A new death in this war (April-June, 1898

Austria-Hungary: Death]

Tsar Alexander III quite accurately predicted the speed of death of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, western Austria was being pressured by German forces, who managed to conquer Prague (Bohemia) in the first weeks of April, and the regions of Trentino and South Tyrol had been taken by Italy.

However, the Italian army advanced too slowly through the Slovenian and Croatian lands, even with the support of Italian nationalities in the territory.

Romania on the other hand had considerable successes against the Hungarian troops through Transylvania, encircling various armies with the help of the native Romanians of the region. The post-war problem would be the massive number of Hungarians left in Transylvania.

With Prague, the next German objective was to march on Vienna, with the desperate situation the authorities in Slovakia and Galicia-Lodomeria were separating from the Austro-Hungarian project, at the same time that the Hungarian, Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian separatisms began (before losing territory against foreign powers).

Russian troops continued to approach the edge until finally Galicia-Lodomeria and Slovakia declared their independence, rebelling against the Austro-Hungarian government in late April and early May.

Russia recognized Slovakia while moving troops in Galicia-Lodomeria, and obviously entered into diplomacy with Italy and Germany to recognize Russian interests in the Polish-Ukrainian regions, and Slovak "independence".

This was not a war proper, but a "peace intervention on the edge of the Russian Empire" with the Austro-Hungarian Empire breaking away.

Tsar Alexander III proposed a series of "buffer" and semi-independent states to Kaiser Wilhelm II, notably a Slovak state, a Hungarian state, a Croatian state, and a Slovenian state (after the Italian annexations). In addition to some gift for Serbia.

Kaiser Wilhelm II accepted without the consent of Italy, which had failed all its operations for the final stages of the war, with the exception of the Istrian peninsula and western parts of Slovenia. As compensation they would receive a small part more than what they earned ...

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By May, the "Operation of 20 days" began, the German armies would finally march on Vienna, which would be conquered at the end of the month.

The war in the cities was very difficult, the Germans had to fight house to house against the Austrian troops and their citizens, in an industrial war, the casualties rose more than the German general staff had expected.

Kaiser Franz II and his heir Karl, signing a treaty that finally put an end to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

* Germany annexes Austria proper and Bohemia (Czechia).

* Russia annexed Galixia-Lodomeria including a small area of territory.

* Italy annexed Istria and some Croatian-Slovenian territories.

* Romania annexes most of the Romanian territories of Austria-Hungary.

* A Croatian state and a Slovenian state were formed, nominally under joint administration of Germany and Italy until governments will be formed that decide the system and constitution of those countries (at the end of Fashoda of course).

* Serbia (under the Russian sphere), receives Serbian territories (and a little Hungarian population).

* A Slovak state was formed under the wing of Russia.

* A Hungarian state was formed with the rest of the territories, although millions of Hungarians were outside that territory. Officially it would be neutral, but obviously Russia had its eyes on that state while Germany had other issues to focus on.

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[("Russian") Slovakia]

The Slovaks had obtained "independence", but the Russian forces were the ones who marched on the territory establishing the "security" of the nation while calling for the formation of an assembly "Senate" to establish the constitution of the country.

Tsar Alexander III however enjoyed extraordinary powers to manage the administration of the still not-established state, under these conditions the Tsar chose that the country would be a monarchy.

The problem now was knowing who would be the monarch.

That Tsar Alexander III left it to the Senate vote, if the Senate wanted one of the emperor's childs or nephews. Obviously Russia was not going to let there be a non-Russian monarch in Slovakia.

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Under these conditions the young Slovakia grew obviously connected to Russia, with its politicians connected to the Russian superior military command and with the influence of Tsar Alexander III, where the Slovak economy was connecting to the Russian economy.

Under these early conditions, politicians such as Slovaks such as Milan Rastislav Štefánik or Ladislav Novomeský would grow up, with a Slovakia integrated into the Russian model.

On the other hand on the other side was Bohemia, in the German Empire, the pan-Germanicists could celebrate the conquest of Austria and the Germans from the Sudetenlands, but there were Austrians and Czechs notably unhappy with the situation.

This is why two Czech legions were formed, which crossed the German border to offer themselves to Russia, refusing to serve under the German Empire.

These were groups led by the Czechs Karel Kramář and Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Tsar Alexander III quietly accepted them as part of the Russian Foreign Legion, without Wilhelm II being able to do much.

In the opinion of the Slavs, German rule over the Czech Republic was only temporary.

The important thing is that many Czechs were growing a pro-Russian and Slavonic sentiment, the most notable being Karel Kramář who believed in a personal union between the Tsar of Russia and the future monarch of the Czech state.

