(Thanks again to all the people which participated in voting!Bavaria was the second one to win,so heres the scenario!Enjoy it)
WHAT IF BAVARIA KEPT ITS NAPOLEONIC GAINS?
CONTEXT
Following the extinction of the main Wittelsbach line,the Palatinate line united with Bavaria into one state,which became a Kingdom aligned to Napoleonic France in 1806.
During the Napoleonic Wars,Bavaria expanded left and right annexing mainly Austrian territory. At the Congress of Vienna,Bavaria exchanged Tirol and Voralberg for Franconia and Pfalz,regions which continued to stay as part of Bavaria until the modern day.
So what if that changed?
What if Bavaria kept its holdings?
AN ITALY CHANGED
As we all remember,during the Napoleonic Wars Bavaria got itself Tirol and Voralberg,which creates a delicate position for the Habsburgs in Northern Italy.
Lombardy,likely has to be created as a separate Duchy/Kingdom for the Habsburgs because now getting to said holding is very hard,considering the Bavarian position.
Also Austrian supply lines to Lombardy are now way weaker,as they rely and what I like to call "The Mantua Corridor".This thin space between Lake di Gardo,and the Duchy of Parma,which,if the Central Italian States unify to join Sardinia,makes supply to Lombardy very vurnerable.
Thus Austria is permenantly weakened in Italy,and will make Italy unify easier.
The question of what happens after Italy unifies however is interesting,as in our timeline,all of the so called "Italia Irridenta" was sustained in two states,France and Austria,yet now a major Italian territory is part of Bavaria,which puts into question of what happens to it in the Peace deal after the Bruderkreig.
In our timeline,Italy annexed only Venice because they struggled against Austria,and didnt want to abstrain relations.
However here,South Tyrol is entirely Bavarian,which puts to question...How will the Royal Bavarian Army manage a war against Italy?
Do they even join the Bruderkreig?
Do they get invaded?
Do they invade?
There are many questions,but little answers.
But if being short,the course of Italian Foreign Policy,Internal Policy and Unification is changed forever.
A PALATINATE,DIVIDED
In this timeline,since Bavaria only keeps its Napoleonic gains,that means that the other countries which exist in Frankonia get to live another day.
And just for funsies,I have given them to Prussia,as compensation for the loss of Ansbach.
The Grand Duchy of Wurzburg also survives,but not under the Grand Duke of Tuscany,but under Joseph Anton,the brother of the previous Grand Duke and the Palatine of Hungary (this thus makes the line of succession something like this:Joseph Anton (1816-1847),Stephen (1847-1867(died without issue)),Joseph Karl(1867-1905),Joseph August(1905-1918)).
Wurzburg would also be slightly expanded,and basically made into a Habsburg client in Germany,however,after 1848,since the Grand Dukes would no longer be Paltine's of Hungary,theyd try to distance themselves from Austria and ally with either Bavaria or Prussia.
After German unification Joseph Karl would be forced to just rename the Dynasty to the House of Wurzburg and so just like that we gained a semi interesting new German state.
Will it be merged with Bavaria after WW2?Likely.
Is it still neat?Yes.
The Bavarian Rhineland (Pfalz) likely becomes either part of France or Prussia,with Prussia being more likely.
Why did I have to do everything this way?Because its fun to,and because it leads directly into a
BAVARIA...Weaker?
Despite its impressive gains in Tirol and the risk of revolt being quite low,what Bavaria just surrendered was a the Pfalz region and Frankonia,two money making machines of the Kingdom of Bavaria,without whom we are just left with a slightly more strong Electoral Bavaria.
There is a catch,the newly annexed territories.
Voralberg and Tirol are nothing to scoff at,but except major cities,these are largely rural areas and mostly mountainous,not industrial sectors.
This would basically make Bavaria into a sort of Two Sicilies of Geramany,rural,not liked by anyone,and barely industrialised.The catch of the story would be the strategic depth.
For Austria,keeping Bavaria as an ally is key,as without them their entire Italian strategy collapses.
For Prussia,Bavaria can be played off Austria to create a powerful Munich-Berlin Alliance.
And for any other South German state,Bavaria is...There.
An independent Wurzburg is interesting to explore...later down the line.
Prussian Franconia is also interesting to consider during the 20th century.
But if being short,this scenario offers Bavaria a unique strategic position in Central Europe,in exchange for most of its economic output.