Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871
France felt it had lost its primacy over central Europe during the 1866 war. Tensions between France and the North German Confederation mounted steadily, causing France to embark on a hasty program of rearmament. In 1868-1869, Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (the Catholic branch of the Hohenzollern family) emerged as a strong candidate for the Spanish throne. Queen Isabella II had been overthrown, and Spain was looking for a suitable Catholic king. Bismarck encouraged Leopold to accept the offer believing that a German king of Spain would offer security against French aggression. On Bismarck`s initiative the Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung(one of Germany’s biggest newspapers) leaked the Emser Depesche,a secret account of the meeting between King Wilhelm I and the French ambassador in Bad Ems. Bismarck was responsible for the leak that he released without the king’s consent. The document swung public opinion in Germany in favor of the war against France and triggered the Franco-Prussian War.[1]
France demanded reassurances from Prussia that no such candidacy would happen, or they would use force to resolve the issue. Even though Leopold withdrew, France declared war on Prussia in July 1870. Napoleon III initially led the French troops with Moltke the Elder as head of the Prussian forces. The French had expected support from the Italians, but the Italians used the occasion of the withdrawal of French troops in September 1870 to take over the Papal States.[2]
Because of their military alliances with the North German Confederation, the southern German states participated in the war against France. Feelings of a national Germanic community outweighed fears of Prussian ascendancy. Germany was victorious at the Sedan in France (Napoleon having been captured) only a few weeks after the war began. At last, Kleindeutschland would become a reality.
All of the North German Confederation (of course without Austria) went to war against France during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The Treaty of Frankfurt ended the war and gave French Alsace and part of Lorraine to Germany. At the conclusion of the war, the princes of the States declared Germany to be an empire. Bismarck engineered a letter from Ludwig II, King of Bavaria that suggested that the King of Prussia become the Emperor or Kaiser.[3]This letter ensured that decree, rather than the people, would establish the monarchy. Now referred to as “Imperial Germany,” it included the North German Confederation and the states of southern Germany. Most of the North German Confederation’s constitutional precepts became part of the constitution of the unified Germany. The Kaiser was crowned on 16 April 1871.
[1](Naujoks, 1968), pp. 85-118.
[2](Feuchtwanger 2001), p. 57.
[3](Green, Political and Diplomatic Movements, 1850-1870, 2004), pp. 88-90.