Defeat of France
Just as Bismarck's first war (against Denmark) logically inevitably brought about a second war (against Austria), so this second war naturally led to a third war against France. South Germany remained outside the North German Confederation - the kingdoms of Bavaria and Württemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt. France stood on the path of complete unification of Germany led by Prussia. Paris did not want to see a united, strong Germany on its eastern borders. Bismarck understood this perfectly. The war could not be avoided.
Therefore, after the defeat of Austria, Bismarck's diplomacy was directed against France. In Berlin, the Prussian Minister-President introduced a bill to parliament that exempted him from responsibility for unconstitutional actions. Parliamentarians approved it.
Bismarck, who did everything to prevent Prussia from looking like an aggressor, played on strong anti-German sentiments in France. A provocation was needed so that France itself declared war on Prussia, so that the leading powers remained neutral. This was quite easy to do, since Napoleon thirsted for war no less than Bismarck. French generals also supported him. Minister of War Leboeuf openly declared that the Prussian army "did not exist" and that he "denied" it. War psychosis swept through French society. The French did not doubt their victory over the Prussians, without analyzing the victory of Prussia over Austria and the changes that took place in the Prussian army and society, united by success.
The reason was the problem of Spain. After the Spanish revolution in 1868, the throne was vacant. Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern claimed it. Bismarck and his supporters, Minister of War Roon and Chief of Staff Moltke, convinced the Prussian King Wilhelm that this was the right step. The French emperor Napoleon III was extremely unhappy with this. France could not allow Spain to fall into the Prussian sphere of influence.
Under pressure from the French, Prince Leopold, without any consultation with Bismarck and the king, declared that he was relinquishing all rights to the Spanish throne. The conflict was over. This move ruined the plans of Otto von Bismarck, who wanted France to take the first step and declare war on Prussia. However, Paris itself gave Bismarck a trump card against itself. The French ambassador to Prussia Vincent Benedetti was sent to King William I of Prussia, who was resting in Bad Ems, on July 13, 1870. He demanded that the Prussian king give a formal commitment never to consider the candidacy of Leopold Hohenzollern for the throne of Spain. Such insolence angered Wilhelm, but he did not scandalize without giving a clear answer. Paris contacted Benedetti and ordered him to give William a new message. The King of Prussia had to give a written promise never again to encroach on the dignity of France. Benedetti, during the departure of the king, laid out the essence of the demands of Paris. Wilhelm promised to continue negotiations and notified von Abeken Bismarck through the adviser to the Foreign Ministry.
When Bismarck received an urgent dispatch from Ems, he was having dinner with the Minister of War Albrecht von Roon and the head of the General Staff of the Prussian army Helmut von Moltke. Bismarck read out the dispatch, and his guests were discouraged. Everyone understood that the French emperor wanted war, and Wilhelm was afraid of it, so he was ready to make concessions. Bismarck asked the military if the army was ready for war. The generals answered in the affirmative. Moltke said that "an immediate start of the war is more profitable than a delay." Then Bismarck "edited" the telegram, removing from it the words of the Prussian king, said by Benedetti about the continuation of negotiations in Berlin. As a result, it turned out that William I refused to conduct further negotiations on this issue. Moltke and Roon were delighted and approved of the new version. Bismarck ordered the document to be published.
As Bismarck had hoped, the French responded well. The announcement of the "Emsian dispatch" in the German press caused a storm of indignation in French society. Foreign Minister Gramont said indignantly that Prussia had slapped France in the face. On July 15, 1870, the head of the French government, Emile Olivier, asked the parliament for a loan of 50 million francs and announced the government's decision to begin mobilization "in response to the challenge to war." Most of the French MPs voted in favor of the war. Mobilization began in France. On July 19, the French emperor Napoleon III declared war on Prussia. Formally the aggressor was France, which attacked Prussia.
The only sensible French politician was the historian Louis Adolphe Thiers, who in the past was already twice the head of the French Foreign Ministry and twice headed the government. It was Thiers who would become the 1st President of the Third Republic, make peace with Prussia and drown the Paris Commune in blood. In July 1870, while still a member of parliament, Thiers, tried to persuade parliament to refuse the government a loan and call for reservists. He reasoned quite sensibly that Paris had already achieved its task - Prince Leopold had renounced the Spanish crown, and there was no reason to quarrel with Prussia. However, Thiers was not heard then. France was gripped by military hysteria.
Therefore, when the Prussian army began to smash the French, not a single great power stood up for France. This was Bismarck's victory. He was able to achieve non-intervention of the main powers - Russia and England. Petersburg was not averse to punishing Paris for its active participation in the Eastern (Crimean) War. Napoleon III in the period before the war did not seek friendship and alliance with the Russian Empire. Bismarck promised that Berlin would observe friendly neutrality in the event of Russia's withdrawal from the humiliating Paris Treaty, which forbade us to have a fleet in the Black Sea. As a result, the belated requests of Paris for help could no longer change the position of St. Petersburg.
