1.4 Prussia and Austria
The largest absolutist states of the empire were Prussia and Austria, between which rivalry for political supremacy in the empire was already beginning.
The Brandenburg-Prussian state was created at the beginning of the 17th century. on the lands of the former Teutonic Order, whose colonialist activities and ideology laid the foundations of Great Prussian militarism in Germany. The final formation of this state occurred in 1701, when the Elector of Brandenburg achieved the title of King of Prussia.
The head of state - the King of Prussia - was a member of the imperial college of electors. Supreme body government controlled there was a Privy Council under the king. Initially, three directories were subordinate to him: financial, military affairs and royal domains. The directory of military affairs, which was in charge of the organization and armament of the standing army created in 1655, acquired particular importance. The Prussian army was one of the largest in Europe and was famous for its drill and cane discipline.
The main trends in the development of the political system of Prussia in the 18th century. began the further centralization and militarization of the state apparatus, the elevation of military administrative bodies over civilian ones. A significant part of the powers of the Privy Council passes to the General Military Commissariat. All directories are merging into a single military-financial body headed by the president - the king. Locally, zemstvo councilors (landrats), appointed by the king on the recommendation of noble assemblies, fall under the strict control of the central government and are endowed with broad military and police powers. City government is being liquidated. City councils were replaced by colleges of magistrates appointed by the king. They were extended to the entire state apparatus military ranks, military subordination and discipline.
In my own way political regime The Prussian monarchy can be characterized as a military-police state. In it, the arbitrariness of the authorities, censorship and petty regulation of not only the state, but also the private life of its subjects were widely developed.
Austria, unlike Prussia, was not a centralized state. It was a multinational country. The Catholic religion dominated in Austria. Since the 15th century the kings of Austria became German emperors and Austria was considered their domain.
The system of central authorities in Austria was not strictly regulated and was constantly being restructured. The highest body of power and administration, together with the monarch, was the Privy Council. Later it was replaced by a conference, which became a permanent institution (from the beginning of the 18th century). Military affairs were in charge of the court Military Council. In 1760, the State Council was established with the aim of unifying all branches of government.
The provinces of the Austrian monarchy were headed by governors. They were elected by local estate-representative institutions and approved by the king. In the states that were part of Austria, there were diets - class assemblies. In cities, governance was in the hands of elected city councils and burgomasters. Under Queen Maria Theresa (1740-1780), the most important powers were concentrated in the hands of royal officials, and elected bodies came under the control of the government.
In the second half of the 18th century. in Prussia and Austria, a policy of so-called enlightened absolutism was pursued. Certain bourgeois reforms were undertaken, advertised as the fruit of the collaboration of the sovereigns with the French enlighteners. At its core, this policy was an attempt to adapt society and the state to a number of demands put forward by the growing bourgeoisie, without affecting the most significant interests of the nobility and the foundations of serfdom.
Thus, we can say that Prussia and Austria were large absolutist states of the empire, between which there was competition for political supremacy in the empire. And each state, for its part, made every attempt for its supremacy: like Prussia - centralization and militarization of the state apparatus, the elevation of military administrative bodies over civilian ones, so Austria - a centralized state with a multinational population.
FEATURES OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE
2.1 Features social structure V X-XII centuries
The development of feudalism occurred rather unevenly in the various German duchies. Stable remnants of the tribal system were preserved, for example, in Saxony, which jealously guarded its autonomy and the ancient tribal customs of the population.
In the XI-XII centuries. In Germany, the main classes were formed - the estates of feudal society. Numerous wars contributed to the consolidation of the military knightly class. Its top was made up of heterogeneous elements of the clan and service aristocracy. The first belonged to the dukes - tribal princes who turned into large landowners. The official aristocracy consisted mainly of persons of count rank, who concentrated in their hands the most important secular and church positions in administrative districts. Vogts, royal officials who exercised judicial functions in church estates, also became large landowners. As Germany feudalized, at the turn of the 11th-12th centuries. these upper layers are gradually consolidating, forming a powerful alliance of separatist forces that are no longer interested in a strong central government. They merge into the class of territorial princes. It also included the largest church magnates - the “princes of the church.” The special class of spiritual and secular princes was finally formed by the middle of the 13th century.
The middle and small knighthood was formed not only from small-scale nobles, but also from the top of the free peasantry. According to the military reform of Henry 1 (919-936), everyone who was free and capable of fighting on horseback was enrolled in the military class. Ministerials were often included among the knights, who stood out from the unfree servants of the king and feudal lords who performed certain duties. administrative functions. Forming layers of imperial servants, they carried along with their masters military service. By the 12th century. many of them gain freedom and lands by merging with the various strata of chivalry. In the 12th century. The division into “noble” and “ignoble” knights still remained, but in 1186 a decree was issued prohibiting the sons of peasants and priests from becoming knights.
The feudal nobility and clergy were divided according to a hierarchical principle into unique ranks, the so-called shields. The “Saxon Mirror” mentions seven military “shields”: the king, spiritual princes (bishops, abbots), secular princes, their vassals, etc. The ranks also included “non-noble” freemen, called the “Cheffen class”. Judges in community courts - sheffens - were selected from among them. Later they became the lowest category of "nobles".
Peasantry in Germany by the 13th century. divided into two categories - free and unfree. The category of legally free peasants, according to the Saxon Mirror, consisted of Chinshevik peasants and tenants. Chinsheviks are holders of the master's land with the payment of a certain monetary duty (chinsha). They were divided into two groups: one of them could transfer land ownership by inheritance and sell it, the other was deprived of these rights. Tenants did not have their own land and received land for temporary cultivation. In fact, the Chinsheviks and tenants were in a certain dependence on the feudal landowners.
