Austria-Hungary is in an interesting position. A position I don't like being in. They have no safe borders that can be a mixed blessing. On the one hand they have plenty of room to expand. On the other hand that room especially the neutral provinces will be hotly contested. If you like being in a position where you'll have to use all of your diplomatic savvy you'll like this.
Austria has a few choices. They could join a western triple with Russia and Turkey, but that would risk a stab by Turkey and possibly Russia. In this case they would have to fight Italy and Germany for sure. Another option would be to form a central alliance with Germany and possibly Turkey or Italy. Always be wary of having to big an alliance. In this case Austria would want a third member of the alliance so that they wouldn't have to fight on two fronts. This however, would cause a need for a large Navy if they were allied with Italy or a stab.
Let's say Austria went with the Eastern Triple with Russia and Turkey. The first step Austria should take is to make sure the alliance doesn't fall apart over the Balkans. If they can manage that then they should attempt to secure themselves from a Turkish attack as they may be lazy and not wish to build up the kind of Navy needed to expand without invading Russia or Austria. Another way to avoid this kind of event is to try and become closer with Russia than Turkey or visa versa. Once Austria has secured it's position in the alliance it needs to decide if it will fight Italy or Germany those being the two bordering major powers.
Now let's say Austria decides to join a central alliance with Germany and Italy. This would force Austria to try and help Germany by fighting Russia and Turkey assuming they are allied. In this case Austria must look out for three main things:
- Extended war in the Balkans (Serbia, Greece, Rumania, and Bulgaria)
- Italy giving up on France and attempting a stab
- Being overpowered by Russia and Turkey
These all pose a threat that has a basis on the fact that Austria is probably going to be the only country in the alliance focusing on the eastern front. To avoid the first threat you must negotiate a deal with Russia, Turkey, and perhaps Italy. However, Turkey may not be willing to comprimise and therefore you may have to work this one out with guns and swords. There is also the threat of Itlay not being able to overcome France and therefore turn on you to get conquest. This is unlikely however, if Germany is fighting France with all their might. This brings us to fighting Russia and Turkey again. It will be much more profitable for Germany to the west and therefore Austria-Hungary will be forced, most likely, to protect her allies which could become overwhellming. Your only likely support in this case would come from Italy fighting Turkey over the Balkans and Germany having a few armies holding their borders.
After writing all this my suggestion would be based on whose playing as which country but overall I think the Eastern Triple would be best provided you can protect against a Turkish stab.
