Rise of Prussia Essay example

The German Command, in planning for a short and swift war, found themselves in a bind when the war started to prolong itself. From the very beginning, their plan started to fall apart, as Belgium, who they assumed would just let them march through to France, took up arms in resisting their approaches (Hull, 2005). The war would get longer and longer and seemed farther away from its conclusion as the months grew colder. As a result of this as well as their Prussian roots, they resorted to dangerously risky and destructive tactics, trying to bring the war to a quicker end while putting more of their resources in jeopardy, a move that eventually did not pay off and ended up leading to the German Empire’s demise (Hull, 2005).

These developments influenced most of the powerful nations of Europe and were soon repeated in similar forms around the world. Furthermore, many of the Prussian enhancements in army doctrine are the foundation of the command structures of many modern militaries today.

Germany started out as a divided nation fighting for dominance in Europe. Otto Von Bismarck was able to take this struggling complexity and unify it. During this process Bismarck turned the small country of Prussia into a powerhouse, growing the population from 11 to 18 million. Bismarck sprung from a landlord class and moved his way up the political ladder as realpolitik, realistic Politician. He was a man of simple ideals; he stressed duty, service, order, and the fear of God. These ideals along with manipulative tactics are what lead Bismarck on his journey of the unification of Germany, proving that without Bismarck’s diplomatic efforts between 1871 and 1890 Europe would not be the stabilized continent it is today.

Prussia had become the most powerful state in Europe. “Most German’s were enormously proud, enormously relieved. And they

Germany became a unified country in 1871 under the leadership of Otto Von Bismarck. The separate states up until this time were independent, Prussia being the strongest and most influential, followed by Austria. There are several contributing factors to the unification of Germany, the most influential of which being the leadership of Otto Von Bismarck. The three wars that Prussia fought with Denmark, Austria and France also played significant roles in the unification of the German states. Another factor to consider is the increase in support of nationalism around Western Europe at the time, and the changes in German society. Through an evaluation of these factors and relevant sources one can

Correspondingly, in Prussia, the next Hohenzollern was Frederick the Great, who applied enlightened absolutist ideas to the economy. Frederick took a more humane approach to policy, which would strengthen the state, and he also reconstructed agriculture and industry. Altogether, the monetary and financial systems these enlightened rulers employed were to make more money. More financial capabilities would result in a stronger state, due to the ability to accomplish more goals, and a better life for the rulers’

Frederick diminished the power of the Junkers, who were the nobility of Brandenburg and Prussia that threatened his power. He did so by giving them reconfirmation of their own privileges, which included authority over serfs in exchange for their acceptance of taxation. The “Great Elector’s” son, Frederick I, became the first Prussian king by helping the Habsburgs and Holy Roman empire in the War of Spanish Succession. He later passed the throne down to his son, Frederick William I. Frederick William I, known as “the Soldiers’ king”, is considered to have truly consolidated Prussian absolutism by eliminating the “last traces of parliamentary estates and local self-government.” [1] In addition, Frederick William I turned Prussia into a military estate by forcing conscription, which became lifelong in 1713. Instead of destroying the Junkers, he appeased them by allowing them to lead his growing army in which peasants were forced to serve in. In addition, he abused the Junkers’ acceptance of taxation, which allowed him to create such a well-trained army and an educational system that was under state control. Therefore, he created a “rigid and highly disciplined” [1] civil society that consisted of a

While the religious division of the Prussia Protestant and that of the dominating Austria Catholics was an important factor, the opposition from Austria and the rulers were more important. Nationalism became this progressively intensifying cycle that eventually climaxes into war. Many began to put aside the idealistic ideas of society and began to embrace the realities of society as competitive and combative. Under the calculated guidance of Otto von Bismarck, Germany would finally be on the promising path of unification.

It has been said by several historians that the second half of the nineteenth century was the ‘Age of Bismarck.’ In the mid 1800’s Bismarck provided dynamic leadership- a trait which had been lacking during the events of 1848-89. Ian Mitchell stated “Bismarck was everywhere.” However, there has been a considerable degree of debate concerning the role of Bismarck in the unification of Germany. Some argue that unification would have been inevitable and had nothing to do with Bismarck, although others argue that the unification was solely down to Bismarck’s role. There are differing opinions on whether Bismarck was a planner or an opportunist or whether he was merely just

Prince Otto von Bismarck was seen as both a political genius and a power monger, like a German version of Alexander the Great by the people. Bismarck was a conservative, who used the people around him to reach his goals; and in doing so, he pitted people against one another. According to the book 19th Century Germany by John Breuilly, modern historians have found it very hard “to separate the man from his achievements” (Breuilly 172). The historians have run into a roadblock that consists mostly of “Bismarck’s individuality and his responsibility for the political development of the Empire” (Breuilly 172). Bismarck was known to support nationalism and patriotism, and he believed in the Burschenschaften or student organizations. He also believed in the concept of faith in power, more in ideas. Bismarck only cared for two things: Prussia and Prussian power, and he would do anything to obtain Prussian domination. Although Bismarck did not care for Germany, he was all for German Unification. Historians cannot decide if Bismarck’s legacy is positive or negative but they agree that he was a “brilliant and shrewd tactician who succeeded in postponing the problem of political mobilization for 60 years” (Breuilly 172). In Otto von Bismarck, some people saw a great man who was ahead of his time, while others saw nothing more than a bloodthirsty power monger, who wanted a united Germany to

The nationalist power-politics in Germany were promoted heavily. There were strong advocates for imperialism who also pushed for advancing Germany's weapon's technology and strong army.

How and Why Hitler and the Nazis Came to Power in Germany Before the Great War in 1914 Germany was a rich and prospering country. The end of the war in 1918 and between 1933 reduced Germany to a weak and struggling country. There are many reasons for the fall and rise of Germany during this time, which ultimately results in the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. After the war Germany found defeat in the First World War difficult to accept. Their did not accept that they had been truly defeated: they thought their government had been 'stabbed in the back' by left-wing Germans who lacked patriotism.

The leading drive in Prussia for unification was a man named Otto Von Bismarck. Otto Von Bismarck was a master strategist that initiated a series of

In 1861, Wilhelm I succeeded Frederick William to the throne. The liberal parliament declined his cash for changes that would twofold the armed force's quality. Wilhelm saw the parliaments refusal as a noteworthy test to his power. He was upheld in his perspective by the junkers, unequivocally moderate individuals from Prussia's well off landowning class. In 1862, Wilhelm picked A traditionalist junker named Otto Von Bismarck as his PM. Bismarck was an expert of what came to be known as a real politick. This German expression signifies "the legislative issues of reality." The term is utilized to portray intense force governmental issues with no space for optimism. With realpolitik as his style, Bismarck would get to be one of the directing

Bismarck was the man who did the most to unify Germany. It was clear that unification was one of his major objective which he announced in his famous ‘Blood and Iron speech’. I was fascinated by how he managed to unify the so many divided states. Thus, my historical investigation examines the question, to what extent was the Franco-Prussian war Bismarck’s final step to unify Germany? To assess whether the Franco-Prussian war was Bismarck’s final step for unifying the loose net of 39 German states or not, the investigation analyses the previous steps made by Bismarck to unify Germany. It investigates the events between 1962, when Bismarck became Minister president of Prussia and 1971, when Germany became officially unified. The events analyzed are the Danish war, The Prussian Austrian war and the Franco Prussian war.