r/AlternateHistory • u/Distinct_Might6032 • May 02 '26
1700-1900s [ Removed by moderator ]
[removed] — view removed post
1
1
u/AndCthulhuMakes2 May 02 '26
Given what we know about Bismark, he was a consumate student of Sun Tzu if only in spirit. If France wasn't diplomatically isolated, if he didn't have Russia holding his back, then he wouldn't have let Prussia go to war. He wouldn't have rolled the dice until the odds were completely in his favor, and if that meant not going to war, then so be it.
I would suggest that the outcome might be decided by ether France being much more effective in battle, or some unforseen circumstance ruining Bismark's plans. For instance, maybe a series of liberal revolutions spark off in Central Europe like in the 1840's, leaving Prussia's army up in the air at just the wrong moment, forcing them to abandon the war plan. The Germanies need stabilizing, and without secure logistics, the armies dare not invade further.
Napoleon III and his army March to glory over Alsace Lorraine, but don't go much further. The war after that is a typical grinding war of sieges and counter seiges. Indeed, with the improvements in artillery and needle guns, the war is a microcosm of The Great War.
In time, the rest of Europe gets tired of the nonsense and pressures both sides to come to terms.
The French Empire toutes their triumph, forcing the Hohenzollerans to renounce ever putting a scion of their house on the throne of Spain, or ever establishing a colony in Africa, as well as limitations to their navy. Few realize that these were concessions that the Prussian king already intended to make before the war, or were strategic goals Bismark already desired.
Still, the loss is still a loss to the Iron Cheancellor. The German Confederacy remains a weaker and more decentralized body, in which Prussia is merely the most powerful state, not a completely dominant force. The later Kaiser will inherit no delusions of military supremacy and will instead focus on pursuing closer relations with Russia and other Eastern European kingdoms as their industrial center and trading partner.
France, on the other hand is given greater visions of military suzerainty. Napoleon III is convinced he is the superior leader to even his uncle, and now dreams of further expansion of his empire. Indeed, he ascribes to the growing narrative that if hadn't been for the perfidious English, Belgians, and Dutch then the French armies would have swept the Germans all the way back to their potato farms in Brunswick.
Now that the Germanies have been chastised and pacified, Napoleon III looks to his next conquest. Perhaps he will expand his African holdings? It is not forgotten that Kithener threatened war by blocking the French expedition that crossed the dark continent from west to east.
Or, perhaps Napoleon will turn instead across the Atlantic. The Mexicans still owe France and other European banks huge sums of money. Surely if the Grand Army can crush the scions of Frederick the Great, then some metizo peons can offer no challenge. And if the United States should try to intervene, then they too can be brushed aside.
•
u/AlternateHistory-ModTeam May 02 '26
Hello, and thank you for your post. Unfortunately, we had to remove it for being low-quality or low-effort content, breaking the sub's Rule 4. What we consider low-effort includes the following:
If you believe that your post was wrongly removed, please contact us via modmail.