Most of the peasants were in a dependent position not only in fact, but also legally. This category of the peasantry consisted of semi-free litas, farm laborers and personally dependent serfs. The variety of forms of dependence, including transitional ones, testifies to the incompleteness of the process of feudalization and enslavement of the peasantry in this period. As feudalism developed, the boundaries between different categories of peasants became blurred.
In the border regions of Germany, on the borders between duchies since the 10th century. The construction of numerous fortresses began - burgs, some of which later turned into cities. In the XI-XII centuries. As a result of the development of cities, a special class of free people began to emerge - city dwellers. The relationships between cities and the imperial and local seigneurial authorities in Germany were particularly varied. The union of imperial power and cities practically did not work out here.
Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the features of the social structure in the X-XII centuries are a wide variety of different segments of the population that were endowed with heterogeneous rights, and it must also be said that such a class as townspeople began to take shape, which had an important role in the future development of the state.
To unite Germany with Prussia playing a leading role in it, Bismarck needed to win the struggle for hegemony in the German Confederation against the Habsburgs. The reason for the war was the division of lands gained in the war with Denmark. Austria could not annex the Holstein it received to its territory, so it insisted on the formation of an independent state in Schleswig and Holstein. Prussia objected.
Bismarck accused Austria of violating the Gastein Convention of 1865 because Austria did not suppress anti-Prussian agitation in Holstein. The “Iron Chancellor” annulled the convention and put forward a program for the unification of the German states under the leadership of Prussia and without Austria. This proposal alienated most medium and small monarchies. In the future war, many small German states sided with Austria.
The foreign policy situation was favorable for Prussia. Russia had long been in confrontation with Austria; Alexander II was indebted to Bismarck for his support in suppressing the Polish uprising. Napoleon III was only interested in the lands along the Rhine, and Bismarck managed to achieve his neutrality. Prussia attracted Italy to its side, which was eager to take Venice from Austria. Secretly, the Prussian government supported the Hungarian revolutionaries, putting Emperor Franz Joseph at risk of an uprising in the rear of his “patchwork” state.
Bismarck forced the enemy to begin large-scale preparations for war. The Chancellor specifically brought to his attention the secret plans that were being built by Chief of the General Staff Helmut Moltke. He believed that the Prussian army should begin to act without diplomatic warnings. Having learned about this, the Marshall Council of the Austrian Empire decided to strengthen the contingent in Bohemia. The Prussian press inflated these actions into large-scale preparations for war. On April 27, Austria announced a general mobilization, and Prussia began its mobilization in May. The reformed system of recruiting troops allowed her to prepare the army much faster.
Already on June 7, 1866, the Prussians began to expel the Austrians from Holstein. On June 15, they began military operations against the yet unformed German armies. Only the Saxon troops were prepared in advance and retreated from Saxony, where the Prussians had invaded, to Bohemia.
The main front against Prussia was formed by Austria and Saxony in Bohemia. The second theater was represented by Hanover and Hesse, wedged into Northern Germany. The third theater - the South German one - was where the actions of Austria's German allies were only expected.
Moltke decided to fight the German states with only limited forces; the main forces were sent to Bohemia. He took into account new factors - railways. Five railway lines led from the interior of Prussia to the Austro-Saxon border. The brilliant military tactician decided to land troops at the end stations of all lines. The deployment front thus turned out to be unprecedentedly wide. With improved communications and an increased number of troops, there was no need to keep units elbow to elbow. Moltke, on the contrary, was ardent opponent“extremes of concentration”, the accumulation of large masses in one place. He believed that such concentration was only necessary during battle. The Prussian army received the order to “go apart, fight together.”
On June 22, the Prussians began an invasion of Bohemia - from the north-west, from Lausitz - the 1st and Elbe armies under the general command of Prince Frederick Charles. The 2nd Army crossed the border from Silesia five days later. She advanced through the mountains under the command of the Crown Prince of Prussia.
The Austrians could not move as quickly and smoothly. After moving forward for a short time, they began to retreat back. The Emperor gave the objecting commander Benedek the order to stop in order to give the enemy a general battle. Moltke categorically refused to unite his armies in front of the enemy front.
The decisive battle took place on July 3 at Königgrätz (also known as the Battle of Sadovaya). The Austrians positioned themselves to fight a defensive battle on two fronts between the Bystrica and Elbe rivers. Moltke’s plan fully justified itself; from the very beginning of the campaign in Bohemia, the armies marched with open “pincers”, and their pincers almost closed at the very moment of the battle, coming from the enemy’s flanks. Many Austrians managed to retreat beyond the Elbe, but they suffered complete defeat. The Prussian losses in the Battle of Sadovaya amounted to 9 thousand killed and wounded, the Austrians more than 22 thousand killed and wounded, 19 thousand prisoners. For a long time, Prussian officers could not understand the extent of the victory.
On July 7, the further advance of the Prussians began. The fate of the Austrian capital seemed predetermined. The military party in Prussia demanded its mandatory capture and a triumphal parade on the main square. But the cunning Bismarck was against it. The humiliation of Austria could lead to undesirable consequences for Prussia. In the defeated empire, Bismarck saw a future ally in European affairs. The European powers were unlikely to take a positive view of Prussia's inability to moderate its ambitions. They say that the chancellor almost collapsed at the king’s feet with tears in his eyes and shouted: “Don’t touch Vienna!”
