What Is Von Moltke's Military Alliance

3. In the mid-nineteenth century, Italy wasn’t unified. Italy was made up of independent states that nationalist wanted unified, but failed. Mazzini was “the most important nationalist leader in Europe and brought new fervor to the cause” (690). Mazzini desperately wanted Italy to be united and it finally was and became the Italian Republic. In 1860, the country shaped boot became a nation-state. After the war with Austria, “the forces of romantic republican nationalism compelled Cavour to pursue the complete unification of northern and southern Italy” (691).

In 1871, Realpolitik was at its height when Otto von Bismarck of Prussia formed Germany. Bismarck was appointed as the prime minister of Prussia to crush the growing power of the liberals. It was his job to instill conservative values while avoiding progressive thinking with Western Europe. Bismarck used war as a political tactic by getting into wars he knew could win for Prussia. He lured Denmark and France into war to beat them and add to a growing sense of pride and nationalism within the German states. Two houses of government formed with the aristocracy having more power than the lower house. The biggest downside of Bismarck getting into wars with surrounding countries was that Germany was not industrializing over this period of time. Although, once Germany unified, Bismarck was able to jumpstart the economy by implementing a series of laws that would help businesses

The nation of Germany has had a significant impact on the history of the world. In the early twentieth century the country presented itself as one of the strongest military powers of Europe and a major participant of the First World War. In the mid-twentieth century, under the command of Adolf Hitler, Germany initiated the Second World War. Today, Germany is an economically developed nation, even with the many troubles it faced after the end of the Second World War. This major power, which caused a stir in the twentieth century, was in most part created by the Junker Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck used the system of realpolitik to unite the divided German states under Prussia. Had Bismarck not been involved in the German unification, it is extremely likely that the powerful German empire which made its mark in history would not exist and the impacts it made on the world would be nullified.

Otto von Bismarck was the prime minister of Prussia and later became the first chancellor of the German Empire in which he initiated. When the German Empire was established, Bismarck was adept in representing its domestic and foreign policies. According to Kissinger (1968) this was Bismarck’s legacy in which he was victorious domestically in his pursuit for German unification. Bismarck’s views were more conservative, which he believed maintained the status quo. He did not favor liberalism in the German Confederacy because he believed the common man did not have the right to bargain with nobility. Revolutionary changes were reserved for the educated and the wealthy landowners. Common people such as peasants and crafts workers were subjects to

A key strategy Bismarck used was to isolate Austria thereby allowing the Hohenzollern Prussians to establish domination

Ihering’s contrasting letters about Bismarck’s political strategy displays the dedication that leads to the creation of German unification and European alliances that are inflicted upon World War I. Although the first letter dissents Bismarck’s action to wage war against Austria, the second letter shifts ideas, and Ihering praises the genius Bismarck for his remarkable victory. Considering Bismarck a man of action “inspired and prepared both politically and morally, [he] is worth a hundred men of liberal principles and of powerless honesty,” making his previously revolting political decisions greatly beneficial to Germany (“Realpolitik” 178). Bismarck’s progressive action moves quickly and strategically, in order to obtain his ultimate goal of a unified Germany, which will be put into use up to and during the war. The need for Germany’s stability creates the need for alliances with

He provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria, and France, aligning the smaller German states behind Prussia in its defeat of France. In 1871 he formed the German Empire with himself as Chancellor, while retaining control of Prussia. His diplomacy of realpolitik and powerful rule at home gained him the nickname the "Iron Chancellor." German unification and its rapid economic growth was the foundation to his foreign policy. He disliked colonialism but reluctantly built an overseas empire when it was demanded by both elite and mass opinion. Juggling a very complex interlocking series of conferences, negotiations and alliances, he used his diplomatic skills to maintain Germany's position and used the balance of power to keep Europe at peace in the 1870s and

The Austrian, Russian, and Ottoman Empire's faced such great challenges to their control of land because the power kept getting tossed between all three empires due two victories or defeats in war and royal marriages. In 1866, Prussia beat Austria in the Austro-Prussian war. Because of this Prussia gained control of the North German Confederation. Then Austria split the empire in half, the empire was now called The Austria-Hungary empire. After World War I Austria Hungary broken into several separate nations or states.

