The History of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: A Dual Monarchy's Rise and Fall

welcome back to world history Explorer and today we are diving into everything you need to know about the history of the austr Hungarian Empire from 1867 to 1918 the second biggest country in Europe was actually made up of two states that were Loosely and often contentiously linked together the austr Hungarian Empire at its peak ruled over 50 million people with half of them not even being Austrian or Hungarian so how did this divided Empire managed to govern such a mix of people how did Austria Hungary actually function and what led to its eventual downfall Austria Hungary often called the austr Hungarian Empire or the dual monarchy was a multinational constitutional monarchy in Central Europe from 1867 to 1918 it was essentially a military and diplomatic alliance between two sovereign states Austria and Hungary under one monarch who held the titles of emperor of Austria and king of Hungary this Empire was the Final Phase in the Constitutional evolution of the Habsburg monarchy for those unfamiliar the Habsburg monarchy also known as the Habsburg Empire was a collection of various Empires kingdoms duchies and other territories ruled by the house of Habsburg the monarchy history dates back to 1273 when Rudolph I was elected king of Germany and in 1282 he acquired the duche of Austria laying the foundation for the Habsburg Empire by 1482 through strategic marriages and inheritances the habsburgs had expanded their realm significantly with Maximillian the acquiring the Netherlands the Empire reached its peak under Charles I who ruled over vast territories including Spain and its colonies however in 1556 the Habsburg Dynasty split into two branches the Spanish branch and the Austrian Branch the Spanish Branch became extinct in 1700 while the Austrian Branch continued and eventually unified under the Austrian Empire in 1804 the empire was a complex Union of crowns with mostly separate laws and institutions it was held together mainly by the shared monarchy rather than any centralized government the empire was split into Austria Hungary in 1867 and it began to unravel during the final years of World War I by 1918 it had disbanded leading to the formation of new republics in Austria and Hungary in historical discussions Austria is often used as shorthand for the Habsburg monarchy despite ruling as Holy Roman emperors for centuries the Habsburg Realms were largely self-governing and distinct from the Habsburg monarchy the term Austria became common around the 18th century as a convenient way to refer to the Habsburg lands the monarchy's vast possessions included territories in the Holy Roman Empire Italy Hungary and conquests from the Ottoman Empire with Vienna as its capital for most of its history Austria Hungary was a big deal back in the day being the second largest country in Europe and the third most populous right after Russia and the German Empire they even built up the fourth largest machine building industry in the world now before we dive into Austria hungary's role as a central power in World War 1 let's talk about the Bosnian condominium Bosnia and herova came under austr Hungarian rule in 1878 thanks to the Congress of Berlin which allowed Austria Hungary to occupy the Bosnia Vette technically Bosnia was still part of the Ottoman Empire but Austria Hungary was running the show fast forward to 1908 and Austria Hungary decided to make things official by annexing Bosnia leading to the Bosnian crisis this established the condominium of Bosnia and herova a territory jointly controlled by Austria and Hungary the whole situation started after the Russo Turkish War when the Great Powers organized the Congress of Berlin the Treaty of Berlin said Bosnia and herova would remain under the ottoman Empire on paper but Austria Hungary was given control including the right to station troops there Austria Hungary wasn't keen on managing the sanjac of Novi pazar so they let the ottoman Administration stay in place there but reserved the right to keep garrisons and build roads Austria Hungary went Allin to take over Bosnia and herova mobilizing a massive force of over 82,000 troops led by commanders like ysep philipovich and yovanovich they faced Fierce resistance especially from Muslim and Orthodox locals with significant battles in places like sidl stolock livo and kobuk despite some setbacks Saro was occupied by October 1878 but not without heavy casualties over 5,000 austr Hungarian troops were lost the unexpectedly tough campaign caused some friction between military and political leaders even though there was a lot of tension especially in herova and a wave of Muslim immigration things eventually calmed down austr Hungarian authorities then set about reforming the area hoping to turn Bosnia and heroen into a Model Colony they codified laws introduced new political practices and worked on modernization all in an attempt to stabilize the province and counteract Rising South Slavic nationalism at the the heart of Austria Hungary was the dual monarchy a setup where CIS lethania the northern and western parts of the former Austrian Empire and trans lethania the kingdom of Hungary were United in a pretty unique way thanks to the reforms in 1867 Austria and Hungary were on equal footing sharing power the two states handled their diplomacy and defense together so they had common Ministries for foreign affairs and defense under the director control of the Monarch there was also a third finance ministry but its job was just to fund those two joint areas besides these there was the kingdom of Croatia slavonia which was an autonomous region under the Hungarian Crown they negotiated their own deal with Hungary in 1868 known as the Croatian Hungarian settlement after 1878 Bosnia and herova came under Austria hungary's joint rule both military and civilian this Arrangement lasted until 1908 when Austria Hungary decided to go Allin and fully Annex Bosnia and herova which led to the Bosnian crisis so with that background in mind let's move on to how Austria Hungary fits into the bigger picture of World War I Austria Hungary was one of the Central Powers in World War I alongside Germany the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria the Central Powers were originally formed by the alliance between Germany and Austria Hungary in 1879 Italy though part of the Triple Alliance didn't join the war on their side the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria came into the mix later on at the start of the war the Central Powers faced off against the Allied Powers who were linked through