On August 23, peace was concluded in Prague, excluding Austria from the German Confederation. Bismarck convinced Wilhelm to abandon the annexation of Saxony and Bavaria. Austria ceded Venice to Italy, and Holstein to Prussia, and paid a small indemnity. Hanover, Kurgessen, Nassau, Hesse-Homburg and Frankfurt am Main were annexed to Prussia, which now owned two-thirds of the territory and population of the German states. 21 states north of the Main entered the new North German Confederation under the auspices of Prussia. Foreign policy and military issues were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Prussian king as the head of the union. Four German states (Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt) were obliged to pay small indemnities and enter into military alliances with Prussia. The final unification of Germany was just around the corner.
Austria at the beginning of the 18th century. significantly increased her possessions as a result of the favorable outcome of the War of the Spanish Succession.
However, new land acquisitions (Southern Netherlands and Lombardy) made it even more complex and variegated. national composition by the state. Despite some foreign policy successes, Austria's international position remained very difficult.
Its traditional enemy was still France, with which “Austria fought more than once during the 17th and early 18th centuries. After the War of the Spanish Succession, Spain, led by the Bourbons, found itself in the camp of its enemies.
Thus began the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763.
The aggressive plans of Frederick II in this war were clearly unrealistic.
He intended in the future to “exchange” Saxony for the Czech Republic; he hoped to place his brother Heinrich Hohenzollern on the Ducal throne of Courland; finally, Frederick dreamed of making Poland a complete vassal of Prussia.
The Russian government had reason to see the Prussian king as its most dangerous enemy. In the 50s, a new strong coalition was organized against Prussia, consisting of Austria, France, Russia, which was later joined by Sweden and Saxony.
Frederick II was supported only by England, which provided him with huge subsidies.
The Seven Years' War, which, like the preceding War of the Austrian Succession, took place both in Europe and in the colonies, proceeded with varying degrees of success.
Taking advantage of the lack of coordination between the allies and their mutual distrust, Frederick II was able to inflict strong blows to their individual opponents. So in November 1757 he won a victory over the French troops at Rosbach, and in December of the same year over the Austrian troops at Leuthen.
Also in 1757, the Russian army entered East Prussia and in August of this year defeated the Prussian troops at Gross-Jägersdorf.
The following summer, 1758, Frederick II fought with the Russians at Zorndorf, but, despite his numerical superiority, was not successful.
On August 12, 1759, united Russian-Austrian troops defeated the Prussian army at Kunersdorf.
In October 1760, the Russians occupied Berlin for some time.
In 1761-1762 Frederick considered his situation completely hopeless. He even thought about suicide then.
Only the lack of coordination in the actions of the allies, the slowness of the Austrian command, and the distrust of the French and Austrian governments towards Russia made it possible for Frederick II to avoid complete defeat.
A significant role in this was played by the generous military subsidies that England paid to Frederick II, as its mercenary, who distracted the forces of France from the fight with England for the colonies.
Frederick II's position was finally strengthened as a result of Russia's withdrawal from the war. After the death of Empress Elizabeth, her successor Peter III (a Holstein prince on his father’s side) radically changed his previous foreign policy course.
An ardent supporter of Frederick II, he not only broke the alliance with Austria and ended the war with Prussia, but also offered his military assistance to the Prussian king.
The deposition of Peter III and the accession to the throne of Catherine II prevented Russia from joining Prussia, but the Russian government no longer supported Austria.
Thus, “old Fritz” (as the aged Frederick II was called) managed to conclude an honorable peace, leaving in his hands the captured “pearl” of the Silesian province.
The last acquisition of Frederick II was a large piece of Polish territory, which went to Prussia during the first partition of Poland in 1772. F. Engels angrily qualified this event as “armed robbery of territory.”
| Vocabulary: Prostatitis - Workhouse. Source: v. XXVa (1898): Prostatitis - The Workhouse, p. 627-630 () Other sources: VE : VE |
Prussian-Austrian War of 1866 - was the last act of rivalry between Prussia and Austria for predominant importance in the German alliance. The immediate cause was the “Schleswig-Holstein” issue, which caused a clash between both powers, which, by the Gastein Convention on August 14, 1865, could not be finally eliminated. The tone of mutual diplomatic notes became more and more harsh, the demonstrations of the Central German rulers hostile to Prussia became more and more decisive; Finally, on March 16, 1866, Austria, in a note sent to friendly German courts, openly declared its intention to present the Schleswig-Holstein case for discussion by the Union Council and to field the military forces of other German powers against Prussia. Then Prussia (April 8) entered into an alliance with Italy, according to which the latter agreed to declare war on Austria if one began against Prussia within the next three months. In return, the Prussians ensured that the Italians acquired Venice. Then the Prussian government, on April 9, entered the Union Council with a proposal to convene representatives of the entire German people to discuss changes in this council. Since the “conflict” between the Prussian government and parliament reached its highest tension at that time (see Prussia), and demonstrations in favor of peace and against the fratricidal war took place in the western provinces, Austria and the Central German states allied with it were confident in advance of victory , and secretly distributed among themselves the proposed territorial acquisitions. Already in March, both sides began armament. Negotiations on disarmament began in April, but they did not end in anything. On May 4 and 8, orders were given to mobilize the Prussian army and convene the Landwehr; the Central German sovereigns demanded that the convened Diets open military loans; On June 1, Austria transferred the resolution of the Schleswig-Holstein question to the Allied Council and at the same time made the peace conference proposed by the neutral great powers impossible, protesting in advance against any territorial expansion or increase in the power of any of the invited powers. On June 5, the Austrian governor of Holstein, Gablenz, invited Holstein government officials to gather on the 11th in Itzehoe; but since this violated the Gastein Treaty, already on June 7, the Prussian General Manteuffel entered Holstein. Then the Austrians left there, and on June 11, the Vienna cabinet entered the Allied Council with a proposal to mobilize the Allied German army, excluding only the Prussian contingent, in view of the arbitrariness of Prussia. On June 14, the council accepted this proposal by a majority of 9 votes to 6. Then the Prussian envoy to the council, von Savigny, announced that Prussia considered this council dissolved and proposed new union new treaty, with the exclusion of Austria from the German Union. This amounted to a declaration of war. Manifestos about it were published by the Austrian Emperor on June 17, and by the Prussian King on June 18.
