Hungary AAR - Part VIII - Red Hungary (1883-1887)

Welcome back to Hungary. The 1883 Election saw a victory for the Socialist Party, and Englemann continued his presidency in all of Hungary. Victory for Socialists in Hungary itself was one of the first examples of a democratically-elected socialist government in Europe, which was met with applause by European socialists.

Now, let's look at Bosnia for a bit.

Poor and underdeveloped, the area itself was under Ottoman and Turkish rule for nearly four hundred years, until we conquered it. The Bosnia province has little administration due to the lack of Hungarians in the region. As a result, Bosniaks and Serbs widely hate the Hungarian rule, calling it oppressive and horrible. The Bosnian independence movement, which was suppressed under the Communist government of Turkey, started to flourish in Hungarian Bosnia.

Bosnia itself is widely corrupt and the Hungarian government's power in the area is minimal, allowing for anarchists and terrorists to roam Bosnia freely without little punishment. This is hoped to be solved soon, but it's difficult to do so until an effort to convince ethnic Hungarians to move en-mass to Bosnia commences. It's also still needed to make Croatia-Slavonia more effectively administrated before focusing on Bosnia.

Italy itself has seen massive instability due to the Italian Revolution. The ongoing Italian Civil War, waged between monarchists, conservatives, socialists, communists and liberals, has led to a massive amount of emigration from Italy to the United States, Argentina and other American countries. As a result of Italian instability, their power is minimal.

Engelmann looks at the developments in Bosnia and Italy with concern, but he still has his own plans, including the conclusion of Hungarian colonial expansion.

The Greek government offers an alliance, and we accept, of course.

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The rebellions in Turkey have been crushed by the Red Army, but this leads to discussions by the European powers on dividing the Turkish Socialist Republic.

In our final African conquest, we declare war on the Sultanate of Zanzibar and hope to annex effectively all of it, including Dar Es Salaam and the city of Zanzibar.

The new Italian government, led by capitalist dictators in hopes of maximizing capitalism offers an alliance with us. Englemann accepts, despite it going against his personal ideals.

Egypt finds itself at war with Germany, which concerns us, as we don't want a land border with Germany in any form. However, Bismarck and Wilhelm I assure us that they'll only annex the north coast of Egypt (incl. Alexandria).

The Spanish under a new government led by King Alfonso XII of Spain offers an alliance, which we accept.

We annex the whole of Zanzibar, much to the anger of the British. This gives us the ability to colonize Tanganyika and Kenya, which pleases Hungarian colonial efforts.

Competition between the Italian government and the French government over the ownership of the port city of Dijibouti leads to a diplomatic dispute.

The Italian government continues to fight uprising after uprising, but hopes to squelch them all within time.

The invention of the ironclad improves the general quality of our navy, but Englemann doesn't plan to utilize it yet.

Due to the instability in the Turkish Socialist Republic, the British government, led by Prime Minister William Gladstone, has called for a congress in London to resolve the issues of the Balkans. After some discussion, the Congress of London leads to the Turkish Socialist Republic keeping most of their Balkan lands. Romania is freed and given Dobrudija and Constanta, Bulgaria is given autonomy as the Socialist Republic of Bulgaria, Greece is given Thessalia, and Montenegro and Serbia are expanded, but in such a way to prevent Montenegrin-Serb unification. Chairman Blagoev decides to accept the demands of the Congress, much to the ire of his fellow Communists.

The Congress of London, however, doesn't answer the question of the non-Turkish minorities in the rest of the Balkans under Turkish rule. It solves the issues in the area for now, but the area could very well cause a massive war.

However, months after the Congress, the Bulgarian Socialist Republic declares an end to Communist rule and starts a free Republic, much to the ire of the Communists in Konstantinyye.

With a new wave of instability in Italy, Englemann decides to intervene and send in 30,000 troops over to the peninsula to help out our allies.

In 1885, after much negotiation with Britain, France, Germany and other powers, the whole Congo Basin is made a protectorate of King Christian IX of Denmark.

King Christian IX promises to help out the new Congo Free State and help develop it to the standards of the Nordic monarchies that he and King Oscar II of Sweden have established and cultivated.

