Prince Leopold was a relative of William I, and if he became King of Spain, France would be in a dilemma.
At the end of June 1870, Napoleon III was furious and sent the French ambassador to Prussia, Beneddi, to meet with William I to force Leopold to relinquish his succession to the throne.
Because Leopold was just one of many candidates, there was no conclusive evidence that he would be elected.
To avoid trouble, William I had to verbally agree.
The next day, Bismarck learned of this, believing that it was a shame for Prussia to bow to France, and forced Wilhelm I to withdraw his decision with the threat of resignation.
A day later, despite the fact that Prince Leopold had renounced his inheritance, Napoleon III was still not at ease and made a decision with a questionable IQ.
He again sent Benedetti to William I and demanded assurances from him that members of the House of Hohenzollern would never set foot on the Spanish throne.
That's too much to ask. William I got angry and flatly refused, and the two sides parted unhappily.
On 13 July, Leopold renounced the Spanish throne in writing.
Wilhelm I thought that since he had already answered in person, there was no need to talk further, so he ordered the adjutant Prince Radzivius to inform the French Embassy.
At the same time, Wilhelm I asked the staff to send his conversation with Benededdi to Bismarck, and Bismarck decided whether to make it public or not.
That night, Bismarck was at a family dinner when he received an urgent telegram asking the Minister of War Ron and the Chief of Staff **Qi: "Do you think that a war with France will be a complete victory?" ”
Having received an affirmative answer, Bismarck revised the message by deleting the phrase "It is still possible to think in the long run in Berlin" and ending it with a provocative remark to France: "His Majesty decides not to receive the French Ambassador again, and orders the Attaché to inform the French Ambassador that His Majesty has nothing more to talk about." ”
The "attaché" was a low-ranking non-commissioned officer in French, and Bismarck deliberately provoked the righteous indignation of the French.
The "Emesmie telegram" was sent on July 14, when the French were celebrating their national day when they were suddenly humiliated and angry.
People poured into the streets shouting: "War declared!" Go to Berlin and kill Prussia! ”
* It is also exaggerated and incited.
In this atmosphere, Congress was overwhelmed by the anger of the masses, lost its mind, and demanded war.
On July 19, 1870, Napoleon III was pressured to declare war on Prussia first, and war broke out.
France took the initiative to declare war, which made Bismarck triumphant.
Despite the strength of France, Prussia was even stronger.
In the previous Prussian-Danish and Austro-Prussian wars, Prussia not only gained a large number of people and land, but also far exceeded France in coal and steel production.
With the booming economy, North Germany's railway, road and other transportation networks have also been significantly improved.
Thanks to the well-developed transportation system and prosperous economy, the Prussian army had sufficient logistics, and the rapid mobilization of troops and supplies became a practical thing.
In addition, after the military reforms of the 60s, Prussia not only had the most powerful army on the European continent, but also an excellent corps of officers, and the new breech-loading guns were already widely equipped in the army.
More importantly, Prussia had long been well prepared for the war, and as early as 1867, the General Staff drew up a detailed battle plan, which was repeatedly revised and rehearsed over the next three years.
The general policy can be summed up in one sentence: a rapid march into Paris to gain an advantageous position on the battlefield.
The specific plan was as follows, Germany and France formed a salient on the Rhine line, and ** Qi deduced that the French army would use this as a breakthrough to attack Germany.