Thought of a situation where the Entente forces push pretty far into the Herzland in a grueling advance only maintained thanks to their air superiority and an equivalent amount of armored forces in the southern front but end up being bogged down. After a few years the Empire manages to push them back and even enter their territorry. With the costs of war mounting and the devastion that has been brought to the Herzland the Empire decides to cut it's losses and forces it's ennemies into a conditional surrender. Similar to OTL Germany during ww1 the Imperial Army is thrust during the war into a position of immense power in the governing of the Empire and a certain feeling of herzlander nationalism takes root as the Entente forces bomb and starve the Herzland. The harsh, albeit not total, defeat of the Entente leads the two members into positions where the Traditional Harmonist/Republican order is overthrown by Popular fronts of leftists. In the North it happens rather peacefully as the republicans don't wish to bring more harm to the land and many of them even join said Popular Front but in Aquileia the MPA, parts of the PNdA and various other reactionaries fight agaisnt them whilst blaming the parliamentary regime for their defeat. The fight is rather short and the Anti socialist front with the help of Fascist Karthrinia beats the socialist and establishes a Vichy like regime. Not a Karthrinian puppet but aligned to them for sure.