The Kaiser is Dead. Long Live the Kaiser
June 2nd, 1914


Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin, Germany.



The newly crowned Kaiser Heinrich of Germany stands solemnly alone above his father's tomb. His father had ruled Germany for over twenty-six years. His reign had seen reform, family betrayal, and a failed coup, which could've thrust Germany into civil war or dissolve the newly unified state.

Not far from where his father lay was the tomb of his grandfather Kaiser Wilhelm I. Heinrich remembered the day they put his grandfather to rest in the palace. His father and grandfather had been nearly opposites in both personality and political philosophy. Wilhelm I had always been a very stern, very conservative man, and had ruled that way. Frederick was an aspired to liberalize all of Germany. Despite an early, and by all accounts, a successful military career in the wars against France and Austria, Frederick had always expressed his disdain for war. Fredrick had been enticed by the wave of liberalism that had spread in West Germany during the mid-1800s and studied at the liberal University of Bonn. His wife Princess Victoria, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria of England, had solidified his beliefs even further. She had a very strong impact on her husband’s beliefs and is likely the reason Heinrich had modeled the constitution of 1891 on that of Britain’s Constitutional Monarchy. Together they were perhaps the most liberal royal couple in continental Europe. When his grandfather Wilhelm Germany gained the most liberal monarchs in Europe.

Heinrich thought back on the day of his father’s coronation, and the look of disdain on his elder brother Wilhelm face. A few months later, as his energetic Father laid out his vision for a more liberal Germany Wilhelm, Wilhelm had said to him “Our grandfather had united the German peoples under Prussia. He had fought for our place in the sun and had won it. Now our father may lead us back into darkness, so that neither you nor I may continue grandfather’s vision.” At the time Heinrich had thought little of his brother’s remarks. He had known the relationship between his brother and his parents had strained in recent years, however, Wilhelm's later actions would seem inconceivable at the time.

“Your Majesty” Prime Minister Richter stood behind. “My apologies for disturbing you at a time like this, but I’m afraid we have urgent matters to discuss.

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(Tomb of Kaiser Fredrick I)
 
So, in short the POD is Frederick III surviving more and Willy shooting on his foot attempting to make a reactionary coup? Sign me up.
 
The German Nightmare
Prime Minister Richter stood in the room patiently waiting as Kaiser Heinrich read the message. Another royal death had occurred a week after his fathers. The man next in line for the Austrian-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand has been assassinated in Vienna. Worst of all the men responsible were German.

Relations with the Austria-Hungary had deteriorated since the end of the short-lived “Triple Alliance.” The alliance was formed under his conservative grandfather Wilhelm I, Franz Joseph, and Umberto I of Italy, fell apart not long after Fredrick took the throne. Fredrick and the Austria-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph could not stand to be in the same room. Privately each would throw insults at each other with the Fredrick referring to him as “The Emperor of goats” due to his facial hair, and his counterpart would often state that Fredrick was a “weak fool.” Reasons for Franz Joseph’s distaste for Fredrick then went from personal to political. Fredrick’s liberal reforms had inadvertently made liberalism more popular among the Austrian-Hungarian elites. It was rumored that there were some liberal Austrians that even supported the idea of ending the Hapsburg dynasty and unifying Austria with Germany. A rumor that later became widespread centered around a private dinner Crown Prince Wilhelm had with Franz Joseph. During which they had shared their disdain for the wave of liberalism in Germany, and afterward The Emperor, it’s said, told the Crown Prince “If certain events were to occur which causes you to ascend to the throne at a sooner time, you may expect my gratitude.”

After recovering from an illness that plagued him during his first hundred days as Kaiser, Heinrich’s father had been quick to initiate reforms across Germany. Fredrick had introduced anti-clerical measures against the Catholic Church, forced many Junkers to resign once it became known that they were interfering in elections, and increased the powers of the Reichstag. All of these reforms culminated in the constitution of 1893 which decreased Prussia’s overrepresentation within the Reichstag and reduced the role of the Monarch to the head of the military and of foreign relations. The latter was shared with the Reichstag.

A month before the new constitution would be ratified, a group of Junkers led by Crown Prince Wilhelm and former minister of the interior Robert Vikter von Puttkamer were on a verge of enacting a coup to put Wilhelm on the thrown and reverse the liberal reforms of his father. They had convinced a number of officers within the military to join them and then approached the conservative Chancellor Bismarck to convince him or if necessary force him to support them. What had happened next is still unclear. While Bismarck had apparently told the conspirators he would support them, he did nothing of the sort and later claimed he was planning on informing Fredrick of the plan before crushing the would-be usurpers. However just an hour before the conspirators had met with Bismarck. One military officer involved in the coup, Joseph Mayer had a change of heart. While adamantly opposed to the liberal reforms, Joseph had personally served under Kaiser Fredrick himself during the Franco-Prussian war. He claimed as a staunch Lutheran he feared such betrayal would damn his soul in the eyes of God and men. More likely though he had his doubts the coup would succeed and wanted to be exonerated of any wrongdoings. Joseph went to Chief of General Staff Alfred von Schlieffen and informed him of the coup. Schlieffen acted quickly. By the day’s end Puttkamer had been arrested and the search was on for the other conspirators. Upon learning of the Puttkamer’s arrest Wilhelm became frantic. He railed against his fellow conspirators. In a burst of anger he shot an officer in the leg who blamed Wilhelm for their failure. Before he could be arrested he managed to escape Berlin disguised as a pork merchant. He then fled to Vienna. Fredrick too became furious. He promptly condemned and disowned Wilhelm publicly stating “Wilhelm is no son of mine, nor one of Germany’s.” In private though Heinrich knew how this brought tremendous sorrow to both his father and mother. The evening after his father’s public statement he saw his father weep while holding a small wooden gun that had been Wilhelm’s as a young boy.

