Kronekrieg (Age of Kings)

The Kronekrieg (lit. "Crown War") was a period of political dispute and competition within Germany over the the privileges given to the Kingdom of Prussia compared to the other states. The beginning of the Kronekrieg is generally believed to be the annexation of Austria into Germany on 2 June 1919 and ended with the recreation of the Kingdom of Hanover on 25 December 1924.

Some scholars have suggested that the Kronekrieg represented a seismic shift within Germany that increased decentralization at the expense of Prussia, Germany's dominant state. Most scholars and historians reject this premise, instead suggesting that the impact on Prussia's dominance was minimal, noting that Prussia continued to have the most population, industry, and political influence within the German government.

Austria
Austria-Hungary was one of the Central Powers and a German ally during World War I. However, the stress of the war exacerbated ethnic tensions and demands for refrom within Austria-Hungary. Karl I of Austria-Hungary, while supportive of reform, was unable to persuade the Hungarian government to grant self-government to Transylvania, Croatia, and Slovakia. Eventually, Hungary terminated its union with Austria, unwilling to follow Karl's plan of dividing up Hungary (and Austria) into new states. The note of disunion from Hungarian prime minister Mihály Károlyi in October 1918 set off a chain reaction, with ethnic councils that previously wanted autonomy now also demanding independence. Since the Hungarian army was larger than Austria's and the Austrian public exhausted from war, Karl could not be sure that Austria would win any civil war. Germany was unwilling to lend troops to help Austria maintain its empire, as military dictators Hindenburg and Ludendorff had little regard for Austrian military performance and believed they still needed all of Germany's armies for the Entente and its new eastern possessions.

As such, Karl acknowledged the collapse of Austria-Hungary and stated to his government that it would be unlikely for Austria to remain a great power without the rest of its empire. The opinion of the government and that of Karl was to seek annexation into Germany. While opposed by Ludendorff, the plan was popular amongst German nationalists and the general public, which saw the union as the final accomplishment of "Großdeutscheland" or "Greater Germany". After a few months of negotiations, Austria joined Germany on June 2nd, 1919.

Quickly, however, political questions began to arise. Karl was willing to abandon the title of Emperor in order to join, since there could be only one emperor within the German Empire. As a result, Karl was styled as Archduke of Austria, a title that put him below all four kingdoms of Germany. Austria was not allowed to maintain local armed forces like the four kingdoms and was always addressed fifth in style after the four kingdoms. This was in spite of the fact that Austria had become Germany's second largest state in both territory and population. The Austrian population and government quickly became disgruntled as to what they thought was an uneven deal and they began to lobby for a change in the German-Austrian relationship.

Initially, Kaiser Wilhelm II was amenable to changing the status quo provided Karl take the title of King of Austria. Karl refused, believing that such an action would rob Austria of its unique culture and history. As such, he insisted that Austria retain its style of archduchy and insisted in every other way it would be considered an equal of the four kingdoms. As Germany's "second state" Austria would also have the second most votes in the Bundesrat, the upper legislative body of Germany. The government refused, as that would put an Archduchy above three of the four kingdoms in terms of influence. Notably, a sizable number of German states and groups supported the Austrian cause. Ludwig III of Bavaria and most leaders of the Center Party were in favor of reforming the government along Austria's wishes, although this was mostly to support their own agendas of reducing Prussian power by raising Austria as a counterweight.

Noting the large number of votes that majority Catholic Austria might lend to the pro-Catholic Center Party, German Chancellor Friedrich Ebert pressured Wilhelm II and other members of the German government to allow Austria to retain its style and gain the privileges of the kingdoms. Austria was allowed to maintain its own local army and gained ten votes in the Bundesrat compared to Prussia's 17, displacing Bavaria as the state with the second most votes. In terms of rank, the Archduke of Austria was announced and served fifth (later sixth, after Hanover's reestablishment) after the preceding kingdoms, but in every other way Austria was treated as a kingdom.