Why Otto von Bismarck needed the Franco-Prussian War to bring the southern German states to unification?

Answer 1

also called Franco-prussian War (July 19, 1870–May 10, 1871), war in which a coalition of German states led by Prussia defeated France. The war marked the end of French hegemony in continental Europe and resulted in the creation of a unified Germany.
Bismarck, for his part, saw war with France as an opportunity to bring the South German states into unity with the Prussian-led North German Confederation and build a strong German Empire. The Germans had superiority of numbers, since, true to Bismarck's hopes, the South German states (Bavaria, Wurttemberg, and Baden) regarded France as the aggressor in the conflict and had thus sided with Prussia. An equally important asset was the Prussian army's general staff, which planned the rapid, orderly movement of large numbers of troops to the battle zones. This superior organization and mobility enabled the chief of the general staff, General Helmuth von Moltke, to exploit German superiority in numbers in most of the war's battles.

Prussia's defeat of Austria in the Seven Weeks' War in 1866 had confirmed Prussian leadership of the German states and threatened France's position as the dominant power in Europe. The immediate cause of the Franco-German War, however, was the candidacy of Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (who was related to the Prussian royal house) for the Spanish throne, which had been left vacant when Queen Isabella II had been deposed in 1868. The Prussian chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, and Spain's de facto leader, Juan Prim, persuaded the reluctant Leopold to accept the Spanish throne in June 1870. This move greatly alarmed France, who felt threatened bya possible combination of Prussia and Spain directed against it. Leopold's candidacy was withdrawn under French diplomatic pressure, but the Prussian king William I was unwilling to bow to the French ambassador's demands that he promise to never again allow Leopold to be a candidate for the Spanish throne. Bismarck edited William's telegraphed description of this interview, and on July 14 he published this provocative message (the Ems telegram; q.v.), which accomplished his purposes of infuriating theFrench government and provoking it into a declaration of war.

The French emperor, Napoleon III, declared war on Prussia on July 19, 1870, because his military advisers told him that the French army could defeat Prussia and that such avictory would restore his declining popularity in France. The French were convinced thatthe reorganization of their army in 1866 had made it superior to the German armies. They also had great faith in two recently introduced technical innovations: the breech-loading chassepot rifle, with which the entire army was now equipped; and the newly invented mitrailleuse, an early machine gun. The French generals, blinded by national pride, were confident of victory.



The efficient German mobilization contrasted with confusion and delay on the French side. Germany was able to deliver 380,000 troops to the forward zone within 18 days of the start (July 14) of mobilization, while many French units reached the front either late or with inadequate supplies. The vast German and French armies that then confronted each other were each grouped into right and left wings. After suffering a check at the Battle of Wörth on Aug. 6, 1870, the commander of the French right (south) wing, Marshal Patrice Mac-Mahon, retreated westward. That same day, about 40 miles (65 km) to the northeast, the commander of the French left wing, Marshal Achille Bazaine, was dislodged from near Saarbrücken and fell back westward to the fortress of Metz. His further retreat was checked by the German right wing in two blundering battles on August 16 and 18, respectively (see Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte, Battles of), and he then took refuge behind the defenses of Metz indefinitely.

The French right wing, commanded by Mac-Mahon and accompanied by Napoleon himself, attempted to relieve Bazaine but was itself surrounded and trapped by the Germans in a disastrous battle at Sedan (see Sedan, Battle of) on August 31. On September 2, 83,000 encircled French troops, with Napoleon and Mac-Mahon, surrendered. Since Bazaine's army was still bottled up in Metz, the result of the war wasvirtually decided by this surrender.

French resistance was carried on against desperate odds by a new government of national defense, which assumed power in Paris on Sept. 4, 1870, and proclaimed the deposition of the emperor and the establishment of the Third Republic. On September 19 the Germans began to besiege Paris. Jules Favre, foreign minister in the new government, went to negotiate with Bismarck, but the negotiations were broken off when he found that Germany demanded Alsace and Lorraine. Léon Gambetta, the leading figure in the provisional government, organized new French armies in the countryside after escaping from besieged Paris in a balloon. These engaged but could not defeat the German forces. Bazaine capitulated at Metz with his 140,000 troops intacton October 27, and Paris surrendered on Jan. 28, 1871.

The armistice of January 28 included a provision for the election of a French National Assembly, which would have the authority to conclude a definite peace. This settlementwas finally negotiated by Adolphe Thiers and Favre and was signed February 26 and ratified March 1. Between then and the conclusion of the formal Treaty of Frankfurt on May 10, 1871, the republican government was threatened by an insurrection in Paris, inwhich radicals established their own short-lived government, the Paris Commune. The Commune was suppressed after two months, and the harsh provisions of the Treaty ofFrankfurt were then implemented: Germany annexed Alsace and half of Lorraine, with Metz. Furthermore, France had to pay an indemnity of 5 billion francs and cover the costs of the German occupation of France's northern provinces until the indemnity was paid. The culminating triumph of Bismarck's plans came on Jan. 18, 1871, when King William I of Prussia was proclaimed German emperor at Versailles, the former palace of the kings of France.

The Franco-German War had far-reaching consequences. It established both the German Empire and the French Third Republic. With Napoleon III no longer in power toprotect them, the Papal States were annexed by Italy (Sept. 20, 1870), thereby completing that nation's unification. The Germans' crushing victory over France in the war consolidated their faith in Prussian militarism, which would remain a dominant force in German society until 1945. (Additionally, the Prussian system of conscript armies controlled by a highly trained general staff was soon adopted by the other great powers.) Most importantly, Germany's annexation of Alsace-Lorraine aroused a deep longing for revenge in the French people. The years from 1871 to 1914 were marked byan extremely unstable peace, since France's determination to recover Alsace-Lorraine and Germany's mounting imperialist ambitions kept the two nations constantly poised for conflict. Their mutual animosity proved to be the driving force behind the prolonged slaughter on the Western Front in World War I.

Answer 2

It was for reason of economical and political German consolidation, which had started after the ending of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (First Reich) in 1805. Austria's ruler, who was the German Emperor (Kaiser) took on the title Kaiser of his homeland Austria. However, there were loose trade unions and pacts already between independent German states who were interested in expanding their commercial interests, especially after the collapse of Napoleon's France. Bismarck, who was in service with the King of Prussia, Wilhelm, came to realize the idea of a united German empire again, excluding their former partner and German brother state Austria, especially after the increasing fighting for hegemony between Austria and Prussia. This fight had culminated in a civil war (1866), where Prussia won. Prussia demanded and annexed vast lands from Austria. Austria turned from then on its interest to the eastern and southeastern Europe. Bismarck's proposal for unification was called the Smaller German approach vs. the Greater German solution (which would have included the now left-out German state of Austria. (This name was picked up by Germany again after in 1938 Austria became part of the Third Reich under Adolf Hitler)). The Prussian War against France was a triumph for Bismarck's political maneuvering. All German States except Austria participated. France had to accept total military defeat (and the end of Napoleon II rule) and they had to return previously under their Kings annexed German lands (Alsace and Lorraine) to Germany. The German Empire was called out (Second Reich) under the new German Kaiser Wilhelm I in Versailles, France (!) in 1871. Please note that Wilhelm II title was Deutscher Kaiser (German Kaiser) and not Emperor of Germany, a subtle difference compared to the previous German Reich. From that time on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Economy were exclusively handled by the Kaiser and his Chancellor Bismarck. The gained strength, power and prestige established almost immediately Germany's role in world politics again.

Answer 3

The southern states had signed mutual defense treaties with Prussia, but were really no good unless there was outside aggression.