Geographical conditions forced Prussia to secure, first of all, northern Germany, and on June 15 it delivered an ultimatum to Hanover, Saxony and Kurgessen, inviting them to unarmed neutrality and to join a new union, providing them with the preservation of their possessions for this. When the ultimatum was rejected, Prussian troops immediately entered the borders of Hanover, Saxony and Kurgessen from all sides. The Hanoverian and Saxon kings and their armies abandoned their capitals; The Elector of Hesse was captured, but his troops managed to escape to the south. Against Italy, the Austrian government decided to take a defensive course of action, appointing for this purpose only 85 thousand people, under the command of Archduke Albrecht, and placing them in the quadrangle of its Italian fortresses; the main Austrian army, with a force of 24 7 thousand, was intended for the war against Prussia; 140 thousand German auxiliary troops were adjacent to the same army. Of these military forces, 270 thousand (Austrians and Saxons), under the command of Benedek (q.v.), were located in Bohemia and Moravia, and 120 thousand - in the western and southern German regions. Prussia had an army of 300 thousand - 45 thousand were assigned for military operations in Germany, and 255 thousand for the war against Austria. King Wilhelm I himself took over the supreme command, electing General Moltke (q.v.) as chief of the general staff. The center of the Prussian troops (in Lusatia) was the 1st army, under the command of Prince Frederick Charles, the left wing (in Silesia) was the 2nd army, the crown prince; right wing (in Saxony) - the Elbe army of General Herwarth von Bittenfeld. Thus, hostilities opened simultaneously in Bohemia, Germany and Italy.
According to the operational plan of the Austrian General Krismanich, it was necessary to remain defensive from the very beginning. The northern army was gathered around Olmutz (in Moravia) to cover Vienna; Thanks to this, not only was contact with the German contingents lost, but Saxony was also given over to the enemy as a sacrifice. Only when it became clear that Prussia was concentrating its fighting forces not only in Silesia, but also in Lusatia and Saxony, the Austrian army was again moved to Bohemia, to occupy positions between the Upper Elbe and the Iser. Occupying this space, the Gicin Highlands, was also the goal for the Prussian army, which at the end of June crossed the Bohemian border in three places: the Elbe army at Schluckenau, 1 at Reichenberg, 2 at Liebau and Náchod. Since at this time Benedek’s troops were still making their flank march from Olmütz to Josephstadt, the Prussians did not encounter serious resistance at any of the above-mentioned passes. The Saxon Crown Prince and the Austrian General Klamm-Gallas (1st Corps) were ordered to hold only the Iser Line. Klamm-Gallas, stationed at Münchengrätz, awaited the advance of the Elbian army, which, in the case of Hünerwasser, overthrew his vanguard. On the night of June 27, the 1st Prussian army captured the river crossing at Podol; 28 Klamm-Gallas was forced out of his position at Muskoberg (near Munchengrätz), and 29 the Austrians and Saxons, having withstood a stubborn battle with the 1st Army at Gichan, were forced to retreat to Smidar. Meanwhile, the 2nd Prussian Army managed to get through the mountain passes between Silesia and Bohemia. Benedek sent against the 5th Prussian corps to Nachod, the 6th Austrian corps (Ramming), and against the 1st Prussian corps to Trautenau - the 10th Austrian (Gablenz); but on June 27, Ramming was driven back by General Steinmetz, and Gablenz, although he won a victory at Trautenau and drove the Prussians back to Liebau, was attacked on the flank (at Soor) on the 28th by the Prussian Guard, and was in turn defeated. On the same day, Steinmetz attacked the 8th Austrian Corps (Archduke Leopold) at Skalitz, overthrew it, and on the 29th, displacing the 4th Austrian Corps from a strong position at Schweinschedel, reached Gradlitz on the Elbe. On the same day, the Prussian guard approached this river at Königinghof. Thus, when the 1st Army advanced on July 1st to Miletin and Goritz, the concentric movement of Prussian troops into Bohemia was happily completed; their front was reduced from 300 km to 40, and their strategic connection took place at the very moment when King Wilhelm, who arrived in Reichenberg, announced the acceptance of the main command over all his fighting forces. The Austrian army found itself in an extremely unfavorable position: the battles that took place in last days June, cost her more than 30 thousand people and 16 guns and noticeably shook the spirit of the troops, and especially the confidence of the commander-in-chief in himself and in his army. In a telegram dated July 2, Benedek even advised making peace at all costs. However, he soon gained courage, and on the same day he took a strong position between the Bystritz and Elbe rivers, north of the Königgrätz fortress. On it he expected an enemy attack. In the Prussian headquarters, on the same evening, it became known that the Austrians had stopped at the aforementioned position, orders for an attack were immediately sent to all three armies, and on July 3, on the heights of Chlum, the decisive battle of Königgrätz took place (see). The Austrian army was saved from complete destruction only due to the fact that the Prussian headquarters itself did not give itself a clear account of the extent of the victory; During July 4 and 5, the pursuit was carried out without proper energy, and Benedek managed to retreat to the fortified camp at Olmutz, where he could bring his disorganized army into order. Nevertheless, the political and strategic significance of the Königgrätz pogrom was enormous. The Viennese cabinet turned to the mediation of Napoleon III and, by the treaty of July 4, granted him the Venetian region, which the South