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Prussian Revolution of 1848
Topic Started: Jun 23 2010, 03:28 PM (1,732 Views)
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March 18, 1848

Within days of the uprisings in Vienna, the revolution of 1848 spread throughout Prussia and the German states. In Berlin, huge crowds of people gathered outside the palace to demand popular reforms from King Frederick William IV, including parliamentary elections, a constitution, and complete freedom of the press. Talk of "merging Prussia into Germany" also flowed freely as citizens rallied behind the black-red-gold tricolor, the new symbol of unity among Germans.

On March 18, a large demonstration occurred and two shots were fired, leading to an escalation of tensions between the mob and the Prussian army. Barricades were erected, fighting started, and blood flowed until troops were ordered to retreat a day later, leaving hundreds dead.
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9 March 1848
On the ninth of March a crowd forced its way into the City Hall, and the usally stolid assembly became a protest rally, calling for more rights for the people and universal sufferage.
Daily meetings also were held in 'the tents' area of the Tiergarten. This area of of the park, which had been taken over by peasants and revolutionairies was filled with tents. Soon the crowds in the area numbered twenty thousand people from Berlin aswell from the surrounding areas.

13 March 1848
By the thirteenth of March 1848 things were getting out of hand, and units from III. Armeekorps were called into the city to reinforce the garisson. Crowds of revolutionairies were drawn towards the formations of soldiers, and started taunting them. The Army -when confronted by unruly subjects- had to go trough the act of 1835. First they had to read the act out three times, then three signals with a drum or trumpet had to be given. Only following these signals could the attack commence. This caused the populance to wait for the second drum or trumpet signal, before dispersing and reatreating, before returing. The soldiers would have to go trough the whole riot act again. This way the crowds kept the soldiers busy for hours on end playing a game with them.

15 March 1848

By the fifteenth the situation was so volitile that small groups of uniformed men had to take care to not be killed or assaulted by revolutionairies. A group of Prussian officiers was forced to seek cover in a administrative building whos armed guards drove the attackers off.

17 March 1848
On the seventeenth the King was forced to give into pressure, with news of riots braking out in Koningsberg, Stettin and Leipzig. Also the German States of Baden, Hanover, Saxony, Bavaria, Wurtemburg and Hesse had all been forced to give into the demands of the crowds. A constitutional system was promised. It was however, too late to call of a demonstration planned for the next day.

18 March 1848
The King appeared on the balkony of the palace and read out his proclamation of the day before. The crowds, numbering in the thousands were full of joy. The King, after a few hours of cheering had had enough, and ordered the Dragoons of the Guard to clear the square without any bloodshed. The crowd turned sower when they saw the Dragoons, and by accidental discharge of musket, and the pressure of the crowd, several protesters died. This triggered outrage troughout Berlin, with people building barricades and attacking the royal palace. The hardliners with the King told him that it was time to get rif of this rable. Fighting lasted until midnight, when the army had been fought to a standstill against the rebels.

19 March 1848
Troughout the 19th fighting continued, with hundreds of deaths falling on each side. By six it was clear that it would become a masecre, and the King ordered the troops to return to the area around the Royal Palace.
On 19 March the King recieved news that all major cities had fallen to the revolutionaries and that some elements of the army were refusing to fight their own people. The King then wrote a other lengthy work titled 'To my Berliners' calling for the Berliners to put down their arms, and to remove the barricades. In reurn the King gave his Royal word that all of the city would be cleared of troops.

20 March 1848
With colums of troops leaving the city a large crowd once again gathered around the Palace. The people who had died the day before were laid in front of the King and the crowd started taunting 'hat off, hat off!' The King having no choise took of his head, and was the forced to bow to the dead. The King said he would give in to all the demands of the crowd, unifersal sufferage, a constitution and to become head of the movement to unite Germany.

21 March 1848
On the twenty first of March, after a week of tensions, and after spending the night dpeaking with the delegation of the people in the square the King made a massive public relations stunt. Without Guards, and draped in the black-red-yellow flag of a united Germany he went trough the streets of Berlin. He gave impromptu speaches to the public, expressing his whishes for a united Germany, serimonially a number of envoys was dispatched to all North German States at the end of the day.

26 March 1848
The King made his way to Potsdam to confront his angry hard line conservative army chiefs. There he declared himself supporting the revolutionairies. And that he expected the Army to follow him, eventough they might not agree with him. The climax of his speech came in the form that he never felt safer than now in the hands of his citizens. His speeches were cuickly printed in newspapers, and recieved support from the citizens of Prussia, as wel as from the rank and file of the Prussian armed forces.

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With the completing of the Prussian consitution, the King has said that the elections will be held On the first of June. To the great happiness of the population.
Edited by Prussia, Jun 24 2010, 04:21 PM.
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April 1848

The King of Prussia has extended offres to the leaders of Hanover, Brunswick, Oldenburg, Hamburg and Bremen to meet him in the newly completed dom in Koln. The dicussion would be about the unification of Northern Germany. Bavaria, Wurrtemburg, Baden, the Thuringian States and Saxony have also been invited.
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April 1848

The Guards Armeekorps has moved back around the area around the Royal Palace.
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June 1848

Following the elections all peace has returned to Berlin. The Guard Korps, and III. Korps have returned to their quarters. All the tents area in the Tiergarten has also been cleared, and all protesters who had come in to Berlin from the country side have returned home.
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May 1849

With the end of the Polish revolt, peace has now returned to Prussia. The balance of power has once again swung back into the hands of the King and the conservatives. There will still be elections, and a government but it will not be the most powerfull organ around. Even tough the Liberals did not get everything they wanted, there are a few important points where they made major breaktroughs.

The first one is the constitution. The first twenty three articels remain in force, and the King cannot countrmand any of these articles. The second point is that elections will still be held every four years, and the elected representatives will still retain plenty of power. Other than these two things, the King as retained all his power.

In fact, what the revolution has really changed is the ring of cronies around around the King. The men who used to have no official function, but who wielded very considerable power have been replaced my ministers, who are backed by the King, and partly by the people. The removal of this ring has had as effect that power is not abused as it used to be, and that corruption has been cut back.
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