If Prussia lost the Franco-German war.

Well, simply mirroring the events and results is rather implausible, since the Prussians overall had more efficient equipment, leadership and diplomacy. So the French would need to have sheer luck in turning chancy encounters to their advantage. A complete destruction of the German armies and a successful march on Berlin will not happen w/o ASB support.
One PoD might be a surprise success by French spies who uncover in early 1870 that the southern German states have concludes an secret alliance with the NGC and will not stay neutral or even rush against Prussia in order avenge their 1866 defeat. Far from it. So the French strategy might return to the Niel plan: a march on Saarbrücken, Trier, Koblenz and Mainz, or Sarrebruck, Treves, Coblentz et Mayence.


IOW, I do not think that the Prussian defeat will be so crushing that Bismarck is ousted directly - instead he will probably be able to achieve somne advantages, probably by pushing for a general European peace conference hosted by the UK (a thing he extremely opposed when Prussia was winning).

At the *Brighton conference, France as the victor will gain territory from Prussia - certainly the Saarrevier up to Trier, perhaps more. A further French aim might be the creation of an anti-Prussian South German Confederation, but it is unsure if that will happen. Demanding that Prussia give back Hanover, Nassau and Hesse-Cassel to their former monarchs and cede northern or all Schleswig to Denmark and the rest of S-H to the Glucksburg line are also possible. A rather fanciful idea might be the forced cession of the Rhineland and Westphalia to another German prince, who will be friendlier to France without being an outright puppet.
Of course, one could suggest an futher dismemberment of Prussia, with the Magdeburg district going to Hanover, the Erfurt and Merseburg districts to Saxony, Silesia to Austria and the Province of Posen to Russia, but that would be ASBish.

There will be certainly no German Empire, and depending on the severity of the Prussian defeat even the NGC might be dissolved. There will be no Stab-in-the-back legend and the military will probably get the full blame. Wilhelm I will resign and Friedrich III will become king nearly two decades earlier. He will probably push for an understanding with the UK. Queen Victoria will like that and the government might as well, when it has become obvious that France really is dominating the continent. In a more eastern Prussia, the junker class will be more powerful and for economic reason (the rivalry in the grain trade) they will also oppose Russia and favor the UK, because protecting the German industry from British imports is not important for them. Also, building a colonial empire and a big-ass High Sea Fleet is not where their interests are.
 
Interestingly enough, the standard French rifle could shoot almost twice as far as the Prussian model.

I think France wouldn't demand more than, say Saarland and heavy recompensations, as well as military restrictions on Prussia.
 
I think the most prominant war aims were "humbling Prussia for its treachery" and "acquiring the 1801 border", ie the German east bank of the Rhine plus Belgium and Luxemburg.

Moltke himself was afraid that the French might cross the Rhine near Strasbourg and push the Southern German armies towards Ulm or even into Austria, whila another French army tried to oust the Prussian army from Mayence and force it back west of the Elbe.
If the French-Danish alliance Napoleon III wanted had become reality, a combined force would have attemted a landing in Holstein and pushed toward Hamburg and Hanover, hoping for a Hanoverian uprising and British volunteers.

In that case (which would require a completely different French leadership), the French demands and gains will look completely different from a TL were the "front line" stabilizes somwehere between Trier and Koblenz.
 
I agree that a french victory would be brought about by more luck than anything, perhaps a few battles going more in their favor as well (many small POD's about decisions individual troops make) and returning to the Neil plan.

I'm also Intrigued by the idea of France reclaiming some territory along the Rhine, and creating some independent German states, as a divided Germany certainly works in France's favor. Also I like the idea of Germany ceding Schelswig (and perhaps even Holstien, if the French win a magnificent victory.) This would Certainly cause the Danes to warm up to the French, and make for tense relations with Prussia.
In the short term, This may reshape some boundaries and prevent Germany from becoming an influential power, but I also want to know opinions on the long term as well. Assuming the southern German states formed into a single entity, IE: The South German Federation, they would certainly be a rival to Prussia in the North, though if they formed on their own, I'm not certain if they would be friendlier with France or Prussia.

Anyway, I'm now inspired to write something about this! Any idea's on what you think might happen would be awesome, as I only got into history a couple years ago and do not have as extensive a knowledge base as some of you (Though I am creative, always a bonus:D!) anyway, thanks for the feedback so far!
 
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