And now for something completely different. An idea I've been playing with for a long time, which explains how Denmark got it's southern border ITTL, whilst also exploring some small changes to larger events.
The
Grand Duchy of Holstein (German: Großherzogtum Holstein) was a state in northern Germany that existed from the end of Danevirke War in 1864 to the collapse of the German Empire in 1918. The grand duchy was originally created from the Duchy of Holstein and the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, both territories taken from Denmark after the Danevirke War, as the
Grand Duchy of Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg (German: Großherzogtum Holstein und Sachsen-Lauenburg) and granted to the House of Augustenburg. However, the status of the grand duchy as an independent German state would be unrecognised internationally until the Peace of Prague in 1866, which ended the Austro-Prussian War. Prior to its name change in 1876, the state was colloquially known as
Holstein-Lauenburg.
The grand duchy occupied the southern portion of the Jutland Peninsula, with the Baltic Sea to the east, the North Sea to the west, and to the north, the Eider River marked the border with the Kingdom of Denmark. In the south Holstein bordered the Kingdom of Hanover (which became a Prussian province in 1866), the free cities of Hamburg and Lübeck, the two Mecklenburg grand duchies, and the Eutin exclave of the Grand Duchy of Oldenberg. Between 1864 and 1866, the grand duchy was a state of the German Confederation, succeeding its ducal predecessors, and sided with the Kingdom of Prussia at the outbreak of their war with the Austrian Empire. Prussian soldiers had been stationed in Holstein since the war with Denmark, and would remain throughout the 19th century.
In 1867, the grand duchy became a part of the Prussian-led North German Confederation, a military alliance between 23 German states in the north of the country that favoured the eventual creation of a federal German state. During the Franco-Prussian War, the North German Confederation united with the remaining south German states to form a new federal state in 1871. Holstein became one of the 26 constituent states of the new German Empire. Throughout the decades of the German Empire, Holstein underwent increased industrialisation as the city of Kiel became an important base for the Imperial German Navy, and the construction of the Kiel Canal linked German bases in the Baltic and North seas without the need to sail around Denmark. The 1870s were a period of social and political change for the grand duchy, in 1876 it was formally renamed to simply
Holstein, and in 1879 the capital was relocated to the larger, and more important, city of Kiel.
In 1880 the third grand duke, Ernst Gunther II, succeeded his father at the age of 17 and enacted a liberal constitution which guaranteed democratic rights and created a constitutional monarchy. The Landtag was given extensive legislative powers, with the grand duke reduced to a ceremonial position. During the German Revolution, which began in the immediate aftermath of the German defeat in the First World War, Grand Duke Ernst Gunther II renounced the Holstein throne on 14 November 1918. The grand duchy became the Free State of Holstein, a federated state of the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and later Nazi Germany (1933–1945), until 1949 when the state was dissolved and its territory merged into the restored Kingdom of Hanover. The deposed Grand Ducal Family of Holstein, led by the current claimant to the grand duchy, are one of the few recognised families of the Hanoverian nobility, and reside primarily at their estate near Kiel.
Grand Dukes of Holstein (1864–) (titular since 1918, recognised as part of the Hanoverian nobility since 1949)
1864–1869: Christian August II (also Duke of Augustenburg since 1814, and claimant Duke of Schleswig-Holstein)
1869–1880: Friedrich Christian III
1880–1921: Ernst Gunther II (deposed during the German Revolution)
1921–1931: Albert
1931–1934: Friedrich Ferdinand
1934–1965: Wilhelm Friedrich
1965–1980: Friedrich Peter
1980–2017: Christoph
Heir apparent: Friedrich Ferdinand, Hereditary Grand Duke of Holstein
The
Schleswig War, also known as the
Schleswig-Holstein War or the
Three Years’ War, was the first military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question, that took place between March 1848 and May 1852 in southern Denmark and northern Germany. Whilst the duchies were separate possessions of the Danish monarchy, Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg were both members of the German Confederation, and home to a majority of ethnic Germans. At issue was who should control the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been in personal union with the Danish Crown since the 15th century, as the only legitimate son of King Christian VIII was childless and the king had decreed a change in the succession laws in the duchies to preserve the personal union, a change deemed illegal by the Germans of Holstein and leading to their rebellion. At issue was the conflicting aims of Danish and German nationalists. Whilst the former believed that Schleswig, but not Holstein, should be integrated into Denmark, the latter believed that the three duchies should form a united state within the German Confederation.