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk believed in a more republican government, but still strongly tied to Russia by commercial and political ties (rubbing shoulders with the Russian military as several new Slovak authorities).

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[Serbia and ("Russian") Hungary]

The Hungarian situation was very similar to the Slovak situation, but more particularly, there were many more Hungarians outside Hungary than Slovaks outside Slovakia.

And Russia could take advantage of that very well by presenting itself as an ally of the Hungarian people, preventing crimes against the Hungarian population, and / or helping the transfer of Hungarians to Hungary (in addition to a Russian investment giving strong Russian influence in the Hungarian economy) .

This in particular was a case that related to Serbia while there was no well-defined Hungarian government, Tsar Alexander III had put Peter I on the throne, in essence Russia was creating the modern Serbian army, and the Serbian economy was simply already dependent on Russia or Russia's allies (Montenegro).

Now Russia simply tightened its grip on the Kingdom of Serbia even more, when they began to help with the transfer of population among Hungarians from Serbia to Hungary.

In the process giving certain economic incentives to Serbia that made it more dependent on Russian capital, crimes were avoided and Russia gave aid by appearing as an ally of Serbs and Hungarians, in addition to that to "avoid violence" Russia was able to establish some more troops in Serbia

This only denoted how Serbia was already one more part of the Russian zone of influence (mini puppet) and how Hungary (and Slovakia) pointed to the same thing.

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[Post Austria-Hungary]

The situation was certainly not the best, the Österreich was torn to pieces, effectively destroying the last great ally of the United Kingdom in continental Europe, with Portugal in the middle of a socialist rebellion in the central-north regions.

King Victor I and his Prime Minister Louis Alexander Mountbatten annexed Austro-Hungarian Borneo to the British Empire to secure the colony (although local rebellions continued and there was not much to do about that).

But not all was good news for the enemies of the British, the German Empire and Italy had to divert resources to their conquered areas and the "condominiums" of Slovenia and Croatia (although Germany had to do the heavy lifting), there were various problems in such regions with a refugee crisis displaced by war, Austrian and Slavic nationalists who had been absorbed but not integrated, etc.

There was also another problem, for example Italy achieved much less than it expected, and Germany was not willing to give more after the poor Italian military-administrative performance.

The worst thing for national opinion was that Umberto I let it pass only after having received "little profit", further supporting the "reconnection" between France and Italy (Latin and Christian countries), instead of being extremely dependent on Germany that it seemed to have spit on Italy after making much larger profits.

On the other hand many ethnic minorities and Russia of course were rather celebrating the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, although of course not all the problems had ended (the Fashoda war, the Kaiserreich, etc).

*******

"You ...are worrying too much." Tsar Alexander III exclaims, drinking his tea calmly alongside Skobelev, the Tsesarevich and various other Slavic politicians.

"Your Highness, the Czech nation is in danger under German rule. And what about the threat they pose to our western territories and new sphere of influence." War Minister Mikhail Skobelev emphasizes.

"You think I don't know that, Skobelev?" The tsar responds promptly. "But think a bit, Skobelev, it is more useful for us at the moment, the Germans are increasingly over-demanding themselves now in administrative tasks and the war. While we don't waste so many resources.

We are just letting Germany and Italy relax with some temporary gifts, at best their alliance and administration will only last a couple of decades. I actually give them less than that. By now the UK and others will not focus that much in us, we earn comparatively less and appear less aggressive. "

In another later meeting between Skobelev and Tsar Alexander III.

"Sorry to overreact earlier, Your Highness." General Mikhail Skobelev argues.

"Don't worry. I know you are a loyal servant, only concerned about our Czech brothers. That's good." Tsar Alexander III responds. "I'm sure there will be future rewards for you Skobelev."

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[Dynasty]

Princess Elena of Montenegro ends up pregnant again, being the second child of the couple (the Tsesarevich and the Montenegrin princess).

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[Tesla]

During this period, Nikola Tesla's SEiPK company presented two important advances, on the one hand the businessman and scientist created the remote-controlled vehicle, which was a small toy boat.

This obviously attracts attention from Tsar Alexander III, the Russian toy industry, and many members of the nobility with free time.

More money for the company and technology developments in the SEiPK, at the time it was relatively primitive but quite novel.

Also during this period (end of May), the British working for the IRR of the SEiPK, Sir William Ramsay and Morris William Travers, in Vladivostok, discovered neon.

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[International]

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* [Fashoda]

On April 5, French flamethrower troops burn various villages in British Nigeria, resulting in a great exodus of white settlers (and what to say in the death of pro-British natives and destruction of infrastructure).

On April 12, the Fashoda war moved quickly to the Congo despite the complaints of some international investors from the United States or Russia.