While free from any convictions following the coup attempt, the now 78-year-old Bismarck was asked to resign. As a reward for his loyalty, Fredrick gave the office of Chancellor to General Schlieffen. Wilhelm’s exile to Vienna was the final blow that splintered the Triple Alliance and ended any friendly relations between the German and Austria-Hungarian Empires.

The end of the alliance had grave diplomatic consequences. Germany had lost its only ally on continental Europe and in the process relations between the Russians and Austrians began to lighten up. Like his Austrian counterpart Tsar Nicholas had held German Liberalism with contempt. The Tsar occasionally hosted his cousin and self-proclaimed exiled “Kaiser” Wilhelm II, which made relations with Germany even more strained. Sometime in 1898 Russia and Austria-Hungary made a series of secret agreements on how to divide the Balkans when Ottomans inevitably lose their power in the area. When the Balkan War broke out in 1912 between the Ottomans and The Balkan League (Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro) Russia and Austria-Hungary moved quickly to ensure the region became divided as they wanted. With aims toward expanding in the Middle-East, France got involved 6 months into the war. The conflict was over in less than a year and resulted in the total collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Vienna empowered all the great European powers except for Germany and Great Britain. Austria-Hungary cemented their control of Bosnia, the states of Albania and Macedonia partitioned, the League seized all Ottoman lands in Europe, France received the territories in the Levant, and Russia installed a puppet government to rule the newly created the Free City of Constantinople, giving them control of the Bosporus Strait. In addition to the partition agreements Franz Joseph agreed to have better treatment of Slavs within the empire and increased rights for the Orthodox church. After the treaty of Vienna, Russia, France, and Austria signed the Triple Entente agreement in which they would come to each other’s aid should war ever arise with Germany. The Triple Entente was Germany’s greatest nightmare. Enemies to the East and South had just joined with their rival to the west. France was still bitter from their defeat in the German-Franco War and would jump at any opportunity to have its vengeance against the German Empire.

The letter claimed they were associated with the Progressive National Liberal Party (PNL). Heinrich thought this unlikely. The PNL was the 2nd largest liberal party in Germany. While they have expressed their support for the creation of a pans-Germanic state, they believe it can be accomplished through diplomacy. The PNL is not in the business of funding political assassinations. More likely, it was done by Anarchists. The Austrians would not be convinced. The letter ends with them demanding all members of the PNL be suspended from government and an Austrian investigation to be allowed into Germany. Heinrich knew such a demand could never be met.

He put the letter down and turned to face his prime minister. “We cannot allow the investigation” Richter insisted. A brief silence then ensued. Both men knew the implication if Germany refused. “Contact the foreign office immediately," Heinrich said. "We must send an urgent message to my cousin in Britain, and to our friend Mr. Roosevelt.”
 
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Wow. A Great War coming in. Germany was definitely surronded by the Entente. Italy might be an ally to fight against Austria (Give them Trieste and all matters is done). I see that Britain will keep Germany as they don't want a powerful France. US I'm a little bit skeptical because Willson is a bit anti German.
 
It seems the war will be Germany+Britain vs A-H, Russia and France. Germany has to play this defensively. France must be contained to a short front while the bulk of the German forces move to the East. This seems unwinnable for the Germans. Even with their superior forces, the vast numerical advantage the their enemies have is near unbeatable.
 
Interesting start. I'm curious how the ensuing war will play out. Anything like the Schlieffen Plan will of course be out of the window if Germany want Britain on their side. That means they will probably hold a defensive position in the West, and try to defend the relatively narrow border where they most likely have built solid defenses. On the other hand, with Britain on Germany's side, France could be tempted to violate Belgium's neutrality if they can't force their way through the Alsace-Lorraine defenses. In theory going through Belgium could bring them straight into the industrial heartland of Germany.

The eastern/southern front however is an absolute nightmare for Germany. The border stretches on forever and it's impossible to defend everywhere. I'd say pushing straight for Vienna could make sense, in the hopes of kicking the Austrians out of the war quickly. If the Austrian troops are not significantly more capable than OTL this might work, though in theory the Austrians have enough space to fall back to even after Vienna falls. The Germans could also try to make common cause with Hungarian elements. Maybe the concessions Austria gave to Russia regarding treatment of Slavs doesn't sit well with them, as there's large Slav minority in the Kingdom of Hungary.