the triple on tant when the war kicked off in July 1914 it all started with the assassination of arch Duke France Ferdinand of Austria Hungary Germany backing Austria Hungary promised support if a war with Serbia broke out when Russia mobilized its Army in response to the tensions Germany saw this as a threat and mobilized in turn this led to Germany declaring war on Russia on August 1st France allied with Russia then mobilized as well prompting Germany to declare war on France the next day Germany's plan known as the schen plan involved moving through Belgium to quickly defeat France before focusing on the Eastern Front Belgium was neutral and Germany's Invasion led to Britain declaring war on Germany as it violated the Treaty of London that guaranteed Belgian neutrality as the war dragged on more countries joined in Italy declared war on Germany in August 1916 the United States joined in April 1917 and Greece followed in July 1917 by the time the army Armistice was signed on November 3rd 1918 Austria Hungary was effectively dissolved the kingdom of Hungary and the first Austrian Republic emerged as its successors while new nations like Czechoslovakia Poland and Yugoslavia gained independence the Victorious Powers also recognized various territorial claims by Romania and Italy in 1920 after the Armistice on November 3rd 1918 Austria Hungary was officially dismantled the Treaty of St Germain in 1919 and the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 were crucial in redrawing the map of Central Europe the treaties formerly ended the war with Austria and Hungary respectively and established new political boundaries the collapse of Austria Hungary in 1918 ended its complex multinational Empire and paved the way for several independent nation states the austr Hungarian military which was under the command of arch duuk albrech Duke of teshin was a mix of traditional and outdated practices albrech an oldfashioned bureaucrat resisted modernization efforts the military system in Austria Hungary was somewhat convoluted it comprised several components the common army which was shared between Austria and Hungary the Austrian land and the Hungarian honved which were National institutions specific to their respective states and and the lorm a levy all mass for emergency situations the common army was managed by a joint minister of War while the lon and honved were under the separate ministries of National Defense in Austria and Hungary the annual recruitment quotas were set based on population statistics from the last census in 1905 the total number of recruits was around 13,100 with Austria providing 50 9,211 and Hungary contributing 43,81941 defense also operated a flotilla of monitors on the danu it was managed by the naval Department of the ministry of war the collapse of Austria Hungary marked the end of the multinational Empire and led to the rise of several independent nation states the redrawing of borders and the creation of new countries were pivotal in shaping the political landscape of Central Europe in the 20th century the legacy of these changes is still felt today influencing the Region's National identities and geopolitical relationships following the upheaval caused by the Treaty of St Germain and the Treaty of tranon the political and social landscape of Central Europe was profoundly altered the newly established Nations faced numerous challenges as they navigated the post-war World Austria had to contend with significant economic difficulties and political instability the first Austrian Republic was characterized by by a turbulent period of hyperinflation and political extremism the social and economic strains from the war and the loss of territory contributed to a rise in radical political movements the country struggled to find stability and Forge a new national identity often facing internal divisions between various political factions Hungary experienced even more dramatic changes the Treaty of tranon left it with a deep sense of grievance and and irredentism as many hungarians felt that their Nation had been unfairly treated the interwar period in Hungary was marked by political instability economic hardship and a rise in nationalist sentiments the country went through several changes in government and political ideology including a shift towards authoritarianism under the Regency of mikos hori and later the rise of the fascist aeroc cross party overall the collapse of Austria Hungary and the subsequent treaties reshaped the political map of Europe and had lasting impacts on the region the new nations faced significant challenges as they tried to rebuild and stabilize often dealing with the legacies of the Empire's complex and diverse past the geopolitical shifts set the stage for many of the conflicts and Transformations that would follow in the 20th century including the world wars and the Cold War Austria Hungary was deeply involved in the chain of events leading to World War I particularly through its role in the assassination of Archduke France Ferdinand the assassination which occurred in Saro in June 1914 was seen by Austria Hungary as a direct threat orchestrated with Serbian support they feared this act would Inspire Rebellion among their South Slavic population and potentially break apart their already fragile multi-national Empire in response Austria Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia demanding a thorough investigation into Serbian involvement and complete compliance with their demands while Serbia agreed to most of the terms Austria Hungary deemed this response inadequate and used it as a pretext to justify military action this ultimatum is often seen as a diplomatic smokes screen for an inevitable declaration of war Russia a key Ally of Serbia warned Austria Hungary that it would not tolerate an invasion of Serbia despite this Austria Hungary backed by Germany hoped that the conflict would remain localized and that Russia would back down however when Austria Hungary invaded Serbia Russia declared war leading Germany to declare war on Russia this series of alliances and conflicts quickly escalated to the global scale of World War I and that's a wrap for today's video folks we hope you've thoroughly enjoyed this content if it resonated with you please take a moment to show your support by by giving this video a thumbs up and consider subscribing to world history explored for more amazing content your feedback is invaluable so don't forget to leave a comment below what aspect of Austria hungary's military history or its impact on World War I stood out to you the most thanks for tuning in and we look forward to seeing you in the next one