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Some thoughts on Bismarck, some people, someone or maybe no one will find interesting. :rolleyes:

Bismarck was a conman, a skillful and and intelligent one. He fooled Napoleon III into thinking, that under his influence Prussian unification
of Germany would be a more progressive historical event, compared to unification under Austrian influence.

He fooled Liberals and Nationalists into thinking he was the champion of German unification. He was not, and unification would have proceeded more deeply and more fully without him.

It is my belief Bismarck divided Germany. Prussia, a mainly non German populated state had never been part of Germany in the way that
Autria had been. Austria as naturally German as Hanover, Hamburg, The Rhineland or Bavaria, was excluded from Germany by a state that
had, for most of it's existance lain outside the boundaries of any formal or informal definition of Germany.

Regardless of Bismarcks claims, Austria could never be excluded from German affairs, it was the German Alsace-Lorraine, it was another
Germany. Uniting Germany minus Austria simply meant it was easier for Austria to guide the destiny of Germany. Austria could not be
abandoned, Bismarck proved this by creating the Dual Alliance. Austria could now be more aggressive and confident for know she had the whole of Germany standing behind her, neatly and conveniently organised by Prussia into one almighty voice and fist.
That Austria could not be abandoned, is proved by Bismarck's signing of the Dual Alliance, an alliance unparralelled in history by dint of the fact that it had no time limit to it.


" The Dual Alliance was a landmark treaty in European history. It was a new type of treaty between nations for several reasons:

1. Usually in European history, war treaties were signed just before fighting broke out or, they were for a very specific purpose. The Dual
Alliance was signed during peacetime.

2. The treaty had no time limit. In other words, there was no end point for the agreement. It would last as long as the counties agreed to it.
Traditionally, most treaties were limited to a set period of time.

3. No country was identified as an enemy to the countries involved. The alliance did not name the country (ies) that the treaty applied to.
With no declared enemy, all countries feared that they were the one the alliance was against. This created paranoia amongst all European
countries.

4. The goals and purpose of the alliance were kept secret to everyone except the two signing countries. This contributed to the suspicions
of other European countries that the deal was against them.


It was against this background that the Dual Alliance was signed with Austria in 1879. This secret defensive alliance became as Carr pointed
out “the very corner stone of German foreign policy”.


Bismarck saw two benefits of this alliance:


It would secure Germany’s southern frontier in the event of a war with Russia

It would frighten Russia into seeking a closer relationship with Germany.
Kaiser William strongly opposed this alliance as he saw it as anti-Russian. Bismarck threatened to resign before he reluctantly signed. "


Autria excluded and independent could guide and influence German international relations, in a way that she could not have done if she had
been a part of Germany.

Austria's exclusion from Germany introduced a contradiction into Germany's international relations that left her isolated, and in turn incapable of isolating France, the cornerstone objective for German security. Austrias existance outside of Germany made impossible an alliance with Britain or Russia, Austria was France's saving grace. Germany would be sworn to defend Austria in the Balkans as Britain was sworn to defend Belgium in Western Europe.


" when one reads what Schlieffen had to say about the alliance with the Habsburg Empire in 1912, long after his retirement.33 He repeats it
several times, both in the drafts and in the final version of the memorandum: It is only for Austria's sake that Germany has become the
enemy of Russia, and that "because of personal irritations which might nevertheless have soon given way to traditional friendship again,
had they not been aggravated by the signing of a treaty with Russia's enemy." In other words, Schlieffen considered the Dual Alliance of
1897 a disastrous mistake by Bismarck. "



The irony of Austrias exclusion leading to Austrias increased influence goes deeper.

" A curtain-raiser had already been staged by Count Waldersee, Moltke's quartermaster-general, deputy and immediate successor.
In 1887 he urged a preventive war against Russia, to be conducted in the form of a double offensive by the Dual Alliance and agreed in
detail with the chief-of-staff in Vienna. At once he found himself at loggerheads with Bismarck, who dreaded nothing more than an
irresponsible Austrian war policy based on the expectation of German aid. In order that Germany's ally should keep strictly on the defensive,
Bismarck prevented the two chiefs-of-staff from concerting a jointoperational plan.8 As a result, Waldersee intensified his efforts to
overthrow the old Chancellor. To this end, he made contact with a group of younger diplomats at the Foreign Ministry who favoured a more
vigorous, pro-Austrian line. "


The defeated Austrians celebrated their victory as the leaders of Germany by sacking Bismarck through proxy.
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