What if FRANCE won the Franco-Prussian War?

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The 2nd French Empire was destroyed by Prussia in 1870. Napoleon III and the Bonapartes fled France and sadly never returned to power. Today I am answering what would’ve happened if Napoleon III and France defeated Prussian and took the Rhineland in the Franco-Prussian War.

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CARDS:
0:00 Real History
1:07 French Military Reforms
3:05 Franco-Prussian War
15:08 Napoleon IV
19:42 French Africa

#history #alternatehistory #hoi4 #ww1 #ww2 #victoria3 #frenchhistory #napoleon

After numerous attempts to retake the imperial  title failed, Louis Napoleon was elected the first   President of the second French republic following  the 1848 French revolution. Three years later,   to protect order in France, he staged a coup  d’état, supported by 92% of the population,  

Becoming the 2nd French Emperor on December 2,  1852. The new emperor quickly came to blows with   Prussia, who humiliated Austria in Brothers War in  1866. Otto von Bismarck, the Prussian chancellor,   tried to encircle France by installing the  Hohenzollerns in Spain. Louis Napoleon,  

Now Napoleon III, had to defend the honor  of France and saw opportunity to reclaim her   natural borders, declaring war upon the Prussians.  The Franco-Prussian War kicked off on July 19th,   1870, and the great powers expected the French  to roll through the pompous Prussians, but the  

French were devastated. By October, 1870, the  French empire was dissolved, and the Bonapartes   fled to England. Prussia declared itself the  Emperor of Germany, destroying the balance of   power, cementing control over the invaluable  Rhineland, and precipitating the World Wars. 

But don’t get down, you over 21,000 Français, and  the 90% who haven’t subscribed yet. History was   forever changed in 1866, as Napoleon III  eliminated the rampant corruption issues   that plagued the 2nd Empire after he saw the  Prussians humiliate the Austrians. The pleas  

Of Generals Ducrot and Trochu were heard, quickly  reforming the French military. Napoleon III forced   the unedited Loi Niel through in 1868, mimicking  Prussia by creating a mobile guard of conscripts   instead of the sole reliance on professional  soldiers. The Garde Mobile was strengthened  

To 400,000 troops, as all fighting men were forced  to serve five years in the active army and four in   the reserves, with no exceptions. The  ingenious stock depots were now ready   as a precaution against Germany, filled with food,  their superior French weapons, and other supplies.  

Furthermore, Edmond Le Bœuf was appointed the  commander-in-chief of the Army of the Rhine,   with instructions to target Prussian troops,  treating non-prussians better to sway them to   France once the army crossed into Germany proper. The war began in July 1870, as Saarbrucken  

Was taken on the 31st. The battle of  Wissembourg was incipient of the war,   seeing successful Prussian attacks before  reinforcements arrived and the city was   retaken within two days. Crown Prince Friedrich  Wilhelm was caught, bolstering French morale. The French began pouring into the southern  Rhineland, taking key cities by the end of August.  

Empress Eugene, running the nation from Paris,  elected to leave the 14,000 strong garrison in   Rome to defend the Pope since the war progressed  positively. The Moselle and Rhine became the new   front, with the French digging in, forcing  the Prussians to throw themselves into their  

Lines. These defensive positions favored their  superior range with the Reffye mitrailleuse,   a proto machine gun, forestalling the Germans,  requiring untenable pushes, costing 50% of their   men to reach their lines. A cycle of near-suicidal  attacks turned into the norm, exterminating  

Thousands. This allowed supplies to reach the  front lines, preparing the French to push on. General von Steinmetz made an overzealous,  unplanned move, leading the 1st Army through   Luxembourg as he grew desperate for a victory.  Confused officers followed into the Benelux as   communication faltered, playing into French  plans as international opinion turned against  

The Germans. Russia abandoned their secret  anti-Austrian treaty, and the UK sent an ultimatum   to Prussia to withdraw and contemplated entering  the war, but decided not. Bismarck wanted to save   face, committing to conquer Belgium. Liege fell on  August 20, as the Belgians were caught off before  

