Bismarck's Unification of Germany, 1862-1871

A.) The Situation in 1862 When OTTO VON BISMARCK was appointed chancellor of Prussia by King Wilhelm IV. in 1862, the liberal democratic attempt to unify Germany had failed (1848/49). There was a widespread sentiment among the Germans, especially among the urban and protestant Germans, in favor of unification. Under similar conditions, COUNT CAMILLO CAVOUR had engineered Italy's unification in 1859/60. As in Italy's case, there were a number of obstacles to Germany's unification. Among them were foreign powers' …showed first 75 words of 1105 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1105 total…ensuring state control over the army. As long as Bismarck was in charge (1862-1890), his chief of staff HELMUTH VON MOLTKE followed Bismarck. However, under Bismarck's successors the Army developed into a state in a state. When World War I began, military reasoning (crossing Belgium to get into France, SCHLIEFFEN-PLAN) won out over political reasoning. The breach of Belgium's neutrality was the main reason for blaming Germany to bear sole responsibility for World War I.