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Austro-Prussian rivalry 1849-68

The position of Austria af-ter 1848

The Prussian Union Plan

• Prussian King Frederick William IV was attracted to the idea of a united Ger-many with himself at its head, providing he had the consent of the Princes.

• Chancellor Radowitz’s proposal for a Kleindeutschland, under Prussian leadership was supported by Frederick William

• German Federal Reich• Excludes Austria• Constitution based upon by the Frankfurt Parliament• Strong central government• King of Prussia as Emperor• a special relationship, a permanent ‘union’, between the Reich and the Habs-

burg Empire.

• Prussia dominates - Kleindeutsch• Austria is excluded, and attempts to form

an alternative customs plan fail.

The Erfurt Union • ‘Three King’s Alliance’ (Prussia, Saxony and Hanover) • Radowitz called a meeting of representatives of all the German states to Er-

furt in March 1850 to launch the new Reich.• Twenty-eight states agreed to the creation of the Prussian dominated Erfurt

Union• Several important states, suspicious of Prussian ambitions and fearful of

Austria’s reaction, declined to join.• By the summer of 1850 there were two assemblies claiming to speak for Ger-

many: the Prussian-led Erfurt Parliament and the Austrian-led Frankfurt Diet.

• The Erfurt Union failed because of Aus-trian opposition (Middle Europe)

• The Princes joined the Erfurt Union be-cause they feared Prussian military strength

• Prussia was weakened – they had backed down and EU terminated.

Hese-Cassel • Revolution in Hesse-Cassel, a member state of the Erfurt Union, prompted its ruler to request help from the Frankfurt Diet.

• Erfurt Parliament also claimed the right to decide the dispute.• The Prussian army mobilised.• Austria replied with an ultimatum that only the troops of the old Confedera-

tion had the right to intervene.• Small-scale fighting broke out between Prussian and Confederation troops.• Frederick William: no wish for war, dismissed Radowitz with Edwin Manteuf-

fel

• Display of Prussian military strength• Unlikely prospect of war, but tensions

were evident.

The capitulation (or humiliation) of Olmütz

29 November 1850• Prussia agreed to abandon the Prussian Union Plan• Conference of states to discuss the future of Germany. • Schwarzenberg proposal for an Austrian-dominated ‘Middle Europe’, incor-

porating the 70 million people of all the German states and the Habsburg Empire

• FW was attracted by the idea of a united Germany with the consent of the Princes

• The German Confederation in 1851 no longer had the stature and influence of 1815. Prussia harboured a desire to re-assert her dignity and power.


• Rejected by the smaller German states• There was strong pressure for a return to the situation pre-1848.• In May 1851 the German Confederation of 1815 was formally re-established• Alliance between Austria and Prussia

• In theory Austria was dominant because Prussia backed down after Olmutz. How-ever the GC was not Austria’s first choice – ‘Middle Europe’

Austrian political, economic and fi-nancial problems

Austrian centralised state including Germans• 1850s - Austrian government attempt to centralise the state; control from Vi-

enna by Germans; all German speakers - judiciary, civil service, army offi-cers.

Catholicism• Concordat 1855 - strengthened influence of the Catholic Church = Austrian

state religion.Attempted reform of Customs unions for Austria• 1849 - Schwarzenberg proposed establishing a Zollunion between Austrian

and the Zollverein = failure.• 1851 - alternative CU with Austria and other German states outside of the

Zollverein = failure.Financial situation• Industrial expansion and rising exports in the 1850s; peasants were free from

feudal dues.• BUT there was a huge deficit that could not be helped by raising taxes and

reducing government spending.• Quelling the 1848 revolutions increased the deficit.• Finances were damaged by keeping their army mobilised during the Crimean

War.

• Caused unrest among non-Germans within the Austrian Empire.

• The Concordat alienated non-Catholic na-tionalities, anti-Clerical liberals and Ger-man Protestants - reduced chance of a ‘Greater Germany’.

• Austria was isolated from the Prussian dominated economic coalition of the Ger-man states - Grossdeutsch solution seemed a distant idea.

