What If Germany didn't Annex Alsace Lorraine after the Franco-Prussian war

Exactly what it says on the tin. What happens if Alsace-Lorraine isn't annexed after the 1871 Franco-Prussian war
 
I disagree. A major part of French revanchism re: Germany was the loss of Alsace-Lorraine.

Not annexing Alsace-Lorraine may actually allow a sort of reconciliation given enough time.
They'd find a new reason.

The Germans didnt take anything from Great Britain yet anti German hysteria started almost as soon as it was unified.
 
I disagree. A major part of French revanchism re: Germany was the loss of Alsace-Lorraine.

Not annexing Alsace-Lorraine may actually allow a sort of reconciliation given enough time.

Im not sure. I remember reading that what France couldnt accept was not the loss of the provinces but its loss of status. Before the war the illusion of the grand nation still existed. After the crushing defeat and the development of the newly unified Germany ment that France had to give up its pretensions.
 
They'd find a new reason.

The Germans didnt take anything from Great Britain yet anti German hysteria started almost as soon as it was unified.

Anti-German hysteria? The British were only concerned about the European balance of power, whether it was the French for hundreds of years or the Germans who were dominant, and later the USSR.

In any case, how the British feel has absolutely no relevance to how the French feel.
 
The concern for the balance of power would still exist. France would just not have an obvious emotional rallying cry for its revanchism.
 
Even if France had issues with Germany, revanchism would be much lower and the drive to find an eastern all, namely Russia, will be significantly reduced.

You also can have major impacts if something similar to the Fachoda incident happens. Without the obvious French need of friendship with Great-Britain, France might instead come closer to Germany to oppose British hegemony in colonial matters. And Germany might actually listen after the death of Bismark (actually the same year as Fachoda).

You might thus see an early XXth century with France and Germany working together, against GB, who won't have another choice but to get closer to Russia, probably at an higher price than in OTL without the French interceding.
 
Anti-German hysteria? The British were only concerned about the European balance of power, whether it was the French for hundreds of years or the Germans who were dominant, and later the USSR.

In any case, how the British feel has absolutely no relevance to how the French feel.
well actually. it did originally I believe part of the Prussian war aim was Luxemburg, the British did not approve and this was one of the reason the Prussians went for A_L with all the consequences
 
well actually. it did originally I believe part of the Prussian war aim was Luxemburg, the British did not approve and this was one of the reason the Prussians went for A_L with all the consequences

There was some discussion (abt 1867 iirc) of France being allowed to purchase Luxembourg from the Dutch KIng, but British disapproval killed it. Afaik the matter never came up in the FPW, if only because it wasn't France's to give.
 
well actually. it did originally I believe part of the Prussian war aim was Luxemburg, the British did not approve and this was one of the reason the Prussians went for A_L with all the consequences
What's the citation for that? I've never heard of that and I've read a fair deal on the Franco-Prussian war. It seems odd, since Luxembourg post-1867 was largely strategically irrelevant, without its great fortifications, and was already under significant German influence. Annexing it seems unlikely to have done much concerning German power to threaten Belgium, as they would realistically, already be able to commandeer its railroads anyway.

There was some discussion (abt 1867 iirc) of France being allowed to purchase Luxembourg from the Dutch KIng, but British disapproval killed it. Afaik the matter never came up in the FPW, if only because it wasn't France's to give.
Which is the difference; France taking it was a serious escalation of the threat to Belgium, especially before the fortifications protecting it were dissolved at the end of that very crisis.
 
NOT annexing the area might have been troublesom for the Prussians. I remember one of the Louis one here being lambasted for not annexing the Austrian Netherlands after the War of Austrian Succession. If the Prussians don't snnex them, there isn't some province to belong 'to the Empire', as Alsace-Lorraine was officially a codominion of sorts. Not annexing the area also means Baden and Bavaria stay on the French border. So you have German nationalists upset, you have the South Germans either less amiable to Prussian pressue due to having the army blocking the French from them or maybe getting pressured at some point by the Austrians and French to go neutral... Hmmm, they probably declared the empire before annexing that land though, didn't they? Still, if the Prussians didn't treat the populace so badly or gave them their own monarch so they didn't have to feel like they were under constant martial law they might have become content Germans.
 
Revanchism is much less of an issue. I'm not saying that France wouldn't want to battle another time, but it would be much less than OTL. Major problems with the early Third Republic, like Boulanger, would be removed, and as a whole, France is more stable.

Germany would still be an issue in Europe, however, and many countries would be concerned, France being one of them. War may very well still break out, but this is very much in the air.
 
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