Wars of German Unification: A Visual History

The Wars of German Unification (1864-1871) were the three conflicts through which Otto von Bismarck's Prussia united Germany under Hohenzollern rule and without Austria. The Second Schleswig War of 1864 saw Prussia and Austria take Schleswig-Holstein from Denmark; the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, decided in seven weeks at Koniggratz by Moltke's railways and needle guns, expelled Austria from German affairs and created the North German Confederation; and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, in which the south German states joined Prussia, ended with Napoleon III's capture at Sedan, the siege of Paris and the proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor at Versailles on 18 January 1871. Some 200,000 soldiers died in the three wars; the new empire changed Europe's balance and set up the rivalries of 1914.

When it was fought: the era ribbon

The bold bar is Wars of German Unification. The lighter bars are empires and wars from the same era and the same part of the world. Click any bar to jump to its page.

Military dead in the three wars

Timeline of the Wars of German Unification

1. 1862
   Bismarck's 'blood and iron' speech
2. 1864
   Second Schleswig War; Dybbol
3. 1866
   Austro-Prussian War; Koniggratz3 July.
4. 1867
   North German Confederation
5. 1870
   Ems telegram; Sedan; siege of Paris
6. 1871
   German Empire proclaimed; Treaty of Frankfurt18 January; 10 May.

Schleswig-Holstein, 1864

Bismarck, minister-president since 1862, had told the Landtag that the great questions would be decided by 'blood and iron'. When Denmark's new king incorporated Schleswig in 1863, Prussia and Austria invaded in February 1864, stormed the Danish lines at Dybbol in April and took Jutland; Denmark ceded both duchies. Their joint administration under the Gastein convention was, as Bismarck intended, a source of quarrel with Austria.

Koniggratz, 1866

Bismarck allied with Italy, proposed a reformed German parliament Austria could not accept, and occupied Holstein; the Confederation voted to mobilise against Prussia and Bismarck declared it dissolved. Moltke moved three armies by rail into Bohemia; on 3 July 1866 at Koniggratz (Sadowa) the Prussian breech-loading needle gun and the crown prince's arrival on the flank crushed Benedek's Austrians with 44,000 casualties. Prussia annexed Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, Nassau and Frankfurt, formed the North German Confederation, and let Austria off lightly to keep it as a future friend; Italy gained Venetia.

Sedan and Versailles, 1870-1871

France, alarmed at Prussia's rise, demanded compensation and then, over the Hohenzollern candidacy for Spain, guarantees; Bismarck's edited Ems telegram provoked a French declaration of war on 19 July 1870 that brought Bavaria, Wurttemberg and Baden to Prussia's side. Moltke's armies won at Worth and Gravelotte, trapped Bazaine in Metz and captured Napoleon III at Sedan on 2 September; the new French Republic fought on until Paris capitulated in January 1871. In the Hall of Mirrors on 18 January the princes proclaimed Wilhelm German Emperor; the Treaty of Frankfurt took Alsace and Lorraine and 5 billion francs. Bismarck declared Germany a satisfied power and spent 19 years keeping France isolated.

Related empires and wars

Chosen automatically by overlap in time and geography, plus a few hand picked connections.

Empires of the same era and region

• Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867 to 1918)
• Holy Roman Empire (800 to 1806)
• Danish colonial empire (1536 to 1953)
• Second French colonial empire (1830 to 1980)
• Nazi Germany (1933 to 1945)
• British Empire (1583 to 1997)

Wars of the same era and region

• Franco-Prussian War (1870 to 1871)
• Wars of Italian Unification (Risorgimento) (1848 to 1871)
• World War I (1914 to 1918)
• Crimean War (1853 to 1856)
• French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1792 to 1815)

8 surprising things about the Wars of German Unification

1. Bismarck's 'blood and iron' phrase came in a budget speech of September 1862 arguing that speeches and majority votes would not settle Germany's questions.
2. The 1866 war lasted seven weeks; Prussian troops reached the outskirts of Vienna before Bismarck stopped the king from entering it.
3. The needle gun let Prussian infantry fire lying down at five rounds a minute against the Austrians' one, standing.
4. Napoleon III surrendered his sword at Sedan with 100,000 men, the largest capitulation in French history until 1940.
5. The German Empire was proclaimed in France's palace of Versailles, in the room where the Treaty of Versailles was later signed in 1919.
6. Bismarck excluded Austria deliberately, creating a 'small Germany' under Prussia rather than a 'great Germany' with the Habsburgs.
7. The Kaiser's title 'Deutscher Kaiser' rather than 'Kaiser von Deutschland' was a compromise to soothe the other kings; Wilhelm sulked.
8. France's indemnity of 5 billion francs was paid off two years early, and Germany used it to build fortresses and a gold reserve.

Sources

• German Empire: The unification wars Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Unification of Germany Wikipedia
• Seven Weeks' War Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Geoffrey Wawro, The Austro-Prussian War (1996) Cambridge University Press

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