Hesse-Darmstadt (light green) in 1845
XII. Revolution
The Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt's star was very much on the rise as 1845 began. In the seven years since the First Hanover War the Grand Duchy had increased it's size many times over and had increased it's population from 1.4 million to just over 3.2 million. In addition, the conquest of the remaining Hanoverian lands in the Second Hanover War had put Hanover's industry in the hands of the duchy. Hanover had been a major exporter of canned goods as well as liquor and once Hesse-Darmstadt took control of these industries money began pouring into the duchy's treasury. The money coming in easily paid off the debt incurred by the brief war and set Hesse-Darmstadt on the road to achieving Ludwig II's dream of the duchy becoming an economic powerhouse. The once insignificant little country was now a factor in the world of German politics. While certainly not as powerful or influential as Prussia or Austria, it could be argued that Hesse-Darmstadt now stood behind only Bavaria in terms of the strongest of the German minor states.
The increasingly strong position that the Grand Duchy found itself in excited no one more than the hero of the Hanover Wars, Prince Karl. Immediately upon concluding peace with Great Britain in November 1844, he began pressing his brother, Grand Duke Ludwig III, to increase the size of the standing army, both to enable him to better control the conquered territories and to open up the possibility of further aggressive actions. Karl, though by natural inclination and training a soldier, had a firm grasp of the Grand Duchy's economic situation. The Grand Duchy's economic base had expanded greatly, but it's industry was still dependent on foreign resources to produce goods for export. Only by seizing those resources for itself would Hesse-Darmstadt unlock it's economic and industrial potential. Karl would even go so far as to suggest possible targets for his expanded armed force- most notably Holland which he described as
"Abundant in resources and lacking in the ability to defend them."
Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse-Darmstadt
The new Grand Duke, however, rejected his younger brother's request for more divisions and refused to discuss the possibility of further wars of aggression. Ludwig III had been opposed to his father's expansionist aims from the start and feared that the Grand Duchy may have already overstepped itself in the eyes of it's powerful neighbor, Prussia. He was convinced that any further bellicosity would bring Prussia down on him and his country and accordingly informed Karl that there would be no question of armed action outside of defense. The new Grand Duke briefly toyed with the idea of relieving Karl as Commander-in-Chief of the army to drive that point home, but was dissuaded by advisers who reminded Ludwig of his brother's popularity among both the military and civilian population.
Though greatly disappointed, Karl accepted his brother's pronouncement without much in the way of complaint; the only comment made being that it would be difficult to hold down Hanover's population with such a small force. Ludwig did at least concede that point to him and though he would not finance a larger standing army, he did replace the Grand Duchy's woefully inadequate constabulary with a professional state police force. This was not only in response to a need to control and observe the conquered population of Hanover, but was also a response to the situation at home. As was covered previously, the constabulary force force that protected the Grand Duchy was seriously underfunded and understaffed. As one can well imagine, this resulted in a spike in crime and corruption in the Grand Duchy's urban centers. With so many people impoverished by the harsh taxes imposed in the years between the two wars, crime was rapidly becoming an epidemic in some areas.
The men of the new police force, dubbed the Hessen Polizei, were the complete opposite of the old constables. They operated on a military model and were well funded, equipped, and paid. They were also highly motivated and crime began to drop off quickly. Fighting crime was not their only duty, however. This new police force also made the "dangerous" liberal movement that was gaining ground in Europe and the Grand Duchy it's enemy. They routinely monitored and occasionally broke up political gatherings and generally harassed the country's liberal leaders.
No where were these activities more apparent than in Hanover. The people of Hanover had for years been chafing under the rule of Hesse-Darmstadt's Grand Dukes and hostility toward the conquerors always seethed just under the surface. That hostility had only grown in the months following Hanover's annexation. Since the assassination of Ludwig II, the occupation had turned more oppressive and brutal with the Hessian soldiers always seeming more than ready to take their anger over the Grand Duke's murder out on any Hanoverian they came across. It is not known how much of this Prince Karl was aware of, but it seems certain that it at least had his tacit approval. In response to this as well as the subjugation of their homeland, nationalist groups began to crop up all over Hanover. These groups began to stockpile weapons and an armed rebellion seemed only a hair's breadth away. To combat these groups and to generally keep the people of Hanover in check, Ludwig III created a special arm of the Hessen Polizei that would come to be called the Geheimpolizei and sent it all across Hanover. Their presence, while meant to calm the situation in Hanover, would only make it worse.
