From Alternative History

The German Uprising happened in 1818 and lead to the eviction of French troops from Germany east of the Rhine, the end of the various French satellite republics and the unification of Germany.

There had been unrest in Germany for a while; people were unhappy about:

• the French garrisons that stood in every bigger city, controlling everything and even being able to depose elected politicians.
• the fact that Germany stayed divided, because the French politicians had decided so
• the payment of a tribute for the "liberation from the kings" to France, which had to be done every year

For many years, the uprisings had been local and uncoordinated and had served little purpose but putting some Germans into jail.

However, one man had planned secretly - a man nobody would've suspected to be fond of German nationalism. This man was Walter Meier, main tribute collector for the French. Thanks to his job, he was able to embezzle money with which he bought weapons in Nassau, the only surviving free German state; and thanks to his French acquaintances, he knew about the falling number of occupation troops (who were needed for the "Ninety-Year War" in Spain).

Then one day, he sent telegrams to several resistance groups, telling them to strike. The Rhine bridges were destroyed by bombings, French troops in Germany were cut off and overwhelmed by German revolutionaries. France had to let the Germans go, but kept the Netherlands and the Rhineland. Switzerland also stays a satellite.

Still, people were unhappy because the new Germany didn't also include Nassau, Switzerland, the Rhineland, Prussia, Austria and the Dutch.