Decline of Austria • Austria had lost key allies and was losing influence in Europe.• Austria had refused to help Russia in its war against France and Britain (the

Crimean War, 1854-56) and lost a major ally as a result. • Austria was defeated in a war against the French and northern Italian states.

As a result, it had been forced to surrender some territories.

• Grossdeutsch looked like an unpopular option.

The position of Prussia af-ter 1848

Prussian eco-nomic success

• 1850s - Prussian economy boom; industrial production, railway building and foreign trade more than doubled.

• Prussia gained a considerable advantage in its rivalry with Austria.• Due to a variety of factors:

Good education system - primary to universityPlentiful supply of coal, iron and chemicalsGood communications systems; railway development - 1850 = 5865km, 1870 = 18,876km - encouraged coal, iron and steel industries.

• Growing in strength, allowing Prussia to dominate economically.

• Helped them in future conflicts with Aus-tria and France.


Alfred Krupp’s iron and steel industries employed thousands of Prussians by the 1860s; main Prussian weapons manufacturer.

• Role of the Prussian state in industrial development?Subsidised railway building, used Prussian state bank to finance industrial pilot projects and set up technical schools.However, no clear or consistent policy was followed; Prussian entrepre-neurial activity

The political situa-tion

• After 1848 - Constitution with universal suffrage; hardly democratic due to three class system (based on how much tax paid).

1849 - 4.7% voters chose one third of the electors.Another third elected by 12.6% of those eligible to vote.Final third by 82.7%.

• Upper house = Prussian aristocracy.• Prussian King - power of veto, right to rule by decree - considerable power.Growth of Liberalism• Prussian liberalism grew in strength; increasingly confident middle class.• Liberals = majority in all elected assemblies across Germany - advantage in

three class system.Conservative reform• Manteuffel had no time for democracy and governed without parliament for

his time in office - Strict censorship, restricted freedom of political parties, in-fringed right to assemble - believed in improving living conditions for workers and peasants.

Reform in the countryside• Manteuffel was concerned with helping the peasantry, basis for popular sup-

port for the monarchyAll peasants were freed from their feudal obligations to their landlords.Special low-interest government loans were available to enable peasants to buy their land; 60,000 did.Where there was overpopulation and pressure on land, peasants were given financial; help to move to less populated areas of Prussia.

Reform in the towns• Prussian economic growth = improvements to living standards in 1850s.

Payment of standard minimum wage was encouraged.Inspectors were appointed to improve working conditions in factories.Children under 12 were forbidden to work in factories.Industrial courts were set unto help dispute settlements.


The international situation

King William I

Reform of the army

Constitutional cri-sis 1860-2

Prussia strength-ens

• Prussia had become the most industrialised state in Germany. She was now a force to be reckoned with in Europe.

• Prussia was producing more key resources such as coal and iron than Aus-tria and it had surged ahead of its rival in building road and rail networks to help promote trade.

• Prussia had successfully set up an economic alliance (Zollverein) with other German states that made trade between states easier and more profitable.

Bismarck: The man and his aims

Bismarck’s Politi-cal Career 1847-62

• The man who did most to unite the German states was Otto Von Bismarck. He was the Prussian Chancellor and his main goal was to strengthen even further the position of Prussia in Europe.

• In 1849, aged 34, he was elected to the Prussian Diet. • He was reactionary, intensely monarchist and class prejudiced and rejected

the whole idea of Liberal parliamentary government. • Despising the middle-class Liberals in the Prussian parliament, he made it

clear that his only interest was the power of the Prussian monarchy. • In 1851 he was appointed Prussian representative to the Bund, the Austrian-

dominated German Confederation, in Frankfurt. • There he pursued an anti-Austrian line, relentlessly emphasising Prussia as

Austria’s equal; he believed that War between Prussia and Austria was un-avoidable.

He didn’t want this, as he saw it as divisive.By 1858 - argued that Prussia should seek support among

German nationalists, and that a year later Austria should be driven out of the Confederation (Kleindeutschland)

• In 1859 Bismarck was moved from the Bundestag to become Prussian am-bassador in Russia.

