Germany (Kaiser's Victory)

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German Empire Deutsches Reich Timeline: Kaiser's Victory
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  Gott mit uns ("God with us")
Anthem:  Heil dir im Siegerkranz ("Hail to Thee in the Victor's Crown")
Location of Germany (green)
Capital (and largest city)		Berlin
Official languages		German
Demonym		German
Government		Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
-	Monarch	Wilhelm II
-	Chancellor	Franz Seldte
Legislature		Imperial Diet Federal Council
Formation
-	Unification	18 January 1871
-	Berlin Conference	15 November 1884
Population
-	1940 estimate	78,359,240
Currency		German mark (ℳ)
Drives on the		right

Germany (German: Deutschland), officially the German Empire (German: Deutsches Reich), is a country located in Central Europe. It borders the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Liechtenstein to the west; Switzerland, Italy, and Bohemia to the south; Poland and Lithuania to the east; and Denmark to the north. Berlin is the biggest city and capital of Germany; other major cities include Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Hanover.

Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity. A region named Germania was documented before AD 100. In the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon invaded the Holy Roman Empire and established the Confederation of the Rhine and several other puppet states, although they would initially collapse after Napoleon's loss. However, the idea of German unity arose, and after two confederations and wars with Austria and France, the German Empire was formed in 1871.

After a major naval arms race with the United Kingdom in the 1900s and rising tensions with Russia and France, World War I broke out in 1914. After major military victories on both the Western and Eastern fronts, it emerged victorious along with the other Central Powers; however, Germany became isolated from its former allies following the end of the war, and thus began focusing on reconciliation with the United Kingdom.

Germany is a great power with a strong economy; it has the largest economy in Europe, the world's fourth-largest economy by GNI. As a global leader in several industrial, scientific and technological sectors, it is both the world's third-largest exporter and importer of goods.

History

World War I (1914-1919)

Wilhelm II, the German Emperor who approved of the "blank cheque" to Austria-Hungary in 1914

In June 1914, Franz Ferdinand - the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne - was assassinated by the Serbian Black Hand gang, triggering a diplomatic crisis between Austria-Hungary, Serbia and Russia, who supported Serbia. Austria-Hungary wished to enact its revenge on Serbia, and sought support from Germany, its closest ally, in case of war with Russia and Serbia. The German General Staff supported the motion of war, seeing that the time was right for war with Russia and France while Germany was still more powerful. Wilhelm II came to share the views of his generals, and on 5 July Germany issued a blank cheque to Austria-Hungary, ensuring its full support for the nation. On 28 July, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, resulting in Russia declaring war on Austria-Hungary, Germany declaring war on Russia, and France declaring war on Germany, starting the First World War.

The German military had developed a strategic plan for a two-front war against both France and Russia known as the Schlieffen Plan - the plan was to invade France through Belgium, then capture Paris and force the French government to surrender, and then redirect forces from the Western Front to the Eastern Front. When German forces demanded entry, the Belgian government refused, resulting in the military invading and occupying Belgium, violating its neutrality. As a result of this violation, Britain - in accordance to the 1839 Treaty of London - declared war on Germany and entered the war, erasing all hopes of a quick war similar to the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. In the beginning of the war, Germany suffered major losses, quickly losing all its colonies to Britain and France. Germany also suffered brief losses to Russia, but after a brief reorganisation quickly pushed back the Russian forces, making several gains. The Western Front, however, wasn't so beneficial for Germany, as the front developed into trench warfare and eventually a stalemate. German morale back home was also declining due to the blockade implemented by the Entente, which resulted in strict rationing, where food was limited. The food-substitute, ersatz, was also produced throughout the war.

German trench on the Western Front, 1915

By 1916, the Oberste Heeresleitung - which had effectively taken control of the government - wanted to break the British blockade, so in May the navy launched an operation to attack a small portion of the Royal Navy. Due to the unpreparedness of the British for such an attack, the Germans secured a victory, and despite not being able to fully break the blockade, managed to squeeze a few supplies into Germany, properly feeding the starving population, renewing morale in Germany, while Allied morale only continued to tank. The Eastern Front was also slowly collapsing for Russia, as the country eventually overthrew its monarch and established a provisional government. After a failed offensive conducted by Alexander Kerensky's government, Germany made even larger gains, and after the overthrow of Kerensky by the communists, war was officially ended between the Central Powers and Russia on 3 March 1918 with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Map of the territorial cessions in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

States of Germany

Flag	Name	Capital	Monarch	Minister-President
	Kingdom of Prussia	Berlin	Wilhelm II	Franz Seldte
	Kingdom of Bavaria	Munich	Rupprecht	Heinrich Held
	Kingdom of Saxony	Dresden	Georg	Walther Schieck
	Kingdom of Württemberg	Stuttgart	Albrecht I	Eugen Bolz
	Archduchy of Austria	Vienna	Otto	Wilhelm Miklas
	Grand Duchy of Baden	Karlsruhe	Berthold	Franz Josef Wittemann
	Grand Duchy of Luxembourg	Luxembourg City	Charlotte	Pierre Dupong
	Grand Duchy of Alsace-Lorraine	Straßburg	Joachim	Charles Hueber