The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871, after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle department of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east of the Vosges Mountains. The Lorraine section was in the upper Moselle valley to the north of the Vosges. Contents: The Treaty of Frankfort Alsace-Lorraine Before the Treaty of Frankfort Why Germany Annexed Alsace-Lorraine The Victim's Privilege Alsace-Lorraine, 1871-1890 Alsace-Lorraine, 1890-1911 The Constitution of 1911 The Saverne Affair