NGC w/o Bismarck

[Mikestone8]

Koniggratz; At 7-45am on July 3 1866; King Wilhelm I arrived at HQ, accompanied by Bismarck. They had been there only a few minutes when an artillery duel broke out, and a shell exploded only a few feet away, causing brief alarm but no injuries.

WI a fragment from that shell had killed Bismarck?

It won't affect the outcome of the battle, as Bizzy played no particular role in that. Given the King's known views on peace terms, it's probably bad news for Franz Josef and King John of Saxony, but better for the King of Hanover and the Grand Dukes of Nassau and Hesse-Kassel. However, the main point - the dissolution of the German Confederation and its replacement by a North German one - is likely to be the same.

But the details could be significantly changed. If Wilhelm agrees to the NGC having an independent judiciary and a few more bones for the liberals, could it be made attractive enough that the Southern states can in due course be persuaded to join w/o needing a French war to prod them into it? And if they did, would France acquiesce in this, or would the FPW come anyway?

Thoughts?

 

[FillyofDelphi]

Koniggratz; At 7-45am on July 3 1866; King Wilhelm I arrived at HQ, accompanied by Bismarck. They had been there only a few minutes when an artillery duel broke out, and a shell exploded only a few feet away, causing brief alarm but no injuries.

WI a fragment from that shell had killed Bismarck?

It won't affect the outcome of the battle, as Bizzy played no particular role in that. Given the King's known views on peace terms, it's probably bad news for Franz Josef and King John of Saxony, but better for the King of Hanover and the Grand Dukes of Nassau and Hesse-Kassel. However, the main point - the dissolution of the German Confederation and its replacement by a North German one - is likely to be the same.

But the details could be significantly changed. If Wilhelm agrees to the NGC having an independent judiciary and a few more bones for the liberals, could it be made attractive enough that the Southern states can in due course be persuaded to join w/o needing a French war to prod them into it? And if they did, would France acquiesce in this, or would the FPW come anyway?

Thoughts?

Not likely, no. One key factor is that South German opposition had a strong basis in their monarchies; Bavaria in particular, and pecularist sentiments that viewed the Federation as a vechile of Prussian domination. Indeed, that's one of the big reasons the title contiversy (German Emperor vs Emperor of Germany) was so salient. Without Bismark's diplomacy (depending on whos the new Minister-President) you also have greater internal divides coming back to head in domestic politics which limits the push for unification since there's huge disagreements over what the nature of the new state ought to be and no clear hegemonic faction\personality to impose it's vision.