The promises of the Revolution are finally fufilled.

As more and more art is made romanticising the Hungarian Independence War of 1846 and 1847, Hungary becomes recognized as a secondary-rate power, among the same tier as nations like the Ottoman Empire and Two Siciles.

The Voting Act of 1853 is created, cementing some form of democracy in Hungary. It isn't complete democracy where everyone has a voice, as mentioned, but it's baby steps.

As the election continues, the more liberal faction (led by Kossuth Lajos) starts to press for war against the Austrians to retake Croatia. The landowners are split - the nobles near Pest and in Transylvania are arguing in favor of liberalism and war to retake Croatia, while the nobles in Slovakia and in Kismarton are in favor of waiting until the time is right - or not even declaring war at all.

Looking to reassert Spanish dominance, Queen Isabella II of Spain takes a large focus on Hungary. Seeing it as a potential powerful ally to help out Spanish interests, she decides to have Hungary become a part of the Spanish sphere of influence. Many nobles were hoping for Russian or Prussian influence, but Spain is still decent.

The election is dominantly won by the popular liberal faction, and Kossuth Lajos becomes the new Prime Minister of Hungary.

Taxes are overall lowered, meaning that our main source of income - peasant taxes - have dissolved. Combined with Spanish influence making us more poor, we have to raise taxes on everyone, angering the nobility.

Kossuth Lajos, now the Prime Minister of Hungary, desires war. He and the rest of the liberals have been pushing for a new war against Austria ever since the truce ended. However, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and Montenegro, when asked if they were to join a potential war against Austria, all declined. But an opportunity comes.

A crisis over Schleswig-Holstein in the German Confederation led to Prussia declaring war on Austria to assert her influence. Austria would be distracted if we were to attack. Now is the time.

Claiming oppression of Hungarian minorities in the easternmost parts of the Kingdom of Croatia, Hungary declares war on Austria to "save the Hungarians of Slavonia". This is followed by an act forced through the diet where the peasants of Hungary were to be reconscripted again and forced into service once more.

We are currently at war against Austria, Baden, Wurrtemburg, Saxony, Mantua, Tuscany, Parma and the Two Siciles. This could be difficult.

Quickly, Austro-Italian troops occupy Kismarton.

Feeling more and more compelled by occuping East Croatia, Kossuth pushes his luck and demands the rest of Croatia to fall under Magyar rule.

Vienna is, for the second time in the last decade, about to be reoccupied by Magyar troops.

Austrian peasants attempt an attack on the Hungarian army regiment in Vienna, but their attack quickly fails and their regiment is dissolved.

Austrian troops start to reoccupy Croatia, while Hungarian troops start to occupy Dalmatia.

The decisive Battle of Varazdin almost shocks the Austrian Army. However, armed peasants without a leader usually lead to bad things.

(insert horrible Battle of Karansebes joke here)

As Magyar troops press their strength in Sisak where an entire peasant army lead by Austrian general Julius von Haynau is annihiliated, Kossuth demands the rest of Dalmatia, including the city of Senj.

Experienced Wurttemburg troops attack our peasant army in Kismarton, however, and it ends very disasterously. Only 4,481 men are able to escape from the carnage of what was later known as the Kismarton Massacre.

As Wurttemberg presses their strength, King Wilhelm I of Wurttemberg demands the liberation of a German-led Banat monarchy.

While Hungary has occupied swaths of Croatia and Carniola, parts of West Danubia are being occupied by Austria and Wurttemberg, including Kismarton.

However, the Kingdom of Sardinia also takes advantage of our war and declares war on Austria to annex Milan. This could be a saving grace to us.

Hungarian troops enter Zadar in April 1856 to prevent Austrian re-occupation of the city.

Konrad von Hortstein loses the Battle of Varazdin, but he is feared throughout Hungary as a skilled commander. He is granted many awards by Wilhelm of Wurttemberg.

Finally, on 1 June 1856, Franz Josef I calls for an armistice, and the Treaty of Prag is signed a week later. The treaty stipulates the following:

1. The Eastern Parts of the Kingdom of Croatia shall be ceded to the Kingdom of Hungary.

2. Five-year Truce between the Empire of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary

Sadly, Kossuth has failed to re-annex the rest of Croatia. It came with heavy losses from the Army, and not a lot of standing regiments are left standing. Kossuth has been made slightly unpopular by the war, while Charles IV's reputation is damaged.

While Slavonia is retaken and reintegrated into Hungary, it remains to be seen if the rest of Croatia - including Fiume - could be annexed back into Hungary.

And can we do it before Italian nationalism rises?