Kaiserreich

Kaiserreich - An alternate history of German Empire

Hello, this is my first timeline called Kaiserreich. PoD is set on 2 April 1848 when king of Prussia rejected offer from National Assembly which wanted to crown him as German Emperor. My English is not the best so don't expect wonders from me. I willingly accept comments and suggestions about my TL. :)

Prelude​

FWIV.jpg

On 2 April 1848 a delegation from National Assembly met with Friedrich Wilhelm IV, king of Prussia and crowned him as German Emperor. This was the beginning of Kaiser Era in Europe and the world - new Kaiserreich was proclaimed in Berlin under Prussian regime!

After "2 April Proclamation" angered Austrian Emperor withdrew his delegates from the Assembly and called it as "poor debating club for anarchists". Some of south German countries also withdrew their delegates and Franz Joseph established German Confederation - organization which united all pro-Austrian regimes into one, loose state under Austrian protectorate.

Meanwhile in Frankfurt "Kaiserlich Landtag" has been formed. Heinrich von Gagen from the largest faction - "Casino-Fraktion" formed coalition with newly formed Landsberg-Faktion under Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Jordan and Westenhald-Faktion under Heinrich Simon. Coalition called after as "Liberal-Democratic" managed to get 205 of 400 parliamentarians and achieved majority.

Casino - Right centre/Liberal-conservative (120)
Landsberg - Centre/Liberal (40)
Westenhald - Left centre (65)
Café Milani - Right/Conservative (40)
Württemberger Hof - Left centre (60)
Deutscher Hof - Left/Liberal democrats (55)
Donnersberg - Far left/Democrats (40)

First drafts of the Constitution were written in 14 August 1848 and maintained hereditary imperial regime under Prussian king, guaranted freedom of speech and religion, established bicameral parliament - upper house "Kaiserlich Landtag" appointed by Emperor and lower house "Volksvertretung" elected by nation. All males with German citizenship with their own wealth and home were allowed to voting. Lower house had permissions to propose reforms which would be enacted by majority of both houses. Changes in constitution were allowed to 2/3 majority of the National Assembly [both houses], Prime Minister was appointed by Kaiser with approval of the Kaiserlich Landtag. Project was rejected by 140 parliamentarians [constitution required 267 votes]. Second draft was ready month later and established greater capabilities for Kaiser - now he can appoint Prime Minister alone, without parliament acceptance. New draft passed with 270/400 votes. All of the German states which remained outside German Confederation signed Constitution and were linked with new Empire.

485px-HeinrichVonGagern1848.jpg

First Prime Minister - Heinrich von Gagern


On 14 December 1848 first Kaiserlich Landtag and Volksvertretung were gathered in Berlin under first Prime Minister Heinrich von Gagern. First bill was new recruitment of 100000 soldiers for Schleswig-Holstein war. With new manpower's capabilities [ATL all of Germany in place of OTL Prussia] six moth later army was ready in the Hamburg under general Karl Wilhelm von Willisen. Thanks to his skills he defeated Danish forces on 31 May at Vejbly. Four days later German fleet was defeated during battle of Helgoland - 2 steam corvettes has been lost during fights. Danes managed to blockade German naval trade. Despite this Otto von Bismarck pushed forward into Jutland and defeated several Danish armies. Defeated and broken Danish accepted loss of the Schleswig and Holstein to German Empire. War ended on 1 August 1849.

440px-Wilhelm_von_Willisen.jpg

General Willisen


During the war many factions divided themselves or merged. Parliament on 1 August 1849:

  • Kaiserlich Landtag - 400 [renamed in 1849 as Reichstag]:
    • Casino - Right Centre/liberal conservative - 100
    • Wurttember Hof - Left Centre 60
    • Westenhald - Left Centre - 55
    • Landsberg - Centre/Liberal - 50
    • Deutscher Hof - Left/Liberal democrats - 50
    • Donnersberg - Far left/Democrats - 45
    • Cafe Milani - Right/Conservative - 20
    • Baden - Far right - 20
  • Volksvertretung - 500
    • Volksfraktion - Right Centre/Conservative - 200
    • Konservative Partei - Right/Conservative - 150
    • Deutsche Nationalliberale Partei - Left Centre/Liberal - 100
    • Deutsche Arbeiterpartei - Left/Democrats - 50