The Congo Basin itself has a lot of natural resources and population, so it remains to be seen how Christian IX can make the area developed.

King Juan of Spain, having regained power with the help of the Carlists, centralized his rule in Spain once and for all, ending regionalism and making the Spanish people not Castilian, Catalan or Basque, but Spanish.

In Germany, Helmuth von Moltke, a German field marshal, created several strategies to help out the already overpowered Germany army on the battlefield.

The establishment of our rule in Zanzibar ends the slave trade and the production of gold and diamonds in the islandic city, ending the production of a lucrative trade source in the name of humanity.

Tensions in the Bukovina area of Austria leads to a massive dispute between Rumania and Austria. Germany backs Austria, while Russia backs Romania.

Only France and Belgium send mediators, which makes Russian Tsar Alexander III immediately desire to send diplomats to the Germans requesting peace.

Due to ineffective rule in Bosnia, the first notable uprising in the area, led by Bosniak Muslims, occurs in much of Bosnia. However, the poorly trained rebels can't do much.

The Bukovina Crisis is resolved peacefully, and Bukovina remains Austrian, much to the anger of the Rumanian monarchy.

In early 1887, however, as election season nears, a massive anarchist and communist uprising occurs in - not just mainland Hungary - but in our African colonies as well.

But elections!

Englemann is the Socialist candidate, of course. The last eight years have been one of expansion for Hungary and industrial growth, meaning he is well-liked among the Hungarian people.

Kalman Tisza is the Liberal candidate, but the Liberals haven't won any presidential elections at all since the monarchy era. They are definitely an underdog.

Sandor Wekerle is the Conservative candidate, after the Conservative party split with the Nationalist government. He plans for minimal expansion and growth, and keeping the traditions of Hungary.

Gyula Andrassy is the Nationalist candidate, but general lack of enthusiasm due to the Kismarton loss has made him unviable. This plans to be his last year running for election.

Jeno Henrik Schmitt was the Communist candidate. An anarchist and open hater of the Socialist Party of Hungary, he widely berated the Socialists for their war against Turkey, African expansion and not helping out the worker that much. Although accusations that he's funded Communist rebellions in mainland Hungary fly, he's still somewhat popular among Hungarian workers.

Tension in Erdely by the Rumanian people who seek unification with Rumania has led to a minor increase of tensions between the Hungarian government, the Hungarian people, and Rumanians. However, the threats of crisis are squelched in the area for now.

In general, tensions between Serbo-Croatians and Hungarians have increased in the wake of the annexation of Bosnia. Calls for the liberation of Croatia, Serbian Vojvodina and Bosnia are very common in the Hungarian Balkans, with some even calling for the creation of a unified South Slav nation the Balkans called Yugoslavia. However, the Hungarian government makes sure no independence movements gain massive notability.

Although the administration has helped increase administration in Croatia and Slavonia, Bosnia remains in general anarchy, showing the possible ineffectiveness of the Socialists.

Initially, the Conservatives under Wekerle looks like th e favorites, getting massive popularity in Hungary following a debate in war policy against Englemann.

A nationalist uprising in Italy plans to end the bourgeois dictatorship in the nation and create a military dictatorship... but little happens.

However, in the last four months prior to the election, Schmitt's MKP surges in popularity, as his appeal to the common worker by ending the incompetent administration of Englemann and the constant uprisings make him very popular.

However, an uprising in Hungarian West Africa was left unanswered until the tail-end of the election, perhaps further showing the incompetence of the Hungarian Socialist Party.

The Hungarian people await the results of the election. The popularity of the MKP is concerning to many, as it could very well lead to a Communist dictatorship in Hungary, much like that of Turkey's. However, Schmitt promises to uphold democracy and republicanism in Hungary.

The results come in, and the MKP wins in a landslide, winning much of Hungary.

The first ever democratically elected Communist party is in power in a true democracy. This is met with wild cheers by workers and anarchists all alike. However, concerns about dictatorship and a potential Hungarian Worker's Council Republic arise. The new rule of the MKP is met with disappointment and fear by the bourgeoisie and the rich.

Schmitt, and the MKP, is now in power in Hungary. Will he remain in power for four years? And will it continue for a shorter time than four years, or will it result in Communist dictatorship?