1.
Prussia
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Prussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and centred on the region of Prussia. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organised, Prussia, with its capital in Königsberg and from 1701 in Berlin, shaped the history of Germany. In 1871, German states united to create the German Empire under Prussian leadership, in November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power during the German Revolution of 1918–19. The Kingdom of Prussia was thus abolished in favour of a republic—the Free State of Prussia, from 1933, Prussia lost its independence as a result of the Prussian coup, when the Nazi regime was successfully establishing its Gleichschaltung laws in pursuit of a unitary state. Prussia existed de jure until its liquidation by the Allied Control Council Enactment No.46 of 25 February 1947. The name Prussia derives from the Old Prussians, in the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights—an organized Catholic medieval military order of German crusaders—conquered the lands inhabited by them. In 1308, the Teutonic Knights conquered the region of Pomerelia with Gdańsk and their monastic state was mostly Germanised through immigration from central and western Germany and in the south, it was Polonised by settlers from Masovia. The Second Peace of Thorn split Prussia into the western Royal Prussia, a province of Poland, and the part, from 1525 called the Duchy of Prussia. The union of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, Prussia entered the ranks of the great powers shortly after becoming a kingdom, and exercised most influence in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 18th century it had a say in many international affairs under the reign of Frederick the Great. During the 19th century, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck united the German principalities into a Lesser Germany which excluded the Austrian Empire. At the Congress of Vienna, which redrew the map of Europe following Napoleons defeat, Prussia acquired a section of north western Germany. The country then grew rapidly in influence economically and politically, and became the core of the North German Confederation in 1867, and then of the German Empire in 1871. The Kingdom of Prussia was now so large and so dominant in the new Germany that Junkers and other Prussian élites identified more and more as Germans and less as Prussians. In the Weimar Republic, the state of Prussia lost nearly all of its legal and political importance following the 1932 coup led by Franz von Papen. East Prussia lost all of its German population after 1945, as Poland, the main coat of arms of Prussia, as well as the flag of Prussia, depicted a black eagle on a white background. The black and white colours were already used by the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Order wore a white coat embroidered with a cross with gold insert
2.
German Empire
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The German Empire was the historical German nation state that existed from the unification of Germany in 1871 to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918, when Germany became a federal republic. The German Empire consisted of 26 constituent territories, with most being ruled by royal families and this included four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory. Although Prussia became one of kingdoms in the new realm, it contained most of its population and territory. Its influence also helped define modern German culture, after 1850, the states of Germany had rapidly become industrialized, with particular strengths in coal, iron, chemicals, and railways. In 1871, it had a population of 41 million people, and by 1913, a heavily rural collection of states in 1815, now united Germany became predominantly urban. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire operated as an industrial, technological, Germany became a great power, boasting a rapidly growing rail network, the worlds strongest army, and a fast-growing industrial base. In less than a decade, its navy became second only to Britains Royal Navy, after the removal of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck by Wilhelm II, the Empire embarked on a bellicose new course that ultimately led to World War I. When the great crisis of 1914 arrived, the German Empire had two allies, Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, however, left the once the First World War started in August 1914. In the First World War, German plans to capture Paris quickly in autumn 1914 failed, the Allied naval blockade caused severe shortages of food. Germany was repeatedly forced to send troops to bolster Austria and Turkey on other fronts, however, Germany had great success on the Eastern Front, it occupied large Eastern territories following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. German declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917 was designed to strangle the British, it failed, but the declaration—along with the Zimmermann Telegram—did bring the United States into the war. Meanwhile, German civilians and soldiers had become war-weary and radicalised by the Russian Revolution and this failed, and by October the armies were in retreat, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire had collapsed, Bulgaria had surrendered and the German people had lost faith in their political system. The Empire collapsed in the November 1918 Revolution as the Emperor and all the ruling monarchs abdicated, and a republic took over. The German Confederation had been created by an act of the Congress of Vienna on 8 June 1815 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848, called Pan-Germanism, to Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarcks pragmatic Realpolitik. He envisioned a conservative, Prussian-dominated Germany, the war resulted in the Confederation being partially replaced by a North German Confederation in 1867, comprising the 22 states north of the Main. The new constitution and the title Emperor came into effect on 1 January 1871, during the Siege of Paris on 18 January 1871, William accepted to be proclaimed Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. The second German Constitution was adopted by the Reichstag on 14 April 1871 and proclaimed by the Emperor on 16 April, the political system remained the same. The empire had a parliament called the Reichstag, which was elected by universal male suffrage, however, the original constituencies drawn in 1871 were never redrawn to reflect the growth of urban areas
3.
