| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The May 1877 Crisis was an unsuccessful attempt by elements of the Catholic Centre Party to overthrow Wilhelm I and replace him with a Catholic prince as King of Prussia led by August Reichensperger and Peter Reichensperger.
Background[]
After the Franco-Prussian War, Napoleon III had forced the establishment of a Catholic led, Prussian Government led by Hermann von Mallinckrodt as Minister-President of Prussia with August Reichensperger as Vice-Chancellor. However the Reichstag became dominated by Protestant Liberals and Conservatives who formed a Coalition (Protestant Union) to defeat the Catholics. After the death of Mallinckrodt in 1874, Elections were held the determine the next Chancellor of Prussia. The Catholics rigged the elections in their favor and as a result, August Reichensperger became Minister-President of Prussia with his brother Peter Reichensperger becoming his deputy. As the Reichensperger brothers took office, they began to lose popularity in Prussia only remaining in Prussia due to their Catholic Supporters in the Nation. However Opposition within the Reichstag continued to increase. In the 1877 Federal Elections. the Centre Party won only won 76 seats as the Protestant Union won over 250 seats reducing their influence in the Reichstag. Fearing that by the next General Elections the Centre Party would be driven from Office, the Reichensperger Bothers began plotting against King Wilhelm I in order to overthrow him and replace him with a Catholic Monarch.
Coup[]
Run-up to the Coup[]
Since 1875, the Reichensperger brothers had been considering overthrowing Wilhelm I and replacing him with a Catholic Monarch but soon had troubles in finding a Catholic Prince that would agree to take on the title of King of Prussia. the Reichensperger brothers sought out Bavarian and Austrian Princes and found no results and by 1876 had decided to make plans without a designated Catholic Monarch that would succeed Wilhelm I in which would prove to be a huge error. In 1876 they began recruiting Catholic elements of the Prussian Military along with a few Westphalian Mercenaries managing to form a private force of approximately 10,000 men. After the horrific results of the 1877 Federal Elections, the Reichensperger brothers presented their plan to the members of the Centre Party. However, Ludwig Windthorst, leader of the Centre Party refused to co-operate stating that participating in such coup would further reduce the Catholic Party's popularity in Prussia and many followed him. Only a handful of members joined the Reichensperger Brothers who then split from the Centre Party to form the militant National Catholic Party to seek direct control over Prussia. In May 1877 they began to make preparations for their takeover. As part of their preparations the Reichensperger Brothers oversaw the formation of the Catholic Brigade (German: Katholische Brigade) a Paramilitary Group composed of the Westphalian Mercenaries recruited by the Reichensperger Brothers and a few volunteers.
The Coup[]
On the Early Morning of 16 May 1877 in Berlin, the Plotters made their move. elements of the Katholische Brigade marched on the Charlottenburg Palace and as Wilhelm I was still asleep, disarmed the the Guards and soon took over the palace forcing the King to wake up and put on his clothes. At 5:30 AM the Katholische Brigade took their positions around the Reichstag waiting for the members of the Reichstag to arrive. At 9:00 AM as the people of Berlin went on with their daily lives Peter Reichensperger forced Ludwig Windthorst to call a session of the Reichstag. At noon as the members of the Reichstag assembled in the Reichstag building,the Katholische Brigade closed in securing every entrance and preventing anyone from entering or exiting. Soon Peter Reichensperger arrived to announce that the Parliament was dissolved and that all members of the Reichstag would be detained in the building until further notice. Many members attempted to counter this as they stated that the Vice-Chancellor would need the approval of the Emperor. However, at 1:15 PM it was announced that Wilhelm I had gone missing and that August Riechensperger would take on the position of Regent of Prussia until the King would be found. However in the Reichstag when the "disappearance" of the King of Prussia was announced Ludwig Windthorst shouted "Liars" and then denounced the Reichensperger Brothers plot. Immediately the members of the Reichstag turned on Windthorst who told them of the Reichensperger Brothers attempt to recruit them in this illegal action. The Members of the Reichstag attempted to escape but were blocked by the Katholische Brigade. The Katholische Brigade forced the members of the Reichstag to stay in the Reichstag building until 9:00 PM where they were escorted to their homes and placed under house arrest. The next day, the 17 May 1877, the Reichensperger Brothers made arrangements to kill Wilhelm I when news of their Plot leaked out by Catholic Officers that had secretly sided with Windthorst. However, with the King of Prussia and the entire Reichstag held hostage, it seemed that the Reichensperger brothers plan might succeed.
Reaction to the Coup[]
Though it seemed that the Riechensperger Brothers would succeed , there was still major opposition to the coup throughout all of Prussia as news of the coup spread throughout Europe within Hours. When news of the Coup leaked , the major reaction to it was from the Military. The Chief of the Prussian General Staff Hugo von Kirchbach immediately opposed the coup and began plans for a counter-coup. The Reichensperger Brothers however continued their plans for the execution of King Wilhelm but hesitated. They believed that Killing the King would turn public opinion against them so instead they planned to force the King to abdicate and allow the Reichensperger Brothers. Other sources of opposition came from many European Leaders such as the Pope Pius IX , Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Though the Reichensperger Brothers got limited support from Emperor Napoleon IV, it was short lived as the French Emperor soon declared his opposition to the coup
Collapse of the Coup[]
Immediately in the morning of the 18 May 1877 , August Riechsenperger had Wilhelm I forced to abdicate the throne and when he refused to do so was shot in the shoulder and in the stomach before being dragged back into the Charlottenburg Palace. At 10 AM , General Von Kirchbach , the new supreme Commander of the Prussian Armies organized resistance to the coup by having former German Military Commanders Von Moltke and Von Roon back into active service along with having Prince Friedrich Karl recruited to oppose the Reichsenperger brothers too. Gathering their forces at Leipzig the Army of Restoration , marched on Berlin facing the Katholische Brigade along with being encouraged by the people of Berlin who had begun demonstrations against the Coup by protesting against it. By 3 PM , a second attempt to have Wilhelm I abdicate failed and the Reichsenperger brothers soon faced increased opposition by the population as the Katholische Brigade began to collapse. The Katholische Brigade lasted until the Early morning of 18 May 1877 and the Reichsenperger brothers after failing to force Wilhelm I's abdication for a third time , had decided to flee from Berlin to Austria-Hungary only to be captured by Austro-Hungarian Troops and returned to Prussia.
Aftermath[]
The Coup was mostly bloodless , only approximately 210 people died during the 2 day period with only 180 Military causalities and 30 Civilians. After the coup the major leaders of the National Catholic Party where all executed with the Reichsnperger Brothers hanged. However the biggest consequence of the coup was the question of succession within the position of Minister-President of Prussia. Many people believed that Wilhelm I should assume full powers in an absolute Monarchy but Wilhelm I himself was opposed to such idea due to being a Liberal Monarch, instead he established a Military Commission lead by Von Krichbach to restore order and prevent another coup as the influence of the Centre Party further diminished . Though Napoleon IV was opposed to this he eventually forced Wilhelm I to introduce Ludwig Windthorst to take the position of Minister-President of Prussia in which caused uproar that would lead to the 1879 Riots in Prussia in which would fragment Prussia further more.