III - The Bavarian Crisis

1843-1848

Austria was devastated. It had little prestige left. Any emerging industry had been halted by the long war. With civil unrest simmering in the empire, it became cold and withdrawn. Instead focus was placed on internal affairs, with little influence exercised over surrounding countries. It was no longer a Great Power in the eyes of most.In the wave of celebration of this victory, Hoffmann von Fallersleben published the soon to be famous Deutschlandlied on British occupied Helgoland.All was going well in Prussia.[HR][/HR]It was a cold, crisp day in Berlin. Snow had fallen earlier in the month and the last few patches were slowly melting away. The King was conversing with an apparent relative or someone from Hannover. He was supposed to know him, but in reality he was certain he had never seen the man before. What followed was an interesting discussion about Prussia's progress - her moves towards democracy by granting a vote to all wealthy who deserved it, the ties with the other German states that were becoming ever closer. And not forgetting her scientific progress - why, was it not the Prussian astronomer Johan Galle who had discovered Neptune, perhaps the most beautiful of all the planets? And her well judged handling of the Polish independence movement was to be praised too - if it wasn't for those French, the idea of it would be out of the window!"So you see, err... nephew-""Cousin""So you see, my dear cousin, that things are progressing well here. Our moves towards a new German nation are being received well.""And do you believe there will be need for another war?""It is my belief that a nation should do what is right during any situation, not what is easiest. But I can firmly say that, as long ashelp us in our plans then we can peacefu-"There was a crash and the door opened. A man dressed in winter clothes burst in, looking out of breath." the King shouted."I must apologise greatly your highness, but the Bavarian ambassador has just arrived back. He says he must see you immediately.""Fine. This better be bloody important. Send him in."A few moments passed before a man stumbled in, dressed in torn clothes. He looked tired, as if he had been travelling for a long time, and he had cuts on his face."Your highness. It's the Bavarians. They've gone mad!""What? Speak man, speak!""Yesterday morning some armed fellows marched into the embassy and informed me I had one hour to get out! I wouldn't normally stand for this nonsense, but they had guns and looked deadly serious.""What!? Didn't they send in the police to deal with these thugs?""It gets worse. When I was finished they threw me out of the back door. Lucky it was the back door, there was an angry mob at the front, some with guns! And the police were doing nothing! I fled here, naturally, and the last I heard was that government troops had intervened on the side of the mob!"The King showed little expression. Then he spoke."I will give the Bavarian government an ultimatum. They restore order to the embassy or we send in our troops."At this moment the cousin suddenly looked up and spoke."With the greatest respect, the Austrians are allied with the Bavarians. Surely we cannot afford another war with them?""I think you'll find, my... cousin, that the Austrians are more isolationist then it appears. Perhaps when they decline to help the Bavarians, it will give the Southern states an indicator that we are really the leader here."The two men were dismissed, and the King set off for parliament.[HR][/HR]The Bavarian government ignored the ultimatum. Prussia was once again at war.As predicted, the Austrian government refused to help Bavaria and she was left with no allies. With only a small army, resistance was limited. Munich was captured and the government begged for peace, but this offer was turned down. Instead, Prussia set about occupying the entire of Bavaria and dividing it up between allies.By September of the next year, the Bavarian government agreed to give up some of its powers to Prussia and cut the military down to size. But militancy from this year-long occupation was less than anticipated. Orders to the occupying troops were to assist the local populace and restore order. Whereas before the police had been quite brutal in keeping the peace, the Prussian troops, despite numerous conflicts in the north of the country, helped a lot. In some towns there were even reports of bored troops helping the populace take in the harvest.This was, of course, a well-crafted plan from the King. He knew that the war would take a long time because of the numerous militias that would spring up, and these had to be gone for complete peace. If at least some of the population could be shown examples of Prussian "hospitality," then perhaps they would be more inclined to consider a union.In the months to follow, Bavarian infrastructure was invested in by Prussian capitalists, giving the country technology that had never even been thought of before. A grand Berlin to Munich train line was planned.thought many Bavarians,In Württemberg they certainly seemed to think so. An uprising in February 1848 meant that a new pro-German government was installed, with support from Prussia. Democracy was handed out in the Prussian style.Then, in early May, something extraordinary happened.Hungary, unable to reach a with compromise the Austrian rulers, declared independence. Every loyal Austrian man was mobilised to neutralise the rebellion.Prussia had a choice: would it help the Hungarians? Or would it be forced to sit back and watch the chance of wrenching apart another part of the Austrian Empire disappear?