RAR: Friedrich III lives

[The Original Nex]

What if, in 1888 Kaiser Friedrich III of Germany did not succumb to cancer of the throat, and instead recovered to go on and rule the German Empire? Would he allow Bismarck to continue with his plans for repressing the SPD, and his foreign policy juggling, or would he, as his son did, clash with Otto and ultimately send him packing? Assuming that he rules as his father did; letting Bismarck largely do what he wished, how would German history have been different were Bismarck allowed to continue governing into the 1890s?

Edit: Apologies for the hashed together nature of this RAR...I'm in the middle of a term paper on the Kaiserreich and this question just floated across my mind....

[Falkenhayn]

Frederick accepts English offers of alliance, 1900-'02, IIRC, and there's no war in Europe until the German Empire or England decide otherwise.

Of course, you could be Hans-Uhlrich Wehler, and say that the feudalization of the bourgeoisie is as inevitable as the sunrise after 1877, and the Escape Forward will happen sometime or another. Then again, without Bill's impetus, I don't see a Hochseeflotte in the offing, Tirpitz stays an obscure punk in a rump service, and the 90% Federal expenditure on armaments and the direct taxation crisis that brought down von Bulow's government dosen't happen. You'll still have to reconcile the prerogatives of the German Emperor with the Bismarck-designed Chancellery. Then again, Bismarck was thrown out because he wouldn't let the Kaiser read briefs written by, or meet with, his ministers without his approval. Bismarck's in it for Bismarck, and the interplay between him and Fritz would be interesting. Fritz is a flaming pinko to the traditional elites, and wields a huge amount of exta-legal authority through the Prussian Court and its associated expenses/cash flow. Hell, the Kaiser has personal assets in excess of $200 Million, in 1900 Reichsmarks. If Bismarck crosses Fritz, he's got to go, but Ol' Otto was famous for playing on his status as a popular demigod and threatening his resignation to get his way.

Fredrick probably won't put a thug like Karl von Einem in charge of the Ministry of War, so, just maybe, Germany reforms the Prussian Army to remake the Landwehr into the integration of civilian and military spheres that vom Stein, Scharnhorst and Gneisnau intended, rather than maintain Hardenburg's "State within the State", life time professional bussiness. But hopefully theirs no Moroccan Crises, No naval arms race, nor a retarded chancellor like Caprivi taking the advice of a pencil dick like Holstein to let the reinsurance treaty lapse.

Sorry. I've spent 18 hours writing shit for finals. I had to take my mind of things, hopefully that isn't too incoherent. The Army shit's Gordon A. Craig, and even though he's a Don of German historiography, The Politics of the Prussian Army is 60 years old. Get Dierk Walter or Manfred Messerschmidt in translation if it's availble, that's some good stuff.