Imperial Province of Elsaß-Lothringen (497 Kb)

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The Republic of Alsace-Lorraine was a short-lived independent state formed after World War I with the support of US president Woodrow Wilson.

Under the German Empire of 1871-1918, the territory constituted the Reichsland or Imperial Province of Elsass-Lothringen. The area was administered directly by the imperial government in Berlin, and was granted some measure of autonomy in 1911.

In October 1918, the Kaiserliche Marine, which had largely remained in port after the Battle of Jutland, was ordered to leave port to fight. However, the naval troops refused to obey. At that time, about 15,000 Alsatians and Lorrains had been incorporated into the Kaiserliche Marine. Several of them joined the insurrection, and decided to rouse their homeland to revolt.

On 8 November, the proclamation of a Republic of Councils in Bavaria was aired in Strasbourg, the capital city of Alsace. Inspired by this, thousands of demonstrators rallied on the Kléber Square, the main square in Strasbourg, to acclaim the first insurgents returning from northern Germany. A train controlled by insurgents was blocked on the Kehl bridge, and a loyal commander ordered to shoot on the train. One insurgent was killed, but his fellows took control of the city of Kehl.

The insurged seamen established a Soldiers' Council of Strasbourg, and took the control of the city. A council of workers and soldiers was then established and presided by the leader of the brewery workers' union. Their motto was: 'Neither German neither French nor neutral.'^{citation needed}

Eleven days later, Alsace-Lorraine was occupied by and incorporated into France. The region was reverted to the centralized French system and lost its recently acquired autonomy as the départements of Upper and Lower Alsace and Moselle.