They lost at Gesves, and the Germans besieged  Charleroi on September 2nd. Napoleon III moved   the French army into Belgium to “defend” their  neighbors once Leopold promised minor territorial   concessions. In Luxembourg, they were annihilated  at Ettelbruck, and the Germans met them at Mersch,  

Where they caused massive casualties to both  sides, but drove the Germans out of Luxembourg. The Prussians continued in Belgium, fighting at  St. Hubert before retreating and regrouping with   at Hannut. The Germans took Leuven, threatening  Brussels. Leopold II promised Wallonia to France  

If they drove out the Prussians, signing  the secret Tuileries Agreement. They quickly   liberated Charleroi, while their compatriots were  pushed from Hannut to Waterloo. After 2 days,   the situation was dire as the Prussian were on  the cusp of victory. On the 29th, von Steinmetz’s  

Scouts missed a brigade under the command of the  young crown Prince Louis-Napoleon. The brigade   outflanked them and forced an immortal victory for  France. The tale of the young Bonaparte avenging   his uncle’s defeat sent shockwaves throughout  Europe. Command in Belgium was handed to the  

Crown Prince, who turned the tide, taking Leuven  and Liege, forcing the Germans to Aix-la-Chapelle. Given the disastrous expedition, southern  German states contemplating making peace,   as secret negotiations with  Saxony and Bavaria commenced,   offering to return Bavaria’s Napoleonic western  border, but the deals fell through in Munich.

Aix-la-Chapelle had immense symbolic meaning  to both sides, as the principal city of   Charlemagne’s glorious empire of old.  The city was well defended by Prussians,   who retreated from the Moselle, forcing Saxons  to hold their withdrawal. This was a disaster,   as they were encircled by two French  divisions at the Battle of Nürburg  

Castle on October 11. The castle’s restoration  had only recently begun since it was destroyed   during the Napoleonic Wars. 13,000 men, half  of the Saxon army, were forced to defend the   castle and quickly surrendered to the French,  enraging von Moltke for their timorousness.

The French encircled the city, prompting  Louis-Napoleon to offer peace terms as   Aix-le-Chapelle had outdated defenses,  but the Prussians superciliously replied,   “Aachen will defend itself to the last  soldier, biscuit, and cartridge”. Thus,   the siege began. 16 days later, on the  19th, Aix-la-Chapelle fell. 32,000 Germans  

Were captured, and many more bravely gave  their lives to defend their homeland. The   fall forced the remaining armies to retreat  to Cologne, the last major city west of the   Rhine. The French cautiously followed  the Germans, wary of overextending,   but two brigades outpaced their lines, and  were obliterated at Weilerswist on October 23,  

With 20,000 dead. A day later, the army from  Belgium arrived, forcing them to Cologne. More and more French troops accumulated  outside of Cologne before the siege began   on the 25th. Napoleon III offered these peace  terms to the Prussians, tempting Wilhelm I,  

But Bismarck urged the King to refuse, despite  the vicissitudes, promising the tides were   shifting. Internationally, the offer was deemed  fair; Russians and British predicted the French   would soon invade Germany proper, leading  to far worse for Prussia. Saxony, Baden,  

And Bavaria pulled troops out of Cologne as they  saw the writing on the wall. King John of Saxony,   who supported Austria in the Brothers War,  agreed to switch sides should France bring   in Austria. The rapid withdrawal of 11,000  troops to Dresden worried the Prussian command,  

Sensing something was amiss. On December 2,  Cologne fell to the French, causing massive   riots in Berlin that were crushed by Bismarck,  who reassured Wilhelm of the Prussian position. Denmark, eager to avenge their defeat  in the 2nd Schleswig war from 1864,  

Began mobilizing their army to join France,  who sent an army to assist the Danes. The vaunted Prussian counteroffensive began  on December 8th, with massive attacks across   the entire Rhine. Cologne, Mainz, Koblenz were  crippled, and the Prussians ended up destroying   their former lands. There were massive  civilian casualties, horrifying the globe,  