This is due to the Swedish-Norwegian Civil War, the Scandinavian theater within the Fashoda War, and the war occurs mainly in the central and northern regions of Kongo, where the Loyalist Swedes, Germans, Italians and French fight against the British and Norwegians. .

The Royal Navy establishes a block of the Congolese marine exit, but unfortunately it does not work much with the land access to the Kongo by the Germans and the French (although it is complicated for the Italians).

The only region that comes out more or less unscathed is the southern region of Katanga, the "Russian zone" where, in essence, a neutrality and white peace between the two forces is established by the Russian Red Cross, deployed in the area.

The battle in Kongo is VERY difficult, partly for logistical reasons (the United Kingdom extending its expenses and logistics more, and the problems suffered by its enemies), the natives who are not all European pro-sides, and also many diseases of the jungle Congolese, many transmitted by mosquitoes.

Congo becomes a huge grave full of disease, gas attacks, war between natives and white men, etc.

On the 22nd of the British Prime Minister, Louis Alexander Mountbatten meets with members of the Amiratazgo to plan another operation against the Suez dominated by France at the moment, but the French have been expanding in Transjordan and northern parts of the eastern shores of the Red Sea. , complicating any operation (the presence of Russia at the entrance does not make it easy either, a misstep and Russia could join the French-German-Italian coalition).

On April 25, in Skania Swedish-German forces are defeated by Anglo-Norwegian troops in Scania with a deployment to the south of the Kingdom of Sweden.

May 1, although the British obtain their victories in Sweden, at the same time they are defeated in their attempts to attack peripheral positions of the German Empire and France such as Indochina-Indonesia, Hainan, French Guiana and the new German Suriname.

Partly due to the strategy of Alfred von Tirpitz's German admiralty.

However the British Empire can still defend the Portuguese colonies and the British colonies in southern Africa against coalition counter-offensives.

May 27, German ships defeat British troops near Singapore, beginning to encircle the colony through the administration of Indochina and the former Dutch East Indies.

Unfortunately this siege cannot last too long with the British being able to lift it on June 9, not without first having suffered huge losses.

In the east there are no territorial changes.

June 13, ground troops from the German Empire and France defeat British troops in the Guyanas (despite British naval superiority over some ports, German naval victories in the east tipped the balance a bit), bringing Venezuela closer to the coalition.

June 21, French troops finally conquer the entirety of British Nigeria, succeeding in looting all the remaining British resources north of Kongo.

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April 26, the Ottoman royal family arrives in the United States.

April 28, an explosion in California, United States kills more than 20 miners.

May 2, the Empire of Japan experiences a small economic recession due to their spending of resources in the war in the Philippines, although they are now spending resources in fighting against the Filipino rebels of various ethnic and political groups such as the KKK.

They recover relatively quickly, but the situation is not under control. On June 12, various groups declare Philippine independence from any foreign power ... we will see how that turns out.

At the same time, due to the bad economic situation, many student protests occur in Beijing, Qing Dynasty.

On June 11, in the Qing Dynasty, attempts at reform began by the Guangxu Emperor, allied with reformists such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao (and students of Kang).

1-Abolition of the traditional examination system.

2-Eliminate sinecures (positions that provided little or no work but provided a salary).

3-Establish the new form of the "Peking University", a place where Chinese science, liberal arts, and classics would be available to study.

4-Build a modern educational system (study mathematics and science instead of focusing mainly on Confucian texts). Establish agricultural schools in all provinces (and schools and colleges in all provinces and cities).

5-Encourage members of the imperial family to study abroad.

6-Change the government from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy.

7-Apply the principles of capitalism to strengthen the economy. Establishment of commercial schools for the manufacture of silk, tea and other traditional Chinese crafts.

8- Modernize China's military and adopt modern training and training methods. Establish a naval academy.

9-Use unused military land for agriculture. Rapid industrialization of all China through manufacturing, trade and capitalism.

10-Creation of a railway and mining office (or ministry).

Obviously the authorities, elites and conservative nobility (Empress Dowager Cixi or Prince Duan strongly oppose this "self-empowerment" which is a threatening structural and ideological change.

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* [Iberian revolutions: Latin revolutions?]

May 7 and 9, in Milan, Italy, occurs the Bava Beccaris massacre, where the Italian general Fiorenzo Bava Beccaris shoots at protesters against the high prices of food at home.

The government claims that there were only 80 dead and more than 400 injured, but protesters claim that there were 400 dead and more than 2,000 injured.

To make matters worse, King Umberto I rewards Bava Beccaris and believes that he did a good service to the Kingdom of Italy, a decision made by the military prime minister (Luigi Pelloux).

