The Unification of Germany and Otto von Bismarck’s alliances

Hello friend!

I have brought you a new blog post today. Happy reading! This one’s about Germany in the 19^th century!! This is one of the topics in my AS Levels International History textbook. 

The birth of a new country

The Second German Reich [empire] was established on 18 January 1871, at the Palace of Versailles in France. The North German Confederation and the South German States were unified to create a single country—Germany. The key figure in this unification was Count Otto von Bismarck, the Prime Minister of Prussia. During the 19^th century, Austria was the dominant German-speaking power on the continent; however, in 1866, Bismarck’s Prussian troops defeated Austria and destroyed its position. In 1867, Austria formed a monarchic union with Hungary, but its ruling family, the Hapsburgs, “ruled” [what a farce, the Hapsburgs weren’t a very strong dynasty at all] over a multinational and chaotic empire. The Franco-Prussian War enabled Bismarck to complete his plans to unify Germany, leaving a bitter and vengeful France in the dust. By the terms of the Treaty of Frankfurt [1871], Germany seized the French provinces of Alsace-Lorraine and forced France to pay a vast sum of war reparations. Resentment at the loss of its land, coupled with a deep-rooted fear of this new, powerful German nation, influenced French foreign policy for many years to come.

The unification of Germany in 1871 marked the start of some relatively peaceful and stable years in Europe. Germany was now one of the continent’s major powers, alongside Britain, France, Austria-Hungary and Russia. None of these countries wanted war with one another, so their rivalries were played out not in Europe, but in the distant lands of Africa and Asia.  As expected of sly Bismarck, his policies played a significant role in maintaining this stability within Europe. Although Germany was now the dominant power on the continent—economically as well as militarily—he understood that, situated at the very heart of Europe, it was susceptible.  The country was surrounded by potential enemies—by France to the west, By Russia to the east and by Austria-Hungary to the south.  The count’s main concern was to isolate France, which he knew would be looking for revenge after its hands-down defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. To this end, he began entering into uneasy alliances with other countries.

Bismarck’s alliances

The Three Emperors’ League [Drekaiserbund], 1873

In 1873, Bismarck negotiated a meeting between Kaiser Wilhelm the First of Germany, Tsar Alexander the Second of Russia and Emperor Franz Joseph the First of Austria-Hungary. In addition to isolating France, Bismarck fervently hoped that regular meetings between the three supreme rulers would help reduce friction between Austria-Hungary and Russia; however, this was just wishful thinking. The alliance was largely unsuccessful, as Austria-Hungary and Russia remained at loggerheads. By 1879, the league had effectively collapsed.

The Dual Alliance, 1879

This was a defensive alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary. The agreement stated that each country would come to the other’s aid in the event of an attack by Russia. The two countries also agreed to remain neutral in the event of an attack by another country, such as France.  Well, about this alliance… it was pretty successful— until Italy came along, that is.

The Triple Alliance, 1882

This was basically an extension of the Dual Alliance. Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy pledged to offer each other mutual support in the event of an attack by any one of the great powers. Italy’s ulterior motives for entering into this alliance—it wanted to protect itself from the great powers and knew that it did not have the military strength to do so; besides, it was mad at France for seizing Tunisia the previous year. Italy had harboured its own aspirations for taking control of this area. Oh well, first come first served, I guess. Anyways, this alliance didn’t work out at all! Poor Bismarck. Austria-Hungary and Italy were traditional enemies, and neither could boast a strong army to come to Germany’s aid in the event of a French attack. I won’t pretend to sympathise with Bismarck, but I have to say—he’s one of my favourite historical figures.

The Reinsurance Treaty, 1887

Despite the existence of the Triple Alliance, Bismarck’s plan to isolate France had not been effective. The fact that France and Russia seemed to be forming an alliance of their own was a major cause of concern for our dear count. Germany would be caught up in a two-pronged attack if France and Russia led an assault on it. In a desperate attempt to avoid this probability, Bismarck signed the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia in 1887.  This guaranteed German and Russian neutrality in any war, as long as Germany did not attack France, or Russia attack Austria-Hungary. This alliance was quite effective until the First World War [or the Great War as it was known at the time], when all hell broke loose and Germany and Russia morphed into bitter enemies. Seriously, national politics! It’s just a huge board of chess, and no one knows when their piece will be knocked off the board.

All these alliances, so carefully negotiated by Bismarck, were entirely defensive in character and were intended to preserve peace. However, they were formed by treaties whose terms were secret, and this naturally gave rise to suspicions amongst the other powers. These suspicions grew when Germany began to adopt a more aggressive foreign policy. That’s all for now! 

See you next time…

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