Austrian army had just secured for itself by defeating the Italians at Custozza (q.v.). The Austrians hoped to achieve by this not only the neutrality of Italy, but also the energetic intervention of the French emperor in their feud with Prussia. But Italy did not agree to break the alliance it had concluded with the Prussians, and Napoleon, who was taken by surprise by the Königgrätz victory and whose army could not be mobilized soon, had to limit himself to offering his services to mediate the conclusion of peace. Meanwhile, the Prussian army, after a short rest on the battlefield, began to approach the Austrian capital with alarming speed. On July 13, King William entered Brunn; On the 16th the vanguard of Prince Frederick Charles reached an important junction railways at Lundenburg and cut off the direct route from Olmutz to Vienna and Pressburg; on the same day the Elbian army advanced to Gollabrunn, 45 km from Vienna; On July 17, the king arrived with his main apartment in Nikolsburg, 70 km from the Austrian capital. The Austrians, however, were thinking about continuing military operations, which were to be led by the winner of Custozza, Archduke Albrecht, who was now appointed commander-in-chief instead of Benedek. All remaining forces of the northern and southern armies were to be mobilized to defend Vienna. But no more than 50 thousand people could be delivered from Italy, and Benedek, with the northern army, could only reach the Danube near Presburg by a difficult roundabout route, through the Small Carpathians and the valley of the Waag River. But this important point was already in danger. On July 22, in the case of Blumenau, the Prussian division of General Franzecki bypassed the Austrian Mondl brigade covering Presburg. At this time, hostilities were suspended by the news of the conclusion of a truce. Archduke Albrecht, having assumed command, gave very energetic orders to the army, and field trenches began to quickly be erected at Florisdorf. But the Prussians were already at the gates of Vienna; their forces were now greater than at the beginning of the war, despite the bloody battles, the separation from general composition armies of detachments with separate goals and the devastating effect of the then raging cholera. At the end of the war, the Prussians had 6 60 thousand people, and they decided to see the matter through to the end. In upper Silesia, the former Hungarian leader Klapka (q.v.) collected a special legion from his compatriots ( for the most part Hungarian prisoners of war), with the aim of stirring up a new uprising in Hungary against Austrian rule. The victory at Lissa, won by the Austrian admiral Tegetthof over the Italian fleet, made the conclusion of a separate peace even more impossible for Italy. Not so much because of its obligations towards Prussia, but because of the indignation and impatience of the entire nation, the Italian government was forced to resume military operations on land, which had been suspended after the defeat at Custozza. Under such circumstances, Austria showed readiness to conclude peace. On July 21, a truce was concluded in Nikolsburg for 5 days, during which peace conditions were to be approved. But this truce concerned only Prussia and Austria; in Italy, a truce was concluded only on August 12, in Cormons, thanks to which General Cialdini freely occupied the entire Venetian region (except for fortresses). Military operations also continued in southern Germany. Fast attack Immediately following the decision of the Union Council on June 14, the Prussians placed themselves in an advantageous strategic position relative to the Central German states. Although only 45 thousand were assigned for action against Austria’s allies (the so-called Main Army, under the command of Vogel von Falkenstein), this turned out to be quite sufficient, since the Central German governments did not believe that the war would really break out, were not prepared for it and acted without proper energy. On June 27, the Hanoverian troops withstood a stubborn battle with the Prussians at Langensaltz (see), but already on the 29th, surrounded by the enemy, they had to surrender. On July 2, General Falkenstein moved against the Bavarians. The latter, numbering 40 thousand, under the command of Prince Charles of Bavaria, were preparing at that time to unite near Fulda with the 8th Allied Corps (Württembergers, Hessians, Badenians, Nassauians, Austrians), commanded by Prince Alexander of Hesse. On July 4, after the battle of the Bavarians with the Prussian division of General Goeben at Dermbach, Prince Charles retreated across the Franconian Saale River. On the same day, the entire Bavarian cavalry, under the command of the Prince of Thurn and Taxis, retreated from Hünfeld to Schweinfurt due to the devastating effect produced by a single Prussian grenade among two cuirassier squadrons. Then Prince Alexander avoided the collision by retreating to westward. On July 10, General Falkenstein forced the crossing of the Saale at Hammelburg and Kissingen, where it came to a bloody battle; then suddenly turned to the west and moved down the Main against the 8th Allied Corps; On July 13, he defeated the Hessians at Laufach, and on the 14th, the Austrian brigade of Neiperg, at Aschaffenburg, and on July 15, he occupied Frankfurt. From here he was recalled, and General Manteuffel was appointed head of the Main army. The latter was given orders to advance as far south as possible; at the same time, a reserve army, composed of Prussian and Mecklenburg troops, under the command of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, entered the Franconian lands of Bavaria. Manteuffel moved up the left bank of the Main, to the Tauber River, behind which the Bavarian and Allied troops stood. His plan was to advance between them and defeat them piecemeal; but the plan did not come true, since already on July 24, General