The Rise of Australasia

Chapter 643 -491: Hungarian Democratic Republic

Which countries were most affected by the Russian Civil War?

Undoubtedly, it was the neighboring countries that were relatively weak.

Among all Russia’s neighbors, the most affected by the Russian Civil War was the internally chaotic Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire did not split during the war, which was a great thing for Emperor Carl I.

However, the problem was that Carl I clearly no longer had the prestige and status to maintain the union between Austria and Hungary.

If Bohemia is included, it would be a situation of a trilateral balance of power.

A triangle is stable, but a trilateral balance of power is not. Combined with the influence of the Russian Revolution, the Austro-Hungarian Empire faced its hardest choice.

In March 1919, Soviet Russia held a meeting in Moscow and formally established the Third International.

Afterwards, the Hungarian Soviet Party received support from Moscow, absorbed supporters in the Kingdom of Hungary, and became one of Hungary’s largest parties.

As mentioned earlier, Hungary’s economy was mostly made up of small farmers and small capitalists, which means Hungary had a large number of individual farmers.

To win over these farmers, the Hungarian Soviet Party vigorously touted the advanced nature of the Soviet system and emphasized that the representative committee was for the benefit of workers and farmers and resisting the capitalists, namely the old Austrian government.

This is actually in line with Hungary’s relationship with Austria. In comparison to the Austrian government’s economy, Hungary was clearly in a weaker position.

Hungarians were not happy to see the Austrian government’s oppression, and the conflicts between the imperial and kingdom governments made the situation in both regions extremely difficult.

Opposite the Soviet Party was the bourgeois party that had long been established in Hungary.

Although these two parties had different ideas, they united at this time, sharing a common goal – to put an end to the Habsburg Dynasty’s 400-year-long rule over Hungary.

As Europe’s greatest family, the history of the Habsburg family is undoubtedly brilliant and great.

However, now, although the Austrian throne is still preserved, the Habsburgs’ status within the Austro-Hungarian Empire is in dire straits.

Emperor Carl I has not yet made up his mind to cut Austria and Hungary apart, even though these two regions have already become irreconcilable enemies.

If Hungary’s betrayal during the war had exacerbated the conflict between Austria and Hungary, then the imperial government’s markedly different attitudes towards Austria and Hungary during the influenza period directly severed their connection.

Hungary was the grain-producing region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and naturally, the imperial government demanded that the Kingdom of Hungary provide enough grain for the entire empire during the outbreak.

Meanwhile, because the imperial government was burdened with huge debts, it paid for the Hungarian grain with nothing but IOUs and the now-worthless Austro-Hungarian crowns.

The farmers and small capitalists in the Kingdom of Hungary were naturally unwilling to have their hard-earned grain and assets snapped up by the imperial government.

They wanted to use the previous method – firmly claiming they had no grain to deal with the imperial government’s demands.

But unexpectedly, by the order of the imperial government, troops forcibly requisitioned a large amount of grain directly from the Hungarian Kingdom Government.

Although some crowns and pounds were left as compensation, the Hungarian capitalists were obviously not satisfied.

After all, during the influenza period, the price of grain had already multiplied. The imperial government’s attempt to buy grain at pre-outbreak prices was nothing short of blatant profiteering.

Moreover, the Austro-Hungarian crowns couldn’t even be spent within the empire, and the extent of their devaluation was beyond description.

Under these circumstances, the Kingdom of Hungary’s resentment towards the imperial government deepened, further exacerbating the contradictions between the kingdom government and the imperial government.

As the person who should have played the role of mediator, Emperor Carl I, when facing the conflicts between the imperial government and the Hungarian Kingdom Government, did not take any action nor did he console the victimized Hungarian government.

This greatly disappointed the Hungarian Kingdom Government and intensified the contradictions between the Hungarian people and the imperial government and royal family.

History proves that as long as the people don’t like you, everything you do is wrong.

The long-resentful Hungarian people staged nationwide protests demanding the overthrow of Carl I’s rule and the establishment of a completely independent Hungarian Democratic State.

It was from this moment on that the relationship between Austria and Hungary became irreconcilable, and it was impossible for Carl I to have both domains. He had to make a choice between these two lands.

The outcome was evident; Carl I could not choose the Kingdom of Hungary, which had openly opposed him. He could only feign ignorance of the events outside and pray that Austria would not experience protests similar to those in Hungary.

