Some websites mention a "compromise" flag (http://www.worldstatesmen.org/at-hu2.gif).

However, Wikipedia (or at least discussion on the relevant talk pages) seems to dispute that this compromise flag ever existed, that separate flags were used in each sub-nation, and the closest thing to a joint flag was the civil ensign (http://www.worldstatesmen.org/ah_18692.gif) or the military flags, which were "not-implemented".

Can someone knowledgeable shed some light on this?

There are several flags allocated to them around this time including a generic flag but also a civil ensign. The simplest flag is a yellow and black stripe (black top half, yellow bottom half) The civil ensign has 2 coats of arms on a red white and green background. Trusty google should find you some images! Hope that helps. Pj

@Rancher, thanks for the input. I've found those flags, but I was wondering if there was ever an official flag for civil land use, that is, whether or not this "compromise flag" is legitimate (as some websites claim) or just a hoax/error (as Wikipedia discussion seems to claim)

@PJMan: Yes, I think the yellow and black flag is an Austrian flag as it is the flag of the House of Hapsburg. I'm aware of the civil ensign, but I want to know if there was ever a general civil land use flag, specifically, whether or not this compromise flag. I've tried a bit with Google and Wikipedia, but there doesn't seem to be a clear consensus on the internet and a general lack of clear, credible information.

Is anyone here an expert on Austrian-Hungarian history?

The black-yellow flag was the flag of the Habsburgs, not Austria-Hungary in the way that, say, the French flag is the flag of France. The civil flag combining the traditional Austrian flag (red-white-red) and the Hungarian flag with the respective crowns is probably the closest you get to what you want, but that still is something of a shoehorn. The Habsburg monarchy was a really weird thing in comparison to modern nation-states.

I was in Austria for seven months this year.

@invictus: do you know if this "compromise flag" was ever in official use, or is it just a historical error floating around on the internet?

I think Invictus is right about the black yellow being for the Hapsburg royal family, that is what I have always thought at least

@Invictus: by the way, did you see the royal Habsburg napkin fold in any museums? Apparently, it was a closely guarded secret for generations, known only by at most two living people at any given time, that is until August 9, 2011.

http://www.cracked.com/article_19358_5-ridiculous-secrets-only-two-living-people-know-part-2_p2.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU2fEEWCECc

like the formula to Coke or KFC ...

No, I think it was the real civil flag after the whole 1867 deal they pulled to keep Hungary from rebelling, but I don't know the specifics on how it was used. And that's the thing. The government of Austria-Hungary was a byzantine mess with all kinds of competing jurisdictions and ethnic groups and establishment types clinging to what feudal power they had left. I don't know what flag would have flow outside post offices, for instance, and I even took an Austrian history class in German.

As a guess the compromise civil flag is probably the one used for things like embassies since there was always a unified foreign policy. However, that is a guess and the Habsburg flag would also make a lot of sense since diplomacy would be a power that comes directly from the monarchy. All I can really say for sure is that I'm completely not sure.

Yeah, I did see it. Wildly underwhelming.

Was the "Compromise Flag" used? Or basically, how is correct here:

Several websites across the Internet. For example:
See "Austro-Hungarian National Compromise Flag" in
http://www.loeser.us/flags/wwi.html
http://www.loeser.us/flags/images/wwi/austro-hungarian_national_flag.gif
Google for more examples of pages referencing this flag.

OR

Wikipedia discussion claiming that this flag never existed/used. That the websites are just mistaken.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Austria-Hungary#Flag_of_Austria-Hungary

*"who" not "how"

Like I said, this must be a very complicated thing. The Austro-Hungarian government was a mess. This state existed only because a particular German noble family had a several centuries of exceptional luck, so it makes sense that there would have been no "national flag" in the sense we think of today.

Like I said before, I'd bet on the civil flag being the flag you want. There was a unified military and foreign policy in the Dual Monarchy, so even if the flag was never in actual use the ideas represented in the flag (two countries united under one monarch) give a good impression of the political state of affairs in the period of the game.

Thanks for the clarification, Invictus. I didn't see your previous until I had my last question.

had *posted* my

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_Austria-Hungary_1869-1918.svg/1000px-Flag_of_Austria-Hungary_1869-1918.svg.png

^that's the civil ensign, which is probably the closest thing you're going to get.

http://www.flaggenlexikon.de/foest3.htm
maybe this helps?

http://www.xn--sterreich-ungarn-lwb.de/
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96sterreich-Ungarn

They did not have a common national flag. The Austrian parts used the Hapsburg colors and the Hungarian parts used the Hungarian colors.

"Österreich-Ungarn hatte keine Staats- oder Nationalflagge"

I've seen the "war flag" used in Risk versions of WWI, which is an eyesore.