Austria-Hungary had just lost a war against Prussia, Italy and their Allies in 1866. The collective German war effort was aimed at France. I don't remember if those treaties were phrased against all external threats or just France. Just a cough from Vienna would create substantial problems, though.Futurist wrote:Would any of these countries have actually went to war with Prussia/Germany over the Briey-Longwy area in 1871, though?Baltasar wrote:Yeah, that might be the case. However, Realpolitics would not allow for that. Germany had to consider what Britain, Austria Hungary and Russia would allow for.Futurist wrote:Frankly, if Germany was going to annex Alsace-Lorraine, then it should have also annexed resource-rich Briey and Longwy (as well as possibly Nancy) while it was at it. After all, this might have very well significantly weakened France's military power for decades to come.Baltasar wrote:I tend to agree that it would have been better not to annex Alsace-Lorraine, but the nationalist sentiment wouldn't allow for anything less. If France had agreed to the first proposals, it would have been possible, but with the war prolonged by the French, it was out of the question. The Germans had to up their demands, simply as a result of pointless losses and expenses caused by the French.
The UK always made it clear that there should be no dominant power on the continent for fear of an invasion, not to mention economical issues.