Edit: Aaaannnd I meant to put this in the Pre-1900...Mod help please?
So following the major defeat of France, their were two views on demands to the French government. On one hand we have Bismarck who wanted to simply defeat France, get reparations, and not really do alot of damage to France. On the other hand we have several members of the Prussian Military Leadership who wanted to totally occupy northern France and attempt to utterly take it out of the game of world affairs. It was only though Bismarck's politicing that his proposal came to be.
What would have happened if the Prussian Military had rejected Bismarck and gone with this occupation of France>? Most likely the war would have alarmed several neighboring powers...