Chapter 33: Chapter 33 – March Revolution

"Come out?" It was impossible for Chancellor Metternich to step outside the Chancellery. He wasn't an idiot who would appear in front of an angered mob to try and negotiate with them. It was likely that the moment he showed his face, he would suffer a terrible fate; he didn't want to follow in the footsteps of , a Dutch minister who was eaten alive by a mob.

***

“Lord Chancellor, please order the expulsion of the demonstrators, or the situation will soon be out of our control!” pleaded the Commissioner of the Vienna Police Department, Heinrich Oppenheimer.

Commissioner Oppenheimer, who held the responsibility of maintaining order in Vienna, was very tense, especially after he had heard senior government officials mention that Chancellor Metternich’s days were over, and that he was planning to escape from Vienna. While the ministers could run away, as the Commissioner of Police, he had to stay. Therefore, he needed a definitive order from Chancellor Metternich to quell the mob before they became more than he could handle, or he would end up being purged at their hands.

Chancellor Metternich took a few steps around before he finally made up his mind and said, “Command the City Defense Force to disperse the demonstrators!”

However, before his order could be passed on to the army, things had already fallen out of control. A few of the revolutionaries among the crowd found an opportune moment and fired a shot at the soldiers holding them back. Reflexively, the soldiers shot back.

“The army is attacking us!”

After a loud shout rang within the plaza, the crowd fell into chaos and the demonstrators began running in all directions which resulted in a stampede, killing thousands. The soldiers didn't need to disperse the crowd, as the people scattered on their own. However, the aftermath was very serious.

The survivors believed that the army had shot and killed their fellow demonstrators. The revolutionaries, who had provoked the firing, spread this lie amongst the people. Soon, many angered people were fooled into participating in the revolution. In addition, the capitalists secretly provided weapons to the revolutionaries who distributed them amongst the demonstrators. Armed, the revolutionaries formed a militia and named it the Freedom Army.

In the evening, the Freedom Army attacked many local police stations and raided their armory. Once the rebels' gunshots sounded, the situation in Vienna escalated and it turned into a mess. The 5,000 soldiers in the City Defense Force garrisoned outside Vienna also proved that they were wholly deserving of their title of “useless.” When they went to confront the rebels, after just a small-scale shootout, the timid noble officers unexpectedly retreated and failed to suppress the rebellion.

Meanwhile, many nobles also helped fan the flame of the rebellion. To some extent, this revolution was a coup which included many nobles with ties to capitalists. They had also suffered heavy losses during the economic crisis, so they betrayed their class and joined the revolution started by the bourgeoisie. Their goal was to use the revolution to replace the regime, as well as to wipe out the bankers to get rid of their debts. This could be seen from the Freedom Army's act of attacking the banks and burning all of their documents.

In the face of the chaos in Vienna, Chancellor Metternich panicked, the orthodox and senior nobles panicked, the Regency Council panicked, and the Emperor's Court also panicked. The February Revolution in Paris had just passed, and they had been making fun of the French until not too long ago. The February Revolution had been the second major revolution in France, so it had been tame compared to the previous revolution.

The French Revolution of 1789 had destroyed the absolutist, guillotined the royals and hundreds of nobles, abolished serfdom, and destroyed the prerogatives of the nobility. However, the revolution in Vienna was the first major revolution in Austria; the nobles still held a lot of prerogatives and the commoners had centuries of accumulated hatred for them. If the revolutionaries followed the practice of the French, the Austrian nobles would probably be sent to the gallows, or perhaps murdered in the streets like dogs.

Chancellor Metternich was already at his wits end. He knew just as well as the others that he was currently the most hated person in Austria. Once he fell into the hands of the rebels, his death would be certain; the only question would be how to kill him.

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A man dressed in a butler's uniform anxiously pleaded, “My liege, the carriage is ready. We have to leave now or it will be too late!”

Chancellor Metternich frowned as he was unable to decide on his future course of action. He knew that he was a target and it was very dangerous for him to stay in Vienna. However, as a noble, he was very prideful, and he didn’t want to be shamed as a coward and deserter. He had already sent his family away, but he had stayed behind to face this issue.

“Tilman, I …”

Despite knowing that his liege would continue to refuse, Tilman still decided to perform his duty as a butler to keep his liege safe. He quickly ordered, “You two, escort our liege to the carriage!”

The two men had been retainers of Chancellor Metternich for many years, so their loyalty was unquestionable. Ignoring his struggle, the two men forced him into a plain carriage and hurriedly left Vienna. At the same time, two of his retainers took his luxurious carriage and rode it to Hoburg Palace.

Loyalty was proven in times of adversity, so it was time for the retainers to prove their loyalty to their liege. Similar to Chancellor Metternich, many other nobles also chose to escape from Vienna that day. At this point, the only safe place in Vienna was Hoburg Palace. Most of the rebels in the Freedom Army were still in awe of the Emperor and refused to attack his palace.

Even amongst the revolutionaries, most people did not plan to overthrow the Hapsburgs. In fact, most of them had previously been reformists who had joined the revolutionaries only after they had become desperate for reform. Due to the sudden revolution, the rebel leader had had no time to establish a unified leadership, so the forces of the Freedom Army were very decentralized and autonomous as they fought in small groups.

Most of the rebels didn't even have guns. Instead, they used weapons common during the Middle Ages. In fact, most rebels had no interest in revolution. After venting the grievances in their hearts, most people left the Freedom Army. Revolutionary ideas could simply not be sustained in Austria due to the influence of millennia-long German tradition of self-disciple and conservatism.

In order to strengthen their hold on the army and suppress the growing number of the working class in the army, the true revolutionaries were desperate to recruit more and more people which led to the deterioration of the quality of the army. As a result, the Freedom Army consisted of both the good and the bad.

For example, in the name of the liberation of political prisoners, all the prisoners in Vienna were released and many vicious criminals suddenly became soldiers in the Freedom Army. Gangsters also took advantage of the mess. Murder, arson, burglary, rape – all kinds of crimes were committed by members of the so-called Freedom Army throughout Vienna.

The ones to bear the brunt of the unruly Freedom Army were not the nobles, but the ordinary citizens, small businessmen, and the middle class in Vienna, the very people who had encouraged the revolutionaries.

The darkness of the night covered up endless sins. Unfortunately, Vienna, an international metropolis, drowned in the ocean of sin that night.

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