The Origins of the Wars of German Unification by William Carr

Author:William Carr [Carr, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, General
ISBN: 9780582491472
Google: V3kiAQAAIAAJ
Publisher: Longman
Published: 1991-09-15T20:45:32+00:00

THE DEEPENING CRISIS: OCTOBER 1864–JUNE 1866

The twenty months between October 1864, when Denmark surrendered the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg to Austria and Prussia, and June 1866, when the Diet mobilized its forces against Prussia, was a period of mounting tension in Germany. Crisis followed crisis over the disposal of Schleswig-Holstein, each edging the German powers nearer the brink of a war which when it came in the summer of 1866 utterly transformed the German scene.

After the conclusion of hostilities against Denmark, Austrian policy reached a crossroads. The duchies were the joint possession of the two powers. Would Austria now press for the installation of the duke of Augustenburg as she had done – albeit reluctantly and without success – during the London Conference? In the Ballplatz some officials led by Schmerling and Biegeleben favoured a forward policy in Germany. The time had come in their estimation to support the Augustenburgs, seek a close association with the middle and small states and, if an understanding with Prussia eluded them, conclude an alliance with France as a certain way of containing Prussian ambitions. Such a policy spelt conflict with Prussia. Moreover, despite considerable apprehension about the general thrust of Prussian policy, Rechberg clung to dualism to the bitter end. The alliance he had tried in vain to obtain in 1860–1 had come to pass in 1864 and must be maintained at all costs. This was not just the instinctive reaction of a conservative fearful of the effects of revolution on the empire, but a matter of sober calculation. Peace was mandatory for Austria. Her financial situation in 1864 made war unthinkable. And why look for trouble in Germany when complications in Italy were likely in the not-too-distant future? The Italians, aided and abetted by the French, would surely seize the next favourable opportunity to acquire Venetia. When that happened Austria did not relish the prospect of a repeat performance of 1859; the Prussian alliance was absolutely essential if Austria was to maintain her watch on the Adriatic. At the end of the day the decisive voice in the corridors of power in Vienna was not that of Rechberg, Schmerling or Biegeleben but that of Francis Joseph. And he came down unequivocally on the side of dualism.

In Prussia by this time opinion was strongly in favour of the annexation of the duchies. Bismarck decided on this early in 1864, defending it to the king on the grounds that every Hohenzollern worth his salt had acquired territory for the kingdom. In May the minister-president began to whip up public opinion in Prussia, persuading a friendly landowner Count Adolf von Arnim-Boitzenburg to launch a petition in favour of annexation. Towards Austria, however, he remained conciliatory and seemed anxious to play down any differences between them. Writing to the Prussian ambassador in Vienna he commented that: ‘we regard the Danish war as essentially an episode in the struggle between monarchical principle and the revolution and our yardstick for handling the question of the duchies is based upon our view of how they impinge on the larger issue.

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