After the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by Napoleon, all of the German states were completely separate. They had nothing tying them together until 1815. This is when the Congress of Vienna created the German Confederation, a group of 39 loosely joined German states. The Confederation still had no central government, but delegates would meet once a month to discuss things like mutual laws and policies. The Confederation was mainly a loose political organization who had common allies and enemies (Britannica). The states in the Confederation were still separate for the most part, although this did not cause them problems. The Confederation worked for all of the states and they were all peaceful.

Bismarck was originally an expansionist who aimed to make Prussia a powerful part of Germany, however, by 1870, he gave up his expansionist ideas and became content with the land that Germany already had power over. Bismarck’s cautious foreign policy favored peace over war, creating treaties and maintaining Germany’s land rather than expanding Germany by embarking in war. He sought to maintain good relations with France and Russia and kept France isolated. Furthermore, his policy secured peace within the five major powers of Europe by creating alliances. The Bismarckian system created allies between the other powers of Europe, secured Germany’s land, and avoided conflicts with France and Russia.

The Franco-Prussian War During the first half of the nineteenth century, Germany was made up of more than 30 small states, the largest and most dominant of which was Prussia. Prussia had decided that all of the states should all be united to create a bigger and better country, Germany. By the end of 1870 it had forced all of the German states to accept its authority and create the German Empire with the King of Prussia at its head (the Hohenzollen's). Everything was going to plan as Chancellor Prince Otto Von Bismarck (person who was behind the unification of Germany) had anticipated apart from the four large states in southern Germany who remained independent. Bismarck now needed a way to unite

Hampered by their political arrangement, Prussia first sought to change their status within the German Confederation. Comprised of Germanic entities and led by powers Prussia and Austria, the German Confederation lessened the political influence of individual states in favour of collective interest. However, the industrial development of Prussia had made it a superpower within the Confederation, putting it at odds with Austria due to its immense power. A traditional monarchy, Austria and its allied states often outvoted Prussia on various matters and were a detriment to its interests outside the German Confederation. Favouring expansion of both area and influence, Bismarck envisioned an alliance between Austria and Prussia, allowing his state to pursue their national interests unimpeded. To realize Bismarck’s plans for continental domination, Prussia attempted peaceful reform to restructure Prussia as the sole

Austria pressured Prussia to address the Schleswig-Holstein issue. Bismarck, expecting this response, used it as a reason to turn against Austria. As Austria began to lose its influence in Europe, the Prussian influence increased. This was largely due to the fact that Austria lost allies like Russia when they refused to help them go against France and Britain in the Crimean War of 1854-6. Prussia, though, began to build successful economic alliances with other German states to make trade easier and more profitable. Bismarck began to view Austria as a rival to Prussia’s dominance over the German Confederation and an obstacle to overall German unification. Bismarck strengthened the foreign military alliances with Russia, France, and Italy by agreeing to assist those nations in their military affairs. For instance, Bismarck promised to help France invade and control Belgium and promised Italy the Venezia region after they defeat Austria. In November of 1865, Austria received offers of a large sum in exchange for Holstein but they denied it. A Prussian force was then sent into Holstein on Bismarck’s order, ensuing a seven weeks war. Austria was not completely alone; Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover and other minor German states fought on their side but they were not as powerful as the Prussian forces that also had German allies and Italy’s forces. Bismarck did not want to bring great damage to Austria because he believed that the Austrians could become a great military ally in the

What was the most significant factor contributing to German Unification from 1815-1871: Bismarck’s diplomacy or prevailing conditions in post-Napoleonic Europe? The first secondary source is an excerpt from Norman Rich’s “Great Power Diplomacy” was written with the belief that Otto von Bismarck lead Germany to Unification, and was integral to the unification process. Norman Rich focusses on Bismarck and his actions on the road towards unification. We compare that excerpt with Freidrich Meinecke’s “Lack of Unity among Disaffected Classes.” Meinecke’s document believes that Germany on an inevitable course, and that following the revolutions of 1948, with the nationalism of the people in the German region, combined with

Throughout the Wars of Unification, there were many pivotal events which had ultimately led to the Prussian Empire as the victor against the Austrians. Such important factors would include: Prussia’s economic success through the Zollverein, the strengthening of their military due to the economic boom, the crucial role of Otto von Bismarck, isolation of the Austrian Empire through means of acquiring foreign aid, and the detrimental obstacles Austria had to face at the time. Even though there may be even more factors that contributed to the Prussian Empire’s success in the Austro-Prussian War, these are the most vital causes that concluded to their triumph.