Austro-Prussian War

Germany had to do many things to achieve unification and ultimately start a war and use other wars to work towards the goal of unification. Now looking at Italy in 1866 Italy signed a pact with Prussia promising support if Prussia went to war with Austria. Prussia promised to get Venetia for Italy. Eventually several months later, war between Prussia and Austria did happen. Austria was defeated by Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War. In the peace settlement, Prussia awarded Italy with Venice and the other

three wars. The question people still ask today is, did Otto von Bismarck plan to unify Germany, or did he just take advantage of the opportunities that fell into his lap. Otto Von Bismarck was most definitely a planner as shown through countless actions and statements shown threw his time of power during the three wars. The first war was the Danish war were Germany with the help of Austria took control of the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein. The second war was the Austrian-Prussian war, where

iron" to bring all the German nation together under the Prussian monarchy. There were three short Prussian wars during the nineteenth century which brought about the unification of the German states. The war against Denmark (1864), The Austro-Prussian War (1866), and The Franco-Prussian war (1870-1871). The importance of the war against Denmark was that it was a means of gaining the help of Prussia towards the new army reforms. The war against Austria brought about the final defeat of liberalism

which didn’t turn out so well later on. Throughout the timeline of unification in Germany, Otto Von Bismarck never had a detailed plan on the unification of Germany. Instead he took advantage of opportunities that presented themselves like triggering wars throughout European nations as an example. He was only in control of events to an extent, Bismarck never had a fully thought out plan from the beginning of his career. Many opportunities that presented themselves to Bismarck included the luck he had

or a situation justifying war. Prussia, with its strategic “ally” Austria, easily defeated Denmark. Prussia and Austria jointly occupied the newly acquired territory. After the war, Bismarck persuaded Austria to agree to terms outlined in the Gastein Convention. These terms favored Prussia and maintained the rivalry between Prussia and Austria. Bismarck never wanted to establish a cordial relationship with Austria because he knew that he could fabricate a claim for war, defeat Austria, and claim

Realpolitik is a goal oriented and practical form of politics, which overlooks morals, ethicality, and ideals to attain the interests of the nation or country. It doesn’t view compromise of ideals or morals as wrong, if it brings about the achievement of the political and national goal. The only thing that makes any action or decision taken right or wrong is its level of success. Those who practice realpolitik will not hesitate to take the decisions needed, whether unethical, unidealistic, or amoral

Under the guidance of Bismarck, the Prussian chancellor, the unification of a Kleindeutsch (small Germany) took place in 1871 after Prussia defeated France. There is often historical debate over who was responsible for the unification of Germany. Controversy is caused amongst those who believe that Bismarck was fully responsible for German unification and those who believe other factors played an equally or even more important part. The historian Pflanze is an example of someone who considers Bismarck

unified Germany but who also embodied everything ruthless about Prussian culture (Steinburg i).” Steinberg wants to give an insight on Bismarck’s life, the thinking, and how the type of person he was affected his plan in creating Germany. In this book Steinberg heavily focuses on contemporary writing, allowing Bismarck’s friends and enemies to tell the story. “I met and read the letters and diaries of the greatest figures in Prussian society” (x). This is a strength for it allows the reader to

understanding of realpolitikand the Machiavellian use of war as a political tool to eliminate Germany's rival nations, gain the support of the German people and gain territory. This ultimately created a German legacy of strong militaristic tendencies, scheming national relations, and economic clout challenging the European heavyweights like England and France. Bismarck's plan for unification began with his instigation of war with the small German states of Schleswig and Holstein

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. The