AHC: Grossdeutschland

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to have a Grossdeutschland in existence by 1900 with a POD in 1848 or thereafter.

For the purposes of this challenge, a Grossdeutschland will be defined as approximately the OTL extent of the German Empire, but including the German speaking Hapsburg land. Areas that are not majority German may be lost. Feel free to include more territory, if your scenario calls for it.
 
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Simple - 1848 Hungarian Revolution causes separation of Hungary and other non-German Hapsburg lands from Austria. German Empire steps in to 'intervene' and annexes Austria and Bohemia (autonomous within Germany), while Russia gobbles up Galicia and Ruthenia.

By 1900 Grossdeutschland is a major world power with one of the world's best standing armies, however Britain has kept Germany's navy in check (so not much more in the way of colonialism for Germany, perhaps more influence in the Morccon crises).
 

Eurofed

Banned
Ok, in very broad strokes, there are two basic scenarios:

Habsburg option A: the Habsburg have a leap of insight, accept to set up a personal union between Austria and non-German lands (Bohemia-Moravia being deemed German in 1848), take the lead of German unification.

Habsburg option B: the Habsburg have an even better leap of insight, divide their lands in four kingdoms with Franz Jospeh and his brothers on the thrones, Austria takes the lead of German unification, Lombardy-Venetia the lead of Italian unification.

In both cases, Prussia shall have to be bribed to accept second-in-command role within Germany, such as by giving them leadership of German military, and/or promising them Hohenzollern kingdoms in Poland and/or the Baltic lands after the war with Russia which is likely to follow.

Hohenzollern option: the Hohenzollern have a lep of insight, accept to take the lead of German unification, the Austrian military screws up in Italy and Hungary, Russia is kept busy by revolution in Poland, Hungary successfully splits away, Sardinia-Piedmont conquers Lombardy-Venetia and Trento, and rides the wave of success to unify Italy, Austria and Bohemia-Moravia fall into revolutionary chaos, Germany intervenes to "restore order".

France is paralyzed by domestic strife up to end of 1848 in any scenario.
 

abc123

Banned
Hohenzollern option: the Hohenzollern have a lep of insight, accept to take the lead of German unification, the Austrian military screws up in Italy and Hungary, Russia is kept busy by revolution in Poland, Hungary successfully splits away, Sardinia-Piedmont conquers Lombardy-Venetia and Trento, and rides the wave of success to unify Italy, Austria and Bohemia-Moravia fall into revolutionary chaos, Germany intervenes to "restore order".

France is paralyzed by domestic strife up to end of 1848 in any scenario.


Most likely option IMO.
;)
 

Arrix85

Donor
Simple - 1848 Hungarian Revolution causes separation of Hungary and other non-German Hapsburg lands from Austria. German Empire steps in to 'intervene' and annexes Austria and Bohemia (autonomous within Germany), while Russia gobbles up Galicia and Ruthenia.

By 1900 Grossdeutschland is a major world power with one of the world's best standing armies, however Britain has kept Germany's navy in check (so not much more in the way of colonialism for Germany, perhaps more influence in the Morccon crises).

Don't know about 1900, but I mostly agree with this scenario ( you have to avoid the russian involvement in quenching the Hungarian revolution). the only possible obstacle is Prussia wariness in annexing catholic lands, but then again they're relatively small and so the King of Prussia wouldn't have to deal with a powerful Austria inside the German empire.
 

Anderman

Donor
Don't know about 1900, but I mostly agree with this scenario ( you have to avoid the russian involvement in quenching the Hungarian revolution). the only possible obstacle is Prussia wariness in annexing catholic lands, but then again they're relatively small and so the King of Prussia wouldn't have to deal with a powerful Austria inside the German empire.


A German empire in 1848 means that the Frankfurt constitution or something similar was adopted but then it wouldn´t be the prussian King alone to decide what to do anyway.
What will happened to Austria will it be one state aka the Archduchy or will the duchies and princedoms of Austria members of the empire as separate states.
Bohemia wouldn´t be a problem as a separate it was a kingdom and any habsburg monarch want to keep the title of king to be equal to the king of Prussia, Bavaria etc....
 

Perkeo

Banned
Habsburg option A: the Habsburg have a leap of insight, accept to set up a personal union between Austria and non-German lands (Bohemia-Moravia being deemed German in 1848), take the lead of German unification.

Habsburg option B: the Habsburg have an even better leap of insight, divide their lands in four kingdoms with Franz Jospeh and his brothers on the thrones, Austria takes the lead of German unification, Lombardy-Venetia the lead of Italian unification.

In both cases, Prussia shall have to be bribed to accept second-in-command role within Germany, such as by giving them leadership of German military, and/or promising them Hohenzollern kingdoms in Poland and/or the Baltic lands after the war with Russia which is likely to follow.

Hohenzollern option: the Hohenzollern have a lep of insight, accept to take the lead of German unification, the Austrian military screws up in Italy and Hungary, Russia is kept busy by revolution in Poland, Hungary successfully splits away, Sardinia-Piedmont conquers Lombardy-Venetia and Trento, and rides the wave of success to unify Italy, Austria and Bohemia-Moravia fall into revolutionary chaos, Germany intervenes to "restore order".

France is paralyzed by domestic strife up to end of 1848 in any scenario.
Both of the Habsburg options have something in common: The 'leap of insight' means no more ore less than pulling down their empire and trying to build a larger one - a very risky strategy!

IMO the most straightforward thing for the Habsburgs is to act EXACTLY as they did in OTL: To a multiethnic empire like Austria, even the theoretical concept of nationalism is a thread. If they have enough troops, They'll gun down any nationalist movement. If they have done so and troops to spare, They'll expand further towards the Balkan or northern Italy. A united Germany is NOT their top priority - which by the way is why the HRE was dissolved in the first place.

Hohenzollern doesn't have those problems, they could gun down the Poles and run a German unification campaign just as in OTL. So given that Germany is united at all, it is almost certainly Hohenzollern.

But managing to get Habsburg instead of Hohenzollern on the throne is a nice challenge.
 
Both of the Habsburg options have something in common: The 'leap of insight' means no more ore less than pulling down their empire and trying to build a larger one - a very risky strategy!

IMO the most straightforward thing for the Habsburgs is to act EXACTLY as they did in OTL: To a multiethnic empire like Austria, even the theoretical concept of nationalism is a thread. If they have enough troops, They'll gun down any nationalist movement. If they have done so and troops to spare, They'll expand further towards the Balkan or northern Italy. A united Germany is NOT their top priority - which by the way is why the HRE was dissolved in the first place.

Hohenzollern doesn't have those problems, they could gun down the Poles and run a German unification campaign just as in OTL. So given that Germany is united at all, it is almost certainly Hohenzollern.

But managing to get Habsburg instead of Hohenzollern on the throne is a nice challenge.

Except that considerations of realpolitik meant that any German unification led by Prussia would result in increasing Prussian power, and by extension the Junkers, who would be threatened by the Catholics who would enter the Empire via the German Habsburg lands.
 
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