"Volunteer Fighters: Yugoslav Volunteers" + A map of what isn't going to happen
Meierhofer, Gebhard (1979): Militia and Volunteer Fighters in the Austro-Italian War, Vienna: Amalthea
Yugoslav Volunteers
Austrian Yugoslav relations were complex in the years leading up to the Austro-Italian war. While common interests existed, both economical and militarily, relations were still poisoned by the Great War. At first glance this makes the number of Yugoslav volunteers surprising, until one looks deeper into the ethical make up of those forces. Serbs and Montenegrians were only found rarely, Slovenes and Croats make up the bulk, with a small number of Bosniaks, Germans and Hungarians added in.
This is mainly down to internal politics of the Kingdom. While King Alexander attempted to forge a Yugoslav identity, he was still seen as favouring the Serbs. His public fight with the largest Croat party, the Croat Peasants Party didn't help, nor did persistent rumours that he was just waiting for an excuse to abolish parliament and rule as an absolute king. Meanwhile a mere ten years after the split a nostalgia for the Habsburg monarchy developed. This was helped along with media. As it happened, the only company producing and dubbing Serbo-Croat language films was headquartered in Vienna certainly influencing this further.
While there was some sentiment that volunteer fighters were a release valve for troublemakers, soon their return as combat veterans was more feared. When Alexander finally ordered a partial defensive mobilisation he used this to integrate or disarm volunteer groups that had yet to leave the country. Especially Serbs were funnelled towards an expanding army, to ensure it's loyalty in the upcoming troubles some feared.
Despite a notable Italian community remaining in Yugoslavia, there are non known to have travelled to Italy to join their Armed Forces. Most that wanted to make such a move, had already done so in the last decade when there was significant population movement.
Some 25.000 Yugoslav volunteers served as part of the Austrian Armed Forces, the most famous amongst them the Gottscheer Regiment. While named and organised around the German speaking minority of Gottschee, less than four hundred of it's soldiers were actually Gottscheer German. More could claim some family or geographical relation, but a majority of the unit were Slovenes. Organised by Friedrich Samide of Mitterndorf, a number of Gottscheer men started their journey towards the Austrian border with little concrete planning. Along the way they picked up stragglers, friends and strangers, numbering just shy of 1300 when they crossed the Yugoslav-Austrian border. There they were armed and thrown into a quick training course. With a decent amount of veterans bulked up by a lot of youth who seemed to have picked up at least some soldiering skills somewhere, they were deployed quickly. This was mostly down to operations in Görz and Istria, where despite best effort of the Italian government, a large minority of Slovenes still lived. They were used as second line troops, communicating with the locals, but were even then involved in fighting on occasion. As with many other light infantry units serving with the Austrians at the time, the Gottscheer too managed to acquire two batteries of Italian field guns. With Italian gear, especially artillery, pressed into Austrian service anyway, they received some quick training in the operation of these guns.
Despite their usefulness as translators, they were then involved in the fighting across the Veneto. Again, mostly in second line duties, but given the manpower strain, sometimes they found themselves holding on the front line, though usually they only encountered stragglers. On 14th of May they then lost one of their artillery batteries to naval gun fire. While they had been evacuating already, battleship shells have a large splash radius and three guns were rendered unusable.
It was on 23th of May, while the battle of Treviso rage and sucked in Italian troops that should hold the front line, that by chance the Regiment once again found itself ahead of the front line. It was them who, still thinking that there were Austrian Army regulars in front of them, first approached the inland parts of Venice. There they were approached by locals flying a white flag, wanting to declared the city an open city.
Samide as commanding officer, a radio operator and a small number of other Gottscheer did cross over the lagoon into Venice itself in order to negotiate. It was while they were still negotiating with the Venetians over terms of surrender, when an Italian army unit, ironically the 83rd Infantry Regiment "Venezia", returned to the city. Seeing it in hand of Austrian troops, they quickly readied for a counter attack. In their most famous action the Gottscheer managed to repel the Italian attack. They didn't however, as depicted in a famous post war comedy, fire their artillery from the island city, but from the mainland. The only action that happened on the island was some artillery and bombing spotting via radio.
The Gottscheer were quickly reinforced by regular army soldiers, preventing any further combat in Venice. They were still famously credited with saving the city from the retaliatory destruction by Italian hands.
And here something else. Inspired by discussions I've taken a raw map that I've had and threw something together in about five minutes. It certainly won't happen as that, but there are a few ideas in there that might or might not get mentioned as fringe or even not so fringe ideas...
So Austria adds about ~11 million ethical Italians, not gonna work out.
France adds some more digestible ~5,5 million. That's a mere 12% of their population. I'm sure that will help internal stability.
The rightly named "Kingdom" of "Italy". It's basically the red belt of Italy at the time. It'll flip communist as soon as every greater power turns their back. And keeping Italy in the name just asks for trouble.
The return of the Papal State - I don't think I need to comment further.
Yugoslavia also gets some ~2,5 million new citizens. And they don't fit in. Big surprise. Dysfunctional internal politics...
Both Sicilies - as mentioned in comments - the Mafia states.
Spanish Sardinia is one of those things that should come out of the left field for some here. There is some precedent historical and linguistical to support it even. But well, Spain isn't without it's own problems, without adding to it.
And British Lampedusa is one of those last minute things thrown in that is growing more and more on me... I might even keep that one.
