Danubian Federation

Danubia, also known as the Danubian Federation, is a state in Central Europe ruled by the House of Habsburg in Vienna, constitutionally a federal monarchy. The state is a result of the Balaton Congress of 1937-1938, under which the seven nations in a single state, or the “Nationen innerhalb eines Staates Prinzip”, came together as one federal state under the Balaton Principles.

After the Balaton Congress of 1937-1938, the seven constituent parts of Danubia are:


 * Austria
 * Hungary
 * Illyria
 * Bohemia
 * Galicia-Lodomeria
 * Slovakia
 * Translyvania

History
Looking back, the time between 1937 and 1947 somehow seems much more than a decade.

The Bethlen government in Hungary fell in the shadow of Black Monday. With it, the obstructionist elements against the idea of federalisation, those that sought unsustainable privilege for some and penury for others simply over their nationality, were gone. Truly starting with the Ausgleich re-negotiations, Kaiser Karl led nearly three years of rapid debate, compromise and reform to selflessly modernise his empire.

The ‘Rotes-Osterreich’ government began the Balaton Congress of 1937-1938, with all major regional governments invited to help redraw the empire. After nearly 6 weeks of continuous work, the ultimate compromise was met. Seven nations in a single state, or the “Nationen innerhalb eines Staates Prinzip”, became the order of the day, as the ambitious Personal Principle proposal of the Renner government failed to gain a quorum. The Common Army became the singular Army of the Federation, aside from the national ‘Landsturm’ that would stand to protect each nation's own ‘Staatsrechts’. These became known as the Balaton Principles.

After the Congress was done, the new Federal Constitution was written and later ratified in each regional diet. Day by day, progress was made towards creating a society that could overlook, or at least work past, boundaries of nation and language. And in the end on December 31st 1939, as the multitudes of Austria-Hungary toasted the New Year, they entered the new decade as citizen-subjects of the Danubian Federation.

The Second Weltkrieg
But while the new Federation was forged through the power of peace and diplomacy, war was brewing across Europe. The people of the Federation would not stand for their blood to be pointlessly spilt on the Kaiserreich’s behalf once again, but as the Third Internationale and Russian State began to threaten the nations of Danubia the idealistic stance of pacifism and neutrality quickly fell by the wayside.

January 4th, 1942. As the Syndicalists barrelled across the Rhine, and Russian armies marched into Ukraine, Kaiser Karl sent an ultimatum to both belligerent powers. He’d hoped that the war could be resolved peacefully, but this was an ultimatum backed by the new Federal Gemeinsame Armee. Paris’s response was apoplectic, Moscow’s one of pure ignorance.

After one month, Karl formally offered his armies to the beleaguered Kaiser Wilhelm III in an ironic twist on the events of 1914, and Danubia joined the Second Weltkrieg.

The Danubian war could be considered in three separate fronts:


 * The West, where the volunteer ‘Donau Legionen’ were joined by a proper expeditionary force, allowing Germany to stabilise a quickly collapsing frontline in the Rhineland, and slowly turn the tide of the Syndicalist onslaught.


 * The East, where Danubian troops broke the Siege of Odessa and advanced into the Ukraine, liberating much of the rump state that exists now and playing a huge part in forcing Savinkov to seek a humiliating ceasefire on the Dnieper-Daugava line.


 * Italy, where Danubia skirmished fiercely and led a number of grand offensives in the Po Valley in support of the Italian Republic against the Socialist Republic of Italy. Their successes here were sadly tarnished by the tremendously botched combined arms landing at Rimini which extended the war in Italy by several long and bloody months.

After five bloody years, laurels were to be heaped at Danubia's feet. The nation had intervened, blunted and reversed the Internationale and Russian advances as well as collapsed the Socialist Republic of Italy completely, saving the Kaiser from almost certain doom. While blood and treasure had been spent, not a single enemy soldier had entered the Danubian domain.

A nation under arms, a common cause united. As the war ended Danubia found itself in an enviable position. Whereas the other nations of Europe had been brutalised by bombing raids and nuclear weapons, Danubia has only been strengthened by it.

Post-war Politics
The triangle of the Sudetenland, Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia as well as western Galicia host industrial combines like Skoda that are the envy of their war-ravaged German competitors. The great shipyards of Illyria stand ready to switch from military to commercial production. The military itself is relatively modern, though the inventory remains diverse, and the future holds opportunities to dictate how Danubia will fight the next war.

Even on the political stage, the veteran Wilhelm Miklas and his Grand Coalition have worked tremendously in upholding and disseminating our Federal values, though upcoming national elections this year could serve as an unwelcome roadblock to the Federal government if certain trends continue, especially in Illyria.

Not all is well however. The Kaiser's health is famously fragile, with occasional scares and close runs both before and since his nasty bronchitis hospitalisation in 1940. The Russians remain a restive threat to the east, and the uneasy subject of Germany’s continued authoritarian, domineering bent, combined with their unholy atomic bombs, has made many politicians rather uneasy over the prospects of the new post-war world.