The Age of Madness (2)
Anyway, though a defeated nation, Austria had at least preserved the title of “empire.” Still, having lost the war, the country now had to fret over whether reds might sprout inside its own borders. Italy and Germany, its neighbors to the north and south, had both gone communist. Weakened as it was, Austria could do nothing but tremble before the threat of the red plague. Even Serbia, which had lately been needling Austria under the new name of Yugoslavia, was reportedly being stirred up by a young red named Tito and his communist propaganda. The Austrian Empire just above had every reason to clutch the back of its neck in dismay.
The arrival of the communists in Germany had sent a wave of Junker officers, generals, and other military talent fleeing into Austria, yet even with their help the country’s strength remained far below what it had possessed in the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Habsburg court, its popularity already eroded by the Entente’s victory, had no choice but to cling to the monarchy rather than risk a republic. Emperor Karl I, who had kept his throne thanks to that decision, now faced a grave choice.
“Reds on every side!”
Britain, busy with its own troubles, would never spare the resources to prop up an Austria surrounded by communists. Karl I recalled the recent proposal from Russia: accept Radola Gajda, originally meant for an independent Czechoslovakia, into Austrian service; grant him a post in the military to strengthen the nation’s defenses, and so on. The demands sounded absurd to Austrian ears, yet the alternative looked worse. Austria now stood like a candle before a red flood. To protect both his crown and his realm from a possible communist revolution, Karl I decided to accept Russia’s offer—though he intended to attach a few conditions of his own.
“So the Czech Legion’s General Gajda commands a formidable force? Tell him that if he and his men swear loyalty to the Habsburgs, past sins will be forgiven and he shall be given military authority. Summon him to Austria at once!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Thus it was decided that Radola Gajda and his tens of thousands of troops would return to Austria.
Austria had agreed to take Radola Gajda, though not without conditions: additional arms shipments from Russia and the conclusion of a mutual-defense treaty. We needed Austria as much as they needed us, so the Foreign Ministry approved the terms. In actual history Austria had served as a useful counterweight to Russia during the Dual Monarchy era; now, in this timeline, it had become a breakwater that could help keep the red plague from reaching us. If Austria itself reached out, we could hardly refuse. Britain raised no objection either. If London wished to build its own cordon around Germany, it lacked the strength to do so at present. With communist Germany to isolate, Britain was forced to focus on its own domestic problems—problems made worse by its heavy reliance on colonial troops. Italy lay right on its doorstep as well. If Britain could not manage the task, then we would have to.
Britain’s broader strategy seemed to be the creation of a containment line running through France, Britain, Poland, and Russia. If Hitler and Gajda could successfully take control of Austria, restore Hungary and Slovakia as imperial components, and thereby enlarge the country’s weight, then—assuming we provided support—perhaps even a second world war could be held along an Austro-Polish front. Austria itself would suffer terribly as the battlefield, and in that case Hitler would probably find it almost impossible, in his lifetime, to achieve the German unification under Austrian leadership that Lebensraum demanded. Should war come, Austria would very likely be torn apart again afterward. To repair that damage, Hitler would need to have already won over Hungary and Slovakia through tireless persuasion. I was not worrying about the man without reason.
Italy had turned communist as well, and Yugoslavia was said to be stirring under a red named Tito. Those two had once maintained tolerable relations with Russia; now they were digging their own graves. With communist Germany above and communist Italy and Yugoslavia below, Hitler’s “Austrian starter pack” was proving far more difficult than expected. At the very least we could console ourselves that he would not die as part of the Axis.
Still, the most amusing part of all this was Benito Mussolini. The soft underbelly of the Axis and Hitler’s eternal partner had somehow seized power in Rome through a “red march.” The irony was delicious.
“Mussolini has become General Secretary of the Italian Socialist Republic, they say.”
Until recently I had been too preoccupied with Russia’s internal affairs to pay much attention to Europe. Who could have imagined that Mussolini would build a communist state instead of a fascist one? Even without Hitler, it seemed he and Germany were fated to become soulmates of a different sort. Hitler, for his part, appeared to be trying to revive the empire by re-integrating Hungary, Bohemia, and Slovakia—perhaps inspired by my own example. Atatürk and Hitler both; I could not understand why my influence kept reaching them, but so be it.
In the end, one conclusion seemed clear: Hitler’s situation was still better than it had been in actual history. He had been in frequent contact with Gajda of late.
“Your Majesty, are you concerned about Germany and Italy?”
