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All Hail the German Confederation!
The tears i cried over Germany have dried and I have washed my face.- Marlene Dietrich

Formation and Stabilization of the Confederation

After 1815 Napoleon's France lay defeated and Europe was free from French control. Post-Napoleonic France ended with Prussia, Austria-Hungary and the various smaller states forming the German Confederation. It soon came under threat from both inside and outside forces. Prussia and Austria were constantly at odds at who would control the Confederation and the tensions frequently reached a fever pitch. The closest was in 1820 when disagreements on whether to include Austria in unification brought the two to the brink of war. It was saved however by Italy of all nations, they declared war on Austria Hungary for the province of Venetia [1]. Austria appealed to the nations of the Confederation for aid and was met with a resounding yes from all, including Prussia. The first battle was when a Austrian and Prussian army was attacked as it moved into Lombardia. The Austrians led a fierce counter-attack while the Prussians continued the pressure as the Austrians let up. It was a glorious show of strength and cooperation that brought the two nations closer together. Lombardia and Emilia Romagna both fell in quick succession as the Austrians went south as the Prussians continued on their Western path.

Italy tried to defend against the two armies but found they couldn't so they retreated south and built a line of fortifications that cut straight through Latium, Umbria, and Marche. As the final forts were being erected the Austrians made contact in Umbria. The attack was repelled and the Austrians moved to surround it only to find more forts. The Austrians called upon their Prussian allies who were just finishing up taking over the North. The Prussians fired their artillery day in and day out to what looked like no effect, they would have to get creative. Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months but eventually the Austrians found that the weather had dried out the wood the Italians used, making it brittle and flammable. The Italians also noticed this and sent out parties to get water to soak the walls but they were not fast enough. The Austrians charged the forts and used torches to set the walls aflame, causing the fort to have to be hurriedly abandoned. The Prussians repeated this on most of the forts and soon the fire began to spread down the line. The Italians initially tried to put out their forts but soon found their efforts to be fruitless so they left the line to the roaring inferno. The Italians regrouped a mere 100 mi North of Rome and prepared for battle. The Prussians engaged them first and were soon followed by the Austrians. The Italians, even though they were hopelessly outnumbered, continued to fight on. The Battle in the Fields of Mars was a defeat in almost every sense of the word. With the Army on the run and the Germans about to enter Rome unopposed Italy sued for peace. Under the Treaty of Frankfurt Italy gave up all claims on Austrian territory, Italy payed war reparations and they agreed to not attack Austria for a minimum of 10 years. And with that the war was over and the German Confederation had secured its outer borders.

With the war at a close Austria and Prussia became close allies and upset the balance set by the Congress of Vienna a mere 6 years ago. President of the Confederation Francis II introduced more centralizing reforms to the Federal Convention. They were quickly shot down by the various German Dukes but just barely, this showed German nationalism was rising and put Britain and France on edge. They strongly protested the centralization of the German Confederation claiming that it would give rise to a new Napoleon, the Germans paid no notice. Prussia and Austria grew increasingly influential as their power rose both within the Confederation and abroad. In the Summer of 1825 Austria-Hungary and Prussia intermarried to cement their new friendship which brought more protests from the International community. In the winter of 1825 Prussian king Frederick William III was elected President of the German Confederation and tensions increased. Since the Austro-Italian War German Nationalism had begun to take hold in the Confederation and King William III was the driving force behind it in Prussia and Northern Germany. He first tried to centralize the nation even more when he introduced multiple bills into the Federal Convention that would give the Confederation more control. The bills easily passed through the inner council which had been taken by the nationalists but met fierce resistance when it entered the plenary session. The vote was split as 20 voters voted yes and 19 voted no and the British delegation fiercely protested this blatant breaching of the Congress of Vienna. President Frederick travelled to Frankfurt as the vote entered its 3rd week and gave a passionate speech calling for a German unification, 3 votes switched and the bills passed. The various kings lost their military and foreign relations as they were forcefully forfeited to the Federal Convention. This was too much for some of them and they left the Confederation, Prussia declared war along with Austria and Britain entered in on the Princes side. The German Civil War had begun and nothing would ever be the same again.

The German Civil War
OOC: The flag of the Confederation.

Flag Greater German Confederation.png
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