Trier
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Trier, formerly known in English as Treves, is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. Trier lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the west of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the border with Luxembourg and within the important Moselle wine region. Founded by the Celts in the late-4th century BC as Treuorum, it was conquered by the Romans in the late-1st century BC. Trier may be the oldest city in Germany and it is also the oldest seat of a bishop north of the Alps. In the Middle Ages, the Archbishop-Elector of Trier was an important prince of the church, the Archbishop-Elector also had great significance as one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire. With an approximate population of 105,000, Trier is the fourth-largest city in its state, after Mainz, Ludwigshafen, the nearest major cities are Luxembourg, Saarbrücken, and Koblenz. It is one of the five places of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. A medieval inscription on the façade of the Red House in Trier market stated, trebetas parents were said to have been Ninus, a legendary King of Assyria invented by the ancient Greeks, and an unknown mother who was Ninuss wife before Semiramis. Semiramis took control of the kingdom upon his fathers death and Trebeta was forced into exile and his body was said to have been cremated on Petrisberg. The historical record describes the Roman Empire subduing the Treveri in the 1st century BC, the name distinguished it from the empires many other cities honoring the first emperor Augustus. The city later became the capital of the province of Belgic Gaul, after the Diocletian Reforms, it became the capital of the prefecture of the Gauls, overseeing much of the Western Roman Empire. In the 4th century, Trier was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire with a population around 75,000, the Porta Nigra dates from this era. A residence of the Western Roman Emperor, Roman Trier was the birthplace of Saint Ambrose, sometime between 395 and 418, probably in 407 the Roman administration moved the staff of the Praetorian Prefecture about 2000 from the city to Arles. The city continued to be inhabited but was not as prosperous as before, northern Gaul was held by the Romans along a line from north of Cologne to the coast at Boulogne through what is today southern Belgium until 460. South of this line, Roman control was firm, as evidenced by the operation of the imperial arms factory at Amiens. The Franks seized Trier from Roman administration in 459, in 870, it became part of Eastern Francia, which developed into the Holy Roman Empire. Relics of Saint Matthias brought to the city initiated widespread pilgrimages, the bishops of the city grew increasingly powerful and the Archbishopric of Trier was recognized as an electorate of the empire, one of the most powerful states of Germany. The University of Trier was founded in the city in 1473, in the 17th century, the Archbishops and Prince-Electors of Trier relocated their residences to Philippsburg Castle in Ehrenbreitstein, near Koblenz
4.
Austro-Prussian War
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This conflict also paralleled the Third Independence War of Italian unification. It saw the abolition of the German Confederation and its replacement by a North German Confederation that excluded Austria. The war also resulted in the Italian annexation of the Austrian province of Venetia, for centuries, Central Europe was split into a few large states and hundreds of tiny entities, each maintaining its independence with the assistance of outside powers, particularly France. After 1815, the German states were again reorganized into a loose confederation. When Austria brought the dispute before the German Diet and also decided to convene the Diet of Holstein, when the German Diet responded by voting for a partial mobilization against Prussia, Bismarck claimed that the German Confederation was ended. Crown Prince Frederick was the member of the Prussian Crown Council to uphold the rights of the Duke of Augustenberg. Although he supported unification and the restoration of the medieval empire, the ultimate aim of most German nationalists was the gathering of all Germans under one state. Two ideas of national unity eventually came to the fore – once including, US newspaper The New York Times summarized its views of German nationalism shortly after the outbreak of the war, There is, in political geography, no Germany proper to speak of. There are Kingdoms and Grand Duchies, and Duchies and Principalities, inhabited by Germans, yet there is a natural undercurrent tending to a national feeling and toward a union of the Germans into one great nation, ruled by one common head as a national unit. Bismarck maintained that he orchestrated the conflict in order to bring about the North German Confederation, the Franco-Prussian War, taylor thinks Bismarck manipulated events into the most beneficial solution possible for Prussia. On 22 February 1866, Count Karolyi, Austrian ambassador in Berlin, sent a dispatch to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, possible evidence can be found in Bismarcks orchestration of the Austrian alliance during the Second Schleswig War against Denmark, which can be seen as his diplomatic masterstroke. It was in the Prussian interest to gain an alliance with Austria to defeat Denmark and settle the issue of the duchies of Schleswig, the alliance can be regarded as an aid to Prussian expansion, rather than a provocation of war against Austria. Many historians believe that Bismarck was simply a Prussian expansionist, rather than a German nationalist and it was at the Gastein Convention that the Austrian alliance was set up to lure Austria into war. The timing of the declaration was perfect, because all other European powers were bound by alliances that forbade them from entering the conflict. Britain had no stake economically or politically in war between Prussia and Austria, the details of the discussion are unknown but many historians think Bismarck was guaranteed French neutrality in the event of a war. Italy was already allied with Prussia, which meant that Austria would be fighting both with no major allies of its own, Bismarck was aware of his numerical superiority but still he was not prepared to advise it immediately even though he gave a favourable account of the international situation. When the Prussian victory became clear, France attempted to extract concessions in the Palatinate. Naturally I was not doubtful of the answer for a second, I answered him, Good, then its war
5.
