Otto von Bismarck, the 'Iron Chancellor' who forged modern Germany, was the subject of thousands of letters of fan mail including marriage proposals from women devoted to the dashing leader.

The Wars of German Unification is the definitive account of the three of the most decisive conflicts in the history of modern Europe. In this new edition, Dennis Showalter offers a thoroughly updated look at the wars and their context that will be invaluable for those interested in the military, social and political history of the period. Showalter explores how the Schleswig-Holstein conflict of 1864; the 'Six Weeks War' of 1866; and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 fundamentally altered the balance of power in 19th-century Europe. They marked the establishment of Prussian hegemony in central Europe, the creation of the Bismarckian Reich in 1871, the reduction of Habsburg influence and the collapse of Napoleon III's Second Empire. The Wars of German Unification offers a balanced and incisive account of the wars, their origins and their consequences, and firmly embeds these conflicts in their political, ideological and military contexts. This volume traces the transition from the 'cabinet wars' of the 19th century and shows how the conflicts that made up the wars of German unification provided the foundation for the birth of modern warfare.

The 500th anniversary of the 95 theses finds a country as moralistic as ever

October 7, 1858 to power in Prussia came 60-year-old prince Wilhelm I, brother of the demented King Frederick William IV. After his death on January 2, 1861,

Portrait anonyme d'un officier d´un régiment de cuirassier Allemand. ------------------------------------- Portrait of anonymous officer of a German cuirassier regiment. Collection privée Marc Cantal

Prussian Command base. Figures from Foundry and NorthStar, flag is GMB. After the rollercoaster ride of the Napoleonic Wars, with huge defeats but also glimmers of prestige like at Waterloo under Blücher, the Prussian army was bound for a road of reform and modernization, taking it up to the smooth and fit fighting engine that would bring down the French Empire and subsequently be the instrument of German unification in 1870-71. "Der Alte Fritz" Frederick the Great leading the Prussians at Zorndrof. Painting by Carl Röchling. With a proud military tradition rooted in the mythical victories and disciplinary codes of Frederick the Great, lovingly known as ”Der Alte Fritz”, the Prussian army had perhaps more potential that was willingly admitted to it in Europe after the removal of Napoleon in 1815. Prussians advance into Gravelotte. "Tod des Majors von Halden" Painting by Carl Röchling. Despite a common cultural and lingual heritage, the post-napoleon peace settlement still left Germany fragmented in small individual states and vulnerable to the political and military winds crossing Europe. The Prussian state and army would skilfully ride a tide of nationalist awakening in the mid-19th century, and directed by the firm hand of visionaries like Bismarck and Moltke, unite the German states and transform this Central-European political vacuum into a Power House of a German Empire, led by a Kaiser. My NorthStar Prussians on the road towards Gravelotte. Inspired by the Carl Röchling painting. While the European revolution of 1848 swept across the continent weakening many of the old Empires, the Prussian Monarchy was left strengthened, and Prussian military and political influence over other German states would increase, as these would need to call on Prussia and the Prussian army to clean up the revolutionary mobs in their cities and high streets. Detail of the Carl Röchling painting. I took this close up of the original painting, now hanging in the museum at Gravelotte. In 1859, King Frederick William IV tasked Minister of War Albrecht von Roon with the modernization of the Prussian fighting machine, now more royal and politically connected to the King than many of it’s European adversary forces. A successful Prussian Trio. Bismarck, Roon & Moltke. Roon would form part of a triangle of brilliant Prussian leaders along with Bismarck and Moltke. Together these three conservative Prussian gentlemen would instrument profound change; introducing new effective tactical doctrines based on steam-age wonders like railroad and the telegraph, and channelling industrial innovation like the ultra modern Needle Gun rifle and perhaps the World’s best artillery hardware from the Krupp factories into the Pikklehube clad legions. The Prussians storm the Danish position at Dybbøl 1864. This image is from the coming Danish TV drama , check out the YOUTUBE teaser here: "1864". All the above would later be refined into perfection in a series of wars known as the Wars of Unification. First, and as a Dane very interestingly, the Second Schleswig War in 1864, fought over the sovereignty of the German states of Schleswig and Holstein. The Prussians at Königgrätz 1866. Again a fantastic painting by Carl Röchling. Later Bismarck would settle the score with the Austrian Empire on who would be the main political influence on the German states - Prussia or Austria. The effective Needle Gun and rigid Prussian infantry doctrine would settle this argument most effectively at Königgrätz in 1866. Bismarck offering some gentlemanly words of comfort to the defeated Napoleon III at Sedan 1870. Finally Moltke’s and Bismarck’s finest hour would be the provocation of a French declaration of war, and the subsequent surgically precise military campaigns of the Prussian and German Confederate troops in France during the Franco-Prussian War, resulting in a long envisioned proclamation of German unification into Empire under Prussian leadership. I've started painting up the Grandmanner collection from Salute. First up this village shrine - very French country road n'est-ce pas?. An amazing feat on Prussia’s behalf, considering their starting point at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and the vast distance of political and social unrest that had to be crossed in the 19th Century taking them up to the point of proclaiming their King as Kaiser in the Hall of Mirrors in the Versailles. Thank you very much for reading.

Why the war started, how the Allies won, and why the world has never been the same

Full lesson for teaching Nationalism and the Unification of Germany. Included is a warm up anticipatory set activity about national anthems. You relate that to the idea of Nationalism to get you into the lesson. Then there is a detailed reading about Otto Von Bismarck, Prussia and the wars that un...