What is German aggression?

Answer 1

German aggression dates back a long, long time and goes far beyond the two World Wars. The origin of German aggression dates back to ancient Roman times and the Battle of Teutoburg Forest (of which, the Teutonic Knights of medieval times took their name). The Germanic king of the Cherusci, Hermann (or Arminius in Latin) routed three Roman legions sent to the area by Augustus Caesar. The vast majority of what is now Germany was never subdued by the Roman Empire, however, at this time in history Germany was not a united State as it is now, it was a collection of warring tribes who would sometimes unite to raid and pillage bordering Roman provinces. Around the year 400, Attila and his Huns invaded the Roman Empire through the Balkans and managed to drive a number of Eastern Germanic tribes, like the Vandals and Goths, into the Roman Empire while allying themselves with other Germanic tribes, like the Gepids, Scirii, Rugians and Samartians. This Hunnic alliance brought wide swaths of the Roman empire to it's knees and exacted heavy tribute payments upon both the Eastern and Western emperors thru intimidation and violence. It was then that the famous Western Roman general, Flavius Aetius struck an alliance with king Theodoric of the Visigoths and defeated the Hunnic alliance at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. The following years saw the decline of the Roman empire, which the Germanic tribes capitalized on. Tribe after tribe flooded into the Western Empire and virtually seized every single territory formally held by Rome. The Goths sacked Rome and took Spain, the Vandals sacked Rome for a second time and took North Africa, the Lombards invaded Northern Italy, the Franks annexed Gaul and the Saxons and Angles subjugated the British Isles. By 600 AD, the former Western Roman empire was controlled by a conglomeration of Germanic tribes, hence the Dark Ages. During these so called Dark Ages, one ruler's star shown brightly. Charlemagne's (or Charles the Great's) Frankish empire was fully realized, stretching from Eastern Spain to the Adriatic Sea. A descendent of Clovis (the Frankish king who originally took Gaul from Rome and adopted Christianity), is known as a wise and benevolent ruler in today's modern history (which he was) but was also a brutal and savage expansionist who took the majority of the European continent by force, igniting conflict after conflict. He ultimately imposed his will upon nearly the whole of the European continent and took the title of "Holy Roman Emperor". After his death, Charlemagne's German empire was split amongst his sons. At the end of Charlemagne's reign, around 800 AD, a furious pagan Germanic tribe (or collection of pagan Germanic tribes) descended from the North. Viking marauders ravaged the Eurasian continent and Charlemagne's once great empire, raiding from Constantinople to the Volga River in Russia to London to Paris. A few historians even believe raiding parties may have made it as far as India and the Middle-East. The aggression of the Vikings was fierce and largely plunged Europe back into the Dark Ages that Charlemagne had ended. By the year 1000 AD, the Holy Roman Empire (or First Reich) had reunited much of the lands that were split by Charlemagne. The Holy Roman Empire saw many milestones, including the rise of the Hapsburgs, the Reformation, the 30 Years' War and ultimately the rule of Fredrick the Great in the 1700s. The Hapsburgs came to power over the Holy Roman Empire in the 1200s and were proclaimed the Kings of Austria and Spain in 1400-1500s. The House of Hapsburg was responsible for some of the most costly wars in European history (up to that point). The Spanish Hapsburgs were largely responsible for the colonization of the new world and numerous wars fought against their European neighbors. Philip II of Spain (a Hapsburg) famously attacked England with the Spanish Armada, only to be defeated by Queen Elizabeth I of England (or the weather, depending on which way you look at it). In the 1600s, a religious war, called the 30 Years' War, was primarily fought in Germany between rival Catholic and Protestant powers. The war was basically a continuation of hostilities between the German House of Hapsburg and the French House of Bourbon. Many nations were drawn into the conflict, including Sweden, Bohemia, Denmark-Norway, the Dutch Republic, France, Saxony, Electoral Palatinate, England, Transylvania and Hungarian Rebels fighting on the side of the Bourbons and the Holy Roman Empire, the Catholic League, Austria, Bavaria, the Kingdom of Hungary, Croatia and the Spanish Empire fighting on the side of the Hapsburgs. About 20% of the German population was wiped off of the map and the German state was decentralized after the Peace of Westphalia. Fredrick the Great came to power in 1740 and launched a series of wars against Austria, France, Russia, Sweden and the Netherlands. His successes led to the reunification of Germany in the 19th century.