Friday - June 06, 2008

HABSBURG EMPIRE, LAST ARMY VETERAN …..  A REBUTTAL

Although this was posted under comments a day or so ago, I thought there were some points raised, many I was unaware of, and points I hope I have answered in the Summary.

I have no intention of re-fighting WW1 or even getting into the politics of the era.  But the person writing this apparently knows something about the history of the period, and I thought it should be posted here in this format.

OK, Pieper, I hate to say this to you, but just because someone opposes the EU does NOT mean they are on our side. For the love of God, please know who the person is BEFORE you link about them, because you will get taken in otherwise.

This article is something that smells of Hapsburg Royalist bias to me. The article conveniently “forgets” several facts. For one, the reason the US (and indeed, the rest of the old WWI Western Allies) “shamefully” opposed Karl I’s attempt to take the Hungarian Throne in favor of Horthy (who, admittedly was little but a scumbag dictator)in 1921 was not because the mean Allies decided to pick on pwoor wittle Kawl because of what his father (the infamous Franz Joseph) did.

It was because Karl I came to Hungary in 1921 with the STATED INTENT of recreating some vestige of A Habsburg Empire , and the fact remains that he was more than willing to do so. And with the Hungarian military (which lagged behind the Western Allies during the interbullum, but was perhaps the best regional military during the 20’s, and was a foe that could not be ignored) , rallied to his banner, he was capable of doing so as well.

His mere act of ascending the throne was likely to spark a war with the “Little Entente” of Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia, who were fearful of the territorial claims Karl had on them, and how eager he was to seize them, if necessary by force of arms. In addition, just across the border from Hungary was Austria, the ancestral home of the Habsburgs. A dynastic revival in Hungary would likely have emboldened the none-too-weak Royalist part of the Austrian populace, and it is VERY likely that Karl would have eventually turned his Habsburg Hungarian military on Austria to try to reunify the heartland of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. And it was NOT on in the interests of the Allies to have a w war going on that was started by someone who was your sworn enemy only three years ago who was trying to resurrect an empire that Hundreds of thousands of Italians, Greeks, British, French, and Serbs (to say nothing about the pre-Revolution Russian losses, which were, if anything, higher) gave their lives to dismantle.

Say what you will about Horthy, but he at least did not start his saber rattling until sixteen years later, after he made an alliance with Hitler. And there was no way the Allies of 1921 could have known that.

As it was, Horthy was able to disperse Karl’s supporters with relatively little blood after a mobilization by the “Little Entente”, thus avoiding the likelihood of a regional war igniting. I am no Wilson apologist for his muddeling of Versailles, but even I have to admit that he made more than a few correct calls on the situation.

Also, contrary to Europe’s grandest days being under the “Glittering monarchies of the Bourbons and Habsburgs”, Europe was largely under the heel of backwards royal despotism during that period, where the state and the crown are quite literally God on Earth, and woe be to anyone who disagrees. Remember, you cannot see the glitter if you are but a lowly pleb, and that would be 98+% of of us.

In fact, if anything, Europe’s zenith was in the 1920’s,where (in spite of underlying issues), Imperial imperfect Democracies such as Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, and Holland had colonial empires that spanned the world.

Other than that, I must say that, even if he was on the side of the Hapsburg Monarchy and its tyrannical German Cousin, it it is sad to see him go. We are almost at the centennial mark of WWI, and the final veterans are not even in the ground while our dear “Friends” in the Left are spinning an alternate history regarding WWI, with “Gems” like Oh What a Lovely piece of Grandstanding C*** by Littlewood, which conveniently ignores the fact that the Kaiserreich was not and had never been a beacon of Enlightenment.

Why? Because WWI was a true quagmire (especially on the Western Front) where millions perished, and it serves the idea of these more rabid Leftists who try to give the idea that no war is a good war, while conveniently ignoring the military breakthroughs that allowed the Western Allies to total the Central Powers in 1918, and that the victory was over a group of militaristic and authoritarian nations that had never shied away from heinous crimes. If they can turn WWI into a “meaningless, fruitless war”, than they can start to turn others on their head to suit their agenda by using it as a precedent.

Ultimately, I would have to say I am writing this long rant is this: I get what you are doiy: honoring the passing of the last of a country’s generation, who served with honor in a nightmarish conflict, even if it was at the behest of a truly unsavory regime. However, I can practically imagine some scumbag at DKos or HuffPo taking this out of context to say that the Neocons endorse the absolutist regime of the Habsburgs. So please, I beg of you to issue a statement repudiating the Pro-Habsburg sentiment in this article, while still respecting the “Emperor’s Last Soldier.”

PS: Sorry for the Rant
Posted by Turtler United States 06/06/2008 at 01:26 AM

Posted by Drew458     on 06/06/2008 at 08:48 AM   
Filed Under: • Blog Stuff • History •  
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