The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 586: Chapter 452: Negotiations Again_2

For these restless French civilians, the French government found itself without adequate solutions. After all, these were people bold enough to overthrow the government.

If the French government could not offer a satisfactory explanation, the French public would not hesitate to hang their officials from lampposts.

Powerless, the French government could only urge its military to achieve quicker victories while pleading with the American People to join the war as soon as possible.

Contrary to the turmoil within France, tranquility still reigned in Australasia Domestic.

The people lacked the foresight to consider the long-term interests of the country. They could only see that with the United States' involvement, the collapse of the Allied Nations was only a matter of time.

Therefore, the people of Australasia were already looking forward to life after the war, hoping for a share of the spoils from the defeated Allied Nations, and eagerly waiting for their rise to the ranks of the Powerful Nations.

It was precisely the impending threat of the United States joining the war that led the Australasia Army to accelerate its attack on the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

With the Austro-Hungarian Empire's primary military forces preoccupied and focused on opposing the Italian Descendants, the Australasia Expeditionary Force launched a full-fledged attack on the Klagenfurt and Graz Area. After continuous bombing for half a month, they successfully captured Klagenfurt in Early July.

The fall of Klagenfurt sent shockwaves through Austria-Hungary. The capital, Vienna, was only a little over 200 kilometers to the north of Klagenfurt, and there were no significant military strongholds to defend it, except for Graz.

This meant that, without a viable countermeasure, the fall of Vienna was simply a matter of time.

Even though the Austro-Hungarian Empire's main military force was stationed in Innsbruck and the Trento Region, they could rush back to aid Klagenfurt at any moment.

The crux was that the main military force of the Imperial Government was currently engaged on the Italian front, with various parts of the Empire attacked by the Allies, and the prestige of the Imperial Government had suffered significantly and could not suppress the likes of powerful nations like Hungary.

Therefore, if not handled correctly, not even Hungarian independence would be beyond the realms of possibility.

The public declaration from the Hungarian Government only pushed the Austro-Hungarian Empire into further disarray and strengthened the peacekeeping resolve of the Emperor, Carl I.

There was no choice. If the support for the war continued, Hungary separating from the Imperial Government was all but certain. By then, the low prestige Carl I could even be made the scapegoat by the Imperial Government and blamed for their military defeats.

The words of the Hungarian Kingdom Government not only spread within the Austro-Hungarian Empire but also reached the ears of the Allies.

For the Allies, this was a perfect chance to force Austro-Hungary out of the war. Of course, even if Austro-Hungary insisted on not leaving the war, they believed that Hungary would be more willing to cooperate with the Allies.

As long as Austro-Hungary didn't want to see Hungary become independent, they would have no choice but to agree to the demands of the Allies.

Otherwise, with the support of the Allies, the power of the Hungarian Government might even surpass that of Austro-Hungary.

For both Russia and Italy, which had significant interests in the Balkan Region, they would love to see Austro-Hungary descend into chaos or even balkanize into smaller states.

Just as those who wanted to see the empire divided, there were also those who wanted to see it remain unified.

Britain, having conflicting interests with Russia, naturally didn't want to see Russia control the entirety of the Balkan Peninsula.

If Austria-Hungary continued to exist, it would still be a threat to Russia on the Balkan Peninsula, thereby preventing Russian expansion there.