Editing History of Germany (section)

====Imperial French suzerainty====
Under [[Frederick William II of Prussia|Frederick William II]]'s weak rule (1786–1797) Prussia had undergone a serious economic, political and military decline. His successor king [[Frederick William III of Prussia|Frederick William III]] tried to remain neutral during the [[War of the Third Coalition]] and [[First French Empire|French emperor]] [[Napoleon]]'s dissolution of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and reorganisation of the German principalities. Induced by the queen and a pro-war party Frederick William joined the [[War of the Fourth Coalition|Fourth Coalition]] in October 1806. Napoleon easily defeated the Prussian army at the [[Battle of Jena]] and occupied Berlin. Prussia lost its recently acquired territories in western Germany, its army was reduced to 42,000 men, no trade with Britain was allowed and Berlin had to pay Paris high reparations and fund the French army of occupation. [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]] changed sides to support Napoleon and joined the [[Confederation of the Rhine]]. Ruler [[Frederick Augustus I of Saxony|Frederick Augustus I]] was rewarded with the title of king and given a part of Poland taken from Prussia, which became known as the [[Duchy of Warsaw]].<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Neil M. |last=Heyman |date=1966 |title=France Against Prussia: The Jena Campaign of 1806 |journal=Military Affairs |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=186–198 |doi=10.2307/1985399 |jstor=1985399}}</ref>

After [[French invasion of Russia|Napoleon's military fiasco in Russia in 1812]], Prussia allied with Russia in the [[War of the Sixth Coalition|Sixth Coalition]]. A series of battles followed and Austria joined the alliance. Napoleon was decisively defeated in the [[Battle of Leipzig]] in late 1813. The German states of the Confederation of the Rhine defected to the Coalition against Napoleon, who rejected any peace terms. Coalition forces invaded France in early 1814, [[Battle of Paris (1814)|Paris fell]] and in April Napoleon surrendered. Prussia as one of the winners at the [[Congress of Vienna]], gained extensive territory.{{Sfn|Sheehan|1989|pp=75, 207–291, 291–323, 324–371, 802–820}}