The Luxembourg question and France's desire to seize Belgium made London an enemy of Paris. In addition, the British were irritated by the active French policy in the Middle East, Egypt and Africa. In London, it was believed that some strengthening of Prussia at the expense of France would benefit England. The French colonial empire was seen as a rival who needed to be weakened. In general, London's policy in Europe was traditional: the powers that threatened the domination of the British Empire were weakened at the expense of their neighbors. England itself remained on the sidelines.
Attempts by France and Austria-Hungary to force Italy into an alliance were unsuccessful. The Italian king Victor Emmanuel preferred neutrality, listening to Bismarck, who asked him not to interfere in the war with France. In addition, the French were stationed in Rome. The Italians wanted to complete the unification of the country, to get Rome. France did not allow this and lost a potential ally.
Austria-Hungary yearned for revenge. However, Franz Joseph did not have a firm and warlike character. While the Austrians were in doubt, it was already over. Blitzkrieg played its role during the war between Prussia and France. The Sedan catastrophe buried the possibility of Austrian intervention in the war. Austria-Hungary was "late" to start the war. In addition, in Vienna they feared a possible blow to the rear of the Russian army. Prussia and Russia were friends, and Russia could oppose the Austrians. As a result, Austria-Hungary remained neutral.
An important role in the fact that no one stood up for France was the fact of her aggression against the North German Confederation. In the pre-war years, Bismarck actively demonstrated the peacefulness of Prussia, made concessions to France: he withdrew the Prussian troops from Luxembourg in 1867, declared his readiness not to claim Bavaria and make it a neutral country, etc. France in this situation looked like an aggressor. In fact, the regime of Napoleon III did indeed pursue an aggressive policy in Europe and the world. However, in this case, one more intelligent predator outplayed the other. France has fallen into the trap of conceit and arrogance. Bismarck made France pay the price for a long period of mistakes.
Therefore, when in 1892 the original text of the "Emsian dispatch" was read out from the rostrum of the Reichstag, practically no one, except the Social Democrats, began to interfere with Bismarck with mud. Success is never blamed. Bismarck played a key role in the history of the creation of the Second Reich and united Germany, and most importantly a positive role. The process of German reunification was objective and progressive, bringing prosperity to the German people.
Solemn ceremony of the proclamation of William I as German Emperor at Versailles. O. von Bismarck is depicted in the center (in a white uniform)
Chancellor of the Second Reich
The time has come for the triumph of Bismarck and Prussia. The French army suffered a crushing defeat in the war. The French arrogant generals covered themselves with shame. In the decisive battle of Sedan (September 1, 1870), the French were defeated. The Sedan fortress, where the French army took refuge, surrendered almost immediately. Eighty-two thousand soldiers surrendered, led by commander Patrice de MacMahon and Emperor Napoleon III. It was a fatal blow to the French Empire. The capture of Napoleon III marked the end of the monarchy in France and the beginning of the establishment of a republic. On September 3, Paris learned about the Sedan catastrophe; on September 4, a revolution broke out. The government of Napoleon III was deposed. In addition, France has almost lost its regular army. Another French army, led by François Bazin, was blocked in Metz (on October 27, the 170,000 army surrendered). The road to Paris was open. France still resisted, but the outcome of the war was already a foregone conclusion.
In November 1870, the South German states joined the Unified German Confederation, reorganized from the North. In December, the Bavarian monarch proposed to restore the German Empire, destroyed by Napoleon (in 1806, at the request of Napoleon, the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation ceased to exist). The Reichstag appealed to the Prussian king William I with a request to accept the imperial crown. On January 18, the German Empire (Second Reich) was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors of Versailles. William I appointed Bismarck Chancellor of the German Empire.
On January 28, 1871, France and Germany signed an armistice. The French government, fearing the spread of the revolution in the country, went to peace. For his part, Otto von Bismarck, fearing the intervention of neutral states, also sought to end the war. On February 26, 1871, a preliminary Franco-Prussian peace was concluded at Versailles. Otto von Bismarck signed a preliminary treaty on behalf of Emperor Wilhelm I, on behalf of France it was approved by Adolphe Thiers. On May 10, 1871, a peace treaty was signed in Frankfurt am Main. France ceded Alsace and Lorraine to Germany and pledged to pay a huge contribution (5 billion francs).