Casino-fraktion led by Heinrich von Gagern is moderate liberal and right-centre faction. Largest faction. They proposed constitutional monarchy and centralization by giving more power to Emperor and parliament.
Landsberg led by Wilhelm Jordan is a moderate, centrist party that split from Casino. Members supports strong central control with parliament playing important role.
Westenhald led by Friedrich Karl Biedermann. They supports power of the parliament [both houses]
Cafe Milani led by Christian Joseph Milani. They advocate a little Germany organized as a voluntary federation of the monarchies with their own armies and constitutions.
Baden led by Geord von Vincke are pangermanic and wants unification of all Germany [including Austria]
Wurttember Hof is center-left or left-liberal faction. Members advocate a federalized Großdeutschland (Greater Germany, including Austria) organized as a parliamentary monarchy with strong popular representation.
Deutscher Hof are left-wingers who advocates a democratic republic with universal direct suffrage and equal rights for all nationalities.
Donnersberg are radical leftist who wants democratic revolution in order to create a popular democracy and guarantee the rights of the citizenry against the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie, and monied interests.
Volksfraktion - right centrist party which associates supporters of the parliamentary monarchy.
Konservative Partei - right party which advocate a strong position of the Emperor with constitution and civil rights.
DNP - left centrist partei which support strong parliament, civil rights and equality of the religions.
DA - leftist party which advocate improvement of living conditions for workers and farmers.
 
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Did you know ...

  • that Robert Blum proposed indirect parliament in Reich but his offer was rejected by Prussians? In his idea indirect upperhouse would consists of equal emissaries from local parliaments what in his intentions would weaken Prussian role in parliament [They would have 20 seats in National Assembly instead nearly 150 in single-member district]?
  • that in 1848 Polish-Lithuanian poet Adam Mickiewicz arrived to several Greater Polish cities and formed armed forces for autonomous government in Galicia?
  • that Juliusz Słowacki in 1850 began writing Kordian: Second part of the Trilogy. Freedom! in which main character Kordian is one of Lwow's defenders?

German Parliament from 1848:

Kaiserliche Landtag April 1848-August 1849:

  • Casino - Right centre/Liberal-conservative (120) - 30%
  • Landsberg - Centre/Liberal (40) - 10%
  • Westenhald - Left centre (65) - 16,25%
  • Café Milani - Right/Conservative (40) - 10%
  • Württemberger Hof - Left centre (60) - 15%
  • Deutscher Hof - Left/Liberal democrats (55) - 13,75%
  • Donnersberg - Far left/Democrats (40) - 10%

Kaiserliche Landtag August 1849-?:
  • Casino - Right Centre/liberal conservative (100) - 25%
  • Wurttember Hof - Left Centre (60) - 15%
  • Westenhald - Left Centre - (55) - 13,75%
  • Landsberg - Centre/Liberal - (50) - 12,5%
  • Deutscher Hof - Left/Liberal democrats - (50) - 12,5%
  • Donnersberg - Far left/Democrats - (45) - 11,25%
  • Cafe Milani - Right/Conservative - (20) - 5%
  • Baden - Far right - (20) - 5%

Volksvertretung August 1849-?
  • Volksfraktion - Right Centre/Conservative - (200) - 40%
  • Konservative Partei - Right/Conservative - (150) - 30%
  • Deutsche Nationalliberale Partei - Left Centre/Liberal - (100) - 20%
  • Deutsche Arbeiterpartei - Left/Democrats - (50) - 10%
 
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This sets up a curious situation.

In effect (Northern) Germany has two parliaments - a "German" Parliament representing about 21 million people, and a Prussian one representing (probably on a different franchise) about 17 million of them.