Franco-Prussian War
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The conflict was caused by Prussian ambitions to extend German unification and French fears of the shift in the European balance of power that would result if the Prussians succeeded. On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on the German Kingdom of Prussia, the German coalition mobilised its troops much more quickly than the French and rapidly invaded northeastern France. The German forces were superior in numbers, had training and leadership and made more effective use of modern technology, particularly railroads. The German states proclaimed their union as the German Empire under the Prussian king Wilhelm I, the Treaty of Frankfurt of 10 May 1871 gave Germany most of Alsace and some parts of Lorraine, which became the Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. French determination to regain Alsace-Lorraine and fear of another Franco-German war, along with British apprehension about the balance of power, the causes of the Franco-Prussian War are deeply rooted in the events surrounding the unification of Germany. In the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Prussia had annexed numerous territories and this new power destabilized the European balance of power established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars. France was strongly opposed to any further alliance of German states, in Prussia, some officials considered a war against France both inevitable and necessary to arouse German nationalism in those states that would allow the unification of a great German empire. Bismarck also knew that France should be the aggressor in the conflict to bring the southern German states to side with Prussia, many Germans also viewed the French as the traditional destabilizer of Europe, and sought to weaken France to prevent further breaches of the peace. The immediate cause of the war resided in the candidacy of Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, France feared encirclement by an alliance between Prussia and Spain. The Hohenzollern princes candidacy was withdrawn under French diplomatic pressure, releasing the Ems Dispatch to the public, Bismarck made it sound as if the king had treated the French envoy in a demeaning fashion, which inflamed public opinion in France. They also argue that he wanted a war to resolve growing domestic political problems, other historians, notably French historian Pierre Milza, dispute this. According to Milza, the Emperor had no need for a war to increase his popularity, the Ems telegram had exactly the effect on French public opinion that Bismarck had intended. This text produced the effect of a red flag on the Gallic bull, gramont, the French foreign minister, declared that he felt he had just received a slap. Napoleons new prime minister, Emile Ollivier, declared that France had done all that it could humanly and honorably do to prevent the war, a crowd of 15–20,000 people, carrying flags and patriotic banners, marched through the streets of Paris, demanding war. On 19 July 1870 a declaration of war was sent to the Prussian government, the southern German states immediately sided with Prussia. The French Army consisted in peacetime of approximately 400,000 soldiers, some of them were veterans of previous French campaigns in the Crimean War, Algeria, the Franco-Austrian War in Italy, and in the Mexican campaign. Under Marshal Adolphe Niel, urgent reforms were made, universal conscription and a shorter period of service gave increased numbers of reservists, who would swell the army to a planned strength of 800,000 on mobilisation. Those who for any reason were not conscripted were to be enrolled in the Garde Mobile, however, the Franco-Prussian War broke out before these reforms could be completely implemented
6.
