No, this is not a Balkan country - A VojvodinAAR

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No, this is not a Balkan country​

A VojvodinAAR

Greetings, everybody. This is my first AAR. Or at least, the first one that I am certain I will finish. I haven't been very active in this forum for a while, but I've been and always will be a great fan of Paradox games.

My story traces its roots to a discussion I had with a friend last week about Yugoslavia, it's creation, rise, and a bloody fall in the 1990s. Since I've always been a fan of alternate history, I started thinking what would have happened if Yugoslavia wasn't created after World War I. After doing some research, I came to a conclusion that the only way for this to happen was the creation of a Greater Serbia.

We all know how that turned out.

But, going through the article, I noticed something interesting. First of all, the province I live in, Vojvodina wouldn't have been included in the Greater Serbian state, because of the vast number of Germans and Hungarians living there. Also, even influential Serbs in Vojvodina, such as Svetozar Miletić, were against a Greater Serbia.

This AAR will explore what would have happened if a Swiss-like country was created in the most turbulent area of Europe. It will follow the history of Vojvodina from its struggle for independence in the Paris Peace Conference, through the economic crisis in the Interbellum, all the way to the ruthless Nazi occupation in WWII. Maybe, if the story gets popular and I find time for it, it will go all the way to present day.

It will be a history book narrative AAR, since I'm too lousy at modding to make a whole new country.

And really, Vojvodina is geographically not a Balkan country. Although you could easily count it as one. (Just don't tell it to anyone living here, or they'll whoop your ass Balkan-style)
I'll post the first part of the first chapter tonight, and the second one on Friday. Hopefully, the weekend will give me plenty of time to get going.

Table of Contents

Chapter I: The Great War and Independence
Part I: The Fall of Austria-Hungary
Part II: The Republic in danger

 

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Chapter I: The Great War and Independence

Part I: The Fall of Austria-Hungary​

Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on all fronts and calls for greater national autonomy, the Serbian people of the regions Banat, Bačka and Baranja met in Novi Sad in Southern Hungary on the 18th of October in order to discuss the future of their lands. However, since the Serbian Government and the King both rejected the idea of creation of a Southern Slavic state, an important number of Serbs, as well as representatives of other nations in the assembly was against the idea of the union with Serbia. In 1917, the Serbian Kingdom decided to abandon the concept of „Yugo-slavia“ for creating a Greater Serbia, in the borders proposed by the Entente in the 1915 Treaty of London.

Serbian territorial claims in 1915.​

However, the region of Bačka was planned to be a part of this Greater Serbian state, and it was well known that Serbia wanted power over Baranja and Banat as well. Apart from the danger of having to fight for independence from the winning nation of the Great War, the Assembly itself could not reach an agreement. Out of 758 delegates (578 of them Serbs, despite making only a third of the population of the areas), 362 delegates were against the independent state. They were led by the most influental Serbian politician of the time – Jaša Tomić. This led to a great schism between Tomić and Mihailo Polit-Desančić, the more liberal and anti-nationalist Serbian representative, who, alongside German dr Otto Roth from Timisoara, supported an independent country. By the 1st of November, the arguments over the legitimacy of the Assembly reached a boiling point and Jaša Tomić, who was the elected President, had to dismiss the Assembly. The riots started off in the streets of major cities, with biggest clashes taking place in Novi Sad, Sombor, Subotica, Bečkerek, Pančevo and Timisoara.

Aftermath of the riots in Timisoara.​

A new Assembly was started on 5th November, this time in Sombor. The Unionists, led by Tomić, managed to win support from Hungarian and Romanian conservatives, hoping to carve the three regions and reconnect with their nation-states. Former Hungarian General Károly Beregfyled led the Hungarian Alliance, while the Romanians chose a student called Emil Petrovici as their leader. The Republicans, a loose coalitions of liberals, social-democrats and communists, were now greatly reinforced by the support of a Hungarian Christian Democrat and a former Major General in the K.u.K. Army, Albert Bartha. After 5 days of backdoor negotiation, the Romanians were convinced to side with the Republicans, who offered them full autonomy for Eastern Banat, which will be turned into a single county. Meanwhile, Albert Bartha started forming a people’s militia from war veterans and activists from various political groups. Dr Roth was given the task of reorganizing the old police force, to save the new country from partisans and violent factors in the opposition. The Presidental spot was left empty until the stabilisation of the situation in the country, while Polit-Desančić was proclaimed the Prime Minister of the Republic of Vojvodina, which was later used by Hungarian and Romanian nationalists as an example of Serbian attempts of supremacy in Vojvodina. Mihailo Polit-Desančić announced his new government on the 11th November. On that same day, a combination of advancing Serbian and French forces crossed the Danube and entered Banat.

