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Description
In this World Bismarck drowned on the 22. of August in 1862, during his stay in france as german ambassador and was not saved by a basque townsmen.
Without him the Prussian king Wilhelm I abdicated in favor of his son Frederick III during the constitutional crisis over the reform of the army. The new king was much more liberal than his father and would transform Prussia in a constitutional monarchy.

This liberalisation brought Prussia at odds with the other main power of Germany, Austria. The fact that many german nationalist started to view Frederick as their best chance to unite Germany only exacerrbated the tensions.
Over the following years Prussia would form an alliance with Italy who also had territorial claims against it and also with Russia who was convinced that the Balkan would look much nicer if Austria and the Ottoman Empire would just disapear.
This in turn lead to the formation of the Entente between Austria and France.

As the century ended tensions on the continent were on an all time high and in 1907 the explosian came at last: The bavarian parlament tried to gain additional powers as the prussian had half a century before. However unlike in Prussia the king refused to give in resulting in an uprising against him. When Austria tried to get the german conferderation to move against the new government Prussia blocked their attempt and started to support the new government outright, ignoring an austrian ultimatum not to do so.
Shortly after this Prussia, Italy and Russia were at war with Francem, Austria and the Ottoman empire.
The german confederation was spilt with some states supporting Prussia and some siding with Austria and again other declaring their neutrality.
This neutrality however did not last for long. The french war plans had always assumed that they would quickly size the prussian Rhineland and link up with Austria. When the south german States refused to let the troops trough, Baden was invaded, causing the other states to side with Prussia.

Of course one can always make a war bigger: Reaussured by the British failure to do anything during the outbreak of the war France decided to enact a blockade against Prussia depriving it of nitrate imports and consequently gunpower.

Great Britain may have seen no reason to abandon its spledid isolation over a continental war, but French ships sailing through the chanal and establishing a blockade in the north sea was a different matter. An ultimatum demanding the retreat of all french ships from the north sea was delivered.
Unwilling to back down and loose face France refused and the first world war had begun.

Description
In this World Bismarck drowned on the 22. of August in 1862, during his stay in france as german ambassador and was not saved by a basque townsmen.
Without him the Prussian king Wilhelm I abdicated in favor of his son Frederick III during the constitutional crisis over the reform of the army. The new king was much more liberal than his father and would transform Prussia in a constitutional monarchy.

This liberalisation brought Prussia at odds with the other main power of Germany, Austria. The fact that many german nationalist started to view Frederick as their best chance to unite Germany only exacerrbated the tensions.
Over the following years Prussia would form an alliance with Italy who also had territorial claims against it and also with Russia who was convinced that the Balkan would look much nicer if Austria and the Ottoman Empire would just disapear.
This in turn lead to the formation of the Entente between Austria and France.

As the century ended tensions on the continent were on an all time high and in 1907 the explosian came at last: The bavarian parlament tried to gain additional powers as the prussian had half a century before. However unlike in Prussia the king refused to give in resulting in an uprising against him. When Austria tried to get the german conferderation to move against the new government Prussia blocked their attempt and started to support the new government outright, ignoring an austrian ultimatum not to do so.
Shortly after this Prussia, Italy and Russia were at war with Francem, Austria and the Ottoman empire.
The german confederation was spilt with some states supporting Prussia and some siding with Austria and again other declaring their neutrality.
This neutrality however did not last for long. The french war plans had always assumed that they would quickly size the prussian Rhineland and link up with Austria. When the south german States refused to let the troops trough, Baden was invaded, causing the other states to side with Prussia.

Of course one can always make a war bigger: Reaussured by the British failure to do anything during the outbreak of the war France decided to enact a blockade against Prussia depriving it of nitrate imports and consequently gunpower.

Great Britain may have seen no reason to abandon its spledid isolation over a continental war, but French ships sailing through the chanal and establishing a blockade in the north sea was a different matter. An ultimatum demanding the retreat of all french ships from the north sea was delivered.
Unwilling to back down and loose face France refused and the first world war had begun.