Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia is a landlocked nation in Europe bordering the German Empire, Poland, Ukraine, and Hungary.
History
The lands that would become the Kingdom of Czechoslovakia were under the control of the Austrian Empire, and later the Habsburg Confederation, until 1930. When Emperor Franz Karl attempted to enact reformations, the empowered parliaments of the Confederation pushed for more autonomy or independence. When it became obvious this would be inevitable, the regions of German Bohemia and Slovakia seceded and later united into Czechoslovakia under the supervision of Tomas Masaryk.
The Great Powers of Europe allowed for the regions to be independent, but only if they would elect a monarchy as the Great Powers did not want a republic similar to the French Socialist Republic. Grand Duke Gabriel of Russia was elected, and Gabriel accepted. As king, Gabriel navigated the tumultuous time of the Russo-German War, remaining neutral despite being the brother of the Russian Tsar. Likewise, Czechoslovakia saw no need to involve themselves in the World War either. Instead, it was argued that the Zollverein was a trade and monetary agreement, not an alliance.
Since its inception, Czechoslovakia has had tensions with Hungary to the south, who never released their claims on the Slovak half of the kingdom. Hungary attempted to negotiate a partition with Germany. even though Germany had claims on Bohemia, Kaiser Wilhelm III declined, believing having Czechoslovakia in the Zollverein was beneficial enough. This was only complicated further in 1955, when Gabriel died without a biological heir, and thus caused a succession crisis.
The crisis was averted slightly as Prince Jaroslav of the House of Lobkowicz, one of the oldest noble houses of Bohemia, was elected as king. This angered some of the Slovak ministers, who had hopes for a noble that would represent both halves of the nation. However, King Jaroslav attempted to work with a joint parliament.
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