Ending any hope for international support as  people watched on with disgust for the Prussians. Meanwhile, Austria mobilized their forces and  negotiated with their allies in the Brothers’   War to flip. France and Austria signed the  Hofburg Accord, agreeing to total victory  

Over Prussia and mutual defense against Italy. Denmark declared war on January 11th, pouring   into Schleswig-Holstein, easily taking Schleswig  and Kiel, before besieging Lubeck. On the 18th,   Emperor Franz Joseph declared war, joined by  Ludwig II of Bavaria, Frederick I of Baden,  

Louis III of Hesse, and John of Saxony. Each  was staunchly anti-Prussian and sided with   Austria five years earlier. Charles I of  Württemberg remained committed to Prussia,   prompting Napoleon III to agree to a  partition of Wurttemberg after the war. The   conflict effectively echoed the Brothers War, but  crucially, the French were aiding the Austrians.  

When Bismarck learned of this, he sought  Russia to uphold their anti-Austrian alliance,   but the Czar refused, citing internal unrest. The  Iron Chancellor then tried to accept the peace,   but Napoleon III had a new proposal:  drastic land reductions and dissolving   the North German Confederation. The Prussians  refused, but realized they were fighting to  

The last man while Bismarck vituperate  the indolent nature of southern Germans. On the 22nd, Lubeck fell to the Danes, while  Austria moved into Saxony, enabling to two to   defeat the Prussians at Leipzig. Austria moved  into Silesia and took Ratibor without a fight.  

The French campaign began, taking Dusseldorf and  Dortmund. Oppeln was more difficult, holding out   for two weeks before it fell. The Prussians pushed  the French back at Ohlau on February 16th, but   Prussia was completely outnumbered by the growing  coalition. German troops began fighting side by  

Side with the French, and carefully they freed  Giessen. As the Wurttemberg army was off with   the Prussians, Bavaria and Baden easily took  Stuttgart, declaring the Kingdom dissolved,   deposing the unpopular Charles I, to the glee of  many princes. The French besieged Hamburg. While  

The Danes reached Schwerin, they were defeated  and retreated. Conflict resumed on the 19th,   and the Danes were again defeated, losing 18,000  men. The French to abandoned Hamburg and united   with the Danes at Lauenburg, crushing the  Prussians. France returned to Hamburg to  

Finish the siege. The southern army captured  Brunswick, triggering a revolt in Hannover.   Five days later, the Bavaria took Fulda, closing  the South for Prussia. They combined with troops   from Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt, and besieged  Kassel, which fell on March 2nd. The Austrians   pushed north, crushing the Prussians at  Waldenburg, forcing a retreat to Breslau.  

Six days later, the siege began, while  perplexingly Russia mobilized 38,000 men. The Bavarians continued east, taking Halle,  while Nassau flipped to the coalition.   Brunswick finally fell by the 16th, followed  by Munster on the 18th. France continued north   but was rebuffed from Osnabruck on the 22nd,  before returning and taking it on the 30th.  

Germans were defeated again at Elsten on April  8th. Stettin fell to the Danes on the 10th,   who moved south to Berlin, forcing Wilhelm  to Konigsberg. Back west, the French finally   delivered Hamburg, and united to take Oldenburg.  Wittenberg fell to the Southern Germans on the  

19th while Breslau fell on the 28th. A small  Prussian army was beaten back on June 9th at   Wichau. Russia declared war on Prussia in  a shameless landgrab for Alexander II. The   Russians quickly reached Poznan and besieged it.  Berlin was encircled by the 23rd. A week later,  

The Russians captured Poznan, their only aim in  the war, now occupying all the former Duchy of   Warsaw. Alexander wanted to ensure Napoleon  III, who supported the Polish uprisings,   didn’t invade Poland, or form some Polish state  in Poznan, potentially inciting more riots  

In Warsaw. On June 30th, the Danes captured  Berlin, humiliating Prussia, ending the war.  The Treaty of Dresden was ratified on August  6, 1871. France integrated Southern Limburg,   Luxembourg and the entire German Rhineland. They  held to the Tuileries Agreement, taking Wallonia,  