With Soviet Russia’s involvement, it was impossible for the Hungarian protests to end peacefully.

In just a few days, the number of protesters in Hungary had exceeded one hundred thousand. The people demanded the establishment of a completely independent government or the overthrow of the Hungarian Kingdom government.

Under pressure from domestic factions and the people, the then-prime minister of the Kingdom of Hungary, Tisa, joined forces with the Hungarian armed forces commander to declare independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and abolish the monarchy of the Hungarian Kingdom. He changed the Kingdom of Hungary to the Hungarian Democratic Republic and became its first prime minister.

The Hungarian Armed Forces Commander was appointed as Minister of Defense of the Democratic Republic, and the two began to promote their cronies extensively, aiming to replace the original Kingdom government rapidly.

The establishment of the Democratic Republic plunged Hungary into a frenzy and newspapers celebrated the victory of this revolution.

However, for Soviet Russia and the Hungarian Workers’ Party, the establishment of the Democratic Republic was not a good thing.

Prime Minister Tisa flawlessly transitioned between the Kingdom government and the Democratic Republic government, depriving Soviet Russia of any benefits they had meticulously planned to gain.

Under the influence of Soviet Russia, the spirit of Hungary’s Workers’ Party was high, and they strongly demanded to follow the path of the Russians, which meant launching a civil war to seize the power of the government.

With its powerful appeal to the working classes, Soviet Russia already had the upper hand in the civil war in Tsarist Russia.

Hungary’s Worker’s Party wanted to replicate this by uniting Hungary’s workers and peasants, directly revoking the Democratic Republic government that should never have been established.

In May 1919, with the support of Soviet Russia, Hungary’s Workers’ Party brazenly launched an armed rebellion, attacking major cities in Hungary.

In just a few days, the flames of civil war in Hungary spread to every corner of the country.

For a newly established country, civil war was not good news, and besides the civil war, they also had to face the possible retaliation from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Prime Minister Tisa urgently sought help from European nations and stated the severity of Soviet Russia’s expansion to the outside world.

The main reason why the countries did not send troops during the Russian Civil War was that Tsarist Russia initially held a slight advantage and, in theory, could win the war by relying on its manpower.

However, it was unexpected that Soviet Russia had a massive appeal to workers. This led to many workers in Tsarist Russia’s Eastern European territories responding to Soviet Russia’s call and joining the ranks against Tsarist Russia.

On the other hand, the peasant class, which supported the Tsar’s rule, was not as fanatical in their blind worship of the Tsar due to Nicholas II’s violent repression policies and were even less likely to risk their lives to maintain the Tsar’s rule.

From the distribution of forces in the Russian Civil War so far, the conflict began with a North-South stand-off, with Tsarist Russia even occupying prosperous regions, including Poland.

However, as time went on, the Polish region gradually fell under the control of Soviet Russia. Even with support from European nations, Tsarist Russia was no match for Soviet Russia.

In fact, this could be seen from the morale of the soldiers on both sides. Although the equipment of Soviet Russia’s soldiers was inferior to that of Tsarist Russia’s soldiers, they had a more fearless attitude and were not afraid of death in the war.

In contrast, although most Tsarist Russia soldiers were veterans from World War I, they had experienced the cruelty of war and did not support it so wholeheartedly.

Especially since a considerable number of them had been forcibly recruited to the battlefield, their attitude towards the war would naturally not be favorable.

Some even suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, but Tsarist Russia remained indifferent, still forcibly ordering these soldiers to fight on the battlefield.

If it wasn’t for the abolition of the bourgeois government that allowed Nicholas II to gain some power from the assets, the outcome of the Russian civil war might have been settled by now.

Faced with the growing power of Soviet Russia and its attempt to spread its ideology to neighboring countries, European nations began to be vigilant.

No one wanted such a nation on their doorstep, as it could have a significant impact on their system and ideology.

For any industrialized country, the working class is an indispensable force. But Soviet Russia had incorporated all workers within its scope, which meant that workers in all industrialized countries could potentially become supporters of the Soviet Union.

No monarch wanted to see their country become a republic, especially a Soviet-style republic.

Hungary’s plea for help also drew the attention of European nations. If they could not curb Soviet Russia’s external invasions like that in Hungary, the entire Europe might be influenced by Soviet Russia, something none of the powers wanted to see.

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