Long live the Kaiser

easiest way to liberate earlier would be have the Hapsburgs and not he Prussians dominate after Napoleon. Or have them win the war of the Third Coalition. That wouldn't be "long live the Kaiser" though.
 
I meant "unify" but I still stand it's easier to have a Hapsburg raise than a Prussian one if you really want earlier. Go back all the way to the War of Austrian Succession and if the Austrians keep their Italian lands, they might have enough money and manpower for later wars.
 
Two ideas (out of many possible ones):
1848: Frederick Wilhelm IV accepts the "crown from the gutter" (quite unlikely, probably a different Prussian king is needes together with more pragmatical rebels and more defeats for Austria).

xiii century: the Hohenstaufen get a bit more lucky and manage to make the title of HRE or at leasf that of Rex Germanorum an hereditary one. Gradually the royal/imperial demesne expands and Germany ends up evolving like France. The Spain-Burgundy-Austria-Hungary chimera never sees the light.
 
The Burgundy-Austria-Hungary Chimera can slowly go from feudal kingdoms into a modern state is Rex Germanorum is a hereditary crown. It didn't, but just remember real life England and Scotland to get a picture if what they can do if royal demense expands
 
1848: Frederick Wilhelm IV accepts the "crown from the gutter" (quite unlikely, probably a different Prussian king is needes together with more pragmatical rebels and more defeats for Austria).
You know, I do wonder how well this would work as a PoD -- is it plausible, with preceding events being roughly as OTL, for Frederick Wilhelm IV to accept the imperial crown from the Frankfurt National Assembly, in April of 1849? I've heard that at least a few of the king's conservative aristocratic advisers were encouraging him to accept, so might it be within the realm of possibility?
 
You know, I do wonder how well this would work as a PoD -- is it plausible, with preceding events being roughly as OTL, for Frederick Wilhelm IV to accept the imperial crown from the Frankfurt National Assembly, in April of 1849? I've heard that at least a few of the king's conservative aristocratic advisers were encouraging him to accept, so might it be within the realm of possibility?

Or FW4 dies/abdicates, Wilhelm I refuses to climb down at Olmutz, and you get an Austro-Prussian War in 1850. Then you get a Germany united under either Prussia or Austria depending which side wins.
 

Deleted member 97083

@Mario posted an interesting thread about this.

I would like to discuss the possibility of the creation of a German Empire which would mirror the Napoleonic French Empire at his time.

Let's say that Napoleonic ideals succeed 'too much than expected' in the German states during the Napoleonic occupation (by 1805-1810) and a German analogue to Napoleon takes advantage of the situation and takes control of Prussia, Austria and the Confederation of the Rhine, scrapping the pre-existing royal houses (Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns etc.).

This might have the bless of Napoleon at the beginning, but when the French realize that their German partner is encompassing too much power and could threat the French interests is just too late: the clash between the sister regimes is unavoidable and the German manages to crush Napoleon forces, occupying a good bunch of their territory (and some of their puppet states) before the final capitulation.

Result: a big German Empire which follows the Napoleonic ideals, centralized, highly militarized; a French rump state which depends on his former partner and lot of satellite countries. Russia receives many territories (East Poland, Galizia...) and other concessions in order to accept the new scenario; UK is unable to fight alone the new continental hyperpower.

nappy-png.342301
 
Or FW4 dies/abdicates, Wilhelm I refuses to climb down at Olmutz, and you get an Austro-Prussian War in 1850. Then you get a Germany united under either Prussia or Austria depending which side wins.

Probably Austria (by a hair), since AFAIK Wilhelm hadn't had the chance to implement his military reforms before Bismarck came onto the scene. Of course, if Prussia loses territory/influence to that "doddering fool" (as Wilhelm II described Franz Josef) or still worse to the simple knüdelkaiser (Ferdinand), expect a rematch at some point in the not-too-distant future.
 
Top