The Unification of Germany
Click on this button to go forward to the
interactive map. Some of the key locations are
hotspots that will take you to different
explanations of the events in the unification.
Questions then need to be answered.
Answer the questions
The Rhineland
• This region of the old German Confederation was
given to Prussia in 1815 as a reward for its
participation in the final victory against Napoleon
Bonaparte. The Rhineland was Catholic whilst
Prussia was Protestant, but it was thought
necessary to have a bulwark against future French
expansion. The German states had proved too
weak to defend themselves against Napoleon.
Nevertheless, many Germans viewed the
expansion of Prussia with alarm.
The War with Denmark
• In 1864-5, Prussia went to war with
Denmark over the future of the provinces of
Schleswig and Holstein. This action won
over the support of German nationalists, and
also the Prussian people. Furthermore, it
gave the Prussian Chancellor, Otto von
Bismarck, the chance to secure the military
alliance of the north German states and the
pretext for a conflict with Austria.
The Seven Weeks War, 1866
• The Prussians won a decisive victory at Sadowa
after an envelopment of the Austrian forces in
Bohemia. Using the breech-loading Dreyse Needle
rifle, Prussian infantry overwhelmed the Austrians
and their multiracial imperial troops. The Treaty of
Prague was lenient, ensuring the Austrians would
not seek a war of revenge. By its terms, they had
only to keep from interfering in German affairs.
War with France
• Bismarck engineered a war against France and even
managed to make the French appear as the aggressors, thus
ensuring that his southern German allies, such as Bavaria,
joined a war in ‘defence of Germany’. The strategy Moltke
used was to go on to the offensive, enveloping French
armies as he made contact with them. Despite heavy
casualties, the German forces continued to move forward,
whilst French armies were either besieged at Metz, or
surrounded and destroyed at Sedan. Having laid siege to
Paris for several months, the Germans forced the French to
surrender and proclaimed themselves united at Versailles.
Bismarck coerced the other German leaders into accepting
Wilhelm of Prussia as their emperor by suggesting that
revolutionary forces would overthrow weak leaders.
Questions
Answer these questions:
1. What reforms had Prussia carried out and
what preparations had it made between
1815 and 1864 that made the Prussians so
confident of victory in 1864-71?
Next question
2. Examine the cartoon.
What point was the
artist making about the
Prussian victories of
1870?
Next
The French defeat
• Why, despite the better weaponry of the
French armies, did France lose the FrancoPrussian War? (your answer should be in the
region of 500 words).
End