NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC:
Hi, I'm new here. Just been guiding my nation and reading other people's posts for the last week... decided I'd try my hand at some RP. I've done a lot of RP before, but not from the perspective of an entire country... so here goes. :)

Please, feel free to join in.

IC:

The date was 18 January 1871, the French had just been defeated by the superior Prussian forces, and King Wilhelm I had proclaimed the formation of a German Empire. In a rush of nationalistic fervour, popular consent across the nation was to join together and unite under one flag - but this was not true everywhere. To some, Wilhelm I was nothing but a tyrant of the worst kind, and they would sooner fall on their own swords than call him Emperor. Those most vehemently opposed to his rule were a small, but politically powerful, group in the German dutchy of Hannover, situated in the North West of the German states. The group was, then, known as the Deutsch Socialist Party, and had a reasonable following in Hannover and Bremen. When the Empire was claimed, and everyone else was cheering for Bismarck's victory, the men and women of the DSP began preparations to launch a coup.

Although Hannover had fallen under the boot of Prussian opression when it was annexed in 1866, the Prussians had maintained a regent on the "throne" of Hannover. In order to legitimise their claim to rulership of an independent German state, the DSP selected this regent as their target. However, things were not so simple. In order to survive beyond the first few days of their insurgency, they would need protection, because as soon as independency of Bismarck was declared, the entire force of the newly formed German nation would be brought down upon them. Thusly, the DSP began searching elsewhere for a strong ally that would announce the break away state to be under its protection. Although rebel states were not looked upon kindly in this period, the DSP had hope that they would find a nation to aid them, as they knew that many of the nations of Europe and abroad had a lot to gain in preventing a complete German unification...

The allies were found only a week after the DSP began preperations for cessation. Both Russia and France pledged their protection to the break away state. The two great nations sent representatives to Bremen, where the DSP convened and planned to form as the capital of the new independent nation. Several conferences were held as the territory that would be seized was discussed; it was decided that to legitimise the rebel's claims they would declare themselves the Republic of Hannover-Bremen, the two states in which most of their territory would cover.

By the time all preperations had been finalised, it had been two weeks since France's defeat. Prussia had thinned its army out to cover the newly formed German state, and so the time was ripe for the DSP to move. The rebels staged an operation on the night of February 2 1871, infiltrating the house of the puppet regent and assassinating him. The troops were then rallied, and after a short scuffle with the small guard left at the palace, the rebels tore down Prussia's flag and hoisted the traditional Kingdom of Hannover's. The following day the rebel forces occupied the town squares of the majority of cities across their proposed territory. With French and Russian troops en route, on February 3 1871, in Bremen, the Republic of Hannover-Bremen was declared autonomous and independent from the Prussian crown.

As soon as word reached Wilhelm I, a great storm swept across Berlin as the Emperor of Germany flew into a rage and began preperations to strike down the cessationists.

(Tag for interest, though I'm Modern Tech and cannot participate)

((Just so you know, I'm planning on progressing through the ages and playing my country in the modern time period. Just detailing its foundation and what happened between then and today. :) ))

February 17th, 1871

The last two weeks had been a mad scramble to occupy the territory of Hannover-Bremen and prepare to defend it against the German maurauders. Bases were established in Bremen, Hannover and Oldenburg, where the DSP had the largest and strongest support base, and an army was formed and sent to the border to await the arrival of Prussian troops.

Some cities were not so quick to come over to the rebels, at first confused as to where their loyalties lay and taking some time to bring over to the cause of Hannover-Bremen. Other cities were violently resistant to the rebels, most notably the more southern cities of Gottingen, Braunschweig and Osnabruck. By the 8th of February, most of the cities were either in full support of the fledgling nation, or at least subdued, save these three. Counter-revolutionary leaders had formed and declared that they still belonged to the greater German Empire, forming resistance groups and using guerilla warfare to prevent the DSP from assuming control.

