ASL Comp: GWASL V – Hapsburg Ambitions: Austria-Hungary (2019)

A key player in the Central Powers, Austria-Hungary and its territorial ambitions represented a match to the tinder-box that become World War I. The Hapsburgs, namely Emperor Franz Josef, dreamed the dreams of conquerors. Ever an expansionist, Josef’s latest conquest was Bosnia-Herzegovina. And it was a Bosnian Serb that assassinated Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo. The Austrian ultimatum to Serbia followed on 28 July 1914. On 1 August Germany declared war on Russia, the protector of the Slavs. Within a few days Austria declared war on Russia, then on Belgium on 7 August. By the end of 1914, Austria-Hungary and Germany would be at war with France, Britain and Japan, and later, following the attack on Serbia, Montenegro. There were setbacks in the campaign against Russia in Galicia. The Austrian army had more success in 1915, and by the middle of 1916 had conquered Serbia and Montenegro, pushed the Russians back from Poland and by the end of 1916 a combined German-Austrian-Bulgarian attack knocked out Romania. The Austrians also had to face Italian attacks on the South Tirol and the Isonzo River. It was the success of British and French reinforcements, reaching the Balkans and Italy, that forced the Austrian Emperor to sue for peace in October 1918. On 29 October, as the Austrian Army fell back from the Piave River, British and Italian aircraft fired into the fleeing columns. The Austrian armistice took effect on 4 November 1918. A total of 1,495,200 Austro-Hungarian soldiers died during World War I. Ownership ASL-RB, GWASL I and all preceding GWASL modules are required to play. Scenarios: Polish Legion – Kostiuchnowka, Ukraine, June 8th 1916 Bread Not Blood – Radoszyce, Galicia, November 20th 1914 Brzo, Brzo! – Radoszyce, Hungary, November 17th 1914 Polish Hill – Kolki, Hungary, July 4th 1916 To The Very Last Hour – Przemysl, Galicia, March 20th 1915 Cossack Terror – Buczacz, Hungary, June 8th 1916 Opportunity In Bukovina – Okna, Austria-Hungary, June 6th 1916 The Rojische Bridgehead – Rojische, Ukraine, June 9th 1916