Otto von Bismarck
By Illy Kaizer / 9th grade
Otto von Bismarck was the chskanzler of Prussia and the German empire after the unification of Germany under the leadership of Prussia. To unite all the Germans, Bismarck declared war on the Austrian empire
on 14.6.1866. Bismarck declared war on Austria because he wanted to unite all the Germans. To do so, he had to eradicate the Austrian influence on the rest of Germany.
But Bismarck didn't want a European war so he took
several diplomatic actions first. He promised Belgium to Napoleon the third, which led to British indifference in the Austrian-Prussian war and the Prussian-French war. It was in contrast with the attitude which stopped any nation to gain too much power and Russia didn't intervene because of the grudge they held.
Without going into details, Bismarck managed to isolate France from Russia and Britain by signing a treaty and making a claim on Belgium respectively. Also, because of some stupid French moves, he defeated the French forces and united all of Germany.
But in the end Bismarck was replaced by the incapable heir of Wilhelm the first - Wilhelm the second, who made every mistake Bismarck said not to do: he let France ally with Russia he invaded Belgium and built a massive fleet which made him collide with Brittan and caused a full European
conflict also known as World War One and fulfilled Bismarck's prophecy which said ''Europe today is a powder keg and the leaders are like men smoking in an arsenal … A single spark will set off an explosion that will consume us all … I cannot tell you when that explosion will occur, but I can tell you where …
A Little Bit Of..... History