Fatherlands: State-Building and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Germany

1> What did the German state govt's of Saxony, Hanover, and Wuttemburg do to seek support from its citizens? In order to gain support from their citizens, the German state govt's of Saxony, Hanover, and Wuttemburg did several things; They became more open to the public, and began to associate more with the people. Royal ceremonies became much more open to the public, and monarchies began to organise state festivities, such as processions, that often included cheering and the waving of flags. Also, Monarchies would place their royal art collections on display in museums for consumption of the public eye. Lastly, the govt's would also encourage their citizens to donate to private causes that aided in the financing of the building of various state monuments. Thus governments gained the support of their citizens though out Germany.

2> German Kings encouraged their people to support their states in many ways: such as encouraging the newspapers to be "pro-govenrment" encouragin the for-mentioned eventsevents of processions, and also by showing their generosity by donating their atristic archives to meuseums.

3> States influenced public opinion through newspapers and education by not only having both pro government and anti-giovernment views in their newspapers but also by influencing education so that it spread out into the more broad subjects, encouraging them to become more govenrment involved.

War in the Industrial Age 1815 -1914

Ok, see this is why it's not a good idea to attack the guys with the guns when your only weapon is a bicycle. This is why the silly Frenchmen lost to the Prussians. They were on bikes, the Prussian's had tanks. Do the math.

Section 8 Question
How did public opinion play an increasingly important role in the conduct of military affairs in the period up to 1914? Public opinion played an important role in the conduct of military affairs in the period leading up to 1914. Because of the development of the telegraph, and the increase of public litteracy, news was more widespread among the population. Patriotism and Nationalism became two very important factors in the way the people viewed the military. Patriotism was the main thing holding societies together, serving one's country and dying for one's country was a popular view. Nationalism was displayed through new flags and anthems. People were also becoming part of the militarism movement, allowing men to enlist in the army, rather than simply take the misfits of society, dress them up, and pass them off for soldiers. Now the people could actually take pride in their nations army, rather than be ashamed of having criminals representing them.

Section 9 Question
What impact did industrialization have on the nature of warfare during this period? (Mr. Hyer, I lost the last sheet of my packet and was unable to respond to this question. I am so sorry!)

Lessons from Wars of German Unification

Section 5 Questions:

1. What were the reasons for Prussian military supremacy during the wars of Germany unification? During the wars of German Unification, the Prussian army had military supremacy for several reasons; the use of the General Staff, their use of railroad strategies, their growth in number, and their new tactics. The General Staff, had been developed during the Napoleonic Wars, and it was used to develop new army doctrines and war strategies. However, it did not gain sufficiency until 1857 when Helmuth von Moltke was made Chief of the General Staff, and transformed it into the most effective of army leaderships in all Europe. It became intense on the study of previous campaign strategies, and mapping of the country which would be used for militant purpose. There was also the increase of use of the Railways, which they could use to send their troops on the first call on their required services. Prussia also extended its army to their people, allowing anyone of any social class to enlist. However, there was a slight change in years of service, instead of serving 2 years in the regular army, soldiers were required to serve 3 and this was followed by an additional 4 years of service in the army reserve. Never the less, their new recruits were now better educated and even better training wise. This helped to increase the Prussians army size to double its previous capacity, and increase its ability for a bid on greater status of power. Finally there was the increase of Prussian war tactics. Their use of faster mobilization, through railways and their increase in fire power due to breech-loading riffles gave them the extra boost in military efficiency. This allowed for the Prussian army to leave behind the full frontal attacks and instead allowed them to develop new war strategies, such as out flanking the enemy and finishing them off quickly by closing in on them. Thus, the Persian army able to become more efficient in military strategy and gain military supremacy.

2. What were the lessons drawn from these wars? There was one thing that could be taken from the Wars of German Unification, and that was to be more like Germany; That nations should change to become more like this one country that had dominated the French and the Austrians. Thus, the lessons learned were as follows, -Rapid mobilization via railroad, was of the utmost importance.

-You needed to pay very close attention to sweeping plans of attack. -The use of General staff was valuable and essential as the brain of military exploits. These were added to the concept of power and speed of attack being the main reason for the supremacy of the Prussians military excellence.

Section 6 Questions:

1. What impact did the introduction of the magazine rifle have on warfare? With the introduction of the magazine rifle, the impact it had on warfare was tumultuous. Unlike the previous gun styles, which held only one bullet at a time, the new guns could hold up nine bullets in the loading chamber. Better still, each bullet could be fired once every four seconds. Later, there was the development of metal encased cartridges and smokeless propellants, thus allowing for the gunman's position to be covered, without having to worry about gun smoke giving away their cover, or making it difficult to see. And finally, the most important of all, was the change in the number of cartridges someone could carry, from sixty rounds to two hundred rounds.

2. Why were many military commanders reluctant at first to use the machine gun? Many of the military commanders were very reluctant at first to use the machine gun because it was a serious challenge to their beliefs of how warfare should be. They had once believed that it was an individuals courage, morale, and the discipline of their specific fighting forces ,was far more important than anything technology was capable of producing. They feared that the machine gun would some how lessen the value of the individual fighting unit.

3. What advances did artillery make during the last half of the nineteenth century? There were several advances made in artillery during the last half of the nineteenth century. The application of the stronger steel technology was one, which increased accuracy and the potental ability to win battles. The light weight, the change in mobility, and better range enhanced the weapons. Finally, there was the development of new explosive devices like cordite, TNT, and lyddite that did not give away the firer's position and gave far better range for attack than before.

Section 7 Questions:

1.Why did commanders cling to the idea of the offensive? How is this reflected in their strategic plans and military build up? Commanders clung to the idea of the offensive, because the had been part of the Napolitic era and had been part of the full frontal assults.

Franco-Austrian War lessons

1. What were the advantages and disadvantages of railroads during the Franco-Austrian War of 1859? During the Franco-Austrian War of 1859 there were both advantages and disadvantages of the railroads. The French were more than able to use the railroads to their advantage, using it to send their fully supplied, peak conditioned infantry soldiers, of 120,000 men to the battle lines of Northern Italy. This gave them a huge advantage against the Austrian reserve, who could not fathom the railroad, and only succeeded in getting themselves lost and as such managed to miss the battle altogether. (Are we sure it was an accident? Cause if it were me, I'd skip that too.)

2. What critical mistake did French commanders make regarding the use of an infantry charge? The one critical error that French commanders made during the Franco-Austrian War was using the infantry charge which was a suicidal idea. The only reason they weren't massacred was because the Slav conscripts couldn't fully use their new rifles or understand their Austrian commanders!