Germany-Austria
Germany-Austria (German: Deutschland-Österreich, often called the Austro-German Union or AGU) was an ATLANTIS aligned union in the centre of Europe between the republics of Germany and Austria. After Austria had been taken over by foreign entities time and time again, Chicco, president of Austria, asked Isy, president of Germany, if German leaders would be interested in a peaceful union. After the contract was made and signed, Chicco proposed the declaration of war on February 28th, day 466 of the New World, in order to induct Austria into Germany, officially forming the Austro-German Union. The union lasted peacefully until early April, when PEACE forces moved into Austria and started the Austria-PEACE Resistance War. Austria's independence was not formally recognized by Germany until July 1st, when an agreement was made between Lynari, then President of Austria, and Gobba, then President of Germany. The reclamation of all Austrian territories was completed before the end of the former's presidency.
Formation of the Union
On 27 February 2009, Isy, president of Germany, and Chicco, president of Austria, both signed an agreement to go to induct Austria into Germany, forming a peaceful union in eRepublik, which would be called Germany-Austria. Austria would join through friendly and regulated war, and the union's conduct was determined by a pre-written contract signed by both presidents.
The Burgenland Clause
When creating the Union, Austrian president Chicco approached Hungary and offered to sell them the Lower Austria region, which contained high grain. Hungary apparently rejected the proposal and when they later enquired it was cancelled, as the Austrians felt misgivings about selling their capital Vienna. The Hungarians then approached asking to use the merger war as training for their armed forces [1]. This was agreed upon and a contract was signed. An alliance was signed between Germany and Hungary so Hungarian forces could fight in the wars on the German side and not get directly involved, however, the Hungarians decided to invade Burgenland anyway as defined in the contract. When the German Forces had reached the border of Burgenland, Hungary refused to give the region back and PEACE mediators declined to force them to return it. This lead to friction between the governments of Germany-Austria and PEACE, and it was one of the reasons given that the Union decided to enter ATLANTIS. Admin later proclaimed the contract was void [2] as it did not clearly state what punishments will be applied if the contract was not fulfilled.
Austrian Tyrol
By the 5th of March, every Austrian region had been captured by Germany except Burgenland and Tyrol, the new capital. In the March 2009 Presidential elections, there was a draw between the incumbent Chicco and the Hungarian Silent Bob. Unfortunately for Chicco and the Union, the tiebreaker went to whoever had the most Experience points, meaning Silent Bob became the new president. The news was met with anger in Berlin, and the unification war dragged to a halt. Isy retreated from the battle in Tyrol, and peace returned. The Austro-German government was faced with a dilemma about what to do. Resistance wars were still being funded in Burgenland in the hope it would return to Austrian control so Germany could claim it, then invade Tyrol and complete the unification. However, these had so far not yielded success. On the other hand, they could invade Tyrol and end the war, but that would be seen as giving up on Burgenland. Then, if the region did successfully revolt, the war would have to be started again, at a cost the government could not afford. Therefore the unification was put on hold and the issue turned towards which alliance Germany-Austria should join.
Joining an Alliance
Germany was officially a neutral country when the Union was declared, although Austria was a founder member of PEACE. During Operation Burning Spirit PEACE forces assisted Germany to reclaim its independence from ATLANTIS member Sweden, who had occupied the country during the First and Second Sweden-Germany Wars. Indonesia also gave Germany a Q5 hospital after it regained its independence [3]. Therefore many people assumed Germany-Austria would become a full member of PEACE.
Sweden and Germany had always had hostile relations, the countries had both embargoed each other the previous month, and Sweden had often made it clear that they claimed Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg as part of its territory. However, relations with PEACE had dropped so low over the Hungarian annexation of Burgenland and the PEACE response that, after weeks of discussion, the Austro-German Congress voted on 25 March 2009 on whether to join PEACE or ATLANTIS. ATLANTIS won 13 to 8. Germany-Austria was officially a passive member of ATLANTIS. This led to an outcry amongst the PEACE supporters, and many citizens expresses worry about how the Government had turned their back on the PEACE alliance.
PEACE Reclamation of Austria
News about PEACE retaliation spread quickly, so just after proclaiming membership of ATLANTIS, the German forces invaded Tyrol, the last Austrian Region. On 27 March 2009, shortly after Germany-Austria joined ATLANTIS, PEACE GC forces moved into former regions of Austria in order to ignite the Austria-PEACE Resistance War. Austria had already made the decision to merge with Germany a month earlier, but when Austro-German leaders voted to join ATLANTIS, Austrians who had previously sided with PEACE were angered. Austrians and PEACE troops in Austria then started the first fight in the region of Carinthia. All of the Austrian regions were liberated, except Vorarlberg (held by Germany) and Burgenland (retained by Hungary). After Austria regained its independence, the country was divided between Italy and Slovenia, with the Austrian leader of the resistance Metallon holding the last territory of Austria (Styria).
