The year is 1865. The German Unification movement was stillborn, with liberal reaction in Prussia crushed in the 1848 revolutions, with Friedrich Wilhelm IV subsequently withdrawing into isolationist paranoia.
After his death in 1861, He is succeeded by his brother, Wilhelm I (1797-1863), who immediately has to deal with liberal revolutionary activity across the nation. He turns the troops on the rebels, but through a combination of the defection of armed forces to the liberal rebels, and effective guerrilla activity, the three-sided Prussian Civil War (1861-63) is only just beginning. ‘Ethnic’ rebel forces take the city of Posen in 1862, deposing the official administration, and tighten their control over the surrounding areas. When, in the chaos, Wilhelm I of Prussia is assassinated by a rebel gunman, Crown Prince Friedrich (1831-93) becomes a King over a nation in anarchy. Liberal rebel forces take Berlin in early 1863, and the monarchy flees to the Prussian territories in Westphalia. The ‘liberal’ rebels declare the remaining territory in Brandenburg an independent liberal Republic – the Republic of Brandenburg. Westphalia is effectively transformed into a constitutional monarchy, albeit a reactionary and militaristic one. Over the following year it becomes clear to the new Brandenburg administration that the ‘ethnic’ rebels value their independence and liberal, cannot remain part of the Republic of Brandenburg. A plebiscite in summer 1864 returns an overwhelming majority of the Poznan area who wish to secede from Brandenburg. Elections to the government of the new Republic of Poznan are held the following spring. Meanwhile, Friedrich consolidates his control over the Prussian territory of Westphalia.
1863-65, buoyed by the successes of surrounding nations in the Prussian Civil War and the Habsburg Collapse, a ‘January Uprising’ in Russian-controlled Congress Poland in dramatically more successful. With support from the Grand Duchy of Krakow and the new Republics of Brandenburg and Poznan, a two-year War of Polish Independence is fought, culminating in Russia’s surrender when rumours of a mobilization of the armed forces of the Hungarian Republic are heard by Tsar Alexander II. Russia cedes the territories of Congress Poland to strengthen the fledgling Republic of Greater Poznan.
1863-65, the ‘German Wars’ see many changes as the German states attempt to stabilise the balance of power – there is a dynastic unification of the three Mecklenburgs (butterfly effect); with British support, George V negotiates the union of Hanover with neighbouring Oldenburg territory, Bremen, Hamburg, and Brunswick; Prussia occupies Waldeck; Hesse unites with Frankfurt and Nassau to create Hesse-Nassau; Baden unites with Württemberg to form Baden-Württemberg; and many of the smaller ‘free cities’ and Grand Duchies (especially enclaves) are swallowed, albeit fairly peacefully, by neighbouring states. Luxembourg is conquered by Westphalia, and a war with Franco-Westphalian war is starting to look increasingly likely...
After his death in 1861, He is succeeded by his brother, Wilhelm I (1797-1863), who immediately has to deal with liberal revolutionary activity across the nation. He turns the troops on the rebels, but through a combination of the defection of armed forces to the liberal rebels, and effective guerrilla activity, the three-sided Prussian Civil War (1861-63) is only just beginning. ‘Ethnic’ rebel forces take the city of Posen in 1862, deposing the official administration, and tighten their control over the surrounding areas. When, in the chaos, Wilhelm I of Prussia is assassinated by a rebel gunman, Crown Prince Friedrich (1831-93) becomes a King over a nation in anarchy. Liberal rebel forces take Berlin in early 1863, and the monarchy flees to the Prussian territories in Westphalia. The ‘liberal’ rebels declare the remaining territory in Brandenburg an independent liberal Republic – the Republic of Brandenburg. Westphalia is effectively transformed into a constitutional monarchy, albeit a reactionary and militaristic one. Over the following year it becomes clear to the new Brandenburg administration that the ‘ethnic’ rebels value their independence and liberal, cannot remain part of the Republic of Brandenburg. A plebiscite in summer 1864 returns an overwhelming majority of the Poznan area who wish to secede from Brandenburg. Elections to the government of the new Republic of Poznan are held the following spring. Meanwhile, Friedrich consolidates his control over the Prussian territory of Westphalia.
1863-65, buoyed by the successes of surrounding nations in the Prussian Civil War and the Habsburg Collapse, a ‘January Uprising’ in Russian-controlled Congress Poland in dramatically more successful. With support from the Grand Duchy of Krakow and the new Republics of Brandenburg and Poznan, a two-year War of Polish Independence is fought, culminating in Russia’s surrender when rumours of a mobilization of the armed forces of the Hungarian Republic are heard by Tsar Alexander II. Russia cedes the territories of Congress Poland to strengthen the fledgling Republic of Greater Poznan.
1863-65, the ‘German Wars’ see many changes as the German states attempt to stabilise the balance of power – there is a dynastic unification of the three Mecklenburgs (butterfly effect); with British support, George V negotiates the union of Hanover with neighbouring Oldenburg territory, Bremen, Hamburg, and Brunswick; Prussia occupies Waldeck; Hesse unites with Frankfurt and Nassau to create Hesse-Nassau; Baden unites with Württemberg to form Baden-Württemberg; and many of the smaller ‘free cities’ and Grand Duchies (especially enclaves) are swallowed, albeit fairly peacefully, by neighbouring states. Luxembourg is conquered by Westphalia, and a war with Franco-Westphalian war is starting to look increasingly likely...