Thus, Bismarck achieved brilliant success. Ethnic German lands, with the exception of Austria, were united into the German Empire. Prussia became the military-political core of the Second Reich. The main enemy in Western Europe, the French Empire, was crushed. Germany became the leading power in Western Europe (excluding island England). French money contributed to Germany's economic recovery
Bismarck retained the post of Chancellor of Germany until 1890. The Chancellor carried out reforms in German law, government and finance. Bismarck led the struggle for the cultural unification of Germany (Kulturkampf). It should be noted that Germany was not then united not only politically, but also linguistically and religiously-culturally. Protestantism prevailed in Prussia. Catholicism prevailed in the southern German states. Rome (Vatican) had a huge impact on society. Saxons, Bavarians, Prussians, Hanoverians, Wurttembergians and other Germanic peoples did not have a single language and culture. So the single German language that we know today was created only at the end of the 19th century. The inhabitants of certain German regions almost did not understand each other and considered them strangers. The division was much deeper than, say, between the Russians of modern Russia, Little Russia-Ukraine and Belarus. After it was possible to unite the various German states, it was necessary to carry out the cultural unification of Germany.
One of the main enemies of this process was the Vatican. Catholicism was still one of the leading religions and had a great influence in the principalities and regions that joined Prussia. And the Catholics of the Polish regions of Prussia (received after the division of the Commonwealth), Lorraine and Alsace were generally hostile to the state. Bismarck was not going to endure this and launched an offensive. In 1871, the Reichstag banned any political propaganda from the church pulpit, in 1873 - the school law put all religious educational institutions under state control. Registration of marriage by the state has become mandatory. Funding for the church was blocked. Appointments to church positions became necessary to be coordinated with the state. The Jesuit Order, in fact, the former state within the state, was disbanded. The Vatican's attempts to sabotage these processes were stopped, some religious leaders were arrested or expelled from the country, many dioceses were left without leaders. It is worth noting that while “at war” with Catholicism (in fact, with archaism), Bismarck entered into a tactical alliance with the national liberals, who had the largest share in the Reichstag.
However, state pressure and confrontation with the Vatican led to strong resistance. The Center's Catholic Party fiercely opposed Bismarck's measures, and constantly strengthened its position in parliament. And the Conservative Party was also unhappy. Bismarck decided to retreat somewhat so as not to "go too far." In addition, the new Pope Leo XIII was inclined to compromise (the previous Pope Pius IX was offensive). State pressure on religion eased. But the main thing Bismarck did - the state managed to establish control over the education system. Further, the process of cultural, linguistic unification of Germany became irreversible.
In this respect, we should learn from Bismarck. Russian education is still under the control of liberals, who adjust it to European-American standards, that is, they create a consumer society and lower the standards for the majority of students in order to make society easier to manage. The more stupid people are, the easier it is to manage them (Americanization of education). Russian liberals are conceptually dependent on the West, therefore they are pursuing their course of destroying the identity of Russian civilization and the intellectual potential of the Russian super-ethnos. It is impossible for Russian education to be controlled by the West (by unstructured methods, through standards, programs, textbooks, manuals)
"While it is storming, I am at the helm"
Union system. Stabilizing Europe
Bismarck was completely satisfied with the victories over Austria and France. In his opinion, Germany no longer needed a war. The main national tasks have been accomplished. Bismarck, given the central position of Germany in Europe and the potential threat of a war on two fronts, wanted Germany to live peacefully, but have a strong army capable of repelling an external attack.
Bismarck built his foreign policy on the basis of the situation that developed in Europe after the Franco-Prussian war. He understood that France would not accept defeat and it was necessary to isolate her. For this, Germany must be on good terms with Russia and get closer to Austria-Hungary (since 1867). In 1871, Bismarck supported the London Convention, which lifted the ban on Russia from having a navy in the Black Sea. In 1873, the Union of three emperors was formed - Alexander II, Franz Joseph I and Wilhelm I. In 1881 and 1884. The union was extended.
After the collapse of the Union of Three Emperors, due to the Serbian-Bulgarian war of 1885-1886, Bismarck, trying to avoid the Russian-French rapprochement, went for a new rapprochement with Russia. In 1887, the Reinsurance Treaty was signed. According to its terms, both sides were to remain neutral in the war of one of them with any third country, except in cases of the German Empire's attack on France or Russia on Austria-Hungary. In addition, a special protocol was attached to the treaty, according to which Berlin promised diplomatic assistance to Petersburg if Russia deemed it necessary to "take over the protection of the entrance to the Black Sea" in order to "preserve the key to its empire." Germany recognized that Bulgaria was in the sphere of influence of Russia. Unfortunately, in 1890, the new German government refused to renew this treaty, and Russia moved towards rapprochement with France.
