Dec
7
Prussia at War: Face-offs with Austria and France
December 7, 2013 | | Comments Off on Prussia at War: Face-offs with Austria and France
While in the process of becoming a unified, Prussia’s leader, Otto von Bismarck, went to work, discussing the territories of Schleswig and Holstein with their neighbors, Austria. Simultaneously, Bismarck was building a supportive relationship with Italy by supporting their claims to Venetia and gaining Russian trust by supporting the destruction of the Polish Rebellion.
Austria, already facing political distress from local nationalists, declares war on Prussia in hopes of regaining lost strength and unifying German-speaking peoples under the Austrian Empire.
Here are maps of the time, one focusing on Austria and Prussia, the other the entirety of Europe at the time:
images above retrieved from: http://germanyunification.blogspot.com/2012/10/result.html
Austria however, would not prove victorious. One of the most remembered and remarked upon battles was the Battle of Koeniggraetz or the Battle of Sadowa. It is from that victories that the Prussians, and soon after United Germany created the Koeniggraetzer Marsch, meaning the March of Koeniggraetz.
Here is a video from Indiana Jones playing the march:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf-HZz5Qv8E[/youtube]
retrieved from: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf-HZz5Qv8E
Shortly after the Conflict with Austria, Prussia also faced complications with the French border. France feared the ever increasing power of the rising Prussian and after a marriage proposal offered by the Spanish which France insisted Prussia refuse, political turmoil came to a peak with France declaring war on Prussia on July 19th of 1870. However the conflict did not last long, as the might of the Prussian Empire proved too much and after a siege of Paris, France surrendered in 1871.
Not only is the Franco-Prussian war considered to be the first “modern war” but also a cause leading up to the first World War:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MycLoZVhQw[/youtube]
Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MycLoZVhQw
All text information was retrieved from:The West: A Narrative History Volume 2: since 1400
Post was created and edited by: Patricia Kramer
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