While Leopold became the King of Flanders. The  Dutch were expanded to the Ems and received Cleves   as compensation for Luxembourg. The North German  Confederation was dissolved and everything west of   the Elbe river was stripped away. New states were  carved out, with Westphalia being the biggest. In  

Hannover, George V, who lost his throne six years  earlier, was reinstated. He was anti-Prussian,   pro-French, and related to the British royals.  Denmark annexed Schleswig-Holstein, and all   the previous Swedish lands in Pomerania-Stettin.  The Napoleonic borders of Saxony were increased.   Bavaria and Baden divided Wurtemberg, and  they both expanded north, while Baden became  

A kingdom. Austria retook Silesia, undoing  Frederick’s glorious achievement, while Russia   took Poznan. Prussia was no longer a great power,  losing all major industrial lands. They lost 72%   of their population, going from 27,000,000 to 7  and a half million, barely bigger than Bavaria.

A new German federation was established  without Prussia, and was supposed to be under   the Austrians, but the Hungarians blocked this, as  they feared it would reduce their influence in the   Empire. Denmark elected to join upon this news,  as they became the de facto head. Despite this, it  

Was relatively balanced between Denmark, Bavaria,  Saxony, Westphalia, and Hannover, preventing   German unification. Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust,  a former Saxon and Austrian minister known for his   sagacity, was appointed as the first chancellor.  He strongly opposed Prussia and advocated for  

Independence of the German states, as seen in the  Bamberg conferences of 1854. Von Beust also played   a key role in aligning Austria and Saxony  with France against Prussia during the war. Great Britain desperately began looking for  counters to the French, Austrian, Russian bond  

That was forming, forcing them to promote Italy  as Prussia’s status was destroyed. When Napoleon   III returned to Paris, he began construction  of a new massive memorial in the Champ de Mars   to outshine his uncle’s Arc de Triomphe. On January 9, 1873, Napoleon III passed,  

With his reputation was surpassing his uncle.  Under his reign, France markedly expanded,   ended German unification, saved the Pope,  built Paris into the city of lights,   increased industrialization, most  importantly, he knew when to stop. This left the 16-year-old Louis-Napoléon war  hero as the next French Emperor. Empress Eugene,  

Who had essentially ruled since the mid  1860s, became his regent until he was old   enough to rule. She immediately began searching  for the future wife and next empress of France. Louis-Napoléon was extremely popular, well  mannered, and very strict with himself. He  

Was a devout Catholic and Pope Pius IX was  his godfather. He was temerarious and eager   to prove his Napoleonic lineage, with perfect  knowledge of the French legal code. Surprisingly,   he was pro British and beloved by the royals  and the common folk of Great Britain. The best  

Description of Louis-Napoléon is “Loyal  to his God, his country, and himself”. On December 2, 1874, exactly 70 years since  Napoleon, Louis-Napoleon, now Napoleon IV,   was coronated at the Notre-Dame by Pope Pius  IX. Despite the coronation, Empress Eugene still   played a massive role in the government.  His first enterprise was finding a wife,  

And many options presented themselves. The  Austrian option was Archduchess Gisela Louise   Marie. Czar Alexander II had no daughters similar  in age, ruling Russia out. Princess Beatrice of   Great Britain and Napoleon IV were almost wed  in real life, so comment who you think he would  

Marry. Despite the rivalry between France  and England, Napoleon IV courted Beatrice,   making a strong and positive impression on Queen  Victoria, who was involved with his education as   a child, and historically believed the wedding  would bring peace between England and France,  

Perhaps all of Europe. Eventually, Queen Victoria  consented to the wedding, which was required   by the Royal Marriages Act of 1772. Princess  Beatrice converted before the wedding. In 1778,   the matrimony took place, establishing positive  ties between the historic foes. Napoleon IV sent  

A regiment to South Africa to assist the British  against the Zulus as a gift to his Mother-in-law.   Queen Victoria was pleased at the match as France  and England strengthened trade and both reaped   the economic benefits in due time. Empress Eugene  had finally achieved her goal, as questions of the  