Italy is also interesting. In theory they should definitely on Germany/Britains side. They of course want Trentino, Trieste, South Tyrol and maybe even some of the Dalmatian coast from Austria-Hungary. In France there's Nice and Savoy that were given away in 1860, which is not a priority but at least some elements in Italy would like to have back. There's also Corsica and maybe some French colonial possessions that Italy might fancy under the right circumstances. Overall joining the War on Germany's side makes more sense, as there's nothing to gain in fighting them. Of course they might want to see how the war plays out at first, so as not to be crushed by France and Austria instantly.
 
Well while Wilson OTL was anti-German, not necessarily has to be hostile with TTL Germany, I think a light over the TTL events in China (Boxers, but also Russian-Japanese war) may be interesting to see a potential US-German better relation.

Also events like the Moroccan crisis and others which may happened or not could have played differently for Germany...

Besides, without Willy the treaty of Russian-German reinsurance shouldn't be still in vigour?
 
Interesting start. I'm curious how the ensuing war will play out. Anything like the Schlieffen Plan will of course be out of the window if Germany want Britain on their side. That means they will probably hold a defensive position in the West, and try to defend the relatively narrow border where they most likely have built solid defenses. On the other hand, with Britain on Germany's side, France could be tempted to violate Belgium's neutrality if they can't force their way through the Alsace-Lorraine defenses. In theory going through Belgium could bring them straight into the industrial heartland of Germany.
Problem is, cracking those defenses isn't easy. Germany had to custom cast cannons and such, plus well....

Yes, it bypasses your enemy's defenses. It also kills off foreign support, meaning no US loans or aid.
 
Edit: I forgot about Mr. Roosevelt.

Nice start by the way
Thanks!

Originally I was going to keep Wilson, but having Roosevelt as President will just make the story that more interesting. Also it's interesting to note that Teddy and Heinrich met in the OTL, when Prince Henry visited the US.
 
Thanks!

Originally I was going to keep Wilson, but having Roosevelt as President will just make the story that more interesting. Also it's interesting to note that Teddy and Heinrich met in the OTL, when Prince Henry visited the US.

Because u reply. I have a question.

Does Roosevelt in 1914 was on its third term?



PS. I'm now thinking about Reverse Schiefflen (France attacks Germany from Belgium and Netherlands)
 
A Friend Across the Pond
It had been 2 years since Heinrich had written to an American President. The last letter had coincided with unfortunate circumstances. The year 1912 was not a good year for the presidency of the United States. Within a span of 12 months, America would see 4 presidents. As someone aspired the idea of personal diplomacy he felt written letters to world leaders were more effective than messages sent via the much quicker telegram. As fate would have it, Taft’s assistant gave him the letter on his last evening on this Earth. Around 10 pm on March 12th, 1912 a servant in the white house noticed water flowing under the door of the Presidential Bathroom. When she opened the door, she became petrified. President Howard Taft was dead in his own enormous `bathtub, with Heinrich’s letter lying in a puddle of water by it. Apparently, as Taft was reading the letter when he suffered a heart attack, which caused him to sink in his tub and drown. The letter contained nothing of note that would give someone great distress and was worded in the most diplomatic of terms. The letter discussed the possibility of the prince visiting the US again and then mentions a minor naval dispute off the coast of Panama. That did not stop the papers in America from speculating. Anti-German sentiment rose through stories base on a farce that the prince of Germany had written a letter so shocking that it gave their president a heart attack. One paper even suggested that the Germans for may have poisoned the letter. Thankfully after reading the letter personally President Sherman, who succeeded Taft as his vice president, rebuked the claims made by the papers. Sherman too would die later that year just days before the American election, succumbing to Bright’s disease. This left the office of the Presidency to Nicholas Murray Butler who held the office for less than 5 months.

A silver lining among the chaos across the pond was Heinrich’s friend Teddy Roosevelt once again becoming president of the United States by winning the election of 1912. Heinrich had maintained a correspondence with Roosevelt since his first visit to America in 1902. Along with more official diplomatic matters, they also discussed their shared interests in naval history and did so in Heinrich’s native German. When Roosevelt visited Germany in 1910 Heinrich gave put on the display of a Prussian style military parade in his honor.

Now with war likely on the horizon, Heinrich hopes his friendship with the American President will pay off as Germany faces enemies from all sides.

Prince Henry meeting with President Roosevelt in New York 1902
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A Pro-German president is nice to have for Germany. Also, with Britain (potentially) on Germany's side, there's no need for unrestricted submarine warfare. Still, I'm not convinced it's enough for an actual alliance with the US. With public opinion being anti-German, neutrality seems the most prudent policy. Unless of course France/Austria/Russia have major diplomatic blunders, e.g. their own version of the Zimmermann Telegram or the Lusitania.
 
This seems like it can either make the world a better place or a fiery hell. Definitely will be following, keep up the great updates.
 
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