The army will be divided in a similar ratio, with the Prussian army making up about four-fifths of the total - so if Frederick William finds himself at odds with the German Parliament (or the Prussian one ftm) he has ample force at his disposal to stage a putsch.

Things could get lively.
 
Former German countries' parliaments are now renamed as Landtags and have authority to legislate in non-federal matters for the regional area. Largest landtags were divided into smaller i.e. Rhineland, Silesian, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen, and many others landtags.

How is there the remotest likelihood of Frederick William agreeing to this? He'll never let Prussia be split up - especially not if it implies a similar break-up of the Prussian Army.

No Hohenzollern in a million years would do so - and even if by some ASB intervention he did, how many days would he last before that Army staged a coup against him? The officers and men were loyal to their King, but not if he had obviously (as they would see it) gone off his rocker.
 
Ambitious project! You can be proud.

Alas, there is one problem right there in the beginning:
The election of FW in Frankfurt was far from unanimous: 290 for it, 284 abstentions, 29 absent.
This was among the reasons FW declined.
- Public support for his emperorship was not convincing and certainly far from a broad demand in the general population.
- The monarchs and governments of the non-Prussian German principalities were far from compliant.
- OTL, the Prussian plans for a kleindeutsch Union were strongly opposed by Austria and Russia, up to the threat of military action. This opposition will not vanish even if there is the support by the Frankfurt Assembly.
- Furthermore, the king himself was a traditionalist and romanticist, some call him an HRE enthusiast. He was emotionally unwilling to go for a clear break with the emperor in Vienna, AND he was unwilling to accept the general ability of an elected assembly of common people to bestow the imperial title on anyone. For him, such a "Empire by popular decision" was bonapartistic, rootless and worthless.

Even completely changing the psychology of FW, you will still have an uphill struggle. (And looking at, for example, the fate of Ferdinand in Vienna, there is always the strong possibility that an over-eager FW gets replaced by his brother and heir Wilhelm.)
 
In this TL Friedrich rather thougth that it will be easy way to crowning himself and uniting Germany. For him ATL it was Emperor title given by people who are tired from divided Germany and wanted united, strong government.
 
In this TL Friedrich rather thougth that it will be easy way to crowning himself and uniting Germany. For him ATL it was Emperor title given by people who are tired from divided Germany and wanted united, strong government.

Trouble is that he only gets half of Germany, most of which (Prussia) belongs to him already. He currently has 17 million subjects and this deal only gives him another 4 million [1]. And the price of getting them is a war against Austria [2], Russia, Denmark and the other German states, whose populations total to a further 12 million. Add to that the possibility of France making a grab for the Rhineland, and Prussia is liable to be toast.

Refusing that crown was probably the most sensible decision he ever made.


[1] Which drops to two million when the King of Hanover defects to the other side, which he is liable to do at the first opportunity.

[2] As soon as the Hungarians have been squashed.
 
Austrian Empire​

Revolution!

1848_vienna_students.jpg

On March 13, 1848 university students mounted a large demonstration in Vienna. The demonstrating students in Vienna were encouraged by a sermon of Anton Füster, a liberal priest, on Sunday, 12 March, 1848 in their university chapel. The student protesters demanded a constitution and a constituent assembly elected by universal male suffrage.

Emperor Ferdinand and his chief advisor Metternich ordered Austrian troops in city to crush the demonstration. When demonstrators moved to the streets near the palace, the troops fired on the students, killing several of them. The new working class of Vienna joined the student demonstrations, developing an armed insurrection against reactionary regime. The Diet of Lower Austria demanded Metternich's resignation. Ferdinand reluctantly complied and dismissed him. The former chancellor went into exile in London.

After peaceful revolution in Prussia, despite Kaiser Ferdinand's reluctance members of the National Assembly supported Austrian liberal movements. One of them Robert Blum travelled to Vienna in order to organize students into Liberal Austria Party [Österreicher Liberalpartei - OLP] with their own militia forces.