Yugoslav Volunteers
Austrian Yugoslav relations were complex in the years leading up to the Austro-Italian war. While common interests existed, both economical and militarily, relations were still poisoned by the Great War. At first glance this makes the number of Yugoslav volunteers surprising, until one looks deeper into the ethical make up of those forces. Serbs and Montenegrians were only found rarely, Slovenes and Croats make up the bulk, with a small number of Bosniaks, Germans and Hungarians added in.
This is mainly down to internal politics of the Kingdom. While King Alexander attempted to forge a Yugoslav identity, he was still seen as favouring the Serbs. His public fight with the largest Croat party, the Croat Peasants Party didn't help, nor did persistent rumours that he was just waiting for an excuse to abolish parliament and rule as an absolute king. Meanwhile a mere ten years after the split a nostalgia for the Habsburg monarchy developed. This was helped along with media. As it happened, the only company producing and dubbing Serbo-Croat language films was headquartered in Vienna certainly influencing this further.
While there was some sentiment that volunteer fighters were a release valve for troublemakers, soon their return as combat veterans was more feared. When Alexander finally ordered a partial defensive mobilisation he used this to integrate or disarm volunteer groups that had yet to leave the country. Especially Serbs were funnelled towards an expanding army, to ensure it's loyalty in the upcoming troubles some feared.
Despite a notable Italian community remaining in Yugoslavia, there are non known to have travelled to Italy to join their Armed Forces. Most that wanted to make such a move, had already done so in the last decade when there was significant population movement.
Some 25.000 Yugoslav volunteers served as part of the Austrian Armed Forces, the most famous amongst them the Gottscheer Regiment. While named and organised around the German speaking minority of Gottschee, less than four hundred of it's soldiers were actually Gottscheer German. More could claim some family or geographical relation, but a majority of the unit were Slovenes. Organised by Friedrich Samide of Mitterndorf, a number of Gottscheer men started their journey towards the Austrian border with little concrete planning. Along the way they picked up stragglers, friends and strangers, numbering just shy of 1300 when they crossed the Yugoslav-Austrian border. There they were armed and thrown into a quick training course. With a decent amount of veterans bulked up by a lot of youth who seemed to have picked up at least some soldiering skills somewhere, they were deployed quickly. This was mostly down to operations in Görz and Istria, where despite best effort of the Italian government, a large minority of Slovenes still lived. They were used as second line troops, communicating with the locals, but were even then involved in fighting on occasion. As with many other light infantry units serving with the Austrians at the time, the Gottscheer too managed to acquire two batteries of Italian field guns. With Italian gear, especially artillery, pressed into Austrian service anyway, they received some quick training in the operation of these guns.
Despite their usefulness as translators, they were then involved in the fighting across the Veneto. Again, mostly in second line duties, but given the manpower strain, sometimes they found themselves holding on the front line, though usually they only encountered stragglers. On 14th of May they then lost one of their artillery batteries to naval gun fire. While they had been evacuating already, battleship shells have a large splash radius and three guns were rendered unusable.
It was on 23th of May, while the battle of Treviso rage and sucked in Italian troops that should hold the front line, that by chance the Regiment once again found itself ahead of the front line. It was them who, still thinking that there were Austrian Army regulars in front of them, first approached the inland parts of Venice. There they were approached by locals flying a white flag, wanting to declared the city an open city.
Samide as commanding officer, a radio operator and a small number of other Gottscheer did cross over the lagoon into Venice itself in order to negotiate. It was while they were still negotiating with the Venetians over terms of surrender, when an Italian army unit, ironically the 83rd Infantry Regiment "Venezia", returned to the city. Seeing it in hand of Austrian troops, they quickly readied for a counter attack. In their most famous action the Gottscheer managed to repel the Italian attack. They didn't however, as depicted in a famous post war comedy, fire their artillery from the island city, but from the mainland. The only action that happened on the island was some artillery and bombing spotting via radio.
The Gottscheer were quickly reinforced by regular army soldiers, preventing any further combat in Venice. They were still famously credited with saving the city from the retaliatory destruction by Italian hands.
Some hints to what's going on in Yugoslavia - and some hints to what is different. I was certain there was something else I felt the need to mention, but it can't have been important if I don't remember.
And here something else. Inspired by discussions I've taken a raw map that I've had and threw something together in about five minutes. It certainly won't happen as that, but there are a few ideas in there that might or might not get mentioned as fringe or even not so fringe ideas...
So Austria adds about ~11 million ethical Italians, not gonna work out.
France adds some more digestible ~5,5 million. That's a mere 12% of their population. I'm sure that will help internal stability.
The rightly named "Kingdom" of "Italy". It's basically the red belt of Italy at the time. It'll flip communist as soon as every greater power turns their back. And keeping Italy in the name just asks for trouble.
The return of the Papal State - I don't think I need to comment further.
Yugoslavia also gets some ~2,5 million new citizens. And they don't fit in. Big surprise. Dysfunctional internal politics...
Both Sicilies - as mentioned in comments - the Mafia states.
Spanish Sardinia is one of those things that should come out of the left field for some here. There is some precedent historical and linguistical to support it even. But well, Spain isn't without it's own problems, without adding to it.
And British Lampedusa is one of those last minute things thrown in that is growing more and more on me... I might even keep that one.