Rise to promi- • In 1862, having been Prussian ambassador to Russia and then France, Bis-


nence marck was recalled in a moment of constitutional crisis, Bismarck was made Minister-President (Prime Minister) on September 25th, 1862, aged 47.

• The King of Prussia, Wilhelm I, having witnessed French and Austrian troops fighting in 1859, insisted that Prussia needed to modernise its army.

• However, the liberal majority in Parliament objected to the length of service in the army and the high expense.

• Von Roon, the Minister for War, advised Wilhelm to send for Bismarck as a political ‘hard man’ to push through his desired reforms.

• When the parliament refused to authorise Bismarck to collect the taxes, he ignored them and ordered the increased taxes to be collected anyway. In a famous speech to the parliament, Bismarck explained his ideas:

“Not by means of speeches and majority verdicts will the great decisions of the time be made- that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849- but by iron and blood…”

Bismarck’s aims By the late 1850s, Bismarck could see the popular appeal of German national-ism, so adopted this policy in a way that might enhance Prussia’s power.i. unify the north German states under Prussian control; he was essentially a

Prussian patriot and was loyal to the Prussian king, but saw German and Prussian interests as one in the same - there was “nothing more German than the development of Prussia’s particular interests” (1858)

ii. weaken Prussia's main rival, Austria, by removing it from the Bund iii. make Berlin the centre of German affairs - not Vienna iv. strengthen the position of the King of Prussia, William I, to counter the de-

mands for reform from the Liberals in the Prussian parliament (the Reich-stag).

Congress of Princes 1863

• To counter Prussia's growing influence, Austria tried to strengthen its posi-tion in the Bund. A Congress of Princes was to be hosted by Austria to revi-talise the Bund.

• Since it was in theory the leading member of the Bund, an increase in the power of the Bund would strengthen Austria.

• Although Wilhelm wanted to attend, Bismarck blackmailed him into not at-tending, pointing out that to go would be to confirm Austria’s supremacy. Wil-helm surrendered and stayed at home.

• Bismarck further thwarted Austria's plans by insisting on popular elections to the Diet (the Bund's parliament).

• Bismarck had successfully ruined Austria's plans and was seen, ironically, as a defender of the Liberal nationalists.


Austro-Prus-sian conflict

The Polish Revolt • Late 18th c = Prussia, Russia and Austria had collectively divided Poland.• Relations between Prussia and its Polish citizens had been uneasy; they

were blamed for 1848 revolutions, Bismarck thought they were trouble mak-ers.

• 1863 - inhabitants of Russian Poland revolted, concerning Bismarck as it could have turned into Polish revolt.

• Tsar Alexander II ordered the suppression of the revolt - France Austria and Britain objected and offered mediation.

• Bismarck offered military assistance in an attempt to strengthen Russo-Ger-man ties - rejected but agreed to a convention where Prussia would hand over any Polish rebels who crossed the boarder.

• Prussian/German liberals hated Russian autocratic rule - protested Bis-marck’s action, with Austria, France and Britain - Bismarck argued the con-vention wasn’t ratified so didn’t exist; angered Tsar, Prussia left friendless.

• Polish rising - suppressed in 1864; seemed Russia would remain neutral if Prussia went to war with Austria or France.

Bismarck’s support of Russia wasn’t popu-lar; against autocracy.Russia was angered because Prussia didn’t do as they said, leaving Prussia with-out a strong ally if they went to war with Austria and France.


The problem of Schleswig and Holstein

• November 1863 - childless King Fredrick VII of Denmark died; also ruled the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein (under Danish rule for 400 years).

• Schleswig —> population = mixed Danish and German; not a member of the Confederation

• Holstein —> Population = mostly German; in the Confederation; rebelled against Denmark, Prussian troops marched to their aid in support of Frankfurt Parliament until Russian intervention forced peace.

• London Treaty (1852) - signed by Great powers, agreed that Fredrick would be succeeded as ruler of Denmark and the duchies by Christian of Glucks-burg, heir to the Danish throne through marriage.

