Bazaine capitulated at Metz with his 140,000 troops intact on October 27, and Paris surrendered on January 28, 1871. Bismarck acted immediately to secure the unification of Germany. And when the german diet answered the Prussian invasion of Holstein on June 14th, 1866 by partially mobilizing the army of the German Confederation (obviously without the Prussian contingents) Bismarck declared that the German Confederation had ended. Crown Prince Friedrich, later Friedrich III, stands on his fathers right. And that was important for Bismarcks next step. More on how the Holy Roman Empire got its name here. In the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War (1866), Prussia had annexed numerous ethnically German territories and formed the North German Confederation with other German territories. The Austro-Prussian (or Seven Weeks') War of 1866 The Seven Weeks' War, often known as the Austro-Prussian War, was fought between Prussia and Austria, Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover, and a few other German nations in 1866. example of: state capital. While Austria immediately accepted him as an intermediary Prussia only accepted Napoleon III because it was in no position to wage a war against Austria and France. France had earlier guaranteed the independence of Belgium in the Treaty of London in 1839 as an "independent and perpetually neutral state", making the proposal a tacit agreement to break their promise. In addition, French aspirations in Mexico had suffered a final defeat with the execution of the Austrian-born, French puppet Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico in 1867. But Bismarck provoking France into war and Napoleon III regretting his interference of 1866 is a story for another time, more on that here. Painting by Anton von Werner. And while both nations had clashed during the 18th century, for example in the Seven Years War, both Prussia and Austria had combined their forces to fight and defeat the army of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815. a region and former province of NE France, between the Vosges mountains and the Rhine: famous for its wines. Victory in the Franco-Prussian War proved the capstone of the nationalist issue. By the way, the Lorenz Rifle was also the third most used rifle during the American Civil War. France declares war against Germany (Franco-Prussian War) which ends up being the birth of Germany. After the Franco-Prussian war Bismarck deemed that German national aims were achieved and that Germany now needed only two things: to be at peace, and to avert the appearance of a . In preparation for war with Austria Bismarck made an alliance with Italy on April 8th, 1886 stating that Italy would join the war if Prussia and Austria would go to war within 3 months. Learning Objective In Prussia, a war against France was deemed necessary to arouse German nationalism in those States in order to allow the unification of most German states (excluding the ethnically German lands of the Austrian Empire) into a great German empire. This document was to be important to Bismarck later on, to great effect.[10]. [7] Napoleon III's wife Empress Eugnie, who took an active part throughout his rule, referred to this time much later as "the critical date, the Empire's fatal date; it was during these months of July and August that our fate was sealed! The final factor is the geographical benefits Alsace-Lorraine provides. Part 2: Enabling the Warmaking of Empire. The Prussian victory led to the North German Confederation and the exclusion of Austria. In 1871 he unified Germany into a nation-state, forming the German Empire. Enjoy! One reason for that kind of short war was that the other European powers did not interfere. Fear of France, skillfully propagated by Bismarck, was to bring the remaining German states into the Prussian orbit when the candidature of a Hohenzollern prince to the throne of Spain caused friction with the French Emperor Napoleon III. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Bismarck edited Williams telegraphed description of this interview, and on July 14 he published this provocative message (the Ems telegram), which accomplished his purposes of infuriating the French government and provoking it into a declaration of war. More on why Bismarck was appointed in my article here. The Prussian victory in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 enabled him to create the North German Confederation which excluded Austria from the federations affairs and ended the previous German Confederation. Moltke had additional reason to object: he desired war with France, stating flatly, "Nothing could be more welcome to us than to have now the war that we must have. Two major alliances existed in Europe prior to World War I. The Royal Family had many German relatives. The Austro-Prussian War was another large step in achieving German unification. The German states south of the Main were free to form a South German Confederation but that confederation never made it past early plans. The remaining German kingdoms and principalities maintained a steadfastly parochial attitude towards Prussia and German unification. "[8], Franz Joseph of Austria accepted Bismarck's terms under the Peace of Prague. King William I appointed Otto von Bismarck as the new Minister President of Prussia in 1862. How did Bismarck provoke war between France and Prussia? Were Kamikazes used in the Attack on Pearl Harbor ? I refused at last somewhat sternly, as it is neither right nor possible to undertake engagements of this kind tout jamais. As a result of the Prussian triumph, Austria was cut off from Germany. On September 3, 1939, in response to Hitlers invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany. The alliance system caused the World War I to escalate from a regional conflict into a global war. TBH it reminds me of how Prussia wanted France to be the aggressor in the late 1800's so they installed a Hohenzollern as