The Geheimpolizei set to work immediately and began raiding gatherings; public meetings having been made illegal in Hanover. The ringleaders of these meetings were arrested and imprisoned after brief and very biased trials. The effect was immediate, but not quite what the Geheimpolizei desired. Rather than be cowed by their actions, the people of Hanover only became more militant and angry. Meetings, rather than decreasing, began to increase and revolution began to be discussed more frequently and openly. When the Geheimpolizei broke up a meeting and arrested one of Hanover's most important liberal politicians, Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann, in February of 1845, the situation finally came to a head.
Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann
On the morning of February 17, a crowd gathered outside of Geheimpolizei headquarters in Hanover and demanded Dahlmann's release. The officers inside refused and ordered the crowd to disperse. At some point during this confrontation a weapon was fired. The officers barricaded themselves inside the station which was soon besieged by thousands of armed protesters. Gunfire was exchanged between the two groups for several hours before a detachment from the Hessen Armee's 2nd Regiment arrived and began firing volleys into the crowd to force it's dispersal. The crowd broke and fled. In the brief firefight one officer had been killed and three others wounded. As the army detachment marched across the area vacated by the protesters they found seventeen dead and scores more wounded. It was only the beginning.
As the crowd fled into the city they spread the word about the "massacre" at the police station and angry citizens began to assemble. Soon the mob numbered in the thousands and they began marching on the city center where they encountered the same soldiers from the 2nd Regiment. The two forces clashed and the Hessians were forced to give ground under the weight of the assault. Reinforcements were called in and a full fledged battle began in the streets of Hanover.
Protesters fire on Geheimpolizei headquarters in Hanover
Fighting went on in Hanover for three days before the rebellion was put down. Hundreds of soldiers and policemen were killed and wounded during the uprising. Casualty numbers among the rebels are unknown, but were sure to be in the thousands. As the army set about restoring order in Hanover, a far more serious situation was developing back home in Darmstadt. The uprising in Hanover had not gone unnoticed by the Grand Duchy's home-grown liberal leaders. Sensing that the time had come to sweep away the old order, they began to assemble in support of their "brothers to the north". Ludwig III responded by barring public gatherings and sending the police to arrest Heinrich von Gagern, though Gagern was uninvolved with these gatherings and was actually in Darmstadt at the time to argue for government support of the Grand Duchy's poor.
Gagern was tipped off by supporters well before the police arrived and managed to flee the city and go into hiding. News of his plight spread amongst his supporters like wildfire and soon people began pouring out of the Grand Duchy's rural areas and converging on Darmstadt. The crowd would eventually grow to over 10,000 strong. Without anything to oppose this force other than a few hundred police, Ludwig III fled the ducal palace in Darmstadt for one of his family's estates to the south.
Darmstadt Castle where Ludwig III took refuge
With the seat of government now vacant, the mob seized the city and immediately demanded Ludwig III's abdication. Faced with the prospect of a frenzied mob storming his estate, Ludwig agreed and formally abdicated the throne of Hesse-Darmstadt on March 1, 1845. The mob rejoiced and declared the formation of the Republic of Hesse-Darmstadt. Heinrich von Gagern, who had still not openly participated in this thus far bloodless revolution, was unanimously elected as the republic's first President. Gagern was reluctant to accept the position, but realized that the republic would need structure if it was to survive and agreed. He arrived in Darmstadt on March 4 and quickly set about forming a government and drafting a constitution for the new republic.
Heinrich von Gagern- President of the Republic of Hesse-Darmstadt
Gagern also began preparing for the republic's defense as well. He knew all too well that the abdication of Ludwig III had not magically swept away the old order. The former Grand Duke had been childless and so his abdication had transferred the throne to his younger brother, Prince Karl. Gagern knew Prince Karl fairly well and did not for a moment believe that he would give up power without a fight.
He would, of course, be proven right. Prince Karl received word of the situation in Darmstadt and his brother's abdication on March 6. He paused only long enough to be formally crowned as Grand Duke Karl I before leading the army south to reclaim his city.