My spiritual father was once a priest under Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Karl’s wife, when he was younger. He’d tell me personal stories about the royalty family because he was close to them. It’s wild how close yet far we are to these people.
@@scipio_stan it’s a personal relationship you have with a specific priest for guidance in Eastern Orthodoxy. They’re who you only go to confession with and help you navigate through life in regards to your soul. He was a Catholic priest before converting to Eastern Orthodoxy
You underestimate France trauma of WW1, they won't attack anyone if France is not attacked. Instead France could cooperate with Little Entente and make Hungary join it, changing original goal of Little Entente to be a shield against USSR.
i mean yes literally little entente was support by france in the first place, also the border of post asutria hungary was in the first place confirmed by france and big support for czechoslovakia wich had one of the biggest army in world at pre war period.
I didn't know that, plus that reminds me. france supported Karls Austria-Hungary as a wall to prevent german expansion. But when germany actually expanded with anschluss france just kinda, sat there i guess? Atleast some more aid would make sense.
@@newaccountbecauseytvanceds1465 And that time mightve been the safest one to do so. The Austrofascists were against the Anschluss and Mussolini wasnt too fond of Hitler. That couldve been the end right then and there, but then again, France would miss out on many such opportunities
@@newaccountbecauseytvanceds1465 Yeah, that part seems odd. One would think outright invasion of Austria in *that* manner would be the last straw move that invading Poland was in our timeline.
Karl died before the Nazis were much of a thing, but I am sure that he would immediately oppose Hitler, based on the Nazis anti-catholic and paganistic stance
@@InfernosReaper I think it really depends on the new Austria-Hungary's position in Europe is in this scenario. You've got to remember that France didn't take military action even at the invasion of Czechoslovakia after the anschluss, which I feel would have been similar or even better in terms of military and economic matters.
Hungarians loved the king and wanted him back (even Horthy believe it or not) but unfortunately the Little Entente didn't want him back and they would attack Hungary if that happened because the Hungarian army was destroyed in WW1 and Hungary was defenseless.
As much as I respect the desire of the new nations to keep their land. Mobilizing armies just because KArl returned really shows how short sighted, petty and prone to violence that part of the world war. It's an issue with eastern eroupe and the damned balkans.
And they also didn't realize they restored monarchy would have prevented hungry from entering into the world war on the side of the axis powers because the Habsburg are known for being anti-nazi
this was interesting! if it's possible. I would love to see you do a similar video with "What if Finland kept it's monarchy? what if Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse became the king of Finland?" that would be fascinating to see. plus you would get a lot of Finns to watch it :D
He had a hard life. His son committed suicide. His wife died tragically. His nephew was shot. Seeing Karl marry and marry well & happy was a great source of joy to him
Josh, thank you for the incredible video on Blessed Karl. I have a major devotion to Blessed Karl, and am looking forward to the day when he is named a Saint. In my mind, he really is a modern-day Saint Joseph figure, and is an inspiration to laymen called to marriage. I wish he was able to stop World War I and was able to preserve the Austro-Hungarian Empire by federalizing the other Kingdoms and Territories of the Empire, and elevating Croatia to the "Third Crown," and having Austria, Hungary, and Croatia as the main power centers.