Inspired by the successes of the 1848 French Revolution, and the outbreak of revolutions across Europe, the German inhabitants of Schleswig and Holstein demanded the recognition of a joint state of Schleswig-Holstein that would be admitted to the German Confederation. When the Danish king refused, the Holsteiners broke out into open rebellion, establishing a provisional government in Kiel led by Christian August II, Duke of Augustenburg and his brother Friedrich, Prince of Noer. The House of Augustenburg, a cadet branch of the Danish royal family, claimed the duchies as the heirs to the Danish kings under salic law. An early victory saw the Prince of Noer seize the Fortress of Rendsborg, a major Danish fortification that contained the main armouries of the duchies, however the Danes evicted the forces occupying Flensborg and routed the rebels at Bov in April. The German Diet recognised the provisional government under the Duke of Augstenburg, and commissioned Prussian forces in intervene on behalf of the revolutionary forces. However, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia was opposed to the incursion and ordered the commanding general to withdraw his troops, but Friedrich Graf von Wrangel refused, as he was under the command of the German Confederation.
Despite multiple truces, conferences and conventions, the war continued as neither side was able to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. Eventually the war ended in May 1852 with a German withdrawal and the signing of a second London Protocol. This agreement represented a return to the
status quo ante bellum, with the territorial integrity of Denmark respected, and the personal union with the three duchies continued, with the line of succession to the duchies being modified to remain tied to that of the Danish throne. Although the Protocol confirmed that Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg were to remain independent sovereign states within the German Confederation, the status of Schleswig was left vague by the final terms of the agreement. The German Diet refused to recognise the Protocol, asserting that upon the death of Frederik VII the personal union between Denmark and the duchies of Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg would end. Fifteen years later, the integration of the Duchy of Schleswig into the Kingdom of Denmark and the succession of the House of Glücksburg to the Danish throne would trigger the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question.
The
Danevirke War, also known as the
Holstein War of Succession, was a brief military conflict that took place between February and May 1864. The war was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question, which concerned the political status of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, and by extension Saxe-Lauenburg, and their relationships with both Denmark and the German Confederation, and was part of the wider process of German unification. The main
casus belli was the adoption of the new Danish Constitution, which effectively integrated the Duchy of Schleswig into the Kingdom of Denmark, however much of the dispute since the Schleswig War had focused on the successor of King Frederik VII of Denmark. The Germans of the three duchies supported the House of Augustenburg, a cadet branch of the Danish royal family, whilst the Danes favoured the rival House of Glücksburg. The sudden death of Frederik VII and the succession of Prince Christian of Glücksburg as King of Denmark, and by extension head of state of the three duchies according to the London Protocol, led to outrage amongst the German population of the duchies after the king signed the new constitution.
In the immediate aftermath of the passing of the November Constitution, the German Confederation passed a resolution opposing the measure and calling for the occupation of Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg by German forces, a measure proposed at the initiative of Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck. On 24 December 1863, Saxon and Hanoverian troops marched into Holstein under the banner of the German Confederation, whilst Danish troops withdrew back to the border between Schleswig and Holstein, which was heavily fortified behind the Danevirke. Supported by the German soldiers and loyal Holsteiners, Christian August II, Duke of Augustenburg took control of the governments of Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg. Throughout January the Germans consolidated their control of the territory south of the Eider River, whilst Danish forces maintained the heavily fortified defences north of the river. On 1 February, against the protests of the German Confederation, Prussian troops crossed into Schleswig and attempted to take the Danish positions on the fortified Danevirke near Mysunde. After a long battle the Prussian withdrew as they could not take the Danish positions.
For the next three months, Prussian forces attempted to dislodge the Danes from their fortified positions along the Danevirke, but each time they were repelled by the Danish artillery and defences. Negotiations began towards a peace agreement in London on 25 April, and on 12 May 1864 the Treaty of Rendsborg, named for the major Danish fortress, was signed. Under the treaty, Denmark surrendered control of all territory south of the Eider River, namely the duchies of Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg, to the control of the German Confederation, whilst retaining the Duchy of Schleswig. The personal union between Holstein and Denmark was ended, with the House of Augustenburg granted the title of Grand Duke of Holstein, whilst the Danish integration of Schleswig was recognised by the European great powers.
