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August 1865- Prussia: Schleswig, Austria: Holstein
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Prussia, for the first time had taken the lead on political
affairs- weakness of Austria
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“Overnight the Bismarck cult was born”- Prussian liberals
seemed to be won over despite the constitutional
infringements
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A spark for the German cause? Was there a hidden purpose
to Bismarck’s actions in Denmark?
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Was Gastein a trap created by Bismarck? Likely not, but it
did allow him to bide some time
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Prussia until 1866 had concerns regarding any action
against Austria- army size, tactics, yadda yadda but more
importantly what would other nations think?
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France- Oct/Nov 1865- Bismarck meets with Napoleon IIIconfident of French neutrality
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Italy- signed an economic and military alliance with Prussia
against Austria with the reward being Venetia
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Prussian had demanded from Austria the acceptance of
their supremacy in northern Germany
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Austria, unusual for them, agreed to this
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However, they agreed only with the demand that Venetia be
retained as a condition
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This allowed Bismarck to reject the offer due to his alliance
with Italy, which now gives his a legitimate impulse to start
a war
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Prussia invades Holstein (see game slide)
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The war can be seen in the light of a “Prussian trial of
strength”- the reforming of the army which began in 1850
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The war is not just against Austria but her allies or her
dominions within the German states- Saxony, Hanover,
Bavaria, Wurtemberg, Baden and others
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Its should be more of a war of northern German conquest
by Prussia
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The German allies were quite poor as military forces- bad
communication and there are many battles where those individual
states were eliminated by the Prussians
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Sadowa (or Koniggratz) July 1866- Austrian losses- 20,000 to 9,000
Prussian
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Three weeks later an armistice was signed- not just due to Prussian
might- other forces made Austria surrender
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Nationalist “rumblings” in the east, plus the fearful reaction by France
and Russia to the quick dominance of Prussia, and Bismarck’s
realization of the problems of logistics:
“Our power finds its limits, when the supply of Junkers to fill official posts
gives out”
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Caused great disruption in the European state system and
the balance of power
“the entire Prussian campaign has no parallel in the history of
the world. The consequences of the Battle of Sadowa are at
least as follows: the unification of Germany through Prussia,
the consummation of Italian Independence, the fall of the
power of Papacy, the deposition of France from the dominion
she has usurped over Europe”- Ferdinand Gregorovious
Gee, tell us what you really think there Ferdinand!
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Prussia was able to annex a multitude of German states
Received the right to form all German territories north of the river
Main into a new Northern German Confederation
The German Confederation was now dead
Austria suffered no territorial losses (except for Venetia to Italy)
Austria did give up a bigger reward- prestige and status
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Austria was no longer influential in German states or in Italy- hello
Balkans and hello WW1
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Compromise of 1867- Ausgleich- Hungary was part of the
constitutional monarchy, free from Austrian influence
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Partial unification of Germany- how do the liberals react?
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They wanted this, but not by the means it had been achieved
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Essentially the liberals forgave Bismarck and saw what they needed to
see- a hero, a leader, whatever…
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Now he does something interesting- he stands before the Reichstag
(new parliament of the German Reich) and admitted to acting illegally
for 4 years
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He asked for their forgiveness and their pardon (Act of Indemnity- 230
votes to 75)
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The split resulted in a new political party- National Liberals- free trade
and rule of law, but were on the side of Bismarck- sly dog
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Act of Indemnity- an enlightened and moderate
compromise?
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Liberals became victims to their own limited ends, they lack
of genuine support and their lust for national power?
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Bismarck and the Liberals were a complex relationship- He
genuinely appreciated their economic theories and aims
and kleindeutsch (national unity)
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The new confederation rested solely upon Prussia military power
Hanover’s ruling dynasty was deposed and its wealth confiscated- true
nature of Prussian dominance coming to light
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Here is the odd part- Bismarck made the confederation into a
compromise- a parliament of elected officials- why didn’t he just
institute Prussian monarchical rule?
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To be more inviting to the south? To play off nationalist and
independence sentiment within the states- (5/6 of the new
Confederation were in fact the population of Prussia)
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Freedom of speech, universal manhood suffrage, freedom of the
press, parliamentary approval of the budget every 4 years
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But…
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Bismarck retained some very intense power-
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Most taxes were indirect- Zollverein duties and customs- beyond
the control of the parliament
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The only minister that was responsible to the state was
Bismarck- all others were therefore responsible to him
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Not a single federal minister in the whole parliament
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Only body that could legislate was the Bundesrat- filled with
appointed representatives of the states
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What had Bismarck achieved by 1866?