Austrian government drafted a new constitution which were rejected by protesters who returned to the streets. On 27 May Emperor Ferdinand chose to flee from city but was stopped by prosperous farmer who came to Vienna in order to join protesters. His name was Johann Nepomuk Hüttler. Emperor was imprisoned by OLP and forced to sign new constitution which created bicameral parliament elected by people with proportional voting system. Prime Minister [Kanzler] will be chosen by people in elections [first-past-the-post]. First house of parliament called as Nationalrat and Bundesrat. Nationalrat is composed of 400 members chosen by emperor with prime minister approval [PM has right of veto]. Bundestrat is elected indirectly - each imperial province has their own Landtag. Imperial Provinces are represented in Bundesrat by 20 members from each Landtag [in total it is 400 members]. Majority party from Landtag takes all 20 seats in Bundesrat.

Nationalrat approves or rejects Emperor's actions. Both houses decides about changes in constitution, declaring war or accepting peace. Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of faith and right of association [i.e. in trade unions].

KaisertumOsterreich.png

Imperial provinces

Few days later Emperor Ferdinand abdicated to his nephew Franz Joseph who was in Innsbruck with rest of the Habsburg family except sixteen years old Maximilian who was caught with Ferdinand during unsuccessful escape. In his last manifesto Ferdinand announced that he is Emperor from God's grace, not people so he can't stand this "circus".

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Franz Joseph I, new emperor

After hearing news from Vienna Franz Joseph wrote his famous "Imperial Manifesto" in which he condemned liberal revolution and called all nations living in Empire to act against rebels. Also he promised amnesty for all revolutionares who condemn revolution and supports his regime. After that he gathered loyal armies and began march on Vienna where he arrived on 12 April 1848 and began siege. Revolutionary forces led by Józef Bem announced that they will defend democracy until death and will not surender to emperor. Few days later Bundesrat and Nationalrat dethronized Ferdinand and installed Maximilian as new Emperor. It is not known whether he was crowned according to his will or were forced by liberals who needed legitimization.

HD_EmperorMaximilian_c.jpg

Maximilian, emperor chosen by parliament four years later


First Maximilian's decree was "Act of Union 1848" in which he promised to establish personal union with Hungary [with Lajos Kossuth as Prime Minister and governor], autonomous government for Galicia [consisting of the Poles and Ukrainians] and Bohemia. Several messengers arrived to Budapest, Kraków and Praha despite siege but several were caught by besiegning forces so Franz Joseph was aware of the actions taken by his brother. Month later on 23 June Lajos Kossuth with Hungarian-Polish forces attacked him near the city. Loyalists were demoralized by liberal propaganda and were crushed by revolutionares, Franz Joseph was forced to retreat into Insbruck were he found people loyal to his regime. Thanks to his letters several nations rose against liberal government - Rumanians, Germans in Transylvania, Slovaks and Croatians began to fight against Lajos Kossuth in Hungary. Next few months Emperor gathered an army in Insbruck and tried to convince Russian to intervention against revolution. In meantime Hungarians together with Poles fought against rebel nations.

On 1 October 1848 200000 Russian soldiers crossed border and began invasion on Galicia. After seizing smaller towns they began siege of Lwow defended by 25000 Poles formed into "Polish Legion" and 15000 Hungarians who swored fight to death against attacker. On 6 October Ivan Paskevich ordered assault on city which began hour later despite lacking most of the artillery. Additionaly Russians was tired due to enemy guerilla warfare and long march. After very heavy fighting Russians withdrew from city losing nearly quarter army. Russian troops returned to camps and continued siege. It was later remembered as "Heroic defense of Lwow" - 2nd October will be one of the National Days in XX century Poland and Hungary.
Next assault began week later and was unsuccessful and bloody so Russian general decided to starve the city. On 25 October forces under Józef Bem's command arrived to Lwow and defeated demoralized Russian forces. Ivan Paskevich and many others officers were killed in battle, from 200000 only 50000 soldiers returned to Russia.*

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Józef Bem, Polish general who fought in November Uprising and Liberal Revolution of 1848.[/CENTER]


* Someone might think that victory 1:5 is complete ASB but I think that this is possible. Imagine that Poles in OTL history could won battles against greater enemy even despite worse weapons but thanks to national spirit [Russians were seen as great anti-Polish oppressors], better leadership [Józef Bem who fought in November uprising and Hungarian revolution], stubbornness and passion for freedom.
 
