The Importance of the Role Bismarck as a Cause of German UnificationEssay Preview: The Importance of the Role Bismarck as a Cause of German UnificationReport this essayIt has been said by several historians that the second half of the nineteenth century was the Age of Bismarck. In the mid 1800s Bismarck provided dynamic leadership- a trait which had been lacking during the events of 1848-89. Ian Mitchell stated “Bismarck was everywhere.” However, there has been a considerable degree of debate concerning the role of Bismarck in the unification of Germany. Some argue that unification would have been inevitable and had nothing to do with Bismarck, although others argue that the unification was solely down to Bismarcks role. Other factors are such as French revolutionary ideas swept across Europe, 1848 Revolutions, Prussian economic and military strength.
French Revolution was the first major success in Europe, which left his long term effects on Europe. It gave nations the idea of freedom, nationalism, national unity, so it was the kick to unification. German people became more united against Napoleon. At that time Bismarck wasnt even born.
German liberal nationalists made the first major attempt to unify Germany in 1848, it was an ultimate failure, but the failure to achieve unification in 1848 resulted in the late formation of the nation-state in 1871, which in turn delayed the development of positive national values. At that time Bismarck strongly opposed the revolution, but he changed his views later and started the unification.
Prussian economic and military development was also a factor for unification. J.M. Keynes said that “The German unification was built more truly on coal and iron than blood and iron”. To him it was economic development of Prussia was a decisive factor. The economic unity of Prussia, in fact created political unity among German states. Establishment of Zollverein was a victory for free trade. It abolished internal customs and duties. It included almost all German states excluding Austria. In this way German economic development and Prussian economic domination led to military achievements. Army was equipped better, new technologies were used, which was decisive in wars with Austria and France. Overall it made German states united, economy developed and military strong in order for further success.
Above all, Bismarcks policies and clever diplomatic actions were the cause of German unification in 1871. He was clever opportunist and took advantages of events and made his aims occur. He had a realistic insight into politics of Europe. He displayed great diplomatic skills and whenever he wanted to go war, he isolated the enemy and secured allies to Prussian side, as with Denmark or France, he kept Russia and Great Britain neutral. Finally he used military force to achieve his aims, as he mentioned in his blood and iron speech. So he started his actions in 1863. It started with defeat of Denmark. Austria and Prussia invaded Denmark, and Prussia received Schleswig, while Austria received Holstein
The Austrian and Prussian troops in Prussia are a reflection of the fact that Germany’s occupation of Vienna and Prussia in 1871 were a result of their failure to control their military power; they failed to have sufficient information about their own military movements and their plans to be able to cope with the rising threat of Soviet forces. This problem of unifying the German and Austrian armies was quite real in 1861 when they launched their war. It was because of this fact that the Austrians began their first occupation in 1871, not because of any desire to maintain unity but because they were scared to death and feared that a war on the basis of Russian aggression would end up leading to Russian aggression and the spread of totalitarianism in the empire. However, the Austrians’ invasion of Hungary in 1870, which was in a country that refused to surrender or to join the European system to which they belonged, was of immense importance to them.
Hence the war was fought almost in secret, under the name of Operation Barbarossa. The troops began to gather outside the Austs’ borders in several places in Holland and Belgium, and there were many other developments during the following two years, starting with a series of small victories in September 1870 but moving through the rest of the 1870’s with the invasion of Eastern Poland, Austria, Germany and Prussia. This was the most important period when the “new Russia” (a new Soviet state), and the “new Germany” (the communist country) started conquering all aspects of the world with great success.
During the period of the “new Russia” the Russians, on their way to World War I, had no political means to unite the population under them: that is, they had no plan of annexation or expansion, they could not win the votes of the masses as they did in France, Great Britain and other western European countries by force. There are so many reasons why the Russians felt so confident of the new Soviet Russia that they became especially concerned over the problems surrounding the new and existing German statehood. For example, there were many examples of “ethnic, racial and sexual strife in Western Germany and Austria throughout the history of the world”, which was the result of the anti-Stalinist attitudes of the new Soviet Russia, which was not only a source of great economic and military experience but also a source of political experience; in fact Germany and Austria began to become very close friends after that. The first German to see Russia at war with the Soviet Union was Fritz Eighelt, who in June of 1870 helped organize the new Reichstag election. On that June 27, 1871, Russia’s victorious General Oskar von Hermansstamm sent an SOS to his Russian comrades in order to arrange a meeting between the two