Vasily Kharlamov of the Foreign Ministry, who had come once again for his lesson, glanced at me and ventured the question. I nodded slightly. Yes, I was concerned—concerned, sympathetic, even pitying.
“The Germans and Italians who must suffer under Liebknecht and Mussolini are to be pitied.”
What would happen once they realized that communism was only ideal in theory? They would enjoy a brief prosperity under Liebknecht or Mussolini, then taste the inevitable bitterness. Worse still, whichever side won, they would eventually have to copy the reforms I had carried out—whether under their own names or some other label—and then tinker with them to claim originality. Watching the Russian Civil War, both Germany and Italy would demand absolute obedience from their peoples. The result would likely resemble North Korea: an iron-fisted regime that would mark us as its ultimate enemy and sacrifice its own citizens to preserve itself. We had Austria as a breakwater and Hitler as a joker, but the ordinary people beneath those regimes would still perish. All of this had been set in motion by my survival and the White victory in the civil war. Because of my mere existence, two nations had turned red.
“It is remarkable that the Holy Empress of All Russia and the Eastern Roman Emperor should worry even for those who have become reds. They would not consider it an honor.”
Would they not? I smiled faintly. My reason for worrying was simple: both countries still possessed considerable weight. The oppression of their peoples did not trouble me. What worried me was that the number of reds we would eventually have to kill would only grow larger. The Russian Whites who would have to grind those reds into dust were the ones who concerned me.
“Could we not still intervene in Yugoslavia?”
“You mean Serbia?”
“Yes.”
Why should I care about them? The spark of the First World War had been the Sarajevo incident caused by Serbia’s Black Hand. Austria-Hungary had feared that its proposed United States of Austria would hand the South Slav territories to the empire, and Serbian nationalists had moved to prevent it. Their desire for a Greater Yugoslavia and their brand of Pan-Slavism had set everything in motion. Russia was Slavic too, but these people alone had emerged from the war as Yugoslavia while Russia bled through civil war. That alone was enough to displease me. And now, on top of everything, they wanted to go communist? Why should we lift a finger to save them from the red plague? If we dealt with them, at least our Adolf the martyr might have a little more room to breathe against Germany and Italy.
“So why are these well-fed fellows trying to let the communists seize power?”
“It seems there is considerable discontent in the newly acquired regions such as Bosnia and Croatia. Josip Broz Tito’s Serbian communists have been offering solutions and gaining support. He is still young, so he cannot yet reshape Yugoslavia overnight.”
Yet he was already painting the country red wherever he could. A young man turning into a red host so quickly—his roots were already crimson. We could not easily touch him either.
“In short, it is neither a civil war like ours or Germany’s nor a sudden overnight coup like Italy’s. It is happening peacefully.”
“Yes.”
“Then we have no convenient pretext for intervention.”
Germany and Italy were still consolidating internally—the best moment for military action, if we had one. At present there was no justification, and we did not wish to antagonize the great powers. Force was not always the answer.
“Then we shall register a formal protest.”
“Yes. If they refuse to listen, we draw the line.”
Ultimately the Second World War would become a struggle against the reds. We would simply pretend we did not know them. While we quietly supported Austria as a breakwater against the red plague, we would let France, Austria, and Britain clash with the German and Italian communists. Later we could finish them off at our leisure. It was an arrogant yet grand plan. Building nuclear weapons later to eradicate the reds completely also sounded entertaining. Einstein seemed to be researching diligently; I would have to give him a push when the time came.
“Also, Britain has extended an invitation to Your Majesty.”
“To London?”
“Yes.”
There was no need to go. I had no time for leisurely foreign tours. Even today, aside from this Foreign Ministry official, a crowd of late-blooming students had come for grading. I had grown used to acting as their teacher, but a trip to London in the middle of all this? I had no intention of bothering. While I was away, those late students—two of them—might not perform properly, and even the constant shuttling between Moscow and Yekaterinburg left me with a headache from signing and reviewing the endless stream of documents.
“We shall decline politely, citing internal matters.”
Domestic tours, however, were another matter. Vera Gedroits had urged me to restrain myself, yet I still needed to travel. After all, according to her I was tanghulu—sweet on the outside, perhaps, but with a solid core. It would be fine. I also wanted to visit the Far East before long. Even if it was colonial territory, proximity to the Korean Peninsula made it worth seeing. Before that, however, I had to settle the matter of sending General Gajda.
“I should like to meet General Gajda once more.”
“Yes. I shall summon him.”
Not long afterward, General Gajda entered my office. He looked more impressive than I had expected.