Timočka Pešadijska Divizija (Timok Infantry Division) crossing the Danube 20km away from Pančevo.​

 

[4th Dimension]

I started thinking what would have happened if Yugoslavia wasn't created after World War I. After doing some research, I came to a conclusion that the only way for this to happen was the creation of a Greater Serbia.
We all know how that turned out.

We'll that's debatable. Certany somebody attempting that in this day and age would, woud require massive suppresion of non Serb peoples in regions in question, which would lead the situation shown in the image.
On the other hand, the situation after the WWI was a LOT different. A "Greater" Serbia in that day and age wouldn't face the same problems it would face today. In such a country, Serbs would unboubitably be in the majority, so the melting pot that exploded so violently in the 90s would have been probably avoided. Also such state would have a much greater unity than Kingdom of YU which was ALLWAYS a ballancing act between Serbs and Croats, with other nationalities ground between those two. A much more uniform and unified country, would prosper better, and be able to wage war more efffectivly, and choose allies more effectivly.
So it wouldn't be the 90s bad.

On the other hand, while I agree, that Vojvodina Serbs weren't in majority at that day and age, they did feel quite strongly about which country they should be part of. But I suppose I can imagine liberals and republicans wouldn't want to be part of a Kingdom.
I do need to point out that Vojvodina has deep Serb roots dating all the way back to the fall of the Serb state, and was part of Krajina.

Other thant that, I'll follow this.

 

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You know you got me on board

 

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We'll that's debatable. Certany somebody attempting that in this day and age would, woud require massive suppresion of non Serb peoples in regions in question, which would lead the situation shown in the image.
On the other hand, the situation after the WWI was a LOT different. A "Greater" Serbia in that day and age wouldn't face the same problems it would face today. In such a country, Serbs would unboubitably be in the majority, so the melting pot that exploded so violently in the 90s would have been probably avoided. Also such state would have a much greater unity than Kingdom of YU which was ALLWAYS a ballancing act between Serbs and Croats, with other nationalities ground between those two. A much more uniform and unified country, would prosper better, and be able to wage war more efffectivly, and choose allies more effectivly.
So it wouldn't be the 90s bad.

On the other hand, while I agree, that Vojvodina Serbs weren't in majority at that day and age, they did feel quite strongly about which country they should be part of. But I suppose I can imagine liberals and republicans wouldn't want to be part of a Kingdom.
I do need to point out that Vojvodina has deep Serb roots dating all the way back to the fall of the Serb state, and was part of Krajina.

Other thant that, I'll follow this.

Yes, but the idea of Greater Serbia was the only serious suggestion other than Yugoslavia ever since Garašanin's Načertanije in 1844 and, as far as 19th century style-nationalism is concerned, they wouldn't really care for the minorities placed there, and most of the Muslims would just be considered Serbian. Croats, however, are a different issue, but more on that will be mentioned later on in the AAR.
The whole story basically did start with my friend and I talking of what could have happened to stop the nationalism in the nineties. There was even a talk of a what-if scenario in which King Alexander divided the country in 1929, but that would be too much of an off topic for now, although it's very interesting.

I tried to make an approximate statistic of the ethnic composition of the country in 1918 and it looked something like this:
Hungarians 708,97
Germans 614,314
Serbs 550,309
Romanians 311,528
Slovaks 60,608
Croats 44,248
Rusyns 13,479
Others 94,012

Romanians and Hungarians would also seek unification, and I will represent different political currents with radical conservatives trying to divide the country on one side and liberals/republicans/socialists on the other. Not the mention the fun of trying to impose a Swiss-like system on a Balkan nation.

You know you got me on board

Ahh, I remember your old Donauschwabenland AAR! It was one of the first times I really got interested in this topic and explored more about countries such as Banat Republic. I guess you could say your AAR was sort of a distant inspiration for it.

 

[4th Dimension]

Well, the 90s nationalism was a byproduct of enforced unionism for the last 50 years. Also, the nationalism was further more greatly fueled by antagonism, inside YU. A "Greater" Serbia forged then, wouldn't be subjectible to it, because it would have the last 70 years to incorporate the Muslims in the Bosnia and Croats in Dalmatia (All tough, even there situation was much different from now. A significant amount of people claimed to be Serbs of Catholic faith). So no sudden flareup of nationalism in the 90s, because there was no (to a degree) forced "Brotherhood". Also if such nation avoids the pitfalls of a federal nation, any attempt at secession which would spark a devastating conflict would be MUCH harder.

