The Holy Roman Empire, as it was still called, was in an incredible state of disintegra tion. At the Congress of Rastadt (1798) the French envoys openly came out with their de mand for Rhenish territory, and the dispossessed princess clamored for compensation elsewhere in Germany. A witty publicist thereupon drew up the last will and testament of the old em pire. Austria renewed the war, indeed, but was defeated at Marengo and Hohenlinden and, by the Peace of Luneville (1801), was obliged to take active part in the dismemberment of Ger many. An executive council of the Diet, called the Imperial Deputation, passed a decree (1803) which practically annihilated more than 200 German states and divided up 50,000 square miles of territory. The compensations were arbitrarily apportioned so as to serve French interests, Napoleon Bonaparte's idea being to strengthen the South German states and create a German? to be under his own in fluence. He treated Germany as conquered territory, sending his troops to occupy Hanover, carrying off and putting to death the Duke of Enghien, who thought himself safe on Baden soil, and causing a bookseller of Nuremberz to be shot for selling a harmless publication which bewailed the general state of affairs.
The murder of the Duke of Enghien was one of the occurrences that roused Alexander of Russia to form a third coalition which was joined by Austria and England, but not by Prussia. The Napoleonic victories at 'Ulm and Austerlitz (1804) routed this coalition, and by the Peace of Pressburg (1805) Austria was di vested of 28,000 square miles of territory and 3,500,000 inhabitants; while Wurttemberg and Bavaria, which had aided Napoleon, were raised to the dignity of kingdoms. They formed the nucleus of the Rhine Confederation,' which now formally repudiated the jurisdiction of the Holy Roman Empire. This caused Francis I to abdicate the throne (1806), though he had carefully provided for the future, in 1804, by having the Hapsburg possessions declared an empire by themselves.
Prussia was now goaded into war with Napoleon by violation of her territory and by double-dealing with regard to Hanover. But never had a seemingly strong state shown more abject weakness; never was military organiza tion more faulty. The defeats of Jena and Auerstadt (1806) were overwhelming and the fortresses with which the land was studded fell like houses of cards. A brief rally at Eylau, where the Prussians were joined by Russian forces, was followed by the defeat of Friedland which frightened Alexander into signing a truce. By the Treaty of Tilsit (1807), Prussia was humbled in the dust and was shorn of half of her provinces. They went to form the kingdoms of Westphalia for Jerome Bonaparte, and the duchy of Warsaw for the king of Saxony.
Then began a time of moral and physical re generation. In every department arose earnest workers: Stein and Hardenberg, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, Jahn and Arndt, Fichte and Schleiermacher. Austria, too, arose from her lethargy, but struck her blow at Napoleon too soon and collapsed after Wagram (1809). Napoleon made Prussia join him in his in vasion of Russia, but his disasters gave the Prussians their longed-for opportunity. Gen eral Yorck, in command of a Prussian auxiliary force, renounced his allegiance to France, and even the phlegmatic Frederick William III was finally carried away. Landwehr and Landsturm were called out; England, Russia and Austria came to Prussia's aid, and the war of liberation began (1813). Napoleon returned from Paris with a new army and gained the battles of Liitzen and Bautzen. But Bliicher showed in domitable energy. After a series of defeats and one more victory Napoleon was penned in in Leipzig, and only escaped after an ultra bloody three days' battle. He was eventually followed into France and was forced to sur render. His return from Elba and his defeat at Waterloo are too familiar to be more than mentioned. See WATERLOO, BATTLE OF.
The Congress of Vienna left Germany in a very unsatisfactory condition, as a loose con federation with Austria at the head, and with a Diet that was to meet at Frankfort. There was
no central army, no treasury. The only means of coercion was federal execution, the deputing of one state to punish another.
The policy of the reactionary Austrian minis ter, Metternich, dominated the next 30 years. He made it his life-work to prevent the Ger man states from introducing constitutional gov ernment. He saw conspiracies everywhere and became the bitter enemy of the Burschen schaften and Turnvereine, comparatively in nocent student organizations which held meet ings like• the Wartburg and Hambach festivali (1817 and 1832), where there were inflamma tory demonstrations. The murder of the Rus sian agent Kotzebue by the Jena student Karl Sand enabled Metternich to thoroughly frighten Russia and Prussia, which had formed with Austria a Holy Alliance?' Draconian decrees were passed, and a sort of revolutionary in quisition was established at Mainz (1819). The Burschenschaften were dissolved, but the discontent of the students simmered on until 1848.
The hope of Germany, as we know now, lay in the supremacy of the strongest state. It was a great step forward when, between 1828 and 1842, Prussia managed to enroll in her Cus toms Union all the other German states except Austria. Commercial hegemony then paved the way for political leadership. One deterrent was the imperviousness of the Prussian king to liberal ideas. Frederick William IV steadfastly refused to give his subjects a written constitu tion, though at times using language that im plied sympathy with the popular demands. In 1848 the happenings in France unchained the spirit of revolt all over Germany. There were bloody uprisings in Berlin and Vienna, and a national parliament met at Frankfort. The crown of a new empire was offered to Fred erick William IV, but he spurned it as a crown plucked from the gutter and reeking like car rion. He got the better of the Prussian Revolutionary Parliament, but felt obliged to grant a constitution which, as he wrote to a friend, was liberal enough to make his own stomach ache. It is the constitution still in vogue in Prussia. The Frankfort Parliament was finally dispersed by force of arms, and Prussia endeavored to form a of which she should be head (1849). At Olmutz (1850), at the peremptory summons of Austria, she desisted, and consented to a simple restora tion of the old confederation, with its diet, as before, at Frankfort. To this diet the Prus sian delegate was Otto von Bismarck who, for 10 years, made it his special task to combat Austrian pretensions. Later he attacked the problem by strengthening the Prussian state, being called by King William to be prime minis ter, and so put through a great increase in the Prussian army. This was done by technically unconstitutional means and in the teeth of violent opposition from the Parliament, which Was not appeased until the utility of the new measures had been proved beyond a doubt in the victories over Denmark (1864) and over Austria (1866). The Danish War had been undertaken in common with Austria because of Danish efforts to incorporate the province of Schleswig-Holstein; the conflict with Austria had arisen with regard to the disposal of the spoils. Austria, supported by the minor Ger man states, had threatened federal execution. Prussia had accepted the challenge and declared her intention of founding a new confederation which the other states were to be compelled to After the swift overthrow of Saxony, Hesse, Hanover and Nassau, and after the great victory over Austria at Koniggratz., this plan was easily put into execution. Prussia became the head of the North German Con federation, from which Austria was excluded. By the mediation of the French emperor, Napoleon III, it was stipulated that the South German states might form their own organiza tion, which they never did. Prussia was allowed to annex much of her conquered terri tory'.