• Schleswig and Holstein contested this claim - inheritance through female line forbidden in the duchies = put forward Prince of Augustenburg, he bowed out but never officially renounced his rights.

• Christian became King of Denmark - November 1863.• Government officials in Holstein refused to pledge allegiance to him, song of

Prince of Augustenburg now claimed both duchies, he’d never signed away his rights to them - supported by German nationalists.

• King Christian violated the Treaty of London (1852) - incorporated Schleswig.• December 1863 - smaller German states sent armies into Holstein on behalf

of Duke of Augustenburg - he became a figure of German nationalism.Bismarck’s aims• Not influenced by public opinion; he saw opportunity the crisis presented.• Hope of annexing the two duchies, strengthening Prussian power in the

North.• Didn’t want to see the Duke of Augustenburg in control of states independent

of the confederation, didn’t care about Germans in the duchies.• ‘It is no concern of ours whether the Germans of Holstein are happy’Austro-Prussian co-operation• Bismarck first won Austrian help; Austrian ministers had very different aims.• Austria supported Augustenburg claim, but were suspicious of growing Ger-

man nationalism.• Bismarck implied he supported Augustenburg, hiding his expansionist

agenda.• Prussian - Austrian alliance - threatened to invade Schleswig unless Denmark

withdrew its new constitution - Denmark refused.• January 1864 - Prussian-Austrian armies advance through Holstein and

Schleswig.• April 1864 - Prussian troops storm Danish forts at Duppel, widely publicised

and won grudging admiration of most German nationalists.

• Prussia involvement in S-H in 1848 revo-lution, Prussia withdrew.

• Son of the Prince of Augustenburg’s claims was supported by German nation-alists.

• Nationalism grew in opposition to the tyrannical actions of the Danish.

• Finally, a figure of German nationalism to lead them - Duke of Augustenburg.

• Prussian victory at the forts of Duppel.

• Bismarck got his excuse for a war against Austria during a territorial dispute over two small German states, Schleswig and Holstein. These were under the con-trol of Denmark but not technically a part of it.

• In 1863, the King of Denmark declared Schleswig and Holstein to be a part of Denmark.

• In 1864, Prussia and Austria teamed up and declared war on Denmark. They won easily.


The results of the Danish War

Treaty of Vienna - October 1864, King of Denmark gives up rights over Schleswig and Holstein.Issue of who rules the duchies (Augustenburg?) remains until summer of 1865.The Convention of Gastein - arguably created to provoke Austria.• Neither Austria or Bismarck wanted war - Austria near bankruptcy, Kaiser re-

luctant to fight fellow German state.• Visit to Bad Gastein - Austrian envoy arrives to open negotiation.• Results agreed at Convention - August 1865, joint sovereignty over duchies.

- Holstein administered by Austria- Schleswig administered by Prussia.

Bismarck's motives• Duchies used to open an Austro-Prussian conflict at a later date?• No clear policy? ‘Allow events to ripen’The meeting at Biarritz• Austro-Prussian rivalry remained, war was a possibility, though distant - Bis-

marck wanted to strengthen Prussia’s international position.• Met with Napoleon III in October 1865 at Biarritz.• No official agreement made, both wanted French neutrality.

• The Germans wanted Augustenburg in power, Bismarck agreed with the condi-tion that he would still be under Prussian power - Austria appealed this to the Bun-desrat but nothing was done.

• Bismarck knew he could pick a quarrel with Austria anytime over Holstein.


War with Austria • Prussia used every opportunity to denounce Austria for denouncing the terms of Gastein.

• There was a need to settle the issue of the duchies and who should control Germany once and for all.

• Prussia was allied with Italy and could prosper if they won a war against Aus-tria; Bismarck struck up tension and forced an aggressive reaction.

• War seemed inevitable to Bismarck, spoken in February 1866 at a meeting of the Prussian Crown Council.

• Prussia proposes unacceptable reforms to the Confederation, indirect univer-sal male suffrage and Austrian isolation = Austrian mobilisation (April), Prus-sian mobilisation (May) appeared defensive.