In the 1980's, I met a neighbor in California, named Howard. He was a nice and interesting individual. On day I was some Genealogical Research and we got into a discussion. According to Howard... ha claimed he was A Descendant from "The Hapsburgs Family. At the time... I didn't take it that serious, since I knew little about Royalty and was focused more on Common Ancestry. One day, I was reading a book and came upon a photo of HRH. Karl I., Emperor of Austria... I was stunned! The facial resemblances of Howard to Karl was striking! I didn't dare to approach him about the uncanny resemblances he had to him. After moving to another location... I saw little of Howard and his Spouse. Around 1991... I and My Partner were getting ready to Tie The Knot and ran into him in town. Quickly I invited him and his Spouse to our wedding. Both of them thanked us for inviting them at the last minute. Years later... I began to research The Royal Lines of Europe and "The Hasburg Family" came to my attention. According to my research... after Karl I., Abdicated, some of his Offspring stayed in Europe and one or two of them immigrated to The United States. More and more I became suspicious that perhaps Howard being A Habsburg was not all that farfetched. Around 2022, I found Howard Wife's Email and had a short communication with her. Due to them divorcing a few years after I last saw them... sadly she claimed he passed away around 1996. Upon further research... I became convinced that most likely... that Howard was Karl I., Grandson, mostly by way of his Father or by his Mother? In 2023... it would seem that Howard may have been A Distant Common Cousin, by way of Karl I., Finding an old photograph about the time of my marriage... in comparison... it was too precise to be imagined and upon deeper research... I discovered that I was The Great Grand-Nephew of HRH. Elisabeth "Sisi" of Bavaria... Spouse of HRH. Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria-Hungary. Upon deeper research... I turned out that My Great-Grandfather, HRH. Karl Theodore of Bavaria, Spouse and Great-Grandmother, HRH. Marie de Braganza's Sister or Niece... was married to HRH. Karl I. The Last Emperor of Austria-Hungary... thus making Howard most likely A 1st. or 2nd. Cousin! 17:44
This scenario is unrealistic France can’t get aid to Hungary because of them having no ports,Karl’s invasion of Austria would just mean the Austrian people hating him and fighting a guerilla war and the Czech army being very well trained at the time
Would have been quite a controversial move from the empire, not to mention how france, a more smaller nation, even as a major would engrave their rule over the empire by threating to not assist them in leaving the conflict. France quickly started gossiping about the empire leaving in our timeline, so why wouldn't it live with the opportunity of threatening austrian stability which was already lowering and lead to the collapse of the empire
I like this scenario, But I disagree with Italy joining the Austro-Hungarian unification war on the side of Austria. Italy did everything it could do to avoid war until it looked like the fall of France was inevitable in 1940, and despite posturing Mussolini was well aware that his armed forces weren't up to snuff. Most likely Italy would do some international posturing about France abandoning the Stressa front, either trying to tie Italy closer to Britain (In the short term) or some back room dealing, like offering non-intervention in exchange for Karl renounce his claims on Italian held lands, the ladder of which is probably more likely. Still a good scenario overall, and everything else makes perfect sense.
"Austria-Hungary is know for being extremely multiethnic and diverse empire which ended up tearing it apart" Oh damn. I wouldn't say that aloud in public today.
Monsieur Z linked one of your videos in his community hub, and I'm not gonna lie, your content is better researched, better presented, and is rooted far more in reality than that man's content. With all that said, keep up the great work
*IN TEARS* You did it, you finally did it! Edit: I do not think he abdicated but this is a wonderful alternative history. A bulwark against Hitler and stalin. Rightfully so.
Karl would've been A great emperor; and that's why the allied powers hated him. For me, I will never recognize the current Austria, German,and Russia governments until the monarchies be restored.
Nice video, but France considered Czechoslovakia as its ally in a possible future war against Germany. It is unlikely that it would support Hungary or maybe not allow two of its potential allies to fight against each other.
Would the restored House of Hapsburg then push to restore Kaiser Wilhelm II to the German throne? Does this mean Churchill's Plan for the partition of Germany post-war would be the plan used?
@@diminishedreality7076 oh belive me a good amount of people want that still to this day even young people the Habsburgs just formed our entire country and culture and considering how criminaly they got treated espacily Karl from the Entente and New formed Republic wich was an absolute mess there is no wonder why people still belive that a good Palarmentarian Monarchy would be Awsome.
@@diminishedreality7076 yeah but thats for reason you know What happend in Sajarevo and the Mental state our Emperor was right? And the people where alot happier in the balkans then in Yugoslavia and that is for a reason we did our best to Industrilze and Make the balkan stable and not that shithole it is today.
