Age of Bismarck #7: Europe on the Edge
Added 2024-12-19 06:30:01 +0000 UTC[PATRONS]
Why did Napoleon III fail to intervene to save Austria from such a fate, and prevent Prussian dominance? Despite what the French may claim, their Emperor had no clothes. As Bismarck understood it, the French, like the British, would bark but not bite. None would weep the defeat of immoral Austria, which had so ruined its reputation by its actions in the Duchies. The Russian Tsar still nursed a grudge for the Crimean War, and the Italians were preparing a coup of their own, while Vienna was distracted in the north.
Yet, the Germans themselves stood by Austria's side. Saxony, Bavaria, Hanover - these middle German states remained loyal to the Habsburg leadership. Moreover, war had effectively been declared upon them. Bismarck had persuaded his King to go for broke. After all, Prussia owned a great deal of land with large gaps in between. It was time to resolve this vulnerability, strengthen the kingdom, and claim the mantle of Germany.