• Mediation talks suggested by Britain, France and Russia - Bismarck felt obli-gated to accept invitation, but Austria refused; talks broke down.

• The Austrians tried to use their influence in the German Bundestag to pres-sure Prussia to address the Schleswig-Holstein issue.

• The Bundestag backed Austria in the dispute over Schleswig-Holstein - In re-sponse, Prussia sent troops into Holstein (9th June).

• War still didn’t occur; Bismarck proposed more provocative reforms.- Austrian exclusion from the Confederation; national parliament elected by

universal suffrage; all troops in Northern Germany to be under Prussian command.

• Bundestag asked to reject proposals by Austria; Prussia withdraw from Bund and invite all german states to ally themselves against Austria - most mo-bilised against Prussia instead.

• Prussia offered ultimatum to Hanover, Hesse-Cassel and Saxony, invading them when they rejected on the 15th of June 1866.

The Seven Weeks War• Prussian army successful under General Moltke; advanced planning and

preparation, large core of troops, divided to ensure quick transportation.• Austria had 400,000 troops, to Prussia’s 300,000; had the support of many

German states; had a central position.• Italian army was weak and defeated by Austria at the Battle of Custoza -

24th June. Battle of Sadowa - 3rd July 1866 - Prussia wins the battle and the War• Nearly 500,000 men fought; Austrians were well-equipped but were caught in

Prussian pincer movement and new breech-loading needle guns.• Casualties - 45,000 Austrian, 9,000 PrussianJuly 1866 - Armistice signed.

• Russian relations with Austria are poor, especially after the Crimean War; France wouldn’t want a strong Prussia on their border; Britain’s strong navy couldn’t hep a landlocked war.

• Austria was weak; it had no allies and was near bankruptcy; but had no choice but to confront Prussia.

• The Austrians were quickly defeated by the Prussian army during the Seven Weeks War, with the help of Italy (al-liance made secretly in April 1866)


Prussian as-cendency

Consequences of the Austro-Prus-sian War, and the Treaty of Prague

Treaty of Prague - August 1866.• Bismarck's plan to isolate Austria was working. As a result of the Seven

Weeks War:- Prussia kept all the territories it had captured (Hesse-Cassel, Hanover,

Nassau, Frankfurt, Schleswig-Holstein); Austria lost Venetia and Holstein.- A North German Confederation was set up under the control of Prussia.- A federal Diet (Zollparlament) was established for the states in this North

German Confederation. The Diet would be elected and each state could keep its own laws and customs.

- Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt remained indepen-dent but signed a secret military alliance with Prussia.

- Austria promised to stay out of German affairs. - Prussia did not want to weaken Austria too much since it might be a use-

ful ally in the future against Prussia's enemies

• The destruction of the German Confeder-ation was divisive.

• Germans split into three factions: the North German Confederation, the four South German states and the Austrian Empire. Bismarck didn’t want unification yet as he felt Prussia wouldn’t be able to handle such a large task.

• The Treaty of Prague brought huge gains to Prussia.

Indemnity Act 1866

• Passed the new diet 230 to 75 - (Poles, Catholic and Progressive Voting against)

• Legalising illegal budgets of 1862 to 1864, allocated 154,000,000 whalers for 1866.

• Further vote of confidence on the conduct of foreign affairs also passed 230 to 83

• Give up progressive ideas of liberalism, realising that Bismarck will unify German from the top down.

• Liberals ‘sell their souls’, so Conservative nationalism is all that can survive.

North GermanyJuly 1867

• Bismarck’s intention was ‘to destroy parliamentarianism by parliamentarian-ism’

• Union of Prussia and all territory north of the River Main.• President - King of Prussia.• Power over foreign policy• Could appoint and dismiss the federal Chancellor• Component states retained their own rulers but armies were placed under

federal control.• Federal Council - proportion to size of state.

• Lack of Liberal policies; only universal male suffrage.

• Kleindeutsch German rule.