Goeben, at Werbach and Tauberbischofsheim, so vigorously attacked the Baden and Württembergers that Prince Alexander immediately retreated to Würzburg to unite with the Bavarians. Then, on July 25, he offered still weak resistance at Gerchsheim, and after that he moved to the right bank of the Main. On July 25 and 26, in the battles of Helmstadt and Rosbrun, the Bavarians put up stubborn resistance to the Prussian troops, but then retreated to Wurzburg. Then the rulers of the southern German possessions hastened to send ambassadors to Nikolsburg, asking for a truce, which, on August 2, was given to them. Meanwhile, on July 27, preliminary peace terms between Prussia and Austria were already concluded in Nikolsburg. The latter had to agree to a complete transformation of the German union and withdraw from it completely; give Italy the Venetian region; cede to Prussia its rights to Schleswig-Holstein, pay 20 million thalers in indemnity and recognize those territorial changes in the North German regions (with the exception of Saxony) that the Prussian government recognizes as necessary (land acquisitions of Prussia after the war of 1866, see
was the last act of rivalry between Prussia and Austria for dominance in the German alliance. The immediate cause was the “Schleswig-Holstein” issue, which caused a clash between both powers, which, by the Gastein Convention on August 14, 1865, could not be finally eliminated. The tone of mutual diplomatic notes became more and more harsh, the demonstrations of the Central German rulers hostile to Prussia became more and more decisive; Finally, on March 16, 1866, Austria, in a note sent to friendly German courts, openly declared its intention to present the Schleswig-Holstein case for discussion by the Union Council and to field the military forces of the other German powers against Prussia. Then Prussia (April 8) entered into an alliance with Italy, according to which the latter agreed to declare war on Austria if one began against Prussia within the next three months. In return, the Prussians ensured that the Italians acquired Venice. Then the Prussian government, on April 9, entered the Union Council with a proposal to convene representatives of the entire German people to discuss changes in this council. Since the “conflict” between the Prussian government and parliament reached its highest tension at that time (see Prussia), and demonstrations in favor of peace and against the fratricidal war took place in the western provinces, Austria and the Central German states allied with it were confident in advance of victory , and secretly distributed among themselves the proposed territorial acquisitions. Already in March, both sides began armament. Negotiations on disarmament began in April, but they did not end in anything. On May 4 and 8, orders were given to mobilize the Prussian army and convene the Landwehr; the Central German sovereigns demanded that the convened Diets open military loans; On June 1, Austria transferred the resolution of the Schleswig-Holstein question to the Allied Council and at the same time made the peace conference proposed by the neutral great powers impossible, protesting in advance against any territorial expansion or increase in the power of any of the invited powers. On June 5, the Austrian governor of Holstein, Gablenz, invited Holstein government officials to gather on the 11th in Itzehoe; but since this violated the Gastein Treaty, already on June 7, the Prussian General Manteuffel entered Holstein. Then the Austrians left there, and on June 11, the Vienna cabinet entered the Allied Council with a proposal to mobilize the Allied German army, excluding only the Prussian contingent, in view of the arbitrariness of Prussia. On June 14, the council accepted this proposal by a majority of 9 votes to 6. Then the Prussian envoy to the council, von Savigny, announced that Prussia considered this council dissolved and proposed a new alliance treaty, with the exclusion of Austria from the German union. This amounted to a declaration of war. Manifestos about it were published by the Austrian Emperor on June 17, and by the Prussian King on June 18.
Geographical conditions forced Prussia to secure, first of all, northern Germany, and on June 15 it delivered an ultimatum to Hanover, Saxony and Kurgessen, inviting them to unarmed neutrality and to join a new union, providing them with the preservation of their possessions for this. When the ultimatum was rejected, Prussian troops immediately entered the borders of Hanover, Saxony and Kurgessen from all sides. The Hanoverian and Saxon kings and their armies abandoned their capitals; The Elector of Hesse was captured, but his troops managed to escape to the south. Against Italy, the Austrian government decided to take a defensive course of action, appointing for this purpose only 85 thousand people, under the command of Archduke Albrecht, and placing them in the quadrangle of its Italian fortresses; the main Austrian army, with a force of 247 thousand, was intended for the war against Prussia; 140 thousand German auxiliary troops were adjacent to the same army. Of these military forces, 270 thousand (Austrians and Saxons), under the command of Benedek (q.v.), were located in Bohemia and Moravia, and 120 thousand - in the western and southern German regions. Prussia had an army of 300 thousand - 45 thousand were assigned for military operations in Germany, and 255 thousand for the war against Austria. King Wilhelm I himself took over the supreme command, electing General Moltke (q.v.) as chief of the general staff. The center of the Prussian troops (in Lusatia) was the 1st army, under the command of Prince Frederick Charles, the left wing (in Silesia) was the 2nd army, the crown prince; right wing (in Saxony) - the Elbe army of General Herwarth von Bittenfeld. Thus, hostilities opened simultaneously in Bohemia, Germany and Italy.
