The North German ConfederationThe North German Confederation was created in 1867 and primarily centered north of the Main River. Prussia led the 22 member states.Prussia (incl. Lauenburg)SaxonyMecklenburg-SchwerinSaxe-WeimarMecklenburg-StrelitzOldenburgBrunswickSaxe-MeiningenSaxe-AltenburgSaxe-Coburg-GothaAnhaltSchwarzburg-RudolstadtSchwarzburg-SondershausenWaldeckReuss (Elder Line)Reuss (Younger…
Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871France felt it had lost its primacy over central Europe during the 1866 war. Tensions between France and the North German Confederation mounted steadily, causing France to embark…
HesseThis blog clarifies a lot of confusion. I am probably causing more. I need to set a few things straight about this state. It came into triangle shaped halves one…
The Austria-Prussian War of 1866The Gastein Convention was short-lived. Austria violated the agreement to settle any disputes directly with Prussia when it took its disputes about Holstein directly to the…
The Danish WarsTwo German-Danish Wars intervened to influence the make-up of the German Confederation. In 1815, the province of Holstein was admitted to the German Confederation because the population was…
The Germanic Confederation and the Zollverein There is general agreement that the First Reich was the Holy Roman Empire, and the Third Reich was Nazi Germany. In 1923, a German…
Battalions and Companies of InfantryThe staff of each battalion had a commander, usually a major, a captain (so-called staff captain), the battalion adjutant (usually a second lieutenant), four company commanders…
Alsace-Lorraine part twoTheir military superiors generally considered the soldiers from Alsace-Lorraine unreliable. Those who were considered a significant problem were transferred to the Eastern front against the Russians and away…
Alsace-LorrainePart one(Elsaß-Lothringen)This territory, also known as the Reichslande, was a prize seized from France after the Franco-Prussian war of 1871. It was a Reich’s province until it became a quasi-state…
Reconnaissance part twoThe reconnaissance patrols also came in three types: close-distance, long-distance, and officer patrols. Close-distance patrols were the primary method used in cavalry reconnaissance. They scouted terrain and situations…