The first Reich-stag

• First North german Reichstag - elected February 1867.• National Liberals - largest party, held the balance of power; won concessions

from Bismarck’s Conservatives.• Bismarck = federal chancellor; power over military budget (90% of Confeder-

ation’s spending); compromise made between B and NLs, military budget would remain out of Reichstag’s control for five years and instead fixed by law.

• An ambitious legislative programme in-cluded a range of unifying measures.

• The consensus politics in the Reichstag saw political unity.


Bismarck and Germany

Prussian dominance• Treaty of Prague - Huge gains to Prussia; Austria withdrew from German af-

fairs.• Most north German states accepted Prussian dominance, except Hanover

and Saxony.• NL - no irreconcilable different between Bismarck’s Prussian policy and

Kleindeutschland nationalism.The South• After 1866 - Bismarck under nationalist pressure, north and south, to com-

plete the process of unification.• Union of states would strengthen Prussia against France and Austria.• South - mood in favour of unification after 1866, parties worked to this policy.• 1867 - four South states incorporated into Zollparlament.• Catholics were suspicious of Prussia - ‘union of a dog with its fleas’ (foreign

minister of Baden)• 1868 - souther states elected a majority of delegated to Zollparlament op-

posed to unification (49 to 35) - disappointed Liberals.

• Prussia dominates German affairs - 2/3 of Germans were part of the Prussian-domi-nated North German Confederation.

• Unification by force (Kleindeutschland) - Liberals believed the end justified the means.

• Public mood for unification; Bismarck pre-pared to use rhetoric and emotion of Ger-man nationalism to help bring it about.

• Bismarck believed that in good time the South would ‘fall like ripe fruit into Prus-sia’s basket’.

Factors helping Bismarck achieve unifica-tion

The Prussian army

• Unification the result of three short wars; with Denmark (1864), Austria (1866), and France (1870-1).

• Strength of War Minister Roon and General Moltke - quick to see the potential of railways and the telegraph.

• The Prussian army made Germany a re-ality.

• Superior military leaders gave the Ger-man people hope for a strong future.

Prussian eco-nomic success and unity

• By mid-1860s Prussia produced more coal and steel than France or Austria; Alfred Krupp = key industrialist.

• Extensive rail network - (1865) 15,000 steam engines, total horsepower of 800,000.

• Austria only had 3400 engines with 100,000 horse power in total.Zollverein• 1864 - contained nearly every German state, except Austria• Did not equate to political domination; many German states supported Austria

politically to counter economic subordination to Prussia.

• Prussia possessed the military resources it needed to win in conflicts against Aus-tria then France.

• Closer economic unity born out of trains and complex financial system.

• In 1866, most Zollverein states allied with Austria against Prussia.

• BUT the length of the war meant eco-nomic strength wasn’t as significant.

German national-ism

• Seriously damaged by failure of 1848 revolution.• Idea of a unified state persisted in National-Liberals.• September 1859 - Formation of the German National Association - 25,000

members, but many were influential men with close political links.• Promoted Prussia leading the German cause; acceptance that nothing could

be achieved without power, and Prussia had that.• Romantic idealism of 1848 was lost.

• Strength of the middle class who wanted unification.

• Books and newspapers published pro-moting national unity.

• Strong nationalism in the protestant north.• Though significant in many areas, gener-

ally there wasn’t must of a desire for na-


• Fears of French expansion remained.• Sentiment strong among the middle class; growing in economic and social

power after industrialisation - lead public opinion.• Bismarck could not ignore growing nationalism in the north.

tional unity, especially if Prussia domi-nated.

The weakness of Austria

• Largely agricultural economy, pockets of industry confined to west.• Minority nationalism (Italy).• Financial problems.• Crimean War weekend defences• Defeat in Noth Italian War (1859) - serious blow to Austrian prestige.• Leader showed lack of political and diplomatic skill.

• With Austria weak, desire for a Gross-deutsch solution was sparse.

The international situation

• Prussia was regarded as a second rate power in 1862 - allowed Bismarck to achieve supremacy in Germany without arousing hostility from neighbours.

• Britain - Strong Germany = useful bul-wark against France or Russia.

• Russia - concerned with internal issues.

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