Austria and Prussia

German States 1815

During the early nineteenth century, Prussia was the only German state that could match the power and influence of the Austrian Empire. They were comparable in terms of size, population and wealth. Austria opposed the idea of German unification as it saw this as a threat to its own empire. Although they were a minority, there was a significant percentage of German-speakers in the empire. If they broke away to join a unified Germany, Austria would be smaller and weaker. To this end, Prussia and Austria were rivals.

Austria weakened

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.

Prussia strengthened

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 Austria 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.

The master plan?

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. His primary aims were to:

• unify the north German states under Prussian control
• weaken Prussia's main rival, Austria, by removing it from the Bund
• make Berlin the centre of German affairs - not Vienna
• strengthen the position of the King of Prussia, William I, to counter the demands for reform from the Liberals in the Prussian parliament (the Reichstag).

It is important to note that there is much debate about Bismarck's aims to unify all German states under Prussian rule. Some historians argue that Bismarck only intended to unify the north German states but the strength of nationalist feelings after 1866 led to German unification under its own steam. According to this opinion, Bismarck actually reacted to political changes in other German states and capitalised on it rather than pursuing a master plan from the beginning to control all German states.

Army reforms

Bismarck wanted to build up Prussia's army in case his unification plans led to war. To do this he needed money. The Prussian parliament refused to allow money to be raised for Bismarck's military reforms.

Bismarck ignored the Reichstag and simply collected the money for army reforms through general taxation. He never bothered to obtain permission from the Reichstag.

Congress of Princes 1863

To counter Prussia's growing influence, Austria tried to strengthen its position in the Bund. Since it was in theory the leading member of the Bund, an increase in the power of the Bund would strengthen Austria.

• Bismarck thwarted Austria's plans by insisting on popular elections to the Diet (the Bund's parliament). Austria refused and neither its or Bismarck's reforms happened.

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