This made things difficult for the rebels, as these cities were key to their defence against Prussia, and with them being so close to the border they could create a hole in their defense which would allow Bismarck to pour troops through. The DSP decided that while they did not want to get bogged down with stamping out resistance, these cities were too important to ignore, and so detatchments from the border were sent back to help deal with the uprisings.

March 6th, 1871

The first wave of Prussian troops arrived at the border. Only 16 divisions were present, while the rebels numbered in 42 divisions, but this was no relief as many more Prussian and German troops were en route. The Emperor sent Chancellor Otto von Bismarck to negotiate, but no concessions would be made. Wilhem I's price for peace was no less than the complete disarmament of all rebel forces and the submission to his greater German Empire. The French and Russian representatives came forward and gave him an ultimatum: demobilise, return his army to its regular posts and recognise the independence of Hannover-Bremen, or face war. Bismarck informed the rebels that Emperor Wilhelm I's choice was war.

The uprisings in Braunschweig and Osnabruck had been dealt with, but Gottingen was still resisting. As expected, it was here that Bismarck led the Prussian army to attack first. Knowing that they could not hold off the Prussian forces while the city itself fought against them, the DSP immediately withdrew without a battle, and the 16 Prussian divisions occupied the city and dug in. As the DSP withdrew, the Prussians layered their retreat with artillery fire, causing light casualities. It was not the losses to its army that mattered so much, but the severe blow to morale right at the beginning of the war. The War of Independence had begun, and the skies looked gloomy already.

March 14th, 1871

Bismarck ordered the newly integrated Hamburg army to march South West towards Bremen in an attempt to cut the war short, but he was not met with quiet obedience as he expected. The great Hamburg Mutiny was launched, and the Prussian leadership that had been sent to replace the previous Hamburgian officers were executed. Hamburg declared independency from the German Empire and announced its intention to join the Republic of Hannover-Bremen. When news of this reached the rebels, the morale drop from the loss of Gottingen was undone and the army was ready to drive back the Prussian imperialists.

Meanwhile, France and Russia had begun their invasions of Germany. France invaded the recently lost territory of Alsace-Lorraine, and Russia marched into Prussia proper and Wilhelm I's Polish holdings. While the Russians had great success initially, the French army, still battered from its recent defeat at Prussian hands, fared poorly and suffered untold casualties in a failed attempt to reclaim Alsace-Lorraine.

(Vive la Commune! I mean... Tag! It is unfortunate that Beth Gellert doesn't really begin to form until after 1921, because 1871 is just the year in which most Beddgelens would like to be! With a big Thiers-whacking-stick. Erm. Welcome to NS, anyway. I'll just go back to reading, now.)

OOC: This has definite potential, and real interest for me. I love a good history RP like this. Good work, and TAGged.

((Well, this is one of the more intriguing NationStates ideas I've seen in quite a while; I'll certainly have to keep my eyes on this one.

However, being a pedant with a particular interest in 19th century history, I do feel compelled to point out one or two things. Please don't take this as an insult; I certainly don't mean it to be one! :)

However, Otto von Bismarck was never the King of Prussia. He was the Chancellor to Wilhelm von Hohenzollern (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_I_of_Germany) (heh, not to brag, but I somehow managed to spell 'Hohenzollern' correctly on the first try. Go me! Hehe), a position most akin to Prime Minister (though responsible to the King directly rather than a parliament).

In fact, the Franco-Prussian War was precipiated because of the canidicy of Leopold, a member of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, to the Spanish throne. The French, which had considered Spain a quasi-satellite state since 1714, protested. Leopold was withdrawn as a candidate. However, the French Empire wanted to humuliate Prussia and demanded that no Hohenzollern could ever be considered for the Spanish throne. Wilhelm quite naturally refused, but the exact wording (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ems_Dispatch) of the refusal was changed by von Bismarck to make it look to the Prussians as if their King had been insulted and appear to the French as if their ambassador had been snubbed.

