creation of modern Germany

• 1849- Prussian statesman Joseph radowitz came up with he Prussian union plan. he proposed a little German kingdom exulting Austria and under Prussian leadership
• Joseph radowitz also propose a German Union which would involve both the new reich and the Austrian empire. this did not favour well with the Austrian chief minister, prince Felix of shwarzenberg, who felt it was just a way to get rid of Austrian influence in Germany. Prussia was able to continue its plan with schwarzenberg dealt with an uprising in Hungary.
• march 1850, representative from most German states met in Erfurt in Prussia. 28 states agreed to the creation of the Prussian dominated Erfurt union, but several were suspicious and to scared of Austria to agree
• austrian minister shwarzenberg was ready to reassert Austrias position in Germany. he summoned a diet of the confederation to meet in Frankfurt in may 1850. now there were 2 assemblies both wanting to speak for Germany. Prussian lead Erfurt union and Austrian lead Frankfurt diet.
• an uprising happened in the state of Hesse-Cassel. Although it was a member of the Erfurt union, its ruler requested help from the Frankfurt diet. this caused tension and conflict. but Prussia backed down, and was humiliated, and agreed to abolish the Erfurt union as part of the treaty of olmutz
• After the Erfurt union was demolished, Austria was powerful.
• Prussian chief minister, Otto von manteuffel decided to concentrate on Prussian affairs. he also wanted to improve Austrias political power and looked at expaning the Zollverein (trading agreements)
• Manteuffel proposed a trade union with Austria but sauté turned it down, Austria did not want to give away any of its power.
• manteuffel sided with Russia during the Crimean war while Austria did not, this left Prussia in good terms with Russia
• when France went to war with Austria over Italian lands, Prussia chose to side with Austria in return for a promise to allow Prussia to become the dominant state. Austria lost the war, it came to nothing
• 1858. fredrick William was declared insane and died. his brother Wilhelm became the king of Prussia. With the help of Albrecht con room and Helmuth von moltke, a bill was proposed to reform the army.
• Wilhelm wanted to take full control of the army but parliament had financial control. Wilhelm dismissed manteuffel and had a new parliament elected in December 1861. the parliament would not extend military service or extend budget
• Wilhelm was very angry that the parliament was not allowing him to control the army and got rid of all the people who didn't agree with him in parliament. they were re-elected, and Wilhelm feared civil war
• instead of abdicating, Wilhelm decided to put Otto von Bismarck, a leading position, chief minister. Bismarck was confident he could sort out the crisis
• Bismarck was more interested in making Prussia powerful then creating a united Germany, but also was not against the idea of unification.
• Bismarck solved the problem of the military budget by withdrawing the bill and declaring the support of parliament was unnecessary and the army could be financed from taxes. for the next 4 years Bismarck controlled the army
• in 2863, revolts broke out in the polish areas of Russia. Bismarck offered his support. an agreement was reached that would allow Russian troops to cross into Prussia when in pursuit of the polish rebels.
• the danish king died in 1863 without an heir and the throne passed to a distant relative christian IX. the leading families in Schleswig and Holstein felt they had more right to the throne than christian IX, and put forth their own claimant, the German duke of augustenburg
• christian IX announced Schleswig was a part of Denmark which increased tension. German confederation was furious and sent an army on behalf of the duke. Bismarck saw a way to take control of the two states
• Bismarck claimed that he was in support of the duke and persuaded Austria to help him. they both sent troops against Denmark for the duke
• christian IX gave up the two states and handed them over to Austria and Prussia. Austria and the rest of the confederation expected them to go to the duke, but Bismarck only agreed while Prussia held power over him.
• austria was furious that the states were not going to the dike but war was avoided because Austria was suffering financial difficulties and Wilhelm didn't want to fight another German state. Austria would have Holstein and Prussia would have Schleswig
• Bismarck met with Napoleon in October 1865, and France was not sure who the winning side would be, Austria or Prussia, and decided to stay neutral. he promised Bismarck he would not get involved in the battles
• Prussia had the support of smaller German states, but the bigger ones sided with Austria. by February 1866, war was inevitable. the war would decide who got control of all of Germany. Bismarck formed an alliance with Italy. Austria and Prussia began to mobilise troops
• Austria appealed to the confederation in June 1866 to settle the further of Schleswig and Holstein. according to Bismarck this violated their agreement and sent his troops to occupy Holstein. this did not lead to war
• June 10th, Bismarck proposed that the confederation be reorganised to exclude Austria and all troops in northern Germany be given to Prussia. Austria asked the diet to reject Bismarck's plan and prepare for war. it was rejected
• most states begin mobilising their states to fight Prussia. Bismarck issued in ultimatum to Hanover, Hesse-cassel and Saxony, join Prussia or become its enemy. they refused to Bismarck invaded all 3, forcing them into an alliance
• war was imminent. Prussian military expenditure had doubled since 1860, while Austria's army had halved.
• Prussia had better equipment including fast firing guns that the Austrians didn't have.
• on the other hand, Austria had more soldiers, more support from the other German states, and a more central location. however Austria was also facing revolt from the Italian states it ruled, so it could not give Prussia its full attention
• Prussia advanced its troops into Bohemia. only one railway led Austria to Bohemia, but five led Prussia. this meant that Prussia could move its troops faster, but risked the potential of dividing them
• austria missed the opportunity to divide Prussian troops on the railroads, and the two armies met at koniggratz. Prussia had a stronger position. Austria asked for a peace treaty to protect her empire.
• Wilhelm wanted to continue the war, but Bismarck was fearful France or Russia would intervene, insisted that they sign the treaty. Bismarck got his way by threatening suicide, and a peace was created.
• the treaty between Austria and Prussia was called the Treaty of Prague
• Prussia gained Holstein and gave Italy the land it had promised. with Austria defeated, Bismarck could have pushed for unification but instead he proposed a military alliance where all states would put their armies in the control of the Prussian king if a war were to happen. all states agreed
• in 1867, the dutch king agreed to sell Luxembourg to France subject to the approval of the king of Prussia. Bismarck gave the decision to the other European leaders.
• at a conference in London, it was decided Luxembourg would become neutral. Napoleon III was very upset and relations between France and Prussia were damaged.
• in 1868 following a revolution in Spain, the Spanish government requested that prime Leopold, a relation of Wilhelm become their new king. Bismarck thought this was a good idea because they would have Spain as an ally. Wilhelm was not because he knew Napoleon would see it as a threat
• Leopold turned the offer down, not wanting to make an enemy of France but Bismarck persuaded him to accept
• Napoleon III threatened war if Leopold took the title of Spanish king. Wilhelm panicked and told Leopold to withdraw. Bismarck was humiliated and threatened to resign