In 1963, the Danish King incorporated the state of Schleswig into Denmark, which contravened the 1852 Treaty of London. With Austrian help, they defeated Denmark. The two states were controlled by Austria and Prussia, although the situation was tense they came to an agreement and split the two states between them. The situation deteriorated between Austria and Prussia, and Bismarck said it was only a matter of time now before he went to war with Austria. The war would not be solely about Holstein and Schleswig, it would also decide who had control of Germany. After several attempts at goading Austria into war, he got what he wanted and Austria reacted, Bismarck dissolved the diet and gave the three northern states an ultimatum, join Prussia in their attack on Austria or become enemies. They all sided with Austria so Prussia attacked Hesse-cassel and Saxony offered no resistance, however Hanover fought until their army was defeated. Austria and Prussia met at Sadowa and fought for control of Germany, the Italians kept their part of the bargain, a deal pre-arranged by Bismarck. Leaving Austria to fight a war on two fronts, but still they were favourites to win both battles. The Prussians arms and technical expertise won the battle, leaving Austria to withdraw in array. After the war there was a great debate between Bismarck and the King, the King wanted to carry on through Austria to Vienna, but Bismarck was against this, fearing it would attract too much attention from Britain, Russia or France. Bismarck got his way and the only state Austria lost was Venetia, the reward for Italian help.
Already, Bismarck had excluded Austria from any position of power within the German states, had gained the two states in Denmark and created the North German Confederation, he was halfway there, and only after four years in power. Now for the old enemy, Bismarck tried every method possible to get France to declare war on Prussia, without actually saying anything to cause suspicion. He acted as the smiling assassin. Eventually France feel for the bait and declared war with Prussia on July 15, 1870. Prussia gained the advantage and surprised France by attacking first, the French were quickly defeated and by 28th of January 1871, the Prussian army had control of Paris. Then Bismarck had his crowning moment by signing a peace treaty and more importantly, crowning William the first, as the Emperor of Germany.
Bismarck would not of been able to achieve all he did without his ability to recognise and manipulate international affairs, he used and abused his neighbours hate for each other to gain an advantage for an ever growing Prussia. He did not just declare war on Austria, as he knew the capabilities of his forces and knew there would be repercussions from France and Russia. Bismarck knew he had that he could count on the neutrality of the Russians because of his support for them during the Polish revolution. In addition, the Austrians did not support Russia when it was asked for during the Crimean War. Therefore, Russia owed them no favours. France was a little more complicated, although France and Austria were enemies, he could not be sure that they would stay neutral. Bismarck coincidentally visited Biarritz the same time as Napoleon, and met with the emperor. He left convinced that France would stay neutral in the war after implying that some of Germany’s territory may become available if they did so. Unbeknownst to him was France stayed neutral because they thought Austria would be victorious. Bismarck then visited Italy and struck a deal with them, he promised them Venetia if they attacked Austria the same time as Prussia attacked. He now has Austria isolated and vulnerable. Bismarck was also to blame for the war with France. He was responsible for feeding the press information about French attempts to buy Luxembourg, which caused Britain to turn against France. Realising his attempts had not yet succeeded, he proposed that a descendant of the Prussian monarch could fill the vacant throne of Spain. The French reacted violently and wanted a guarantee from the Prussian monarch that the withdrawal of Bismarck’s proposal was not revived. The discussion the Prussian had with Count Benedetti was sent by telegram from Ems directly to Bismarck, who crossed out some words so it revealed anti-French sentiment, and then leaked the telegram to the press. ‘As in 1866, Bismarck had skilfully provoked the enemy into attack. This time, however he had all Germany behind him.’2
The Prussian economic situation was extremely important to Bismarck because without it the Prussian army would not of been able to modernise as well and as quickly as it did. Prussia increased its wealth by gaining the natural resource rich Ruhr district in 1815. Before the Zollverien was formed all 39 states controlled there own border tariffs, internal tolls and used different currency, this ensured that trade between states was very restricted. In 1818 the Prussian customs union was formed, which only required for tariffs at border points. Prussia’s neighbours were impressed by this and joined the union. The union changed into the Zollverien in 1834 with 18 states involved. The Zollverien changed to a common currency and method of weights and measures throughout the member states, which made trade easier. Although the Zollverien was very successful, especially for Prussia, G.G Windell said that ‘…the Zollverien was not the divining factor for unifying Germany….’ Austria realised how much of a success the Zollverien was for Prussia and asked to be allowed to join. Bismarck opposed the idea and managed to put off the decision, this allowed the Prussians more time to expand there economy, leaving Austria’s economy to stagnate. Austria demanded 10 years later, but Bismarck outwit them again, instead of allowing them membership, he signed a commercial treaty with France, which effectively kept Austria out. The Zollverien alone is not responsible for the great strides Prussia was making economically. They had vast amounts of natural resources available, a great and ever expanding railway network, which doubled between 1850/60 boosting industries such as coal, steel and iron were also factors which should not be over looked. In comparison to Austria, Prussia’s economy was pulling away drastically, enabling more money for the modernisation of the army.
Some historians such as A.J.P Taylor described Bismarck as ‘an opportunist, essentially following his lucky star, cleverly exploiting his enemies mistakes and taking calculated risks which happened to be successful’3. The problem with this analogy is it allows no credit for the skill, guile and genius of a man who created the unification of Germany in such a short space of time. Yes, he had a lot of luck, but he was also extremely dedicated, once he set out to achieve something, he stopped at nothing until it had been accomplished. Bismarck knew himself that he had limitations, he expressed this by pointing out ‘I am not so arrogant as to assume that the likes of us are able to make history. My task is to keep an eye on the currents of the latter and steer my ship in them as best I can.4’ It is true that he would not of been able to achieve all he did without the backing of the Prussian economy, but money does not always equal success and power. It takes a great and strong man to control were the money is spent. In 1862 at the great expedition Disraeli asked Bismarck what would he do if he came to power Bismarck replied. ‘…he would reorganise the army, with or without the support of parliament; secondly, he would destroy Austrian domination of the German confederation; thirdly, he would unify Germany under Prussian leadership.5’ Later in that year, he was appointed Prime minister of Prussia.
References
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STILES A et al, 1997, the Unification of Germany 1815-90, London, Bath Press, pg59
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KIRSCH R, 1996, Bismarck, Hove, Wayland Press, pg53
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STILES A et al, 1997, the Unification of Germany 1815-90, London, Bath Press, pg59
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STILES A et al, 1997, the Unification of Germany 1815-90, London, Bath Press, pg60
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GORMAN M, 1989, The Unification of Germany, Cambridge, Cambridge Press, pg15
