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| Name: | Austria-Hungary |
| Game: | Making History: The Great War |
| Series: | 1 |
| Card Number: | 2 of 8 |
| Description: | The Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy, is a multinational state held together by a Hapsburg Dynasty whose best days are behind it. Unseated as the principal rulers of the German-speaking world by the Hohenzollerns of Prussia, the Hapsburgs have struggled to hold together their ethnically, linguistically, and religiously diverse realm in an age of nationalism and economic dislocation. While the Hungarians gained significant autonomy in the aftermath of the disastrous Austro-Prussian War, Poles, Czechs, and Slavs feel disenfranchised by the Empire's current structure. The Slavs in particular pose a threat: Russia, Austria-Hungary's powerful eastern neighbor, is supportive of Slavic yearnings for independence, and the newly independent nation of Serbia seeks to create a pan-Slavic state out of Hapsburg territories. Austria-Hungary is fortunate to have a powerful ally in its old rival Germany, and has recently sought to solidify its position by annexing the disputed territory of Bosnia, but the Hapsburg military is hardly prepared for a serious conflict. Can you steer this old world dynastic realm through the dangerous currents of the early 20th century? Or are the centrifugal forces currently buffeting the empire too strong to resist? |