the heir to the Spanish Throne which they blamed France for telling the prince to withdraw. The Hohenzollern prince's candidacy was withdrawn under French diplomatic pressure, but Otto von Bismarck goaded the French into declaring war by altering a dispatch sent by William I. Therefore, Britain as a nation did nothing to aid France. Strasbourg became a heavily fortified town when the French first captured this city. But why wasn`t Austria a part of unified Germany although it has had a significant role within the Holy Roman Empire, which was made up of many of the territories that would later form Germany? "[1] Bismarck also knew that France should be the aggressor in the conflict to bring the Southern German States to side with Prussia, hence giving Germans numerical superiority. II.3 Alsace Lorraine from 1871 to 1914 : Assimilation into Germany II.4 World War I (1914-1918) II.5 The Interbellum 1919-1940 : Re-Assimilation into France II.6 World War II (1939-1945) II.7 Analysis III. Kaiser Wilhelm II was Queen Victoria's grandson. Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [19], Diplomatically and militarily, Napoleon III looked for support from Austria, Denmark, Bavaria, Baden, and Wrttemberg, as all had recently lost wars against Prussia. This conversation had been edited so that each nation felt that its ambassador had been slighted and ridiculed, thus inflaming popular . In 1851 Otto von Bismarck was appointed as Prussian prime minister by king Wilhelm I. of Prussia. The vast German and French armies that then confronted each other were each grouped into right and left wings. The Germans crushing victory over France in the war consolidated their faith in Prussian militarism, which would remain a dominant force in German society until 1945. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. And that strength was first tested in the Second Schleswig War of 1864 (also known as the Prussio-Danish war). Bismarck was now determined to unite the German states into a single empire, with Prussia at its core. With Napoleon III no longer in power to protect them, the Papal States were annexed by Italy (September 20, 1870), thereby completing that nations unification. Following the Siege of Paris, the capital fell on January 28, 1871, and then a revolutionary uprising called the Paris Commune seized power in the capital and held it for two months until it was bloodily suppressed by the regular French army at the end of May 1871. How did the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine affect the war with France? This superior organization and mobility enabled the chief of the general staff, Gen. Helmuth von Moltke, to exploit German superiority in numbers in most of the wars battles. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. What was the outcome of the Franco-Prussian War? There was just one problem. The French emperor, Napoleon III, declared war on Prussia on July 19, 1870, because his military advisers told him that the French army could defeat Prussia and that such a victory would restore his declining popularity in France. This is why the South seceded after the election of 1860! So tensions rose between Austria and Prussia and Bismarck started looking for a reason that would justify a war against Austria. Germany=More aggressive and militaristic Germany gained more regions Bismarck accused Austria of violating the Gastein treaty and thus precipitated the Austro-Prussian War (1866), which ended after seven weeks with the defeat of Austria. The final factor is the geographical benefits Alsace-Lorraine provides. A suitable pretext for war arose in 1870 when the German Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was offered the Spanish throne, vacant since a revolution in 1868. Bismarck then sent a telegram which France mistranslated and was the cause of the war because Bismarck goaded France to attack. [30], Assuming that Bismarck would not object, the French government was shocked to learn that instead Bismarck, Prussia and the North German Confederation were threatening war should the sale be completed. Here you can find my article with more information on the member states of the German Confederation. The French were convinced that the reorganization of their army in 1866 had made it superior to the German armies. Prince Bismarck acted as he did because he wished to associate yet more of "The Germanies" with Prussian leadership but also because he considered the way in which French opposition to the Hohenzollern candidature had developed to be somewhat humiliating to Prussia. Whilst at Ems in the crucial summer of 1870 Wilhelm I and Bismarck had meetings with Tsar Alexander, also present in the spa town Alexander, though not naturally pro-German, became very comfortable with Prussian suggestions.[26]. In 1871 he unified Germany into a nation-state, forming the German Empire. Additionally, Bismarck also started looking for alliances and insured himself that France would not help Austria in the case of war. Bismarck argued that by bringing the dispute in front of the german diet the agreement between Prussia and Austria to govern Schleswig Holstein together was breached. Furthermore, France had to pay an indemnity of five billion francs and cover the costs of the German occupation of Frances northern provinces until the indemnity was paid. the capital city of a political subdivision of a country. It succeeded in both of its aims- Gramont called it "a blow in the face of France", and the members of the French legislative body spoke of taking "immediate steps to safeguard the interests, the security, and the honor of France. Under the Treaty of Frankfurt, France relinquished most of its traditionally German regions (Alsace and the German-speaking part of Lorraine); paid an indemnity, calculated (on the basis of population) as the precise equivalent of the indemnity that Napoleon Bonaparte imposed on Prussia in 1807; and accepted German administration of Paris and most of