To the mr. Josh Sullivan history I have a video suggestion you could possibly do my suggestion is you could do a video on the porfiriato the era in witch the dictator Porfirio Diaz ruled Mexico and also a video on the revolution that overthrew him in 1911
I heavily doubt Karl would invade Austria to restore himself. Also the little entente wouldn't attack Hungary uppon France declaring open support, as they heavily relied on France's forces. After that i think the video went on a very unlikely scenario. Great video, but overall unlikely
7:31 Hungary also lost 3.3 MILLION (out of 11 million) of its ethnic Hungarian population who, without ever leaving their homelands, found themselves in foreign countries and being treated like secondclass people out of no fault of their own. The new borders made little sense because they completely ignored the ethnic makeup of the Carpathian Basin (and even Austria got some land which is bonkers) and the growing resentment managed to sow the seeds of fascism's popularity in Hungary.
@@alexzero3736 nah it was standstill they burned down white House of Americans and Americans burned down Ontario i think . Also battle of new Orleans happened just before peace deal giving Americans last hurrah . Shitshow
Shameless shilling here but this, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ll4AFXC9DlU.html is the newest what if for if britain won the 1812 war.
I think in the future the habsburg empire would not remain united in this timeline, they would definitely split the kingdoms between the cultures but maintain a personal union like the British Dominions.
A couple of corrections: *Karl I was not from the House of Habsburg, but rather the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. *Karl was not the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, but the Emperor of Austria and Apostolic King of Hungary (IVth of his name) *The Habsburg Law didn't banish the members of the house, only those who didn't swear fealty to the republic. Some members did stay for this reason.
Karl would have been a great Emperor - except he came at the exact moment when Empires were being dissolved. There was still the British Empire, but the Monarch wasn't the actual Administrative head. If Karl had survived - possibly by NOT attempting to reclaim the Hungarian Throne and getting himself removed from mainland Europe - he might have been able to evolve into a modern Head of State for Austria. Though perhaps he was too grounded in the old ideas of 'Divine Right of Kings' etc. to function in a secular post-WWI Europe. But one can dream. At least Otto and other children and grandchildren of Karl and Zita, played and continue to play valuable roles in our currently chaotic Europe.
The little Entente was an alliance created by France mainly to control Hungary, It's extremely unlikely France would intervene in favour of Hungary because that would mean treason for its 3 far more valuable allies, plus angering Italian and Austrian interests, basically pushing half of Europe on Germany's side at best and the Soviet Union's side at worst, at the very best what France could do is not outright joining or supporting the little entente and trying to serve as a mediator between Hungary and them, and it is far more likely that France either stays neutral or, even more likely, that France supports the little entente if it doesn't outright joined on their side
Ok so, A : how would france support Hungary with no clear land border? Naval blockades seems pretty useless and embargoes seems also kinda useless. And and any actual naval invasion would seem hard to convince the country that just fought "the war to end all wars". B : I know the league of nations is debatable in their effectiveness but they still existed, and idk if they'll just sit there and let this go down without atleast a strongly worded statement of disapproval. Or maby a possible peace talks to made to make all parties involved at least ok with the end result. D : overall a pretty good video :) just a few bits of pieces where my disbelief was overpowered by my "would it really tho?" Part of my brain.
Interesting video! Two things. One, France wasn't exactly the be all end all of foreign affairs. Two, I doubt Karl I would have forcefully invaded Austria, as he was probably sensible enough to predict Italian support and possibly his deposition in the case of the war being lost.
Karl could have been a good peace time emperor. Unfortunately, he was unable to navigate the complexities of World War. In addition, the pro Habsburg monarchists seem to forget how autocratic the Habsburgs were; they were their worst enemy. A 19th Century monarchy living in the 20th Century world. Their refusal to change with the times was their doom. The same can be said of the Hohenzellers and the Romanovs.