This erupts into a constitutional crisis with the sudden growth of opposition against the established government, Pelloux then tried to promote a police bill that included outlawing strikes by state employees, granting broader powers to the executive branch to prohibit public meetings and dissolve subversive organizations, and would reactivate the sentences of exile and preventive arrest for political crimes.

This breaks out many revolts from the extreme left, democratic movements and other socialists opposed to the conservative Italian government.

The Fasci Siciliani restarted and this time it had the support of various revolutionary groups in the north. Filippo Turati, leader of the reformists of the Socialist Party of Italian Workers (Partito Socialista dei Lavoratori Italiani) is arrested by the authorities and leads to violence by far-left revolutionaries.

Surprisingly, this time martial law is not enough and a kind of socialist revolution breaks out in Sicily and various parts of northern Italy.

On May 12, the Iberian socialists advance in the Northern Campaign towards Catalonia, Navarra, the Basque Country and the last Carlist remnants of the Kingdom of Spain, also expressing solidarity towards the Italian movement that occurred a few days before.

In the middle of, the United Kingdom begins to support the Italian socialists to try to get one of the members of the coalition off their shoulders, while on the other hand France and Germany begin to support the Iberian socialists to get rid of Portugal (and for he was driving the UK out of continental Europe).

In response to this war situation, France begins to amass forces near Morocco without the British troops noticing.

On June 29, the Kingdom of Spain in Iberia is finally completed with the socialist conquest of the last royalist territories.

King Carlos VII and much of the Spanish nobility manage to escape to the ocean to disperse to other countries (United Kingdom and the Americas), the last loyalists left behind in general either join the socialist forces or are killed.

Now the socialist forces actually choose not to follow the idea of proclaiming elections immediately (idea of Pablo Iglesias), first they want to bring the revolution to Portugal (partly by leaders like Caballero, and partly by French influence).

Partly motivated by the fear of a British invasion that stops the revolution and restores some kind of monarchy.

The British authorities begin to fear for Gibraltar, in the Fashoda war will a much larger Iberian front begin?

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*[India]

May 12, the British attempt recruits from Punjabi and Maharashtrian natives of the British Raj.

These natives generally refuse and due to British representation they continue to lean towards radicalization, as do groups like the Anushilan Samiti.

But it must be said that among the different manifestations of Indian nationalism, there is also an anti-imperialist nationalism of the left, which arises inspired by the Iberian socialist revolutionaries and personalities such as Vladimir Ulyanov or Francisco Largo Caballero.

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[The good Boulangist?]

The scientist (chemist) Pierre Curie was visiting the Ivory Coast, passing through the Transaharan, through the land there were settlers, native Africans (some truly native and other "allies" brought there) and of course military.

Pierre was quite excited, the first time he was leaving mainland France alone, to visit the situation of the soldiers, give some speeches and review the performance of the weapons (the squadrons of flamethrowers and so on).

But there was something ... strange, things were not as the propaganda in the state had counted and the situation of the natives was far from the "civilizing mission".

There were also strange legends or myths that Pierre could hear, people crying about horrible crimes.

It is then on that trip that Pierre Curie met the colonial official Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski (a Pole like Pierre's wife).

At first Pierre did not want to believe what Korzeniowski told him, but then Pierre began to study for himself.

*******

Pierre Curie vomited next to the Transaharan railway track, it was dark and the chemist was accompanied by Korzeniowski. The Frenchman had vomited very close to one of the many bodies piling up near the Transaharan and its ramifications.

It was not a coincidence.

"Now do you believe me, Mr. Curie?" Józef questions.

"... This is wrong, this is all wrong." Pierre Curie exclaims trying to recover, but his hands are sweating and his face is red.

"Certainly Mr. Curie, the barbarism expressed in the colonies has been ... disturbing." Józef insists, helping Pierre to recover, but not before reburying the evidence of French crimes in the sands.

"They convinced us at home that what we were doing was the best, the best for our children and for the Africans themselves, while in the colonies everyone was silent ... This must be remedied." Pierre declares in annoyance.

"Remedy it, how?" Józef exclaims worried.

"... I don't know yet, but there is something to be done. Our crimes do not erase all of our achievements, but this is not something to be proud of." Pierre exclaims.

Jósef joined Pierre to return to France, Pierre's experience in Africa finally marked his ideological separation from Maurras, Boulanger and his own wife (Marie).

But Pierre could not stop the violence, many soldiers and innocents would be killed by his and his group's inventions (the flamethrowers). The French crimes against Africans and other white men would continue without any trick, dying by burning is very painful.

And Pierre's psyche would also suffer trauma to think about what he was part of, the system that had caused all those crimes that disgusted him.