Battle of Spicheren
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The Battle of Spicheren, also known as the Battle of Forbach, was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War. The German victory compelled the French to withdraw to the defenses of Metz, the Battle of Spicheren, on 5 August, was the second of three critical French defeats. The aging General von Steinmetz made an overzealous, unplanned move and he moved straight toward the town of Spicheren, cutting off Prince Frederick Charles from his forward cavalry units in the process. Moltke was pressing on with the concentration of the Prussian armies and his forces now formed two wings. On the French side, planning after the disaster at Wissembourg had become essential, General Le Bœuf, flushed with anger, was intent upon going on the offensive over the Saar and countering their loss. Therefore, the armies of France would take up a position that would protect against every possible attack point. The aging General Karl von Steinmetz made an overzealous, unplanned move, leading the I army south from his position on the Moselle, he moved straight toward the town of Spicheren, cutting off Prince Frederick Charles from his forward cavalry units in the process. Frossard distributed his corps as follows, holding the right and centre was the division of General Laveaucoupet, deployed along the heights, on the left General Charles Nicolas Vergé’s division occupied Stiring and the Forbach valley. General Bataille’s division was back in reserve around Spicheren, in all, counting the corps cavalry and artillery. While the French army under General MacMahon engaged the German 3rd Army at the Battle of Wörth and he ordered a full attack, committing the 74th and the 39th Regiments of the 27th Brigade under Gen. Bruno von François into the walls of hills running between Spicheren and Forbach. The French were unaware of German numerical superiority at the beginning of the battle as the German 2nd Army did not attack all at once, treating the oncoming attacks as merely skirmishes, Frossard did not request additional support from other units. By the time he realized what kind of a force he was opposing, françoiss attack had stopped cold by one oclock. He would sit and wait for reinforcements, wondering all the while just how many French were in front of him, kamekes 28th Brigade under Wilhelm von Woyna would arrive in the afternoon and bring the battle back to life again, but the Prussian attacks would again be repulsed. Gen. Laveaucoupets 40th Regiment pushed back François badly demoralized surviving troops while Gen. Charles Vergés 2nd Brigade attacked Woynas troops and he assumed overall command and immediately began assessing the situation. Drawn by the sound of battle, more and more Prussian troops kept appearing on the battlefield, alvensleben decided to attack Frossards left flank. If Frossard had pursued these counter-attacks he might have won the battle, but because the reserves had not arrived, Frossard erroneously believed that he was in grave danger of being outflanked as German soldiers under General Adolf von Glümer were spotted in Forbach. Glümers 13th Division had cut the road near Emmersweiler and was laying artillery fire on the railroads. Frossard stopped his successful attack and around 7pm he wired to his superior that he would have to take his forces back to the heights to avoid being flanked, with a combination of overlapping infantry and artillery attacks, the Prussians were able to roll the flank
7.
Battle of Mars-la-Tour
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The Battle of Mars-La-Tour was fought on 16 August 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, near the town of Mars-La-Tour in northeast France. Two Prussian corps encountered the entire French Army of the Rhine in an engagement and. A cavalry patrol, the 1st Squadron of 1st Hanoverian Dragoon Regiment No and they located the French Army near Vionville, east of Mars-la-Tour. Despite being outnumbered more than four to one, III Corps routed the French and captured Vionville, once prevented from retreat, the French inside Metz had no choice but to fight a battle that would see the last major cavalry engagement in Western Europe. On 16 August 1870, the French could have swept away the key Prussian defense, two Prussian corps attacked the French advance guard, believing that it was the rearguard of the retreat of the French Army of the Meuse. Despite this misjudgment, the two Prussian corps held the entire French army for the whole day, the extraordinary confidence and tenacity of the Prussians prevailed over Bazaines gross indecision. This was a battle, where the individual unit commanders. Desperate street fighting ensued in the town, with losses for both sides. Prussian infantry tried to overrun the French positions, but the French held them off, the Prussians were outnumbered four to one, but Bazaine never recognized this fact. He failed to send in his force, while the Prussians committed every man. With the invaluable advantage of immense self-confidence, the Prussians held on, the Battle of Mars-La-Tour is also notable for one of the very last successful cavalry charges of modern warfare. Noting that it will cost what it will, von Bredow took his time to organize the brigade, consisting of the 7th Cuirassiers, 19th Dragoons, and 16th Uhlans. Having silenced the French artillery, neutralized the French cavalry, and panicked the French infantry, von Bredows brigade managed to extricate itself, of the 800 horsemen who had started out, only 420 returned. Among the wounded from the 12th Brigade was Lieutenant Herbert von Bismarck, the battle was a strategic victory for the Prussians. Bazaine had failed to make it to Verdun, in a short time, the Prussians trapped Bazaine in the city, and the siege of Metz ensued. Von Bredows death ride was perhaps the last successful cavalry charge in Western European warfare, hornchurch Wargames Club Official Home Page. Der Deutsch- Französische Krieg/The German- French War 1870 /1871, archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Comptons Home Library, Battles of the World CD-ROM
8.