So, when is next update?

 

[vitality]

This looks interesting, subscribed.

 

[Asalto]

In this timeline, Vojvodina then never became part of State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs? IOTL, Vojvodina was part of this state before anexation by Kingdom of Serbia (which happened even before State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs merged with Kingdom of Serbia into Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes). I imagine that Vojvodina didn't join this state in your timeline and still acts like independent country. Serbia has probably anexed Montenegro just as IOTL, and then also anexed all territories, offered to her by Treaty of London (Greater Serbia). Since Serbia is not interested into South Slavic state (Yugoslavia), Slovenia and rest of Croatia won't get any protection and will be anexed by neighbours (Italians and Austrians)? Time right after the Great War was indeed very confusing, with many minor states emerging from ruins of old empires and being threatened by larger nations.

 

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Part II: The Republic in danger

Territories claimed by Vojvodina in the first Assembly
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The situation in mid-November was chaotic. The militia and police forces of Vojvodina clashed with the Serbian army multiple times. The fiercest battle took place on a hill near the town of Titel, just south of Novi Sad, on 19th of November. A mixed Serb-Hungarian division „Petőfi Sándor“ clashed with Morava Infantry Division under command of Serbian Vojvoda Živojin Mišić. Hundreds of men died on both side. The newspaper „Branik“ in Novi Sad described it as „a sad day when Serbs had to shoot at other Serbs because of the recklessness of the self-proclaimed legitimate Government in Belgrade“. Morava Divison took the hill for the price of almost eight hundred lives. The Governments of Vojvodina and Serbia had no other choice but to meet in Pančevo and negotiate a ceasefire. It was agreed that the People’s Militia of Vojvodina is to be disbanded and that Serbian Army is to leave the territories of Bačka, Baranja and Banat, with only the French left to maintain order.

People’s Militia on the Titel Hill​

However, four days later, the soldiers of the Hungarian Democratic Republic occupied Pécs, Baja, Mohács and Szeged, and tried to enter Subotica. Albert Bartha gathered the People’s Militia again and marched into Subotica. The city was virtually under siege from the 25th November to 25th December. The French army refused to help because Vojvodina broke the agreement signed in Pančevo, while Serbia started gathering forces in Srem. During that month, the French have taken over Baja, Mohács and Szeged, creating a buffer zone between the two countries. This left Hungarian troops around Subotica cut off from supply, forcing them to surrender. Their remaining equipment and ammunition was taken away from them, and they had to walk 50 kilometers through the demilitarized zone in the middle of winter. The whole event was a great disaster for the already weak and disorganized Hungarian army. Mihály Károlyi signed a ceasefire with Mihajlo Polit-Desančić in a tent on the Danube coast in the French demilitarized zone on 30th December. Meanwhile, Vasa Stajić traveled to Belgrade and used his diplomatic skill to keep the Serbian army from invading. The success of the negotiation was greatly owed to the travel of his associate Milroad Vlaškalin to Paris in early December. He managed to get the support for self-determination of Vojvodina from French and US governments. The Militia was once again disbanded on 1st January 1919 and it was agreed that the destiny of Vojvodina is to be decided by the Paris Peace Conference. Until then, the Polit-Desančić’s Government will have full autonomy in the regions of Banat, Bačka and Baranja.

Vasa Stajić​

 

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Well, the 90s nationalism was a byproduct of enforced unionism for the last 50 years. Also, the nationalism was further more greatly fueled by antagonism, inside YU. A "Greater" Serbia forged then, wouldn't be subjectible to it, because it would have the last 70 years to incorporate the Muslims in the Bosnia and Croats in Dalmatia (All tough, even there situation was much different from now. A significant amount of people claimed to be Serbs of Catholic faith). So no sudden flareup of nationalism in the 90s, because there was no (to a degree) forced "Brotherhood". Also if such nation avoids the pitfalls of a federal nation, any attempt at secession which would spark a devastating conflict would be MUCH harder.

So, when is next update?

Agreed. Since the 90s situation would then be less chaotic IOTL, I believe I won't cover much of the post-war era, with maybe just a short description of events after 1945.
Sorry for not responding earlier, I was in Zagreb on Roger Waters' The Wall concert on Wednesday and I only returned last night. [Brag]The concert was awesome [/Brag]

In this timeline, Vojvodina then never became part of State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs? IOTL, Vojvodina was part of this state before anexation by Kingdom of Serbia (which happened even before State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs merged with Kingdom of Serbia into Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes). I imagine that Vojvodina didn't join this state in your timeline and still acts like independent country. Serbia has probably anexed Montenegro just as IOTL, and then also anexed all territories, offered to her by Treaty of London (Greater Serbia). Since Serbia is not interested into South Slavic state (Yugoslavia), Slovenia and rest of Croatia won't get any protection and will be anexed by neighbours (Italians and Austrians)? Time right after the Great War was indeed very confusing, with many minor states emerging from ruins of old empires and being threatened by larger nations.