According to the operational plan of the Austrian General Krismanich, it was necessary to remain defensive from the very beginning. The northern army was gathered around Olmutz (in Moravia) to cover Vienna; Thanks to this, not only was contact with the German contingents lost, but Saxony was also given over to the enemy as a sacrifice. Only when it became clear that Prussia was concentrating its military forces not only in Silesia, but also in Lusatia and Saxony, the Austrian army was again moved to Bohemia, to occupy positions between the Upper Elbe and the Iser. Occupying this space, the Gicin Highlands, was also the goal for the Prussian army, which at the end of June crossed the Bohemian border in three places: the Elbe army at Schluckenau, 1 at Reichenberg, 2 at Liebau and Náchod. Since at this time Benedek’s troops were still making their flank march from Olmütz to Josephstadt, the Prussians did not encounter serious resistance at any of the above-mentioned passes. The Saxon Crown Prince and the Austrian General Klamm-Gallas (1st Corps) were ordered to hold only the Iser Line. Klamm-Gallas, stationed at Münchengrätz, awaited the advance of the Elbian army, which, in the case of Hünerwasser, overthrew his vanguard. On the night of June 27, the 1st Prussian army captured the river crossing at Podol; 28 Klamm-Gallas was forced out of his position at Muskoberg (near Munchengrätz), and 29 the Austrians and Saxons, having withstood a stubborn battle with the 1st Army at Gichan, were forced to retreat to Smidar. Meanwhile, the 2nd Prussian Army managed to get through the mountain passes between Silesia and Bohemia. Benedek sent against the 5th Prussian corps to Nachod, the 6th Austrian corps (Ramming), and against the 1st Prussian corps to Trautenau - the 10th Austrian (Gablenz); but on June 27, Ramming was driven back by General Steinmetz, and Gablenz, although he won a victory at Trautenau and drove the Prussians back to Liebau, was attacked on the flank (at Soor) on the 28th by the Prussian Guard, and was in turn defeated. On the same day, Steinmetz attacked the 8th Austrian Corps (Archduke Leopold) at Skalitz, overthrew it, and on the 29th, displacing the 4th Austrian Corps from a strong position at Schweinschedel, reached Gradlitz on the Elbe. On the same day, the Prussian guard approached this river at Königinghof. Thus, when the 1st Army advanced on July 1st to Miletin and Goritz, the concentric movement of Prussian troops into Bohemia was happily completed; their front was reduced from 300 km to 40, and their strategic connection took place at the very moment when King Wilhelm, who arrived in Reichenberg, announced the acceptance of the main command over all his fighting forces. The Austrian army found itself in an extremely unfavorable position: the battles that took place in the last days of June cost it more than 30 thousand people and 16 guns and significantly shook the spirit of the troops, and especially the commander-in-chief’s confidence in himself and his army. In a telegram dated July 2, Benedek even advised making peace at all costs. However, he soon gained courage, and on the same day he took a strong position between the Bystritz and Elbe rivers, north of the Königgrätz fortress. On it he expected an enemy attack. In the Prussian headquarters, on the same evening, it became known that the Austrians had stopped at the aforementioned position, orders for an attack were immediately sent to all three armies, and on July 3, on the heights of Chlum, the decisive battle of Königgrätz took place (see). The Austrian army was saved from complete destruction only due to the fact that the Prussian headquarters itself did not give itself a clear account of the extent of the victory; During July 4 and 5, the pursuit was carried out without proper energy, and Benedek managed to retreat to the fortified camp at Olmutz, where he could bring his disorganized army into order. Nevertheless, the political and strategic significance of the Königgrätz pogrom was enormous. The Viennese cabinet turned to the mediation of Napoleon III and, by the treaty of July 4, granted him the Venetian region, which the South Austrian army had just secured for itself by defeating the Italians at Custozza (q.v.). The Austrians hoped to achieve by this not only the neutrality of Italy, but also the energetic intervention of the French emperor in their feud with Prussia. But Italy did not agree to break the alliance it had concluded with the Prussians, and Napoleon, who was taken by surprise by the Königgrätz victory and whose army could not be mobilized soon, had to limit himself to offering his services to mediate the conclusion of peace. Meanwhile, the Prussian army, after a short rest on the battlefield, began to approach the Austrian capital with alarming speed. On July 13, King William entered Brunn; On the 16th, the vanguard of Prince Frederick Charles reached the important railway junction at Lundenburg and cut off the direct route from Olmutz to Vienna and Presburg; on the same day the Elbian army advanced to Gollabrunn, 45 km from Vienna; On July 17, the king arrived with his main apartment in Nikolsburg, 70 km from the Austrian capital. The Austrians, however, were thinking about continuing military operations, which were to be led by the winner of Custozza, Archduke Albrecht, who was now appointed commander-in-chief instead of Benedek. All remaining forces of the northern and southern armies were to be mobilized to defend Vienna. But no more than 50 thousand people could be delivered from Italy, and Benedek, with the northern army, could only reach the Danube near Presburg by a difficult roundabout route, through the Small Carpathians and the valley of the Waag River. But this important point was already in danger. On July 22, in the case of Blumenau, the Prussian division of General Franzecki bypassed the Austrian Mondl brigade covering Presburg. At this time, hostilities were suspended by the news of the conclusion of a truce. Archduke Albrecht, having assumed command, gave very energetic orders to the army, and field trenches began to quickly be erected at Florisdorf. But the Prussians were already at the gates of Vienna; their forces were now greater than at the beginning of the war, despite the bloody battles, the separation of detachments from the general army with separate goals and the devastating effect of the cholera that was raging at that time. At the end of the war, the Prussians had 660 thousand people, and they decided to see the matter through to the end. In upper Silesia, the former Hungarian leader Klapka (q.v.) assembled a special legion from his compatriots (mostly Hungarian prisoners of war), with the goal of stirring up a new uprising in Hungary against Austrian rule. The victory at Lissa, won by the Austrian admiral Tegetthof over the Italian fleet, made the conclusion of a separate peace even more impossible for Italy. Not so much because of its obligations towards Prussia, but because of the indignation and impatience of the entire nation, the Italian government was forced to resume military operations on land, which had been suspended after the defeat at Custozza. Under such