So, while I've been lurking around, I've seen a few posts about the HRE that said just before the Napoleonic wars, it was reforming and could have possibly pulled itself together if Napoleon hadn't smashed it at the time he did. A little more reading and I came across http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Mediatisation (Yes, I know Wikipedia is a poor source in general, but I can never find books on the interesting stuff) and am wondering, is that the correct reform that people refer to?
And the WI here is, what if the HRE had gotten the time to reform itself and become more competent? Could we have seen a Byzantine style resurgance in power, or would France still prove too much for the Germans?
And the WI here is, what if the HRE had gotten the time to reform itself and become more competent? Could we have seen a Byzantine style resurgance in power, or would France still prove too much for the Germans?