DBWI: 1848 Revolutions Failed

Back on topic I suppose, maybe if Friedrich Wilhelm IV had still been King of Prussia in 1848 he would have turned down the offer to aid the revolutionaries and become Kaiser of a liberal German Empire. It is often understated how important the Hohenzollerns were to the early days of Germany, without them its doubtful if the German national identity would have emerged. That, I suppose, is why the German monarchy managed to survive.
 
Back on topic I suppose, maybe if Friedrich Wilhelm IV had still been King of Prussia in 1848 he would have turned down the offer to aid the revolutionaries and become Kaiser of a liberal German Empire. It is often understated how important the Hohenzollerns were to the early days of Germany, without them its doubtful if the German national identity would have emerged. That, I suppose, is why the German monarchy managed to survive.

From what I've read, Friedrich Wilhelm IV was pretty conservative during his short reign, but would he have refused the crown? For all intents and purposes, the entirety of Europe was undergoing a pretty bloody revolution. In order for Friedrich Wilhelm IV to have refused the crown, he would need an iron will that I'm not sure he actually had.
 
From what I've read, Friedrich Wilhelm IV was pretty conservative during his short reign, but would he have refused the crown? For all intents and purposes, the entirety of Europe was undergoing a pretty bloody revolution. In order for Friedrich Wilhelm IV to have refused the crown, he would need an iron will that I'm not sure he actually had.

The Prussian army both joining forces with and training the revolutionaries was the key to their success. If Prussia had committed fully to fighting the Revolution, they could have won. Further, without the Prussians, the Austrians could have put down their rebels. France was too busy reorganizing the Second Republic, so really it was all on Prussia.
 
The Prussian army both joining forces with and training the revolutionaries was the key to their success. If Prussia had committed fully to fighting the Revolution, they could have won. Further, without the Prussians, the Austrians could have put down their rebels. France was too busy reorganizing the Second Republic, so really it was all on Prussia.

why would they do that? You have to keep in mind the revolutionaries offered prussia germany on a silver platter it would be madness to refuse to more then triple the size of your country for the grand price of essentally nothing.
 
why would they do that? You have to keep in mind the revolutionaries offered prussia germany on a silver platter it would be madness to refuse to more then triple the size of your country for the grand price of essentally nothing.

It's not that simple, I'm afraid. I can imagine a few Junkers here and there who would rather have had Prussia absolutely in their control instead of having to go through Parliament for a much bigger country. Friedrich Wilhelm IV might have been one of those people, though it's tough to be sure.

I cannot imagine for the life of me anyone insane enough to actually turn against the rebels though. Maybe not giving support, but going against the rebels might actually end up being an even worse bloodbath more akin to the likes of the French Revolution than what we got OTL.
 
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