circumstances, Austria showed readiness to conclude peace. On July 21, a truce was concluded in Nikolsburg for 5 days, during which peace conditions were to be approved. But this truce concerned only Prussia and Austria; in Italy, a truce was concluded only on August 12, in Cormons, thanks to which General Cialdini freely occupied the entire Venetian region (except for fortresses). Military operations also continued in southern Germany. By quickly attacking immediately following the decision of the Union Council on June 14, the Prussians placed themselves in an advantageous strategic position relative to the Central German states. Although only 45 thousand were assigned for action against Austria’s allies (the so-called Main Army, under the command of Vogel von Falkenstein), this turned out to be quite sufficient, since the Central German governments did not believe that the war would really break out, were not prepared for it and acted without proper energy. On June 27, the Hanoverian troops withstood a stubborn battle with the Prussians at Langensaltz (see), but already on the 29th, surrounded by the enemy, they had to surrender. On July 2, General Falkenstein moved against the Bavarians. The latter, numbering 40 thousand, under the command of Prince Charles of Bavaria, were preparing at that time to unite near Fulda with the 8th Allied Corps (Württembergers, Hessians, Badenians, Nassauians, Austrians), commanded by Prince Alexander of Hesse. On July 4, after the battle of the Bavarians with the Prussian division of General Goeben at Dermbach, Prince Charles retreated across the Franconian Saale River. On the same day, the entire Bavarian cavalry, under the command of the Prince of Thurn and Taxis, retreated from Hünfeld to Schweinfurt due to the devastating effect produced by a single Prussian grenade among two cuirassier squadrons. Then Prince Alexander avoided the collision by retreating to the west. On July 10, General Falkenstein forced the crossing of the Saale at Hammelburg and Kissingen, where it came to a bloody battle; then suddenly turned to the west and moved down the Main against the 8th Allied Corps; On July 13, he defeated the Hessians at Laufach, and on the 14th, the Austrian brigade of Neiperg, at Aschaffenburg, and on July 15, he occupied Frankfurt. From here he was recalled, and General Manteuffel was appointed head of the Main army. The latter was given orders to advance as far south as possible; at the same time, a reserve army, composed of Prussian and Mecklenburg troops, under the command of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, entered the Franconian lands of Bavaria. Manteuffel moved up the left bank of the Main, to the Tauber River, behind which the Bavarian and Allied troops stood. His plan was to advance between them and defeat them piecemeal; but the plan did not come true, since already on July 24, General Goeben, at Werbach and Tauberbischofsheim, so vigorously attacked the Baden and Württembergers that Prince Alexander immediately retreated to Würzburg to unite with the Bavarians. Then, on July 25, he offered still weak resistance at Gerchsheim, and after that he moved to the right bank of the Main. On July 25 and 26, in the battles of Helmstadt and Rosbrun, the Bavarians put up stubborn resistance to the Prussian troops, but then retreated to Wurzburg. Then the rulers of the southern German possessions hastened to send ambassadors to Nikolsburg, asking for a truce, which, on August 2, was given to them. Meanwhile, on July 27, preliminary peace terms between Prussia and Austria were already concluded in Nikolsburg. The latter had to agree to a complete transformation of the German union and withdraw from it completely; give Italy the Venetian region; cede to Prussia its rights to Schleswig-Holstein, pay 20 million thalers indemnity and recognize those territorial changes in the North German regions (with the exception of Saxony) that the Prussian government recognizes as necessary (land acquisitions of Prussia after the war of 1866). see Prussia).
- - national-liberate. Italy's war against Austria. domination. As a result of the Austro-Italian-French war of 1859 and the revolution of 1859-60, Italy was in the main. united...
- - a war that ended a long time. the struggle between Prussia and Austria for dominance. role in Germany and appeared important stage in the unification of Germany “from above”, under the hegemony of the Junker-Bourgeois. Prussia...
Soviet historical encyclopedia
- - H liberation war Italy against Austrian domination, for completing the unification of the country. The main battles ended in defeat for the Italian troops...
- - H completed in favor of Prussia its struggle with Austria for supremacy among the German states. The decisive battle of this war, in the Sadowy area, ended in the complete defeat of the Austrian army...
Historical Dictionary
- - When, after the death of Emperor Charles VI on October 20, 1740, his eldest daughter, Maria Theresa, came, in accordance with the resolution of the Pragmatic Sanction, into possession of all the lands of the Austrian monarchy, then hereditary...
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encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Euphron
- - see Prussian-Austrian War...
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron
- - see Prussian-Austrian War...
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron
- - was the last act of rivalry between Prussia and Austria for predominant importance in the German union...
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron
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Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron
- - The management of the Austrians. government in Italy, which especially strengthened since the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and took a completely reactionary direction, aroused strong indignation throughout the country...
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron
- - At the end of the 50s of the 19th century, the Sardinian government, encouraged by Napoleon III and encouraged by his support, began to intensively arm itself to achieve its long-standing goal - the expulsion of the Austrians from Italy...
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron
- - one of the wars associated with the struggle for the liberation of Italy from Austrian rule and for the creation of a national state...
- - a war that ended the long-term rivalry between Prussia and Austria for the dominant role in Germany and was an important stage in the unification of Germany “from above”, under the hegemony of the Junker-bourgeois...
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- - war between the 4th coalition of European powers and Napoleonic France. In fact, it was a continuation of the Russian-Austro-French war of 1805...
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- - between Spain, which sought to restore its dominance in Latin America, and the South American republics - Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia...
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
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