Germany (Dutch Superpower)

The German Empire is a union of states in central europe that is made up of several independent monarchies and republics that was formed in the aftermath of the franco-prussian war in 1871. It is a staunch ally of the anglo-dutch union and a major player in world politics and an economic superpower. It is a member of the North Seas Alliance and holds a seat on the leauge of nations high council.

Foundation
On 10 December 1870 the North German Confederation Reichstag renamed the Confederation as the German Empire and gave the title of German Emperor to the King of Prussia as President of the Confederation. During the Siege of Paris on 18 January 1871, King Wilhelm I of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles

he 1871 German Constitution was adopted by the Reichstag on 14 April 1871 and proclaimed by the Emperor on 16 April, which was substantially based upon Bismarck's North German Constitution. The new 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. As a result, by the time of the great expansion of German cities in the 1890s and first decade of the 20th century, rural areas were grossly overrepresented.

Legislation also required the consent of the Bundesrat, the federal council of deputies from the states. Executive power was vested in the emperor, or Kaiser, who was assisted by a chancellor responsible only to him. The emperor was given extensive powers by the constitution. He alone appointed and dismissed the chancellor, was supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and final arbiter of all foreign affairs. Officially, the chancellor was a one-man cabinet and was responsible for the conduct of all state affairs; in practice, the State Secretaries (bureaucratic top officials in charge of such fields as finance, war, foreign affairs, etc.) acted as unofficial portfolio ministers. The Reichstag had the power to pass, amend or reject bills and to initiate legislation. However, in practice the real power was vested in the emperor and chancellor.

Although nominally a league of equals, in practice the empire was dominated by the largest and most powerful state, Prussia. It stretched across the northern two thirds of the new Reich, and contained three fifths of its population. The imperial crown was hereditary in the House of Hohenzollern, the ruling house of Prussia. With the exception of the years 1872–1873 and 1892–1894, the chancellor was always simultaneously the prime minister of Prussia. With 17 out of 58 votes in the Bundesrat, Berlin needed only a few votes from the small states to exercise effective control.

The other states retained their own governments, but had only limited aspects of sovereignty. For example, both postage stamps and currency were issued for the empire as a whole. Coins through one mark was also minted in the name of the empire, while higher valued pieces were issued by the states. But these larger gold and silver issues were virtually commemorative coins and had limited circulation.

While the states issued their own decorations, and some had their own armies, the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. Those of the larger states, such as the Kingdoms of Bavaria and Saxony, were coordinated along Prussian principles and would in wartime be controlled by the federal government.

The evolution of the German Empire is somewhat in line with parallel developments in Italy which became a united nation state shortly before the German Empire. Some key elements of the German Empire's authoritarian political structure were also the basis for conservative modernization in Imperial Japan under Meiji and the preservation of an authoritarian political structure under the Tsars in the Russian Empire.

One factor in the social anatomy of these governments had been the retention of a very substantial share in political power by the landed elite, the Junkers, resulting from the absence of a revolutionary breakthrough by the peasants in combination with urban areas.

Although authoritarian in many respects, the empire had some democratic features. Besides universal suffrage, it permitted the development of political parties. Bismarck's intention was to create a constitutional façade which would mask the continuation of authoritarian policies. In the process, he created a system with a serious flaw. There was a significant disparity between the Prussian and German electoral systems. Prussia used a highly restrictive three-class voting system in which the richest third of the population could choose 85% of the legislature, all but assuring a conservative majority. As mentioned above, the king and (with two exceptions) the prime minister of Prussia were also the emperor and chancellor of the empire – meaning that the same rulers had to seek majorities from legislatures elected from completely different franchises. As mentioned above, rural areas were grossly overrepresented from the 1890s onward.

The World Wars
The German Empire allied itself with the Anglo-Dutch union in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war and became a staunch ally in the unions diplomatic conflicts in Africa, playing host to the Berlin conference where the future of Africa and the colonies was decided. In the begining of the 20th century Germany and the Union formed the centerpiece of the Imperial Alliance as both powers would take the brunt of any potential Franco-Russian assualt. In the begining of 1905 Germany began its negotiations with the japanese empire in which the Germans began there withdrawal from China in coperation with the Japanese in order to concentrate more on Europe and Africa. A side result of the German negotiations was the decision of the Japanese to enter the Imperial Alliance, tying the Union and the Germans into the conflict between the Japanese and the Russians.

The attack by the russian fleet on a Anglo-Dutch fishing fleet was the last straw, the Union ordered the mobalisation of its navy and the Russians responded by launching a suprise attack with the assistance of the Austrians against the Germans. Taking the Germans by suprise they forced them on the defensive for much of the war until the assistance of the Anglo-Dutch navy and air force allowed them to launch a counter attack. Although germany was victorious in the conflict the stresses of the first world war, in particular the death of almost an entire generation of German youth meant that there was a shortage of manpower for the german industry and this meant that the remaining men available for employment were a rare commodity, giving them an increasingly important role in german society.

The result of this was an upswing in political activism amongst the German populace and an increase in support for the German Communist Party. As a result the Reichstag and the German establishment was forced to make concessions, establishing new free elections that made Germany a true democracy for the first time. In the post war economic boom and bust Germany became a major player in global politics, with the exception of the Union it maintained the largest collonies and commanded the respect of the global banking establishment. In the aftermath of the stock market crash however Germany suffered badly, much of the German army was stood down and many of its more exotic projects had there funding cut. In particular the German Air Force had its entire lighter than air fleet cut, including its flagship the Airborn Aircraft Carrier SMS Holstien. This cost the German army its one major advantage against the Russian army and it ended up costing them in the conflict that followed.

In 1931 the French grew tiered of the Anglo-Dutch occuaption of Calais and launched an attack against the enclave in calais and the netherlands. Germany fourght a valient defense against the french and the russians but the resulting conflict saw them outnumbered and outgunned. Germany was defeated and occupied within two years. The remnants of the German Air Force's Lighter than Air Branch and the Navy fled to Africa where they formed a resistance against the French and the Russians. The German resistance launched military strikes against the french occupiers and when the Anglo-Dutch retook russia they used the former Russian empire as a base against the French.