Why ? It seems to me that Bismarck made sure that it was France which declared war on him in order to win it, and played on union against the enemy to annex the duchies of the south. He did the same against Denmark and Austria to annex the northern duchies. I find that logical with the bonuses offered.
My proposal for a new leader for Germany
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Why ? It seems to me that Bismarck made sure that it was France which declared war on him in order to win it, and played on union against the enemy to annex the duchies of the south. He did the same against Denmark and Austria to annex the northern duchies. I find that logical with the bonuses offered.
aieeegrunt
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He was reuniting a fragmented Germany and had no territorial ambitions beyond that
He was AGAINST the annexation of Alsace Lorraine, against Germany aquiring overseas colonies etc
Maybe he was against it but he ended up doing it. And then, the German annexation side is represented in the game by the necessary proximity between the city-states and the cities of Bismarck if he wants to be able to annex them. Afterwards, it is a game so you have to know how to create a consensus between reality and an original and pleasant game experience.
He didn't want Austria not because it wasn't German but because Bavaria and Austria being much closer to each other (in dialect, religion, and culture) than they were to the other German states could form an extremely powerful bloc against Prussia. Bavaria barely considered themselves part of the German Empire till WWI, they didn't even send a representative to Wilhelm I coronation rather just a letter. Imagine what they would do with Austria in that empire as well?
Yep. Germany was going to be unified by Prussia or it was going to be unified by Austria, and Bismarck was quite determined it was going to be Prussia--which meant excluding Austria.
Boris Gudenuf
Deity
For another example of the 'separatism' of Bavaria, right up to the end of World War One Bavarian units maintained separate designations and were administered and recruited separately from the rest of the German Imperial Army
Duke William of Normandy
King of England & Unofficial Welcoming Committee
On a separate note, I feel as if there was one area where Bismarck messed up hard. Instead of pursuing an alliance with Russia, which was very much within the realm of possibility, he pursues one with Austria-Hungary. With Russia, Germany could have been the dominant power in Europe, due to the Russians having so much Manpower. Also, relatively speaking, Russian military officers were more competent than Austria-Hungary's. I'm looking at you, Hotzendorf. Then again, this is only my opinion and I could be wrong.
You're mistaking the intent of Bismarck's alliance system. His purpose was to 1) exclude Britain from Continental affairs, 2) keep peace on the Continent by ensuring that any major power that declared war on any other major power would be entirely alone and 3) isolate France. Worth noting that France and Russia were allies, which is the chief reason Bismarck excluded Russia. Then Wilhelm II came along and said, "We can't honor all these alliances! Let's drop some of them." World War I commenced promptly thereafter.
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Duke William of Normandy
King of England & Unofficial Welcoming Committee
I knew something was wrong.You're mistaking the intent of Bismarck's alliance system. His purpose was to 1) exclude Britain from Continental affairs, 2) keep peace on the Continent by ensure that any major power that declared war on any other major power would be entirely alone and 3) isolate France. Worth noting that France and Russia were allies, which is the chief reason Bismarck excluded Russia. Then Wilhelm II came along and said, "We can't honor all these alliances! Let's drop some of them." World War I commenced promptly thereafter.
aieeegrunt
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If you think that is bad, in the wake of the Boer War when it became clear that Splendid Isolation wouldn’t cut it Great Britain made several attempts at some sort of alliance with Germany that kept getting torpedoed Because Muh High Seas Fleet.
This was back when Britain’s “natural enemies” were still felt to be France and Russia.
All that really needed to happen was Frederick III not dying of cancer
Now picture WWI as being Britain, Germany and Austria vs France and Russia
This was back when Britain’s “natural enemies” were still felt to be France and Russia.
All that really needed to happen was Frederick III not dying of cancer
Now picture WWI as being Britain, Germany and Austria vs France and Russia
Boris Gudenuf
Deity
Short war, at least for France . . .
aieeegrunt
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The most likely way this goes is Germany sits behind the defensive line around Metz, France Plan 17 itself to death against rough terraign Germany has been fortifying for 40 years.
Meanwhile Germany and Austria tag team and crush Russia while the Royal Navy blockade causes the economies of France and Russia to implode
You get a similar result in OTL if Germany doesnt invade Belgium.
It is truly impressive how Wilhelmine Germany somehow found the only strategy that guarenteed it’s own defeat
I don't know. Wilson would of found a way to jump in on someone's side.
It was Wilhelm's secret talent: always choose the worst of all possible outcomes.
He would have, but almost certainly on the side of Britain.
Boris Gudenuf
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Read Robert Citino's The German Way of War, one of several books he's written on the general subject: it was simply not possible for the German/Prussian military to 'sit behind' any defensive line as a strategy. Ever since the Great Elector and the 1650s they had always attacked, trying to end the war quickly. German military history, in fact, is full of army, corps or division commanders who disobeyed orders and attacked, sometimes disastrously, who were never condemned for their aggressive action, because aggressive action was the Default Mode for a German commander at all levels.
Also, Germans/Prussians had been fighting in the east (Poland and further) since 1807: they knew perfectly well how difficult it was to sustain an offensive on the more primitive road and rail network there. It was only after the attack on France collapsed in 1914 that they started considering an offensive in the east, and then even with substantial superiority in firepower and mobility it took them 3 years to drive Russia to collapse. No German commander or government had ever planed for a multi-year war: it simply wasn't part of their strategic thinking or mind-set.
Duke William of Normandy
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Woodrow Wilson is a reminder that naïveté may be a charming quality in a private citizen but an extremely dangerous one in a holder of high office.
aieeegrunt
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A liberal Anglophile Kaiser allied to Great Britain is not going to invade Belgium, and the Alsace Lorraine border is both bad terrain, not large enough for manouver, and both sides have heavily fortified it.
He will however, be pretty enthusiastic about putting a smackdown on a despotic Evil Empire that his British pals consider a major threat.
I have no idea where this idea that Germans are frothing Leeroy Jenkins rabid orcs is coming from. Strategically yes, Germany preferrs short decisive wars, but both world as well as many other wars show Germany is more than capable of fighting defensively when neccessary. I’m a military history nerd from an old Prussian military Junker family and this is news to me.
In OTL the Schliefflen plan had a “go east instead” option that was updated yearly the same way Schliefflen’s absolute stupidity was, it was absolutly a viable strategic option
Wilhelm II actually ordered the Schiefflen plan abandoned and the “Go east” option adopted instead once it became clear that Belgium was the issue that would either bring Great Britain into the war or keep it out
He was talked out of it by Moltke The Younger, Lesser And Incompetent because Moltke didn’t want to have to do the extra staff work and outright lied that it couldn’t be done.
That, right there is the most significant butterfly of the 20th century. If Wilhelm had stuck to his guns Germany would have won WWI
It's a sad day when someone is more incompetent than Wilhelm.
Duke William of Normandy
King of England & Unofficial Welcoming Committee
Conrad von Hotzendorf and Luigi Cadorna:It's a sad day when someone is more incompetent than Wilhelm.