Exactly, the first Assembly I mentioned in Part One was the one in which Vojvodina voted to become a part of Kingdom of Serbia. Because there was no Corfu Declaration and Serbia instead concentrated on the 1915 Treaty of London, this voted didn't really turn out as IOTL. The first chapter will be mostly description of the chaotic situation in Vojvodina until the Treaty of Trianon. After that, I'll be focusing on the Interbellum.

@vitality Thanks for your support. I'll make sure it's a pleasant read.

 

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What about those pesky Romanians?

 

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What about those pesky Romanians?

I mentioned earlier in the 1st update that they are an absolute majority in Eastern Banat and were therefore granted autonomy by The Republicans. The entire Romanian National Council agreed on it, so Romanians won't be making much trouble... for now.

 

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Part III: The Treaty of Versailles​

Despite the attempts of turning the Serbs against the Government in Belgrade, the support of a union with Serbia remained strong. Many Serbs left dr Roth’s police force in the first months od 1919, and Jaša Tomić made a big rally in Novi Sad on 8th January, just a day after Orthodox Christian Serbs celebrated Christmas. Over 10,000 people gathered there, with a small number clashing with the socialists and attacking Hungarian-owned stores in the city. Tomić and 52 protesters were arrested in the aftermath, but only 11 (including Tomić) saw charges raised against them. They were, however, released in under a month, as the Government did not want to increase the tension. A week later, the same riots happened in Subotica, this time started by Hungarians and General Beregfy. On the 18th of January, Mihailo Polit-Desančić travelled to Versailles to the Paris Peace Conference. Roth and Bartha used it to stabilise the situation in the following months. Subotica was made capital and the Government was placed in the Subotica Town Hall, while the Raichle Palace was the official Presidental Palace. Intensive propaganda and agitation in the following months helped win over the support of some part of the population. Although a majority of Serbs was already against the Greater Serbian concept, the massive influence of Jaša Tomić was felt strongly. Hungarians also started accepting the new country, especially since placing the capital in Subotica helped ease the tensions and the paranoia about Serbian domination. German and Romanian national councils already agreed that the creation of Vojvodina is in their best interest, and the situation in Eastern Banat, as well as Western Bačka, was pretty calm.

Former Subotica Town Hall, now the Seat of the Government of Vojvodina​

In Versailles, Serbian Prime Minister Stojan Protić walked out in protest as the Entente Powers agreed on giving Vojvodina independence in May. Vojvodina was even offered Srem, but Desančić refused as the Serbian population there was strongly supporting a Union with Serbia. Serbian Prime Minister Protić did end up signing the Versailles Peace Treaty on 28th June 1919 alongside Polit-Desančić, granting independence to the Republic of Vojvodina. Vojvodina was given the old Hungarian counties of Bacs-Bodrog, Torontal and Northern part of Temes, while the northern border with Hungary was to be determined by the Treaty of Trianon. Furthermore, the people of Croatian Baranja, Eastern Slavonia and Western Srem were to hold a plebiscite on whether they want to become a part of Serbia or Vojvodina. The population was approximately half-Serb and half-Croat, so both sides agreed that plebiscite would be the best solution. Mihailo Polit-Desančić returned triumphant to Subotica. He left the state as a self-proclaimed president of a loose banana-republic, only to return as a legitimate, internationally recognized Head of State. On the 2th July 1919, Polit-Desančić, with Alberth Bartha and Otto Roth by his side, read to his people the Declaration of Independence. Thousands from all over the country went to the streets, waving the blue-yellow-green flags. All eyes were now on the people in Eastern Slavonia, who were to hold a plebiscite on 14th July. While Albert Bartha was holding an inspiring speech proclaiming the day to be „the brightest point in the history of all our nations, a turning point from which we will all live in peace, despite the differences“, Jaša Tomić, standing in front of a small crowd in the yard of the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Novi Sad, declared this day „the defeat of the ideas Serbian Vojvodina has fought for since 1848“.

Map of the Western Balkan after the Versailles Treaty. The Eastern Slavonia is in grey, while the purple Vojvodinian-Hungarian border is still a buffer zone controlled by French forces​