Parliament in Kaiserreich - German Empire

Kaiserreich [or German Empire] is a centralized parliamentary monarchy with constitution which guarantees freedom of speech, religion and press. Monarchy is hereditary, led by Kaiser [Emperor] and bicameral Parliament. Upperhouse called as Reichstag is composed of kings, dukes, bishops and other men from Germany appointed by Kaiser. Constitution guarantees seats for:

King of Prussia - Friedrich Wilhelm
King of Hanover - Ernst August
Elector of Hesse-Kassel - Friedrich Wilhelm
Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin - Freidrich Franz
Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz - Georg
Grand Duke of Oldenburg - August
Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach - Karl Friedrich
Duke of Anhalt - Leopold
Duke of Brunswick - Wilhelm
Duke of Saxe-Altenburg - Georg Karl
Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha - Ernest
Duke of Saxe-Meiningen - Bernhard

Representatives from:
Lippe
Lippe Detmold
Reuss-Gera (Junior Line)
Reuss-Greiz (Senior Line)
Schaumburg-Lippe
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Waldeck-Pyrmont
Bremen
Hamburg
Lübeck

Electors in Reichstag are chosen for four years term of office.

Prime Minister is appointed by Kaiser from factions in Reichstag. Later Prime Minister's party must have a majority in Reichstag or form a coalition with other factions.

Changes in Constitutions must be approved by both houses [Reichstag and Volksvertretung] by 2/3 majority.

Lower house called Volksvertretung is elected by adult males with own wealth. Candidates must be above 30 years old and musn't be deprived of civil rights by court. Candidates are chosen on four yers term of service from 500 constituency in single-member districts. Party with the largest number of votes wins elections and their leader is appointed as "Volksvertretung Kanzler" [VK]. VK is often called as Vice-Prime Minister because he is elected member of the government and has right to veto PM actions.

Volksvertretung has a right to propose reforms which will be discussed and voted by Reichstag.

Former German countries' parliaments are now renamed as Landtags and have authority to legislate in non-federal matters for the regional area.




Nationalrat and Bundesrat - Parliament in Austrian Empire​

Austrian Empire has a bicameral parliament divided into upperhouse called Nationalrat and lower house called Bundesrat. Due to federalization of the Empire and granting autonomy to local nations lower house is chosen from local parliaments called Landtag.

Landtag - elected in proportional voting system parliament for one imperial province by every male above 21 in elections every five years. Lower threshold [5%] guarantees that little parties will have no seats in Landtag. Number of seats is counted by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Hondt_method. Two autonomous Landtags - Hungarian [Hungary is in personal union with Austria looser than before], Galician and Bohemian [autonomy granted by "Act of Union 1848"] has permissions to change voting system by 2/3 majority in Landtag. Voting system guarantees variety coalitions required to achieve majority and prevents two-party systems [system when two major parties are reckoned and others are too weak to play greater role in parliament].

Bundesrat - lower house of the federal parliament with members [400] chosen from majority parties in local Landtags [20 persons chosen by party leader per party]. Has a right to veto Nationalrat's actions [then act is voted by both houses of the parliament]. Leader of the Bundesrat - Volkskanzler has a seat in Nationalrat and in government. Regarding declaration of war, peace, changes in constitution or regency both houses voted together.

Nationalrat - upperhouse of the federal parliament with members [400] chosen by Emperor and Prime Minister. Has a right to passing laws, controlling Emperor's act [to conform them to constitution], appointing members of the state suthorities, control over Landtags and Bundesrats [at the request of Emperor Nationalrat can dissolve Bundesrat and forced elections to the Landtags]. Leader of the Nationalrat is called Kanzler and is a Prime Minister of the Empire. Constitution guarantees seats for: Volkskanzler, heir to the throne and archbishops.

List of Imperial Provinces
KaisertumOsterreich.png

 
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