Battle of Gravelotte
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The Battle of Gravelotte on 18 August 1870 was the largest battle during the Franco-Prussian War, named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine between Metz and the former French–German frontier. The battlefield extended from the woods border the Moselle above Metz to Roncourt. Other villages which played an important part in the battle of Gravelotte were Saint Privat, Amanweiler or Amanvillers and Sainte-Marie-aux-Chênes, the combined German forces, under Field Marshal von Moltke, were the Prussian First and Second Armies of the North German Confederation. The French Army of the Rhine, commanded by Marshal Bazaine, dug in along high ground with their left flank at the town of Rozerieulles. On 18 August, the battle began when at 08,00 Moltke ordered the First, by 12,00, General Manstein opened up the battle before the village of Amanvillers with artillery from the Hessian 25th Infantry Division. But the French had spent the night and early morning digging trenches and rifle pits while placing their artillery, finally aware of the Prussian advance, the French opened up a massive return fire against the mass of advancing Germans. The battle at first appeared to favor the French with their superior Chassepot rifle, however, the Prussian artillery was superior with the all-steel Krupp breech-loading gun. At 15,00, the guns of the VII and VIII Corps opened fire to support the attack. But by 16,00, with the attack in danger of stalling, Steinmetz ordered the VII Corps forward, at 17,15, the Prussian 4th Guards Infantry Brigade joined the advance followed at 17,45 by the Prussian 1st Guards Infantry Brigade. All of the Prussian Guard attacks were pinned down by lethal French gunfire from the rifle pits, by 18,30, a considerable portion of the VII and VIII Corps disengaged from the fighting and withdrew towards the Prussian positions at Rezonville. With the defeat of the First Army, Prince Frederick Charles ordered an artillery attack against Canroberts position at St. Privat to prevent the Guards attack from failing too. At 20,00, the arrival of the Prussian 4th Infantry Division of the II Corps and with the Prussian right flank on Mance Ravine, the line stabilised. By then, the Prussians of the 1st Guards Infantry Division, with the Prussians exhausted from the fighting, the French were now able to mount a counter-attack. General Bourbaki, however, refused to commit the reserves of the French Old Guard to the battle because, by that time, by 22,00, firing largely died down across the battlefield for the night. The battle was a Prussian and Hessian strategic victory in that it succeeded in blocking Bazaines way to Verdun, in a short time the Prussians trapped Bazaine in the city and the siege of Metz ensued. The casualties were severe, especially for the attacking Prussian forces, casualties for the combined Prussian and Hessian force were 20,163 troops killed, wounded or missing in action during the 18 August battle. The French losses were 7,855 killed and wounded along with 4,420 prisoners of war, while most of the Prussians fell to the French Chassepot rifle, most French fell under the Prussian Krupp shells. Losses of the Prussian Guards Corps were even more staggering, with 8,000 casualties out of 18,000 men, the Guards Jäger Battalion lost 19 officers, a surgeon and 431 men killed, wounded, or missing out of a total of 700
9.
Siege of Metz (1870)
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The Siege of Metz lasting from 19 August –27 October 1870 was fought during the Franco-Prussian War and ended in a decisive Prussian victory. After being held at the Battle of Gravelotte, Marshal Bazaine retreated into the defenses of Metz, there he was besieged by over 150,000 Prussian troops of the First and Second Armies on 19 August. The French attempted to break the siege first at Noisseville and again at Bellevue but were repulsed each time, napoleon III and MacMahon formed the new French Army of Châlons, to march on to Metz to rescue Bazaine. Napoleon III personally led the army with Marshal MacMahon in attendance, the Army of Châlons marched north-east towards the Belgian border to avoid the Prussians before striking south to link up with Bazaine. The Prussians, under the command of Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke and he left the Prussian First and Second Armies besieging Metz, except three corps detached to form the Army of the Meuse under the Crown Prince of Saxony. With this army and the Prussian Third Army, Moltke marched northward, after a sharp fight in which they lost 5,000 men and 40 cannons, the French withdrew toward Sedan. Having reformed in the town, the Army of Châlons was immediately isolated by the converging Prussian armies, napoleon III ordered the army to break out of the encirclement immediately. With MacMahon wounded on the day, General Auguste Ducrot took command of the French troops in the field. The Army of Châlons was trapped and destroyed at the Battle of Sedan, Bazaine was forced to surrender his entire army on 27 October because of starvation. The Prussians offered the honors of war to the defeated French army, Prince Prince Friedrich Karl and the Prussian Second Army were now free to move against the French force in the Loire River area. The siege is commemorated by the Siegesmarsch von Metz which uses parts of the Die Wacht am Rhein, one notable figure present on the Prussian side was the prominent philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who served as a medical attendant. Nietzsche contracted both diphtheria and dysentery during the siege, worsening his already poor state of health
