German Unification Wars

During the Wars of German Unification, Prussia set the founding blocks for forming a German national state in the sense of the Lesser Germany solution. After the Second Schleswig War (1864), the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), the Prussian-dominated German Empire was founded.
Background
After the German Revolutions of 1848-49, the question of a German unification had not yet been clarified. The German Confederation had been restored but national feelings had not been satisfied. Added to this was the fact that nobility also saw the benefit of a national agreement, especially in economic terms. A single German internal market was to be the basis of the Industrial Revolution starting in Germany.
German Dualism
In the Revolutions of 1848/1849, a Lesser German solution was already apparent, but the struggle for supremacy in Germany had not yet been clarified. Austria was still the leading power of the German Confederation, but the Kingdom of Prussia was economically and politically stronger than its competitor to the south. This dualism between Prussia and Austria was clarified in the Wars of German Unification.
Bismarck's appointment
In the Prussian constitutional conflict, Otto von Bismarck was appointed Minister President by Prussian King Wilhelm I in 1862. Bismarck ruled against the Prussian constitution and laid the foundations for the Wars of German Unification. The military reform carried out by him was the basis for the successful Prussian wars. His attitude towards the solution of political problems was also important for the following warlike attitude of Prussia. However, Bismarck can be credited with the fact that he could win the liberal forces in Prussia for a German "unification from above".
Second Schleswig War
Causes and reasons
On the outskirts, the Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg dealt with the Second Schleswig War. Denmark, which administered Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg (Schleswig was a Danish fief, Holstein and Lauenburg were member states of the German Confederation), was effectively absorbed by a constitutional amendment in November 1863 (November Constitution). This was contrary to the London Protocol of 1852, which stressed the integrity of the Danish state as a "permanent principle", but also stipulated that Schleswig should not be more closely bound to Denmark by constitutional law than to Holstein. Prussia took this as an occasion to exacerbate tensions between Denmark and the German Confederation. On 1 October 1863, the Bundestag passed a federal execution<nowiki/> against the Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg. At the beginning of the February, Prussia and Austria also occupied Schleswig with the consent of the Bundestag.
Course of events
The Prussian and Austrian armies defeated the Danish troops within a few months. The storming at the Battle of Dybbøl on 18 April 1864 by the Prussian army was decisive. This was necessary from a Prussian point of view, for, because of the London Protocol, which had been concluded in 1852, Bismarck feared military or political interference from either France or Russia in a long-lasting war.
Consequences
The Duchy of Holstein was given to Austria, while Prussia annexed the Duchy of Schleswig. In this war, the northern frontier of the future German Empire was established. A further consequence of this war were the administrative conflicts between Prussia and Austria, which were the reason for the Austro-Prussian War.
Austro-Prussian War
Causes and reasons
Reasons for this war stemmed from disputes over the administration of the Duchies of Holstein and Schleswig as well as Austria's support for national efforts in Holstein. In the course of this war, however, the main focus was on German dualism, which was now to be finally fought.
Course of events
Prussia and its allies were clearly superior to the Austrian and its allied forces. The reasons for this were, on the one hand, the technical superiority. For example, the Prussian army had breech-loading weapons and on the other hand a better developed infrastructure, which enabled fast troop transportation.
Consequences
As a result of the war, Prussia annexed the Kingdom of Hanover, the Duchies of Holstein and Nassau, the Electorate of Hesse, and the Free City of Frankfurt am Main. Thus, Prussia had a connection between its Brandenburg core area and the economically important Rhine provinces. Another result of the war involved Austria having to give up Veneto to Italy. Austria had governed Veneto from 1787 in accordance with the Treaty of Campo Formio. (See also: Veneto)
Nevertheless, Bismarck spared the Austrian Empire and renounced annexations, although Prussia King, Wilhelm I, disagreed. More important, however, was that the dualism in favour of Prussia had ended. Austria's area of interest, on the other hand, shifted to the east of Europe. In addition, the German Confederation was dissolved and the North German Confederation founded.
Franco-Prussian War
Causes and reasons
During the disputes for the line of succession in Spain, Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was regarded as a promising candidate for the Spanish throne. France, however, feared to be encircled on two sides governed by the Hohenzollerns, whereupon Napoleon III demanded the withdrawal of Prince Leopold's candidature, as well as an apology and a written assurance that the Hohenzollerns would never again stand for the Spanish throne. The so-called Ems Dispatch, a telegram sent forward by Bismarck against the backdrop of an intensified form to the press, was actually regarded as an insult to the French. Napoleon III declared war on Prussia for this.
Course of events
Prussia was not only able to bring up the North German Confederation against France, but also, contrary to France's expectations, the southern German states, as they had previously entered into covenants with them. Thus, the German troops were clearly superior to the French, which led to a quick victory over France. After the capture of the French Emperor in the wake of the Battle of Sedan, France, as a republic, continued to fight for one more year.
Consequences
In addition to the cession of Alsace and Lorraine to Prussia, France had to also pay a war reparation of 5 billion gold francs. The chief adversary of a German unification had been defeated, so that on 18 January 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. The King of Prussia, Wilhelm I, was not called upon by the Grand Duke of Baden, according to his desire to be the "Emperor of Germany", or according to the wording of the consitutiton to "German Emperor", but was in short called upon as "Kaiser Wilhelm" (Emperor Wilhelm).
See also: Alsace-Lorraine
Consequences of the German Empire's founding for Europe
Disraeli's criticism was directed primarily against the liberal government of England, less against the German national state. The main intention of this statement was that the acting Prime Minister Gladstone (1809-1898) failed in his foreign politics (see also Splendid Isolation). He had admitted the rise of Prussia as a powerful nation in Europe.
The founding of the German Empire was an advantage for the balance of power. Central Europe, represented by the ambitions of France for a quarter of a century, finally came to rest. At the same time, Germany stabilised the European equilibrium system, both France and Russia were now held in check by Prussia-Germany. This was also very advantageous for Great Britain, whose position of world power depended on the functioning of the equilibrium system.
In the Wars of German Unification, the Prussian Minister President Bismarck practised partial caution and moderation. The annexation of some of the North German States violated the notions of France, but not the interests of Russia or Great Britain. Austria was spared in 1866 - but not its allies like the Kingdom of Hanover. The founding of the German empire in Versailles humbled the "enmity" - the French period was unforgotten. A further humiliation of France would probably not have allowed neighbours Russia and Great Britain. His position of foreign policy of 1871, and after that the empire was saturated, was to calm the fears of their neighbours.
Further reading
* Frank Becker: Bilder von Krieg und Nation. Die Einigungskriege in der bürgerlichen Öffentlichkeit Deutschlands 1864-1913. (= Ordnungssysteme. Bd. 7). Oldenbourg, München 2001, (Zugleich: Münster, Universität, Habilitations-Schrift, 1998), (Full Text).
* Dennis Showalter: The wars of German unification. Arnold u. a., London u. a. 2004, .
* Thorsten Loch, Lars Zacharias: Wie die Siegessäule nach Berlin kam. Ein kleine Geschichte der Reichseinigungskriege 1864-1871. Rombach, Freiburg i.Br. 2012, .

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