Thus, the alliance of Germany and Russia during Bismarck made it possible to maintain peace in Europe. After his removal from power, the basic principles of relations between Germany and Russia were violated. A period of misunderstanding and coldness began. Germany became close to Austria-Hungary, which violated Russian interests in the Balkans. And Russia went to an alliance with France, and through it with England. All this led to a large European war, the collapse of the Russian and German empires. All the benefits were received by the Anglo-Saxons.
In Central Europe, Bismarck tried to prevent France from finding support in Italy and Austria-Hungary. The Austro-German Treaty of 1879 (Dual Alliance) and the Triple Alliance of 1882 (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy) solved this problem. True, the 1882 treaty somewhat undermined relations between Russia and Germany, but not fatally. To maintain the status quo in the Mediterranean, Bismarck contributed to the creation of the Mediterranean Entente (England, Italy, Austria-Hungary and Spain). England received priority in Egypt, and Italy in Libya.
As a result, Bismarck was able to solve the main foreign policy tasks during his reign: Germany became one of the leaders in world politics; they kept the peace in Europe; France was isolated; managed to get closer to Austria; good relations were maintained with Russia, despite some periods of cooling
Colonial politics
In colonial policy, Bismarck was cautious, declaring that "as long as he is the chancellor, there will be no colonial policy in Germany." On the one hand, he did not want to increase government spending, save the country's capital, focusing on the development of Germany itself. And practically all parties were against external expansion. On the other hand, an active colonial policy led to a conflict with England and could cause unexpected external crises. So France several times almost entered the war with England because of the disputes in Africa, and Russia because of the conflicts in Asia. However, the objective course of things made Germany a colonial empire. Under Bismarck, German colonies appeared in Southwest and East Africa, in the Pacific Ocean. At the same time, German colonialism brought Germany closer to the old enemy - France, which ensured fairly normal relations between the two powers in the 1880s and 1890s. Germany and France moved closer in Africa to oppose the more powerful colonial empire, Britain.
German state socialism
In domestic politics, Bismarck took a turn, moved away from the liberals and became close to conservatives and centrists. The Iron Chancellor believed that there was not only an external threat, but also an internal one - the “red danger”. In his opinion, liberals and socialists can destroy the empire (in the future, his fears came true). Bismarck acted in two ways: he introduced prohibitive measures and tried to improve the economic conditions in the country.
His first attempts to legally restrict the socialists were not supported by parliament. However, after several attempts on the life of Bismarck and the emperor, and when the conservatives and centrists won the majority in parliament at the expense of the liberals and socialists, the chancellor was able to pass a bill against the socialists through the Reichstag. An exceptional anti-socialist law ("Law against harmful and dangerous tendencies of social democracy") of October 19, 1878 (it remained in force until 1890) prohibited socialist and social democratic organizations and their activities in the German Empire outside the Reichstag and Landtags.
On the other hand, Bismarck introduced protectionist economic reforms that improved the situation after the 1873 crisis. According to Bismarck, state capitalism would be the best medicine for social democracy. Therefore, he was in 1883-1884. insured against illness and accidents through parliament (compensation was 2/3 of the average salary and started from the 14th week of illness). In 1889, the Reichstag passed the Age or Disability Pension Act. These labor insurance measures were progressive and far exceeded those adopted in other countries, providing a good basis for further social reforms.
Bismarck laid the foundations for the practice of German socialism, which introduced the principles of social justice and saved the state from destructive radical tendencies
Conflict with William II and resignation
With the accession to the throne of William II in 1888, the Iron Chancellor lost control of the government. Under Wilhelm I and Frederick III, who was seriously ill and ruled for less than six months, Bismarck could pursue his policy, his position could not be shaken by any of the power groups.
The young emperor wanted to rule himself, regardless of the opinion of Bismarck. After the resignation of Bismarck, the Kaiser said: "There is only one master in the country - this is me, and I will not tolerate another." The opinions of Wilhelm II and Bismarck were increasingly at odds. They had different positions in relation to the anti-socialist law and the subordination of government ministers. In addition, Bismarck was already tired of fighting, his health was undermined by hard work for the good of Prussia and Germany, constant unrest. German Kaiser Wilhelm II hinted to the Chancellor about the desirability of his resignation and received a letter of resignation from Otto von Bismarck on March 18, 1890. On March 20, the resignation was approved. As a reward, 75-year-old Bismarck received the title of Duke of Lauenburg and the rank of colonel-general of the cavalry.
In retirement, Bismarck criticized the government and indirectly the emperor, wrote memoirs. In 1895, all of Germany celebrated the 80th anniversary of Bismarck. The "iron chancellor" died in Friedrichsruhe on July 30, 1898.
"The pilot leaves the ship"