Bonaparte legitimacy vanished, erasing the Bourbon  and Orleanist movements. This union worried   Russia, who wanted to solidify an anti-British  block with France and Austria, to enable a push   into India. Italy was similarly alarmed, as  the British had been their main supporters,  

But the wedding ended any chance at Rome, as  Napoleon IV was a staunch Papal supporter. The new lands were crucial to the economy and  were the most valuable in France. Historically,   they were the catalyst for Prussian modernization,  known as the “richest jewel in the crown of  

Prussia”. The Rhineland had tremendous mineral  resources, full of carbon, iron, lead, zinc, and   many others, but the abundance of coal out shown  the rest. Aix-la-Chapelle, Essen, Oberhausen,   Duisburg and Cologne all proved indispensable. It  fueled French modernization and industrialization,   outpacing Austria and Russia, quickly catching  Britain. It was also the most densely populated  

Region of the empire, and was majority  Catholic, easing the integration process.   French youths were encouraged to marry women  from the Rhine and dilute the Teutonic stock,   increasing the use of French language and culture  over time. Massive fortifications were built   to defend against future German aggression  and block any chance for German revanchism. 

Following the Balkan Uprisings and the  subsequently shocking Turkish retaliatory   atrocities against the Bulgarians, Russia declared  war to defend their Slavic Orthodox brothers. They   easily defeated the Ottomans, reaching the gates  of Tsargrad, while Austria deftly occupied Bosnia,   before France and the UK sent their navies to  protect the Ottomans, forcing negotiations.

New borders were drawn up at the Congress of  Munich in 1878. The Ottomans’ precarious position   forced secret deals with France for Cyprus and  Britain for Krete, which had already revolted   in 1866 and volatile. The two backed the Turks  at the congress in return. Bulgaria, Romania,  

Serbia, and Montenegro received independence,  while Russia annexed southern Bessarabia,   and Romania received northern Dobruja. Greece,  who heeded to the British and sat the war out,   were given Thessaly and Arta. Napoleon IV,eager to build upon   the colonial ambitions of his father,  oversaw the conquest of Tunisia in 1881.

The French retained their stranglehold over  Egypt as they prevented sales of the Suez   Canal shares in 1875. The Société Générale  outbid the British loan offer. Ismail I sold   his shares to the French, keeping the British  out of Egypt before the French position soon  

Strengthened during the Urabi revolt in  1879. Napoleon IV was excited to finish   what his great uncle attempted 80 years  earlier and sent 60,000 men to put down   the rebels when Colonel Ahmed Urabi tried to  end foreign rule. France occupied Egypt and  

Put down the rebels by 1882. Napoleon  IV decided to directly rule Egypt,   establishing a colonial government similar to  Tunisia, and acquired the title of Pharaoh. France subsequently invaded Libya in 1883 to  solidify North Africa. La Marine impériale   bombarded the coast, took Tripoli and Benghazi,  and reinstated the Karamanli dynasty as puppets. 

In 1884, Napoleon III’s celebratory project  was completed. These were built in the Champ   de Mars which is based on the Roman Campus  Martius. The pair were the “Obélisque de   la Victoire”, the Obelisk of Victory, and the  “Basilique de Saint Clovis le Vainqueur”, the  

Basilica of St. Clovis the Victor, dedicated to  Clovis, the first Catholic king of the Franks,   who was officially canonized. If you want  to learn more about Clovis click here. Both   were based on the Pantheon and the Fontana del  Pantheon in Rome, commemorating the victories  

In Germany and Africa. Built in the Champ de  Mars, the Eiffel Tower was never constructed. Napoleon IV, led by the President  of the Council of Ministers,   Patrice de MacMahon, realized Europeans  needed to divide Africa while maintaining   order in Europe. This would later be known as  the Versailles Conference, attended by France,  

Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, Russia,  Sweden-Norway, Denmark, America, Spain,   Portugal, Hannover, Italy, Flanders,  the Netherlands, and the Ottomans. Would France emerge as the masters of Africa,  would their alliance with England hold,   or would it all come crumbling down? 8,000 likes  for part 2. If you liked what you saw, like,  

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