Prologue Part 1, The Belligerents: The German Empire
“The Proclamation of the German Empire” - Anton von Werner 1885, Wikipedia
The German Empire did not even exist on January 1 1871.
Three weeks later the German Empire was the most powerful country in all of Europe.
Prior to that point in history the geographical area that would become Germany was a confederation of 39 states. Following the 1815 defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, a war torn Europe decided that they had enough of France, its revolutionary ideas and its war mongering former emperor. To put a check on its neighbor it was generally agreed that a stable German Confederation, under the presidency of the state of Austria, with the powerful state of Prussia included, would work well to discourage future aggression from France.
The Industrial Revolution was slow to come to the federation. Once it arrived, along with the Railroad Revolution of the 1840’s, the prosperity of the region accelerated rapidly. The population grew 60% from 1815 to 1865, agriculture was reorganized and made more efficient and manufacturing developed quickly.
Alongside industrial and economic prosperity came political unrest within the German Confederation. Political and social disorder generated discontent among the population, with large numbers emigrating to the United States in order to escape the suppression of dissent.
In 1862 Prussian King William I selected Otto von Bismarck as chancellor for the federation. Determined to solidify alliances across Europe to both increase the influence of Prussia, as well as keeping France contained, Bismarck worked to further consolidate the German states under Prussian control while also working to weaken rival state Austria. By 1866 Bismarck had worked to replace the German Confederation with the North German Federation. Prussia lead this new federation of states, while Austria was excluded. The next year Austria would split into the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. While continuing as an alley of the North German Federation, Austria-Hungary would remain in a permanent subordinate role.
As they watched the North German Federation continue to accumulate power, power which they believed would quickly threaten their own security, France declared war on Prussia on July 16 1870. Three days later France invaded German territory and the Franco-Prussian War was underway. The Germans were more than ready for the challenge, with a superior number of better trained soldiers as well as the effective use of their industry and railroad network.
While the war officially lasted just over 6 months, the September 1 Battle of Sedan was the decisive event. At Sedan the French suffered 38,000 casualties (killed/wounded/captured) compared to the German 9000 casualties. French Emperor Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, surrendered to the Germans the next day and was taken prisoner along with 104,000 French soldiers. During the Siege of Paris, on January 18 1871 in the Palace of Versailles, the German Empire was proclaimed and Prussian King William I was named Emperor. The now unified states of Germany were immediately one of the most powerful countries in the world. Bismarck remained as chancellor. The Treaty of Frankfurt on May 10 1871 gave Germany the French territories of Alsace and Lorraine, a wound from which pain would be keenly felt by the French for the next 43 years.
The German Empire continued to prosper. Their economy grew and the population continued to increase. But Bismarck saw the potential for trouble on the horizon. Although beaten in the Franco-Prussian War, France remained a powerful country of its own and wasn’t going anywhere. Directly on the western border it was a constant worry to the new German Empire. Of equal concern was the massive Russian Empire on Germany’s eastern border. Bismarck worked tirelessly in order to avoid the possibility of an alliance between France and Russia. In the event of war, with France and Russia allied, the German Empire would be forced to fight for its every survival on two fronts at the same time. This alliance needed to be prevented!
Kaiser Wilhelm II, photo Wikipedia
In 1888, Emperor William I died, as did his son Frederick III 3 months later. Frederick’s son, Wilhelm II became Emperor at the age of 29. A reckless and erratic man, Kaiser Wilhelm wanted influence over every decision made by the German government. He believed that his country was destined for greatness, but often felt that the old empires of Europe were not treating the Germans, and himself, with the respect he felt was deserved. The Kaiser would flip back and forth between personal feelings of inadequacy and the sense of himself as a completely competent and capable leader. No longer interested in advice from the old man who had guided the fortunes of the empire for nearly 30 years, the Kaiser forced Chancellor Bismarck into retirement in 1890.
“Dropping the Pilot” - John Tenniel 1890, Wikipedia
Immediately following Bismarck’s departure, Russia asked for a renewal of the Reinsurance Treaty between the empires of Russia and Germany. This treaty stated that the two countries would observe a “benevolent neutrality” should they get involved in the war with a third country. The Kaiser, believing in his personal ability as a diplomat and in his friendship with Tsar Alexander III of Russia, refused to renew the treaty.
In 1894 France and Russia entered into the alliance that Bismarck most feared.
In 1905 a crisis provoked by the Kaiser in Morocco nearly brought the German Empire into war with both France and Britain.
European tension was growing and, surrounded on all sides by potentially hostile forces, the German Empire needed a plan. Chief of the Imperial German Army General Staff, Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen began to work. As Schlieffen developed and refined his strategy, a strategy to keep the German Empire secure if war ended up being unavoidable, the powder keg in Europe continued to grow.
Alfred von Schlieffen died in January 1913. 18 months later, Gavrilo Princip lit a match and threw it into that powder keg. As Otto von Bismarck said in 1888, “One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.”
Next up - Prologue Part 2, The Belligerents: France