That sounds like a lot of war for post WWI Europe. They were traumatized. Apart from the war in Poland, most conflicts were civil wars and small scale intervention.
Alright mate, this is a great video, but it’s 17 minutes long and only 5 minutes is the actual alternate history. I think you should cut down on the history segments or expand on the alternate history segments because atm less then a third of the alternate history video is actual alternate history
Personally I think World War II would go differently than described. For one, The Italians holding on, while possible for a while, would not last too long. This would alleviate pressure from Britain, but rather than a British Blitz, you would see an Italian Blitz instead with the Italian airforce completely destroyed by the German Luftwaffe as the supply chains to the Alps defenses gradually run dry before eventually they are slowly but surely overrun. Once the alps are crossed, its pretty much over for the Italians. Even with the Eastern front going on, I still believe the Germans to be generally capable of taking out the Italians, even under the assumption that the communists in Italy fixed the military instead of going on a purge against any suspected fascist (which I consider much more likely) As for the eastern front, I don't think the soviets would just start to win against Germany in the early stages of the war. Would they catch them off guard? Most likely. Would they get much further than Warsaw or at most the pre-war German border? Probably not. They would make initial gains but as soon as the Germans were ready, they would hit the Soviets with everything they had. While the Germans would no longer have the element of surprise as they did with Barbarossa, they would make up for it with the sheer Soviet Incompetence at the time thanks to Stalin's purges. The eastern front would go as well as it did historically and ultimately I think the rest of the war would go as normal with perhaps a slight change with Yugoslavia potentially joining the Axis. While one could argue this is unlikely, with the Yugoslavian government's distaste for communism at the time (they refused to recognize the USSR for years), the emergence of a socialist italian state holding what they deemed their rightful territory could be enough to justify them peacefully aligning with the Germans. Romanians would likely be persuaded to join as well, though with no Greece invasion, there is little reason Germany would try to pressure Bulgaria or Greece to join.
We would end world hunger, implement world peace, colonize all galaxies and finally release Half-Life 3, if we restored the Habsburgian Empire. Let's go peoples.
You are being unfair to Horthy. "Totally because he wanted to remain in power", my man, you literally, 20 seconds later in the video explained WHY he couldn't allow Karl back yet. Hungary would be destroyed by its neighbours, as it was, a year ago, and this time they wouldn't be so lenient. Whatever Horthy's motivation, his reasoning is not only understandable, but actually correct. Sometimes you can't do things you want to because it's not possible. I ask you not insert such opinion pieces in videos UNLESS you can back them up with evidence OR you state that it's just speculation.
Very interesting scenario. I wonder though, given the timeline, the French had just finished a losing conflict in Turkey and were embroiled in Syria. Do you think they'd be just as happy to avoid another potentially draining little war, or would they decide to try and use a short war with the Horthy-led Hungarians and the little Entente to recover the glory of France? I doubt it would work, but stranger things have happened.
It's also interesting to note that at the time the French army would have been theoretically needed to support Karl, they were in the process of disbanding some 31 regiments of infantry, though they had increased the number of colonial units somewhat to make up for the reduction.
There is no chance of a civil war in hungary. Horthy gained much of his power from saying he is a regent for the Habsburgs. If Karl would march on Budapest he would give up power to Karl.
I think you underestimate Italy could easily go a far more aggressively National Socialist, International socialist ignore the very socialist nature of Nazi Germany and it's more similar to the post-colonial African socialist States they were violently racist with socialist structure
Karl Died because of his exile. The entente send him to Madeira, knowing he had weak lungs. The damp and rainy climate there and a house without heating and the fact his lungs where weak made him get pneumonia where he died from.
England sent him there to die in a damp house, on a cold island, barred from seeing his own children ever again. Mt 19:29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers, or sisters or father, or mother or wife, or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life" Ave saint Karl of Austria and Hungary
