Chapter IV – Bruderkrieg
(1866)
The Battle of Grünberg
With ever-increasing tension between Prussia and Austria over the administration of Schleswig-Holstein, the Triumvirate has been busy preparing for a possible confrontation in Germany. Moltke in particular has been meticulously preparing for the war, pushing the
Triumvirate and the Emperor towards confrontation, as his reforms have been implemented successfully and the mobilization timetables, the general staff, the new conscription laws and the extended railway lines in Bohemia now had Austria at the peak of its ability. He warned however that with Prussia’s faster development due to the Zollverein, they might gain the upper hand, should the war not be fought soon.
Diplomatically, the
Beust-Gorchakov Pact secured the flank the Empire, as the Czar was now satisfied after the lull in relations after the Crimean War. As for Italy, the conscription laws allowed enough troops to be fielded to suppress any rebellion or keep France at bay in the unlikely event of them intervening.
For Prussia, the situation was also tense. Bismarck has tested Austria in the Schleswig-question, but their heavy-handed reaction was mostly unexpected. Now, the whole Confederation was gravitating towards Vienna, and something had to be done to stop it. It was notably Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, who opposed the idea of war with Austria, saying that the issue of Germany should not be decided by fratricide. While he would later accept the leadership of the Prussian army, his opinion on the war would make him very popular postwar. The Prussian army itself was a well-equipped and capable force, but the Chief of General Staff von Blumenthal, while a capable general, believed more in the unshakable discipline of the Prussian soldier than meticulous planning and logistics.
Agreeing that the issue of Schleswig-Holstein had to be decided, Vienna brought the issue before the German Diet. Bismarck, fearing that the Vienna-oriented Confederation might turn against him, turned the offer down. Instead, Prussia occupied Holstein, declaring the Confederation to end, although de facto that only meant their withdrawal from it. Austria immediately mobilized, and the Brothers’ War started.
The campaign that followed is considered Moltke’s magnum opus and a masterclass in organization, planning and execution. Imperial forces quickly moved, utilizing railways and invaded Silesia, catching the Prussians off-guard, who were slowly moving up to strike against Saxony and Bohemia. They instead found themselves to be reacting to Moltke’s swift advance which the Blumenthal scrambled to stop. Determining that the Austrians must be stopped before reaching the Oder and threatening Berlin, the Prussians quickly maneuvered to counter the Imperial army, which was advancing with machine-like precision, sweeping aside any opposition in Silesia. The Prussians, under the command of the Crown Prince, moved from Krossen towards the town of Grünberg, where the deciding battle of the war would be fought and Prussia’s imperial ambitions crushed. Weary from the forced march and generally disoriented, the Prussians fought gallantly, but were ultimately outmanoeuvred and eventually completely enveloped by the Austrians, to be defeated in detail. Grünberg would be the single greatest defeat in Prussian history, as the Crown Prince himself is captured, not willing to flee when he realized the severity of the situation and how his lines were completely unravelling. The Austrian army crossed the Oder on July 10th and was now marching on Berlin, while Blumenthal and the rest of the Prussian army was preparing a defense at Frankfurt-an-der-Oder. It would come to nought however, as the Prussians are again defeated, losing the town, and retreating to Berlin with what little forces they still had.
Panic quickly ensued across the Prussian allies, as the Austrian Hussars started tearing the railway tracks outside Berlin. The North German cities started to sue for peace as masses gathered in the cities of the Rhineland, demanding an end to the conflict and readmission to the Confederation. The industrialists in Rhineland were particularly interested, as the loss of the Zollverein would have meant a terrible loss of profits. The Prussian administration fell as soldiers refused to fire into the crowds in Koblenz, and the new provisional administration declared secession from Berlin. Berlin itself would fall on the 22nd of July, after short fighting. The city is spared most of the damage, as Ludwig von Benedek refused to bombard the city.
Bismarck’s gamble was over.