| German Empire Deutsches Reich Timeline: Triple Entente vs. Central Powers (Map Game)
OTL equivalent: German Empire | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 North German Confederation, and South German States 1871 - Present | |||
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| Motto: "Gott mit uns." (God With Us) |
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| Anthem: Deutschlandlied (Song of Germany) |
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| Capital (and largest city) | Berlin | ||
| Other cities | Munich, Dresden | ||
| Official languages | German | ||
| Regional languages | Danish, French, Polish, Czech, Dutch | ||
| Ethnic groups | German Polish French Danish |
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| Demonym | German | ||
| Religion | Protestantism (Lutheranism) Roman Catholicism |
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| Government | Federal Monarchy | ||
| - | Emperor of Germany | TBD | |
| - | Chancellor of Germany | TBD | |
| History | |||
| - | Unification of Germany | January 18, 1871 | |
| Population | |||
| - | 1903 estimate | 58,630,000 | |
| Currency | German goldmark (ℳ) | ||
| Patron saint | St. Boniface | ||
Germany, officially the German Empire, is a powerful nation located in Central Europe.
The Empire is bordered by Russia to the east, Denmark to the north, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg to the west, and Switzerland and Austria-Hungary to the south.
History[]
Early History[]
The concept of Germany as a distinct region in central Europe can be traced to Roman commander Julius Caesar, who referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine as Germania, thus distinguishing it from Gaul, which he had conquered. The victory of the Germanic tribes in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD) prevented annexation by the Roman Empire.
Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the Franks conquered the other West Germanic tribes. When the Frankish Empire was divided among Charlemagne's heirs in 843, the eastern part became East Francia. In 962, Otto I became the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the medieval German state.
Holy Roman Empire[]
In the High Middle Ages, the dukes and princes of the empire gained power at the expense of the emperors. Martin Luther led the Protestant Reformation against the Catholic Church after 1517, as the northern states became Protestant, while the southern states remained Catholic.
The two parts of the Holy Roman Empire clashed in the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), which was ruinous to the twenty million civilians. 1648 marked the effective end of the Holy Roman Empire and the beginning of the modern nation-state system, with Germany divided into numerous independent states, such as Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony.
Unification[]
After the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), feudalism fell away and liberalism and nationalism clashed with reaction. The 1848 March Revolution failed. The Industrial Revolution modernized the German economy, led to the rapid growth of cities and to the emergence of the Socialist movement in Germany. Prussia, with its capital Berlin, grew in power. German universities became world-class centers for science and the humanities, while music and the arts flourished.
Unification was achieved with the formation of the German Empire in 1871 under the leadership of Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The new Reichstag, an elected parliament, had only a limited role in the imperial government.
Government[]
The German Empire is a federal monarchy, in which emphasis is placed upon a combination of power between the Chancellor and the Emperor.
Emperors[]
The full title of the current German Emperor is:
His Imperial and Royal Majesty Wilhelm II, By the Grace of God, German Emperor and King of Prussia, Margrave of Brandenburg, Burgrave of Nuremberg, Count of Hohenzollern, Duke of Silesia and of the County of Glatz, Grand Duke of the Lower Rhine and of Posen, Duke of Saxony, of Angria, of Westphalia, of Pomerania and of Lunenburg, Duke of Schleswig, of Holstein and of Crossen, Duke of Magdeburg, of Bremen, of Guelderland and of Jülich, Cleves and Berg, Duke of the Wends and the Kashubians, of Lauenburg and of Mecklenburg, Landgrave of Hesse and in Thuringia, Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia, Prince of Orange, of Rugen, of East Friesland, of Paderborn and of Pyrmont, Prince of Halberstadt, of Münster, of Minden, of Osnabrück, of Hildesheim, of Verden, of Kammin, of Fulda, of Nassau and of Moers, Princely Count of Henneberg, Count of the Mark, of Ravensberg, of Hohenstein, of Tecklenburg and of Lingen, Count of Mansfeld, of Sigmaringen and of Veringen, Lord of Frankfurt.
| Name | Picture | Lifespan | Reignspan | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilhelm I | 
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1797-1888 | 1871-1888 | "the Great" |
| Friedrich III | 
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1831-1888 | 1888 | |
| Wilhelm II | 
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1859-Present | 1888-Present |
Constituent States[]
| Flag | Name | Capital |
|---|---|---|
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Kingdom of Prussia | Berlin |
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Kingdom of Bavaria | Munich |
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Kingdom of Saxony | Dresden |
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Kingdom of Württemberg | Stuttgart |
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Grand Duchy of Baden | Karlsruhe |
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Grand Duchy of Hesse | Darmstadt |
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Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Schwerin |
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Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Neustrelitz |
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Grand Duchy of Oldenburg | Oldenburg |
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Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | Weimar |
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Duchy of Anhalt | Dessau |
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Duchy of Brunswick | Braunchsweig |
| Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg | Altenburg | |
| Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | Coburg | |
| Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen | Meiningen | |
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Principality of Lippe | Detmold |
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Principality of Reuss-Gera | Gera |
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Principality of Reuss-Greiz | Greiz |
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Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe | Bückeburg |
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Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt | Rudolstadt |
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Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | Sondershausen |
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Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont | Arolsen |
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City of Bremen | Bremen |
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City of Hamburg | Hamburg |
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City of Lübeck | Lübeck |
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Alsace-Lorraine | Straßburg |
Colonies[]
Ports[]
Port Wilhelm (previously Coatzacoalcos)- Tsingtau
Organizations/alliances[]
- Triple Alliance (1882 - 1909?)
- Possible Italian-German-Romanian-Ottoman alliance
Military[]
Wars[]
- Venezuelan Crisis (1902 - Present)
Units[]
- Army (Deutsches Heer)
- I Army Inspectorate (Danzig)
- II Army Inspectorate (Berlin)
- III Army Inspectorate (Hannover)
- IV Army Inspectorate (Munich)
- V Army Inspectorate (Karlsruhe)
- VI Army Inspectorate (Stuttgart)
- VII Army Inspectorate (Berlin)
- VIII Army Inspectorate (Saarbrücken)
The army is organized into 8 inspectorates, each of which then has three or four corps, which operated with a great deal of freedom. Prussia controls about 20 different corps (with Bavaria controlling 3 corps), and each consists of at least two divisions of infantary, and one battalion of the each of the following: light infantry (Jäger), heavy artillery (Fußartillerie), engineering, telegraph and communications, and a trains/transportation battalion.
- Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) as of 1904
- 12 Ironclads
- SMS Kronprinz
- SMS Friedrich Karl
- SMS König Wilhelm
- 2 Preussen-class Ironclads
- 2 Kaiser-class Ironclads
- 4 Sachsen-class Ironclads
- SMS Oldenburg
- 19 Battleships
- 4 Brandenburg-class Battleships
- 5 Kaiser Friedrich III-class Battleships
- 5 Wittelsbach-class Battleships
- 5 Braunschweig-class Battleships
- 16 Gunboats
- 10 Wespe-class Gunboats
- 6 Itis-class Gunboats
- 4 Corvettes
- 4 Bismarck-class Corvettes
- 36 Torpedo Boats
- 18 S90-class Torpedo Boats
- 6 G108-class Torpedo Boats
- 6 S114-class Torpedo Boats
- 6 S120-class Torpedo Boats
- 12 Ironclads
- Air Force (hypothesized)
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