Also, it is unlikely that the French (and by 'the French', I presume you mean the Versailles government which would become the Third Republic) would have invaded the Rhineland (not the general region, but the particular province of Prussia). More likely, they would have concentrated their efforts in regaining Alsace-Lorraine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace-Lorraine), that territory which had just been lost in 1871 and which would be the focus of the disasterous French offensive in 1914.

Anyway, don't let my rambling get to you. This is a great start to a country, and I look forward to reading more. :)))

((Thanks muchly for the support everyone.

Iansisle, I do not take it as an insult at all, in fact I thank you very much for pointing out my errors. I strive to make myself as historically accurate as possible, and while the 18th and 19th Centuries are indeed my favourite time periods, they are unfortunately the ones I know least about! :(

I did know a little about the Hohenzollern Kings and the spark for the Franco-Prussian war over their seat on the Spanish throne, but it had completely slipped my mind! So then Bismarck was chancellor of Prussia, but did he become Emperor of Germany? Or did he remain subject to the King?

And yes, of course, the Alsace-Lorraine region was what I meant. I was referring to the area lost in the Franco-Prussian war, but I thought it was called the Rhineland at first.

Thanks again for the corrections! Shall be updating with more soon.))

((No worries, man. If you ever have any questions, my telegram box is always open.))

So then Bismarck was chancellor of Prussia, but did he become Emperor of Germany? Or did he remain subject to the King?

((Bismarck never assumed royal or imperial duties. He was chancellor first to Wilhelm I as King of Prussia, then to Wilhelm I as Emperor of Germany, and then to Wilhelm II as Emperor of Germany. Wilhelm II dismissed him in 1890 (I think? may want to look that up - I'm horrible with dates :D) and Germany's foreign policy fell apart almost over night - France was released from the diplomatic isolation forced upon her and was able to woo the Tsar into a double alliance.

Looking forward to the update :)))

June 3rd, 1871

With the Russian's success in overrunning Prussia proper and Poland, Wilhelm I was forced to divert forces that were en route to the newly established Hannover-Bremen. The French assault had amounted to nothing, and there was now a standstill on the Alsace-Lorraine border as neither side had the spare forces to make a breakthrough. It was due to this that the rebels were not quickly consumed by the far superior military might of the German Empire. Over the last few months there had been skirmishes back and forth across the border, with the rebels succeeding to push the Prussian line further back, closer to the city of Gottingen. Meanwhile, in Hamburg a brutal battle still raged through the city between the mutineers and Prussian loyalists.

It was on June 3rd that the rebels next made their move. The cautious Generals of the Hannover-Bremen forces had been reluctant to commit to a battle against Prussia, but a young, enterprising Captain by the name of Franz Goedelstein drew up a daring plan of attack on Gottingen that both earned him a promotion and precipitated the first major battle during the War of Independence.

The plan was simple; the Prussians had reinforced Gottingen to 24 divisions, and the rebels had 20 of their own divisions available to leave their stations and make an attack. Bringing all their artillery assets from other divisions, the city would be bombarded from the start of the operation unceasingly until the assault was made. The army would be split into two divisions of 10, one would march straight for Gottingen, the other would break off and march through the province of Hessen to make it look as if it was not assaulting Gottingen, but instead going to attack Kassel, just across the border. The first group that was attacking Gottingen would then fall back, hopefully bringing the overconfident Prussian troops out of the city to persue and harrass them. The second army would then turn back on the city and the Prussian army would be caught between the rebels and crushed.

The plan was executed at the break of dawn on the 3rd of June, and by the setting of the sun on the 5th of June all 24 Prussian divisions had been defeated or captured. The plan was a startling success and casualties on the rebel's side were even lower than expected. The city of Gottingen was occupied, and the counter-revolutionary leaders were held on trial. All were found guilty, but pardoned on the grounds that their patriotism was understandable. This act of clemency, while not forever ending the opposition to the rebel state, did much to subdue the counter-revolutionaries.