northern France, with German troops to be withdrawn stage by stage with each installment of the indemnity payment.. His Majesty leaves it to your Excellency whether Benedetti's fresh demand and its rejection should not be at once communicated both to our ambassadors and to the press. I`m Luke Reitzer. Neutralhistory.com is determined to answer questions about history and to take you on an exciting journey through history. While Bismarck wanted to push Austria out of german politics he still wanted to keep Austria as a potential future ally. Editor's Note. Inquiry and Examination Questions; Causes of the Spanish Civil War; Practices of the Spanish Civil War; Effects of the Spanish Civil War; Historiography and Perspectives; Second World War in Asia. After the fall of Napoleon III following the Battle of Sedan, Bismarck's demand for the return of Alsace caused a dramatic shift in that sentiment, which was best exemplified by the reaction of Garibaldi soon after the revolution in Paris, who told the Movimento of Genoa on 7 September 1870, "Yesterday I said to you: war to the death to Bonaparte. How did Bismarck provoke the Franco Prussian War? What did Germany gain from the Franco-Prussian War? Bismarck seized the opportunity to 'wave a red rag in front of the Gallic bull' and to push France into making a mistake . Evidence for Plan: Bismarck goes against the French claim of Luxembourg by proposing a German prince instead, which certainly angered Napoleon. [32], The Spanish throne had been vacant since the revolution of September 1868, and the Spanish offered the throne to the German prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a Catholic as well as a distant cousin of King Wilhelm of Prussia. The military position: The Prussians could mobilise and help Austria, since France was a threat to them. The immediate cause of the Franco-German War, however, was the candidacy of Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (who was related to the Prussian royal house) for the Spanish throne, which had been left vacant when Queen Isabella II had been deposed in 1868. This would prevent a two-front war in the future. Victory in the Franco-Prussian War proved the capstone of the nationalist issue, rallying the other German states into unity. That is always so terrible in wars, so hard.. He disliked colonialism but reluctantly built an overseas empire when it was demanded by both elite and mass opinion. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Description: Otto von Bismark thought that a war with France would assist combine Germany due to the fact that he thought that a war would offer individuals However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. It wasn`t until the defeat in World War I in 1918 that the monarchy and the dynasty of House Habsburg ended in Austria and Hungary. He attacked Denmark to gain the German-speaking territories of Schleswig-Holstein and two years later. The next step on the way to the unification of Germany was to bring the german states to the South, for example, Bavaria under its fairy tale king Ludwig II, into a confederation under Prussian control. Both Prussia and Austria had been dominant powers during the time of the Holy Roman Empire. It changed the balance of power in Europe and resulted in Frances relative decline, and confirmed the rise of a United Germany as the major power. After diplomatic maneuvers aimed at blocking the candidacy of Leopold, Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck published the Ems telegram to provoke the French government into declaring war, which they did.. More on the Civil war and why the South seceded immediately after the election of 1860 in my article here. Bismarck then made Benedetti's earlier draft public to The Times in London that demanded Belgium and Luxembourg as the price for remaining neutral during the Austro-Prussian War. His further retreat was checked by the German right wing in the blundering Battles of Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte on August 16 and 18, respectively, and he then took refuge behind the defenses of Metz indefinitely. Black Hobbits in Middle Earth The Truth! Most importantly, Germanys annexation of Alsace-Lorraine aroused a deep longing for revenge in the French people. After Bismarck had interfered in Holsteins domestic Politics Austria hoped on using the German diet to convey in the Holstein dispute. In 1862, King Wilhelm I appointed Bismarck as Minister President of Prussia, a position he would hold until 1890 (except for a short break in 1873). "[39] On 19 July 1870 "Le Sourd, the French Charg d'Affaires, delivered Napoleon's declaration of war at the Foreign Office" in Berlin. Benedetti brought with him a secret proposal by Napoleon III that France would approve of Bismarck's acquisition of the northern German states if Prussia remained neutral while France annexed Belgium and Luxembourg. By these treaties, Prussia would defend all of the southern German states with its military power as long as their states joined the Northern Confederation in defense of Prussia. F. Herre: Bismarck. In 1871 he unified Germany into a nation-state, forming the German Empire. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Bismarck appears in white. In the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War (1866), Prussia had annexed numerous ethnically German territories and formed the North German Confederation with other German territories. The new German Empire was a federation; each of its 25 constituent states (kingdoms, grand duchies, duchies, principalities, and free cities) retained some autonomy. He provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria, and France, aligning the smaller German states behind Prussia in its defeat of France. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The war marked the end of French hegemony in continental Europe and resulted in the creation of a unified Germany. But that is a story for another time.