In 1866, a conflict broke out between Prussia and Austria over dominance of the German region.
Austria was not to be underestimated, but Prussia was even stronger and ultimately won the war.
After the end of the Austro-Prussian War, North Germany formed a coalition with Prussia at its core.
Although the southern states of Bavaria did not join the Northern League at the time, they maintained close economic ties with Prussia.
Germany, which had been divided, was gradually moving towards reunification, which caused unease in both countries.
One of them is Austria.
With the rise of Prussia, Austria not only lost its dominant position in the German Confederation, but was also excluded from the German circle. Eventually, it had to merge with Hungary to form the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Another country is France.
In the 1850s, Napoleon III broke the shackles of the Vienna system on France with his great diplomatic skills.
However, as the old system gradually collapsed, the new system was not established.
At the same time, Bismarck was appointed Prime Minister of Prussia.
The "iron-blooded prime minister" is known for his profound diplomatic skills.
Before the Austro-Prussian War, in order to keep France neutral, Bismarck offered Napoleon III a bait: if France remained neutral during the war, it would receive German territories on the west bank of Luxembourg and the Rhine after the war.
Why is this a trap?
Because at Bismarck's meeting with Napoleon III, although only stated that he did not oppose the expansion of the territory by France, the Prussian king Wilhelm I did not agree to this condition.
Napoleon III misjudged the situation and mistakenly believed that Austria would win, so he made a commitment to neutrality and allowed Austria to go to war.
However, the result was that Prussia not only won the victory over its opponent, but also resolutely rejected the "unreasonable demands" of France to annex the Rhine region, which caused France to lose face.
Afterwards, Bismarck took further action and trumpeted France's territorial ambitions, causing great consternation among the King of Bavaria and the South German states, and taking the opportunity to sign an offensive and defensive alliance treaty with the South German Confederation.
Napoleon III, feeling fooled, was furious and determined to unite with other powers in order to deter Prussia.
However, Bismarck, using his help to cancel the "Black Sea Neutrality Clause" as a bargaining chip, succeeded in co-opting Tsarist Russia, resulting in Austria-Hungary fighting on its back, unable to act rashly.
At the same time, Britain did not want to see France rise to become a great power, insisted on a policy of honorable isolation, and refused to intervene in the war on the European continent.
Cartoons from the Franco-Prussian War depicted Britain pretending to take a nap while actually watching the tide of the war.
As for Denmark and other countries, because they are not strong enough to play, they have no chance to appear at all.
For a short time, France fell into diplomatic isolation and had nowhere to turn for support.
We learned that Napoleon III was good at domestic and foreign affairs, but not good at commanding wars.
Under his leadership, France completed the Industrial Revolution and was second only to Britain in terms of economy.
The army, which had been trained in many battles, was well equipped and superior to the ** and Austria.
However, this is only a superficial strength. Napoleon III knew this, although France had been invincible in Europe since his accession to the throne.
In the fierce battle with Tsarist Russia, France could only win by joining forces with England. In the confrontation with Austria, France must also join hands with the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Without the support of its allies, France struggled to win even in Mexico.
So, despite some misdirection, all Napoleon III could do was exercise restraint. He knew that his strength was limited and he could not afford to lose.
However, Napoleon III had a peculiarity that he was afraid of his wife.
At that time, the French Empress Eugenie liked to be the most involved in politics.
Faced with the imminent unification of Germany in Prussia, she was even more anxious than Napoleon III. So, she co-opted a group of ministers, frequently whispered in the ears of Napoleon III, and constantly instilled the idea of going to war.
At the same time, the French people were extremely dissatisfied with the rise of Prussia.
Over time, it was no longer Napoleon III's personal decision whether to go to war or not.
Prussia was planning a war, and France was intent on it, and both sides were actively preparing. At this time, there is only one opportunity left to promote the conflict between the two countries.
Soon after, the opportunity fell from heaven.
In 1868, the throne was in jeopardy due to the overthrow of Queen Isabella II of Spain due to her private life**.
In order to find a successor, the Spanish Cabinet Council opened the call to the royal families of various European countries.
Prussia took the opportunity to recommend Prince Leopold of the House of Hohenzollern.