Bismarck also very successfully manipulated political and diplomatic solutions to Prussia’s advantage. Bismarck was a very successful statesman greatly due to the fact that he was a practitioner of realpolitik. He had the ability to manipulate events to Prussia’s advantage but also to the advantage of the Prussian monarchy. Bismarck knew very clearly that for a unified Germany to be under Prussian rule, he must overcome the barriers, the most immediate of them Austria. Bismarck created a series of alliances with other powers in the event of war with Austria; these alliances were to ensure that there was no opposing interference when the time of war did come. The Italians promised Prussia military support in the case of war with Austria, in exchange for the Austrian territory of Venetia after the defeat of the Austrians. Russia, who was still grateful to Prussia for their military support against the Poles in 1863 agreed to remain neutral in the event of war between Austria and Prussia. Lastly Bismarck succeeded in bribing France with hints of compensation at the end of the war in exchange for France’s neutrality. These alliances in effect isolated Austria, and ensured that if war between Austria and Prussia were to break out, Prussia would be fighting Austria and Austria alone. Similarly before the war with France, Bismarck set about to isolate France. This time instead of creating alliances, he applied his tactics of isolating France subtly. Around the start of the 1870’s, France was not in particular good graces with any of the powers. Russia was hostile to France; Britain was insulted by French intentions of annexing Belgium, a piece of information that Bismarck revealed at a crucial time. The leniency of The Treaty Of Prague had caused Austria to remain on good terms with Prussia and Italian friendship had been bought with Venetia in 1866. The war with France arose from Bismarck’s careful manipulation of the Hohenzollen Candidature. By simply editing the telegram, the Ems telegram, from the Prussian king to the French regarding the Hohenzollen Candidature, Bismarck was able to make it sound as if the King had insulted the French. Once Bismarck had publicly released it the French declared war. Bismarck brilliant manipulative skills were essential to the unification of a Kliendeutschland for they often brought about events that were absolutely crucial to the eventual unification.
It was Bismarck who realized the need for war to successfully unite Germany under Prussian control. Bismarck knew that the way to unify Germany was through ‘iron and blood’ not through ‘speeches and majority decisions’ as happened in 1848. Three wars took place before the unification of Germany in 1871 that were of great significance to a German unification under Prussia’s rule. Each of these wars were cleverly crafted and executed by Bismarck. They were always quick and effective, Prussia would always appear to be the victim, the innocent party, and the outcome was always the same: Prussia was always the victor. The first of these wars arose from the Schleswig – Holstein question, though it may not seem as important as the other two wars, the Schleswig –Holstein question set the stage for the final demolishing of the first barrier, Austria. The first war against the Danish also generated a surge of German nationalism and strong public support for Bismarck’s actions of ‘iron and blood’, weakening the liberals’ protests towards Bismarck’s way of conquest. The Austria Prussian alliance defeated the Danish in no more than seven days; hence the war is now known as the ‘Seven Days War’. The second of the wars occurred just two years later, in 1866, this was the war that would finally knock out the barrier that is Austria. The Prussian army won an overwhelming victory over Austria in just seven weeks; hence it was named the ‘Seven Weeks War’. The main aim of this war was achieved, Austria was expelled from all German affairs, and this meant that there was no longer a possibility of a united Grossdeutschland under Austrian rule. The North German Confederation, formed as a result of the war excluded all the German states south of the River Main. This was to reduce Napoleon III’s suspicion. However, the division between the northern German states and the southern German states was not the final aim of Bismarck, his goal was for the whole of Germany to unify under the leadership of the Prussian King. Bismarck realized that this could only be achieved by a foreign war with France. The war with France like Bismarck’s other wars shared the characteristic of being short and effective. Finally, after two decades of trying to unify German, Bismarck succeeds, for the war with France generated a surge of nationalism all over Germany, no matter the southern states or the northern states. As a result, all the states came out of the war feeling proud and willing to join together with Prussia to become a unified Germany. Without Bismarck’s careful planning and recognition of the situation, Germany would never have unified as early as 1871.
However, Bismarck was not responsible for the economic development of Prussia, a highly significant factor in German unification. Though Bismarck was crucial to the unification, the foundations for unification were laid down long before Bismarck came along. In 1818, Prussia began reforming its economy and industrializing, and as a result the Prussian Customs Union, later known as the Zollverein, was established. Its purpose was to increase trade and prosperity in Prussia, by abolishing the tariff barriers that divided the German provinces. By 1836, the Zollverein contained 25 states and a population of over 26 million. The Zollverein did not just allow Prussia to become economically dominant; it also demonstrated the possible advantages of a political unity. For Prussia had increased her economic ties with the rest of the German states, by doing so had also increased the German states’ need for Prussia. A significant result of the Zollverein was that due to the needs of communication between the member nations of the Zollverein, a railway network was built joining all the member countries. Prussia, as the leader of the Zollverein took this advantage to design the railway networks with a view of their military needs. The effect of the railway system can be seen in the three wars leading up to Germany’s unification. The speed and efficiency in which the Prussian army could be moved around was very important to the eventual unification. Therefore the success of the Zollverein under Prussia’s leadership did not only provoke future political unity it also allowed Prussia’s economy to increase dramatically. This impacted on the way Prussia fought wars, gradually the bayonets and swords were replaced my missiles and needle guns. Prussia’s economical strength has made Prussia ready to fight the new breed of industrial wars, giving her a clear advantage over the other German states. Hence with this new artillery, Prussia was almost guaranteed victory in the wars significant to the eventual unification of Germany.
Bismarck’s contribution was a major factor in German unification. Though the Prussian economic development enabled the build up of its military power and increased its influence amongst the German states. It only made unification under Prussian leadership possible, what made it certain was Bismarck’s various roles. The significance of Bismarck’s roles is that Bismarck was the one who was able to break down the barriers, create the opportunities by manipulating events to his advantage and seize these opportunities. By doing so, Bismarck turned what was merely a possibility into reality; he was able to declare the unification of a Kliendeutschland under Prussian rule.
